Cancer & Physician Assisted Suicide Choice

I read this article condemning the physician-assisted suicide of Brittany Maynard, and I must say I disagree. I wonder if the writer has any personal experience with cancer or suicide.

The tragedy of physician-assisted suicide

I note she mentions that she is a Christian, so I have to believe that her opinion is probably dictated by the notion that a person who takes their own life will "burn in hell". It is good to protect life, but it seems to me that these people want to not only protect it, but also to control it from conception, through death. Entirely taking any choice in the matter away from the individual, and handing it to the church or state.

The writer states "If it is truly a gift, then it is ours to receive and care for – but not to presume to control.", then tries to justify imposing control. They state, "Personal autonomy is not enough for a good society, we also need an idea of the good choices." I challenge that notion on a couple grounds. The notion of "good choices" they refer to are imposed values, decided by persons with a personal agenda. Personal autonomy is good enough for personal choices in the matter of deciding to end one's own life. Physician-assisted suicide is a much better choice than allowing the prolonging of it by trying to reduce pain with drugs, which the writer seems to advocate.

I knew a man who's father took their own life. The father had a brain tumor, and could no longer endure the effects. He decided to put a gun to his own head and blow his own brains out. They found him in a bloody mess, and they all were devastated. I could tell it still had profound, and long lasting effects on him. I could see it in his eyes. The eyes don't lie when it comes to things like this. I think they all would of had a better memory of his father's passing if it had been Physician-assisted suicide. The horror the family endured from finding their beloved father, laying in a pool of blood, would of been avoided.

Persons like the writer of this anti-Physician-assisted suicide column has no right to butt in to this. No one has a right to tell someone they must endure suffering to the end, because of religion. Especially when they haven't personally experienced the pain and suffering cancer can cause. When it comes to pain, a person can only endure so much. Drugs will only go so far. In the end, when it gets to much to bare, any person will seek any means to remove that intense pain. It is not a first choice of any person of reason. It is the choice of a person who can no longer endure. That choice must never be taken away. No one has the right to dictate someone's choice in this matter.

These person are on the out side looking in. They can not feel their pain, or think the cancer suffer's thoughts and despair. How dare they presume authority over that? How dare they even presume they have any moral high ground on something they haven't felt the pain of? They dare because of misguided thoughts of religion, and a haughty attitude of superiority.

I am a neck cancer survivor. The doctors keep an eye on me in case of reoccurrence. I went through pure physical hell defeating cancer. Don't think that taking my own life didn't cross my mind. Even though I was in dire straights, things didn't get so bad that I follow through. I love my life, and fight like hell to keep it. But keeping things real, I'm well aware that cancer could come back at any time. I know that there may come a time I lose that battle. I would hope my loved ones would not make me continue to suffer instead of allowing me to fine peace. Don't take that choice away from me.

A New Leader Needs to be Chosen

I am a small, and a simple man. One, like you, who has no clout except for that given to us by others. There are no leaders without people who are willing to follow. Let me offer the memory of one of our greatest leaders. Mr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Please look at the video even if you've seen it before. Note all the people there. He didn't force any of them to follow. Instead, they chose him to lead. They chose him because he had a message, and wasn't in fear of telling it. His message struck a cord that people recognized as good and true. He had a dream and evil people killed him to shut him up.

He wasn't whining. He was doing the thing all Americans should do, voice their discontent. It seems like as he warned, we have gone back to business as usual. It seems like that rude awakening is soon upon us. There will be an awakening, or people will continue in ignorance, and complacency, grabbing for crumbs while 1% eat their portion and ours.

That's why we find ourselves where we are today. The standard of living for the middle class gets lower, while the top earners gather an ever increasing part of the American pie. We are not judged by the content of our character either, but rather by the color of our skin, the size of our bank accounts, and whether we step in unison with greed and avarice.

