IT’S NOT THAT HE’S BITTER OR ANYTHING

Dr. Death, Jack Kevorkian, erupted into a rant while speaking at the University of Florida Tuesday night. In case you forgot, JK specialized in administering drugs to people to kill them. He called it assisted suicide. Other called it euthanasia or murder. He was convicted in 1999 and went to prison. He is out now and on parole.

Kevorkian has turned from advocating physician assisted suicide to advocating 9th Amendment democracy. He stated that he advocates democracy as the founders had envisioned it and not as it is today. The 9th Amendment reads: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. In other words, the people have rights except where the Constitution grants them to the government. There has been a constant struggle since the time the Constitution was ratified to decide what power the government had and what power it did not have.

Kevorkian’s philosophy seems to be somewhere between Libertarianism and Anarchy. He ranted "You think you're free? You've been duped." “We have never been a totally free country; despite all the propaganda you've heard [and] the brainwashing you've taken." Did anyone ever think we were a totally free country? There have always been laws. The states had laws before the federal government came to be. They still have laws. The federal government began to exercise its power after the states ratified the federal constitution and it keeps on doing it. The Supreme Court reviews those laws to see if the Constitution does, indeed, allow them. I agree there are too many laws and the government gets too involved in our lives. Of course, a lot of people like that. If I don’t like cigarette smoke, I’ll support a law saying you can’t smoke where I breathe. But, it limits the rights of the smoker and nothing in the constitution specifically says the government can regulate smoking. The same thing with urinating in public. I had a client back in the ‘80s who got arrested for it twice. He thought the law was unduly restraining. The people who got urine on their shoes weren’t so sure.

Kevorkian also maintained he has no respect for the law. We knew that, Jack. That is why you felt free to kill people when the state said no, no, no. About this point in the speech, JK began to spin out into the unknown regions of logical space. He said no law can create a crime. Unfortunately, it just isn’t true. The state governs. If you are fortunate, it governs through law as opposed to, say, the whim of the dictator. If you violate the law, it is a crime. And you get punished. Like Kevorkian did.

It would be nice if we needed no law and we could all do what we want and would all be nice to each other. But, we don’t all play nice in the sand box. Saddam put children in jail, raped women, killed men, and tortured all kinds of folks. Jeffrey Daumer ate people. John Gayce sexually killed and abused little boys. Hitler killed six million or so Jews because they were Jews. Kevorkian shuffled old or sick people off this mortal coil using drugs. But, Kevorkian says "It just boggles the mind that we're forced to do things we don't want to do because the law will put is in jail.” (I wish I had video of this. I wonder if he was projecting white spittle into the crowd at this point.)

Kevorkian is smart enough to know you cannot function with no law. He went on to say a person should be able to carry a kilogram of cocaine in your pocket as long as you don't try to sell it or abuse it in some way; in your home you can smoke anything you want. You can have any rifle you want. You should be able to carry a rifle or an uzi down the street, as long as you don't threaten anybody. Notice, he set limits on rights here. You can carry a drug if you don’t sell it. Well why, Jack. Why would the government not have the right to say you can have the drug and use it, but you cannot sell it. Who are they anyway, your mom? He also said you can’t abuse it. Why? Who is to say I am abusing the drug as opposed to taking it. If I want to take twice as much as you, who are you to say no? (Also remember people think you abused drugs by giving them to people to kill them.)

Ok, I’m tired now. I was going to dissect the rest of the speech, the genocide in Iraq and America is Fascist and we should refuse to vote blah blah blah.

But, I do want to make another point. Kevorkian wants democracy as the Founders envisioned it. I’m afraid that might mean a democracy where Blacks and Women cannot vote. Let’s remember lots of those Founders owned slaves. Women did not vote for years after the founders had gone into eternity like the people Kevorkian killed. And, it appears, that might be what this Mad Hatter wants. He complained that Whites don't unite. He went on to say Black people have the power in this country. That will be a relief to lots of Black people in America, Jack. I’m sure a short poll will figure out they don’t feel that way.

Oh, but there’s more. He said Blacks can unite because of their common color and because they know what slavery is. I guess this means Whites don’t have a common color and don’t know what slavery is.

Do Whites really need to unite? Or Blacks, for that matter. Can’t we be people? Americans? Non-Kevorkians?

The University of Florida should have scheduled Kevorkian for a psychology seminar, because this man needs help. He sounds like a man who would like to destroy everything because we wouldn’t let him kill the people he wanted to. It is a shame to give such a big platform to a madman. Maybe they can follow it up with Charles Manson. He has some issues with the government, too. Maybe they could run on the same ticket for president and vice president. Kevorkian\Manson. Their slogan? “Die. All of you. Because I want you too.”