Routine Maintenance

[vovat]

I'm not totally sure what I think about the Terri Schiavo case. On the one hand, I don't really see the point in going through so much effort to keep a probably-brain-dead woman alive. On the other hand, is it true that there was a lot of money set aside to pay for her treatment? I thought they might have been using money from taxes to keep her alive, which would have complicated the situation somewhat. If her parents want her alive, and the money is there, why not keep the feeding tube in? The one thing I AM sure about is that making a federal case of this one person, when so many other people (many of them with functioning brains) are dying from starvation and other easily preventable causes, is ridiculous. It's like the government and the media are saying, "If we make a big deal out of caring for this one person, who cares about the big picture?" In a way, it reminds me of the stories I've heard about how great Bush is for comforting war widows, even though they probably wouldn't BE widows if Bush weren't sending their husbands off to die for him. Then there are the conservatives who want to use Schiavo as a way to promote their hypocritical "pro-life" agenda, which is pretty sick.

Most of what I said in that last paragraph has been said before, but I thought I should weigh in, since just about everyone else is. Anyway, to bring this entry back to more mundane matters, it's about time to take my car in for an oil change. The car's maintenance guide says I should also get the brakes, steering, cooling system, and other things checked out. I usually get this sort of maintenance done at the dealer's, but there must be a cheaper way. Will a place like Midas or Meineke do these things? I know the gas station where I usually get my oil changed doesn't do brakes at all, and I've heard rumors that they're going to be closing down soon anyway.

...and which lesser Harry Potter character are you?

Float On by Modest Mouse

"Bad news comes don't you worry even when it lands Good news will work its way to all them plans" Laid back and real, people appreciated you for you are in 2004.

What 2004 Hit Song Are You?

I think I might have heard that song, but I can't remember it. Incidentally, what's with the groupings in the first question? Who in their right mind would ever associate Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, and Liz Phair with each other?

You Should Try Skydiving

Don't look before you leap And you'll become a hardcore extreme sports addict

What Extreme Sport Should You Try?

You Belong in New Zealand

Good on ya, mate You're the best looking one of the bunch Though you're often forgotten... You're quite proud of who you are

What English Speaking Country Do You Belong In?

By the way, you should take my quiz, unless you're one of the two people who have already done so. Come on! You know I'd do the same for you!

Comments

[twobitme.livejournal.com]

I *believe* that the money they won in litigation has already been spent in hospital bills, and the husband has been using what money he had until recently. That part of the story hasn't really been paid attention to, but I swore I read it somewhere.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

It seems like that would be a significant part of the story, but then, important stuff is always left out of news stories. Not that I want to reduce the whole thing to dollars and cents, but I'm sure it IS expensive treatment, and it's quite likely to be of no avail anyway. I forget where I saw/heard it, but I remember recently coming across a comment along the lines of, "If Jeb Bush really wants this woman kept alive, why doesn't he pay for it?"

[twobitme.livejournal.com]

I like how quickly the Bush family went from, "THIS SHALL NOT PASS!" and quickly, it became, "We did what we could." There WAS brief mention of Jeb trying to get her as a ward of the state, which doesn't even sound like something remotely possible.

It's a messy situation. Thursday's Daily Show had a great little bit about the venemous news stories going on around the country about it.

And I think the father going around saying, "All of you who want to see her dead are finally getting your wish" is just disgusting.

[revme.livejournal.com]

Yeah -- from what I understand, he got ~1 million dollars, 300 grand to put him through nursing school, and 700k to keep her alive, and I believe most of that's gone through already.

But the thing is, though -- the parents want her alive, but they don't have the power to make that decision. (Not to mention that there's a lot of other stuff; there's claims that back when this was happening, they were encouraging Michael to move on with his life and get a new girlfriend, etc., and now that they think there's money involved, they're all WE MUST KEEP HER ALIVE! LOOK AT HIM, SHACKIN' UP WITH SOME WOMAN ALL CHEATIN ON HIS WIFE WITH THE LIQUID BRAIN WHICH WE ARE SURE WILL BE ABLE TO RECOVER!!!; and also, Michael's claiming that Terri, before having the accident, had implied/said that she wanted the plug pulled in a situation like this, but never actually wrote it down in a Living Will -- of course, though, this one, I can't say whether or not it's true, but if it is, I'd think that what she would have wanted should supercede. Like, if she'd said (in a living will), "do NOT pull ANY plug on me WHATSOEVER" and Michael were "let her die!", I'd say he was totally in the wrong, even though I'd pretty much be sympathetic to his position and whatnot, since, well, what kind of life is that? But legally, still in the wrong.)

So, yeah... I think the entire thing is pretty DEVO, and the political grandstanding stuff over this is pretty goddamn nauseating.