Simple persons like the great crowd you see cheering Mr King came together in mass, and a nation took notice. One day, and I hope that day comes soon, all the simple persons will choose another leader like Mr. King. I hope for the sake of our nation and species that the the next time, we do not step back. Not like our nation has stepped back during the Obama presidency. Sorrowfully, Mr. Obama was not that leader to bring our nation forward. He was unwillingly used as a tool to divide us.

I have a prediction. Like Mr King, the next leader will come from the "simple persons". I only hope it don't take to long for that person to step up. So keep "whining" if that is what the complacent want to call it. You might be that leader.

Apollo & Marijuana: How Nixon Screwed Us All

I'm beginning to think that Richard Nixon was the worst president in the history of the United States. That he had done more to damage our country than any other, with far reaching effects that are felt even today, 44 years later. His actions imprisoned millions of peaceful people, and set our nation back technologically, and economically. He, with two actions did this. He should not have only been impeached, he should have been convicted. He resigned before he could be impeached. Now that he is dead, history will have to convict him for his crimes.

His two crimes that damaged our civilization the most severely were the cancellation of the Apollo program, and his push to criminalize cannabis. Here are some interesting facts I am going to present you with, and I'll source each one. I'm not going to reinvent the wheel when other people have done a good job of it already. I'll merely try to uncover the truth by stating what has already been said, and not brought into the light of day. You'll find some copy/paste here because of it. I'll put a blue background for the pasted text. I'll keep it short and sweet. I invite you to use the power of the internet to find more on how Nixon basically screwed all of us over, and I mean big time.

So let's us convict the worst president in history, Richard Nixon.

The Cancellation of the  Apollo Program

In August 1971, President Richard Nixon even proposed to cancel all remaining lunar landings (Apollo 16 and 17). His Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Deputy Director Caspar Weinberger was opposed to this, persuading Nixon to keep the remaining Moon missions, but recommended that if such cancellation would happen that it be "on the ground that Apollo 15 was so successful in gathering needed data that we can now shift, sooner than previously expected, to the Space Shuttle, Grand Tour, NERVA, etc."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canceled_Apollo_missions#Cancellations

Soon after the phenomenally successful Apollo 15 mission (26 July-7 August 1971), the first to include a three-day lunar-surface stay and a roving vehicle, President Nixon floated a plan to declare victory and cancel Apollo missions 16 and 17. He was, however, talked around by Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director (and space fan) Caspar “Cap” Weinberger. NASA ceased lunar exploration with Apollo 17 in December 1972, bringing to six the total number of successful Apollo lunar landings.

http://www.wired.com/2013/09/ending-apollo-1968/

I'm not saying our leadership failed us on purpose. They probably didn't know any better. I know Richard Nixon didn't know any better. He was a corrupt, short sighted man, who was focused on the perceived problems of his times. He was lacking in enlightenment, and showed it in his attitude with race, government, and authority.
http://insolint.blogspot.com/2014/08/lost-human-potential-how-to-save-our.html

The Criminalization of Cannabis

A Nixon-appointed presidential commission had recommended that marijuana use not be a criminal offense under state or federal law. But Nixon himself, based on his zealous personal preferences, overruled the commission's research and doomed marijuana to its current illegal status.
http://www.alternet.org/story/12666/once-secret_%22nixon_tapes%22_show_why_the_u.s._outlawed_pot

Transcripts of Nixon Tapes

RN: "I mean one on marijuana that just tears the ass out of them. 
I see another thing in the news summary this morning about it. 
You know it's a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are 
out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the 
matter with the Jews, Bob, what is the matter with them? I 
suppose it's because most of them are psychiatrists, you know, 
there's so many, all the greatest psychiatrists are Jewish. By 
God we are going to hit the marijuana thing, and I want to hit it 
right square in the puss, I want to find a way of putting more on 
that. More [ unintelligible ] work with somebody else with this."

