Posts

Physician assisted suicide takes a step forwardAccording to an article in today's New York Times, it is Vermont which could possibly be the next state to offer its people the choice of physician assisted suicide.Extracts:"Supporters of assisted-suicide laws around the country say that legislation is necessary as a matter of justice, said Nancy Dubler, a professor of bioethics at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. Without a law, she said, "people of a certain education and class and profession will have access to it when others will not." Oregon, she said, "has demonstrated that it's socially and morally responsible, socially and morally possible to have a physician-assisted suicide program.""Dr. Diana Barnard, 40, who was the last member to join the core group, said she wanted to give terminally ill patients an alternative to "going out in the barn with a gun."Link:In Vermont, a Bid to Legalize Physician-Assisted SuicideBy JOHN SCHWARTZ and JAMES ESTRINNY Times

Suppressing our rights in the name of GodPaul KrugmanBill Moyers (Welcome Doomsday) Right to Die - A few booksPaul Krugman's column (What's Going On) in The NY Times describes what we are likely to encounter from the so called "Christian Right" and their friends in Congress. The extremists are not going to be deterred by public opinion about their meddling in the Schiavo case.Extract from the column:"Yesterday The Washington Post reported on the growing number of pharmacists who, on religious grounds, refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control or morning-after pills. These pharmacists talk of personal belief; but the effect is to undermine laws that make these drugs available. And let me make a prediction: soon, wherever the religious right is strong, many pharmacists will be pressured into denying women legal drugs. And it won't stop there. There is a nationwide trend toward "conscience" or 'refusal' legislation. Laws in Illinois and Mississippi already allow doctors and other health providers to deny virtually any procedure to any patient. Again, think of how such laws expose doctors to pressure and intimidation.They have an unseemly obsession with morning-after pills. They want women to pay for their sins, is that it ?A news bulltein from Associated Press about groups representing the disabled reads "Activists make point in Schiavo case".What point ? The supporters of "Right to Die" and "Death with Dignity" movements certainly do not want to force people to do anything. We want terminally ill people to have the right to make the decision whether to be kept alive on life support or not. It is a private matter between the individuals, their families, physicians, and their spiritual advisors. The politicians should have no role in this.Bill MoyersA respected voice in broadcast journalism, over the years Bill Moyers covered many subjects --from 9/11 to The Power of Myth, his acclaimed series of interviews with the late Joseph Campbell--during his appearances on PBS.Programs hosted by Bill Moyers are no longer a part of the new PBS.Moyers' essay "Welcome Doomsday" which appeared in the web site of Axis of Logic on March 23rd is timely and incisive."The result is what the Italian scholar Emilio Gentile, quoted in Silk's newsletter, calls "political religion"—religion as an instrument of political combat. On gay marriage and abortion— the most conspicuous of the "non-negotiable" items in a widely distributed Catholic voter's guide—no one should be surprised what this political religion portends. The agenda has been foreshadowed for years, ever since Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and other right-wing Protestants set out to turn white evangelicals into a solid Republican voting bloc and reached out to make allies of their former antagonists, conservative Catholics."Books about end of life choices The books listed below contain a wealth of information about the inevitability of death and the choices in facing it. The subject has gained considerable interest in recent weeks. It is one thing to feel indignant about the government's intervention in your life but taking a step to protect yourself from a similar situation is something else. The extremists would probably look for ways to totally block choice for terminally ill patients. Signing an Advance Directive to Physician (Living Will) would be one way to protect yourself. Also, make your position known to your family and friends.If you believe in it, execute the document. You will not need an attorney; just two witnesses. The form is available from various sources. The World Wide Web contains a vast list of organizations that provide information about this. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is one of them.Do not lose control over this very important decision.Recommended reading:How We Die : Reflections on Life's Final Chapter by Sherwin B. Nuland,MD, Vintage PaperbackOn Death and Dying by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, The MacMillan Co.Final Exit by Derek Humphrey, Dell PublishingEuthanasia and the Right to Die edited by A.B. Dowling, Peter Owen, LondonLinks:NYTimes-KrugmanMoyers-DoomsdayAAFP

Befuddled politicians seeking a quiet exit?There must be a lot of head scratching going on in the Florida State House, Congress, and the White House.They thought they had a sure thing when they took on the role of knights valiantly fighting to save Terri Schiavo. However, it didn't quite pan out the way they thought it would. One poll after another reflect that close to 80% of Americans feel that they had no business to intervene.How to wiggle out of it ? Not very easy, especially since many of them claim to receive their orders from a higher being. But as politicians they will do what they do best---resort to expediency--and hope that people will soon forget the affair. Majority Leader Tom DeLay will jump on to another issue to divert attention from his problems, and it will be business as usual for members of the 109th Congress. "I am not a politician, and my other habits are good."Fourth of July Oration, Artemus (Charles Farrar Browne) Ward (1834-1867)

Iraq - What have we achieved ? The cost in human termsSome Americans don't give a hoot about Iraqis but what about our own? My February 26th post cited figures of the dead and injured in Iraq. One month later the numbers show that there is no cause to rejoice. The tolls continue to mount.U.S. SoldiersAs of March 25, 2005Dead: 1,539Injured: 11,442Iraqi civiliansDead: Minimum 16,121Maximum 18,393Links:IBCGlobal+++++++"Mission accomplished", President George W. Bush, May 2, 2003

