Monthly Archives: January 2020

Seven Republicans looking to unseat Naperville Democrat Lauren Underwood in the 14th Congressional District used their first public debate Wednesday night to lay out their top priorities.

The ideas offered during the forum at McHenry County College ranged from social issues to political ideals and provided a contrast for GOP voters eyeing the March primary.

Two candidates, Jerry Evans of Warrenville and James Marter of Oswego, identified abortion as their top legislative priority if elected. Evans repeatedly said compassion is a cornerstone of his philosophy to governing.

We should never call it compassionate if we chop up a child and suck it through a tube, Evans said. I stand for life. I believe life begins at conception. We need to defund any form of taxpayer-funded abortion. The government should not be part of any form of euthanasia.

Marter said hes been attending anti-abortion marches and prayer vigils long before he got into politics. He went as far as to criticize his own party, specifically former Gov. Bruce Rauner, for making Illinois the abortion capital of the Midwest.

We need to defund Planned Parenthood, Marter said. We need to protect the most innocent lives from the moment of conception. We need to defend life from euthanasia and assisted suicide. We need to be the country that stands up for life.

Anthony Catella, who is from St. Charles, spoke in broad philosophical terms when identifying his top priority.

I believe in our national purpose and power, he said. I believe strongly in an educated citizenry. And I believe in the ideals of faith and freedom.

Ted Gradel, who lives in Naperville, said career politicians are at the root of whats wrong with the federal government. He said legislation locking in term limits for all members of Congress would be his top priority.

Weve seen in this state a tragic example of when a machine gets established, Gradel said. We have a ruling class that has enriched themselves at the expense of everyone else. We see politicians go to D.C., and they lose touch with who we are and the problems we have and the solutions we need.

Catalina Lauf, a Woodstock resident, adopted some of President Donald Trumps rhetoric in identifying draining the swamp as her top priority. She said legislation that focuses on securing the inherent freedoms of Americans would be her focus.

Government is too big, Lauf said. We need to ensure our rights are not being touched. Chief among them is the Second Amendment. And right along with that is the First Amendment. Why should we have to whisper if we supported President Trump in 2016? Why are we afraid to wear American flags on our T-shirts? We need to make sure freedom is at the forefront of everything we do as elected officials.

State Sen. Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove said he would support term limits and solutions to illegal immigration. But he identified the federal budget and increasing federal deficit his main target if elected.

The most important thing we must do is provide a balanced-budget amendment, Oberweis said. The fact that we are stealing the future from our kids and grandkids has got to be stopped.

State Sen. Sue Rezin of Morris said the path for Republicans to take back the 14th District is to be strong on health care, the issue Underwood used in her campaign.

Im the only person on the stage who has passed legislation [at the state level], a year ago, that protects people with preexisting conditions, Rezin said. We wanted to repeal and replace [the Affordable Care Act], but didnt have a plan to replace it. That is my sole goal when I come to Washington, D.C., to come up with a plan that is affordable and accessible.

The sprawling 14th Congressional District includes parts of DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Kendall Lake, McHenry and Will counties. The primary is March 17.

The rest is here:

GOP candidates outline platforms in their first 14th District debate - DeKalb Daily Chronicle

Misleading claims that first responders in Australia were advised to kill all orphaned koala and kangaroo joeys found duringdeadly bushfires have circulated on Facebook and Twitter. The posts, published in multiple languages, citea document from the government of the Australian state of Victoria. But the Victorian government has specified that only joeys deemed unlikely to survive should be euthanised; a veterinarian consulted on the governments report also told AFP that euthanasiacan be the humane choice for orphaned joeys.

The misleading claim was published in this Facebook post on January 8, 2020. It was shared more than 150 times alongside photos of a kangaroo and koala.

The posts lengthy caption states in part: First responders tackling bushfires in Australia are being advised to kill baby kangaroos and koalas who have been orphaned as a result of the crisis. The Victorian Response Plan for Wildlife Impacted by Fire directs that the rehabilitation of orphaned milk dependent joeys from these common species found in the fire zone is not supported.

Contrary to established practice, the plan urges against handing the animals to wildlife volunteers, stating these animals require significant long term care and cannot be successfully returned to the wild.

