Archive for the ‘Daily Life’ Category

Do you remember when our nation’s leaders did what was right for our country?

Wake up people.

On this day in 2005, Terri Schiavo died, thirteen days after her feeding tube was removed. Here is what I had to say the day she died:

Today was a very sad day.

No matter which “side” of the debate you found yourself on, you must realize what a sad day this was for America. The death of Terri Schiavo was the longest execution in American history, and we, as a society, should be ashamed that it happened.

Even if we entertain the thought that Terri Schiavo told her husband, many years ago, that she did not want to be kept alive artificially, I highly doubt she told him that she would want to be starved and dehydrated to death. But that’s the point. We don’t know, and never will know, if she truly wanted to die.

Many of the “arguments” I have heard involved the words “I would not want to live like that”, and “No amount of therapy would have improved her condition”. Those arguments, in this case, don’t mean shit. Of course you would not want to live like that, I bet you would be hard pressed to find even one person that would knowingly WANT to live like that, but sometimes we don’t have a choice. In reality, we live the life we are dealt. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. As far as her recovery, there are thousands of people in this country with health conditions that will never improve. Never. These people include quadriplegics, stroke victims, and war heroes. Many of these people will require constant care and will NEVER experience any improvement in their condition. Does that mean we have the right to kill them even if they do not want to die? No.

My sister-in-law suffered from a lack of oxygen, much like Terri Schiavo. For the most part, her brain is mush as well, yet, if my in-laws decided she didn’t want to live that way, and starved her to death, they would be charged with murder. Period. Who are they, or anyone else for that matter, to decide if she “wanted to live like that”? She has severe brain damage. She has seizures. She needs constant care. She lights up the room with her beautiful blue eyes. She loves life. Did she choose her condition? No. Will therapy ever improve her condition? No. Should she be forced to die simply because someone else might not want to live like that? Hell no.

While I fully support the “right to die” whether you are incapacitated and do not wish to have artificial life support, or you have a terminal illness and truly wish to end your pain, I do NOT support killing someone when there is no concrete evidence one way or the other as to whether or not that person truly wanted to die. But… Even if someone wants to die, and they want to die with dignity, should we starve and dehydrate them? Is starvation the dignified way to let someone die? I think not. Terri Schiavo died today, not because the feeding tube was removed, but because no one was allowed (by court order) to see if Terri could eat food and drink fluids orally. For this reason, we, as a society, should be ashamed.

Some of you may be thinking that the death of this one person is nothing to get worked up about because people, including disabled people, die everyday. And while this is true, we must remember this one thing.

While thousands of people in America may die each day, they usually do not die due to court ordered starvation (and this has nothing to do with the removal of her feeding tube).

Many people, over the course of the past 13 days, have said many things, and I have received some of the nastiest comments and e-mails I have seen in my entire life. What did I say that made people react this way? What did I do that would warrant being treated the way I have been treated? I simply stood up for the life of Terri Schiavo. That’s it. Not once did I “attack” anyone, not once did I incite violence or negativity in any way. I, as a healthy member of society, decided to speak for someone who could not speak for herself. I did so because I answered a call from her family to help in any way I could. And you know what? I would do it all over again. And again… And again…

I want to take a moment to thank those bloggers who joined the “Blogger’s Strike for Terri”. It’s people like Vinny, Bridget, Janette, Greg, Janna, SoCalAngel, and Jo, who re-assure me that society indeed has not quite yet gone to hell in a handbasket. I know that there were many people out there blogging for Terri, but it makes me proud to have stood with such fine people who all had one thing in common. We all took a stand for a disabled woman who could not speak for herself. Thanks again for devoting your blogs, and all of your blogging time to speaking out for Terri Schiavo. While our efforts may not have saved Terri, my hope is that we have helped inform people, so no one else (or their family) has to suffer such a horrible experience.

The strong in our society have a duty to protect the weak, and I for one would rather be called a “Jesus Freak” any day than be an apathetic fool with no empathy for others. How sad would that be?

We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.

The U.S. Senate votes on the $700 billion bailout.

I haven’t been this disappointed in a long time. I spent time today browsing for new car insurance and possibly a new homeowners policy, only to find I was now the proud “partial” owner of millions of homes across America. I would hate to see the insurance bill for all that.

It’s a disappointing day for America.

During the month of August, House Republicans asked for a vote on their energy bill, the American Energy Act.

