OK, People...Calm the F*** Down

As I mentioned, I am on back-up call this week. That means I need to be nearby and sober. So I've been getting up early and getting things done around the house. To pass the time, I've been listening to news and talk radio (and catching up on the Dan and Jimmi show). I want to make a few comments about the recent events that seem to have both sides of the aisle in a tizzy.

VA Tech
In case you haven't been following the Iraq war, suicide bombing works. If someone wants to kill someone else, and is willing to trade their life to do it, it is damn hard to stop them. Especially if you want to maintain some semblance of a free society. So:
1) There is no proof, nor will there ever be, that stricter gun laws could have stopped THIS tragedy.
2) There is also no proof (Mr. Limbaugh) that less restrictive gun laws would have resulted in a student having a gun and shooting the killer, thus saving lives. Nor would a less politically correct culture have stopped it.
From a medical perspective, I consider it akin to treating high blood pressure. I will never be able to prove to you that taking medicines will keep YOU from having a stroke or heart attack. But I can prove that, in a large population over time, those who take medicines have fewer of both. Similarly, I think the overall data sugget that gun control is a wise way to decrease the number of people who die in violent shootings. So I'm for it, even though I doubt it would have prevented this one. As data come out, it appears a better mental health care system wouldn't hurt, either.

"Partial Birth Abortion"
This is not the end of the world, nor is it the end of "a woman's right to choose" -- a phrase even I think we should chuck. There is no right to choose -- there is a right to privacy that has been interpreted into the Constitution.
First, the Court just said that the law, as written, is not unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy clearly left open the possibility that a challenge to its application would be considered. Honestly, I'll be shocked if it gets that far. The defendant will either be a Doctor who did what s/he thought was best for the patient, or a mother who just had an abortion. I don't see a jury convicting either in this country.
Second, I'm not sure it so terrible for us to be in an officially vague middle ground. The judicial branch is designed to protect minorities and the weak. Roe v. Wade defends the rights of the woman. Since I don't know when ensoulment/individuality occurs, I err on the side of the woman. But I'm also willing to consider the possibility that a potentially viable fetus should be given a chance, and might deserve the protection of the courts as well. If people would stop screaming and start talking, we might be able to get to a place where abortion is, as President Clinton hoped, "legal and rare".
And, third, we could put the money the "Prolifers" and "Pro-choicers" use browbeating each other into the adoption and foster care systems, giving the children a real chance.

BTW - I realize the above ruins any chance I had of running for office as a Democrat. So I'll just have to settle for running Phillip's campaign someday.

Mr. Gonzales
You've seen my prediction on this.
To the Democrats -- this was not an assault on freedom. The President had the authority to fire these folks, and he did so. He just didn't want it to appear political, which it was. So he covered it up, and got caught. Get rid of Gonazles, and let it go.
To the Republicans -- Join the angry mob. I think Sen. Coburn calling for Gonzales' head says it all. From the clips I've seen of his testmony, I'm embarrassed to have him as attorney general. He looked clueless.
Mr. President -- make it go away.

What did scare the hell out of me yesterday was the shooting at the hospital in Tijuana. I was actually thinking about this possibility as I drove home Monday listening to the news about VA Tech. To have it happen so soon was startling.

I don't worry much about terrorists specifically targeting a hospital -- I don't think they'll engender much sympathy specifically targeting the weak, the sick, and the people trying to help them. I say "specifically targeting" because these groups are obviously a large portion of civilian "collateral damage".

But we do treat many victims of attempted murder and domestic violence. Clearly, someone out there would prefer I not succeed in my healing endeavors. While the Emergency Room of a county hospital often has police milling around, the ward floors and community hospitals rarely do. And entrance is wide open, without a metal detector in site. Lest you think nothing bad would happen in a hospital, most have a "Code Pink" protocol. Unlike the familiar "Code Blue", in which we charge in with ventilators and defibrillators, the "Code Pink" requires we try to crash the hospital until we find the person who STOLE A BABY. If people would come in to steal a child, it's not much of a stretch to think they might shoot the mother and her doctor. Especially if they were mentally unstable or on drugs. Not that THAT ever happens.

Sleep well. I may not.