As of a little past midnight this morning, the Republican lead Congress and President Bush stepped over a very dangerous line. Using legislation to involve themselves in the decision making process that's usually reserved to families. And according to them, one does not have a right to die in America, no matter how tragic one's condition might be in.
More later.
I really try to avoid political issues except when I think issues that are personal become political, and then I just get really mad. Terri Schiavo is my case in point.
What does Congress, the Florida Legislature, Governor Jeb Bush, or anyone else in the world who has never met Terri, her husband or her family have any business saying anything about what should be done with what remains of her life? What right does anyone have to make a political football, a new venture into the tricky territory of legislating what are personal decisions for the religious right? None. That's the problem. None of us, no matter how much we may 'care' about the bigger issue, should have any say in what happens to this poor woman.
Can you imagine how painful it is for her husband to have to see his wife everyday in a vegetative state that he knows in his heart should would not want to be maintained in. What good is keeping her alive doing anyone? I can understand her family wanting to hold out for a miracle but reality is that after ten years, the chances are so slim (see one can never say never). And while all these people say they are thinking of Terri, to me they are just being selfish.
Wouldn't you just love to ask them what they would want done if they were brain dead? Do you think they would answer honestly or would they follow party lines and just say, 'Oh, I'd love to be kept on life support and lay there, motionless, thoughtless, without any connection to the world outside of that old feeding tube for the rest of my days.“
It's so sad and unfortunate for the family involved. The parent's who are so afraid to let go, to admit that their daughter really is in a vegetative state. The husband who's doing the most painful and only truly humane thing he can do for the woman he loves. For the rest of us, let's just leave them alone. Let Terri go in peace. Drop the political pretenses, the pandering to the right for votes and Senate seats. Stop the ignorant protests by people jumping on the moral bandwagon without so much as a true iota of personal involvement in the last ten year's of Terri's life. Really. The only answer is to put Terri's life into the hand's of G-d (if you believe in this entity) and take the man-made machines out of the question. That, and only that, is the moral imperative. G-d speed Terri. G-d speed.
Yesterday's final score: Isabella, 101; Liam, 101.5. So, in a squeaker, Liam finished the day with a last minute game winner as Isabella just missed out on completing a three-day sweep of the series.
This morning, once again, the scores changed. Izzy, sleeping late, came in with an outstanding 98.7 and Liam, still sniffing and coughing, hung on to his slim lead with a 99.5. The experts are predicting a weekend finish to this year's competition, with both team's settling for a respectful and normal 98.6.
To all single parents in the world I now bow. I really have no clue how you stay home with more kids and get anything done besides meeting their needs or just, guiltily, sticking them in front of a favorite movie just so you can get a shower. And all of that without getting frustrated, losing your cool, or just plain yelling at the slightest misstep.
A belated St. Patrick's Day to all. Made corn beef and cabbage (what else) and decided to skip the Irirsh beer along with it. Kids didn't eat much but Karen and I certainly enjoyed it along with the requisite cabbage, potatoes, cooked carrots (not me, no way) and soda bread. Plus mustard. Really, it was a pretty nice dinner though I'm still not great at deciding exactly when a corn beef is done. Not to complain, or show my lack of expertise, but fork-tender really isn't a very accurate measure to go by. In any case, we ate. No one got food poisoning and the sun rose again today. That's success, yes?
That's all there is. There isn't any more.
There's nothing better than taking out one's bad mood out on an inanimate object like a college basketball team. See, I'm not even going to talk about any individual players (and trust me, the blame could be spread around like peanut butter on bread) or the coach. (Can you blame a man known to sweat through suits as if he'd walked into a sauna?) No, I'm just going to say this once publicly and get over it. Terps in the NIT. Big deal? Nope. It's not the Big Dance. It is, simply put, Not In THE Tournament. That's right. You are not in the field of 64 that you graced for eleven years. The Lady Terp's though, are, and that is a fact to be celebrated and rewarded. At least I'll have a team to route for on that side of the National Championship contest.
So, the frustrations of sick children, unsuccessful job hunting and rejected bids got their best of me today. So, I'm typing it down. Putting it 'into the book' and getting it done and over with. Tomorrow will be a new, and dramatically more wonderful day. That's all there is. There is no more.
Every Sunday prior to St. Patrick's Day, for the past 11 years, there have been three constants in life. My wife's aunt and uncle's St. Patrick's Day family celebration, the St. Patrick Day's Parade and the Terps getting into the Big Dance. But this year it's different.
It seems the for the for the 2004 ACC Tournament Champs the season ended about two weeks early. They lost five out of their last six games, and the last four straight. Is this really the team that returned four starters from last year's team? Clearly it's been a season of high's (beating Duke twice in a year is always a reason for celebration) and lows (losing to Clemson three times is not something I will ever be able to forget...no offense to my friend, and Tiger alum Jay). Michael Wilbon summed up the whole mess well in Friday's Post.