At least 28 people have died and as many as one billion animals may have perished during an unprecedented bushfire season in Australia, AFPreported here on January 20, 2020.

Similar misleading claims were shared thousands of times after being published here, here, here and here on Facebook; and here, here, here and here on Twitter.

The posts were shared in multiple languages, including here in Japanese and here in Greek, as well asin Polish; AFP's Polish fact-check team debunked those posts here.

A similar claim appeared in this online petition titled: Stop the killing of milk dependent kangaroo and koala joeys found in bushfires.

However, theseclaims are misleading. The government of Victoria has updatedits guidelines and made clear thatonly young marsupials deemed unable to survive should be euthanised.

Andy Meddick, a Victoria Member of Parliament from the Animal Justice Party, stated publicly that such misleading claims were "categorically untrue."

There's some rumours going around about how the Victorian Government plans on handling wildlife injured in the bushfire crisis -- stating that they all must be killed,"Meddick said on Facebookhereon January 7, 2020."I can confirm these posts going around on social media are categorically untrue and not government regulation."

Meddick added that the office of Victoria Premier Dan Andrewshas madeassurances that "their plan is to support the rehabilitation of wildlife and that any native animal that can be rescued will be rescued."

These untrue posts stemmed from a wildlife training manual published in 2017, which has since been replaced," he explained.

Thetraining manual cited by Meddick, theVictorian Response Plan for Wildlife Impacted by Fire, was published by Victorias Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

"This is about the welfare of the animal and we will not unnecessarily prolong pain or suffering of animals,"

-VictoriaDepartment of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

Wildlife Crew Teams will be deployed to undertake the on ground assessment of impacted wildlife, euthanasia or the capture and transportation of animals to a triage centre," the report reads.

Euthanasia of wildlife impacted by fire should be undertaken where the health and wellbeing of the animal is significantly compromised, invasive or long term medical intervention is required, survival with treatment is unlikely, or if the animal will be unable to survive if released back into the wild.

On page 26, the report also list conditions for euthanasia, which include excessiveburns, infectiousdisease, broken limbs and orphaned milk dependent pouch young, among others.

Following misleading claims and allegations, the DELWP clarified its guidelinessurrounding the euthanasia of orphaned pouch young on January 20, 2020.

The addendum, publishedhere,reads: Recent allegations that regulations exist to euthanise all surviving wildlife are incorrect. The current Wildlife Shelter and Foster Carer Authorisation Guide states that wildlife experiencing unreasonable and/or incurable pain, distress, trauma, sickness or injury; or marsupials that are un-furred with eyes closed and ears down should be euthanised.'"

The update adds "This is about the welfare of the animal and we will not unnecessarily prolong pain or suffering of animals. Our approach to caring for our wildlife has been developed in consultation with wildlife veterinary experts."

According to a veterinarian who was consulted for the DELWP manual, age is the main criterion in deciding whether a joey should be euthanised.

The animals that are euthanased are the equivalent of a 12 week (or less) human foetus -- these are joeys that are less than 40 per cent through their pouch life -- eyes closed, unable to control their temperature, immature lungs, kidneys do not work, brain not developed, stumps for limbs," the vet, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP in an email onJanuary 15, 2020."Wildlife carers have tried for the last 50 year to get these animals to survive without success."

The vet also stated that such infant animals often "die a slow death over days from starvation, hypothermia and from diseases of immunocompromise," stressing that a more "compassionate euthanasia is to euthanase promptly to stop this suffering."

Theyadded that themisleading claims were unfair to the first responders and animal carers battling the raging bushfires and its aftermath.

The people on search teams are there to do the best job that they can do in terms of animal welfare, in what are trying and difficult conditions, the vet said.

Read the original:

Australian bushfires: government refutes misleading claims on social media that orphaned joeys will be euthanised - AFP Factcheck

Frances OConnor plays Kate Brennan, a doctor specialising in Palliative Care medicine in Australia. On the other side of the world, Kates mother Edie (played by Dame Harriet Walter) is just as passionate about her right to die. It becomes her responsibility to move her mother out to Australia and try to keep her alive. Here's a first look at the Sky series.

