Straight Up with Sherri: March 2005

Thursday, March 31, 2005

My Song For Terri

This song is my daily devotional. I think it is very appropriate today.

Trading My Sorrows

by Darryl Evans

I'm trading my sorrows
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord
I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord
And we're singing

Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord
Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord
Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord, Amen

I'm trading my sorrows
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord
I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord
And we're singing

Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord
Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord
Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord, Amen

I am pressed but not crushed,
Persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I am blessed beyond the curse
For His promise will endure
That His joy is gonna be my strength
Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes in the morning

I'm trading my sorrows
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord
I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord
And we're singing

Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord
Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord
Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord, Amen

And we're singing
Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord
Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord
Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord, Amen

Yes Lord, Amen
Yes Lord, Amen!

HOLY SMOKES! TOM PURCELL DOES IT AGAIN!!!!

Tom Purcell is a columnist for Pittsburgh Tribune, Jewish World Review, and Men's Daily News. He has also been recongnized by Rush Limbaugh for his GREAT editorials. Last week He wrote the editorial If Terri Schiavo Could Talk. Thank you TOM!

I just received this from him and he gave me permission to post it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

My Living Will

To my family, friends, physicians and my potentially lousy, greedy future wife, who may attempt to whack me as soon as the court-settlement check clears:

I hereby request that if something awful happens to me, that I be kept alive. I have a spirit and soul, after all, and want God, not anyone else, deciding when it is time for me to check out.

But if I end up on a feeding tube in a Persistent Vegetative State and my physicians feel I am incapable of making and communicating my own health care decisions, here is what I want:

Get more opinions! Doctors are often wrong. I have, in fact, been known to show symptoms of a Persistent Vegetative State following happy hours or a long night at the pub.

Before you do anything, I demand that a young female nurse administer a cold Coke and a Quarter Pounder with cheese, a technique that has successfully restored my cognitive functioning in the past.

But if I remain in a vegetative state, I demand that my mother, not my future wife, be my surrogate. I can understand my wife moving on with her life with another fellow, but it would be insane to allow such a woman to determine whether I live or die.

If my wife goes to court to win back the right to make life-death decisions on my behalf -- if she successfully contests my living will and claims I would want to die -- I demand that a competent private investigator makes sure she isn’t also dating the doctors who keep telling judges I am in a Persistent Vegetative State.

If the courts side with her -- and if they sided with Michael Schiavo, despite numerous conflicts of interests, they very well may -- I want the best lawyers in the world to fight the culture of death crowd that embraces her.

If we lose in the state courts, I want my case appealed all the way to the top. I want the federal courts to start fresh -- I want the same considerations that are routinely given to rapists and murderers, other Americans who have been sentenced to death.

And from the beginning, I want Jesse Jackson at my bedside, using his considerable rhetorical skills to articulate my plight. I want Ralph Nader on my legal team. I want Nat Hentoff, a genuine liberal -- he approaches all issues with a broad and open mind in search for truth -- articulating my right to live.

It is important that Americans understand what is really going on -- that as a disabled person, it is my right to be given due process. That before anyone pulls my feeding tube, the evidence must be clear and convincing that this is what I really want, a consideration Terri Schiavo failed to receive.

I want the ACLU to side with my legal team, not my wife’s. This organization claims to be a protector of individual rights, yet it used its influence to strip Terri of hers.

And if my wife is still able to convince the judges, based on hearsay and nothing in writing, that my living will is moot and that I would NOT want to live with a feeding tube, I refuse to die the way Terri did.

I refuse to make it easy on those who sentenced me to my end. No, I want my body to be set on fire, then shot from a rocket launcher over the nation’s capital.

While my flaming body soars through the sky, I want every person who looked the other way -- the media, the courts, and many allegedly liberal folks who claim to stand for individual rights -- to experience my painful and spectacular death.

And most of all, I want my last production to drain every red cent from my trust fund, so that my wife ends up with nothing -- nothing but memories of her loving husband going out with a bang.

Sincerely,

Tom Purcell

(Tom Purcell’s e-mail address is TomPurcell@aol.com; his web address is www.TomPurcell.com)
Tom Purcell
Writer
TomPurcell@aol.com
www.TomPurcell.com
571-216-6265

Remembering Terri

As in Terri's Case, Guardians Have All the Power, and the Wards are Victims....Florida is a HOTBED of ABUSE!

Miami Herald: Senior's court-appointed Guardian was Robbing and Starving her.

This person was not incompetent and was able to see she was getting robbed and killed! In 2004 nothing has changed, except the media's reluctance to tackle this issue. This robbing and killing is happening now.

This material is distributed in accordance with the Fair Use section of 17 U.S.C. 107, without profit, in the interest of public research and education.

September 19, 1995
Section: FRONT
Edition: BROWARD
Page: 1A

Miami Herald: Senior's court-appointed Guardian was Robbing and Starving her.

Guardian Charged with Cheating Client Elderly Woman's Savings used for Spending Spree

APRIL WITT Herald Staff Writer

Elderly Ethel Hill begged for help, telling anyone who would listen that her court-appointed guardian was robbing and starving her. But no one believed her and no one helped.

On Monday -- more than a year after Hill, 94, died an emaciated pauper -- Fort Lauderdale police charged her former guardian with stealing $287,480 of Hill's life savings in a four-year spending frenzy.

"Martha Wright had a free-for-all," said Fort Lauderdale detective Joseph B. Roubicek. "Ethel Hill's funds were depleted in a blatant manner, and nobody seemed to catch on.

"In a perfect world, the court system should have caught this, the bank should have caught this, and the police should have moved in a year ago."

Wright, 50, of Lauderhill, was charged with felony grand theft and jailed under a $200,000 bond.

According to police, Wright raided Hill's checking account. She wrote $207,000 in checks to herself or cash and more than $50,000 to her daughter. Wright even paid her cellular phone bill and made donations to her church with Hill's money, Roubicek said.

A former maid, Wright talked Broward judges into placing nearly a dozen elderly people and their assets -- a total of more than half a million dollars -- under her control although she had no experience in social work or financial management.

A June 1994 article in The Herald documented how Wright abused her power as a professional guardian: She made Hill a pauper, emptied out other old people's bank accounts, leased herself a car in the name of an elderly man who couldn't drive and sold the home of another ward to her own brother.

Police and prosecutors are still investigating whether Wright committed a crime against any of her other elderly clients and whether she had accomplices who should be charged.

"It's a pending matter, and I can't comment on it," Assistant State Attorney Lee Cohen said Monday.

Before a judge fired her from all her guardianship cases last year, Wright made a living watching over elderly or disabled people declared incapable of taking care of themselves. Professional guardians, acting on tips from people like social workers, neighbors and nursing home operators, can go to court to try to have anyone declared incapacitated.

Many of the elderly people Broward judges placed in Wright's care were extremely frail, confused and had no close relatives to help them. They belong to a fast-growing population that is straining South Florida's public social services and fueling the growth of a private guardianship industry.

In 1990, when Wright applied to be Hill's guardian, the former nurse insisted she was still able to take care of herself and did not need a stranger running her life, according to court records and interviews.

Hill was a frugal farmer's daughter who worked her way through nursing school and was proud to serve as a nurse at one of the first black hospitals in South Florida.

