Amazing crap persists

"I'm tired of being amazed." Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool.

Anyone observing for any length of time the legislative process at the federal, state or local level will eventually figure out most major government actions have flaws or unintended consequences. Anyone listening long enough to politicians knows they daily engage in mendacity of one form or another.

But.

Rather than seeking out those flaws and suggesting they be deleted, amended or voted down, those opposing health care reform just make stuff up. As in a guest editorial in our local paper, for example. Here's the letter I wrote in response.

"I find it puzzling that Trish Castaldi advises 'all Americans' to read HR3200 Section 1233, without reading it herself. If she had she would see it promotes the use of a document that 'effectively communicates the individual's preferences regarding life sustaining treatment, including an indication of the treatment and care desired by the individual.' Living wills and advance directives (I get them mixed up myself) take the extremely painful burden off your family of trying to decide what to do when you are beyond being able to state those decisions yourself. If you wish to be kept alive as long as medically possible, then you can say so in such a document. If you believe that at some point enough’s enough, then you can say that.

On the other hand, perhaps out of consideration for her 'two children and three grandchildren,' so someday they don’t have to stand outside her hospital room and have a painful debate, she’s already drawn up the documents. It is possible she’s done that in spite of her stated objections to Section 1233, since she clearly doesn’t know what it says."

I could have put in a p.s., reacting to this sentence: "I know death is imminent for us all, but it's not up to our government to decide when and how." If it's imminent, why are we even bothering? Let's party while we can, say our goodbyes.