Slippery Slope Strategies

March 4, 2011assisted suicide, incrementalism, libertarians, New Hampshire, Our News & Commentary Blog, politics, slippery slope, Steve Vaillancourt, suicide, Tea PartyStephen Drake

…e’s a good overview and discussion of the “slippery slope” strategy at the site Political Strategy. Remember – in the world of political struggle, don’t let anyone corner you with the idea that the “slippery slope” is nothing more than a logical fallacy. It’s also an effective – and common – political strategy and it’s up us to redefine it. I’d also advise folks to keep a sharp eye on this new crop of “Tea Party” elected officials. They all tend t…

“Interesting” Op-ed by PR Guy for Hawaii Death With Dignity Society

February 15, 2011"The Unspoken Argument", assisted suicide, Compassion & Choices, Conflation and Con jobs, hawaii, Homicide / 'Mercy Killing', Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, scott fosterStephen Drake

…assisted suicide statue allows. That doesn’t mean that Foster wants one to run a hearing on assisted suicide: It is also clear that an M.D. should not be chairing health committees. It’s an inherent conflict of interest. There’s a contradiction there – trust a doc with your life but not your legislation? Seriously, though, I doubt that Foster would object to the hearing being chaired by a pro-euthanasia doctor. For anyone interested, there’s been…

Laura Hershey : 1962-2010

December 7, 2010activism, advocacy, in memorium, Laura Hershey, Our News & Commentary Blog, Robin StephensStephen Drake

…ted as One You can find much more about Laura and her work at the memorial site that has been set up for friends and admirers to share thoughts and memories with others: Celebrating the Life of Laura Hershey NDY’s founder – Diane Coleman – has known Laura for a long time, both being “regulars” in ADAPT. I first met Laura in 1998, when Diane and I both stayed with Laura and Robin in their house in Denver. During that visit, a bunch of us found time…

Connecting Disability Rights and Animal Rights – A Really Bad Idea

October 11, 2010animal rights, autism, critical animal studies, disability rights, euthanasia, Our News & Commentary Blog, PETA, Peter Singer, petsStephen Drake

…n’t be an insurmountable barrier in and of itself. I don’t know if that’s true or not, because there are plenty of other reasons for the disability community to steer away from equating our situations and struggle for rights with those of animals. First, animal rights advocacy is a cause that operates by defining and advocating for a set of principles which should govern human-animal interaction. It is not the animals themselves demanding this. Th…

Another loss: Barbara Knowlen 1941-2010

August 17, 2010advocacy, barbara knowlen, in memorium, Mouth Magazine, New Mobility, Our News & Commentary BlogStephen Drake

…ugh this combination of factors. In her case, it resulted in a very scary brush with a potentially lethal set of avoidable complications in the hospital: PHYSICIANS ARE APPROXIMATELY 9.000 TIMES MORE DANGEROUS THAN GUN OWNERS. Statistical proof: There are 80 million gun owners in the U.S., and 1,500 accidental gun deaths per year. There are 700,000 physicians in the U.S. who cause 120,000 accidental deaths each year. It looks to this mathematician…