Taking stock in evil

I was listening to the Jerry Doyle show on the radio last night on WNOX (local talk radio, 100.3 FM), and he was talking about the fact that some companies from overseas that sell stock have direct links to terrorist groups. He mentioned a woman (I don't recall her name) who had an idea that Jerry loved, about not buying those stocks despite the fact that they may have good returns, in order to help stop giving money to terrorist organizations. This was an idea that Jerry loved and supported whole-heartedly, as do I. But what disturbed me was the people that called in. Some complained that if they sold their stock in these companies, others would just turn around and buy them back up. Others mentioned the fact that once the stocks are bought the company gets its money, regardless of what you sell them for. But no one mentioned the morality of it. If you knew that a company you bought stock in was helping fund terrorism overseas, thereby possibly helping fund the forces that are killing our soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, how could you, in good conscience, NOT sell that stock? How can the returns or dividends be worth the human lives that are destroyed by providing these companies with money? Where does morality take precedence over greed?

There is a website that you can look up companies with known ties to terrorist organizations; I would strongly urge anyone with any stocks to find it (there may be a link on www.jerrydoyle.com) and sell off these stocks, wash the blood off your hands.

*Update* I looked on jerrydoyle.com and couldn't find a link. Darn him.

Thoughts on suicide

I only recently heard that Dr, Kevorkian was in jail, presumably for his role in assisted suicide. I have issues with this. Not that I want to commit suicide, but the fact that its illegal.

It's pretty common knowledge that smoking is addictive and bad for you. But, I'm allowed by law to smoke all I want, despite the health risk. I'm legally allowed to slowly poison myself until my lungs fail. But I can't take a gun to my head and blow my brains out without being considered mentally disturbed.

Maybe smokers are mentally disturbed. Is there something wrong with our brains? We KNOW, beyond a shadow of doubt, that smoking is bad for us, yet we do it anyway. Despite the addictive quality, is there a point where we should take a step back and logically assess the damage it is doing to us?

The same thing applies to alcohol, although it is more insidious. Hmmm… Insidious… Darth Sidious… Coincidence? I think not. Back to the point, alcohol can be good for you. It thins the blood, which is good for the heart, and red wine contains anitoxidants which are also good for you. But its also a mood alterer, which can be either good or bad. Usually, its bad. But when you are the one drinking, you can't see it. You can't tell if you've become irrational, because your brain is in an altered state. Which is why drunk people can be really funny or really scary.

On top of all this, alcohol destroys your liver. Again, mostly common knowledge. But its legal to do, if you are the proper age and don't drive and aren't out in public. OK, so it’s a little more restricted than smoking, though the way smoking legislation is going, it may not be soon. But I can buy a case of 200 proof Everclear and drink it all, in the comfort of my own home, and die of alcohol poisoning. I can kill myself slowly. But its illegal to do it quickly. Maybe the government wants us to suffer.

Please note that I am not touching on the moral implications of suicide. This is not the point of my issue. And I am not advocating suicide in any way. Just the freedom to choose to or not, and to be responsible for the repercussions in whatever afterlife you find yourself in. But that’s a completely different topic.