If not now, when?

Until recently, I argued that Final Days were not a propitious time to make discretionary purchases; now I ask myself: "What better time?"

I seek not your agreement or approval, just your acceptance.

Burn, baby, burn!

I wonder how many of those asserting a free-speech right to burn the Quran are as vociferous in defending the right of dissenters to burn the American flag.

The Messenger Is Not The Message

The crazed gunman's actions were irrational and reprehensible; still, I find his premise--the parasitic infestation of Earth by Man--difficult to refute.

Can you think of a single positive contribution from our species to the welfare of the planet? (Half-hearted attempts to remedy the ravages that we, ourselves, have wrought don't count.)

Most creatures great and small coexist in symbiotic give-and-take relationships, to their mutual benefits; only from the beast at the very apex of the food chain is there all-take-no-give.

Suicide: I've been thinking...

Having witnessed my parents' protracted and bitter deaths of attrition--ignoble ends to noble lives--I conclude that life devoid of pleasure, purpose, or prospects is a life not worth living.

Even as I am busily killing time, Time is busy killing me.

I wonder how much longer I will be able to live independently, and I assert my choice not to live dependently.

An indistinct boundary often distinguishes extending life from prolonging death; best not to stray too close to the line.

If my baseline health were robust, I might be more interested in life extension; with my baseline compromised, I am less enthused.

Even as I begin to consider planning a Final Exit, I continue to take my daily multivitamin and to limit my sodium intake!

How dare the state usurp my most fundamental right--my Right to Self-determination--by interfering with the timing and mode of my own departure!

Even in hospitable jurisdictions, euthanasia is usually limited to severely-suffering terminally ill patients. Such strictures reflect archaic moral (religious) values, a pervasive societal fear of death, and a narcissistic over-valuation of human life (especially one's own). For a competent adult, the only criterion that should matter is: When enough is enough. And in that decision, for me, I am sole arbiter.

Though my impairment is substantial and distressing, I cannot vouch with any certainty that my underlying condition is "terminal" (I know only that following a recent exacerbation, there seems not much left to lose). More important in my calculus than the aggressivity of my disease are the intensity of my will to live and the extent of my endurance.

I hear every day of young people dying--young people with potential forever lost. I have no Bucket List (that matters), and scant cause for complaint.

Am I depressed? Sure, a bit. (Wouldn't you be?) But my convictions re: death and dying are well-reasoned and long-held, and I argue that my current emotions and attitudes are rational and appropriate to my circumstance.

Several dear old friends are devoutly religious--if they insist on trying to elicit a "death-bed conversion," I will have to exorcise them!

Self-deliverence is not an act but a process, the first step in which is to acknowledge and accept that you are (one way or another) going to die. All the rest is choreography.

Mens rea: intent matters

If you do good because of a promise or threat from god, are you a do-gooder or a pretender?

Like a fine wine? Not necessarily.

At 100, he's the oldest practicing physician in the U.S. He seems like a lovely gentleman, caring and compasssionate. But who's reviewing the quality of his work? (You might ask the same question of your own doctor, regardless of age.)

Caveat Emptor

For the most part, the government's role in influencing consumer choices should be to educate and inform, not to prescribe or proscribe.

Gimme That Ol'-time Religion!

On this day in 1692, five citizens of Salem, Massachusetts were hanged for witchcraft.

Life Extension

Public health advocates are alarmed that today's children may be the first generation to experience shorter life spans than their parents. So what?

Before I agree to that treatment intended to extend my longevity, I want assurance that my extended life will be worth living.

Pick Your Poison

In the wake of the banking crisis and Gulf oil spill, obstinate Republican advocacy of deregulation defies credulity. No less incredulous, starry-eyed Democratic insistence that they will craft effective and efficient regulations.

To the Editor

"Doctor shortage"? What doctor shortage? New Jersey has a nonfederal physician density of 332 per 100,000 population, ranking eighth among the fifty states, well above the national average of 283. By way of contrast, Idaho has 171, Mississippi 181, Nevada 189, Wyoming 190. I suggest that New Jersey may suffer not from a shortage of Supply but from an excess of Demand.

Chill out!

Continual sensory overload can raise the threshold necessary for subsequent stimuli to elicit a response.

Racial Profiling?

If the U.S. were being surreptitiously invaded by Swedes, would it be discriminatory (or common-sensical) to pay particular attention to blue-eyed blondes?

Trivial Pursuit

Am I the only person on the planet who doesn't give a tinker's dam where (or whether) LaBron James plays basketball?!

Re: "The Secret"--PHOOEY!

Strive to achieve your potential--you can never exceed it.

You are limited not by your dreams but by your abilities.

Much unhappiness is due to unrealistic expectations and a baseless sense of entitlement.

Universal Law of BIG

Even bright individuals, when aggregated in large groups, often collectively act stupid.*

*Note: Applies equally to Big Government and Big Business.

Let the cutting begin!

I applaud Congress' newfound and overdue insistence on Pay-as-you-go. No more deficit spending, they say; new expenditures must be funded by cuts to existing programs. Trouble is, the budget hawks can't seem to find anything to cut. Here's a thought:
Annual U.S. military spending exceeds $650 billion--Number One among the international Top Ten Big Spenders (U.S., China, France, UK, Germany, Japan, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Brazil); nearly five times the second-highest, nearly ten times the third, and billions more than Numbers Two through Ten combined! The U.S. operates 700-1000 foreign military bases (depending on how/what you count) in about 150 countries, plus another 6000 domestic facilities. Stimulating local civilian or host nation economies is not a legitimate military objective--let's close all military installations, foreign and domestic, that are not essential to (our) homeland security, and downsize the rest. Let's eliminate all those wasteful weapons systems that the military doesn't need and that even the president and the pentagon don't want but which stay budgeted to appease certain powerful legislators who can claim the bacon for their home districts. Let's expedite disentanglement from our futile and enervating incursions in Iraq and Afghanistan. And let's demand that henceforth our allies do more of the heavy lifting.
Guardians of the public purse, lay down your scalpels and grab a chainsaw!