March 22, 2005

"...Lunatic Fringe,

     In the twilight's last gleaming

     This is open season

     But you won't get too far

     We know you've got to blame someone

     For your own confusion

     But we're on guard this time

     Against your final solution..."

 

 

                 -Partial lyrics from the song

                  "Lunatic Fringe", by the group

                  Red Rider

 

 

To All,

     When the Bard said that "...All of life's a stage...", who would have thought that he meant the one over at Comedy Central?-

 

 

Lucy In The Sky With Footballs:

     One of the oldest maxims in politics warns the observer about strange bedfellows. It is truly interesting to see which groups can unite for either tactical or strategic reasons, depending upon the exigencies of the season. In some cases, congruence of interest lasts for the briefest of moments, and for the narrowest of reasons. Of course, the politically inept are often left disemboweled on the political field of battle for not taking greater care to keep tabs on their putative allies.

 

     For example, the forthcoming Mayoral Run-Off in Los Angeles will present gun owners and firearms activists with the choice of Incumbent Mayor James Hahn versus long-time anti-gunner Antonio Villaraigosa. Given Villaraigosa's deep hostility to firearms rights (some say that it's genetically encoded), gun-owners in the City of Los Angeles may have to take Mayor Hahn's focus on crime prevention over ineffective gun-control measures as a key reason for retention. While not the most ideologically "pure" of choices, the results of the recent general election (plus the added efforts of the Registrar's hirelings to make sure each "Ink-a-Vote" mark was "clear enough" to be read by the machines.) present the voters with only these two options. And it is hard to imagine gun-owners voting for a pol who authored a bill expressing support of the now-deceased 1994 Clinton Ban on Flash Suppressors, Folding Stocks, and Bayonet Lugs.

 

     But perhaps the far boundaries of political marriages of convenience can be found in the recent support of the Los Angeles Times Editorial Page of Governor Schwarzennegger's proposal to allow panels of retired judges to determine Congressional and other representational districts in the future. As all will surely remember, The Times and it's Editorial Board have not been exactly in support of a Governor who campaigns on certain reform issues as the Governator has, then actually keeps his word on getting them enacted.

 

    But while it is clear that the Governor wishes to modify the current political landscape by empowering "moderates" (read certain business and class interests that would have been labeled "robber barons" in the days before Hiram Johnson), his pusillanimous-partners-in-gerrymandering may have other things in mind that do not mean that they embarking on the start of a beautiful friendship.

 

    For starters, there are still certain elements within the Democrat Party that opposed the Berman Solution when it came to district apportionment in California after the 2000 Census (The Times seems to fit within this coterie). This has been made even more important after the resolution of the various Texas lawsuits, which resulted in a net pickup of seats for the Republican Party in the 2004 Election. Nancy Pelosi and her cohorts at the DCCC are not going to overlook any possibilities to pick up House seats, not even at the expense of turning California-the-Cash-Cow into California-The-Donkey-Plantation.

 

    And it does not require a turbo-charged crystal ball to grok that any "select" panel of retired judges from California are more than likely to trend to the Left-and-Lefter end of the political spectrum. Given that they are more likely to represent the liberal status quo of the urban centers, one can easily foresee Left-wing dominance carved into the granite landscape of California for generations to come should the plan become law.

 

    That is not to mean that there is nothing "unseemly" about the kinds of deal-making one sees between the mainstream parties as represented by the Berman Solution. But it would be more reasonable to assume that a judicial panel would be less representative of the interests of the people because of their lack of direct responsibility to the electorate. As retired judges, they need only worry about catering to the interests of those that appoint them, not the voters who can hire and fire through the electoral process. As a recent spate of court-ordered diktat have shown us, the judiciary in California has even farther to go to gain the people's confidence than even the Silly Solons of Sacramento, or even Maxine Waters.

 

     Furthermore, to get a notion of what such a "more equal than others" arrangement looks like in practice, one only has to glance over at the UN to see that the degree of direct representation of the people of the various member nations is not one that would normally meet with American standards.

