Terri Schiavo Dies at 41

Rest In Peace Terri Of course George (hypocrite) Bush rushed to the microphones and TV cameras to cater to his right wing christian mafia supporters. Where the hell was he when all of the murders took place at the school in Minnesota? Of course that's a silly question. Why should he care about the deaths of Native American Indians on a reservation? No votes for him there. A note to the wingnuts of the rightwing christian mafia: Congratulations - those that screamed the loudest about dignity in dying took it away in this case - hope you're all proud. And of course the rest of the wingnuts had to comment on the death of Terry also. See this from Yahoo News Upon hearing the news, Patrick Bautch, of Milwaukee, disgustedly tossed away a sign that said "President Bush, Please Help Terri." "He could have done something," Bautch said. "He was supposed to be for life and he neglected his role. ... The value of human life has just gone down the drain." A few feet away, a small group burst into hymns, singing the traditional song, "How Great Thou Art," as Richard Jacobson, of Corning, N.Y., accompanied them on a tarnished trumpet. Jacobson, who has been playing religious and patriotic music outside the hospice for the past three days, said he didn't really believe that Terri was dead. "I'm not believing the report of man," the bearded man said. "God will raise her from the dead, and all the world will see it."

Protester a Sex Offender

So the religious right comes to protest and either get arrested themselves, or allow their own children to be arrested for "trying to bring water" to Terri Schiavo. Of course this is all covered non-stop by the mainstream media (MSM), and then they report this on TV, in the print news, and on their websites. Well here is what they didn't tell you: From Editor and Publisher NEW YORK As protests outside the hospice housing Terri Schiavo in her final days mounted last week, numerous newspaper reports, many based on an Associated Press account, mentioned or quoted 10-year-old Joshua Heldreth and/or his father, Scott Heldreth. Josh was one of several youngsters arrested for crossing police lines in Pinellas Park, Fla., in an effort to take water to Schiavo. None of the stories revealed that Scott Heldreth, a religious activist and anti-abortion crusader, is a registered sex offender in Florida-- until The Charlotte Observer mentioned it on Sunday. Take a look HERE. The Charlotte Observer story, however, revealed that Heldreth had pleaded guilty to sexual battery, was in jail for parts of 1992 and 1993, according to court records, and served time on probation. “The former Naperville, Fla., resident remains listed on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's sex offender registry,” the Observer reported, “but he's not registered on North Carolina's; the N.C. equivalent applies to offenders convicted on or after Jan. 1, 1996.” According to the story, Heldreth claimed that his religious beliefs came to him while in jail. Before then, he said, "I basically agreed with everyone trying to kill Terri Schiavo." Then, he said, he accepted Christ and turned his life around.? So now we have to not only watch what the right wingnuts are doing and saying, we also have to watch what the mainstream press feeds us? Come on MSM start thinking for yourselves for a change, and get out from under the rightwing talking points and the thumb of the republican party!!!

Tom Delay---Do As I Say Not As I Do

You know, losing a loved one is a devastating experience to encounter. If you have experienced it as I have then you know without a doubt that this is the case. Imagine, if you would, a loved one, father, mother, sister, brother, husband, wife, significant other lying in a hospital or hospice bed with no brain function and kept alive only by a respirator or feeding tube. Well sadly, like the Schiavo family, Tom Delay (R) Texas, and House Majority Leader also faced this type of tragedy. Only in his case there was no petitioning the court, no congressional bill and no president rushing back to sign the bill into law. No, Tom Delay was allowed to experience this tragedy in private with other family members. The LA Times is reporting the facts of this on there online news site. More than 16 years ago, far from the political passions that have defined the Schiavo controversy, the DeLay family endured its own wrenching end-of-life crisis. The man in a coma, kept alive by intravenous lines and a ventilator, was DeLay's father, Charles Ray DeLay. Of course back then he had just been re-elected to his third term in Congress and didn't have the clout he does today. Today, as House Majority Leader, DeLay has teamed with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to champion political intervention the Schaivo case. He pushed emergency legislation through congress to shift the legal case from Florida state courts to the federal judiciary.And he is among the strongest advocates of keeping the woman, who doctors say has been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years, connected to her feeding tube. DeLay has denounced Schiavo's husband, as well as judges, for committing what he calls "an act of barbarism" in removing the tube. What a total hypocrite. According to the LA Times article, he and his family "just knew" his father would not want to live like this. He allowed his mother to make a decision to not continue with life support. This was her right as his spouse. Just like Michael Schiavo is Terri's spouse and it should be his right. "There was no point to even really talking about it," Maxine DeLay, the congressman's 81-year-old mother, recalled in an interview last week. "There was no way he (Charles) wanted to live like that. Tom knew, we all knew, his father wouldn't have wanted to live that way." The article goes on to say that an aide to Delay says the two situations are not the same because Terri was being kept alive by feeding life sustaining fluids and nutrients. However there are many, many similarities also. There were also these similarities: Both stricken patients were severely brain damaged. Both were incapable of surviving without continuing medical assistance. Both were said to have expressed a desire to be spared life sustained by machine. And neither left a living will. Why is what was good for Tom (the hammer) Delay not good for Michael Schiavo?