To tell you the truth, it just feels weird. And if for some freaky reason they do get in, it won't feel right because in my heart, I know they don't deserve to be in. This has got to be the first Maryland team that didn't feel like it played as a team consistently (except of course in the Duke games). And I really think losing the team's true heart, defensive inspiration and leader, DJ Strawberry, to injury in January had more impact on this team than even Gary would have been able to predict.
And so it goes with sports as with life. Chemistry has to be kept in balance. If you forget an ingredient, or put too much in, the end result is usually not what you expected or ever dreamed was possible. NIT anyone?
Isabella asked a question today that I'm sure I've thought about but really didn't know the answer so here it is.
The question: Why don't birds get electrocuted when sitting on a power line?
The answer: Electricity gives you a shock as it travels through your body on its way to the ground. This is because electricity always tries to go to the ground. When a bird sits on the wire there is no path through the bird to the ground. So the power does not travel through the birds and they do not get electrocuted. The power simply flows through the wires as usual.
Pretty cool when you think about it. But definitely not something to try at home. And thank goodness for the web, it's like the world's best encyclopedia and research tool.
ACC Tourney, the Last Gasp
If you don't know it already, we are in the grasp of 'March Madness' (and if you live anywhere near the East Coast of the US, I'm not talking about the weather). My beloved Terps take on Clemson tomorrow in the first round of the ACC Tournament down the street in DC. Tip-off is at noon and I'll be in a meeting. But after the meeting, me and my old, tired but still working (for now) laptop, are heading to a local, fan friendly watering hole and working through the game. Shame my friend Andy is off in Prague, cause he'd be available to hang out with me to watch. Oh well, just need to find a place with wireless access though, so I can keep up with clients via e-mail.
Can I just say that while they are a necessary evil, I don't really like the time after phone interviews. Maybe it's the waiting to hear back thing or the thinking back through all that was said and how it may or may not have been interpreted. But hey, it's a lead on a job. A good one at that and local. All very good things. Keep your fingers crossed.
Speaking of work, I lost a project today due to pricing. I'm not sure how 'high' I was compared to the competition but I did ask the client (who I've worked for before) if they could tell me how much difference there was between my bid and the winning bid. (I did offer them a lot along with the bid that I hoped would sway them my way but alas, that didn't happen). And only they know what politics may have played out as well. (It's a non-profit, so guaranteed there were some politics in play as well as price).
Liam and Izzy both did great in their swimming class tonight and we went out to dinner to celebrate (personally I was not in the mood to cook or clean-up and thought a night out might add some levity to the cold conditions). From 70 on Monday to not even 30 (that's degrees and fahrenheit). And it looks to stay in the 40's through next week, with more snow possible this weekend. As much as I love snow, I'm ready for Spring. Really.
And now, I'm ready to turn in. I'm sleepy, it's late and I'm going to try and get-up early with my own clock, and not someone else's, and make lunches. This is a bit of a crap shoot strategy, being me and mornings, but if I really want to do it. But I must get to sleep earlier than I have been.
It's good to know that I'm actually staying busy. Spent Thursday and Friday doing some work for Marriott down in Bethesda. The work wasn't hard, though mainly production oriented which always seems to take me longer than your average production artist. But I was getting paid and that was the important part. The commute isn't the greatest, especially the part driving on 495, which really is a pain. But if they need me next week, I'll be using my time more wisely, and get some reading or work done on the way there and home. And if that doesn't happen, then at least I've got a couple of things in the pipeline. (Right now, all I want is a good cup of coffee, and my coffee supply is nil and the neighborhood cafe doesn't open until 7, I think. Or it may be 8 since it's a weekend.
So, is the good news or bad? I mean, according to the government 262, 000 jobs were created and at the same time, 251,000 more people reported themselves to be unemployed. Yet, the stock market reacted positively to these numbers saying that the labor market is on the mend. The way I read the article is that it's fabulous news that all these jobs were created and the quarter-million increase in unemployed is 'benign.' Pardon me while I scratch my head in wonder. I mean from an economics point, it's good that companies are hiring and creating jobs. But I think one would still be concerned about the largest increase in the number of people looking for work since June of 2003. Where is my Keynsian knowledge when I really need it. There just has to be some standard economic theory at work here.
So, the weekend will be busy. Liam's third birthday is Monday and we are having a small family celebration tonight. We bought him a bike, a very cool and blue bike (just need a giant ribbon) and I just know he's going to be the Mad Max of the training wheel set.
Well, that's about all for now. The family will be waking up soon and I'd actually like to finish something before my quite time is invaded. : ^ )