Legal Murder

As many of you will know by now, Terri Schiavo had her feeding tube legally removed and was starved to death by her husband, Michael.

What clinches it for me is the part where it was legal.

Let's face it, America has been on a slow and steady decline ever since someone realized that "freedom of speech" could be applied to getting a tattoo. Now I'm not saying that tattooing is the cause of America's problems. In fact, this entry has nothing to do with tattooing at all.

What I'm saying is that people have taken the Constitution and stretched it and pulled it and clipped bits out and glued them back in until the people in question are allowed to do or say whatever they want. Somewhere out there, I'm nearly sure, someone is arguing that the terrorists who blew up the World Trade Center on 9/11 were practicing their rights to freedom of religion.

A growing number of people believe that the right of deciding if someone lives or dies belongs to the individual's mother, providing no one can actually see that the foetus is alive without hundreds of dollars' worth of tests. Apparently the idea of "choice" is assigned to the part of the Constitution that reads "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Well, the mothers may be free of a few pounds afterwards, and they might be happy (assuming they have no concept of life or biology) and there's a fair chance that they'll be alive after the abortion, but this is to say nothing of the foetus, who is no longer alive after the "treatment", and thus presumably not happy or free.

Choice. Now there's a word to avoid these days. Abortionists are "pro-choice." Michael Schiavo killed his wife because he was exercising his "medical choice." I'm not very old and easily impressionable, but it seems to me that these days whenever someone uses the world "choice" under legal circumstances, someone dies.

Michael Schiavo has succeeded where Ted Bundy and Dr. Kevorkian have failed. Perhaps Kevorkian is not such a good example these days, since I'm sure there are people who think he was doing the right thing. But my point is that Mr. Schiavo has legally killed a human being whose sole dependency was a feeding tube. Yes, she was impaired. Yes, she could barely move. No, she couldn't talk. But when she saw her mother, the smile that bloomed on her face proved that she was sapient. Despite the damage to her brain and the pain that racked her body, she could still show her mother that she loved her. And where there is love, isn't there life?

I realize that I am very alone here. The police prepared for several thousand people to be protesting the removal of Terri's feeding tube, and only several hundred showed up. Mr. and Mrs. Schindler, if you are reading this, I am so sorry. I am ashamed that I was not able to be there. I have done what I can at my school and with this blog, and it will never be enough.

I hope that not all humans have abandoned common sense in favor of themselves. When we begin sacrificing other humans because of comparatively mild inconveniences (which are completely avoidable, in the case of pregnant mothers), it shows that we have toed the edge of Sanity itself. God only knows what the Founding Fathers would have said about modern society. I expect Washington would have sunk to his knees in despair, crying out to God for mercy on the American race.

That's really all anyone can do. No matter how much I write, or how carefully I reason, or who I cite or what I do, there will people who will remain unconvinced and who will merely become angry with me. I realize that I probably do not have all the facts right. I welcome criticism on my writing, and counter-arguments to mine. I will not reject other people because of what they think.

I'm going to get on my knees for America, and for Michael Schiavo in particular. I invite others to do the same.

Phoenix Soars, Science Scrambling in Gutter

It's always nice to see a Hollywood star who keeps himself or herself clean. Take Joaquin Phoenix, for example. After coming to grips with his alcohol problem (which explains the constant dark patches under his eyes, but not the great acting) he checked himself into a rehab facility to help himself kick the habit. It may be that actors learn things from the roles they play in movies. I haven't seen it myself, but apparently Phoenix plays a morally-upright role in the movie Ladder 49, alongside John Travolta. This might have been part of the catalyst that helped him get into his AA group. Go Joaquin. We're rooting for you.
On the other hand, the world of science suffered a minor blow when some "routine testing kits" were found to contain vials of "Asian flu," or H2N2. This virus was responsible for several million deaths in the 1950's, and now about five thousand labs around the globe have recieved small vials of a fifty-year-old death machine. While there has been a scramble to destroy the samples, there remains a threat of a large outbreak. The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control say that everything is under control and that there is little to worry about, and if anyone sees someone with a weird-looking disease, they should report them and run for the hills. Among the countries with laboratories that received the flu are the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, Lebanon, and Belgium. I'm just glad Burkina Faso wasn't on the list. God protect us from harm because of this scientific blunder. Chaos is always most prevalent where order is being sought.

-Fano