Happy Hal Does an About Face

Would you like to know the type of person the RTL wingnuts are attracting on their behalf? Why none other than Hal Turner! Oh come on you know Happy Hal......he is the upstanding american who calls for the harming of judges. He is the same oh so distiguished fellow who was interviewed by the F.B.I. about his whereabouts on the day U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow found her mother and husband shot to death in her home in Chicago. Hal Turner is one of the biggest rascist antisemites in existance. Here is how he describes himself in the "About Hal" section of his website: Hal unabashedly caters to "straight, white people." Some call that "racist" yet they say nothing about "Black Entertainment Television", "Black STARS Movie Channel", the "Miss Black America Contest." They also say nothing about outlets catering to hispanics such as "Telemundo", "Univision" and others. Hal decided that if blacks and hispanics could have media outlets catering to them, White people should be able to have a media outlet too! The Hal Turner Show is such an outlet. IMO the words "pond scum" describe him nicely. He was all for the "saving" of Terri until he realized she was born Jewish. Now he says the following: "maybe starving Terri to death isn't too bad a thing at all." ************ In fact, since there are so many other jews in Florida, doubtless many who are seriously ill from all their inbreeding and race mixing, maybe this Schiavo thing is a terrific way to set case law as an excuse to get rid of a whole slew of other jews! ************ I advocate the use of force to rescue Terri Schiavo from being starved to death. I further advocate the killing of anyone who interferes with such rescue. -- Hal Turner ************ NEVERMIND! Just Gas The Jew Bitch! Don't believe me? Go look at his website Hal Turner Show. This is the kind of ego-driven moron Randall Terry and the rest of the RTL crowd are happy to associate with...........NICE CHRISTIAN UPSTANDING BUNCH EH???.

Fair and Balanced News......Ya Right

Fair and blanced news is the motto of Faux errrr Fox News. I wonder if Richard Alan Meywes (arrested in NC for alledged death threats) was a Faux listener and reader of their online website. I ask this, because John Gibson a Faux talking head seems to be pushing for some sort of anarchy in his latest My Word column. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures? Friday, March 25, 2005 By John Gibson Just to burnish my reputation as a bomb thrower, I think Jeb Bush should give serious thought to storming the Bastille. By that I mean he should think about telling his cops to go over to Terri Schiavo's (search) hospice, go inside, put her on a gurney and load her into an ambulance. They could take her to a hospital, revive her, and reattach her feeding tube. It wouldn't save Terri exactly; she'd still be in the same rotten shape she was in before they disconnected the feeding tube. But the point is, the temple of the law is so sacrosanct that an occasional chief executive cannot flaunt it once in a while, sort of drop his drawers on the courthouse steps and moon the judges, as a way to protest the complete disregard courts and judges have shown here, in this case, for facts outside the law. For instance, Michael Schiavo (search) and Terri Schiavo are still married, under the law. Anybody else in the world notes with interest that Michael Schiavo has a new love interest and has been engaged in living long enough that he has two children by her. Now let's see -- any woman in America can see Michael Schiavo and Terri Schiavo are not really married anymore. But judge after judge after judge after judge still nods his or her head and mutters, married? Yup, they're married? This is important because as husband, Michael Schiavo is her guardian and allowed to say what happens to her, how the money in her estate is spent, and so forth. There are other issues that all the judges here have decided don't rise to the level of importance -- that they would order Schiavo kept alive while more hot air is expended on this subject. But for me the big one is the judicial tendency to say, as long as the law and the process has been followed correctly and justly, doesn't matter if she lives or dies. Strikes me that that's adherence to law to a fault. I know lawyers and judges don't think that way, but real people do. Oh John, you're not saying judges aren't real people, are you? Well, judging by what happened here, I'd say yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. So Jeb, call out the troops, storm the Bastille and tell 'em I sent you. That's My Word. The talking heads at Faux and other right wing nutcases like Limbaugh, Hannity etc., need to be held accountable when bad things happen after reading or listening to their inciteful words. If so much as a hair on the head of Michael Schiavo or any judge involved in this case is harmed, I would hope they are charged as accessories.