 

     As such, one can only wonder what is in the sugar cubes of Sacramento that justify this proposal at this time. Surely the Governor cannot overlook the implications of institutionalizing an appointed judicial autocracy over such a critical issue as re-apportionment. That is because when once in place, these judicial overseers would arrange the Congressional districts in such a way that would literally "pull the football" out from in front of many Moderate-to-Conservative Republicans and Democrats (Rural representatives especially.). Their natural inclination would be to favor those with a more "cosmopolitan", urban outlook. This urban-oriented outlook would hold court, literally, as a strange hybrid between Louis XIV and George Orwell. And recent history does not comfort one that rural and suburban needs will be addressed by city dwellers with little understanding of the realities of food production, economic opportunity, and the preservation of property rights.

 

     By comparison, any innate "corruption" of the current system, where incumbents draw district lines selectively, pales in comparison. Despite the Commentariat's prognostications of iron-clad incumbency, it only takes an issue and some determined (yet vocal) opponents to make even the "safest" incumbent sweat tank rounds (Just ask David Drier and Tom Daschle). But short of a tar- and-feather block party outside of the courthouse, the only thing that seems to cause judges any trepidation is a higher court sending one of their rulings to that Great Circular File In The Sky. Given that the current plan calls for "retired" judges to wield the red pencil of apportionment, it is hard to imagine what would move some of these distinguished jurists to probity.

 

     There are reasons why the Founding Fathers rested the power with the people. For starters, what better way to entice the common person to have a stake in a system by creating one dependent upon their opinion (Just ask al Zarqawi about the power of purple ink.). But Washington, Jefferson, and Madison would spin in their monuments if they knew that their heirs would willingly turn over some of the most important aspects of democracy without providing for the will of the people. Surely we are a more savvy lot than that.

 

 

Sins of Omission:

     Given the way that certain conservative talk show hosts have been opining of late, one could have logically thought that Terry Schiavo was only a therapy regimen away from being able to communicate the natural desire to survive a judicially-sanctioned lingering death. And if one is to follow Peggy Noonan's advice, many elected officials, who also just happen to be Second Amendment stalwarts, would risk receiving pink slips in 2006 if they had succumbed to inaction in the current controversy.

 

     But it took Shepard Smith's view from the Left yesterday to outdo the normally thorough Hugh Hewitt, Sean Hannity, and even Rush Limbaugh by focusing on the nature of Ms. Schiavo's condition. For it is apparent that, despite days of controversy, they have failed to discuss the degree of hydranencephaly that is part and parcel of her case. The odds of medical science being able to re-grow a significant part of her cerebral function in the near term are just about as great as the odds were there to repair Christopher Reeve's spinal cord prior to his recent succumbing to the Grim Reaper. (On the other hand, the notable silence from the stem cell research crowd on the Schiavo controversy speaks volumes as to the inter-locking nature of left-wing movements these days.).

 

     This is, of course, not to detract from the law in Florida. It is clear that under Title XXIX, Chapter 329.009 of the Florida Statutes, a determination of brain death involves death of the entire brain. Since much of Ms. Schiavo's cerebellum and brain stem seem to be functioning, it would appear that under Florida law she is still alive no matter any claims to a persistent vegetative state. And should U.S. District Judge James Whittemore run out the clock on Ms. Schiavo, given the definitions under Title XLVI, Chapter 825.102, it would seem that the "death with dignity" crowd might have finally found a way around laws passed to prevent the abuse or neglect of disabled persons by denying them "...food, nutrition, clothing, shelter, supervision, medicine, and medical services that a prudent person would consider essential for the well-being of the elderly person or disabled adult..." . This type of abuse, normally, is classified as a felony in either the second or third degree, depending upon the circumstances of the case. In view of the preponderance of elderly voters in certain Florida counties, representatives such as Peter Wexler may end up talking themselves out of yet another voter demographic, much as they have done with the abortion issue.

