I should probably shut up about some things...

but that just wouldn't be me, would it?

Terri Schiavo
While I can't begin to imagine the horror of losing a child, what I can understand even less is the idea of prolonging the suffering of someone I love by clinging desperately to her withered, vegetative shell. I'm sad for her family, but folks, your daughter died in 1990, and it was selfish not to let her go then.

Pointing out that this case has raised some uncomfortable issues is like observing that Boy George might in fact be gay. I like that people are thinking about this type of "what if", because something like this can happen to anyone. What I object to wholeheartedly is the politics. This, from MoveOn, pretty well sums up why (emphasis mine):

On Sunday, Tom DeLay and Bill Frist, the Republican congressional leaders, convened an emergency meeting of Congress to pass a bill that that interferes with the Terri Schiavo tragedy. And although in five years no other issue has prompted President Bush to return to Washington during a vacation—including the tsunami—Bush flew back from his ranch in Texas to sign it. Bush, Frist, and DeLay claim that they're acting out of concern for Ms. Schiavo. But a memo intended only for Republican Senators—uncovered by ABC News—reveals Republicans' true concern: "The pro-life base will be excited...this is a great political issue...this is a tough issue for Democrats." This story also takes the heat off Tom DeLay, who is facing a number of serious ethics charges and legal scandals.

Thanks for keepin' those national priorities in order, Gee Dubya. I appreciate it, and I'm sure Jesus does too.

All the religious blither blather and propaganda aside, this issue boils down to personal responsibility. We want to live our lives as we wish, and yet most of us don't take measures to ensure that we can die our deaths as we wish without placing the burden of a nightmarish decision on those we leave behind. I don't know about you, but I don't EVER want my mom or some fucking judge deciding whether I get to spend 15 years trapped in a body whose ship has long since sailed.

So...to make sure that YOU never end up like Terri Schiavo and her family, click here to access a New York State Living Will that you can print out and keep on file. (Non-NY'ers can, of course, Google the docs for your state.) Via 1010Wins, who gets huge props for posting this link on their site.

Michael Jackson
He did it. He's fucking crazy and scary and sick and should never, ever have access to any children, including his own, ever EVER again. Lock him up and get it over with, already. Leave the victim and his family the fuck alone. If it was up to me, there would be but two words that mattered in Jacko's future: GENERAL POPULATION. Since it's not up to me, hopefully he can become a Catholic priest while he's in prison so the Pope can excuse his behavior and we can all move on.

Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper
LOVE IT!

Okay, enough with the pontification (and the Pope jokes, for that matter.) Hope you and your peeps enjoy the weekend.

Wait...just one more Pope joke...it is Easter, after all...here you go. Okay, I'm done.