Euthanasia for Conservatives?

The Netherlands has started to euthanize some of their "terminally ill" newborns. These so called "mercy killings" were in accordance with new guidelines by the Dutch government and include the following:

The Groningen Protocol, as the hospital's guidelines have come to be known, would create a legal framework for permitting doctors to actively end the life of newborns deemed to be in similar pain from incurable disease or extreme deformities.

The guideline says euthanasia is acceptable when the child's medical team and independent doctors agree the pain cannot be eased and there is no prospect for improvement, and when parents think it's best.

Examples include extremely premature births, where children suffer brain damage from bleeding and convulsions; and diseases where a child could only survive on life support for the rest of its life, such as severe cases of spina bifida and epidermosis bullosa, a rare blistering illness.

The disturbing part is that the panel will get to decide whom they will terminate and who will survive. This prospect immediately brought to mind a study released by UC Berkeley titled "Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition," recently published in the American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin. The study compared Hitler, Mussolini and former President Ronald Reagan as right-wing conservatives that "preached a return to an idealized past and condoned inequality in some form."

The paper also stated that some of the psychological factors linked to political conservatism include:

• Fear and aggression
• Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Need for cognitive closure
• Terror management

All this seems to be setting up the premise that being a conservative is like having a mental disorder allowing a medical panel to authorize the "mercy killing" of so many unwanted and incurable people. Perhaps a leap? Maybe, but have you seen and heard the foaming-mouth liberals and their outright hatred for the right the past few years?

Happy Thanksgiving

First of all I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for my wonderful family and to all the brave servicemen and women defending our country.

On a different note, I discovered two important stories today. The first is the possibility of finding a chemical weapons lab in Iraq, and the other concerns a press release from Tyler Hamilton on his blood transfusion issue. The weapons lab story needs some more time to play out, but it certainly indicates that the WMD issue is not over and perhaps still a viable reason for the invasion of Iraq. Regardless, the invasion was still necessary and justified but to find a WMD lab is just icing on the cake.

Tyler Hamilton's press release, if true, shows a major cause for concern with the validity of WADA and the dope testing procedures in general. I tend to believe Tyler Hamilton as my personal experiences with him were nothing but positive and I also "hope" he's clean. But the testing society needs to make sure that what they are indicating and accusing is undeniably the truth. Lives and reputations can be ruined with a simple false-negative test. Not only does the sport need clean riders (to which I applaud rigorous testing), but the testing society needs reputable tests. Otherwise, it's like the elections in the former Soviet Union or of a current third world country. Rigged and nobody trusts or believes the outcome. I'm not for letting cycling turn into a sport full of conspiracy and doubt.

Blogging is tough work

Okay, I haven't updated this site for a few weeks/months and I've totally missed commentating on the presidential campaign. Sorry, but I'm sure this hasn't really effected anyone's life.

The President did better in the debates than the pundits and the high school debate coaches would have you believe and here is why. Even though Bush put forth his point of view much better for the last two debates, Kerry made some grave mistakes during his stoic retort on that same first debate. The statement about needing to pass a "Global Test" and offering nuclear fuel to Iran will both (or should) come back to bite him. And therefore, he cannot be considered the winner of the first debate.

Cheney mopped the floor with Johnny Edwards as it looked like the father of a teenage daughter arguing with her boyfriend. One person was serious and the other wasn't. Don't get me wrong, Edwards was serious about what he said, but you can't take him as such if you are a thinking adult. Edwards is supposed to be this brilliant lawyer, yet he tried to make the point that States do not recognize a marriage from another State (in response to a question on a gay marriage ban via a Constitutional amendment). I don't remember having to get remarried when I moved from Colorado to California. Not a serious choice in a candidate.

With less than a month before the election things should be getting HOT and dirty. Hopefully Hugh Hewitt's prediction of a 40 state win by GWB will be correct. Stay tuned.

Stripping Lance of his Sixth Tour Title!

A breaking news story was released yesterday that the French Ministry of Sport is considering stripping Lance Armstrong of his sixth Tour de France title. Evidently the French authorities finally found some evidence against the great cyclist and have documented three known French-banned substances in his hotel room. The French authorities were shocked at the brazen and overtly cocky attitude of the American cyclist by leaving residue and evidence of the banned products in about every hotel room he visited throughout France during the month of July. The French investigators are also baffled as to how Armstrong was able to acquire the products in a country that is so strongly opposed to their use and are making a stink in trying to flush out the network of smugglers. The preliminary list includes but is not exclusive to: 1. Soap, 2. Shampoo and 3. Toothbrush.

Resume of 4

President Bush and John Kerry are both touting the number 4 on their resume for the Presidency of the United States. President Bush is putting his last four years as leader of the free world up for vote and Kerry is countering with his four months of service in Vietnam as a swift boat captain. On the surface this sounds a bit ridiculous as Bush would obviously have a huge advantage as far as work experience. John Kerry wasn't even a General, just a captain of a boat for the duration of four months some 30 years ago. But when you really investigate the issue you realize the brilliance of the Kerry Campaign in ignoring the last 20 years of service in the US Senate and concentrating solely on Kerry's exploits in the jungle. His record in the Senate isn't that impressive and he wants to be seen as a military leader.

The Kerry Campaign doesn't want to seem light on experience but risks losing votes when exposing the actual super-liberal voting record on Kerry's 20 years in the Senate. Therefore they are buffeting his purple hearts and bravery and the fact he enlisted himself to serve when so many others went north to Canada. But shouldn't a presidential candidate be judged on his entire life and perhaps we should put a little more weight on the last few years of making decisions rather than those made just after college?

