Pope given Last Rites

Drudge is linking to a story that says the Pope's condition is worsening; he has a high fever and an infection.

Please pray for him.

Terri has died; may she rest in peace

NBC news just reported that Terri died this morning. Terri's Fight has this.

God have mercy on her soul, and give comfort to her family.

God have mercy on those who killed her.

Once again, a judicial travesty

This may be the end of the road for Terri. Her parents had their hopes dashed again today when the 11th Circuit, after a middle of the night statement that they would hear the case, turned it down 15 hours later.

There is something wrong with this interpretation of the Constitution (from above link):

Birch went on to scold President Bush and Congress for their attempts to intervene in the judicial process, by saying: "In resolving the Schiavo controversy, it is my judgment that, despite sincere and altruistic motivation, the legislative and executive branches of our government have acted in a manner demonstrably at odds with our Founding Fathers' blueprint for the governance of a free people - our Constitution."

Does our Constitution give the judicial branch higher standing than the other two branches? Does it say that we should lie down like dogs in front of the judges, worshipping their rulings? Does it say that their law should be the law of the land, higher than God's law, higher than morality, so that if they rule that a disabled woman should be cruelly left to die of thirst and hunger the other two branches should quietly acquiesce?

Horrible situation for Terri

Still haven't heard anything more. This article says the court has done nothing yet, as of Wednesday afternoon, more 12 hours after their middle of the night ruling.

Have been checking Becki Snow for updates, but she has none so far. She has been in Florida in front of the hospice for over a week now, and says she's on a hunger strike matching Terri day for day. The only difference is that she began drinking sufficient fluids a few days ago.

So now we're left with a horrible situation, because of slow-to-act courts. If, in fact, Terri's kidneys have already begun to fail (as Felos almost gloated recently) then restarting fluids might not help at all.

We needed a judge with the wisdom of Solomon. It was clear to Solomon in the Old Testament that the only woman who should have custody of the baby in question was the woman who wanted the child to live.

Why shouldn't that have been the standard here, all along? Let the people who want to err on the side of life have custody of her, for obviously they love her the most. If a judge had ruled that way, Terri's parents would have been able to take care of their daughter over the past decade and we wouldn't be in this horrible situation right now.

As it was, however, they apparently were "outlawyered" in the beginning (h/t WICatholic via ProLife Blogs), had the bad luck to get Greer, a "right to die" judge, and now are in this nightmarish situation.

Breaking news!

This is amazing.

Mar 30, 12:40 AM (ET)

ATLANTA (AP) - A federal appeals court early Wednesday agreed to consider a petition for a new hearing on whether to reconnect Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.

The ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals came as the severely brain-damaged woman entered her 13th day without nourishment.

Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have maintained that Schiavo would want to be kept alive and have asked the courts to intervene. Schiavo's husband, Michael, insists he is carrying out her wishes by having the feeding tube pulled.

Don't know what this means, exactly, and other than Drudge, I don't see that anybody else has this yet.

UPDATE: I emailed Tim at Blogs for Terri (apparently he's a night owl, too) and he's posted the link. Still don't know what this will mean. I would hope there'd be an automatic stay so that they could start Terri on IV fluids, perhaps. I have absolutely no medical background, but I'm guessing that would be helpful after 12 days without food and water.

Praying that this will actually amount to something, and that it won't be too late.

UPDATE TWO: Here's a longer AP article with a little more detail.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled without comment on Schiavo's 12th day without nourishment. Last week, the same court twice ruled against Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, who are trying to keep her alive.

In seeking a new hearing late Tuesday, attorneys for Schiavo's parents argued that the District Court "committed plain error when it reviewed only the state court case and outcome history."

Now, the court will consider the request for a new hearing based on the facts of the case, rather than whether previous Florida court rulings have met legal standards under state law.

There was no time frame for the court to consider the motion, but the Schindler's attorneys asked to have the tube reinserted immediately "in light of the magnitude of what is at stake and the urgency of the action required."

Feeling a bit apocalyptic

Between the death of Sr. Lucy of Fatima, Pope John Paul's weakened condition, Terri Schiavo's ongoing court-ordered dehydration and starvation, and now another earthquake and possible tsunami in Asia, I admit to an impending feeling of doom.

It's silly, I know. I'm really not superstitious or given to "the end is coming" scenarios. Let's just say all these things are weighing on me.

For whatever reason, I haven't been blogging much. Hope to pick up the pace again this week.

In the meantime, check out:

this essay by Bill Kristol (which had me wondering when does the revolution start, and where does one sign up?) and

a really good post from my brother over at Teeth of the Constitution.

More disdain for life

This on Drudge:

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of Britain's six million Roman Catholics, was backed by Church of England and Jewish leaders as he expressed 'deep alarm'. The Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks, said it would be 'a step along the road to turning children from persons into products'.

The leaders spoke out as a political row raged over the report of the Science and Technology committee. It said couples should also have the right to create tissue-matched, genetically-screened 'saviour siblings' to help seriously-ill children.

Scientists should be allowed to create embryonic hybrids of humans and animals for research, while research involving cloned human embryos should be allowed to continue, as long as they were destroyed at 14 days.

The committee called for the watchdog Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to be scrapped, along with the key rule that fertility clinics must consider the welfare of any potential child before providing treatment.

As we continue to watch and pray over Terri Schiavo, we have to remember that this is all part of the same attitude toward human life: that it is expendable and disposable.

The merits of starvation and dehydration

Since so many people are claiming that starvation is completely painless, here's an interesting thought, as found in a comment on Bill Quick's blog.

We seem to have found a cool new way to execute people. Lock the prisoner in a room. Deprive him of food and water. The condemned prisoner will experienced a sense of euphoria. Neat. Clean. Efficient. We can even provide cable TV to enhance the euphoric experience.

Posted by: Dave on March 24, 2005 08:33 PM

Now, I'm opposed to capital punishment, just to make that clear.

But if this is such a great method ... gee.

Actually, the real scenario is this:

First (barring an almost miraculous intervention that saves Terri's life and gives custody to her parents) the euthanasia advocates succeed at forcing the first court-ordered euthanasia of a disabled woman, while the whole world watches.

Then they'll say, you know, that really was a painless way for her to die, but it just takes too long.

So the next case will be euthanasia not by starvation but by lethal injection.

And then the euthanasia floodgates will be open. This culture has killed over 30 million unborn children; how many millions of disabled and elderly are next?

I hope not to post anymore today. It's Good Friday, and we have plans to attend church services. But I will be praying for Terri, and her parents, and that we return to a culture that values and respects life.

God help us if we don't.

Governor Jeb Bush, please act now

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, all judicial avenues are closed to the Schindlers.

The last recourse is for Jeb Bush to risk impeachment by taking state action to rescue Terri Schiavo.

Read this for an explanation of what he should do, and why. (h/t Blogs for Terri.)

From a commenter: "I despise your existence" (UPDATED)

Thought this comment on this post would be good for the world to see:

There are times when the law is wrong you are absolutely correct on that point. However you are wrong on your points about Terri Shiavo and abortion.

Terri is being allowed to pass away like she wanted. Terri did not want life support. While you might disagree with that idea it is her right.

