Terry Schiavo - My Last Words
First. I want to say that BOTH parties have acted in a disgraceful manner. Congress should have never stepped in with that legislative act. (Yes, some Dems also supported the bill.) The Dems seem to be more concerned with "winning one" against the Rep and pro-life people, than with the actual issues involved in this situation.

I do think the Florida courts were wrong, but the Federal Courts acted properly by not interfering. My problem with the Florida court is not the medical issues, but with the issue of the guardianship. The courts did not allow for the husband's guardianship to be challenged. That was improper. Adultery is enough in most states and in most faiths to divorce. He was living with another woman who had his child, before he ever made the first claim that Terry didn't want to live like this. To ignore the probable conflict of interest that the husband had, was irresponsible. At the least, some type of third party should have been involved who was appointed to fight for Terry Schiavo's rights independent of her husband or family. Let's be honest, he was living with a woman who was more his "wife" than Terry Schiavo. That does not mean he intentionally acted improperly regarding the wish to end her life. It does raise enough concerns to require a high standard of proof. The issue about the money has not been clarified. His attorney's don't answer the question, about him getting the money from a lawsuit.

I am not a person who opposes assisted suicide in some situations, nor do I oppose all types of euthanasia. What bothers me, is the lack of clarifying that there is a difference between "life support" and what is happening to Terry Schiavo. I have read liberals who say "pull the plug". If she was on a respirator, had no brain waves or her organs were not functioning then it would be another issue altogether. She is being fed through a tube, her body functions properly. What is happening to her, is what would happen to any of us, if we were not fed. I do not see how people ignore the morality of letting a person starve to death.

Terry Schiavo: My 2 Cents
I have serious reservations about Congress passing a bill for a specific person.
I also find it hard to reconcile many conservatives desire to protect "life", yet support the death penalty with no reservations.
The issue of "dying with dignity" is going to be a huge issue over the next decade. The best way to deal with the situation is to have a living will.
Now, the issue at hand.
I fault on the side of life, and preserving a person's right to live. Her heart and lungs still function without assistance. The only assistance is nutritional, which is required by all of us. I understand a husband's rights trump the family's rights, and I also agree. But, I think Terry Schiavo's rights trump her husband's. Without a living will, and with confusion even from the medical experts on exactly what she is aware of, I have to side with preserving life.
If she is truly that "out of it" like the husband claims, then whats the rush? Since she is not in pain or aware of her situation, then why not wait? Her parents are willing to take care of her and assume full responsibility. If she is basically dead anyway to him, then he can just move on.

It's The Spending, Not The Tax Cuts!
Here are a few factoids:
Total Federal spending in 2001 was $1.8 Trillion. In 2005 it is $2.5 Trillion, an increase of 33%. (7.4% annually)
Non-discretionary spending has increased by 36% since 2001.
Compare that 1991-1998, all discretionary outlays (including defense) grew by an average of just .5% annually.
If spending had grown at only 3% annually since 2001, there would be no budget deficit.

Mugabe Admits White Land Grab Has Failed

President Robert Mugabe confessed yesterday that millions of acres of prime land seized from Zimbabwe's white farmers are now lying empty and idle.

"President Mugabe expressed disappointment with the land use, saying only 44 per cent of the land distributed is being fully utilised," state television reported. "He warned the farmers that the government will not hesitate to redistribute land that is not being utilised."The Commercial Farmers' Union said that Zimbabwe grew only 850,000 tonnes of maize last year, not enough to meet domestic demand. In 1999, the last year before the land grab began, Zimbabwe grew 1.5 million tonnes. Then, Zimbabwe also earned about £263 million from tobacco exports. Last year, production had fallen by more than 70 per cent and earnings were down to £77 million.

Possibility of Growing New Teeth Envisioned

Clearly, techniques that involve adding new tissue to already-existing teeth are "probably a bit closer on the horizon," perhaps within a "handful of years," Smith predicted. Techniques that grow teeth from scratch will likely take at least another 10 years to perfect

Black Bloggers Contract for America?
Having been disappointed with Tavis Smiley and many of the other attempts to create a "Black Contract for America", I want to offer a challenge to the blogosphere.

Let's create a basic 10 point document, that most of the moderate, conservative and libertarian black bloggers can agree on. The number 10 is not set in stone, nor is the title.

Email me (seanmccray@gmail.com) your suggestions, and I will post them, and see if we can form some agreement on certain issues.

More than 2,000 people held the impromptu demonstration on front of the clinic, chanting "No to terrorism!" and "No to Baathism and Wahhabism!"

We are winning in Iraq. The enemy is killing more Muslims than Americans. The poeple are becoming more aware that the agenda is to destroy Iraq.