Okay, it’s NOT truly scientific. But it IS interesting.

With the Republican-dominated congress, Republican President George Bush, and Republican Governor Jeb Bush all attempting to intervene “on the side of life” in Terri Schiavo’s tragic case, there are those who may mistakenly think that ALL Republicans think this way.

Don’t get me wrong. I voted (mostly) Republican, and I’m still glad I did. On this matter, however, I find myself at odds with the actions of our elected representatives.

I’m not the only one. The folks who really matter, supposedly, are the voters. And in Utah County, a “red” county if ever there was one, a recent poll in the paper shows nicely how those constituents feel: Link!

As of this writing, some 82% of readers said “No, congress should not be involved in the Schiavo case.” Granted, that’s only 708 votes, and there’s no way to restrict the poll to people who actually live in Utah County. Heck, if everybody who reads this LJ entry voted, we could skew the statistics by a margin of error large enough to drive a fleet of family minivans through. But it’s KINDA scientific, right?

The loss of the Presidential election has been described as an identity crisis for the Democratic party. I believe it’s likely that we’ll look back on Terri Schiavo’s case as a similar crisis for the Republicans. Cartoonists Cox & Forkum seem to feel the same way.

–Howard

(EDIT: Yes, I know, Utah county is a RED county, not a BLUE one, and originally I got it wrong. To quote Michael Jackson, “I don’t want to spend my life being a color.”)

No lie. Sandra just emailed me (we communicate very intimately, my wife and I) and told me that I’m getting a raise!

Reading between the lines, though, I see that she expects me to earn more money in order to justify it. THERE ARE ALWAYS STRINGS ATTACHED. It’s hard enough working for The Man without The Man being my woman.

–Howard
p.s. I love you, Sandra!

Link!

Upshot: Brigham Young University student Kim Yeoman, who suffers from spina bifida, got a chance to trek up a mountain — hauled by BYU football players and other volunteers. At the top end of the trip, which was organized by a visiting professor as part of an ongoing project funded by the Bureau of Land Management, she got to hold a sleeping baby black bear.

My Take: Heartwarming. Our distant ancestors would have done it differently, though. They would have hauled her up the hill and tossed her into the cave for the bears to eat.

See? I should never be allowed to comment on heartwarming news.

Even with GWAVAMan out of the way, my plate is still pretty full. The Penguicon folks need some artwork from me this week, as do the Aegis folks. There are still five birthday pieces to crank out, too.

Oh, and the buffer has dropped to 12. It needs to be at 21 or better by April 18th, so I can relax at Penguicon.

And then there are the desktops I’m doing for the GroupWiseR guys, a T-shirt commission for My Buddy Mike At Novell, and a stack of Warning Signs for this dude at Microsoft.

Ideally, I’ll get it all done this week. You know, if I sit RIGHT HERE and crank until it’s done, I can lose all the weight I want to just by virtue of not eating. I’ll call it the “I’m too busy to get fat” diet, write a book about it, and my money troubles will be a thing of the past.

Time to stop typing and start dieting.

–Howard