As Death Nears, Be Prepared to Suffer – by William A. Collins

When I lay me,
Down to die;
The church won’t let me,
Pass on by.

Have you heard about the Belgians? They now allow assisted suicide. Takers have quickly risen to two percent of the failing population. The Swiss too have developed a relaxed view of dying. Their immediate goal is to keep from becoming a one-way destination for sick Englishmen, where terminal pain is just part of the stiff-upper-lip image. But even that fine old tradition is now shredding, as a poll shows that 74 percent of Brits favor death with dignity. Of course mere popular support is often insufficient impetus to change such an ancient pointless policy.

Death is a complicated subject in our country too. Each state has its own rules. Those 48 that have passed legislation, heavily influenced by Catholic bishops, are stern. Death is supposed to be “natural,” painful, and demeaning. The two states where citizens have wrestled this policy away from government through referendum, namely Oregon and Washington, provide for physician assistance when the patient has finally had a bellyful of pain and decay. This shows that occasionally voter initiative can actually do something worthwhile.

For the rest of us, finding a dignified death can be a struggle. Here in Connecticut, the diligent constabulary in Manchester has just arrested the loving granddaughter of a 90-year-old. She brought in requested pills to help grandma pull the plug. “Criminal attempt to commit manslaughter” they call it. The pills weren’t in their original bottle either. Naughty, naughty! It seems grandma was merely “depressed” by her multiple ailments.

But such a loving relative would no doubt be arrested in Oregon or Washington too. Even there only a physician can legally help you die, and you must be within six months of death to qualify. Still, at least the qualifications and options are carefully laid out. Elsewhere there are no options.

Seeking to bring some common sense to our local chaos, two state doctors have filed a civil lawsuit asking the courts to clarify Connecticut’s 40-year-old governing statute. They’re asking the judge to define what they may do to help dying patients and what they may not.

Even “clarification” is too much for the bishops. They’ll fight the case, realizing that while they have lots of clout in the legislature, the courts can be dicey. After all, judges here recently allowed gay marriage.

Other states do worse. Maryland and Georgia have gone after the Final Exit network, raiding homes and offices, confiscating computers and files, and arresting members. Their vile targets, some of whom were pinched on racketeering charges, are accused of advocating death with dignity and advising some sufferers on how to achieve it.

There are a number of such groups around the country. All serve as red meat for Catholic clerics and pontificating politicians.

Enforcement too, comes in all stripes. In most jurisdictions, doctors enjoy significant leeway in prescribing late-term meds. For some hospices that’s part of their appeal. But we’re just talking last-minute stuff here. For those whose life has simply grown unlivable, help is in order. Whether through legislation, court decree, or referendum, there’s a need to provide a sure and dignified end to the awful suffering that surrounds so many Americans so privately and so shamefully today.

The Sleeping Giant

Editor’s note: I am currently suffering from the scourge of the blogging class; WORK. I will probably get relief from my suffering by early summer.

WORDPLAY for MING

Seeing China from the New World Trade Center – by Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

You can knock us Americans down, but you can’t keep us down.

For example, the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City were crashed to the ground on 9/11. But now, a new tower is rising from those very ashes—a soaring steel and glass monument to the American spirit, a powerful symbol of our national resilience.

Well—except for the glass. A company named Beijing Glass got the government contract to provide the window panes that’ll cover the first 20 stories of the tower. Yes, the monument to our national spirit is being sheathed with made-in-China glass.

What? Can’t American’s make glass? Of course we can, but our biggest corporations, like Corning Incorporated and Guardian Industries, have been quietly and quickly moving their production and our jobs to China. In just the past nine years, 30 percent of these jobs have been lost. “Those who’re looking through the rearview mirror waiting for the glass industry to come back,” snorts the chairman of Guardian, “should know it isn’t going to come back.” Indeed, Guardian now employs more workers in its 36 foreign plants than it does here.

Well, chirp the usual flock of free-trade economists, it’s all about China providing “economies of scale” for manufacturers. Hogwash.

The glass industry’s rush abroad is all about getting cheap labor and massive subsidies from the Chinese government. For example, shipping heavy glass from Beijing to Manhattan would be prohibitively expensive—except that China subsidizes the transportation.