Still, Wright prevailed. She moved Hill out of her apartment into a succession of homes. Hill complained to one of her few relatives, John Stockton of Fort Lauderdale, that Wright didn't give her enough to eat.

Hill's bank accounts tell the sad story of how she lived and died, Roubicek said.

Hill, a careful saver, rarely wrote a check for more than $50 before Wright became her guardian, Roubicek said. As a result, she had savings of about $312,000 and owned two homes when Wright won control of her life and money.

In 1991, the Las Olas branch of Glendale Federal agreed to act as the "designated depository" for Hill's guardianship and acknowledged receiving more than $300,000 of her money. Glendale pledged to the court not to release Hill's money to anyone without first receiving a court order authorizing the withdrawal.

But the bank failed to keep that promise. Tellers allowed Wright to make huge withdrawals without court authorization.

Wright cashed up to $23,000 in checks a month until she had wiped Hill out, Roubicek said.

"Money started flying out the window," he said.

Although Wright spent Hill's money wildly, she did not spend it on Hill, Roubicek said.

Hill's estate has since settled a civil suit against Glendale Federal, and the bank agreed to repay much of the money it gave to Wright in error.

Barbara Goglio, an attorney for the Broward court system that was supposed to oversee Wright's guardianships, expressed frustration Monday. Broward probate judges pleaded last year with the Legislature to require guardians to be licensed and regulated. They also begged county and state officials to fund more court auditors and court investigators to keep guardians honest. None of that happened, Goglio said. As a result, it is tough for judges to sort out the good guardians from the bad.

"We were asked what we thought we needed," Goglio said. "It wasn't heeded. We need help."

Roubicek said he is haunted by the statement he took from a bank teller who knew Hill and Wright. The teller told him Hill complained from the start of her guardianship that she was being robbed.

"It's scary to think that Ethel Hill knew she was being victimized from day one and she couldn't do anything about it," he said. "No one would listen to her.

"Pull a gun on me and take my wallet any day over what happened to Ethel Hill. Her life was stolen."

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Information You Need to Know:

Thanks to Blogs for Terri for the following links!

The Web of Lies

Consider this timeline:

May 1997 - Deborah Bushnell send a leter to Judge Shames (he was before Judge Greer) saying that the Schindlers should be involved in Terri's care during her final days (since Michael intends to move Terri to hospice and remove her feeding tube).

Aug. 1997 - Felos sends a letter to the Schindler's notifying them of pending action to remove Terri's feeding tube.

May 1998 - George Felos is hired and files a petition in Court to remove Terri's feeding tube.

April 6, 1999 - House Bill 2131 was introduced in the legislature by the Florida Elder Affairs & Long-Term Care Committee to amend Section 765 (Civil Rights) of the Florida Statutes. two weeks later, the legislature Committee on Judiciary recommmended that House Bill 2131 should also change the Section 765.101 legal definition of life prolonging procedures to add: "INCLUDING ARTIFICIALLY PROVIDED SUSTENENCE AND HYDRATION, WHICH SUSTAINS, RESTORES, OR SUPPLANTS A SPONTANEOUS VITAL FUNCTION".

Oct 1, 1999 - Senate Bill 2228 (formerly HB2131) becomes law changing Section 765.101 of the Florida Statutes to include the above.

Jan 24, 2000 - Trial begins to decided whether to remove Terri's feeding tube.

Feb 11, 2000 - Judge Greer orders that Terri's feeding tube can be removed.

If you followed the timeline, Felos filed a petition to remove Terri's feeding tube BEFORE the law was changed, and the trial began AFTER the law was changed (and Greer approved removal of the tube). Why is that?

THERE IS MUCH MUCH MORE!

READ IT ALL!

And then there is this:

Cast of Characters in the Schiavo Case

Please check both of these out.........

Schindlers File an Emergency Stay With the Supreme Court

Per Fox News:

Shindlers have filed an Emergency Stay with the Supreme Court.

I did hear reports earlier that they were going to file this, but was unable to confirm until now.

God has helped to keep Terri alive this long, AMAZING as it is. I urge those who feel compelled to pray to please do so. I am clinging to Terri's own words in this hour of grief.

Where There's Life, There's Hope....

Listen to Mel Gibson on Sean Hannity

Mel Gibson will be on Sean Hannity VERY SOON!

You can listen HERE!

11th Says "NO!"

Per Fox News:

11th Circuit Court of Appeals says "NO" AGAIN!

Infant Euthanasia Creeps Into Acceptability

Posted at Hyscience:

Infant Euthanasia Creeps Into Acceptability.

What is with these so-called "bioethicists" and their disdain for human life? According to Peter Singer, a bioethics professor at Princeton University, "Newborn human babies have no sense of their own existence over time." Hence, they're disposable.

- NRO by Kathryn Jean Lopez

Killing a defective infant is not morally equivalent to killing a person. Sometimes it is not wrong at all."

Continue reading "Infant Euthanasia Creeps Into Acceptability."

Medical Examiner: "We are Investigating the Cause of Death as Mandated by Florida Law and for No Other Reason. "

Medical examiner: Autopsy decision not Michael Schiavo's to make

PINELLAS PARK - In a surprise move earlier this week, Michael Schiavo's attorney announced that once his brain-damaged wife Terri dies, an autopsy will be done to dismiss any rumors about her condition.

"Mr. Schiavo has requested the Pinellas County medical examiner to perform an autopsy on Mrs. Schiavo. He has requested this very strongly; he believes it is important to know the full extent of damage of Mrs. Schiavo's brain," George Felos stated.

However, Action News has learned that it was not Michael Schiavo's decision to make; the medical examiner had already decided to perform the autopsy and he was surprised by Felos' statement.

"We are not doing the autopsy because of a request coming from Michael Schiavo. We are investigating the cause of death as mandated by Florida law and for no other reason. Family requests are immaterial in that determination. Our involvement is independent from the wishes of the next of kin," stated Bill Pellan, director of investigations for the Pinellas/Pasco Medical Examiner's Office.

Felos was unavailable to comment on camera, but in a written reply, he said, "We dispute that and stand by my statement. We requested an autopsy from the county medical examiner and we understand the M.E. is not bound to honor a family's request. We were informed by the me they would perform an autopsy pursuant to its statutory duty."

By Florida law, there are 12 criteria in order for the M.E.'s office to get involved. Out of the 12, potentially four apply to Terri's case: planned cremation, allegations of criminal violence, suspicious or unusual circumstance, and accidental injury.

Pellan told Action News that the M.E.'s office was not just getting involved because there was a request to cremate Terri's body. He confirmed there are other factors, but would not specify what they were; he would only say that Michael Schiavo did not object to the autopsy, and even said it may help.

Monday's announcement was something that Terri's parents had been waiting for for years. Since Terri collapsed some 15 years ago, the Schindlers have always suspected foul play.

The M.E.'s office confirmed they have received numerous e-mails and phone calls asking for an investigation, but that those also had no bearing on the decision.

Earlier this week, Michael's brother Brian said that the rumors and allegations have been tearing Michael apart.

"He cannot believe that this is being made out to be a murder. He said, 'Brian, all I am doing is doing what Terri asked me to do,' " Brian said.

The results of the autopsy, whenever Terri dies, will be made public.