Why We Run"For every runner who tours the world running marathons, there are thousands who run to hear the leaves and listen to rain and look to the day when it all is suddenly as easy as a bird in flight. For them, sport is not a test but a therapy, not a trial but a reward, not a question but an answer."---Dr. George Sheehan (1918-1993) Runner, Author, Philosopher, CardiologistThat says it all for those of us who do not run to lose weight or because it is good for health. We run because we found something that would be difficult, almost impossible,for a non-runner to understand. As the late, great Fats Waller said about jazz: "if you hafta ask, you ain't never gonna know!"Never much of a sprinter I got into distance running almost by accident--while giving the family dog his work out. It felt good and I got hooked. That was almost 30 years ago.In a Marathon from SFO Ferry Building to Larkspur Ferry TerminalI have run marathons, the Dipsea (Over Mount Tamalpais from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach), the Double Dipsea (from Stinson Beach to Mill Valley and back), and countless miles over local roads and trails in the foothills. Always carried my running gear on business trips. Have run in HongKong and Bangkok; Singapore and Taipei; Bombay, Madras and Colombo; London and Paris. I run in summer and in the cold and wet winter months. On some days it takes an effort to gear up and go out but I always return from a run feeling better in body and spirits than when I went out. Perhaps it is the release of endorphin. The reason why it feels good is not important.The town where I live is not very attractive for runners but the quiet, tree-lined streets of Los Altos are only a few miles away. And there are great trails in Rancho San Antonio and Stevens Creek Canyon. After close encounter with a rattle snake some years back I avoid running on narrow trails during the warm weather; it is more a state of mind than a real threat.Age takes its toll. I am aware that one of these days the knees will give up or something else will happen and I shall have to stop running. In the meantime, I'm going to make the most of it.Ultra MarathonsGayla Johnson, who lives nearby, is an ultra marathoner. She has run the Western States 100 (see below) not once or twice, but four times! Amazing feat. For those who are not aware what the terms mean, distance for a marathon is 26.2 miles; ultra marathons are races of 50 miles and over. To some it is lunacy. I know why she does it--for the agony and the ecstasy.The bare facts:"The Western States Endurance Run is one of the oldest ultra trail events in the world and certainly one of the most challenging.The Run is conducted along the Western States Trail starting at Squaw Valley, California, and ending in Auburn, California, a total of 100 miles. The trail ascends from the Squaw Valley floor (elevation 6,200 feet) to Emigrant Pass (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4½ miles. From the pass, following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850’s, runners travel west, climbing another 15,540 feet and descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn."Another tough one is the 135-mile race from Bad Water to Whitney Portal. It begins in Badwater, Death Valley, 280 feet below sea level, crosses the desert, continues through the town of Lone Pine (3700 feet) and finishes at Whitney Portal, 8,360 feet above sea level.Link:WSER

Bring me the barf bagLink:DeLay

"Good Judges""And Dr. Frist, after discussing Congressional intervention in Ms. Schiavo's case in a telephone call to Christian conservative activists last week, moved directly to the need for 'good judges' and his plans to end the ability of Democrats to filibuster." (Carl Hulse and David D. Kirkpatrick,NY Times 3/23/05)Senator (and doctor) Frist didn't leave any doubt about what he meant. What about you--when you think about it, what is your interpretation of a good judge?Public opinion polls in the past few days reflected that between 60 to 80 percent of Americans were against the government's intervention in the Schiavo case. One would think that it would make the legislators pause, at least for a while, to think. Nope. Now their ire is against bad judges. Judge James Whittemore of the Florida District Court, who ruled to let the decision by the Circuit Court (to remove Schiavo's feeding tube) stand, is reported to be a registered Republican. When I ran a search in Google most of the articles lauded his rercord. Perhaps he incurred wrath of the extremists because he was appointed during the Clinton era.The conservatives have become rabble rousers. It is the "winner take all", "my way or no way" position that is ominous. But right now the wind is blowing their way. They have a friend in the White House and they will trample over the rest of us. Whether it is targeted tax cuts, display of the Ten Commandments in public places, women's right to choose, or teaching of creationism, the extremists are determined to push their beliefs down our throat and stand ever-ready to amend the Constitution to do it.NY Times-Judicial Appointments

"Letter from Illinois" by Calvin Trillin, The New Yorker (OnLine edition 3/7/05) A kind visitor to my blog informed me that Calvin Trillin's article about First Lieutenant Brian Slavenas, mentioned in my March 12th post, was available online in The New Yorker, and provided the link. Thank you,Algis. I urge those who have the time to read the article. Trillin is a sensitive author. His portrayal of the dead soldier and his family is compassionate and thoughtful. Link: Brian Slavenas

Don't bet on it. The zealots may have some tricks hidden up their sleeves"Schiavo Judge Refuses Request to Connect Feeding Tube "Bloomberg News 3/22/05"A federal judge in Florida today refused to order doctors to reinsert the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman whose right-to-die case has touched off a national debate.""In Schiavo case, Congress trespasses on private tragedy""When the Founders wrote the Constitution, they devoted the largest section to spelling out the powers of Congress. Nowhere did they include the right to play doctor. Terri Schiavo's story is tragic enough without political malpractice."USA Today

Virginity pledges don't reduce rates of STDs, study finds"The study, by Yale and Columbia University researchers after examining sexual behaviors of 11,400 adolescents found virginity pledges encouraging STD risks.They found that many pledgers who claimed to be virgins were having premarital sex. Although a large number of adolescents avoided vaginal intercourse, they were more likely to have oral and anal sex without the use of condoms.The team found the male pledgers 4 times more likely to engage in anal sex and both male and female pledgers 6 times more likely to have oral sex.The study steered by Dr. Hannah Bruckner was published in Journal of Adolescent Health. "Virginity