Moments of clarity

Rewind to the last election.........................the fatal sound bite. Howard Dean screeching and gesticulating to the crowd. I had a moment of clarity. At that moment, I knew that he was a political nonentity. I understood the implications of that out-of-context snippet of video. I mourned the loss. I liked Howard Dean. Would have voted for him without the reservation I harbored for John Kerry.
Fast forward to today. I was watching Charlie Rose interviewing Mike Nichols, the director. Very interesting guy, even when he was talking about stuff that really didn't interest me. Then suddenly, he provided me with another moment of clarity. He was discussing Howard Dean's fall, and in a couple of devastatingly simple sentences, he made me understand why that snippet of video was so damning. What he said was, "the audience wasn't miked". Dean was trying to project over, and was reacting to a raucous crowd. But because the audience's reaction to him wasn't provided(or was deleted), an (all) important piece of contextual information was omitted, and allowed those who wished him ill to effectively neutralize his message and appeal to the voters. Nichols said, "this is a serious thing." Perhaps one of the greatest understatements I've heard in some time. A real life "Wag the Dog", perpetrated on the American public in ths space of about five seconds. In my estimation, perhaps the most pivotal five seconds of the entire campaign.
This scares me,
Hank

Ellen Goodman-conscience clauses

Hey all;
Check out Ellen Goodman's column in the York Sunday News. The upshot is that they( pharmacists who refuse to fill "morning after pill" prescriptions) want to exercise conscience without consequence. Her "slippery slope" arguments are very compelling. By logical extension, the bus driver can refuse to let you off in front of the Planned Parenthood clinic. Interesting..........................hope I never have to decide whether or not to leave my job based on conscience issues.
Hank

Today's cartoon..............

On another subject.....................

Consider;
Your wife, daughter, mother has been raped. Medical science has developed a safe method to assure that there will be no risk of pregnancy from this act. Your family physician perscribes the medicine. When you reach the pharmacy, the pharmacist informs you that, due to his religious convictions he can/will not fill the perscription. Further, he will not refer you to someone else who might.
One of the central tenets of health care is that you do not impose your personal beliefs on those under your care. If you can't do that, you should find another line of work.
In yet another instance of legislative overreaching, lawmakers in Texas, and other states are trying to pass statutes to protect pharmacists who refuse to dispense RU486 and other such "morning after pills" to patients.
I appreciate the strength and depth of others' convictions, but "your right to throw your fist stops at my nose".
Hank

If you can't beat the system, kill the messenger

Gen'lmen;
This isn't a new issue, but recent events have brought it afresh to my attention. What right does someone who's run afoul of, or feel they've been abused by the courts have to kill the judge who's passed sentence? ...............................of course it's a rhetorical question, but that's why we ask these, to stimulate discourse.
White supremicist Matt Hale(yes, he who bloodied York's pedestrian mug by picking us to host one of his hate rallies) has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for trying to contract for the killing of a federal judge. The same federal judge(bizarrely) who was killed by a derranged and unsuccessful complainant in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Now, disgruntled legislators who got beat at their own game by the courts are spewing inflammatory rhetoric at the bench that further feeds the fires of anarchic zeal. All the usual suspects are featured, Santorum, DeLay. Frist is carefully distancing himself.
I can't quite read through all the smoke where this is leading, but it's really disturbing. Anyone care to pick up the thread?
Hank

Lap dog rediscovers his teeth

Quote for the day.
"I do not want to end up with an American style of politics with us all going out there beating our chests about our faith."
Tony Blair, British Prime Minister.