No Code

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

I've resisted, God knows I've resisted. There didn't seem to be any point to writing about the unfortunate Terri Schiavo and her equally unfortunate family. It's a sad situation that should have been allowed to play out quietly. But a look at CNN.com was all it took to weaken my resolve. And all it took from CNN was to quote Ms. Schiavo's sister Suzanne Vitadamo who, it is reported, said that Terri "is wide awake and very responsive."

What kind of crack-fueled delusion is she having? Is she saying that this woman went from certifiably comatose to wide-awake-hey-how're-ya-doin' overnight? I know they're all stressed out what with the wall-to-wall coverage and closet-Satanist Randell Terry and his ghouls making her the new poster-child for the Save the Fetus Foundation.

On the other hand, family attorney George Felos said she appeared "very calm". Well, shit yes, she's calm! She's been calm for about 14 years now. Jesus!

And it seems that her condition was the end result of an eating disorder (ah, the irony!). Apparently, she was anorexic. It occurs to me that many anorexic women are victims of childhood sexual abuse. Is a collective family guilt behind their dogged determination to make her lie there until the very last mitochondria in her now-truly anorexic body flickers out?

The only good to come out of this is that Bush and DeLay and Bill Frist have made themselves look like the totally repugnant headline-grabbing, shameless panderers they are. Once the polls showed the public wasn't with them, they slunk away in embarrassment. (And speaking of Frist - I've met a few heart surgeons and I've never met one who wasn't a thoroughly pompous asshole. Not saying they're all like that. I just never met one. Or heard of one.)

As usual, America's Best Christian, Mrs. Betty Bowers, sums it up nicely. " I am forever grateful to my Lord and Savior for showing such a deft knack of showmanship by populating this planet with such amusingly stupid people."

Yesterday's news . . . Disciplinary action is likely for ten US Army soldiers who took place in a mud-wrestling match. The match took place at a military prison, out of site of detainees. . . Didn't I read a couple of days ago that no action is expected against any of the people involved in the murder of 18 or so Iraqi detainees? . . . and nobody above the rank of sergeant was punished for the role in torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Guess we Americans have our priorities straight: torture and murder? OK. Mud wrestling and death-with-dignity? Bad.

Way old news . . . I remember reading some weeks ago that the interrogation of Iraqi prisoners is not only being done by private civilian contractors hired by the US, but it is also being handled by friendly countries with less squeamish attitudes about how the information is obtained. The government is outsourcing torture! . . . Why can't we outsource the entire friggin' war? Hire Halliburton to find some third world cash-strapped countries to take over, give them American weapons and technology and let them do it for half the cost. Then our soldiers come home safe and generally sound. . . Sure it's exploiting poor, powerless folks, but since when has that been an issue in Corporate America?
9:25:20 AM

Comments?()