I came across this article at FOX news, that helps answer some of my questions about this whole “marriage is best” rhetoric.

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‘Nuff Said.

“The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live.”

-Joan Borysenko

For some, the question is: Will they kill me before I have a chance to live?

The emotionally shaken father of a 16-year-old girl in an irreversible coma at Montefiore Medical Center is wavering in his opposition to ending what’s left of her life.

“I’m 85% changed in my mind now, but I don’t know the legality,” said Leonard Peters, whose daughter Javona Peters is in a permanent vegetative state after what was supposed to be a routine operation on Oct. 17.
[…]
Javona’s mother, Janet Joseph, has said she wants “to let Javona go in peace” by taking her off her feeding tube. The case is set for a Jan. 7 hearing in Bronx Supreme Court.

The case, first disclosed Wednesday in The News, has attracted national media attention to what could be another right-to-life battle, as in the Terri Schiavo case.

Javona was a healthy, outgoing high school junior until she went into the operating room 10 weeks ago. Now she is blind, deaf and unable to move, think or eat on her own.

October 17th? of this year? It’s too soon to make the rush for death here. Way too soon.

Remember little Haleigh Poutre? The 11 yr old girl in MA, who was beaten into a coma? Her doctors told everyone she was brain dead too; that she was blind, deaf and in a vegetative state. The MA supreme Court had even given it’s legal blessing to the hospital where Haleigh was staying- to pull her off life supports. They were hours away from doing this when Haleigh woke up. She’s made remarkable progress and continues to do so at a rehab center in northern MA.

What’s the rush?

Joseph has asked the courts to appoint her Javona’s guardian so she can finally pull the plug and also begin a medical malpractice action against the hospital.

Javona’s parents say hospital officials have never satisfactorily explained what happened to their daughter.

Montefiore maintains her condition was caused by oxygen deprivation triggered by an “extremely rare” allergic reaction to “a routine anesthesia agent.”

Javona’s operation was a ventriculostomy, a routine procedure that involves boring a hole in the brain to drain cerebral fluid into a cavity.

Javona’s Mother can sue the hospital NOW; she need not have a dead daughter to do so. Of course, a dead child would up the ante in any settlement. A dead child always produces more cash in these situations.

The operation Javona underwent is anything but routine, for a normal healthy girl. I suspect she had other problems we’re not hearing about right now. Nonetheless, tragically she had a reaction to the anesthesia and apparently the OR staff didn’t catch this until she been oxygen deprived for too long.

At my work we recently took care of a 12 yr old boy who underwent a routine operation, having his tonsils removed; he too had a severe reaction to the anesthesia; he didn’t go long without 02, though. But his brain reacted as though he had. He was in a coma for 14 weeks. No one gave up on him and he woke up, delved into rehab and walked out of my facility with a big smile on his face. He is able to do all his own things again- and now he’s back in his school getting ready to play basketball.

Meanwhile, the hospital has told Joseph it’s time for her daughter to be transferred to a permanent nursing facility. The hospital contends there is nothing more it can do for Javona.

Given some hope, she might live.

Javona should be transferred to a rehab facility for a short term evaluation and coma-stimulation program. Given time she might wake up; given good nursing care she might recover from the medical aspects of all this. I think people are too focused on the monetary “awards” of these situations. Sure, parents are grieved and saddened. But they often keep their eye on a prize that makes me question the motives here. Medical people are not always right. Especially in situations where brain “death” is concerned. We know SO LITTLE about how the brain works. We do know that what we often label “Brain Dead” suddenly comes back to life though, with no warning.

There is one thing common about those who wake up: They were given time. Why the rush?

Reason 837,693 why I love the Marines…and some living examples of Semper Fi.

Sgt. Morante landed hard, blacking out as debris covered him. When he came to a few minutes later, he was pinned under concrete shards. Struggling, he shoved the wreckage off him - then saw that his right leg had snapped back behind his body.

The leg was amputated by surgeons in Balad. Morante woke up in a military hospital in Germany. Next stop: San Antonio and rehab.

His chief ambition is still to become a drill sergeant. Missing a leg, he arranged for the Marine Corps logo to be painted on his prosthesis. “I was back on my feet in three months,” he says proudly - but he still faces all-day therapy.

