PolarLava::Blog

I just read this this article over at Boing Boing and all I can say is "unbelievable"!  Nothing like having a publisher attempt to hijack/extort/strongarm your domain name from you because they did something stupid.  If you visit katie.com she has a very good explanation of her position on this whole situation and the inconvenience it has cause her.  And to Penguin Putnam all I can say is tough shit!  You don't own it and if Katie is smart, she won't sell it —at least not to you!  And although it seems that Katherine (Katie) Tarbox has a sad and unfortunate story to tell in the book Katie.com, why the hell did you agree to that name?  Why not call it "KatieT.com" which would point people's interest in it to your domain instead?  Pinheads.

8/6/2004
I just read this very interesting GrepLaw interview with Katie Jones regarding this whole situation.  Very interesting.  I've also appears that it's not Penguin Putnam that is doing the strongarming, but Katherine (Katie) Tarbox's lawyer, Parry Aftab.  Guess today is Scumbag Lawyer Day!

8/9/2004
Well, the latest news on this nonsense appears to be a major victory for Katie Jones.  Penguin Putnam has issued a press release stating that they will be changing the title of Katherine (Katie) Tarbox's book Katie.com to A Girl's Life Online.  Ah, the light goes on!  It still remains to be seen if Parry Aftab and her agenda disappear now also.

I've long thought that binaural sound recording was a cool idea.  It now seems that some of the brainy folks at UC Davis have come up with an improved binaural recording/playback system.  Neat stuff if you're into audio.

Well, it's back to reality/work today as my two week trek off to Hawaii has come and gone.  A wonderful time was had by all including myself, even with some unexpected events.  As time permits I will be documenting my adventures in the hopefully not too distant future.

11/5/04
Well okay, it did take me some time to get this reasonably well documented.  Here it is more than three months later!  Fortunately I outlined the trip as best as I could as soon as we got back.  From there it took a lot of work to fill in the holes, write the text, track down some good links and get the pictures online.  I still have more photos that need to be added and I will likely need to update this entry again to add some links for those.  But in the meantime, what follows pretty well documents our trip.  …more

I saw this Pat Oliphant political cartoon in the paper recently.  I believe it speaks volumes about the attitude of the Bush/Chenney administration…and why they need to go.  You can find more of Pat's work here if you're interested.

It's sad and unfortunate, but Terri Schiavo will never be more than the shell of the person she once was.  She's been in " a persistent vegetative state" for 14 years with virtually no hope of ever being a person who can interact with others.  And if Florida Governor Jeb Bush loses the appeal on the ridiculous "Terri's Law" that's keeping her "alive", she may finally get to move on like her husband, Michael Schiavo want to let her.  His contention is that she would not have wanted to be kept alive artificially.  And who would?  What kind of a life does she have or will ever have?  "Ooooh, look at me, I'm having fun!"  Right.  Being a parent I can't imagine how hard it would be to have to watch your child die.  But to want them to live as a vegetable, I can't.  Pull the plug, stand back, cry and let go.  It's time to move on.

9/23/04
Well the Florida Supreme Court has finally weighed in on this issue.  In a unanimous 7-0 decision, they have struck "Terri's Law" down.  May her peace come soon.

9/28/04
The saga continues…On today's episode of "Fight for the Vegetable", Terri's parents are seeking her guardianship from her husband Michael.  Sound good to me, with one stipulation… They assume all financial burden for her ongoing support and "rehabilitation".   This means the state, her ex-husband —who has to divorce her for the parents to gain guardianship, and everyone else is absolved of providing any support for her care.  None. Zip. Zero. Here she is, good luck.

Some of you might find this rather cold-hearted.  Maybe so, but she's not coming back and will never be a productive member of society.  Her parents insist she could be helped with therapy.  Maybe that's true.  How about we start with her learning to swallow?  An amazing feat that by her mothers own admission she cannot accomplish on her own.  Yeah, that's a life worth living.  Thanks mom.

1/24/05
It looks as though, this sad story is finally getting close to the end.

3/18/05
Yesterday it was baseball, today it's do good-er government interference.  And from the article, soon to be vegetable day on Capital Hill!  The United States is waging war in two foreign countries, the national debt is skyrocketing, and the stock market is trembling largely due to our dependence on foreign oil and this is what our elected officials have as their top priority today?  We are in such deep shit folks.

Two things from the parents attorney struck a chord with me: "He acknowledged she functions at the level of a 6- to 11-month-old child".  So you're telling me that a 40 year old woman who has been in this condition for 15 years is going to make a substantial recovery from this condition?  Terri will never be the adult she was when this unfortunate incident occurred.  And if it's taken her 15 years to be a 6- to 11-month-old child, do you really believe she's ever going to live any kind of a functional, meaningful life?  Let the record clearly show that should something this awful ever happen to me, please pull the plug.  I think in most of these cases it's pretty clear in the first few months to a year what the outcome is going to be.  Thus why let the situation linger on?  This is an incredible waste of money and brain power.  And not just the families money, but yours and my tax dollars.  It's got to stop.

The second comment I found interesting was that "Schiavo also can breathe and swallow on her own".  Well if that is the case, why was she put on a feeding tube?  If she can eat on her own, yank the tube.  I have to admit I don't understand why, but the court order in Florida apparently states that when they yank the tube she can not receive any food or water.  I'm not sure I understand that.  But once again I have to say, if the family wants to take her home and care for her at their expense, then let them.  As long as you and I don't have to keep paying for this nonsense and the husband agrees to no longer be legally bound to her in any way, just get on with it.  It's a pointless pursuit, but if that's what they really want then maybe they should let them.  It's not fair to Terri, but at this point shes just a pawn anyway.

3/19/05
Could we be on the final stretch?  The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal by the House of Representatives for intervention late Friday night without comment.  The tube is finally out and the clock is once again running.  Has the final countdown begun?  Will I only need to make one more update to this entry that has way out lived its usefulness?  Inquiring minds want to know!  Tune in tommorrow or some time in the next month and a half to find out.  Some bat time, same bat channel.  ;)

3/31/05
We all know the endless legal wrangling that went on regarding this case in the past couple of weeks, thus I saw no point in writing about that.  But as much as I'd like to say that this is the end of this very sad tale, somehow I think that this is only the close of the first chapter.  There will likely be more political debate —as there should be, more legal maneuvers and somehow I imagine a civil lawsuit against the husband by the parents.  And unless there is something very compelling related to this case to comment on, this is my final update on the matter.  Rest in peace Terri.