The topics brought up in this series are heavy going but writer Samantha Strauss does a brilliant job in bringing light to controversy.

The show is based on her own experiences with attitudes towards the right to die and she was keen to get both sides across.

The series, by See Saw Films, has been praised for its balanced attitudes and in depth research into the right to die legislation.

Samantha Strauss worked with palliative care doctors ahead of the series.

READ MORE:Black Earth Rising cast: Who is in the cast of Black Earth Rising?

Edies character been depressed for a long time and tries to kill herself in spectacular fashion - but fails.

She is shipped off to a retirement village in Australia and the story follows Kate and Edies stumbling, fractious journey as they find their way back to a relationship.

Harriet Walter, who plays Edie, said the right to die was a difficult topic to discuss.

She said: I did a TV film with Julie Walters called A Short Stay in Switzerland and that was relentlessly, brutally sad and frightening.

I have certainly thought about the topic a lot, its just one of the things thats terribly difficult to legislate.

Its hard to come to terms with the fact to have to make that decision it really seems like it has to be done by the person themselves that gives it legitimacy. I have discussed it with my husband.

Frances OConnors character Kate has a lot on her plate having to hold her family together.

OConnor said she was still uncertain on how she feels about the right to die even after filming ended.

She said: I had empathy with Kate, shes conflicted about it. I was curious to see how I would feel at the end of filming but I still feel very conflicted about it.

It really does come down to the individual. Its such a personal issue but it was brilliant playing a character thats set in a world in that kind of dilemma.

I love her character, shes so confused and conflicted and f****d up. Its so human and real.

The End is due to air on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV on February 10

View original post here:

The End on Sky: Who has the right to die? Cast of euthanasia series reveal their thoughts - Express

Edmonton has been in a very deep freeze this past week. One day in the midst of it my car registered -34C. as the external temperature. That does not factor in the further chilling effects of the wind. As I drove along, my car issued a warning: Ice possible. Oh. Really? Thanks. Too bad the other drivers trying to navigate (at times unsuccessfully) some very slick streets and hills hadnt been warned that deep cold and slippery ice just might go together.

Clearly, that was an unnecessary warning. Only the willfully blind and deaf would have refused to see the slippery conditions and ignored the many warnings blaring out from radios and televisions and other media across the city.

For the last few years, the Church and many others in Canada have been calling out Ice possible! in another context. When the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and euthanasia was being contemplated in Canada, purportedly for only highly circumscribed instances, the warning went out that allowing it even for a few limited cases would inevitably create a slippery slope toward expanding eligibility to a broad range of circumstances. Ice possible!

Well, that ice has now clearly taken hold, and at astonishing speed. On September 11, 2019 the Superior Court of Quebec ruled unconstitutional the requirement that death be reasonably foreseeable before euthanasia/PAS would be permitted. The federal government has chosen not to challenge this. Instead, it has accepted the ruling and is preparing to adjust national legislation accordingly. In addition, it has announced further legal reviews this year that will consider allowing for advance requests and expansion of euthanasia/PAS to mature minors and people who request to have their death hastened solely due to mental illness. Not only is the slope slippery, but also it feels as if we are being pushed down it. Yes, government is seeking to be consultative on these matters with surveys and reviews. Yet the questionnaire currently circulated does not even ask if one is opposed to these practices in principle. It presupposes acquiescence to the status quo, yet it is precisely the status quo that must be challenged. By precluding any fundamental objection to euthanasia/PAS procedures in the first place, it appears that the consultation is being used as a means for going forward, or broadening scope.

It is vitally important that we continue to speak out against not only the expansion of assisted suicide and euthanasia in our country but also their very existence. This is why the Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories have issued a new pastoral letter on this issue, and why other Bishops across the country are calling on their people to make their voices heard.

The ice that has accumulated on our medical and legal highways is very slippery right now, and has citizens already crashing into one another. The heedlessness of danger seems to be wilful, so I expect the perilous conditions to be with us long after the spring thaw lifts the other ice from our streets. Therefore, let us remain both vigilant and vocal in witness to the dignity and sanctity of every human life from beginning to natural end.

See the rest here:

Voices Archbishop Smith: Beware of Ice! - Grandin Media