Just A few GREAT Links to Check Out for YOURSELF!

CodeBlueBlog Issues $100,000 Challenge to Terri Schiavo Neurologist Experts

I've watched a steady stream of neurologists, bioethicists, and neurologist/bioethicists from Columbia, Cornell, and NYU interviewed all week on Fox and CNN and MSNBC. They all said about the same thing, that Terri's CT scan was "the worst they'd ever seen"or "as bad as they've ever seen."

Here's the problem with these experts: THEY DON'T INTERPRET CT SCANS OF THE BRAIN. RADIOLOGISTS DO.

*Oh*

You see, a neurologist will look at the CT of the brain of one of his patients, but this is entirely different from interpreting CT's of the brain de novo, for a living, every day, without knowing the diagnosis and most times without a good history. In addition, whereas I heard Dr. Crandon say he's "seen" a thousand brain CT's... well I've interpreted over 10,000 brain CT's. There's a big difference.

When I look at a CT of the brain every case is a new mystery about a patient Idon't know. I must look at the images, come to a conclusion, dictate my findings and report a conclusion. This becomes a part of the official legal record for which I am liable. I bill Medicare for a CT interpretation and am paid for this service.

Neurologists do not do this. They don't go on the record, alone, in written legal documents stating their impressions about CT's of the brain. The neurologist doesn't get sued for making a mistake on an opinion of a CT of the brain THE RADIOLOGIST DOES............

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

To prove my point I am offering $100,000 on a $25,000 wager for ANY neurologist (and $125,000 for any neurologist/bioethicist) involved in Terri Schiavo's case--including all the neurologists reviewed on television and in the newspapers who can accurately single out PVS patients from functioning patients with better than 60% accuracy on CT scans.

I will provide 100 single cuts from 100 different patient's brain CT's. All the neurologist has to do is say which ones represent patients with PVS and which do not.

If the neurologist can be right 6 out of 10 times he wins the $100,000.

Schiavo Autopsy Will Not Confirm Diagnosis

"Persistent vegetative state or minimally conscious state is a clinical diagnosis," says Michael De Georgia, MD, head of the neurology/neurosurgery intensive care unit at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. "It cannot be confirmed by autopsy."

Autopsy Decision Not Made By Michael Schiavo, Official Says

Let me eat crow again!?!? As I read the Florida Statute, to me, it clearly states that an autopsy is to be done if the body is to be cremated.

UPDATE: Listening to Glenn Beck, it seems Glenn and Bobby Schindler both also agree that an autopsy on Terri is to be done according to Flordia Law. If I am wrong, I would rather be in the camp of the likes of Glenn Beck and Bobby Schindler than the likes of George Felos. Any attorneys out there want to clear this up? I think at least we can all agree that we are learning a bit about why the legal system can be so open to interpretation.

Autopsy Decision Not Made By Michael Schiavo, Official Says

CLEARWATER - It is not up to Michael Schiavo to decide whether his wife, Terri, should undergo an autopsy after death. "He doesn't have any choice in the matter,'' said Bill Pellan, director of investigations for the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office.

Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin decides when an autopsy is required under state law, Pellan said.

On Monday, attorney George Felos announced that Michael Schiavo wanted an autopsy performed to silence critics who have accused him of planning to have Terri Schiavo's remains cremated to cover up wrongdoing.

"Claims have been made there is some motive behind the cremation,'' Felos said.

Pellan said Thogmartin had already decided that Terri Schiavo's situation requires him to perform an autopsy when another Schiavo lawyer called Monday to find out whether that was the case.

"There have been allegations that this is not a natural death,'' Pellan said.

Also, under state law, the medical examiner has the discretion of performing an autopsy when a body is to be cremated.

Michael Schiavo has obtained court permission to do so over the objection of Bob and Mary Schindler.

The Schindlers fought a seven-year legal battle with Schiavo over his desire to have his wife's feeding tube removed. They also objected on religious grounds to Schiavo's plans to cremate their daughter.

"Cremation is a very final form of disposition, and people want to make sure'' it is not done to cover up wrongdoing, Pellan said.

Michael Schiavo attorney Deborah Bushnell said her client wanted an autopsy performed when she called Monday to find out if that was Thogmartin's plan, Pellan said.

Felos and Bushnell could not be reached for comment.

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

"MESSAGE TO DISABLED FLORIDIANS" By: Jeb Bush

"MESSAGE TO DISABLED FLORIDIANS"

December 1998, Florida

By Governor-elect Jeb Bush

"Talking with a variety of Floridians with disabilities and their families has helped understand a lot more about the lives, challenges and dreams of those with disabilities. However, I know that my education continues with everyone new I meet.

People with disabilities are no different than anyone else. They want to work, have families, and live independently. As Governor, I would work hard to create an environment that gives people with disabilities every opportunity to be independent and play an active role in their communities and in our State.

My first experiences with disability issues were visiting with adults and children with developmental disabilities, their families, advocates, and providers.

I have been impressed by the differences between persons with these disabilities who remain in their homes, receiving community-based support services and similar persons living primarily in institutional or large residential facilities. What I observe is not just a difference in expression, it's a difference in the way they act, how they respond, how they interact with the people around them, how they look, how they talk, and probably in how they will face life with its opportunities and challenges.

I am convinced that, whenever possible, Floridians with disabilities should be able to remain in their communities with their families, friends or roommates and receive the support services they require.

That way, their lives are enriched and they continue to enrich the lives of their families, friends and communities. Of course, in cases of severe and profound disabilities, there may be no option other than a dedicated residential facility. That choice should be preserved.

In order for individuals to be able to live at home or on their own, there must be an excellent, responsive network of support services available to assist them and their families. Funding needs to be shifted to provide the full range of these services. In turn, more individuals can be served and with a broader range of services, such as transportation or respite care that have often been unavailable in the past.

As Governor, I will work to allow individuals with disabilities and/or their families to have more say about what services and necessary treatments are provided, based on each person's professionally identified needs.

This is a time of setting new directions in care for people with disabilities here in Florida. I have reviewed the Governor's Task Force proposal for the future of DD services and I am waiting for an independent study on the future of developmental disability services that was contracted by the Legislature and will be released shortly. Both of these will help a Bush Administration to make detailed decisions to assist individuals with disabilities. My team will also monitor Washington legislation and work with our Congressional delegation to ensure that federal initiatives are responsive to Florida's needs.

On a separate note, I also have come to realize the importance of educating the public about people with disabilities and disability issues. Too often, people react in fear or distaste when coming face-to-face with persons with disabilities. These people simply lack the necessary knowledge to understand persons with disabilities.

If elected, I will work with state agencies and disability organizations to help erase that insensitivity. If people understand more about how to interact with persons with disabilities, their fear will be diminished. That will open up more opportunities for education, employment, and participation in community life.

In addition, I will support educational programs about disabilities in our schools. Young children are especially receptive and accepting, and their understanding will help bring about changes in everyone's misconceptions about disabilities. I would also support efforts to mainstream children with disabilities whenever possible.

Finally, my Administration will support full compliance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This is vital, not just for the individuals themselves, but for the communities that will be enriched and blessed by their contributions and participation in community life.