http://www.csdp.org/research/nixonpot.txt

RN: "[unintelligible]. This is a typical thing, it's like the, a 
black kid, [unintelligible], uh, everybody used, uh, you know 
it's like old Jim Rhodes, he said, of course he's a typical 
[unintelligible], I mean, 1960s something like, [unintelligible], 
he said, you know he says all these people you know, 
[unintelligible], they come down here, these people, three or 
four hundred of them, they're picketing around, they're talking 
to legislators and to press, he, he said [unintelligible] he 
said, eh, mental health centers and all the other, 
[unintelligible], he says, I didn't take the money, 
[unintelligible] I just turned it down, and they gave the money 
to the niggers."

HRH: "He's right, there's a hell of a lot more niggers than you 
can buy them off."
http://www.csdp.org/research/nixonpot.txt

Recognition From the President for Doing My Duty

I received a letter from the president.

"James, the hardest thing in politics is changing the status quo. The easiest thing is to get cynical. The Republicans had a good night on Tuesday, James -- but believe me when I tell you that our results were better because you stepped up, talked to your family and friends, and cast your ballot.

I want you to remember that we're making progress. There are workers who have jobs today who didn't have them before. There are millions of families who have health insurance today who didn't have it before. There are kids going to college today who didn't have the opportunity to go to college before.

So don't get cynical, James. Cynicism didn't put a man on the moon. Cynicism has never won a war, or cured a disease, or built a business, or fed a young mind. Cynicism is a choice. And hope will always be a better choice. I have hope for the next few years, and I have hope for what we're going to accomplish together.

Thank you so much, James.

Barack Obama"

For me it is an honor to receive a letter from our president, even if it is a form letter. I don't know if this is a form letter or not. I've written him several times. Believe me when I say, it wasn't always a letter praising his performance. I don't follow person, or party. I follow my heart. That heart continues to beat today because the American public didn't give up on this veteran.

I remember when I was really sick, and went to the VA Hospital for help. They jumped forward and took me by the hand. They took care of me and cured me of disease that was trying to kill me. The people there as they helped me told me something over and over again. They thanked me for my service to my country. Imagine that, them thanking me. Our family came from a long line of service to our country. When I was young and joined the US Navy, it was just something that needed to be done. There was no wars, or conflict. Not once did an enemy bullet or blade threaten me. But I did my part. I worked on them aircraft. Some weapons of war. I merely did my duty. I did what I thought was expected of me, but these people at the Veterans Administration, and even at the polls when I vote thank me anyway. That's why I am the one who feels honored. Honored and lucky enough to be born here to serve the greatest nation that has ever graced the surface of the Earth.

My only regret is in my youth, I really didn't realize how lucky I am. It took me 40 years to finally come to that realization. It was the people at the VA Hospital who helped me come to that realization. I profoundly thank them for that, and their service to our Veterans.

Now that I'm older and frail, I can still find ways to serve. That is why I go on and on to the point of annoyance about politics. My fingers and mind still work, so if I can't work on aircraft any more, I'm going to use that brain to think,.and them fingers to type what I think. If I am going to go to all that effort, I want to use that effort for something that matters. I know everyone isn't going to agree with my thoughts. I certainly don't agree with all of their thoughts. I do think we can all agree we do it because we all love America. That's good enough reason for me.

My country didn't abandon me in my time of adversity and need. I'll not abandon her while I can still draw a breath. All of these are extra breaths as far as I'm concerned. So I've given myself to the task of writing my discontent, and praise. When I see what I think is a crooked politician or a bought person trying to use our nation as their own personal tool, I'm sure as hell going to speak up. I'll also be just as quick to give praise to them who I see as good patriots who serve selflessly. I just have to. It is my duty to you and them. I might die tomorrow, or the next day. I may not die in battle, so I'll die still doing my duty to my country. This is the way I choose to do that. It is indeed my pleasure and honor to serve our people and nation.

