Goodbye, Mrs. Schiavo

It's finally over. Terri Schiavo died today, at age 41. The veteran expresses his condolences to Mr. and Mrs. Schindler and their children, as well as to Michael Schiavo, the husband of the deceased. This entire matter blew up in the past month into a massively unnecessary political controversy. My greatest joy is that Terri will no longer be the center of such foolishness, and the harpies of the Bush administration will no longer have her to push around for their own political gains.

And Now, A Message From The State Of Indiana...

This veteran has seen some authentically strange things in his lifetime, such as a non-conservative conservative winning a presidential election, the laziness of fellow lefties, and now, censoring of established classical art. David and the Venus de Milo, along with a few other statues, have been ordered off the lawn of an Indiana yard art business. According to the Associated Press and SFGate.com, "Indiana's obscenity law prohibits the display of nudity where children might see it..." says Frank Butler, county zoning inspector. However, Indiana state law also allows exceptions for pieces that are of artistic value. So, the Venus isn't passing for art these days?
Also, in some more pressing news, the Quad-City Times and AP published a piece today about how our favorite senior citizens, the AARP, are against the President's social security replacement [plan]. According to the article, six out of ten members are against the President's proposal. Six out of ten? Is that all? Anyway, the veteran, as always, fully supports the fight to fix social security as opposed to RUINING IT, which seems to be the basis for the Bush [plan]. The full article can be found at the Quad-City Times.

Sorry

Not much happening in the country lately... Schiavo is still alive, Bush is still kickin', and the veteran can't find anything terribly interesting to post on. Any readers with good leads please either email me or post a comment on this post, so I can gripe about something.

Federal Court Rules Against 'Feeding Terri'

With all due respect, the veteran refuses to touch the base question of this quagmire with a ten-foot pole. A federal judge ruled today that Terri Schiavo's feeding tube would not be reinserted. The veteran does not officially have a stance to voice on whether Schiavo should be kept alive or not, as both sides make compelling arguments. What I don't agree with is the fact that Congress got into this mess in the first place. Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler (any relation to the subject of 'Schindler's List'?) have been waging a war against Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, over whether Terri should live or die. According to Schiavo, Terri has suffered long enough and would not have wanted to live this way. Her parents claim that she is occasionally responsive and may improve with therapy. So far, several court-appointed doctors have reviewed Terri's case and examined her, and each have stated that she is in a 'persistent vegetative state', meaning, in a nutshell, that she's the next best thing to brain-dead. Some doctors hired by the Schindlers have rebutted this diagnosis. Who knows? The Schindlers have some video of Terri appearing to respond to outside stimuli, but the human body does respond to things reflexively, and video can be faked. Terri Schiavo, if a ruling is not made in the favor of her parents, will die within a week or two from starvation and/or dehydration. Her attending doctor believes that she does not possess the mental capacity to register any discomfort from this action. Michael Schiavo, on one hand, has had a steady relationship with another woman for several years, and has fathered two children by her. He claims that if Terri is allowed to die, any money left over from an earlier malpractice suit filed on Terri's behalf will go to charity. One must ponder a few questions based on what we know: Does Michael have Terri's best interests at heart? Even though he has 'moved on' with his love life, he could have simply obtained a divorce and left Terri to the care of her family, thus leaving behind the responsibility. This might suggest that he really feels she would want the plug pulled. He could want the leftover money, but if she does die and he reneges on his voluntary charitable donation, SOMEONE is going to lynch him. Are Terri's parents simply holding on to a hope, certain to be washed away? Pretty much all of the doctors not hired by the parents have stated that she'll never improve, which might suggest that they specifically sought doctors that would rule in their favor. A truly objective viewpoint is impossible in their case, so once again, who knows? Should the federal government step in against [repeated] rulings from Florida courts that she should be allowed to die? This is not an issue for Congress, any more than professional baseball and steroid use. Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia (Goooooooo VA!) has stated that he feels this 'political football' is a violation of 10th amendment responsibilities reserved to the states. He feels that it is "...unwise for the Congress to take from the state of Florida its constitutional responsibility to resolve the issues in this case." Mr. Warner, thank you for getting to the heart of this issue. Whatever happens to Mrs. Schiavo (Lord, have mercy on her soul), this is not an arena the federal government belongs in. This is a private matter and should have stayed a private matter.