This isn’t free trade, it’s a raw deal. There should be a stiff tariff on all subsidized glass coming from China—and the new World Trade tower is so symbolically important that every inch of it should be American made. For more information, contact the United Steelworkers glass industry department: www.usw.org.

–  Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and winner of the 2009 winner of the Nation/Puffin Prize.

POETRY OUT LOUD

SEE POETRY OUT LOUD locally.

Parsons High School auditorium, Monday Feb. 8th at 7:00pm.

FREE admission.

Please support our local arts, especially at the high school level.

Recitation and performance are major new trends in poetry. There has been a recent resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of hip-hop music. Poetry Out Loud builds on that momentum by inviting the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class.

The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with State Arts Agencies of the United States to support the expansion of Poetry Out Loud, which encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. This exciting program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

After successful pilot programs in Washington, DC, and Chicago, the second phase of Poetry Out Loud was launched in high schools across America in the spring of 2006 with tens of thousands of students participating. Last year, over 300,000 students competed. William Farley from Virginia was named National Champion on April 28, 2009.

The program will continue to grow during the 2009-2010 school year, culminating in the 2010 National Finals in Washington, DC, on April 27, 2010.

SUNDAY MUSIC ~ I’ll Fly Away

UPS Flight Maintenance

Remember–it takes a college degree to fly a plane, but only a high school diploma to fix one. Reassuring for those of you who fly routinely for your jobs. And remember the whole thing is millions of parts all made and assembled by the lowest bidder!

After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a ‘gripe sheet,’ which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then the pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual complaints submitted by the UPS pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.

S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.

S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit

S: Something tightened in cockpit

P: Dead bugs on windshield.

S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Auto pilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent

S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.

S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.

S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.

S: That’s what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.

S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.

S: Suspect you’re right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.

S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny. (I love this one!)

S: Aircraft warned to: straighten-up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.

S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.

S: Cat installed.

And the best one for last….

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.

S: Took hammer away from midget.

The Kids Are All Right – by Jennifer Doak

Jennifer Doak

Being a young American today can be discouraging. Things don’t look so good for us, even since Bush left office, leaving behind an awful lot of cleaning up for us “Millennials” to do.

BusinessWeek dubbed us a “lost generation,” because 18 percent of us can’t find work. Those who can are paid less than our counterparts were in earlier decades, and many college grads among us are saddled with thousands of dollars in loans. If the Obama administration’s proposal to federalize and reduce the student loan burden goes through (a big if), that’s a start. But with more than $50,000 in college debt (and that’s on the low end), I can confirm it will be a while before I have the cash to buy a home, invest in a retirement fund, or even start a family. Heck, I can barely afford to go home for Christmas.

Our predecessors deregulated industry, thoughtfully ensuring that our food and water aren’t as safe as they should be. Of course, in 2007, 13.2 million of us under 35 didn’t have health care so there’s little to be done if we get sick. Since the Baby Boomers and the oldest Generation Xers refused to seriously research alternative energy, we inherited a nasty oil addiction that led politicians to send thousands of my cohorts to fight an unwinnable war in Iraq.

Meanwhile, it looks like those in charge are making more than ever, even in these pinched days. They also say we’re not really mad, and that we’ll go right on taking it like workers have for decades. They’ll make a glib reference to Facebook or Twitter before lamenting how nobody today protests like they used to. Then they smugly destroy a few more acres of rain forest.

The derision isn’t universal—after all, I’m talking about our parents, professors, and employers. A recent Wall Street Journal article observed that Baby Boomers encouraged us, their children, to negotiate, to achieve, to be conciliatory, and to think of ourselves as winners. But, perhaps unconsciously, the policies they shaped have us poised to lose.

So guess what? We aren’t taking it anymore. People under 35 are harnessing technology and willpower, just as previous generations did, to achieve amazing things. We’re crowdsourcing, not outsourcing. We’re creating open-source software and outreach programs to level the digital divide. We organize through social networks and text-message donations. Few of us have seen the movie Network, but we’re still raising our virtual window-sashes and yelling to the whole world that we’re mad as hell.

The best part is that we’re taking our upbringing to heart, but not in the way you think. We trend progressive—even the conservatives among us are easygoing when it comes to social issues like gay marriage and the environment. You older folks call us the “trophy generation” because you see us as entitled, but maybe we just want to make sure everybody wins.