I know that there are other issues that need to be addressed. The state has complex legal mandates to meet. The waiting lists need to be cut way back. The best way for me to lead on these issues is to continue to learn the people who are living those issues day-to-day, their families, and the professionals who provide the care. Let's work together to make Florida a better home for people with disabilities."

Just as I Thought Terri's Case Would Rip America Apart.....She is Bringing Us Together....Where There's Life, There's Hope!

Terris Schiavo's great suffering has put this nation into a whirlwind. As our nation has been divided, the gap growing deeper and deeper each day, may there be hope for us after all? With each day of banter between doctors and attorneys on Terri Schiavo's cruel treatment, we as Americans have been in heated debate. Logic and law clashed with compassion and humanity.

In the conversations I have had, the lines were clear. This side cites this doctor, the other counters with this doctor. The only thing definite was that each side had already made up their mind, and pulled their facts from the source that supported their views. Very few open minds were at play. The bottom line was politics.......or was it?

Now we begin to see that this is NOT a right or left issue. This is an American issue. In the beginning it was the pro-life groups that rallied to the aid of Terri's parents. As the facts came out, we saw the groups of the handicapped and disabled join the plight. On the National level, the pro-lifers called on their Republican Representatives to act, they played to their base and moved. Many Democrats joined. On the State level in Florida, many Republicans refused to act. The outrage has been heavy. The Judicial Branch played Pontius Pilate, and the death sentence ensued.

I was bracing myself for a rip in this nation like never before, but then things began to change. Terri's fight for her life has been joined by those on BOTH sides of the aisle. Groups on the left, joining those on the right. Is it possible? Can both these groups finally find something they can agree on and work together on?

When I find myself praising Jesse Jackson today, my only answer is YES!

I don't think I have ever written anything disdainful about Jesse Jackson, but that must have been because I just didn't get around to it! I am not going to lie, I have said many negative things about Jesse Jackson. Here I sit today, eating crow!

Thank you Jesse, thank you! Of all the things I have ripped you for before, I am thankful for your willingness to speak out today. I could stick to party lines, chirping that your actions are purely political, where there is a camera, Jesse longs to be. To do this would be shallow. I have to say, Jesse has spoken out at great risk. He surely doesn't need to be seen as poo-pooing the left. What he has made me realize is that this is not the right and left issue I thought it was. Both parties are split on this issue. Those in support of Terri's fight come from both sides of the aisle and from other parties as well.

Terri has done something that no other person in America has been able to do. So for those that argue "quality of life," this is Terri's great gift to us, what's yours? Careful now, if her life is useless and she has done this, I'd say your argument has been squashed.

This reminds me of the movie Dead Man Walking. Do you believe the man changed? Do you think if not on death row that he would have ever changed? We will never know. I would never advocate putting someone on death row in order to bring change. I would never advocate starving and dehydrating someone to death in order to bring America together. I will, however, be thankful for the great things brought about by great suffering. After all, a day at the park is fun, but it never added worth to my character.

Let's Stay Focused!!

We have all worked very hard and very well together in exchanging information in order to get the TRUTH out about Terri and in focusing our attention and energy on PLANS OF ACTION!

It is due to the efforts of MANY that the TRUTH is seeping out. In our journey to SAVE TERRI, I just want to express thanks and appreciation and also remind us to stay focused on Terri and her family.

In our passion to see that justice is brought to Terri we must not find ourselves taking actions that may hurt the cause. Letting your voice be heard to media outlets and elected officials is crucial. We need to stick to action plans that represent the Schindler family. For example, emailing the Chief Medical Examiner with smears of Michael Schiavo and his cohorts will not gain us favor. Even in good intentions, sometimes our actions can do more harm than good. Please, for Terri’s sake, let’s stay on track and take the lead of Terri’s family and respond to their calls of action.

No Proof BEFORE We Kill, But AFTER?

Don't be fooled! An autopsy on Terri is not going to happen because Michael has ASKED for it. The TRUTH is that it is the LAW IN FLORIDA THAT ONE BE DONE!

406.11 Examinations, investigations, and autopsies.--

(1) In any of the following circumstances involving the death of a human being, the medical examiner of the district in which the death occurred or the body was found shall determine the cause of death and shall, for that purpose, make or have performed such examinations, investigations, and autopsies as he or she shall deem necessary or as shall be requested by the state attorney:

(a) When any person dies in the state:

1. Of criminal violence.

2. By accident.

3. By suicide.

4. Suddenly, when in apparent good health.

5. Unattended by a practicing physician or other recognized practitioner.

6. In any prison or penal institution.

7. In police custody.

8. In any suspicious or unusual circumstance.

9. By criminal abortion.

10. By poison.

11. By disease constituting a threat to public health.

12. By disease, injury, or toxic agent resulting from employment.

(b) When a dead body is brought into the state without proper medical certification.

(c) When a body is to be cremated, dissected, or buried at sea.

Don't buy the spin that this is Michael's idea and he welcomes this.

Hyscience has a GREAT post on this topic.

Michael Schiavo and the autopsy scam
Just a quick post to ask a couple of "off the cuff" questions.

Michael Schiavo and George Felos now say that they want an autopsy to "prove" the extent of Terri's brain injuries. Can anyone please tell me why a rational person wouldn't have found out for sure through PET and MRI scans before they starved and dehydrated her to death?

A post mortem PET scan is useless, and an MRI after she dies will be of minimal value. Are Michael Schiavo, George Felos, and George Greer also directing the details and the extent of the autopsy by the Pinellas County Medical Examiner like they have everything else so far?

Are we hearing that a full blown autopsy by a known and neutral forensic pathologist is going to do bone scans, and extensive evaluation for abuse? Is Governor "weak knees" Bush going to blink again before the powerful George Greer and the culture of death, by failing to step-in and investigate the murder of Terri Schiavo?

Just a couple of things that I'd like to know - but I bet you can think of a few yourselves.

cross posted at BlogsForTerri

Monday, March 28, 2005

Medical Oxygen- Starving Practices and Experiments

Medical oxygen- starving practices and experiments

1. Unacceptable risks for uncertain benefits

Many premature babies die or suffer major permanent injuries because they do not receive enough oxygen in their first few days when they need it most(1,2,3.)

Until the often still immature lungs of these preemies can extract enough of this life- sustaining gas from the air they breathe, they need this essential nourishment in higher concentrations than babies more ready for the transition to life outside the womb.

Their need for more concentrated oxygen is similar to their need for the higher concentrations of essential food proteins which mothers of preemies provide in their milk as compared to that from mothers who carried their babies to term(4). The difference is that Nature tailors their food to their needs, but not their air.

Physicians have thus recommended since the turn of the century to help premature babies with higher- than- normal concentrations of oxygen, and many have fed them such enriched baby- fare of the lungs with consistent success and no harmful side effects(5, 6).

However, in 1954 the preemies' physicians began to curtail this choice remedy for respiratory diseases to the brink of babies turning blue from asphyxiation, and sometimes beyond. Even today, they still minimize the concentration of supplementary oxygen as well as the time they allow the preemies to enjoy any enriched breathing, despite their lack of knowledge what safety margin, if any, they have in so depriving the preemies, and despite the often confirmed experience that reducing the oxygen supply for preemies increases the mortality and morbidity among them.