Thank you to a special friend who mentioned it, saying it was cool that I had received the letter. These thoughts had been in my mind, but they were vague to me. I didn't know how to put them together. Her few words opened a flood gate, and helped me to understand myself, and exactly why I do this thing I do. She had inspired me tonight. For that I am in your debt.

Environmental Issues Decided by the Fox in the Hen House

My bull crap tolerance level has went way down this last week. I think it is because it seems like a sham has been pulled on the people, and the people let it happen because they are offered candy. I'm getting loath to any more attempts to bring sanity to my nay saying readers. Here's an example.

Our nation has spent $100's of billions on NASA and advance technology. Hired scientists with advanced degrees. Took thousands of measurements and samples, and still it seems that a big enough portion of our society are taken in by these shysters that they elect people like James Inhofe to the United States senate and task him with chairing the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. I wonder how many of these people allow the fox to have sway in the hen house? They are allowing this giant conflict of interests, so why not release the floodgates of ignorant thinking, and let insanity rule all. We may as go back 500 years and reinstate a system of lords and surfs.

James Inofe is not a good person to give stewardship of our environment. I'll lay out the charges. This comes word for word out of this wiki. I don't want to hear any talk of "Well that data is out of the wiki so its credibility is suspect" That is the argument of a loser, and I'll just ignore it the same as I would ignore the rantings of a mad man. After the charges I'll paste the text of who backs this man and it will become clear why he is a climate change denier, he is a bought man.

So the reasons and data are undeniable as far as I'm concerned. If you or anyone else can't see the truth, well I just don't know what else to say, so I'll just unfriend/block you so you can live in your little fantasy world. You just go on ahead and believe in all the pseudoscience you want. Deny every bit of science you can, as long as big brother gives you candy. I'll stick with people of knowledge and reason. You deniers can stick with myth, rumor and lies. I no longer care about trying to convince the ignorant masses. They can wallow in their ignorance until they die from it for all I care.

Let the charges begin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Inhofe

Inhofe, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, does not believe that human activities cause climate change,[33] despite consensus of scientific opinion that Earth's climate is being affected by human activities.[34] In The Republican War on Science, Chris Mooney stated that Inhofe "politicizes and misuses the science of climate change"

Inhofe often repeats his claim that human influenced climate change is a hoax and impossible because "God's still up there" and it is "outrageous" and arrogant for people to believe human beings are "able to change what He is doing in the climate."

and said that "satellite data, confirmed by NOAA balloon measurements, confirms that no meaningful warming has occurred over the last century."[38] However the satellite temperature record corroborates the well-documented warming trend noted in surface temperature measurements.

Inhofe had previously stated that Global Warming is "the second-largest hoax ever played on the American people, after the separation of church and state."

Inhofe has similarly criticized ozone depletion, particularly in relation to the Arctic.

He also accused the media of ignoring scientists such as Roger A. Pielke and William Gray who, Inhofe asserts, disagree with global warming.[46] Pielke has explicitly denied the assertion that he is skeptical of the human impact on climate change.

During the 109th Congress, Inhofe voted to increase offshore oil drilling, to include provisions for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the House Budget Amendment, and to deny funding for both low-income energy assistance and environmental stewardship, citing heavy costs and unproven programs.[49] As of 2006, the League of Conservation Voters has given Inhofe the lowest possible score on environmental issues

Under questioning from committee member Jay Inslee, Inhofe dismissed the notion that he was less knowledgeable than climate scientists, saying that he'd already given "five speeches on the science."

