Wading In

If you scroll past the birthday greetings to my S.O., you'll come across a little something I wrote about the Senate vote on keeping a timetable in the Iraq war funding bill. But if you keep reading past that, you'll see that I set up this week's column on the right to die. I would say, "Enjoy" but how do you enjoy columns on these topics?

An Iraqi Withdrawal Timetable Kudos to Republican Senator Chuck Hagel for aligning with the Democrats in passing a bill that sets a timetable for American troops to leave Iraq. The House passed similar legislation last week. According to a recent Pew Poll, most Americans regret going into Iraq, believe the war is going badly and want troops home as soon as possible. Who can blame them when you pick up the paper and look at what transpired in Iraq just this past Tuesday: * At least 63 people were killed in two separate truck bombings in the Iraqi city of Tall Afar. In one of the attacks, an insurgent yelled that he had wheat for sale. When the people came running to his truck, he detonated it. The second bombing took place at a busy marketplace. Media reports say insurgents tried to block ambulances from evacuating the wounded. * A rocket attack in the Green Zone in Baghdad killed a U.S. soldier and wounded another. * In Anbar province, a Marine was killed in combat. * A car bomb was de...

This week I decided to write about a bill in the California legislature that would legalize so-called physician assisted suicide. It's almost a misnomer because while the doctors would be providing the lethal dose, they wouldn't administer it. But this is just a continuation of the choice issue to me. Surely, if a human has the right to choose an abortion, they should have the same right to choose to abort their own life when they're terminally ill. I cringe when I hear about some elderly person who lovingly shoots his ill wife. Such a violent death shouldn't have to happen. Medical science should help these people die with dignity. One thing people have to keep in mind is that judging by Oregon's experience, very few people actually decide to avail themselves of the right to die. That's fine. No one should be encouraged or coerced to die. It's about having the option. Californians deserve that option.

Column originally published March 29, 2007 Terminally ill should decide when it's time By Kelvin Wade It's time that California follows Oregon's lead once again. California should approve physician-assisted suicide. On Tuesday, AB 374, which is patterned on Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee by a 7-3 vote. Assembly Speaker Fabio Nunez, D-LA, is one of the co-sponsors making this bill likely to pass the Assembly. While the law would require that two independent doctors agree on the diagnosis and a six months left-to-live prognosis, a doctor would merely prescribe the lethal medication, not help administer it. There are safeguards built into the law that provide counseling if necessary and require the request to be made once in writing and twice orally. Of course, the California Medical Association opposes the law. Their canon is to first do no harm. But doctors prescribe harmful levels of painkillers at the end o...

I'm writing about gays in the military this week. We've had the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy now for over a decade. That's a long enough adjustment period. Bill Clinton could've signed an Executive Order like Harry Truman did when he racially integrated the services. Of course, such a move at the time probably would've doomed his presidency. We've come a long way since then. One state has legalized gay marriage. Civil unions have caught on. Gay characters and themes have appeared in literature, television and motion pictures. I just think it's time we dropped the policy and allow gays to serve openly. I don't look at this as a moral issue like General Peter Pace does. If I did, the military wouldn't have a leg to stand on. The U.S. Navy has had a practice of providing condoms to sailors going on shore leave at various ports of call. Anyone who knows anything about sailors knows that when they're on leave, they're not out looking for p...

Originally published on March 22, 2007 Gay Americans should be allowed to serve By Kelvin Wade 'When you get down to it, no American able to serve should be allowed, much less given an excuse, not to serve his or her country." -Barry Goldwater Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace's recent remarks calling homosexual acts immoral has more and more people calling for an end to the Clinton era "Don't ask, don't tell" gays in the military policy. With our military stretched thin around the globe, the time has come for us to join the 23 other NATO nations that allow gays to serve openly. It's no secret that ever since President Bush's misguided foray into Iraq the military has had a hard time meeting retention and recruiting goals. Now officials would dispute that. But the only way we've been able to meet some goals has been to throw money at recruits, give moral waivers and relax age, weight and aptitude standards. According to...

We went out to eat tonight. We took Cathi's daughter's family out to eat at a restaurant in Sacramento. Her daughter's husband is home from Iraq for a couple of weeks and his daughter from a previous relationship is visiting from Arizona. While we were eating, we noticed several of the wait staff congregating on the lawn outside the restaurant looking at something in the sky. Soon, diners joined the staff outside. Evidently, a train trestle was on fire causing billowing black smoke. It looked almost like a mushroom cloud from an atomic explosion. Eerie. I got goosebumps looking at it, imagining what it would be like if we were ever attacked in that manner. I whipped out my digital camera and took some pics. I thought I'd share them here.

A city's reputation is important for a variety of reasons. It's important for residents, businesses and tourists. This week's column tackles Fairfield's reputation. Fairfield has gotten a black eye recently with it's scandals among city officials. Cities like Berkeley and San Francisco have well-developed reputations. When you hear about certain things happening in those cities, you expect it, given the city's reputation. This weekend, an artist from San Francisco will be photographing a bunch of nude people in trees in Berkeley as part of an art project. 'Nuff said. Just a few years ago, San Francisco passed a law making it illegal for people to defecate in public? You mean, it was legal before then? Evidently. 'Nuff said. Then you have San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's sexcapades. 'Nuff said. There's a cost when scandals rock a town's leadership. There's a loss of prestige. Potential new residents may decide to move to another city...