The official reason for this systematic lung starvation is the nursery doctors' fear that too much oxygen could cause the babies to develop retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), formerly also called retrolental fibroplasia.

This retinal disease common in intensive care nurseries affects now to some degree up to two thirds of the smallest premature babies and up to one third of the larger ones. Most of the affected infants recover with minor or no immediately noticeable damage to their eyes, but many do not. Among the most susceptible babies, those with birth weights around three pounds or less, ROP was said to have in 1985 severely impaired the vision of about one in ten, and to have completely blinded up to about one in fifty(7).

Back in 1952, shortly before the oxygen starvation regimen was introduced, and a dozen years after the sudden appearance of the disease, the incidence of "gross visual defects" from ROP among the babies born in the same birth weight group in the state of New York was reported as about one in eighteen(8).

A few years after that report, the prescription to prevent this disease with oxygen restrictions was found to have cost the lives of an estimated extra one in twenty babies9 in a more than eight times larger10 group of mostly heavier-born preemies from the Baltimore region. That is, the rate of deaths from the cure around Baltimore was about eight times higher than the rate of gross visual defects from the disease had been in the state of New York.

The one-in-twenty extra deaths estimate is based on a review of autopsy reports in 1960 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Two physicians there compared the rates of death from hyaline membrane disease, or breathing problems, among preemies with birth weights between 1000 and 2500 grams during five years before the oxygen rationing and five years after its beginning. They found that the hyaline membrane disease death rate had more than doubled, and that this sudden increase in that one cause had raised the overall mortality among those babies from 8% before the oxygen withholding doctrine to 13% after its introduction.

That comparison covered 1152 and then 1492 autopsy reports at one hospital; extrapolations from such small groups can be unreliable because the sample may not be representative. However, all the intensive care nurseries from Coast to Coast followed essentially similar oxygen policies based on the same suddenly introduced and much publicized official guidelines, with presumably very similar effects.

One can thus at least gain an impression about the order of magnitude for the respiratory distress epidemic by applying the 5% increase in mortality in and around Baltimore to the about 315,000 babies born nationwide in 1960 with birth weights below 2500 grams11. This calculation yields roughly 16,000 extra deaths per year in the United States from the oxygen withholding. Since the babies with birth weights below 1000 grams who were not included in the Baltimore review were even more likely to have died from lack of oxygen, the true toll was probably even higher.

The babies would certainly have been better off without this prevention effort: in the years before the oxygen throttling, ROP severely impaired the vision of at most up to 2,000 babies per year in the United States(12) and totally blinded less than 1,000 among these(13).

Two British researchers arrived in the early 1970s at surprisingly similar conclusions by an entirely different method. They compared the actual and expected mortality rates on the day of birth and during the first month of life for the periods before and during the oxygen restrictions, and they saw a striking picture emerge: after several decades of a steadily incremental decline, at the beginning of the oxygen withholding the graph of these rates began to diverge sharply from its projected path.

Instead of further diminishing, the annual toll in early deaths suddenly stagnated and even rose. The researchers took the differences between the projected and the reported death rates as related to the oxygen rationing and then divided the so calculated number of extra deaths by the difference in ROP cases before and during the oxygen rationing. By this method, they computed that the practice of oxygen withholding had cost in England and Wales about 16 deaths for each case of blindness prevented(14).

THERE IS MUCH MUCH MORE!

PLEASE READ IT ALL!

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Agency Probes Group Homes' Deaths

The case of Terri Schiavo may be the wake-up call we have all needed:

Agency probes group homes' deaths

The deaths of four disabled Floridians are being investigated in light of cost-cutting changes in state nursing care.

A federally funded watchdog group is investigating the recent deaths of four disabled Floridians amid an aggressive campaign by the state to cut millions of dollars from programs that provide medical care for disabled people in community settings.

Two developmentally disabled adults who lived in group homes in Brandon, and two others under the care of The ARC in St. Lucie County, have died since October 2004, a month after the state required the operator of the two Brandon group homes to change the way residents received nursing care.

A woman at one Brandon home developed such a severe infection at the site of her feeding tube that she has been hospitalized in intensive care since Feb. 13.

''We will be looking into these deaths,'' said Sylvia Smith, of the watchdog group, the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities in Tallahassee.

"This is a top priority, and it should be a top priority for the state.''

Said Dr. Cheryl Reed, a Brandon doctor who has treated medically fragile disabled people for about 20 years: "I'm very distressed. I sort of knew this was going to happen.''

Officials at the Agency for Persons with Disabilities have reviewed the four deaths and found no evidence to suggest that statewide cost-cutting measures in any way contributed, said agency spokesman Scottie Howell.

''Our director [Shelly Brantley] has asked the Inspector General to review each of these cases, and we welcome anyone else to do so, as well,'' Howell said.

One of the four deaths also is under active investigation by the Department of Children & Families' adult protective services unit. The mother of a 38-year-old who died Feb. 21 said she told investigators her son may have been neglected.

The man, who is not being identified to protect his privacy, is profoundly retarded and has a history of intestinal problems.

He lived 31 years with his parents, then moved to a group home. He has lived at a home run by The ARC since 2000.

The man's death certificate says he died of a severe intestinal blockage, respiratory failure due to vomiting, and severe infection, his mother told The Herald.

''My heart is broken; he was my little baby,'' said the man's mother, who lives in Fort Pierce. "I want answers. I'm hoping protective services will find the answers I'm looking for.''

NEW HIRE

In 2001, the state hired a private company, Maximus Inc., to look for ways to save money. Under a $5.2 million, three-year contract, renewed in January 2003, Maximus reviews care plans for disabled Floridians who choose to live outside more costly segregated institutions. The clients usually live with family members, in group homes, or even alone with help.

In a recent report to lawmakers, APD officials said they anticipate Maximus will find $24 million in annual savings. The company's actions have been upheld in 97 percent of the appeals to state officials.

Advocates for the disabled insist that the quality of medical care for disabled people in group homes has suffered since Maximus, and the state, in September 2004, began requiring group homes to pay for nursing care from the state's Medicaid Plan. That plan covers rotating nurses, not the more stable nursing care provided under a previous plan for disabled people.

Reed said such patients, who most often have complex medical needs, require constant surveillance by nurses who are trained to recognize often subtle changes.

Following cuts, the two Brandon group homes where clients died, called Overland and Rockwood, were being staffed by rotating ''pool'' nurses who often did not know the group home residents -- and sometimes had no experience treating disabled people with severe medical problems, said Carol Middell, regional director for Spectrum, Inc., which operates the homes.

Developmental disabilities, such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy and autism, often result in a host of serious medical conditions, including seizure disorders, intestinal blockages and feeding and swallowing impairments that are treated with feeding tubes.

''[The patients] can't talk to you, so your clinical skills have to be very well-tuned,'' Reed said. "A nurse who has never worked with a particular client, such as a pool nurse, is not necessarily the best person to come in. They are not looking for the right things.''

UNBLEMISHED PAST

No clients had ever died at either the Rockwood or Overland group homes before this fall, said Middell. The homes have been open since 2000.

''It takes a special kind of nurse to care for these people,'' Reed said.

Should the state have attempted to save money by changing nursing practices? ''Not if you want to keep people alive,'' said Reed.