 

     Still, there are those liberal Disciples of Death who would argue that Terry Schiavo would have preferred the medical equivalent of crawling across Death Valley without supplies, over remaining in her current condition. Yet it is more likely that they will come off worse than any vanquished Religious Right in the end. And no pretence of focusing on any personal reservation to avoid a lingering death by the general public will offset yet another wave of unintended consequences that will likely have an adverse affect on the Liberal Agenda.

 

     For example, such cases of hydranencephaly as Ms. Schiavo's normally involve certain disabled children that survive their condition from birth. As such, the precedent of "euthanizing" special needs patients is not going to go over well with a whole set of parents who would walk barefoot through broken glass to get governmental services, medical treatment, or even "norming" policies for their kids. Given that there are significant numbers of children whose medical conditions approximate a similar level of incapacitation of cognition as Ms. Schiavo's, and yet are receiving state-funded services, it may also mean that the Grimm Crowd is going to run head-on into Special Needs/Group Home and Hospice Industries.

 

     Also, the whole affair is heavily linked to politics within that voter subgroup involving practicing Catholics. Pro-life Catholics will have yet further evidence of the secular Left's estrangement from some of the founding principles of Western Civilization. In other words, suicide (assisted or otherwise) is not painless to one's immortal soul. If anything can limit the Left's ability to appeal to yet another segment of American Society, this is it.

 

    Strangely enough, a judiciary that is famously "political" is about to step on the Mother of All Punji Sticks by trying to assert judicial prerogative in this case. What with certain recalcitrants in the Congress, the simpler act of giving the Schindlers (Ms. Schiavo's parents) standing to sue in Federal Court is not as great a victory as some would have hoped. But said result also has the practical effect of telling the Judiciary "No, You First" in this most problematic of all portals. If the Judiciary rules in favor of de facto assisted suicide (Again, some would maintain homicide), there may be enough additional leverage to reign in a branch of government that has become more divorced from the American people. Of course, this kind of overreach would adversely effect what power that does remain to the Liberal Rump, though it is still uncertain as to whether this will be in time to cause further erosion in the 2006 Midterms.

 

     Lastly, and of potential interest to firearms activists, any victory by secular society that "norms" suicide (assisted or no) would radically reduce the number of "negative" firearms fatalities noted in the national statistics set. Some 18,000 people per year choose firearms over other, more lingering (hanging, poison, jumping off of bridges, hunger strikes, etc.) methods of self-termination. This, in turn, constitutes almost two-thirds of all firearms-related fatalities. If truly such an action becomes an acceptable lifestyle choice, blessed by the Hemlock Society as well as the Federal Court System, then a new factor would be added in the battle to maintain the individual right to keep and bear arms. At this rate, the Brady Bunch might have to head over to Monster.com en masse to look for another line of advocacy (One wonders if Mr. McElvey will give them a discount rate, for old times sake.).

 

      Of course, those who maintain firearms for the positive aspect of defending life (oneself, one's family, one's neighbors, etc.) would find reliance on this kind of turn to the culture war perverse, to say the least. Firearms owners may not want to win the war on the individual right to keep and bear arms on such a cultural turn so devoid of any altruism. But then, when the Opposition attempts to be too clever by half, this is sometimes the whirlwind that is reaped.

 

    

Story links may be found at:

http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/infopage.html

 

http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?
id=110006442

 

http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=
Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0382/SEC009.HTM
&Title=-%3E2004-%3ECh0382-%3ESection%20009#0382.009

 

http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=
Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0825/
Sec102.HTM

 

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/hydranen/hydranen.htm

 

http://www.emedicine.com/neuro/topic491.htm

 

http://www.alsa.asn.au/files/acj/1996/hinds.html

 

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/3695.article

 

http://www.crisismagazine.com/january2004/johansen.htm

 

http://www.lifequestfla.org/hospitals.asp?sid=150

 

http://www.zen7009.zen.co.uk/joy/c_ourmission.html

 

http://www.zen7009.zen.co.uk/joy/rachel.html

 

http://www.libertytothecaptives.net/order_nov_22_2002.html