BREAKING.............

A circuit court judge in Florida has denied Bob and Mary Schindler's latest request to have a feeding tube reconnected to keep their brain-damaged daughter, Terri Schiavo, alive. Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer rejected another attempt by Bob and Mary Schindler (Terri Schiavo's parents) to have her feeding tube reconnected, rejecting what the couple's lawyer described as their last chance to keep their severely brain-damaged daughter alive. The decision was handed down Saturday shortly after her parents, said they would not ask a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision not to order the reconnection of the tube.

Enough is Enough!!!

It is being reported that the families of other patients in the hospice that is caring for Terri Schiavo, are experiencing major difficulties when trying to see their own family members. Things have gotten so bad, that one one woman who was rushing to see her grandfather who was dying was delayed, and did not reach her grandfather in time. He died just before she arrived. She said "It's a terrible, extra obstacle to put in front of a family." It is unconsionable that family members of other patients have to be met with these protestors when trying to deal with their own grief over their loved ones. A doctor at the hospice was quoted as saying "It's unconscionable to have a family member to be near the end stages of life and to get there, you have to walk through signs that say, 'Murderer."' And of course yet another wacko wingnut has caused a problem, this time resulting in an arrest on very serious charges after he allegedly solicited, via email, to have Michael Schiavo killed. Apparently the same was offered for the murder of an unamed Judge who has ruled on the case. The Associated Press is reporting, the suspect, Richard Alan Meywes, was arrested in Fairview, N.C., for an alleged connection to an e-mail placing a $250,000 bounty on the head of Michael Schiavo. The e-mail also offered a $50,000 bounty for the elimination of the judge who denied a request to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case. Authorities say Meywes has no prior criminal record. He will face a magistrate on the charges Monday and eventually will be transferred to Tampa to face those charges. Not only have these RTL groups gotten out of control, but apparently so has Gov. Jeb Bush. The Miami Herald is reporting that Mr. Bush had defied a Judges' order and sent state police to get Terri out of the hospice. Thanks to the brave actions of the local police, this standoff was avoided. "Hours after a judge ordered that Terri Schiavo was not to be removed from her hospice, a team of state agents were en route to seize her and have her feeding tube reinserted -- but they stopped short when local police told them they would enforce the judge's order, The Herald has learned," reports the Miami Herald. "Agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told police in Pinellas Park, the small town where Schiavo lies at Hospice Woodside, on Thursday that they were on the way to take her to a hospital to resume her feeding. "For a brief period, local police, who have officers at the hospice to keep protesters out, prepared for what sources called ``a showdown.'' "In the end, the squad from the FDLE and the Department of Children & Families backed down, apparently concerned about confronting local police outside the hospice," all per the Miami Herald's ground-breaking coverage. What the hell happened to the rule of law? It appears that the minority far right fringe of the republican party and christian fundamentalism are now deciding that judges' decisions, qualified doctors diagnoses, mean absolutely nothing, and can be ignored at whim. That sounds more like a dictatorship to me. This has gotten totally out of control, and in my opinion all of the RTL groups who are funding these protests and court challenges should be brought to task and held accountable for the current situation.

Florida Governor In Political Trouble?

Such is the political price you pay when you cater to the conservative evangelical right for your votes. From the Christian Defense Coalition To: National Desk Contact: Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, 202-547-1735, 540-538-4741 cell TALLAHASSEE, Fl., March 25 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Governor Jeb Bush was scheduled to attend and participate in an outdoor Good Friday service at 12:30 pm, at Florida State University. According to event organizers, the Governor canceled at the last minute. As part of this event Jeb Bush would have publicly read from a printed program that includes the following text entitled the Fifth Station of the Cross; "Lord Jesus, sometimes I don't want to do what is right or to help someone in need, but you want me to respond positively to the needs of others in my life. Help me to say 'yes' and be willing to give heroic assistance to all who are in need."" It is clear that Governor Bush canceled his scheduled participation in this Stations of the Cross service out of fear and guilt of seeing supporters of Terri Schiavo pleading for her life. Our prayer for Governor Bush is the same prayer he would have prayed publicly on this Good Friday, had he kept his scheduled appointment. And as the Associated Press is reporting: Many supporters of the Schindlers say Bush could simply ignore the courts and take emergency custody of Schiavo. "Now is the day. Now is the time for the governor to have courage," said Paul O'Donnell, a Franciscan monk and Schindler family supporter. "The governor needs to take action and take action soon. She's dying." It looks like the RTL crowd is growing low on patience. Short of exceeding his authority by storming the hospice and taking Terri by force, it seems Jeb may just alienate the voting faction he relies upon for reelection or his presidential ambitions for 2008.

