D & A C,

Happy Halloween from Dr. J.

Mrs. Dr. J. Is whipping up some witch’s brew and the little interns are practicing amputations.

I came across this article on the web.

In it a Wyoming congresswoman is telling us that some of her ill constituents are considering surrendering their mortal coils by December’s end rather than see 55% of their wealth handed over to Washington.

Now she doesn’t describe healthy 70 year-olds joining the Hemlock Society but rather old, sickly, terminally ill ranchers on dialysis (or with heart failure, or advanced relapsed cancer, etc.) who might stop treatment and dying within a month.

This is actually a realistic scenario that might affect a hundred or so individuals who, rather than fight and live to see Billy graduate from college in May would rather die to insure that Billy will inherit the farm.

It’s certainly more plausible than the idea of a surgeon amputating limbs or taking out tonsils without an indication. That would be crazy.

Best,
Dr. J.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.