On abortion, you should not claim abortion is wrong when you know nothing about it. How dare you claim that a woman who is impregnated against her will i.e. rape, is a killer. how do you know what is going on in a person's life when they decide on something like abortion. Do not claim faith, the leaders of your faith who claim abortion is wrong are all male they know nothing of it. I despise your existance (sic) and your ignorance.

Of course, the commenter is mistaken about Terri; she's not on "life support", she's on "food". We have zero evidence that she ever said she'd rather die than be fed via a tube, just her husband's much-delayed memory of a casual statement.

As far as abortion: I have the utmost compassion for any woman ever raped, or in a difficult pregnancy of any kind. But the circumstances of the conception do not alter the fact that in abortion, a beating human heart is stopped. The woman herself may be as much a victim as the child, in some ways, and many women suffer greatly, emotionally and physically, after the abortion. But there's just no way to deny that in abortion, a child is killed. Period.

As to the comments about the church, well, I won't even honor them with a discussion.

But, the commenter "despises my existence"? Somehow, that doesn't surprise me.

That's the problem with most of the people ensnared in the culture of death: they all despise someone's existence.

UPDATE: Matt, apology accepted.

And thanks to everyone who commented on this post.

The many faces of evil

My husband commented on one of yesterday's posts; I'm posting his comment here because I thought it was exactly right:

This is a great post and link to the Auschwitz information. It's strange how so many people can recognize the historical evil of Nazi Germany but when the same nuts and bolts of that kind of evil are currently occurring, only repackaged with nicer linguistics like: "right to die" and "quality of life" and "right to liberty" -- it gets accepted. But the net effect is surely the same as Auschwitz - brutal and fatal to the innocent.

Read the testimony of some of the German citizenry in the aftermath of the war when they were interviewed about how they could allow the death camps to exist. It was either ignorance to what was happening or acceptance of the vile linguistics that convinced people the mistreatment was allowable because it was "only Jews" and they were "less than human". Well the same serpent is whispering, "it's only a brain-damaged thing" and "the quality of life is less than acceptable". So to those who want to starve Terri - snap out if it - it's not always the obvious goose-stepping armies and maniacal Hitlers who do the Devil's work. Sometimes it's lawyers in nice suits and high ranking judges.

"When the law is wrong"

Read this at Wittenburg Gate:

Right now the law says a disabled woman can be ordered by a court to be starved and dehydrated until she dies. The law says that even if she is able to take oral sustenance, it is illegal to give it to her. The law says a mother, a father, a sister, and a brother, as they sit beside their dying loved one, cannot offer her relief. This is the law now, and many people say we should obey the law because, well, it's the law.

But the law in this case is wrong.

Dory listed other times in our history the law has been wrong: slavery, fugitive slave laws, segregation, child labor.

Unfortunately, she didn't list abortion. The law says that it's OK to kill a child in the womb if it's unwanted, imperfect, or just inconvenient.

The law is wrong.

And that immoral law, which led to the slaughter of more than 30,000,000 of our children, has led directly to this new ruling: that it's lawful to starve a disabled woman to death.

The law is wrong.

Read the whole thing.

Asleep in the Culture of Death

I saw it on Michelle Malkin first; the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the petition to reinsert her feeding tube, 2-1.

Then, via Blogs for Terri, this outstanding article on the Corner:

AS WE PASS 100 HOURS OF STARVATION AND DEHYDRATION ... [Andy McCarthy]
it is worth remembering that the excruciating slowness of the execution here, the incremental-ness of death, is designed by its champions to inure us to it.

We also have to remember this: there actually are people who are champions of Terri's agonizing dehydration and starvation. This is where we can say, "This is evil".

George Felos, advocate of euthanasia, who recalls this event (scroll down a bit) in his life; Michael Schiavo, unfaithful, uncaring husband; and judges who willfully disregard the fact that a conscious, disabled woman is being forcefully starved to death -- this is evil.

Read on from Andy McCarthy's article:

Why should we think this is intentional? Consider, say, a month ago, before Terri's plight took center stage, if you had asked someone in the abstract: "How would you feel about starving and dehydrating a defenseless, brain-damaged woman?" The answer is easy to imagine: "Outrageous, atrocious -- something that wouldn't be done to an animal and couldn't be done to the worst convicted murderer."

But then it actually happens ... slowly. You're powerless to stop it, and ... you find your life goes on.... A woman's snail-like, gradual torture goes from savagery to just one of those sad facts of life. As is the case with other depravities once believed unthinkable, it coarsens us. We slowly, and however reluctantly, accept it. We accept it. The New York Times no doubt soon "progresses" from something like "terminating life by starvation," to "the dignity of death by starvation," to "the medical procedure that opponents refer to as starvation." And so the culture of life slides a little more. The culture of death gains a firmer foothold.

Why this way? Why do they insist on ordering that Terri die of "the hunger disease"? Why not just let Michael Schiavo shoot his wife? Or inject here with a lethal drug? Or deprive her of another basic need for life, and asphyxiate her, as McCarthy puts it? Because, as he so wisely points out:

Too crude. Too quick. Too obviously murder of a vulnerable innocent. Brazen, instant savagery might wake us from our slumber. For the culture of death, better that we sleep.

All you who are awake, don't give up. Keep shouting from the rooftops, "This is evil".

"The Hunger Disease"

There's an important distinction to be made between those who refuse nutrition at the end of their lives, and someone who is starved to death while fully alive.

Terri Schiavo did not have a terminal illness. She was not dying. She was not even close to death. As of last Friday, she was a young, physically healthy, though severely disabled, woman.

The press, as in this Chicago Tribune article, is quoting certain "experts" as saying that depriving someone of food and water is a painless and peaceful way to die.

But here's the problem: The article above quoted hospice workers. Hospices are places for people who are dying. They have terminal illnesses and very little time left to live -- months at best, probably only weeks or days.

When those people choose to stop eating, or stop tube feedings, it's usually because their bodies have already begun dying. Their digestive systems really aren't operating anymore.

If a person already in the death process is deprived of food and water for the last few hours or even days of his life, there most likely is no pain. They're not dying of starvation, because they've already begun the dying process from some other cause.

But we're not talking about someone who was in the death process. Terri Schiavo, as of last Friday, was actively living. All her organs were operating, functioning fully, requiring food and water. Her digestive system hadn't shut down; it was active. All her cells were requiring the usual amount of water and nutrition.

To starve a living person to death is quite the opposite of the natural death process.

Think Auschwitz, and what they called "the hunger disease".

If something doesn't happen soon to save her life, Terri will die of the hunger disease.

The legal issues, the constitution, and the "right" to starve a woman to death

I'm puzzled. I read some of the learned law profs on their blogs today, and they seem quite certain that Congress did a terrible thing passing a law to try to save one woman's life.

Some say it wasn't constitutional, others say it just wasn't wise.

None of them address whether or not it's a good idea to forcibly starve a living woman to death.

If I did this to a dog, or a horse, or a cat, or for God's sake a pet hamster, I would be vilified as a monster (with good reason) and probably arrested. The rage of the masses would be upon me. I would be railed against, sent death threats, and pilloried in the press.

But if a philandering husband decides his brain-injured wife should be forced to die a slow death of dehydration and starvation, that is only worthy of some pontification about the legal issues involved?