It’s been a tough year: His father died, and his mother’s been sick. And some jerk stole the sergeant’s truck, which had been parked back home in Houston.

So what does he worry about? The other Marines wounded in the blast - and, especially, his Navy corpsman. The medic’s still in a coma down in Tampa Bay and may never come out of it. He’s never seen the child his wife delivered a few months ago.

And:

Then there’s Gunnery Sgt. Blaine Scott, 35, and a “lifer.” The gunny served with the 3rd Light Armored Recon Co. of the 1st Marine Division in Anbar Province. He was 6½ months into his second Iraq tour when an IED detonated under his vehicle.

Gunny Scott was burned over 40 percent of his body. He’s been in rehab for 16 months, with “too many operations to count.” Despite reconstructive surgery, his face still tells of wounds. But this Marine’s Marine is 1,000 miles away from self-pity: “Hey, this is what I do for a living, this is what I chose.”
[…]
His priority now? Working with new Marine patients to bolster their spirits.

Read more examples of Once a Marine, Always a Marine…

I’ve been using Ask.com for several months now, for my searches and other Internet things. They’re offering a new service to help keep your online surfing private and I think it’s a step in the right direction. Is Google listening?

…The fourth-largest search engine company will begin a service today called AskEraser, which allows users to make their searches more private.

Ask.com and other major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft typically keep track of search terms typed by users and link them to a computer’s Internet address, and sometimes to the user. However, when AskEraser is turned on, Ask.com discards all that information, the company said.
[…]
“It works like a light switch,” said Doug Leeds, senior vice president for product management at Ask.com. Mr. Leeds said the service would be a selling point with consumers who were particularly alert about protecting their privacy.

Some people don’t think it’s a big deal. But it IS when you care about your privacy, especially in light of this:

“Privacy only becomes important to the average consumer when something blows up,” Mr. Ponemon said.

Of course, something has already blown up. Last year, AOL released the queries conducted by more than 650,000 Americans over three months to foster academic research. While the queries where associated only with a number, rather than a computer’s address, reporters for The New York Times and others were quickly able to identify some of the people who had done the queries. The queries released by AOL included searches for deeply private things like “depression and medical leave” and “fear that spouse contemplating cheating.”

I have friends who go to the trouble to use those anonymous proxies and all that dumb shit. That’s all time consuming and a total PITA…we shouldn’t have to resort to such things.

I advise folks to stop using Google and Yahoo…simply because EVERYTHING you do through these search engines is recorded, somewhere. I am still looking for an alternative to GMail as well- I cannot stand the ads that come with the email. I find that to be way to intrusive. One never knows how it all might come back to them. I have nothing to hide; but some people do. Be careful out there.

Reason 1,397,364 why I don’t miss blogging about, talking about, being involved with ANYTHING politics.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Republican presidential candidates sought to embrace Hispanics in a Spanish language debate, striving to mark common ground with a growing voter bloc while softening the anti-illegal immigration rhetoric that has marked their past encounters.CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Republican presidential candidates sought to embrace Hispanics in a Spanish language debate, striving to mark common ground with a growing voter bloc while softening the anti-illegal immigration rhetoric that has marked their past encounters.

We can judge a man’s respect and honor for America by who wasn’t in attendance at this event: Tom Tancredo boycotted it. Good on him. The rest of them are spineless, wussbagged, useless idiOts who won’t get my vote next year.

Thatisall.

Here’s an example of the shallowness, the selfishness, of modern women:

In a more innocent age, new mothers generally considered their babies to be the greatest gift imaginable. Today, they are likely to want some sort of tangible bonus as well.

This bonus goes by various names. Some call it the “baby mama gift.” Others refer to it as the “baby bauble.” But it’s most popularly known as the “push present.”

That’s “push” as in, “I the mother, having been through the wringer and pushed out this blessed event, hereby claim my reward.” Or “push” as in, “I’ve delivered something special and now I’m pushing you, my husband/boyfriend, to follow suit.”

“It’s more and more an expectation of moms these days that they deserve something for bearing the burden for nine months, getting sick, ruining their body,” said Linda Murray, executive editor of BabyCenter.com. “The guilt really gets piled on.”

