Posted on 11/17/2001 3:45:27 PM PST by summer
Attorney General Ashcroft Plays "Doctor" in Oregon!
Just for fun, let's say you're captured by terrorists. After a twelve-second-long trial, you are convicted of "Crimes Against (insert a religion you think is silly here)." You are sentenced to die in one of two ways: 1) quickly and painlessly, or 2) slowly and agonizingly over a period of months while your family is forced to watch. Which death would you choose? Death #1? Really? Guess what? Attorney General John "Major League" Ashcroft is working hard to take Death #1 off of our list of choices and force us to endure Death #2. With the simple issuance of a directive, Ashcroft has signaled that he will ruin physicans in Oregon who help terminally ill patients choose Death #1 under the state's Death with Dignity Act. So much for Compassionate Conservatism.
Ashcroft, former Missouri senator who lost his senate seat to a dead Democrat (Missourians figured that Mel Carnahan at room temperature was better than Ashcroft at 98.6 degrees), was quickly scooped up, along with other Republican losers around the nation, to form the perfect loser administration under presidential second-place finisher George W. Bush. After deciding that a religious fanatic would be a good choice for U.S. Attorney General, Bush's short list included Ashcroft and two others. Bush was then informed that fellow Texan David Koresh was a currently a pile of soot and the Asian community vote-magnet Shoko Asahara had said through an interpreter, "I'd sooner ride the subway," so the nod went to Ashcroft.
Now Ashcroft is taking time that could be otherwise wasted pursuing terrorists in order to pursue doctors. On November 7, Ashcroft issued a directive stating that physicians who helped their terminally-ill patients end their own lives under Oregon state law could have their licenses to distribute federally controlled drugs revoked.
Why would Ashcroft do this? This stunt violates the following Republican principles:
1) The government should stay out of people's lives.
2) If government is needed, decisions are best made at the local level, not in Washington, D.C.
3) If federal oversight is needed, it should be done via legislation and not unilaterally from another branch of government (Republicans whine about "legislating from the bench," except when deciding presidential elections, remember?).
It also violates the following American (as opposed to Republican) principles:
1) Decisions about medical treatment should be made by the patient and the doctor, not a third party.
2) People should be allowed to own their own lives.
3) Government officials should check their religious beliefs at the door when they enter their offices.
American Principle number three is certainly Ashcroft's biggest constitutional nemesis, and his opposition to it probably precipitated his actions in this case. After all, suicide is a sin to Christians, right? If God sees fit to give you an unbearable disease, who are you to argue with Him? Ashcroft' s belief in this principle appears to trump not only his vocational responsibilities, but his political affiliation as well. He is apparently a "Christian" first, a Republican second, and an Attorney General third. We ain't payin' ya for the first two, pal.
Personally, I'm a believer in assisted suicide. If death is to be soon, certain, and agonizingly painful, what better way to go than by looking God right in the eye and saying, "You can't fire me. I quit." Herein lies the rub for Ashcroft. Suicide is disrespectful to his god. Kind of like a woman who shows her face on the streets of Kandahar, right, Johnny?
A federal restraining order is currently keeping Ashcroft at arm's length in Oregon, affording the terminally ill some tangible, if short-lived relief. Imagine having to request legal relief from our own Attorney General.
Suddenly, Ed Meese doesn't seem like such a bad guy after all. . .
. . .The Angry Liberal
11/16/01
Nope, talking about competition and insurance.
California had a system of distributiuon, but that low-life Ashcroft sent in his storm troopers to shut them down. (Gee we must have won the War on Terrorism if he could spare that many people to shut down these distribution centers).
Huh? I may be having a senior moment, but it seems to me that the feds have been going after the medical marijuana crowd here in CA since long before Bush became president. In fact, I just did a quick google search and found a story about a 1996 lawsuit against the Reno justice dept over medical marijuana.
No it doesn't. The doctor can refus,e and the patient can then choose to go to a doctor who will.
I would not say that you are having a Senior Moment. I'd say you are having selective memory recall for the benefit of Republicans. In any event, this is not an attack on Bush, per se. I'd feel the same way about ANY policitian of ANY political party engaging in such UNCONSTITUTIONAL acts.
I was, in fact, relating an actual event which recently (last week) occurred. I am well aware the Reno was a communist slime ball.
That is certainly a stretch. It doe not put the ENTIRE medical establishment in the business of perscribing killing doses. It give doctors the OPTION to do so under very limited circumstances.
Assisted suicide isn't healthcare."
Have you ever watch someone die slowly and painfully? I have. My father's doctor warned me that there would come a point at which NO AMOUNT of pain medication would relieve my father distress. It was PAINFUL, and I was giving him hopped up doses of morphine almost every 15 minutes!
Until you have experienced or witnessed it yourself, you cannot speak with authority on this matter. Again, it is a matter of choice. I do not take kindly to ignorance rapped in "Compassion" or some delusional moral high ground.
Are you talking about the kind of competition that made the generic form of THC cost $10.00 a pill? It was cheaper than the name-brand, but that was little comfort to me or my wallet.
Did you even read my post? There came a point at which no amount of medication relieved my father's pain. AND I was giving him just as much as I could without killing him!
Well, actually, the founding fathers had the minority in mind. That is to say, the Bill of Rights was written to protect the minority of one (a.k.a. THE INDIVIDUAL) from the force of the majority. This is also known as mob rule.
It is sad to say, but MOB RULE is all the rage in this country now days.
Please cite your reference.
I had read one time that Washington State -- west of the mountains -- had a much higher suicide rate than the national average. There was credible evidence linking that fact to the amount of rain fall each year. Evidently sun shine is important to a person's mental health. This may explain why there are so many crazies in Seattle! ;-)
I appreciate it. Caring for my dying parents was an honor, and one I would gladly suffer again.
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