Remember this Crater?

Remember when Opportunity rover on Mars saw Endurance crate? It looked big!
Look what's over the horizon... Victoria.
You can follow Mars Rovers here.

And don't miss the amazing pictures from ESA Mars Express. Like this "frozen sea ice". And look what's ahead for ME.

Terri

Where to start? Such a tragic story. Such a pull of emotions. Spousal right. The sanctity of life. The freedom of death. And a real story. A horrible situation. Yet a time for us all to reflect and to ponder the difficult thoughts that more than likely will face us at some level some day directly or indirectly.

Below you can see where I stood on this issue. "Stay out of my life!" And I still feel this is true. At this point, there I don't see a means to distinguish between black and white. So someone has to be made in change if the situation requires.

But I have to say, I'm learning a lot from this poor family's tragedy. I've been forced to think about the other side. Why has "The Right" fought so diligently over this? Why have they put politics into this and put their political necks on the line for this case? I don't believe they are so low to drag this into the national spotlight to court the evangelical vote. I have more faith in them than that. So I have been listening. I have been trying to understand their drive to sound the message of life.

I keep trying to think of analogies. And I keep hearing people on talk radio discuss this subject. "Pulling the feeding tube is no different from pulling the ventilator." "Suffocate, starve, what's the difference?" But I'm coming to think that this isn't the root of this story. The root of "the sanctity of life" plight.

For me (and this case is all about you. If it's not, Terri's life and death has no purpose to you and she died like any other death that day. Except it was humiliatingly dragged out into the open.), Terri's life has made me think of this situation beyond an brain injured spouse. There's a fine line between life and death.. Where do you draw it? A coma, a ventilator and a heart lung machine? A feeding tube? Alzheimer’s? the mentally retarded ("Who'd want to live like that?") Where is the line? And where should our government get involved. Of coarse the government should stop any attempt to euthanize retarded people. And grandpa in the nursing home with Alzheimer’s shouldn't be allowed to perish because his brain can't take him to the store to buy food (thereby "letting nature take it's coarse). But where's the next line? Terri? Terri.

So this IS a story that matters to me. It isn't just a family's tragedy being dragged through the street for political gain. It's about the future of society. It's about where we draw the line. And if we don't continue this discussion today, then Terri's sacrifice - Terri's family's sacrifice is for not. And Pope John Paul leaves us at the very same moment. I valiant missionary for the sanctity of life. His sacrifice, and the celebration of his life in his death. That life leads to death. That death is eventual. But life is eternal even in death.

So don't let the subject fade, or Terri's death and the Pope's death are without meaning - without lesson. We must refine the line. Whether Terri wanted it that way or not.

Pulitzer Message

Interesting story about this year’s Pulitzer Prize photos. View them here, then read on.

What do you think? Are they "anti-American"? Do they support terrorism? Biased? Are they missing anything?
I first read The Belmont Club. I thought he was spot on. He refers to
Michelle Malkin. Of coarse, the same view point. And she links to
Jawa Report. Which is an excellent breakdown of the photos.

In the end, I tend to agree with the view that this is a sad testament to the Pulitzer Prize and to our major media. Are these photos "a distinguished example of breaking news photography"? Of coarse. But half of these photos could have been take during the Saddam era. The dead children? The man is a cage? Mutilated bodies?

Aren't there other photos that also show breaking news? How about the photos of men, women and children greeting American and Iraqi soldiers who have liberated their neighborhood of thieves and murderers? How about millions of Iraqis dancing in the street with purple fingers, breaking down and crying as the reality that the tyrant, Saddam, is gone forever - crying for the family members that died unjustly for decades? Sure terrorist executions are news. But voting in Iraq... That's breaking news.

Score: Terrorist 6, Freedom ???

How come everytime I hear a report about an attack in Iraq, all I hear are the good people casualties. Seems like some of the bad guys must go down once in a while, too.

Michael Moorse's Minutemen
Car Bomb Factory Closed

The world is changing. Don't be left in the dark

Kyrgyzstan

More Revolution Not Being "Less Improtant" the Steroids and Spousal Rights

Revelution in Kyrgzstan. Who knew? The blogoshpere knew.

For more information on Kyrgyzstan- Publius Pundit, Registan.net and Ben Paarmann

Interesting View of Today's News

Here's a little piece about the past and maybe the future from Glenn Reynolds (Remember Chandra Levy?). Inside is a link about our carrier battle group converging on the Middle East:

Three carrier battle groups are converging on the Persian Gulf. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson has departed Singapore and is currently crossing the Indian Ocean, en route to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is also on the move, crossing the Atlantic Ocean, reportedly headed toward the Mediterranean.

Reports are also circulating that the U.S. Navy has dispatched ships containing nuclear armaments to reinforce the battle groups. This will be the first time since February 2004 that the U.S. has had three major carrier groups stationed on or around the Middle East.

Show or force, or impending use of force?

Still Astonished

Do the lifers believe living wills should be legal? From the arguments I heard, all stemming from "life is precious", I can't imagine how they could supports such a document. Isn't it tantamount to assisted suicide? The Republican outrage just seems so abnormal.

Again, I was thinking about the rights bestowed upon a spouse. What about divorce? Aren't there guidelines around spousal responsibility, and due process? They each get half. Who says, now? Maybe my family hires big time lawyers and my ex-wife gets zilch. Or less! The right wing is treading in some deep water here. And I can only believe it's pandering. It can only be political. It's shameful. And disgraceful.

Stay outa my life!

I am embarrassed to have to write about this. I'm embarrassed that people think that they belong in this conversation. I'm ashamed of congress for getting involved. This is none of anyone's business other than the family’s'.

Doesn't the law bestow upon the spouse guardian rights? Doesn't this rights cover many aspects of married life? Isn't this one of the rights gays are fighting to get in marriage? I hope so. I hope my wife is my guardian. I married her to be my life. She is my life. She makes the decisions for me if I can't make these decisions. I trust her with my life. So don't take that away from me. And don't take away her right to her inheritance. Don't take away her right to my 401k benefits or my IRA funds. And all of the other inalienable rights bestowed upon a spouse. If this case becomes precedence, what's to keep others from getting involved in all of these other situations? And how far do we go in allowing involvement? Immediate kin? One degree of separation? Or two if the first degree is suspicious or lives an "immoral" lifestyle? A nationwide ballot question?

I'm not happy that we're talking about this case. I'm very sad. And it’s sad that there are people who are thriving on this moral dilemma. That this is some philosophical, hypothetical scenario. A humorous "would you rather..." game. This is about a husband making a decision for his wife. He may be a bad guy. He may have ulterior motives. He may be trying to finally fulfill he wife's wishes. We don't know. And we shouldn't care. This isn't about whether Terri is conscious, has responsive, or in a vegetative state. This is about a spouses right; a spouses responsibility to act for their partner.

"Bush was Right." From the Globe!

Jeff Jacoby of the globe isn't afraid to ask this question.

I've been thinking it for a while. I think it started to set in at Ukraine, then the Palestinians (whether it's legitimate or not you can decide). But when I heard about Lebanon, I felt my perceptions were right. I am a realist, though. This is a long road to hoe. And not all will be steps forward. The Cedar revolution may not stick. Only time will tell. But the bottom line is, paper always coversrock.

Found at Glenn Reynold's Instapundit.