Fundraising

In the 2008 election cycle, Inhofe's largest campaign donors represented the oil and gas ($446,900 in donations), leadership PACs ($316,720) and electric utilities ($221,654) industries/categories.[23][24] In 2010, his largest donors represented the oil and gas ($429,950) and electric utilities ($206,654).[25]

The primary PACs donating to his campaigns were: Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association $55,869, United Parcel Service $51,850, National Association of Realtors $51,700, National Rifle Association $51,050, American Medical Association $51,000. Additionally, if company-sponsored PACs were combined with employee contributions, Koch Industries would be Inhofe's largest contributor, with $90,950 (less than 0.6% of total contributions), according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Legalize Moonshine, Marijuana, & Rickshaws

This morning there was a story on the news about a man who tried to sell a moonshine still on craigslist. He got arrested for his efforts. I was surprised by that! I had thought for years that it was legal to produce some amount of alcohol for personal use anywhere in the United States. So I looked up some links trying to find the real deal.

I found that under Federal Law distilling spirits is illegal. On this web site the author states;

"Alcohol distillation in the United States is highly regulated and federal judicial code is uniformly severe with those who skirt the rules. Once federal prosecutors bring charges against a suspect for illicit distillation, they are forbidden by law from dropping the case without express written permission from the Attorney General. "

"If found guilty, violators could face up to five years in prison and be fined $10,000" I find this to be disturbing. The reason I find it disturbing is that there are a lot of states in which the making of some personal moonshine is perfectly legal. That the number one reason for the federal ban has nothing to do with anything other than money. The drafters of these federal laws were afraid someone might avoid liquor taxes. I don't like the "spirit" of this law. I hate money grubber laws. That's what it is, or has become. This law may have started out as a law concocted to battle large scale illegal moonshine distillers of the post prohibition era, but don't they think that might be somewhat intrusive on the rights of the regular Joe home distiller? It is another example of the heavy handed, punitive approach the federal government has become famous for.

Just like the federal marijuana laws that say this innocuous substance is every bit as dangerous as heroin or meth, the federal ban on the hobbyist production of some spirits is a grievous intrusion onto our personal liberties. Just like the story of the home owner who was fined $50 a day by the city for having a vegetable garden in his front yard, this is indeed a travesty. 

Besides just being an intrusion on our liberty and freedom, there is another objectionable motive. The motive and methods are heinous, and criminal. Certain people get political power, or invest in another person who will do their bidding, so these kind of laws get crafted. Like the ban on a veggie garden. Could such a law be supported and crafted by big grocers trying to ensure their customer base doesn't shrink due to people growing their own food?

Look at Las Vegas. There is an actual law restricting rickshaws. Why? The reason why is because the taxi owners were afraid of competition, so they got together and pushed a anti-rickshaw law. If you have a look of dismay on your face right now, I can understand it. Check out this article.

"Because pedicabs are not motorized, they don't come under the jurisdiction of the Nevada Taxicab Authority or the Nevada Transportation Services Authority. But limousine drivers complained to TSA regulators that pedicabs were operating unsafely."

Safety? I call bull crap on that one. If there was any concern about public safety, the city would focus on that, and try to craft laws that ensure safety. They wouldn't be putting 100 drivers out of work by shutting them down completely. The limo drivers don't give a flying monkey about any safety except the safety of their wallets. They have caused a defacto monopoly. This isn't the only instance of greedy people getting laws passed in city, state or federal government halls that have nothing to do with your personal freedom or liberty, and everything to do with keeping competition crushed.

This kind of greed is rampant in our United States of America. It is reflected in laws like the anti-rickshaw, anti-marijuana, anti-DIY whiskey and a whole lot of others. I don't know about you, but I've had it up to my eyeballs with restrictive laws that serve no real public good. In reality, a lot of these restrictive laws run counter to the public good. Like the federal ban on home whiskey distilling. The still I seen on the news broadcast this morning looked unsafe. It looked like it could blow up if the pressures were not constantly monitored. Perhaps if instead of an outright ban we had laws designed to preserve public safety instead, we wouldn't be having explosions threatening public safety. Check out the next example;

Three men suffered burns when a moonshine still exploded inside a brick garage at a residence in Athens.