Among the cases under investigation:

• The Oct. 13, 2004, death of a 19-year-old man from aspiration pneumonia at the Rockwood group home. The condition typically occurs when liquid flows into the lungs of a person with a feeding disorder.

A nursing report obtained by The Herald shows the man had cerebral palsy, severe spasticity that forced his muscles to contract, frequent seizures, skin ulcers or breakdowns, breathing problems and required the administration of oxygen.

"Due to the severity of symptoms and respiratory risk factors, this client requires ongoing 24-hour nursing care, monitoring and intervention, a report by nurse Laurie J. Harlow, then with DCF, stated.

• On Dec. 10. 2004, a 55-year-old woman died after choking on a sandwich at a day training program in St. Lucie County.

INFECTED FEEDING TUBE

• On Feb. 13, a 28-year-old woman at the Overland group home was placed in intensive care after being diagnosed with a severe infection at the base of her feeding tube. The woman remains in intensive care, with a ventilator.

The November 2003 nursing report obtained by The Herald shows the woman, who has mental retardation and cerebral palsy, also had severe medical problems. The woman's feeding tube regularly leaked or became infected, and doctors replaced it frequently, records show.

• The Feb. 21, death of the 38-year-old man who was a client of The ARC of St. Lucie County.

• The March 2 death of a 27-year-old man at the the Overland group home. Both advocates and the APD agree that his nursing care had been changed before he had a seizure Feb. 26. Middell, the group home's director, said the man's total nursing hours had been cut on Dec. 28 by about 53 percent.

Howell, the APD spokesman, says the amount being paid by the state for the man's nursing care was reduced from $11,000 yearly to $8,000. Howell added, however, that the man still was receiving adequate care, because a nurse was present at the man's group home eight hours per day.

''There was a nurse at that group home before and after'' the man's plan was changed, said Howell.

If God Died for All of Us, it is Not Ours to Decide Who is Fit to Live

Hat tip: Marine Momma

This is one of the most POWERUL things I have EVER READ!

If God died for all of us, it is not ours to decide who is fit to live

What difference does Easter make? It is a question which, not least for professional reasons, I must ask myself each year. It helps to put the question like this: What difference would it make if Jesus had not risen? Without the Resurrection, St Paul said, "Our preaching would be in vain". A remarkable man would have lived, died the life of an unsuccessful nobody, and merited at most a few lines in Roman journals. Even his followers - those who had been most affected by the three-year ministry of Jesus - would hardly have kept his memory alive. As the gospels so vividly record, for the disciples the Crucifixion was devastating, a signal that Jesus was not, after all, the Promised One, the Saviour of Israel.

But that is not what happened. The tombstone was rolled away, and Jesus appeared, various times, in different guises. It was not easy to accept; several hundred years after the Resurrection, bishops always felt it necessary to defend the credibility of Jesus rising when preparing people for baptism. The women who first took the message to the Apostles were discredited by them; only when they had seen him for themselves - and in the case of Thomas, actually touched him - did they surrender their incredulity and declare: My Lord and my God!

Without the Resurrection, human society would not have known the one, singular, astonishing thing that underpins the best of our laws and our traditions: that God gave himself to the world in Jesus Christ, was rejected by the world, and became a victim. Without the Resurrection, Jesus would have remained an unknown victim - trampled on, and forgotten; and human society would be none the wiser. But God raised Jesus up, demonstrated His power over death, and gave those who witnessed it the knowledge that the bloodied victim abandoned on Golgotha was, after all, His beloved son.

That knowledge has changed the world. The Jews were the first to know that God was on the side of the widow, the orphan and the stranger; the Christians were the first to know that the victim was the divine Son of God himself. That is why Christian society is distinguished by its overwhelming concern for the helpless victim: the very least of us is worth God suffering and dying for. Our Easter faith does not answer the thousand and one questions that our life poses. But it turns those questions around that one, magnificent fact: we are all worth it. All of us.

What the Resurrection has meant for Britain is hard sometimes to see, because what is most significant is often the thing you need think about the least. If you are a secure, loved child, very little of your time will be spent pondering what life would be like if suddenly you had to fend for yourself. A society in which the helpless and the vulnerable and the persecuted are judged to deserve our protection most is what Britain, as a Christian country, has long assumed; and the assumption has lulled us into the belief that it must always be so. But let us apply a test: the best way to know if Britain is still in any way a Christian society is to see how it treats its most vulnerable people, the ones with little or no claim on public attention, the ones without beauty or strength or intelligence.

People, for example, like Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman in Florida who is at the moment being starved to death after a court ruled that her feeding tube be removed. Her life is not worth living, people say; see, she is dependent on others even for food and water; let nature take its course. But what is natural about starving to death? And what is so wrong with being dependent on others? Babies are dependent on others for food and water; so are many elderly people. Are they less worthwhile? The Christian conscience answers that human beings were created interdependent; only our fallen nature believes we can make it alone.

How well do British institutions and laws protect those most deserving of our protection? There are now 180,000 abortions a year - the highest number ever - because these are 180,000 human lives considered not worth saving. Research embryos, surplus to in vitro treatment, are created, then discarded, because they do not have the right tissue type; or because - as a parliamentary select committee recommended this week - they are the wrong sex; or because they do not have the right genetic code to provide organs for another; or because they are in some way disabled or imperfect. Have the millions of abortions carried out since 1967 corroded our consciences, as well as our institutions?

What is wrong with abortion, euthanasia, embryo selection, and embryonic research is not the motives of those who carry them out. So often, those motives are, on the surface, compassionate: to protect a child from being unwanted, to end pain and suffering, to help a child with a life-threatening disease. But in all these cases, the terrible truth is that it is the strong who decide the fate of the weak; human beings therefore become instruments in the hands of other human beings. That way lies eugenics, and we know from German history where that leads. We are already on that road: for what else is the termination of six million lives in the womb since the Abortion Act was introduced, and embryo selection on the basis of gender and genes?

The difference that the Resurrection makes is that the intrinsic dignity of human life - the source of our hope - comes from knowing that God's only son died the death of one regarded as worthless. In raising Him up, God showed that the one considered worthless in the eyes of human beings is of infinite worth sub specie aeternitatis.

Does Britain still know this? There are signs that it does. After I recently applauded some politicians for speaking out in favour of lowering the time-limit for abortion, I was accused of interfering in politics, and of urging US-style "godlier-than-thou" elections. But I am glad I spoke out, for a nerve was touched, and it gave the chance for many, many people - the majority, according to a number of recent opinion polls - to express their unease at the thousands of abortions that take place each year in our country. That unease can come from only one place: a deep-seated intuition that lives considered worthless are, in fact, lives created by God. The majority of British people believe this. Most of us are, after all, an Easter people.

Saturday, March 26, 2005

A Rose for Terri.....In My Hometown.

I read THIS at Blogs for Terri.

I cannot go to Michael Schiavo's house tomorrow, but I will place a rose. I will place a rose for Terri at the alter of my church. One single rose. I will also be placing a rose for Terri at the doors of City Hall in my town. No Easter Lillies for me this year.

I invite you all do to do the same...............

Posting may be light for a while. I am taking the lead of the Schindler family.......

It is time to mourn......

But I promise you Terri.......

I will never forget...........