Much like an Owner of a major sports team when assessing talent, we should make our decision based on "what have you done lately." So, John Kerry, what have you done lately?

Matt's Blog

Matt is the blogger extraordinaire over at The Bearded Cognoscenti and is making some great insights with humor. He has a good post on the Hair-scapade revelation from Kerry's speech.

Hitting the tough issues
The 2004 Democratic convention came to an end with
the most controversial stand in recent memory. Finally, a politician was
willing to go against the party lines and tackle an issue that has been a plague
among inner-city youths and 80's revivals...hair pollution. On Thursday
night, Vietnam tough guy and presidential hopeful John Kerry gave hope to many
when stating "What does it mean when twenty five percent of the children in
Harlem have asthma because of hair pollution? America can do better.
And help is on the way." No child should suffer from a cruddy cut or dusty
do. We can do better. We must do better. This is the Ulta-mite challenge for every
American. But how do we address an issue that seems to polarize the
country. Who to shampoo? Where to Nair? There are no easy
answers to these questions. Fortunately, the man with the luxurious locks
seems to have a plan. Sadly, like most issues, he hasn't offered any
solutions. He only knows that we can do better.

Reporting for Doodie

John Kerry started his acceptance speech last night by stating he was "reporting for doodie."  That's an interesting way to great your constituency, but after listening to them all week and looking at them on TV, Kerry's description is probably correct.  Just a giant bunch of human cr**..... 0h, wait...I'm being told he was "Reporting for Duty."  Interesting contrast and an honest mistake.

The speech was long and full of mostly hot air.  However, Kerry did mention that the kids in Harlem were having a hard time breathing due to "Hair Pollution."  Either he misspoke or the FDA needs to investigate "Soul-Glow" and it's related hair-care products.  I could have sworn that earlier Kerry had declared hairspray to be a Right not a privilege, so he may have to clarify this possible hypocrisy. 

Have I been in a time warp?  It appears from last night’s affair that John Kerry was born in Colorado, went to school, fought in Vietnam and then immediately ran for President.  Unless I'm mistaken the Vietnam War was about 30 years ago.  What's he been up to lately?  Has he done anything that would warrant him being President?  For a great breakdown of the Kerry speech take a look at Ben Johnson's article on Frontpagemag. 

9/11 did happen....didn't it?

Through all the DNC speeches I haven't heard much said about the actual event of 9/11.  Remember that event?  A few planes crashing into the twin towers, another plane nose-diving into the Pentagon and the last plane not meeting it's target and crashing into a Pennsylvania field.   I just thought I would remind you of this incident as the Democrats seem to have forgotten its relevance and impact on the world and especially the USA.  Unless you are drinking Michael Moore's conspiracy cool-aide, you don't think Bush is responsible for 9/11 and therefore isn't responsible for the repercussions of this attack.  9/11 had an extreme bearing on the economy as our major financial institutions were rocked and likewise the fear of flying caused big cuts for the airlines.  Bringing the economy back on track in 3 years after the biggest attack on US soil is no small feat and all the time we were fighting terrorism abroad and protecting the homeland.   The Democrats give no credit to the impact of 9/11 or to the saving grace of the tax cuts, but then again most blame Bush for the attack anyway.

Did you Know John Kerry Served in Vietnam?

If you didn't know it, you probably haven't been paying attention.

Shove it!

The ketchup lady went berserk the other day in confronting a reporter about a comment she made during a speech. Mrs. Heinz-Kerry told the reporter to "Shove it" and now she is reaping the praise for her veracity from both the Kerry campaign and the media. The real problem is that while she may in fact be standing up for herself and speaking her mind, she is really just a blatant liar. In her talk, she called the political process and its cohorts "un-American," and when confronted with this comment, she denied ever saying it. But somehow the press and her husband aren't really worried about the facts of the issue, just whether this over-serious billion-dollar windbag is allowed to speak her mind. But of course John Kerry isn't about to speak out against his wife as his prenuptial agreement probably has a clause against it.

Lance Wins 6

Congratulations to Lance and the entire USPS-Berry Floor team and their sixth straight victory in the Tour de France.  Lance was more than dominate and the team truly earned their money in this tour.  Never once was Lance put into trouble and it didn't appear that a serious attack was placed on the peloton.  It's a little disappointing that Tyler Hamilton wasn't around to challenge Lance as I believe that his skills and his team could have made it more interesting.  Tyler would have had a team in the mountains for support, but ultimately it still would have come down to the two TT's.  Either way it was a thrill and now I'm looking for the Tour's version of methadone to bring me down slowly.  Oh well, the Vuelta a Espania is due up in a few months.

Democrat Convention

The Dems had their first night of speakers at the 2004 convention.  Al Gore managed to restrain that large vein in his neck from bulging and making his eye twitch.  His voice did start to growl but obviously the person controlling Al's rheostat was under orders to keep it low.  Robotic Al has been coming un-hinged as of late and the party can't afford a large scale melt-down on national TV.  And can Hilary speak in a normal voice?  Much too stilted and always with the yelling.  Anyways, it's a great opportunity for the country to see the true Democrat party.  I also like the way they are pushing the news story that they will have "no Bush Bashing" during this convention.  That seems to clear the way for the Bush bashing and the news media accepts it as true. 

Let's begin

Welcome to the policycle blog.  With the 2004 election coming up soon and the end of the 2004  Tour de France, there barely enough time in the day to keep up with all the action.  During the month of July I am spending more time watching OLN rather then FOX NEWS or the other cable networks.  Thanks for visiting and stay tuned for in depth commentary on cycling and politics.  Thanks.