TUESDAY POLITICS

I love my state. It’s beautiful (ocean, mountains, desert), it’s historical (farthest west you can come), it’s cultural (big city music, theater, art, film; small city stuff too – i.e., Ashland Shakespeare Festival) , and it’s independent as hell politically. You can never be sure where it’s going to come down, but you can bet it will be heartfelt. At the moment, it’s the only state in this whole country that has a Death with Dignity law since 1994. In spite of challenges all the way to the Supreme Court in 1997, the will of the citizens of this state has been to allow physicians to assist those who are suffering terribly to choose the time when they end that suffering. I personally hope I never have to make such a choice. Now, one of the first tests of newly appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts comes tomorrow when the state of Oregon defends its landmark assisted suicide law, in a key test of where states’ rights end and the federal government’s reach begins. The Bush administration has argued that assisted suicide is not a legitimate use of controlled substances, and the Oregon law therefore violates federal drug laws. But the state of Oregon contends that regulation of medical practices — including assisted suicide — is a state matter. Whether you believe in assisted suicide or not, watch closely for the outcome of this federal government invasion of state’s right and be afraid – be very afraid. (And Mr. Gonzales, get ready for a scrap of a lifetime.)

Deep Thought: “The next time you go to the doctor, go ahead and bring in a stool sample. They might need it. Better go ahead and bring some for the dentist too.”
Today I am grateful for: Air
Guess the Movie: “That’s funny, that plane’s dustin’ crops where there ain’t no crops.” Answer: North by Northwest, 1959. Winner: swawg.
My husband died with dignity
By Nora Miller
My husband, Rick Miller, died Nov. 10, 1999. That day about 100 other Oregonians also died, but few if any chose that day to be their last. Rick did. (Rest of article here.)
End of Day: 7:49 pm
+ = Death with Dignity tussle getting some good coverage locally.
- = Looks like Roberts is coming down on the Bush team side – gee what a surprise.

MONDAY READING

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Sometime during the past month, this term “freakonomics” began to penetrate my consciousness. People on talk and news programs were dropping it in all kinds of different contexts. I haven’t actually read the book – and may never – but when I heard that it had something to do with Bill Bennett’s comments about aborting black babies, I figured I should get a better grip on what’s the deal here. The two Steves (one an economist, the other an author) are exceptionally bright young men who have collaborated to give examples of how if we ask the right questions we may make connections we never dreamed of. Example 1: Roe v. Wade made it possible to avoid unwanted pregnancies, thereby not bringing into the world children who were more likely to grow up to be criminals (this based on a drop in crime rate since that famous decision). This example apparently led to Bill Bennett’s remarks on his radio show: “It’s true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could – if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down.” Example 2: Drug-dealing gangs have corporate structures where the top guys make the big bucks and the little guys down the chain get minimum wage. (Hmmm, that doesn’t seem like news.) Example 3: Whether parents can really push their kids to greatness by buying them Baby Einstein toys and enlisting them in numerous before- and after-school activities (not really). Example 4: What do schoolteachers and Sumo wrestlers have in common? Answer: a propensity to cheat. The book came out in April and is still #3 on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list, which is kind of different for the subject of economics, but it has something in common with Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, #4 on the list, because they both push us to look at things in new ways. I don’t know, it seems to me like we could stand to have some new ways to look at things these days. Maybe I’ll have to actually read the book to see if there’s anything I can use in my own little humdrum neck of the woods.

Deep Thought: “Some folks say it was a miracle. Saint Francis suddenly appeared and knocked the next pitch clean over the fence. But I think it was just a lucky swing.”
Today I am grateful for: Never having to go through adolescence again
Guess the Movie: “Do you know anything about a guy going around playing the harmonica? He’s someone you’d remember. Instead of talking, he plays. And when he better play, he talks.” Answer: Once Upon a Time in the West, 1968. Winner: Eliminate_the_Impossible.
Torture of Iraqis was for ‘Stress Relief’, Say US Soldiers
by Neil Mackay
FOR the first time, American soldiers who personally tortured Iraqi prisoners have come forward to give testimony to human rights organisations about crimes they comm itted.
Three soldiers – a captain and two sergeants – from the 82nd Airborne Division stationed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Mercury near Fallujah in Iraq have told Human Rights Watch how prisoners were tortured both as a form of stress relief and as a way of breaking them for interrogation sessions. (Rest of article here.)

SUNDAY GOOD NEWS

Well, after searching the web for over an hour I swear to god, I was not able to locate a photo of my American hero for today, Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District Court of New York, so I’m just posting a lovely one of Abu Ghraib itself with the sun setting in the background. That is just how the Bush administration would like us to remember the place, while forgetting the photographs of tortured prisoners we saw months ago, and the little spanking given Private Lynndie England, who essentially took all the heat for the Big Boys above her in command. For those who care to disturb their morning cuppa with a reminder, click here. Anyway…lo and behold the Center for Constitutional Rights together with the American Civil Liberties Union, Physicians for Human Rights, Veterans for Common Sense, and Veterans for Peace have not forgotten and under the Freedom of Information Act they charged the Department of Defense and other government agencies with illegally withholding evidence from the public records concerning the abuse of detainees in American military custody. Last Thursday, my hero, Judge Hellerstein, ruled that the Department of Defense must release hundreds of new photos and video of abuse at Abu Ghraib. The right was not pleased. On Bill O’Reilly’s sneerfest the same day Fox News military analyst Col. David Hunt called for Judge Hellerstein to be “drawn and quartered.” Judge Hellerstein, by the way, is a Columbia Law School-educated Clinton appointee as of 1998. He is now 72 and feisty. I have a feeling it won’t be much longer before his photo appears on the web and possibly even in the news as we decide as a nation where we stand on the very un-Sunday-like subject of human torture.

Deep Thought: “If you ever discover that what you’re seeing is a play within a play, just slow down, take a deep breath, and hold on for the ride of your life.”
Today I am grateful for: Absolution
Guess the Movie: “ Is that what your little note says? It must be hard living your life off a couple of scraps of paper. You mix your laundry list with your grocery list you’ll end up eating your underwear for breakfast.” Answer: Memento, 2000. Winner: Eliminate_the_Impossible.
US Judge Orders Release of Iraq Abuse Pictures
by Geneviève Roberts
Dozens more pictures of prisoner abuse by American troops in Abu Ghraib will be released after an order by a federal judge in New York yesterday.
District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected government arguments that the images would provoke terrorists and incite violence against troops in Iraq. (Rest of article here.)