BT, a staunch Republican Yankee, writes, “Jerry Springer was selected as a delgate to the Democratic National Convention. Res Ipsa Loquitur … the whole thing speaks for itself.”

I replied, “Along with Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of the world’s 6th-largest economy, this nation is headed down the well-televised, mass-marketed joke it has long yearned to be.”

From Yahoo!News:

A U.S. Appeals Court on Wednesday ruled that a Bush administration directive seeking to stop Oregon doctors from helping terminally ill patients commit suicide was unlawful and unenforceable.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision said U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft overstepped his authority when he
ordered Oregon doctors to ignore a state law that allowed them to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients who wished to die.

Since 1998, at least 170 people have used Oregon’s law to commit suicide, state officials said. At the moment, Oregon is the only U.S. state to permit physician-assisted suicide.

Ashcroft’s directive had threatened to revoke prescription writing licenses for physicians and pharmacists who filled life-ending drug orders.

Let a person die in peace, at least. “Oh, you can’t do that because we, Bush and Ashcroft, say you can’t.” Just in case you weren’t aware, dimwits, we are a constitutional republic, not an oligarchy. Aren’t these people supposed to be upholding our consitution (especially Amendments 9 and 10), separation of the branches of government, separation of church and state, and all addenda pertaining to said civic doctrines? Yay, 9th circuit court of appeals! I’m glad a court put its foot down and said “Bugger off!” but the fact that we have to tell the trustees of our government how their ward works is quite disturbing.