ANWR: Both Sides of the Story

[Note: The link to the NY Times article requires a login. Registration is free.]
There seems to be a lot of debate going on about whether we should begin drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, as well as many rumors. The veteran read an excellent article today on the New York Times website that gives some facts and opinions from both sides of the debate. First of all, Congress will probably allow the drilling, so it's mostly up to the oil companies now. The oil companies, however, are still unsure of how to proceed. They concede that no one really knows how much oil is there to be found. An estimate of the exploration involved before any real drilling can be started puts the exploration at at least two years. Some companies seem more than willing to go for the black gold, but many are hesitant, as they are unsure of the profitability of this "experiment".
The environmental side seems mostly worried about the prospect of disrupting caribou herds in the area. One herd of caribou has continued to grow at a steady rate near the existing oil derricks nearby, but another herd has experienced a significant dropoff in reproduction, currently at about 120,000. Another area of debate is how much land would be taken up by a drilling operation. Most of the oil companies claim that they can drill diagonally for quite some distance and won't need much room, but some studies have also shown that most rigs can only drill a bit over a mile horizontally, in which case the surface operation may have to be much more wide and scattered than current oil company estimates claim. This veteran still holds that we already have alternative energy sources available to us, and we should begin implementing them now to offset the high petroleum price. Unfortunately, big oil tends to lobby against this course of action, as they are certain to lose profits in the process. As far as ANWR, no verified estimate is really available on how much oil exists beneath the serene Alaskan wilderness. Drilling will have to wait for decisions, exploration and construction that will take years before producing results. Why don't we start using some of the alternative resources we already have freely available? Fight the oil companies: their profit, right now, is our loss.

A Senate in Turmoil

As Senate Republicans gear up for a monumental battle over Supreme Court nominees, Democrats led by minority leader Harry Reid have threatened to call to a halt all nonessential Senate action. In his first post the veteran detailed the Republican push to remove the filibuster; the last bastion of the senate minority against majority oppression. Majority leader Dr. Bill Frist and his associates in the Senate are still pushing for this vital component of political compromise's demise. Reid has stated in a letter to Frist that, barring certain exceptions, Senate Democrats would "stop or slow" any business put forth in the Senate until this matter is cleared and the filibuster is no longer in danger. Reid and his comrades now take a mighty stand against the most partisan Senate in recent history. One can only hope they possess the nerve, and the numbers, to win.

UAW Discriminates in Parking Based on Political Affiliation and 'Foreign Automobiles'

The veteran would like to apologize to his associate, Mr. Smith, for the lateness of this post. Mr. Smith kindly contributed this news story yesterday.
United Auto Workers has recently ordered that Marines from reserve unit 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, based in Detroit, may not use the UAW parking lot if they drive foreign automobiles or display pro-Bush decals on their cars. While the veteran is ardently pro-labor, he finds this display of partisanship ignoble and crass. Until recently, Marine reservists have been allowed free access to the parking lot. Apparently, however, the union feels that certain Marines are showing a marked disrespect for their fellow Americans by driving the foreign-brand cars and displaying disrespect for organized labor by openly confirming their political affiliation with the neoconservatives. This veteran believes that the union might make a more acceptable judgement based on the fact that these Marines are members of a force that goes off to foreign countries to protect our homeland and our right to have organized labor, regardless of their political views or their desire for fuel-efficient foreign cars. It is truly unfair to extend this parking access to some, but deny it to others based on such biased reasoning.

Where is the Support?

On the tenth, at Auburn University, President Bush performed at a rally to gain support for his controversial Social Security overhaul plan. Strangely enough, the majority of the audience at this and other presidential rallies has been hand-picked from people who already support the President's plan. According to the Associated Press, only thirty-seven percent of American citizens support the President's privatization proposal, with very little chance of a sudden updraft of support in the near future. Apparently, Bush feels that by broadcasting raucous cheering for his plan, he will gain massive support within only a few days for a plan that is so vehemently degraded that many members of his own party in Congress refuse to touch it, for fear that their constituents will tear them apart.