They're arguing about whether it's the right of the States or of the Federal Govenment to intervene if a judge has ordered a woman to be starved to death.

God have mercy.

Urgent Request for Terri Schiavo

Just received the following email from Pro-Life Wisconsin. If you're in the Madison area, you might consider attending the prayer vigil for Terri Schiavo at the Capitol tonight.

Remember, this isn't about letting a dying woman die in peace; it's about forcing a very much alive, though disabled, woman to die of thirst and starvation.

It's about all the disabled, the inconvenient, the unwanted, the expendable.

It's about the "duty to die", not the "right to die".

It's about the beginning of forced euthanasia in this country.

Ultimately, it's about all of us.

Here's the email I received:

Time is running out! Terri Schiavo continues to be slowly executed by starvation and dehydration. The courts proceed in their barbaric and senseless disregard for Terri's basic right to life. U.S. District Judge James Whittemore this morning callously refused to order the reinsertion of Terri's feeding tube thus prompting her parents to appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. They are desperate and know that Terri can die at any minute.

Take Action Now!

Pro-Life Wisconsin is calling upon you, our members, to humble yourselves in prayer for Terri. If you are in the Dane county area, please consider attending an urgent prayer vigil this evening, March 22nd being organized by Pro-Life Wisconsin Dane County. The Terri Schiavo Prayer Vigil will take place in Madison on the west Capitol steps facing State Street from 8 p.m. - 10 p.m. For further details please call Pro-Life Wisconsin at 262-796-1111 or in Madison call Jeanne at 608-831-3139. For the good number of you who are who may not be able to attend, please pray for terra in solidarity with our Dane county affiliate from 8-10 tonight.

Thank You & God Bless You.

Cross-posted at Badger Blog Alliance.

A terribly sad Holy Week

Between the shooting yesterday in Minnesota, and the increasingly grim prospects (h/t Blogs for Terri) for Terri Schiavo, who is slowly starving and dying of thirst, this is a terribly sad Holy Week.

Yet, as Hugh Hewitt reminds us in his post today, Holy Week ends in the joy and triumph of Easter.

Death does not win.

The devil is the universe's all-time loser. His victories are hollow; Christ's triumph is eternal.

We can take comfort in that, though the pain is still great.

MSM bias: Terri's case is just another example

I just posted about NBC News tonight; it was a classic example of MSM dishonesty.

If you needed more evidence of MSM bias in Terri's case, here it is:

One Associated Press article released Monday, "World Opinion Divided Over Schiavo," did less to gather the opinion of world leaders on the controversial case and more to paint a false picture that world religions universally oppose the actions of President Bush and Congress to save Terri's life.

While the news article mentioned the Vatican's opposition to Terri's starvation, the rest of the piece interviewed Islamic and Jewish thinkers who favor starving Terri.

The Monday AP report closed with comments from a leader of a Dutch pro-euthanasia group and quoted a German newspaper accusing American political leaders of using Terri's case for political gain.

Other than a couple of comments from a Vatican newspaper, the article contained no quotes or attributions from world leaders or religious thinkers who oppose starving Terri.

Read the whole thing! There's much more.

Here, too, at Captain's Quarters:

March 21, 2005
NYT Misrepresents Schiavo Case In News Article

Carl Hulse and David Kirkpatrick report on the Congressional action taken yesterday to allow Terri Schiavo's parents access to the federal courts for a new trial. Unfortunately but predictably, this "news" report contains half-truths, loaded language, and a flat-out falsehood, all of which reveal the biases of the reporters.

Again, read the whole thing.

MSM fails utterly -- again

I'm livid.

NBC News just aired a segment on Terri.

They said she was PVS, never mentioning that the proper tests have not been done.

They quoted Dr. Cranford, the so-called "PVS expert" in Terri's case, and he had the unmitigated gall to declare that Terri would feel nothing during her starvation, that she was as

"unconscious as someone in a coma, as someone who is dead."

(Quoting him to the best of my ability from memory here until I can find a transcript).

MSM once again has demonstrated its complete inability to be honest and to present the facts fairly.

NBC failed to give any background on Dr. Cranford, such as this:

Cranford jokingly refers to himself as “Dr. Death” and, for a fee, will come to a trial and testify that the person whose life the plaintiff wants to end is in a PVS. He was the leading medical voice calling for the deaths of Paul Brophy, Nancy Jobes, Nancy Cruzan, and Christine Busalucci, all of whom were brain-damaged but not dying. Nonetheless, he advocated death for all by dehydration/starvation, just as he has for Terri.

Nancy Cruzan—one of his “patients”—required no skilled nursing, no care but food and fluids, hygiene, and turning to prevent bedsores. She didn’t even need tube feeding, but Cranford testified that he would even consider spoon-feeding “medical treatment.” Cranford wrote in the summer 1998 issue of Concern for Dying that he foresees “that there may be extreme situations, and in the future increasingly common situations, where physician-assisted suicide may not only be permissible, but encouraged.” In a 1997 op-ed for the Minneapolis–St. Paul Star Tribune, Cranford advocated the starvation of Alzheimer’s patients.

Sickening.

Those of you who still think this is none of your business, or that this is really just about one woman and a fight between her "husband" and parents, please, think again.

Once again, as with Rathergate and so many others, this story is about MSM failures.

And if they (Michael Schiavo and George Felos) are allowed to kill this disabled woman, right in front of all of us, with the complicity of the courts, it very soon will be about all of us.

Still no decision

H/T to WICatholic -- Fox News reports that the hearing ended but the judge did not make a decision, and did not order feeding to resume for Terri.

As a friend just said, "Is he hoping that Terri will just die in the meantime?"

Maybe.

Will watch NBC Nightly News to see what they say. More later.

Another "must read" first-person story

Found this on ProLife Blogs today. Very moving. This woman's husband was in far worse shape than Terri - was on a ventilator as well as feeding tube - and experienced an almost complete recovery.

And guess what? The medical experts who said he'd be a "vegetable" were mistaken. Thank God the wife didn't listen to them.

Everyone who thinks Terri would be "better off dead" should read the story above.

And while we're on the topic, here's another similar story, on Wittenberg Gate.

A "thank you" to this blog's readers

Wanted to say thanks to the readers who have commented here lately, including those who gave the heads-up about the audio link of Terri responding to her dad, here from Rae and here from Patrick.

Still waiting for a judge to make the right decision

I'm sure by now you all know that the bill to protect Terri was passed this morning just after midnight, and President Bush immediately signed it.

According to Hyscience, the judge now assigned to Terri's case has scheduled a hearing for 3:00 p.m. today.

Why the delay?

If it's true, as stated yesterday, that Terri has an infection and fever, she may not be able to last much longer without hydration and nutrition. According to the Hyscience post above, Terri's family says she's not holding up very well this time.

She may need medical care and antibiotics, and even if a judge orders feeding to resume, Michael still controls medical care for Terri. As always, he would refuse it, no doubt.

The only lasting solution for Terri is to have a judge give guardianship to her parents, or at the very least someone other then Michael.

That seems only fair to me. But then again, I'm not a Florida judge.

