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Earl Aagaard’s opinions about everything that interests him. Og also enjoys gardening, travel, reading, woodbutchery, and lots of other stuff.

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Friday, July 29, 2005

B.R. MYERS IS UPSET AT THE WAY AMERICANS TREAT FARM ANIMALS

In the ATLANTIC FOR SEPTEMBER, 2005 we have a story on how much worse than Europe the U.S. of A. is in the area of animal welfare.  All the usual buttons are pushed—we hunt wild animals, we’re mean to chickens, etc. etc.  I guess I’m still wondering when these folks are going to figure it out…..if you’re going to have a moral revolution, you have to be standing on solid ground!

The British abolition of the slave trade, 50+ years earlier than the benighted United States fought her Civil War, is discussed.  What’s NOT discussed is the RATIONALE FOR ABOLITION...and that is, Christianity.  If Mr. Myers, and others, are wanting to move the United States citizenry, they’re not going to do it with Darwinism—where is the imperative to be kind to others, human or non-human, in THAT philosophy?  Was it Galileo (or Archimedes) who bragged that if he had a place to stand, he could move the earth?  Whatever, Darwinism offers no such stable platform to argue for HUMAN rights, not to speak of kindness to animals we’re raising for food!

However, the real impetus for such an article (suspected throughout) finally shows up in unmistakeable terms in the very last paragraph. 

Do we again try to be a model for others to follow? Or do we go on contenting ourselves, like the “patriots” who shrugged off Abu Ghraib by invoking 9/11, with not being the most barbaric people on earth?

 
I don’t recall any “patriots who shrugged off Abu Ghraib”—in fact, LONG PRISON SENTENCES were imposed for those abuses.  And if Mr. Myers really thinks that suspected terrorists (as opposed to broiler hens) are getting better treatment in other countries of the world, including France and Turkey, then he’s as ignorant as he is biased.

Posted by Earl on 07/29 at 12:37 PM
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AN EMINENTLY SANE RULING THAT IS *GOING* TO BE MISUSED

In England, LESLIE BURKE is suffering from a degenerative brain condition.  Naturally, he’s concerned that at some point, he’ll lose the ability to communicate, even though he’s still “there”, inside…...and given the times in which we all live, he doesn’t want someone figuring it would be better all around just to starve and dehydrate him.  In other words, he doesn’t want to become another TERRI SCHIAVO

So, he engaged a solicitor, and “won a ruling last year in the High Court to stop doctors withdrawing food and drink.”  However, what sounds like the British doctors’ union appealed, and

...today a panel of three judges headed by Master of the Rolls Lord Phillips set aside the decision of Mr Justice Munby, which was hailed as a landmark for terminally-ill patients at the time.

The GMC argued that the original ruling put doctors in “an impossibly difficult position” as it would oblige a doctor to provide treatment that the patient demands, even if the professional is that it would be futile. The GMC believes that a patient does not have the right to demand any particular form of treatment.

  It is most unfortunate that the judges went along with the medical people, and appear to have endorsed the idea of FUTILE CARE THEORY, giving the doctors and hospitals, usually through an ethics (sic) committee, the power of life and death over patients, even those who have explicitly expressed their wish not to be killed.  The court appears to be operating as if it thought this were the 1950s, and not the 21st century:

Lord Phillips, giving the ruling of the court, said: “Where a patient indicates his or her wish to be kept alive by the provision of artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH), any doctor who deliberately brings that patient’s life to an end by discontinuing the supply of ANH will not merely be in breach of duty but guilty of murder.”

Where the Court of Appeal disagreed with Mr Justice Munby was over a situation where a patient’s request for ANH was against a doctor’s judgment that it would cause distress to the patient.

“Ultimately, however, a patient cannot demand that a doctor administer a treatment which the doctor considers is adverse to the patient’s clinical needs.

“This said, we consider that the scenario that we have just described is extremely unlikely to arise in practice.”

  This is a loophole the size of a MACK TRUCK!!  If Mr. Burke cannot communicate, and the doctor in charge believes that food and water are “adverse to (his) clinical needs”, Mr. Burke is going to be starved and dehydrated.  Exactly when any particular “treatment” becomes “futile” will be decided by the “experts”, and the one who defines the terms ALWAYS wins the argument!

Posted by Earl on 07/29 at 12:02 PM
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THE UNITED STATES JUST TOOK THE FIRST STEP TOWARD DEFEAT

I mean when the White House said “No more Global War on Terror” and renamed it something more politically correct - does ANYONE remember what? 

MARK STEYN explains why in a typically astute article. 

