Schiavo and the federal reach - CC

You know, after reading up a little bit on Federalism, I'm left with the same feeling I get in my gut whenever I read anything about government: kinda sick and annoyed.

Government is a sticky business. If we want to look at Federalism -- I mean really look at it -- then let's consider the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code), the illegal federal taxation of Americans, and our straw men. But that's a blog for another day.

Now I'm no political junkie nor a great fan of the federal government. But, when it comes to overstepping its bounds, those who wield federal influence will push the envelope until checked, justifably or not. The case of Terry Schiavo is no exception.

In this case, I am in agreement with George W. Bush that we should "err on the side of life." Terry survived for 15 years in her condition; she was not on life support beyond a feeding tube; she did not have any way of saying that she preferred death over her vegetative state.

In most situations, I would be generally opposed to Big Brother making decisions that could be handled on a local or state level. The exception would be in the case of life and death. My feeling is that in this case, even if done for the wrong reasons, the right decision was made on a federal level.

How did it come to this? - cc

Let's start off by making one thing clear: I don't know the facts of the case.

But that doesn't much separate me from just about everyone else involved or keeping tabs on the allegations against Michael Jackson.

The trouble I find in court cases is that there is an agenda. From one point of view or another, when an agenda is being played out in court, you don't always get jounalistic fact-reporting; what you usually get is fact-smearing and fact-masquerading.

Don't get me wrong... we'd be in big trouble without our courts. What I'm saying is that on one side, it might truly be that MJ is trying to keep himself out of prison for a crime he committed. On the other end, Michael might be the victim of someone making accusations to get at his money. "Oh come on!" you say? "These parents are trying to get justice!"

After the first case was settled out of court for about $25 million, more accusers came out of the woodwork. It could be that the new accusers wanted a stab at MJ's money, or it could be that once the parents heard of someone else being molested by Michael, they finally believed their kid's story. Tell you what: when all is said and done and Jackson has no more cash, let's see if anyone else presses charges (that is, if he's not in prison).

Now, as I started off, I don't know the facts, and honestly, I doubt you do either. But the allegations and claims being made just blow my mind.

Take, for example, the 1993 lawsuit wherein Jackson spent 30 consecutive nights with a 13 year old boy.
1) Why would Jackson WANT to spend that much time with a boy if he didn't have "selfish" intentions? Is that not suspect? Isn't it abnormal??
2) Why would the boy's parents ALLOW Jackson to spend that much time with the boy, sleeping together, etc? Is THAT not suspect??

The details in the current case are no less jaw-dropping. Seriously, I don't think I could make up a story this strange. For heaven's sake... Jesus juice?! How did it ever come to this for the King of Pop?

The First Impression - cc

A Bio ---

I once took an IQ test online. The results indicated that I am a visionary philosopher. Let me put some thought into that and consider whether it's true....

Before I do that, I'll take a moment to introduce myself to the world, or at least those of you peering into the virtual world of the world wide web.

I believe first impressions are important, but so is being real. The typical scrubbed-up best-foot-forward version people usually present as "themselves" is often misleading. Just look at all the cases of the guy next-door "who would never hurt a fly" yet ended up going on a killing spree.... um, nevermind. That's not me. Maybe I should begin again.

My name is Joe, and when I'm not busy contemplating the cares of the world, I'm a pretty laid back guy. Born and raised in the surrounding suburbs of Chicago, I now have taken up residence in the heart of the city. My apt. (abbreviated to mimic actual size), work and school exist within about two miles of each other. I work at Harris Bank and attend Columbia College for journalism.

Actually, I attend the college for the experience and the all-important piece of paper that proves I graduated. I study journalism, and it's been a bit of a journey coming to that choice of profession. I remember sitting in my fifth grade classroom considering what I want to be "when I grow up," -- whenever that happens -- and thinking that journalism is the last option on the list. Oh Fate, how you mock me.

The truth is, I love words. I enjoy the act of writing, the scribing of thoughts into a tangible form, and I enjoy reading and trying to absorb the concepts others have faithfully written. When it comes down to it, though, I simply love a well-crafted piece of written work. Hence, after many changes of this supposed "visionary philosopher's" mind, I have settled on a profession that plants me directly in the thicket of a word buffet.

As a final thought, I'll leave you with a quote by E.B. White that describes one facet of my life very well. It was sent to me via e-mail by my sister, someone who knows me well.

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day."