Pile it on bitch.

Nine months of pregnancy and the delivery of a baby are worth a pair of diamond earrings? Women decide the value of their presents based on the number of hours they are in labor?

Gimme a GAWD damned break.

Society really has gone entirely too selfish. The so called sacrifice of bearing children is what we women are here for, like it or not. Just because it’s a choice now, and just because women get to choose just about every aspect of what was once a truly normal and natural event, shouldn’t make this a time for gift giving. Can we see it now? All the new Mommy’s showing off their baubles and bangles to their friends.

…and can we see the resentment factor coming along? “YOU GOT A DIAMOND watch and all I got was a pair of pearl earrings!?!”

Ladies: Stop being selfish and stop thinking about yourselves so much; be grateful your babies are healthy. Be thankful they are born alive, count your blessings. Your baby is the most precious and important and valuable gift you will ever get. Remember that.

I remember him. Well. That picture that caught my eye and my heart- the strong young Marine smoking a cigarette after seeing some action. I called him my hero and plastered his picture at AndRightlySo… He was and he still is MY HERO; he’s not doing so great these days. His story is HERE and HERE.

Blog sister Kat offers some inspiration for Blake, and others experiencing a similar fate.

The Warriors Psalm

He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.

Semper Fi Blake Miller

Built: 1969, Finland
Capacity: 100 passengers
Tonnage: 2,400 Cruising speed: 11 knots
Engines: 3,800 hp diesels
Crew: 54
First custom-built expedition ship
Known as the ‘Little Red Ship’ to aficionados
Became the first passenger vessel to navigate the North West passage in 1984
Involved in rescue of crew from Argentine cargo vessel off Anvers Island, Antarctica, in 1989

“The ship ran into some ice. It was submerged ice and the result was a hole about the size of a fist in the side of the hull so it began taking on water … but quite slowly,” said Susan Hayes of G.A.P. Adventures of Toronto, which owns the stricken MS Explorer. “The passengers are absolutely fine. They’re all accounted for, no injuries whatsoever.”

Throughout the day, Chilean aerial photographs showed the ship listing heavily, its white superstructure and red hull starkly visible against the gray, choppy waters and overcast skies. The navy eventually lost sight of the ship and wreckage indicated it had gone under completely, according to a navy press officer who declined be identified in accordance with department policy.

Here’s a story that brought a smile to my face today.
Heh.

Manchester – A man armed with a shotgun picked the wrong house to enter Monday night. He’s now under police guard in a hospital bed, recovering from head injuries received in a beating by the residents, according to police.

Police charged Corey Bryson, 18, of 306 Auburn St., with armed robbery and burglary after responding to a call from 140 Beech Hill Drive at 11:45 p.m.

Lisa Czzowitz called police, saying a man broke into her home and was being detained by her two sons.

When they arrived, officers said they found Bryson being held down inside the house. He was bleeding from a head injury and was taken by ambulance to Elliot Hospital.

I’m sure the leftards of my state will come to the defense of this poor abused criminal. Perhaps he was beaten as a child, you know.

Matthew Czzowitz, 20, was on the computer when he heard a knock at the door, said police. When he opened the door a crack, police said, a masked man pushed his way inside, pointed a shotgun at Czzowitz’ face and demanded money.

Police said Czzowitz grabbed the shotgun barrel, tried to take the weapon away from the intruder, then fell to the floor wrestling Bryson for control of the weapon.

Once on the floor, police said Bryson repeatedly punched Czzowitz in the face, but Czzowitz wouldn’t let go of the gun for fear he’d be shot.

Czzowitz then saw his 15-year-old brother come downstairs, said police.

The younger brother struck Bryson with a bat until he and Matthew were able to get control of the shotgun, said police. The brothers then pinned Bryson down until police arrived.Police said they found the shotgun on the couch and the stock, broken during the fight, was on the floor. Police said the shotgun was loaded.

Lesson? Keep weapons of self defense around you at all times: Guns, loaded and ready to use; cast iron pans, baseball bats, whatever. Be prepared. Be ready to fight back. Your life could depend upon it. Your possessions could depend on it.

Good work Matt and Jake! You’re my heroes.