‘If you’re looking for “root causes” for terrorism, European-sized welfare programmes are a good place to start. Maybe if they had to go out to work, they’d join the Daily Mirror and become the next John Pilger. Or maybe they’d open a drive-thru Halal Burger chain and make a fortune. Instead, Tony Blair pays Islamic fundamentalists in London to stay at home, fester and plot.’...A ‘criminal’ approach gives terrorists all the rights of criminals, and between British and European ‘human rights’ that’s quite a bundle. If it’s a war, you can take wartime measures — including withdrawal from the UN Convention on Refugees, repeal of the European Human Rights Act, and a clawback of sovereignty from the EU. But if you fight this thing as a law-enforcement matter, Islamist welfare queens will use all the above to their full extent and continue openly promoting the murder of the Prime Minister, British troops, etc. with impunity….How come Tony Blair can bestride the world like a colossus, liberating Iraq, ridding Africa of poverty, and yet know so little about the one tiny corner of the planet for which he bears formal responsibility? Well, there are several possible reasons, but the effect is pretty much the same: daily, weekly, remorselessly, the situation will deteriorate. If it’s a war, you can win it. Anything less is unlikely to end in victory.

READ the whole thing  (Hat Tip: The Corner on National Review)

Posted by Earl on 07/29 at 11:52 AM
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Sunday, July 24, 2005

SOMETHING “FUN” FOR THE MORE SAFETY MINDED…....(see next post)

THE ZORB!

Where extreme sports are developed for everybody ­ not just those crazy kids who want to ride tornados.

Where the chance to mutilate yourself and die a terrible death while screaming your lungs out is replaced by the chance to partake in a totally bizarre and fun experience protected by a MASSIVE cushion of air with no chance of mutilation or death while screaming your lungs out.

Where mad scientists have combined ancient technology with today’s force of gravity to re-popularize the forgotten wheel.

Where New Zealand once again leads the world in stupid things to do while you’re not thinking about work.

I admit it looks like fun—of a type.  I’m left with a very important question, however…..what are the arrangements made for the “Zorber” who (sadly) barfs in there?  Hmmmmmmmm?

Posted by Earl on 07/24 at 09:33 PM
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DID YOU EVER JUMP ON A POGO-STICK?

Maybe at your grandparents’ house?  Or on one your parents got when they were kids?  Did you have a good time?  Well, the FLYBAR 1200 is NOTHING like your parents’ pogo stick!  First of all, it costs $300.00 (discounted).  Second, it ain’t just spring-loaded, baby!

Product Description
Bounce low, or spring to the sky. This versatile, adjustable pogo stick lets you set the height for a beginner, keeping the jumping low to the ground. As experience and strength builds up, you can extend the adjustable piston to 18” for sky-high leaps. A high-strength aluminum body is lighter than steel and safer than fiberglass, with extra-wide and deep foot pads for stability and control. Supports up to 250 lb. Imported.

  This is an astounding piece of equipment (NOT a toy!).  Check THIS SITE for some pictures (and video) of the Flybar in action.

WARNING!  You can get hurt on this “machine”.  If you aren’t experienced, and/or you try to do too much too soon, it will MESS YOU UP!  Scroll down to the January 4, 2005 review—read it and KNOW what you’re getting into.

Posted by Earl on 07/24 at 09:08 PM
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FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO LIKE COFFEE…...

Now you can indulge your addiction, and support a bunch of “little guys” who fought for freedom against the totalitarians.  YES, it’s CONTRA CAFE from the “smallholder” regions of Nicaragua. 

At the height of the Cold War, the Nicaraguan Contras successfully fought to secure their freedom and block the spread of Communism. Today these freedom fighters need our help. Many former Contras are small-scale coffee farmers who produce high quality beans but struggle to break even because of low coffee prices. Your purchase of Contra Café allows these farmers to earn the livelihood they deserve.

  Give it a try—you can spring for a pound, and if you don’t like it, don’t buy any more.  We’re all capitalists here, after all!  But, if you do like it, how nice to be enjoying your morning coffee along with the righteous feelings that come from knowing that you are giving the grower a HIGHER price than you do with “fair-trade” coffee, AND that each of the families growing your coffee put their lives on the line for liberty!  Enjoy.

Posted by Earl on 07/24 at 09:00 PM
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YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK!

Our government is spending BILLIONS OF DOLLARS for the War on Drugs, and drugs are both cheaper and more widely available than ever.

What’s a good bureaucracy to do?  Divert attention from failure, obviously.  How is that done? 
PICK AN EASIER TARGET!  Reports of arrests and convictions make enforcement agencies look good, thus justifying budgets.  So, attention was diverted to…....physicians! 

As quarry for D.E.A. agents, doctors offered several advantages over crack dealers. They were not armed. They were listed in the phone book. They kept office hours and records of their transactions. And unlike the typical crack dealer living with his mother, they had valuable assets that could be seized and shared by the federal, state and local agencies fighting the drug war.

Now, you may figure that this doesn’t concern you….and it may not—now.  But,

If enough doctors are jailed or scared into not writing prescriptions, it’s conceivable that this drug war could have more impact than the ones against heroin and cocaine - doctors, after all, are harder to replace than crack dealers. But even if there’s less OxyContin on the street, is that worth the suffering of patients who can’t get the painkillers they need?

  When you have your knee (or back) operation, and can’t get the best analgesics that are available because your doctor is afraid of going to jail, what will you think THEN? 

Posted by Earl on 07/24 at 08:31 PM
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