Waiting game

Waiting for Congress to pass Terri's law shortly after midnight. The Democrats once again sided with Death, and blocked the Republicans efforts to pass the bill in the House.

In the meantime, here are some links: Becki Snow has gone to Florida and is on an extended fast in support of Terri.

My brother, at Teeth of the Constitution, has a great post here, related to the Deathly Democrats, and a lighter one about Hillary here. Don't miss the Hillar-ious graphic on the site he links to in that last post. I needed a chuckle tonight. Thanks, bro!

"Tyranny is on the doorstep"

If you still think this is "just" about Terri Schiavo, please, read this (h/t Blogs for Terri.)

Quote:

The acts of Judge Greer and his cohorts in the Florida court system can only be called one thing: Judicial terrorism.

For decades, the government of the United States soft peddled around terrorist actions overseas. Such negligence emboldened foreign terrorists to finally commit atrocities on our own soil. Similarly, the executive and legislative branches of government have turned a blind eye over time to abuses of power in the judicial branch. Our nation has now reached a point at which an activist judge, aided and abetted by a corrupt judicial system, can terrorize an entirely innocent woman by condemning her to a death universally recognized as one of the most inhumane ways to expire.

Death by dehydration is anything but quick and peaceful; it can last as long as two weeks. Terri will suffer extreme thirst, drying out her mouth. She will experience nausea and cramping in her arms and legs. Her skin will become dry and wrinkled as fluids are drawn from the skin to hydrate the organs. The mucous membranes of her mouth and lips will crack. Her breathing will become labored and difficult. Her muscles will spasm, resulting in extreme agitation. She may suffer seizures. And finally, she will do what her estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, and the other fans of the Culture of Death want her to do – she will die.

(....)

Frighteningly, many Americans are not even aware that such an egregious miscarriage of justice is taking place on their own soil. Some don't even care. Living in a country that still recognizes many God-given freedoms, our senses have become dulled to what tyranny and wickedness really are. As long as evil is neatly tucked away in hospices or abortion clinics, we go on with our everyday lives. As long as the heinous injustice doesn't affect us, we refuse to think about it.

Sometimes, it takes a kick in the face for individuals to wake up and realize tyranny is on their doorstep. The ongoing starvation of Terri Schindler Schiavo should be a disturbing reminder of what an out-of-control judiciary can do when the executive and legislative branches of government are slow to deal with it. Having come this far, both branches must boldly step forward and use the fullest extent of their powers to counter-balance this tyrannical judiciary.

If we don't wake up, what may come next is the Final Solution at our very own door.

Please, read the whole thing.

Michael Schiavo refuses to let family visit Terri

Another example of Michael's unending cruelty.

According to Blogs for Terri, this puts him in contempt of court, as the court order said that Terri's parents would be allowed to visit her.

What are the chances Greer will care, when he himself shows complete contempt for Congress and subpoenas? When he, Felos, and Schiavo are united in their desire to kill Terri?

Also, read this, (h/t Blogs for Terri) if you had any doubts this being court-ordered murder by starvation. Nurses have filed affidavits saying that Terri is capable of eating and swallowing normally.

More evidence of that is the fact that no one has ever said Terri needs her mouth suctioned periodically, as is the case for those who've lost the ability to swallow.

You can't starve a dog to death in this country, and rightly so, but a judge and a lawyer and a husband are starving an innocent, disabled woman to death.

UPDATE: Hyscience says that family is now allowed back in.

Terri Schiavo: High fever, possible infection

Blogs for Terri reports that Terri isn't doing well at all. They suspect perhaps the feeding tube was removed improperly, leading to an infection. I don't know if that's the case, but as others have asked, why on earth did they have to physically remove it? Seems it would have been sufficient to cap or cover it.

But if you're intent on causing more pain and suffering to someone, then removing it would be the way to go. Michael Schiavo and George Felos probably figure, hey, we're about to starve her to death, what's a little more discomfort or possible infection?

This is heartbreaking, and so completely wrong.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay called Felos "the personification of evil". My thoughts exactly.

I'm obligated to pray for those causing Terri's suffering. I will do my best to avoid the "Lord, smite my enemies" kind of prayer.

Lord have mercy on them, for I'm afraid they know all too well what they do.

Make some phone calls!

Please make a couple phone calls today, urging your Senators and Representative to protect Terri's life.

Check here for details on why we're doing this.

Go to Terri's Fight for all the phone numbers you need.

UPDATE: Via Drudge, a news article describing Congressional action last night, and the plan for the bill to be passed today. President Bush in in Washington, ready to sign it. Pray that this happens!

Put yourself in Terri's place

Read this story (h/t Blogs for Terri), written by one of Terri's attorneys, and try to imagine being Terri.

Try to imagine being trapped in your body, unable to communicate the way you want to. Able to communicate in a limited fashion, but not enough to be heard by those who want to kill you.

Or maybe they hear, but they don't care. They just want to kill you, and you know it.

Try to imagine knowing that you are about to be starved to death.

Maybe this, from the link above, will help:

I stood up and learned over Terri. I took her arms in both of my hands. I said to her, “Terri if you could only say ‘I want to live’ this whole thing could be over today.” I begged her to try very hard to say, “I want to live.” To my enormous shock and surprise, Terri’s eyes opened wide, she looked me square in the face, and with a look of great concentration, she said, “Ahhhhhhh.” Then, seeming to summon up all the strength she had, she virtually screamed, “Waaaaaaaa.” She yelled so loudly that Michael Vitadamo, Suzanne’s husband, and the female police officer who were then standing together outside Terri’s door, clearly heard her. At that point, Terri had a look of anguish on her face that I had never seen before and she seemed to be struggling hard, but was unable to complete the sentence. She became very frustrated and began to cry. I was horrified that I was obviously causing Terri so much anguish.

Now imagine what it's like for Terri's parents, wanting to care for their daughter and save her life, with death advocates like Michael Schiavo, George Felos, and Judge Greer aligned against them, using the power of the state to kill their daughter right in front of their eyes.

Surely her parents and advocates must feel they are living a nightmare. They, too, must ask, "Do I wake or do I sleep?"

How much do we know about brain damage?

I did a mild and very brief fisking of the Chicago Tribune's headline article today, here, but there's another page one article today that ought to be required reading for anyone who thinks Terri is a "vegetable" who ought to be starved to death.

The article, by Judith Graham, looks at what science knows about brain damage.

The challenge for physicians lies in discerning random reflexive behavior from intentional response, which may look very similar on the surface.

Several studies have documented high rates of misdiagnosis. In one 1996 British Medical Journal report, 43 percent of patients admitted to a London hospital brain-injury unit were found to have been wrongly classified as being in a vegetative state. Other accounts have put misdiagnosis rates at about 18 percent....

What's more, the extent of brain functions in at least some minimally conscious patients may be more significant than experts had thought, according to new research published last month in the journal Neurology.

Two men who were minimally conscious underwent sophisticated brain scans--called functional magnetic resonance imaging--while listening to family members read narratives about past experiences. In one case, a sister spoke of their childhood and toasts at her wedding. Their scans were then compared to those of seven healthy men and women who underwent similar simulation.

Results showed that activity in the brain's language process centers were virtually the same for both groups, indicating higher-level brain circuitry had remained remarkably intact for the minimally conscious men.