The Wingnuts Surface

Well just as I suspected, the wingnuts are starting to surface in the rightwing extremest horde that has taken over the Schiavo supporters. See this from Oliverwillis.com. Not only is Terri in danger from these extremists, but so are the other residents of this hospice. Please people, try to remember that for some of the residents of this hospice this is the last place they will call home. Surely all of these protestors are not so crass as to not only deny Terri a peaceful passing from this life, but other people who live there also? By all that is sacred above, please think of all of them before you act!!! And of course it is not bad enough that Senator (Dr) Frisk, the ethically challenged Tom Delay along with the original hypocrite President (for life?) George Bush and his media whore brother Jeb the Gov. of Fla., got into the act. Now we have Rep.(Dr.) Tom Cobourn (R) OK. an MD who practiced Family Practice medicine, also diagnosing an illness via video tape!! The NY Times reports these comments from the hypocrite: "I don't think you have to examine her. All you have to do is look at her on TV. Any doctor with any conscience can look at her and know that she does not have a terminal disease and know that she has some function." Yet in the Tulsa World, on 7/20/98, they reported this: [In] an interview after [Coburn]'s panel appearance, he conceded the issue of caring for a terminally ill patient brings with it complex questions and is not always simple. For example, under certain circumstances when there is no hope of recovery, he said physicians should have the option of withholding nutrients and water from a dying patient. Coburn said he has done that in the past. 'If somebody does not want a feeding tube, I won't put a feeding tube down,' he said. Perhaps he took the hypocritical oath rather than the hypocratic oath! Oh how I long to see this come back an hit these rightwing republican blasphemers where it will do the most good, in the next election they face. Maybe we can also hope there is some way a malpractice suit could be brought against these people who have medical degrees that have weighed in with their from a distance diagnosis. At the very least, perhaps a medical ethics board should examine this behaviour and take away their medical licenses. The way they have mislead the Schindler's (Terri's parents) to continue this farce with court appearance after court appearance is reprehensible in the extreme.

Will Terri Schiavo Be Allowed A Dignified Death?

Finally, maybe this poor woman will be allowed to die in peace. That is my wish, but for some strange reason I have a feeling the rabid members of the RTL movement (Randall Terry etc.) will not let this rest. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to intervene in the case, it looks like the right wing extremests along with their enabler Gov. Jeb Bush are still not going to let well enough alone. Instead of letting Terri have some dignity he instead filed a request seeking custody of Terri and tried to convice Penellas Circuit Judge George Greer (who had previously ruled in favor of Michael Schiavo in regards to the removal of the feeding tube), with new allegations of neglect and challenges the diagnoses that Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state, claiming a new diagnosis of "Minimally Conscious State". But thank goodness, Greer wasn't convinced and declined to hear Bush's arguments saying in his decision: "The requested intervention ... appears to be brought for the purpose of circumventing the courts' final judgment and order setting the removal date in violation of the separate of powers doctorate" . Jeb Bush said he was expecting this ruling from Greer, BUT he planned to appeal. When are members of the Bush family ever going to realise what the word "NO" means and that they are not above the law? He says he won't violate the ruling by Greer but watching how this bunch operates, nothing would surprise me. I guess we will just wait and watch to see what these extremists come up with next. UPDATE (approximately 30 minutes ago) Terri's parents, who I DO NOT include in the term "wingnuts" have submitted yet another petition to the court to have the feeding tube re-inserted. They and their lawyers appeared before U.S. District Judge James Whittemore Thursday evening to make another emergency request that the feeding tube be reattached while the parents pursue their claims that Schiavo's religious and due-process rights were violated. Whittemore previously rejected a similar request, and pointed out to the Schiavos' attorney David Gibbs III that he should stay on the legal issues because he was aware of Terri Schiavo's declining health. How I pray that they will come to terms with the reality of the situation and let her go peacefully. Michael Shiavos' lawyer George Felos said "We believe it's time for that to stop as we approach this Easter weekend and that Mrs. Schiavo be able to die in peace," and I agree with those sentiments. I realize that a child is just not supposed to go before their parent(s), and this has got to be tearing them apart but I still believe that if the RTL crowd would just leave them alone, they would come to terms with the reality of the situation, and not only will Terri be at peace, but so will they.