Millennials are starting to take charge, and we’re acting together. This lost generation is finding itself, and when I see what my peers are accomplishing, I start thinking we’ll be just fine. 

– Jennifer Doak is the online outreach and production coordinator at the Institute for Policy Studies, a think tank that transforms ideas into action for peace, justice, and the environment. www.ips-dc.org

Tip O’ The Hat

I know, I know. You only come here for the mediocrity of it all.

But you know what? All mediocrity all the time makes Jack a very dull boy. As such, I’ll try to highlight some not so average websites from time to time.

For some fun stuff, I always visit SITTINGPUGS, “Musings for People Who Like Sports and Movies”. At Sitting Pugs, Stina is cute, funny, and never fails to get a chuckle from me. Take for example the latest post: Do It To Ming One More Time. You can see from the picture that Stina is obviously a MING princess.

Stina at Sitting Pugs

 One of these days maybe she’ll even be a Jayhawks Basketball fan. Stranger things have happened….

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Ever wonder where all those endless ‘forwarders’ get the funny pictures? Some of them probably started RIGHT HERE:

At UBERPIX, there’s no telling what you’ll see, guaranteed to make you smile though!

Actual uberpix image!

Oh no you did-unt!

New American Crisis – by Ben Manski

Unhinged. Absurd. Outrageous.

That’s how you could describe the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission. Unfortunately, the decision was much, much worse than that.

How much worse?

You might have some idea if you’ve ever found yourself facing foreclosure on your home; or worked at a company that was downsizing and laying people off; or enrolled in a college where the tuition keeps doubling; or faced salary freezes year after year, even while the cost of living rises. Most of us know how those things feel. It’s the feeling of losing control over your destiny.

Get used to that feeling. It has just become what it feels like to be a citizen of the United States of America.

Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy asserted that, “By taking the right to speak from some and giving it to others, the Government deprives the disadvantaged person or class of the right to use speech to strive to establish worth, standing, and respect for the speaker’s voice.”

The “disadvantaged person” Kennedy referred to is the corporation. In law, this means that corporations now enjoy constitutional protections against government regulation. Like people. Yes, that’s crazy.

Justice John Paul Stevens certainly thought the majority decision was perverse, correctly observing in his dissent that, “corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. . . [and] are not themselves members of ‘We the People’ by whom and for whom our Constitution was established.”

But the decision is worse than perverse. Unless corrected, it is the final end of the American experiment in self-government.

Corporations aren’t private entities and they certainly aren’t people. They consolidate wealth. The largest among them are giants in comparison to our state and local governments. For these reasons, throughout U.S. history, beginning especially with the Revolution, the public has pressed the government to keep corporations under control.

The Court’s judicial activism in Citizens United may have put an end to that control. If corporations are persons protected by the Constitution, decades of rules protecting consumers from unsafe working conditions, unsafe products, harmful pollution, and other ills are very likely to be declared unconstitutional by the federal courts. So much for laws enacted to “promote the general welfare” and the will of “We the People.”

Throughout its history, the Supreme Court has often been on the wrong side of American democracy.

It ruled that free states had to return fugitives from slavery to the South, and that African Americans weren’t fully human beings. It decided that women weren’t people for the purposes of the Constitution. It protected segregation.

It defended the use of concentration camps for Japanese Americans and upheld the suspension of habeas corpus. It handed nearly all war powers to the executive branch.

It decided that U.S. citizens have no constitutional right to vote, and ignored both precedent and the actual vote in deciding several presidential elections to its own liking.

In each case, the Court’s decision unleashed a storm. And in each case, Americans responded as you’d expect from freeborn people. This time is proving no different.

Within a few days of the ruling in Citizens United, over 50,000 Americans from across the country launched MovetoAmend.org—a movement to renew the Constitution with a series of democracy amendments, beginning, first and foremost, with ending the reign of the corporation.

Constitutional amendments don’t come easy. But neither is it easy to live in a country whose destiny is owned and controlled by a few. These are the times that try people’s souls. This is an American crisis. –

Ben Manski, an attorney, is executive director of the Liberty Tree Foundation, an Institute for Policy Studies associate fellow, and a member of the Executive Committee of Move to Amend: The Campaign to Legalize Democracy. http://movetoamend.org/