SWM: Loves Executions, Hates Gays

While I was going to overlook the whole Schiavo case in favor of a three-hour rant on why I hate my job, I decided, since political commentary is so rare these days, to put in my two cents. So here I go:

I don't believe that DeLay and Frist care about this woman. I believe that over the weekend they were trying to refocus the media off of the ethics violations and the Iraq anniversary. I believe they were trying to force the Democrats to take a lose-lose stand against this case, knowing that it would paint the Dems as pro-death. But the Dems didn't come out at all, splitting the vote straight down the middle for those who bothered to show up at all. The Senate, which is now, sadly, a joke of a legislature, didn't even bother to get more than three people in the room during vote time. A voice vote? What the hell is that? And why did the President cut his vacation early to vote on this bill when he couldn't even come back to DC after the Tsunami, in which hundreds of THOUSANDS died. Pathetic. More pathetic: the bill he signed into law allowing hospitals in TX to remove life-support based on whether or not the patient can pay. Most pathetic: This sanctity of life crap which is so obviously hypocritical based on the fact that TX executes children, mentally retarded people, and has done so to more prisoners than the rest of the states combined. Um, hello Bush and DeLay... Kettle meet pot.

This also is a slap in the face to Republicans who actually believe in Federalism, States rights, and, not that I'm a big fan, but the sanctity of marriage. No, we don't know for certain what Schiavo wanted. But her husband knows. And all we can do is believe him. There's no other choice. We can't second guess every spousal end-of-life decision so we can't second guess any of them. All we have is his word. So that has to be good enough.

I'm telling everyone I know this: I don't want this. I don't want heroic measures taken to artificially prolong my life; I want my organs ripped from my still-warm body for donation before they go to waste. And I certainly, extraordinarily, sincerely, most-assuredly do NOT want Tom Delay or Bill Frist anywhere near my breathing tube. Frist, the man who thinks AIDS can be spread through sweat. And DeLay... Well, let's just quote him:

"You know, one way they stopped churches from getting into politics was Lyndon Johnson, who passed a law that said you couldn't get in politics or you're going to lose your tax-exempt status, because they were all opposed to him when he was running for President. That law we're trying to repeal. It's very difficult to do that, but the point is, when they can knock out a leader, then no other leader will step forward for a while, because they don't want to go through the same thing. If they go after and get a pastor, then other pastors shrink from what they should be doing. It forces Christians back into the church. That's what's going on in America. The world is too bad and I'm going to get inside this building and I'm not going to play in the world. That's not what Christ asked us to do."

Yup. Jesus loves executions and hates gays. Why do you hate freedom so much?