"We were taken aback," said Dr. Joy Hirsch, director of the Functional MRI Research Center at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. "It was not what we expected."(emphasis mine)

Interview with Terri's brother on GMA

My brother, who blogs at Teeth of the Constitution, caught the interview this morning with Terri's brother. Read about it here.

Chicago Tribune today: "Terri Schiavo's lifeline removed"

The Chicago Tribune's headline this morning:

"Schiavo's lifeline removed".

Wrong connotation; it's not a lifeline, in the sense that she's on life support.

It's just a method of feeding her.

At least the article, by Rudolph Bush and Patrick Kampert, referred to Terri as "brain damaged" and not comatose or PVS. However, in a later paragraph they said "a court has ruled" that she's in a Persistent Vegetative State.

Well, the court is wrong. The court used a doctor who is a "Doctor Death", pushing for euthanasia, and no one has ever done the testing necessary to actually diagnose her.

The court is a kangaroo court, and the judge is ordering the willful murder of an innocent woman, at the hands of her unfaithful husband.

Another quote from the article:

The Schindlers have argued that Michael Schiavo--who has fathered two children with his fiance in recent years--has a conflict of interest in the case and is an unfit guardian. Yet the courts have ruled consistently that he is fulfilling his wife's wishes that her life not be artificially sustained. Because of that, Northwestern University law professor Andrew Koppelman, a constitutional law expert, says GOP leaders may have overstepped their bounds.

"The Supreme Court has said you've got a right to refuse medical treatment," he said. "I don't think a congressional subpoena can override that."

But this isn't about a person choosing to refuse medical treatment. Read that first sentence again: Michael Schiavo is a husband in name only who has demonstrated repeatedly that he is an unfit guardian. There is a paper trail a mile long of his refusing to provide even the most basic care for her, and yet the court accepts his word that this is what Terri wanted? That she would want to be starved to death?

The article says "courts" have ruled, but it's really been one man, Judge Greer, who has repeatedly, beyond all reason, ruled against Terri and her parents. It defies logic, as well as countless Florida statues.

Look at the connections between the people involved. It couldn't be clearer that this is a case of forced euthanasia to further the agenda of the "Duty to Die" crowd.

Only people who are blind to the facts of the case, or who also are part of the Culture of Death in favor of euthanasia, could see this in any other way.

Another of Michael and George's lies

Please read the Exit Protocol for Terri's death, here.

The lie of a "peaceful dying process" is exposed. When you starve a living person to death, it's not peaceful.

Once again, my thanks to J.S. for sending all these links over the past week.

UPDATE: I read the comments on Fr. Rob's post, above, and these were worth copying here:

Well, there's Michael Schiavo, the main stream media and George Felos on one side, and then there's the UN, Save the Children, Rock Against Hunger and most of the African continent on the other side. One of them is wrong.

--
Posted Fri 18 Mar 5:53 PM EST by moge

And another:

God help us all. A dog should not die this way ---- oh wait, a dog wouldn't be allowed to die this way - the owners would be arrested. But a woman who serves no further purpose to her husband ...

--
Posted Fri 18 Mar 5:15 PM EST by cathy

And one more article, by Gelernter

Be sure to see the links on the post just below this one, but here's one more article (again, h/t to our friend J.S.) written by David Gelernter, one of my personal favorites. It was written back in fall of 2003, but once again, it applies.

Quote:

Thoughtful people have argued: Once you start footnoting innocent human life, you are in trouble. Innocent life must not be taken, unless (here come the footnotes) the subject is too small, sick or depressed to complain. One footnote, people have argued, and the jig is up; in the long run the accumulating footnotes will strangle humane society like algae choking a pond.

Who would have believed when the Supreme Court legalized abortion that one generation later, only one, America would have come to this? Mrs. Schiavo's parents wanting her to live, pleading for her to live, the state saying no, and a meeting of the Legislature required to pry the executioner's fingers from the victim's throat?

I would never have made such an argument when the abortion decision came down, and I would never have believed it. I still can't believe it. Is this America? Do I wake or sleep?

Roundup of "must reading" on Terri Schiavo

Thanks to our friend J.S. for the following links, which I haven't had time to even read til now, much less blog about:

From Mel Martinez, on NRO. Thank God he won his election last fall; he's willing to speak up for Terri's life, and for all human life.

From Peggy Noonan, today on WSJ Opinion Journal. Her point: Congress, President Bush, for God's sake, do something! Make this right!

And finally, another on NRO, by Andrew C. McCarthy. Quote:

What kind of society goes into a lather over the imposition of bright lights and stress positions for barbarians who might have information that will save lives, but yawns while a defenseless woman who hasn’t hurt anyone is willfully starved and dehydrated? By a court — the bulwark purportedly protecting our right to life?

The torture starts Friday, at 1 P.M. Unless we do something to stop it.

The torture has begun. We didn't do enough. And we're all to blame, because over the past 40 years we didn't speak up enough, pray enough, teach enough, give a good example enough, and now our society has become so degraded that this can happen.

And this won't be the end, it's only the beginning. You think the culture of death will be satisfied with just one innocent disabled victim?

First they came for the unborn, now they're coming for the disabled, soon they will come for the elderly, and some day, they'll come for each of us.

Terri's starvation has begun

I spoke too soon in that last post.

Judge Greer ordered the removal of Terri's feeding tube today, and it was done shortly thereafter.

Drudge linked to this report.

Read this heartbreaking post on Blogs for Terri.

And this one, from the same blog, which says that Terri was asked if she wanted to live, and that she responded, "yes".

There is no question in my mind that this is the work of the devil. Even this little blog is under attack, with a few commenters below making snide remarks about George W. Bush. (Thanks, Marcus Aurelius, for stepping in for the defense!)

Commenters on Blogs for Terri are doing the same thing; making rude remarks about Christians and the president.

That's fine, they can say what they want, but those of us who have been following Terri's story know the truth about what's happening in Florida.

I'm continuing to fast for Terri today. Please keep praying.

Very good news for Terri Schaivo

UPDATE 2, Saturday: I feel bad that the "good news" post from early yesterday is still on the aggregator at Blogs for Terri, because I worry that people may come here thinking there's some current good news, but unfortunately, that's not the case.

Additional update, Sunday: The news only gets worse, tragically. Please read current posts, above. It boggles my mind that the subpoenas issued on Friday, which were the "good news" I wrote about on this original post, have been completely ignored and violated by Judge Greer and the hospice. This is utterly shameful behavior! He is a judicial tyrant who needs to be impeached.

Please, read today's posts above, and keep checking in with Blogs for Terri and Terri's Fight to do what you can to help Terri. Where there's life, there's hope, and I am hopeful that we will be able to defeat the Culture of Death and win a victory for Terri and her parents. Keep praying.

UPDATE (Friday afternoon): Taking the unusual step of updating at the top, because this post is now outdated, and yet people are still being directed here from the Pro-Life Blogs aggregator. Turns out I spoke too soon about "good news".

Please read this post for the latest news.

Also, be sure to check Drudge, Blogs for Terri, and Hyscience for more.

There are a slew of comments on this post, some from those who are pro-euthanasia, and pro-death for Terri.

