I'm more convinced that this administration believes that we are cattle - A little less than a happy high — LiveJournal

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			I'm more convinced that this administration believes that we are cattle - A little less than a happy high — LiveJournal




			05:50 pm February 10th, 2005

komos


	I'm more convinced that this administration believes that we are cattle
	I'm going to state for the record that if Medicaid is restructured to the point of my having purchase of long term care insurance in order to have any hope of affording the privilege of ~~rotting away in a nursing home~~ my "golden years," I want a viable legal alternative on the table. My personal choice would be physician-assisted suicide, but I'll take the right to stride into the surf like an old Irish king, sword in hand, to fight the incoming tide without having some do-gooder come and fish me out of the waves. While I'm at it, I'm going to insist on a Viking ship burial. Screw y'all if you don't like it. And no, selling off everything I own and/or expecting my family to pay for the government requiring an artificially extended life that reaches beyond the point where I deem it's worth living is NOT a viable option. I do not wish to be a marginally functioning subsidy for the medical and pharmaceutical industries. If Dubya and his cronies expect me to be, they damned well better figure out a way to foot the bill.

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	Comments




			Thread started by Ulf Smidhr

From: ulf_rulz	Date: February 10th, 2005 11:40 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Heh. Y'know, up here in Vermont you can pretty much do what you want with a body. You can still have a family burial plot in the back yard. The only real rule is that the "...body must be transported in a good, stiff box." No kiddin'. I got a good pal who wants to intern himself in a burial cairn on my land when he's ready to go. I don't think that's legal, so we gotta find some tricksy work around. Anyway, a year & a day later he wants me to go in, fight off his lich, hack off his head & make a bejeweled coffee cup out of it.

Sure. Why not? Me, I'm building a little knarr when I hit the middies; sailin' it around until I'm too old. Then I'm heading for open waters & settin' the bitch in fire. Yeah!

When they control Death they control Life.

Oh, hi!

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	From: komos	Date: February 11th, 2005 01:53 pm (UTC)		(Link)

If the foray into the barrow is accompanied with a Zeppelin soundtrack? You have my blessing in spades.

Heya. ^_^

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			Thread started by Vanessa

From: ex_cayetana730	Date: February 11th, 2005 01:06 am (UTC)		(Link)

Oh you shall have the Viking ship burial. Maybe Paul can make your burial torc. I'll weave fine fabrics for you. And maybe Drew can make the ceremonial meade. See? All set!

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	From: komos	Date: February 11th, 2005 01:45 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I have the best friends ever.

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			Thread started by sassyinkpen

	From: sassyinkpen	Date: February 11th, 2005 01:22 am (UTC)		(Link)

Patterns in life amaze me sometimes....I know your rant was about health care, but I - like the other commenters - chose to jump on the nugget of death...Because I was just thinking about all this.

On the way home today I was listening to an NPR story about leaving your body to medical science. All in all it sounds like a pretty good deal and I'm seriously considering it now.

'Cause dude...

I'll take the right to stride into the surf like an old Irish king, sword in hand, to fight the incoming tide

You're going to need a permit for that.

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	From: komos	Date: February 11th, 2005 01:50 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Failing that, I'll just ask my family to drive me into the wilds of Canada and "go for a walk."

Incidentally, you could choose science or you could choose art. (I'll be interested to get your take on this one...)

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	From: sassyinkpen	Date: February 11th, 2005 03:31 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Now that is really cool...

I've never heard of such a thing. Freaky, but incredibly interesting. It bears some considering - I like the idea that it's purpose is to bring a deeper understanding of the human body to the layperson. (Now if only they could preserve and disect values and viewpoints and opinions so that we could flay them open and get people to have a clearer look.)

I showed this to my husband and he was really intrigued too - but said he'd never do that because he didn't like the idea of his body being preserved for all time. "Our bodies are not meant to be preserved like that." Med science is OK for him, because at some point he would be disposed of.

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	From: komos	Date: February 11th, 2005 03:55 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I wouldn't have known about it either were it not for the lovely Princess Bing, who visited the LA show not too long ago.

I think the idea is incredibly interesting. I'm just not sure I could sign off on the idea for myself. It has less to do with the idea that human bodies shouldn't be preserved like that so much as not being entirely comfortable with the idea of my being on display as a corpse that's been sliced or exploded vertically. I may rethink this. I don't know.

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			Thread started by Eric

	From: cosmicserpent	Date: February 11th, 2005 01:51 am (UTC)		(Link)

We've been cattle since 1776 according to any president so why should this one be different?

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	From: komos	Date: February 11th, 2005 01:51 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I'd appreciate it if he would at least attempt to maintain the illusion.

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			Thread started by Eric

	From: cosmicserpent	Date: February 11th, 2005 01:54 am (UTC)		(Link)

One other thing (you probably already know this):

Half of US bankruptcy cases are due to medical expenses.

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	From: komos	Date: February 11th, 2005 01:56 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Yeah, and we're in process of making it more difficult to claim bankruptcy.

Moo. I say, Moo.

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(Deleted comment)

	From: komos	Date: February 11th, 2005 01:57 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I think I'm toting a little more mass than a chicken tender, but if you folks can make it work, I'll be very happy.

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	From: cosmicserpent	Date: February 11th, 2005 02:36 pm (UTC)		(Link)

That was no simple chicken tender; that was a very special Rugrats edition chicken tender.

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(Deleted comment)

	From: komos	Date: February 11th, 2005 03:06 pm (UTC)		(Link)

There's a difference between "good health care" and requiring that a life be artificially prolonged. I'm not saying that the nursing home industry is universally bad, nor do I believe that I have the definitive answer for what makes a life worth living. What I do know is that if my mind goes into a decline will likely end with me drooling on myself and crying for my dolly, or that if my body decays to the point where I'm not able to brush my own teeth, I'm really not keen on being locked into a system that not only ensures but mandates that I hang on as long as possible in my reduced state. I should have a choice, and current law doesn't allow it. You'll pardon my French, but fuck that noise.

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(Deleted comment)

	From: komos	Date: February 11th, 2005 03:48 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I figured... no worries. When I get ranty, I go a little crazy.

I'm also a little too close to my topic. :\

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