So let us really take back America. Let us support common sense laws, and not laws who's purpose is nothing but greed. Let us legalize the safe production of limited amounts of spirits by the freedom loving public. Let us legalize marijuana on a federal level. Let us have safe rickshaws carrying willing passengers.  Let us have our liberty in this land of freedom.

Commercial Aviation an Environmental Disaster

Here is the reason I believe that human made climate change is real. I'm going to leave out all the other reams of data from the scientific community, and try to present this in terms easily understood. Please give me the benefit of the doubt and hear me out. I'm basing this on some personal experience. Here goes.

World  wide there are approximately 144,000 commercial aircraft, with an average of 2 to 4 jet engines powering each one. There are approximately 5000 IFR (Instrument Flight Reference) aircraft flying over the United States at any given moment. Roughly 10,000 globally. That does not include VFR (Visual Flight Reference) aircraft, and/or private light aircraft.

There are all these thousands of jet aircraft, with all their multiple engines running at the same time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. But let me stop a minute and invite you to view this video. To get the full, and more real effect, turn your volume all the way up.

The guys in the video are only running one of the engines on that old Boeing 727. I remember engine runs at maintenance facilities running all of their engines at 110% throttle before releasing them to the customer. Talk about loud, you have to have ear plugs or blow out your ears. The point here though is to give you a picture to go on. Let's multiply that by 10,000 aircraft. Let's further multiply that by the minimum number of 2 engines per aircraft. That is 20,000 jet engines running all the time. Lets place all 20,000 engines in a field and run them 24 hours a day. Let's do that for the next 50 years. If you don't see where this is going, I've already failed to explain things properly.

Okay, lets add some items to that field of jet engines. Let's add every engine from every automobile on the planet that is running at any given moment. Now let's add all the oil and coal fired power generating stations. All the steel mills, and other factories world wide to our field. Let's run all of that thousands and millions of fires burning for another 50 years. Use your vivid imagination in your complex human brain to visualize what that would look like. There is no person of reason who wouldn't be horrified by such a specter.

The horror is, that's exactly what we have. The field is the planet, and all them millions of fires are burning every single second, and have been for a very long time. People worry about such non-sense as chem-trail conspiracy theories and totally ignore the real and present danger of hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide being pumped into our atmosphere on a continual basis.

It must be hard to realize it for the regular guy on the street. Conflicting stories from special interests run rampant. I can totally understand why some people would try their best to quash any talk of global warming, melting ice caps and Pacific islands being submerged by ever rising oceans. People's bottom line is at stake. That doesn't only go for big business. It goes for the little guy filling up at the gas pump, while thinking of ways to make ends meet in a very competitive economy. Everyone has chips on the table in this poker game, and the stakes are extremely high.

When I think of articles like the next one I present here, I get a feeling that nothing is going to be done about it for sometime. The threat hasn't sunk in yet to all people because they have not felt any real pain caused by this global climate change threat. They will though, and it may not be pretty. I really think it will be quite ugly.

Number of planes to double in next two decades, Boeing forecasts

I remember the massive failure in crops, and a mass sell off of cattle just this last summer here in the United States. That drought was directly responsible for the huge increase in beef prices we seen in 2014. The United States, being a rich country, was able to off-set some of the damages by importing food from other countries. As the situation gets worse that will become less of an available option because the other food producing countries will cut back on exports trying to maintain their own populations.

So all of the people who believe that the notion of global human made climate change is some kind of conspiracy perpetrated on the public by "one world government", "new world order" despots should reevaluate their position on this supremely important subject. All the data point to rising average global atmospheric temperatures. This is not something that I, or anyone else wants to be able to say "I told you so" about. If things got to that point, we're screwed. Beside, if we are wrong about this, we have less to lose than if we are correct. If it is correct that climate change is real, we have everything to lose.

Now before I close this, open up that video of the jet engine run. Open it 20,000 times at once, turn the volume all the way up, and run it 24 hours a day for the next 50 years. Keep that picture in your head while you listen to someone tell you that global warming is not real.