"Created", below, claims that she will not suffer. But if you are starved to death, while your body is still actively living and not in the natural dying process (as is the case for Terri) it definitely would be painful. In addition, Michael Schaivo hasn't done one thing for Terri's care over the past decade; he certainly isn't going to make sure she's comfortable now.

Original post below:
********************************************************

In fact, this seems to me it might be the almost miraculous intervention we've been praying for. At the very least, Michael Schaivo and George Felos can't begin starving her today, and these events provide a window of opportunity for the future.

From Blogs for Terri this morning:

March 18, 2005
Subpoenas on Their Way!

Fox News is reporting that House Government Reform Committee lawyers are on their way to Florida to deliver subpoenas to Michael Schiavo, to the Schindlers, (Terri's parents), and to two doctors and the hospice administrator where she now lives. The subpoenas call these people, and Terri, as witnesses and also require that her feeding and hydration not be suspended until they can investigate the case. It is very significant that Terri is named as a witness, because there are laws to protect federal witnesses.

Also, the House and the Senate have delayed their Easter recess to take up these issues.

And shortly after that:

Press Release, MARCH 18, 2005, 11:45 AM

THE HOSPICE HAS JUST NOW BEEN SERVED WITH FEDERAL SUBPOENAS ASKING THEM TO NOT REMOVE FOOD AND FLUIDS FROM TERRI SCHINDLER - SCHIAVO.

A LETTER FROM CONGRESS HAS ALSO BEEN ISSUED TO BOTH MICHAEL AND TERRI FOR THEM BOTH TO APPEAR ON MARCH 28, 2005 AT 10:00 AM FOR AN INVESTIGATION TO TAKE PLACE INTO NON-AMBULATORY CARE.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO CALL YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESSMAN AND TELL THEM TO PASS THE INCAPACITATED BILL FOR TERRI.

IT IS IMPERATIVE NOT TO LET THE HEAT OFF OF YOUR SENATORS. THEY MUST BE CALLED EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR IF POSSIBLE. TERRI IS NOT OUT OF DANGER YET. WE MUST NOT LET UP ON THE SENATORS UNTIL THIS BILL HAS BEEN PASSED. THIS WILL BE THE ONLY WAY WE CAN PROTECT TERRI.

Hat tip - Cheryl Ford

Keep praying.

Possible good news for Terri

Hyscience and Blogs for Terri are reporting (as Sensible Mom noted on a comment below) that the House and Senate have passed a bill that might save Terri's life; it must go back to the House to reconcile language differences.

However, Hyscience says the House is now adjourned for two weeks.

I don't really know the status of the bill, and I still think that it will be almost a miraculous intervention if Terri is saved.

We have to keep praying and fasting. Tomorrow, Friday, is a fast day in Lent for Catholics, anyway, so as my husband suggested earlier here, let's offer up our fasting for Terri's sake. To my non-Catholic friends and readers, please also consider offering up some special prayers and sacrifices tomorrow.

The "Duty to Die" agenda

The Terri Schaivo case isn't about the "Right to Die". It's about people who think that certain human beings have a "Duty to Die", when they are inconvenient, disabled, unproductive, or unwanted.

In Terri's case, there are a whole set of people who have joined forces to make sure that Terri is forced to carry out her "duty to die". Those people are:

Michael Schaivo, who clearly no longer needs or wants Terri, but could use any money he'd inherit from her.

George Felos, Michael's attorney, who is a leading "right to die"/euthanasia advocate, and was previously on the board of the hospice where Terri was wrongfully housed. He also has some interesting personal philosophies.

Quote:

About the Jews, George Felos wrote, "The Jewish people, long ago in their collective consciousness, agreed to play the role of the lamb whose slaughter was necessary to shock humanity into a new moral consciousness. Their sacrifice saved humanity at the brink of extinction and propelled us into a new age." (pg 240)

Am I alone in finding this offensive?

And another:

When describing the “cathartic releases” of “blocks of my unconscious past” from his body (20), Felos describes the process: “As these unprocessed experiences entered my throat, I often felt absolute, unimaginable terror—like I was being murdered, hacked to bits. One time I could actually feel a long blade plunging into my chest; another time I could smell the dank, putrid odor of an attacker. Other dark cells brought on indescribably intense grief and its accompanying pain, as if a beloved child of mine were dying.

This sounds like something other than "cathartic release", to me. I emailed a friend yesterday saying that the only reasonable explanation for what's happening in Florida is that the people who are trying to kill Terri are in the devil's grip. The above quote only adds to that conviction.

The director of the hospice is Mary Labyak, who has, or had, close ties to an organization called Partnership in Caring, "a direct offshoot of the Euthanasia Society of America".

Dr. Ronald Cranford, the so-called expert neurologist who testified that Terri was in a Persistent Vegetative State, "was a member of the board of the former Euthanasia Society of America, which eventually merged with Partnership for Caring".

Please, keep praying. And then go back to the second sentence of this post and think about what will happen to you when someone decides you are inconvenient, disabled, unproductive, or unwanted.

Fasting tomorrow for Terri Schaivo

My husband had a comment on yesterday's post:

Perhaps all of us who are opposed to the wicked mandate to starve Terri Schiavo beginning tomorrow should declare a day of complete fasting, befitting of a Friday in Lent, but also as an act of solidarity.

We could all offer up every stomach growl and drained moment during the day as a silent prayer for Terri and that those in control of this situation will have a change of heart.

What do you think?

I think it's an excellent idea. I'm in.

Unless something near miraculous happens (read here for info about the stalling on bills to protect Terri and other disabled people) Terri won't have a choice tomorrow, but at least we can suffer a tiny bit with her.

I said yesterday in my post about the plan to kill Terri: "It is evil."

Well, Jesus said that certain evil spirits are only driven out by prayer and fasting. (Matt. 17:20) Maybe this is one of those cases.

Here's a page with information about the Catholic tradition of fasting.

An interesting story about finding that site: I had done numerous Google searches and couldn't find a page I really wanted to link to about fasting. Finally, I said a little prayer to the Holy Spirit, did one more search, and found this page dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, one of my favorites. I'd never seen the site before, but I like it. I particularly liked this page, because it includes a couple more of my favorites: Padre Pio, and C.S. Lewis.

Please read the above link, and then consider joining the fast for Terri tomorrow.

It is evil.

Please stay on top of the Terri Schaivo case at Blogs for Terri and Hyscience, as well as Pro-Life Blogs.

I have extremely limited blogging time lately, on top of which Blogger is behaving very badly, but with luck I'll have a post later today about the connections between the people trying to kill Terri and the euthanasia movement in this country.

By now, everyone should be fully aware that this has absolutely nothing to do with letting a dying woman die in peace, according to her wishes. Terri's not dying, nor is there a shred of evidence she ever said she wanted to die if she was disabled.

It's about killing a very-much-alive woman, against her wishes and her parents' wishes.

If it succeeds, it will be the first case of court-ordered murder in the name of the euthanasia movement.

It is evil.

Terri Schiavo: Things aren't always what they seem

You may have heard about the man, Robert Herring Sr., who offered $1 million to Michael Schiavo to give up his claims on his wife's life. Michael rejected the offer; his attorney, George Felos, said it was "offensive".

