25 Mar 2005
How Far Do We Go?

Much has been made of a "slippery slope", allegedly leading to mandated euthanasia, in Schiavo case. But, just like there are two sides to every coin, there are many slopes on a mountainous problem, and it's one of the other slopes that worries me.

I touched on it in this post from last month - how about mandated eternal "life" for all and sundry? What if medical technology did advance to the point where the human body could be maintained in a functioning (even if non-conscious) state "forever? Is pulling the plug murder, manslaughter or suicide? Or none of the above?

I've thought about that alot this week. My mom has a living will that specifies "no heroic efforts" are to be made to save her life. But what, exactly, is a "heroic effort"? That's all the document says: and the law doesn't exactly help. Furthermore, mom doesn't want to get more specific, fearful that she'll omit something. I know exactly what she means - no resuscitation, no feeding tubes and no ventilators. But mom's point is well taken: what if they invent a device that's not named specifically in a living will? What exactly constitutes a resuscitation device?

You could fall into a dictionary very easily from this point.

That's what this debate should really about: when does life end? I'm sorry it's degenerated into such an overly politicized, farcical "Attack of the Fetus People". There are legitimate, fundamental questions here that we need to think about as a society.

And how we answer these questions will determine our cultural survival.

00:00 /Home | 2 comments | permanent link

FDA OKs Monthly Drug for Osteoporosis

What a great idea! This way, large pharmaceutical firms can make money, and large industrial dairies can keep pumping out nutrient-free (also known as "low fat", "reduced fat" "skim" and "homogenized") milk and American woman can pay for it all with broken bodies!

Think I'm just grandstanding? Ask your grandparents if they remember a senior relative from their childhood with brittle bone disease. Then do a bit of research and find out when pasteurization was made de jure and homogenization became de rigueur for dairymen...

AP - A once-a-month pill to help women battle the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

00:00 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link

Waiter! There's a thumb in my soup!

A diner at a Wendy's fast food restaurant in San Jose, California, found a human finger in a bowl of chili prepared by the chain, local officials said Wednesday.

(link) [CNN]

00:00 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link

Iran Stockpiling High-Tech Small Arms

Another wonderful side "benefit" of our "War on Drugs".

AP - Iran is quietly building a stockpile of thousands of high-tech small arms and other military equipment — from armor-piercing snipers' rifles to night-vision goggles — through legal weapons deals and a U.N. anti-drug program, according to an internal U.N. document, arms dealers and Western diplomats.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Pretty Sad

You know, it's pretty sad when other folks write more about your business in their blog than you do in yours! Especially when your business is farming and the other writer is the food columnist for the local paper!

Thanks, Scott, for all the kind words (and the great recipes)! Your column in the Reporter yesterday garnered me three new customers! And I've finally added you to my blogroll!

00:00 /Home | 1 comment | permanent link