A rose for Terri

Liberals for Terri

A Guest Editorial by RD

We can change a LOT of minds QUICKLY, but the following has gotta happen today:

Here's the problem: everyone in Big Media dismisses Barbara Weller's affidavit as a "publicity stunt" and the few nurses who have come out. HERE's what we gotta do & do it quick:

1. The $10 Million Dollar Challenge - there are nurses at the hospice who want to flip (Sean Hannity radio broadcast yesterday) & testify for Terri and against Schiavo but they can't for fear they might get fired. Let's get some money & backing arranged for them NOW & get them on board SOON like in the next few hrs. (Where are all those offering to bribe Michael - can we get them involved?) Forcing Big Media to acknowledge everything will change a LOT of minds QUICKLY, and the anti-Terri pressure may invert.

2. Ditto about Barbara Weller - If Barbara announces she's willing to take a POLYGRAPH saying her statement was true - and then challenges Michael Schiavo to do the SAME (!) about HIS lies - plus all the nurses at the hospice turning against the hospice board - THAT'S news. Sure Judge Greer didn't challenge Barbara on her
"veracity" but the whole mainstream media did & still is.

If ABC & CBS HAVE to report this as news (which they would if she did this - ditto w/the nurses - a 1-2 punch), they would no longer be able to dismiss what she said as a "publicity stunt". That would be EXCELLENT media coverage. Agreed?

Even if she didn't challenge Michael, it would be enough (though why not go all the way for heaven's sake - that + the nurses' willingness to flip).

3. I'm about to post an an article in the next 1-3 hrs. (as soon as I can get it all finished) calling the CT Scan - the entire basis for this hoopla - into question.

Thanks - I know NONE of the right people so I hope you all do!
I'll be spraying this so you may see it a couple of places
RD

Liberals & Conservatives for Terri
Schiavogate

posted by Right Wing Nut Job

Former Adviser Presses Gov. Bush to Launch Criminal Investigation to Save Schiavo

Hat Tip" Keeka at Modeling101

Former Adviser Presses Gov. Bush to Launch Criminal Investigation to Save Schiavo

Although Florida governor Jeb Bush has for all intents and purposes tossed in the towel in any eleventh-hour rescue of Terri Shiavo, at least one former legal advisor is admonishing the chief executive for not using the state's criminal laws as authority to intervene – without the need for family or judicial approval – and reinsert the hospice patient's feeding tube.

Richard Thompson, the president and chief counsel of the Thomas Moore Law Center, says doing so would preserve the life of a material witness in a potential criminal case.

The launching of a formal criminal investigation into possible abuse of the helpless patient would allow the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to remove Schiavo from the custody of her current guardian – husband Michael Schiavo, who has been for years dedicated to terminating the artificial feeding of his brain-damaged wife.

Today, Thompson once more affirmed that Florida Governor Jeb Bush has the legal authority to utilize state criminal laws to prevent the death of Terri Schiavo.

Legal Memos

Pointing to two legal memos prepared by the Thomas More Law Center which were delivered to Governor Bush in October of 2003, Thompson again urged Bush to launch a formal criminal investigation into the facts surrounding the disability of Schiavo.

The two letters dated October 15th and 16th point to the constitutional authority of Governor Bush to order the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate violations of criminal laws.

The letters cite a number of facts suggesting Terri Schiavo is a victim of domestic abuse and neglect, and may be a victim of domestic violence.

The October 15 letter concludes that a growing number of facts establish probable cause to "conduct a full criminal investigation of the circumstances surrounding the disability of Schiavo. To date, the facts of this case have not yet been viewed through the lens of a criminal investigation. Shamefully, the government's investigatory resources have not been brought to bear on discovering the truth in this case."

Speaking Thursday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Thompson once again urged Governor Bush to launch a formal criminal investigation and remove Terri Schiavo from the custody of her current guardian.

He further indicated that the consent of Schiavo's guardian is not necessary to obtain custody of Terri. Thompson also offered the assistance of attorneys from the Thomas More Law Center to assist the Governors staff if needed.

The two legal opinions were prepared and delivered to Governor Bush in October of 2003, after Schiavo's feeding tube was removed.

Thompson noted that Bush through his aides requested the legal counsel at the time, but instead chose to work with the Florida legislature to pass emergency legislation to prevent the death of Schiavo.

Ironically, it was authorities from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that rode to the rescue of the starving Shiavo on Oct. 21, 2003 - in the wake of the passage of the so-called "Terri's Law." At that time, she was six days into her enforced and life-threatening fast.

The extraordinary one-page bill was passed by the Florida legislature and signed into law by Bush in less than 24 hours, but later challenged by Schiavo's husband and held to be unconstitutional.

Judge Greer Again

Florida's Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer has ruled that under general welfare regulations the state cannot take Schiavo into custody, nor provide her food or water. However, the firm judicial ruling was specifically addressed to an effort by the state's Department of Children and Families to civilly rescue the brain-injured woman by physically removing her.

At the time of Greer's ruling there was no ongoing criminal investigation – as, indeed, there is none today.

"WE LOVE OUR TUBES!" (and no, not the box in your living room!)

Hat tip: Blogs for Terri

Schiavo Case: Disability Rights Issue! Let People With Disabilities be Heard!

"WE LOVE OUR TUBES!"
Disabled Activists are Demonstrating in Florida.

March 25, 2005 -- Disability activists are returning to Florida to tell the simple truths about tubes: feeding tubes, breathing tubes, peeing tubes and other tubes we need and love. Disabled people in wheelchairs will demonstrate and explain the realities of everyday life with tubes, confronting society's obvious horror and revulsion with our dignity and disability pride.

Terri's feeding tube is the central issue. This is the reason she is being killed. Disability activists must express our ridicule for the pathetic response of the nondisabled majority to these simple pieces of latex rubber. This case hinges on the fact that Terri uses a feeding tube, which to disabled people is no big deal -- it's just another piece of adaptive equipment.

"Right now the case is settled, people are thrown back on their own beliefs, while "experts" continue to present the story as a misbegotten political intervention in a private matter," said John Kelly of Boston Not Dead Yet, "a tragic medical case in which doctors are united in their certain diagnosis that nothing is going on inside her head , and a tragic family matter in which her "husband" really does want the best for her, which is death. And people agree -- and this is absolutely crucial -- because THEY THEMSELVES would rather be dead than like Terri Schiavo.

"We have been trained, over and over again, that if we only concealed our differences, tucked that legbag tube -- for draining urine -- under the pants leg, never talked about incontinence, that we could be (at least partially) accepted," Kelly continued. "But the shame that we are meant to bear keeps us down more effectively than anything that anyone could do to us."

"It's time for the press to talk to the real experts on the Schiavo case - the disability rights movement", declared Diane Coleman, president and founder of Not Dead Yet, leading the disability community's opposition to non-voluntary euthanasia for a decade.

"That's why 26 national disability rights organizations, including groups like Not Dead Yet, independent living centers, DQIA, and others have adopted a position in support of Terri Schiavo's right to continue to receive food and water," affirmed Stephen Drake, research analyst for NDY. "People on the right are killing us slowly with cuts to the budget and Medicaid while the people on the left kill us quickly and call it 'compassion' -- either way we end up dead -- AND WE OBJECT."