Baptist Church Protests Homosexuality; Angers Southern Baptist Convention

The veteran feels that the congregation at Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas may want to reexamine Christ's feelings towards gays, as all people. Christ loves Everyone. It's scattered throughout the Bible in many places, but this particular group apparently missed it. They demonstrated in protest to a [possible] school-approved gay-straight alliance, carrying signs saying 'God hates fags' and 'Fags are worthy of death' (see photo in original news story). The veteran is appalled that members of a modern congregation, especially in such a major denomination as the baptist church, could apply this kind of highly negative pressure on any group, let alone simply gays. Perhaps they're attempting to get shipped off to Jerry Falwell's fold instead?
The Southern Baptist Convention expressed some outrage at the actions of the group (it was led by Phelps' grandson), stating that Pastor (?) Phelps is not part of the Southern Baptist Convention and that "we don't want him to be."

Beating a Dead Horse

The Republican-controlled congress now has six days to pass legislation involving the restructuring of social security before the end of this session. Many House and Senate Republicans, in light of recent polls, are slipping away from the President's proposal, which would allow younger workers (i.e., those not currently approaching retirement age) to establish private investment accounts for part of their social security wages, while accepting a reduction in guaranteed benefits from the government. The polls are showing a severe lack of support for the President's proposal, citing the fact that no very specific plan has been laid out for the public and that private investment accounts can fail, due to fluxuations in the stock market and poorly-educated investors. Republican aides have also claimed that even those workers who choose not to take the investment option will very likely face a reduced guaranteed benefit upon retirement. The President has pushed his proposal hard in the last month, traveling the nation and campaigning for his proposal in several different states. While the proposal may again face congress as soon as next year, the veteran believes that if the President doesn't make major changes to the policy and more effectively market his proposal to the American public, chances are that the proposal will not pass during President Bush's term in the White House. While the veteran concedes that certain well-educated and option savvy workers may be able to turn the proposal to their financial advantage, one must look at the established fact that the average American worker is not proficient in the language of investments, and will, quite surely, lose money on the deal. Also, the possibility that workers who opt out of the private accounts will still face a lower benefit from the government has shut the ears of many to the proposal. The veteran also wonders where the President intends to get the funding to put this proposal into effect, should it pass at some time in the future, as the current administration seems preoccupied with slashing taxes and social programs, while financing the bones of what is left with massive international borrowing (this is why the economy is supposedly getting better; we're borrowing massive amounts of money from other countries to pour into our struggling nation). The veteran would like to know how the Bush administration intends to pay this money back. Who's going to get the bill, you ask? WE ARE. And that's all I have to say about that.

Blogger 2: A Blogger Will Rise

Back (and still slightly ill), the veteran has a few thoughts on Garrett Graff. A Harvard graduate and former employee of Howard Dean, Graff is now the first blogger to be admitted to the [illustrious?] White House press corps. After five days of nearly nonstop calls, the ardent blogger of 'FishbowlDC' finally received a day pass. He cites a possible intervention by the head of the White House Correspondents Association and by the mainstream media for the driving force behind his eventual success. This may become a great new precedent for internet-based journalism and commentary, both partisan and non-partisan. The veteran congratulates Mr. Graff and wishes him even greater success in his future endeavors.
Also, in a story on Yahoo!, the Senate faced down a democratic proposal to raise the minimum wage by $2.10. This is not a radical increase, but it might have been helpful (especially with a few regulation caps on large companies to nix any compensatory price raises). While a large increase in minimum wage would likely only drive inflation higher, a smaller raise, such as this one, might have helped many lower middle and poverty-stricken citizens to make their rent for the month. Senate republicans adopted a counter-proposal of $1.10 an hour to establish a compromise, but this, too, was voted down. The veteran applauds both the democratic side and the Republicans, if their outreach was sincere and well thought out and not simply a pacification measure.

Where Will YOU Be When The Epidemic Hits?

Today the National Institutes of Health received a petition from over 700 scientists and researchers, including two Nobel Prize recipients, protesting large cuts in general pathogen research that have been taking their toll since 2001. The cuts were designed to give greater money to bioterrorism and germ warfare research, which is important, but the cost to research on more common pathogens, more readily dangerous to the general populace, was very taxing. Cuts as much as twenty-seven percent have been levied on research to combat dangerous diseases such as tuberculosis. The veteran understands the dangers of possible bioterrorism and germ warfare (he's worn his gas mask enough), but feels there must be a better way to fund this research than taking more money away from those researchers studying to combat the more immediate threats.