Originally published March 15, 2007 Reputation important for a city By Kelvin Wade There was an interesting article in Tuesday's Daily Republic that dealt with Fairfield's image and whether or not it would hurt our city officials in their quest for federal dollars in Washington, D.C. While Washington is certainly too consumed with the Bush Administration's many scandals to care about Fairfield's image, our fair city's reputation does need polishing. Let's be real, cities do acquire reputations. Once a city gets a reputation, it's hard to change it. If I say Berkeley to you, you're probably thinking crazy, smoked-out, left-wing, socialist nut jobs. If I say San Francisco to you, you think of a gay, terminally politically correct, nutty, liberal paradise. When you hear Oakland, what comes to mind? Crime? Murders? What about Fairfield? The biggest thing Fairfield has going for it is its location. It's why I've always thought it was wronghea...

This week's column is political. But it's not your garden variety Bush bashing column. No, I'm merely suggesting something that I think will help our beleaguered President. It's probably the same advice he's received from his father, George Herbert Walker Bush. I imagine Bush Sr. has walked into the Oval Office and said to Dubya, "You can destroy the Emperor and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son." Or something like that. Cheney is probably the most feared and disliked man in America. Having him as your number one advisor is probably not a good thing. Especially when his number one advisor is now a convicted felon. There's a stench about this man that seems to corrupt everything around it. Now, people who read me know that I don't like Bush. I think he has the political gravitas of Dan Quayle, the intellectual acumen of Gilligan and the common sense of Larry Fine. His poll numbers are in the toilet. He needs to do something to change...

Originally column published March 8, 2007 It's time for Dick Cheney to move on By Kelvin Wade "There is a cloud over the vice president." - Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald Of course there's always been a dark cloud over Vice President Dick Cheney. It's a cloud of arrogance, of messianic neocon zeal. No vice president has ever wielded the power of this man. And the past week's events may signal that it's time he left the stage. The conviction of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's former chief of staff, on four federal charges just confirmed there's a stench around the vice president's office. During Libby's trial, evidence was revealed inferring a wider role in the Valerie Plame affair for the vice president, including notes written by Cheney that appeared to show he knew Libby was being sacrificed. Why doesn't President George W.Bush do the right thing and dump Cheney? It would almost be the equivalent of Dart...

I'm sorry for not updating the blog last week. It was really computer difficulities that prevented that from happening last week. My system failed. I hate Windows Vista. It is amazing to me how Microsoft has grown to such wealth and prominence through delivering operating systems that are bug riddled and have to be patched continuously. Okay, I don't hate Vista but why do we put up with this? We wouldn't put up with a toaster, microwave oven, car, stereo or DVD player that worked most of the time but sometimes would crash and you have to spend half a day resetting it. That manufacturer would have to pull their product off the market. Why do we put up with it? They're the only game in town, that's why. That's why excellence is not required. Anyway, after my machine crapped out, I had to get it running again and that all happened last Thursday. Also, last week, two year old Kawika coughed in my mouth. Ever since, I've had this hacking TB-like cough. Fever. C...

This week's column is about the outcry against Newbery Medal Award winning book, "The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan Patron. Parents and some librarians have succeeded in banning the book in many schools across several states. Why? Because the author uses the word 'scrotum' in the book. The word isn't used in a sexual way. In fact, the 10 year old protagonist overhears the word while eavesdropping on an AA meeting. A man is describing his rock bottom moment that consisted of being drunk while his dog was being bitten on the scrotum by a rattlesnake. He passes out and his wife takes the dog to the vet, saving it. While 10 year old Lucky is intrigued by the funny word "scrotum", she's more interested in the search for a higher power the man describes. And throughout the book, Lucky employs the 12 steps searching for her own higher power to get control in her life. What is this overreaction about? Is it more revenge of Janet Jackson's boob? Wh...

Column originally published March 1, 2007 Let parents decide what kids read By Kelvin Wade Scrotum. That's the supposedly offensive word that has had some parents and librarians upset and seeking to ban 2007 Newbery Medal award winning children's book, "The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan Patron. The book has been banned in several states. In the book, 10-year-old Lucky overhears a character describe how his dog was bitten on the scrotum by a rattlesnake. The author has explained in interviews that the snake-biting tale is based on a real incident that happened to a friend's dog. She goes on to say that the protagonist overhearing that word fits with one of the theme of the book, which is Lucky preparing to be a grown up. The passage continues: "Scrotum sounded to Lucky like something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much. It sounded medical and secret, but also important." The American Heritage Dictionary defines scrotum ...

Column originally published Feb. 22, 2007 Voting by mail not a bad idea By Kelvin Wade Why can't California become more like Oregon? In Oregon, service station attendants pump your gas for you. There's no state sales tax so the price on the tag is what you pay. And they vote by mail exclusively up north. At least, let us vote by mail. When I first started voting in 1984, I was surprised by the procedure. I didn't expect there to be a list of me and my neighbors' names and addresses and political parties outside the polling place. I didn't expect the place to be manned by Jurassic poll workers who moved like tortoises underwater. Didn't expect that I wouldn't have to show ID or that I'd wait in line behind people who seemingly never thought to read up on the issues before heading to the polling booth. I probably could've voted five times if I'd wanted to, but I wanted to get in and out. Still, despite it's problems, I managed to vote....