Not Dead Yet is a national disability rights organization that leads the disability community's efforts to oppose legalization of assisted suicide, euthanasia and other forms of medical killing.

Oh, and I found this one at Not Dead Yet also:

Disabled Queers In Action (DQIA)

MARCH 23, 2005 4:30 a. m. -- In a 2-1 decision, the court ruled early this morning that Terri has no right to eat, thus no right to live. Although our justice system presumes innocence until proven guilty, Terri has been tried and convicted without any charges against her -- for the capital offense of being disabled. Society and the courts have deemed her "better off dead than disabled". America was built upon presumed checks and balances, yet for people with disabilities like Terri, those balances failed again and again.

Today is one of the darkest hours in disability history for three reasons:

(1) This is a civil rights issue.

Let's answer the following logic puzzles to determine various civil rights.

a. If "B" is an African American, should she be denied food and water because of her race? Yes or No. NO of course not.
b. If "I" is a woman, should she be denied food and water due to her sex? Yes or No. Absolutely NOT.
c. If "A" is an alleged criminal, should he be denied food and water because of his legal status? Yes or No. NO- that is cruel and unusual punishment-he is not yet proven guilty.
d. If "S" is a mother with 2 children, should she be denied food and water because of her being a mother? Yes or No? That is absurd.
e. If "E" is 18 years old and just coming out as gay, should he be denied food and water because of his sexual orientation? Yes or No? Even the most radical antigay person would say no.
f. If "D" is disabled, and thus can not speak, should she be denied food and water? Yes or No? According to the court's illogical rulings, the answer is YES.

Solely based on her perceived disability, she was denied the rights afforded to other classes of people. The court deems her 'non-human' and thus will not feel pain to not eat or drink. Does anyone know with 100% clarity that Terri will not feel anything or even wants to die? Oddly enough for 15 years without any life supports, she continues to live. She deserves food, water, and civil rights.

Research shows that non-disabled people and medical professional devalue the quality of life of disabled people, yet the court took only the word of non-disability experts-those who historically have devalued people like Terri. Those 'experts' the court deemed more reliable are exactly those that research demonstrates devaluing people with disabilities.

(2) There was 'reasonable doubt' on Terri's wishes and conflicting testimony from her husband.

In 1993, he won $750,000 to care for Terri by promising to bring her home and care for her. "She's my life and I wouldn't trade her for the world. I believe in my marriage vows." Yet after he received the money, he started living openly with a fiancee and has fathered two children by her.

After this malpractice award, he refused to allow even the most basic rehabilitation and then requested court authorization to starve her to death.

At the 2000 trial, Schiavo suddenly remembered that Terri would not want "to live like that."

The court-appointed guardian ad litem found that Schiavo had a conflict of interest, since he would inherit the money intended for her care. Upon Schiavo's request, the judge dismissed the guardian and never appointed another! Terri Schiavo has had no representation ever since.

Over $500,000 of the money intended for Terri's care has been spent on lawyer fees trying to have her killed. $400,000 has gone to the traveling "better dead than disabled" lawyer.

(3) She has never been judged by a jury of her peers -- which would be people with disabilities.

The courts in essence used Jim Crow methods -- non-disabled people to judge, assess, and condemn her.

Not Dead Yet's briefs with more than 26 disability groups fell upon 'deaf' judicial ears.

Today is the 6th anniversary of my mother's death. She too was declared 'in a vegetative state" like Terri. Yet for the three months in the hospital with this diagnosis, the medical staff nagged us daily to 'pull the plug'. However my mom made clear her wishes and kicked out her abusive husband without any of our family there -- the nursing staff called us to inform us how my mom cussed him out and told him to never visit again. Then she went back to "sleep". When we saw her that day, she smiled, spoke about her kicking him out, then back to "sleep". She hung on, in various ways, until she decided to die -- after everyone in our family visited her and told her she was loved, and we respect her decisions, whatever they were.

No one knows exactly what Terri is thinking or feeling, but it's clear -- she has an amazing power to hang on to life without any 'life supports'. She is not terminally ill except for the court's ruling. Why can't we give her the benefit of the doubt, and follow the logic that she should not be killed for the crime of being disabled?

Terri Schiavo Has Not Given Up, Neither Are We, says Attorneys and Family

Terri Schiavo Has Not Given Up, Neither Are We, says Attorneys and Family

To: National Desk

Contact: Keith Brickell, Gibbs Law Firm Media Director, 727-399-8300, 727-458-4824 cell, kbrickell@gibbsfirm.com

CLEARWATER, Fl., March 26 /Christian Wire Service/ --

An All-Writs Petition to the Florida Supreme Court will be filed by David Gibbs on behalf of Bob and Mary Schindler this afternoon. This is an appeal of today's decision by Judge Greer.

Bob Schindler: She is fighting like hell to stay alive. And I want the powers that be to know that..."

Judge Greer has rejected the plea to start rehydrating Terri.

Bob Schindler: "Just in to see Terri...she's doing remarkably well under the circumstances...she's showing signs of starvation and lack of hydration. She is fighting like hell to stay alive. And I want the powers that be to know that....anybody that has the authority to come in and save Terri to do it...it's not too late......"

He Says, She Says

No wonder there is so much banter.

I have noticed a few things.

One side believes this is a "right to die" case.

One side believes this is a "right to life" case.

Just out of PURE curiosity, let's clear some things up.

Question to the "right to life" side:

If a person has a LIVING WILL and has stated IN WRITING that they would want to be allowed to starve to death in certain situations, do you believe the government has the right to intervene and stop this?

Question to the "right to die" side:

If a person has a WILL TO LIVE and has stated IN WRITING that they would want "heroic measures" to be taken to sustain their life, do you believe the government has the right to intervene and stop this?

Friday, March 25, 2005

George & Jeb Bush Have the Legal Power and Authority to Save Terri

Pat Campbell has done an INCREDIBLE job of fighting the fight for Terri. Not only has he been blogging on Terri, but he has also been covering Terri's fight for life on his radio show. He was kind enough to send this along to me. PLEASE be sure to stop in to his blog and give him a BIG THANK YOU!!!

He has also let me know that streaming to his radio show, via internet, will be availbale soon. I WILL BE LISTENING!!!!

Friday, March 25, 2005

George & Jeb Bush have the legal power and authority to save Terri

On Good Friday, March 25, 2005, four legal experts joined forces to lay out a legal strategy to urge the President of the United States and the Governor of Florida to take action and save the life of Terri Schiavo.

Listen to interview with Dr.'s Steven Krason and Brian Scarnecchia HERE.

Documents Conveying the Legal Authority of the Executive Branch to Save Terri Schiavo Through Direct Intervention.

The documents listed in the two links below were sent to Governor Jeb Bush in an attempt to assure him that he was well within his constitutional authority to act on behalf of Terri Schiavo. The first is a letter of introduction to the second, which is a chapter from Dr. Steve Krason's Book, "The Public Order and the Sacred Order." Both spell out clearly that both the President of the United States and the Governor of Florida are well within their authority to act on behalf of terri Schiavo to save her life.

Letter of Introduction Chapter 37 - The Public Order and the Sacred Order

SAVE TERRI NOW!!! THIS CAN WORK!! PLAN OF ACTION!!!

Straight Up with Sherri