When House Democrats returned from their five week recess, Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised a vote on a comprehensive energy solution.

The bill she introduced is anything but comprehensive. It offers no provisions for oil shale exploration, nuclear power expansion, or clean coal or coal-to-liquid technology.

Drilling will only be allowed if states agree to let the federal government keep all the proceeds earned from the oil leases they allow. There will be no drilling in ANWR, and the bill does not even provide for one new oil refinery.

The drilling provision also calls for drilling 50 miles from our nation’s shores. Most of the oil available is located 3-50 miles, so in essense this bill is a “no drill” energy bill.

Nancy Pelosi’s so called comprehensive energy bill is anything but comprehensive. It won’t even produce more American made energy for Americans. I hope you’re ready to take your diet pills because if this bill becomes law, things are going to get pretty tight around here. She has made it abundantly clear that she intends to drive oil companies from America completely.

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On the August 24th episode of ‘Meet The Press’, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi denied that her investment in Clean Energy Fuels Corporation was worth $100,000 to $200,000.

She lied.

While everyone thought she adjourned the House so she could embark on a spectacular book tour, she was instead, making sure the focus was kept off of her real reason for not wanting to solve America’s energy crisis. No matter what she’s did, whether she was buying a BMW steering rack or sprucing up her SUV, she promised the most ethical Congress in our nation’s history.

She lied.

Shame on you Speaker Pelosi.

Special thanks to Bill Collier at The American Freedomist (http://blog.freedomist.info) for breaking this story with his post “Pelosi LIED To Brokaw“. Find out more about Mrs. Pelosi’s investment and what you can do about it by visiting his blog.

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Republicans are standing in front of the microphone everyday asking Nancy Pelosi to call Congress back into session so they can begin debate on the American Energy Act.

A few of these representatives have called on the President to do so, since Mrs. Pelosi has no intention of doing it. The problem is, he cannot do it. The President cannot call Congress back into session if either the House or the Senate are in session.

Harry Reid has made sure that the Senate is kept in “pro forma session” to keep the President from making recess appointments, and ironically, calling Congress back into session to discuss energy solutions.

Watch this video to learn more about the pro forma session, and see one (in full length) as it transpires.

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In the weeks and months leading up to August 1st, Nancy Pelosi made sure that members of the House congratulated the University of California-Santa Barbara Soccer Team. She also made sure that they declared National Passport Month, National Train Day, and International Year of Sanitation.

Heck, she even made sure that monkeys everywhere would be safer by making sure the House voted on the Monkey Safety Act. Meanwhile our gas prices were rising from $2.22 per gallon to $4.14 per gallon.

Doesn’t it make you feel warm and fuzzy to know that monkeys around the country are safe, while you’re paying so much for fuel at the pump?

Nancy Pelosi needs to come back to work. She needs to stop whatever she is doing, whether she’s in some sort of rehab program or simply getting auto insurance comparisons. She needs to get back to Washington and call Congress back into session. She needs to give an up or down vote on the American Energy Act, and she needs to stop the monkey business.

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Day #15 of the Republican ’staycation’ and 129 members have returned to the House floor to continue the discussion of the American Energy Act.

The energy problem we are facing right now started many years ago as we increased our demand on foreign oil and did nothing to encourage the development of alternative energy solutions or develop our own fuel resources.

Nancy Pelosi still singlehandedly making this crisis worse by refusing to return to Washington and do her job as Speaker of the House. Getting her to work is worse than trying to cure a bad case of acne.

Call her office at (202) 225-0100 and tell her to call back Congress, today.

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It’s day #13 of the House Republican ’staycation’.

As House Republicans wonder how the Sierra Club can endorse a Democratic Energy Plan that no one has seen, the American people wonder when the Speaker of the House is going to ‘know her power’ and get her ass back to Washington. She acts like she has no clue what is happening anymore, and I am beginning to thing she needs to check herself into a drug treatment center or something.

We are running out of time. If she waits until September to come back, the Congress will have just 15 working days to complete all of their business (including this energy bill) before they adjourn for the rest of the year.

That’s right people. If they don’t pass an energy bill before the end of September, there will be no energy bill before the new year.

Call Speaker Pelosi’s office at (202) 225-0100 and tell her to call Congress back and get back to work, that is, if she isn’t in drug rehab yet.

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