And I have to admit, it was. Bargaining over a woman's life is not a pretty sight.

What makes it worse is that it wasn't an altruistic move on Robert Herring's part. There was an ulterior motive: He was a prime mover behind the Cloing-for-Stem-Cells initiative that was passed last fall in California (bad move, morally and financially, by CA voters).

The $1 million bid was just a cheap publicity stunt.

Scrappleface: Painfully true satire

Thanks to my blog friend Attila for sending me this link to Scrappleface.

Janet Reno Rescues Terri Schiavo in Daring Raid
by Scott Ott

(2005-03-11) -- Shortly after midnight last night, former Attorney General Janet Reno and a squad of retired agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) stormed a Florida nursing home and rescued Terri Schiavo from her impending death by starvation which had been slated to begin March 18.

Ms. Reno, in helmet, KEVLAR® and jackboots, led the daring raid in a fashion reminiscent of the ATF rescue of Elian Gonzalez in April 2000.

Oddly enough, before reading the Scrappleface post, my husband and I had actually talked about how tempting it would be to stage some sort of commando raid on the hospice to rescue Terri, if she were our daughter about to be starved to death by court order.

I'm not saying we would, and I'm not saying they should, but it certainly would be almost unbearable to let her starvation actually begin.

New Berlin man involved in shooting spree

Yes, I live in New Berlin, and no, I don't know who this man was. It's another sad, sad story, just like the story of Bart Ross, who killed the husband and mother of Judge Lefkow last week. Tragic, all the way around.

Terri Schiavo: One week left

Unless there's an intervention by the Florida Department of Children and Families, or the Florida legislature, Terri Schiavo has one week left to live before she begins her death sentence of starvation and dehydration by judicial order, at the request of her cruel and unfeeling "husband", Michael Schiavo.

Yesterday, Judge Greer:

denied the motion for new medical testing, the motion to reconsider his error in the testimony regarding Karen Quinlan and has ordered that Terri cannot be given food and water orally after tube removal.

What kind of evil is this? To order that no one feed her, when perhaps she is capable of swallowing?

This is forced euthanasia for someone judged to be "inconvenient".

I absolutely can make no sense of Judge Greer. Once I wondered here if he was "incompetent, evil, confused, or corrupt". This article claims he's "the religious right", a conservative Christian Republican. You know what? I don't believe it. He may think he is, but we have to judge his actions, not just his assertions. Anyone can claim to be a Christian, but I would suggest that a true Christian would not be so hell-bent on killing an innocent woman.

There's plenty of reason to think he's incompetent or, to put it more politely, confused about the law, since he's broken a raft of laws in his rulings against Terri.

Something is seriously wrong in Judge Greer's court. I just wish someone could get to the bottom of it before it's too late.

Check Blogs For Terri for updates.

Ferris Bueller and me

Yep, I had a day off today, thanks to my wonderful husband. I didn't spend my day like Ferris did, that's for sure, but I did feel like I was playing hooky!

My husband did the Mr. Mom thing (I'm on a movie theme here), with the homeschooling, the meals, the laundry (well, maybe), the carpooling to Tae Kwon Do, everything.

Me: I worked out, got coffee, had my hair done, went to a conference planning meeting, visited my folks, went to a coffee shop to read and write for a bit, and now I'm at the library, blogging. This library brand new and beautiful -- it ought to be at a price tag of $9 million -- and the computers are gorgeous. Oh yes, they have books, too. Have already been here with the kids for lots of those.

So, I posted over at the Badger Blog Alliance, and now this little update here.

And you know what? A day off is good for everybody once in awhile. I would highly recommend this for other homeschool moms. And for myself again sometime in the future... honey? You reading this?

But kids, don't worry, I missed you and I am looking forward to going back to my usual routine tomorrow!

"The Bolty Awards"

Attila at Pillage Idiot has some fun with Bush's nomination of John Bolton for U.N. ambassador.

My favorite:

Best endorsement: Kim Jung Il

[Bolton] labeled Kim a "tyrannical dictator" who had made North Korea "a hellish nightmare" -- which prompted the North Korean government to call him "human scum and bloodsucker."

Read all of Attila's Bolty Awards. I'm thinking John Bolton is a perfect appointment.

This is what I wanted to do...

... if I had as much time to blog as I wish I did, or as much time my family thinks I have. But I don't, so I'm glad By Dawn's Early Light wrote a post rounding up all the articles now saying maybe, just maybe, Bush was right.

The horrors.

Read his post, Could Bush Be Right (The Left Reconsiders), and try not to gloat.

I'm gloating.

(h/t Polipundit for the link)

From Urban Legend to Universal Truth

The Urban Legend is this photo:

.

The Universal Truth is that abortion is the killing of a sentient human being.

Amy Ridenour had a post about the photo recently, and a commenter (a doctor) offered testimony about the reality of the unborn child and abortion.

Quote:

[Though the photo isn't real] I HAVE seen and done ultrasounds on hundreds if not thousands of women who are pregnant and can tell you that as early as 8 or 9 weeks you can see movement and limb buds. There is no doubt in my mind that a "fetus" at the end of the first trimester responds to pain and light. During the mid trimester (16-24 weeks) I have done amniocentesis on patients and had the baby roll onto the amnio needle. It's really startling to have them jump (and you feel it through the needle). Don't let anyone tell you that they feel no pain when they are "D&E'd" in the second trimester. It's truly barbaric.

What are liberals afraid of? Losing.

Found the Marquette Warrior blog on the Badger Blog Alliance blogroll today. Here's a bit of his header:

This site has no official connection with Marquette University. Indeed, when University officials find out about it, they will doubtless want it shut down.

That jibes with the post here. Quote:

It has become increasingly clear in recent years that liberals just flat don’t believe in free speech. I’ve noted this in the context of Marquette’s decision to shut down the College Republican’s “Adopt a Sniper” fundraiser.

Liberals keep coming up with more and more types of speech they want to suppress. It’s a sign of their political weakness. Somewhere, deep down, they know that if there is robust debate they are going to lose.

Go read the whole post -- before it's gone.

Must-reading on Terri Schiavo

Decided to check out one of the many Blogs for Terri on my sidebar today, and chose this one, Fight4Terri. She has a post today based on this article:Okay, Let's Talk About Terri Schiavo, Again.

Quote:

In short, the more I learned about this case, the more amazed I became that there even was a case, and that any court would even consider denying Terri simple basic nourishment, for any reason, regardless of her husband’s motives.

It became very clear to me that we are not talking about euthanasia, or assisted death by medical procedure. It became clear that we are not even talking about letting God decide her fate by unplugging her from life support keeping her heart pumping, her lungs breathing, and her kidneys functioning.

We are talking about murder by starvation, plain and simple. Terri’s husband no longer has any use for Terri. She is no longer the young vibrant carefree model he once pledged his life to. He has found another to fill that void in his life and Terri is standing in his way of personal happiness, so in his mind, it is time for her to die....

This matter could not possibly be any more cut and dried than it is.

I couldn't agree more.

Who knew Pat Sajak was so smart?

I mean, everybody gives Alex Trebek credit for brains, just because he has all the answers on the little cards, but Pat Sajak?

Turns out, yes, he's pretty darn smart. Read this article on his website. (Who knew he had a website? Rich Glasgow did, actually, as did a Freeper.)

Here's the opening:

Clark Clifford, a veteran Washington insider and, by all accounts, a very smart fellow, once called President Reagan “an amiable dunce”. That was pretty much the Left’s take on the Gipper throughout his eight years in The White House. They cringed at his depiction of The Soviet Union as “The Evil Empire”. They smiled at his naïveté when he stood in Berlin and forcefully said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” They gnashed their teeth when he ignored large European demonstrations and began deployment of Pershing II and Cruise missiles on that continent.

Yet, somehow, the Dunce prevailed. The Evil Empire imploded and Mr. Gorbachev did tear down that wall.

He goes on to talk about the Duncehood of Dubya, according to the left. As I mentioned recently, W's pretty close to brilliant, in my humble opinion.

While we're on the topic of game show hosts, here's a link to one very funny SNL episode: the Celebrity Jeopardy skit with Sean Connery. (Are you all doing your best Sean Connery imitations now?)

Two Items

Went to This is Rich today to see what he was up to, and while there I found a couple of interesting stories on his news ticker from CNS. (I think I ought to subscribe to that nice little sidebar feature.)

Item One: The Dems seem to have changed their approach in describing anything proposed by President Bush or Republicans, especially related to Social Security. The old term used by the Dems was "risky scheme", the new one is "goofy plan". Maybe "risky scheme" had worn out its welcome.

Or maybe they're trying to get people to believe that Bush is dumb. I don't think that's going to work. Recent events are proving him to be, well, pretty close to brilliant, I'd say.

Item Two: Some House Republicans would like to restore free speech to pulpits. Good. I'm tired of law-abiding, Republican-supporting preachers following the rules and being afraid to speak out on political issues from the pulpit, while law-ignoring, Democrat-supporting preachers do it with impudence.

In fact, some of those preachers been known to invite candidates into the churches to speak directly to the people. And where is the liberal, division-of-church-and-state crowd then? Surprisingly silent.

MSM steps up to the plate in the Schiavo story

The Tampa Tribune is reporting on the Terri Schiavo case. Tribune reporters were instrumental in getting Judge Greer to unseal a Florida Department of Children and Families report alleging abuse of Terri Schiavo by her "husband", Michael Schiavo.

The DCF petition seeks a stay of Circuit Judge George Greer's order allowing Michael Schiavo to remove his wife's feeding tube for up to 60 days while the allegations are investigated. It also seeks an injunction preventing Schiavo from removing the feeding tube, and the appointment of a lawyer to represent Terri Schiavo.

Filed with Greer on Feb. 23, the DCF petition states the agency received ``30 detailed allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation in a 34 page document received by the DCF hotline'' Feb. 18 and Feb. 21, ``whereupon an investigation has been commenced.''

Greer kept the petition out of the public record at the DCF's request until Thursday, when he granted The Tampa Tribune's and News Channel 8's motion for access based on a finding that any privacy concerns have ``long since been lost'' because of the extensive publicity afforded the case.

Please, read the whole Tampa Tribune article.

This is why we need journalists; this is an example of MSM doing its job well. We need more reporters like this, who are willing to go beyond the pro-death, pro-euthanasis bias of Michael Schiavo and his attorney, George Felos, and look into what's really happening in Terri Schiavo's case.

The Tampa Tribune was also the newspaper that accepted the Blogs for Terri ad on February 27.

I'm going to blogroll the Tampa Tribune. If you're a blogger for Terri, please consider doing the same thing.

Read Blogs for Terri today

Good article here, on Blogs for Terri, about what the Florida legislature can do to get it right this time and save Terri's life.

Also note the criticism of Judge Greer. Yesterday, I said he's either incompetent, evil, confused, or corrupt. This article gives evidence for the first and third possibilites.

On Feb. 11, 2000, Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer determined that there was ''clear and convincing evidence'' [registered site link] that Terri Schiavo would want to disconnect her feeding tube. Once this decision was made, the judicial balance became tilted in favor of withdrawing care to an extent nearly impossible to overcome.

That initial erroneous decision by Greer five years ago has had a snowball effect that has tainted all subsequent judicial proceedings [emphasis added]. The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed Greer's decision, concluding, in a disturbingly cursory fashion, that Schiavo's ``statements to her friends and family about the dying process were few, and they were oral. Nevertheless, those statements, along with other evidence about Theresa, gave the trial court a sufficient basis to make this decision for her.''

The article, written by a law professor, goes on to say that Greer's decision was "shocking". Exactly right.

The "Blood for Oil" slander

Good article by Victor Davis Hanson in the Chicago Tribune today.

Quote:

Whatever President Bush is, he is certainly no longer a realist oilman content with the status quo of propping up dictatorial Middle East regimes. Pulling troops out of Saudi Arabia and toppling Hussein while putting Iran on notice--sent shivers up an oilman's spine. After the Americans invaded Baghdad, the price of petroleum skyrocketed, enraging voters back home. America currently pours billions into oil-rich Iraq, rather than siphoning Arab petroleum out. That is why the same critics who once claimed that we were thieves now deride us as dupes....

Such an easy slur like "blood for oil" persists because the alternative explanation is apparently unpalatable. After Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush abandoned the realist policies of his past and the Cold War calculus of a half-century by zeroing in on the old pathology of the Middle East: dictators paying off theocrats and terrorists to redirect popular anger at their failures onto the United States.

If Bush's democratic gambit succeeds, the world will be a far better place. But until then as we work on reform in Iraq, let us also conserve, develop new sources and wean ourselves from foreign oil. Promoting democracy also means keeping astronomical profits out of the hands of both failed autocrats and killers. By reducing world demand to weaken the cartel, we will both help poorer nations and restore the financial integrity of the United States.

Those who scream "no blood for oil" would do better to chant "no oil money for bloody terrorists and dictators."

Exactly true. Another reason the fringe left just doesn't get it. Until they're clear on the nature of dictators and terrorists, they never will.

Excuses and promises

No. Time. For. Blogging.

In addition to homeschooling my kids and the usual mom-and-homemaker things, I also write the newsletter for our homeschool support group, am the webmaster (such as it is) for the group website, and have been helping to plan our spring conference.

So, I think the "I've been busy" excuse applies here.

This is a really just a plea to my regular readers (both of you) who've been coming here and grumbling, "She still hasn't posted anything" to take pity on me and be patient; I promise I'll return to blogging... soon!

And besides, I've been sick.

Now, don't you feel bad that you've been complaining about this crummy, dormant, no-new-posts site, hmmmmm??? Well, I should hope so. But I forgive you.

Come back later today and tomorrow. I promise to post about the incompetent/evil/confused/corrupt (take your pick) Judge Greer in the Terri Schiavo case.

There's also some incredibly startling news on Instaupundit (via Badger Blog Alliance) about regulation of bloggers, thanks-but-no-thanks to McCain-Feingold. Plenty of people said right from the start that McC/F was nothing less than an infringement of the First Amendment, and you know what? They were right.

Looks like it's about to get much, much worse.

I better blog while I can.