Posted on 03/29/2005 8:58:34 AM PST by Long Cut
We, the Witness Protection Program For Freepers, aka the Wild Turkeys, aka the Coalition of the Sane, have through mutual discussion and rigourous thought, determined that:
1. The discussion threads regarding Terri Schiavo (hereafter referred to as "TS") have become too full of innuendo, rumormongering, hyperbole, hysteria, namecalling, paranoia, and general poor behavior to warrant participation.
2. Said threads have degenerated into "echo chambers", wherein the same, common thoughts are continually posted again and again, and the same old disreputable, unconfirmed and/or false urban myths are propagated.
3. Anyone who joins in said theads with alternative viewpoints to the most extreme posts are routinely driven away with slander, accusations, and vile namecalling.
4. No data or evidence contrary to the "prevailing opinions" are accepted, considered, or discussed; and in fact are rejected outright in most instances.
5. That the continued calls for armed insurrection, military or paramilitary involvement, impeachements of politicians and judges, and death threats are embarassing, stupid, shortsighted, doomed to failure, and contrary to most if not all conservative thought prior to this case, as well as damaging in the extreme to FR and the conservative movement as a whole.
6. That such emotional, hyperbolic, and propaganda-driven hysteria is in fact contrary to all conservatives USED to stand for.
7. That the holding up of swastika and other Nazi imagery towards the police and the Bushes, the use of children as political props, and the disruption of the peace at the Woodside Hospice can only reflect badly on conservatives in general, and should be discouraged.
8. That the pursuit of this issue to the exclusion of all others by the GOP has damaged, perhaps beyond repair, the pursuit of other important issues as well as the reputation of the GOP, FR, and conservatism.
The WPPFF is NOT of one mind as to the case of TS or its correct outcome. In fact, wide disagreement exists within our little group. However, we are united in our wish that reason and sanity be respected in the discussion, as well as the rights of all parties involved or participating. We wish to discuss this as adults and intellectuals, as conservatives and as FRiends, not as children screaming past each other on some playground of hysteria. We wish for facts and evidence to be provided, discussed reasonably, and considered fairly.
We reject all accusations of Naziism, "death cultism", or other slander as methods of debate. We reject the practice of "spamming" multiple threads, of posting unending vanities, and the posting of propaganda and calls for violence. We reject, in fact, all unseemly and childish behavior which has come to characterize this case on FR.
We DO invite others to come and reasonably discuss the issue. We have no problem with FReepers who wish to debate in a rational and fair manner, and with due respect for their fellow FReepers. We have NO problem with those whose views are formed by religion; however we reject "preaching" or "being beaten with a Bible" as legitemite debate tactics. Not all of us are Believers, and such tactics only cheapen the source.
If a FReeper finds this an acceptable meansd to discuss this and other issues, they are welcome to join in and participate. Those who find pleasure in attacks, flame-baiting, slander, stalking, and personal atacks will be ignored, and their egos will go unfed.
We assume this thread to be a zone of sanity in an overheated atmosphere. Thus, a general amnesty is in effect. If posters conduct themselves within the guidlines above, we will be happy to discuss and debate with you. If a poster wishes to apologize for past slips of the tongue, or for possible "over-the-top" statements to another, it will be graciously accepted, and your company welcome.
Please bring a sense of humor; we feel that too many have been taking themselves too seriously lately.
Let the discussion begin!
Signed,
The WPPFF, aka The Wild Turkeys, aka the Coalition of the Sane.
Would you view Terri Opens Her Eyes at www.terrisfight.org and give me your opinion of that video? Thanks in advance!
Oh, those are just the things rubbing my nerves raw. I know that you aren't saying those things.
Amen! I am sorry to hear you got flamed for stating that. The only slight disagreement I would have is that I would say her parents are in denial and simply refuse to believe that their daughter is dead rather than that they are selfish.
You don't look around a room when no one is around?
Look .. I'm not a doctor .. just pointing out what I saw on that video and that there are many differences of opinions in the medical field
You're right about the video.
There have been a couple of articles on FR about that video and you're correct.
IIRC, it's a four hour video and the Schindlers have chosen to release to the media the sections where it appears Terri is alert.
She has a flat EEG and most of the cerebral cortex is simply gone; the Schindlers just can't accept reality for the television cameras although their testimony in court under oath tells a different story. They admit they know she's PVS.
Dr. Ron Cranford, a neurologist at the University of Minnesota, assessed Schiavo's brain function in 2001 as part of a court-ordered assessment. He was quoted in Florida Today as saying "[Schiavo] has no electrical activity in her cerebral cortex on an EEG (electroencephalogram), and a CT (computerized tomography) scan showed massive atrophy in that region."
Source.
Three Florida neurologists viewed 12 of Schiavo's CT scans on March 22 [10] (http://www.miami.edu/ethics/schiavo/CT%20scan.png). After viewing the scans, Dr. Leon Prockop (a professor and former chairman of the neurology department at the University of South Florida's College of Medicine) was quoted by the Sun-Sentinel as saying that Schiavo's scan exhibits the "most severe brain damage as I've ever seen." Dr. Walter Bradley, the chairman of neurology at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, said that he "doubts there's any activity going on in the higher levels of her brain."
Source.
In 2002, a trial was held to determine whether or not any new therapy treatments would help Schiavo restore any cognitive function. A new computed axial tomography scan (CAT scan) was done, and showed severe cerebral atrophy. An EEG showed no measurable brain activity.
You know...I recognize that this has been an extremely emotional debate for many. But being called "nazis" or the equivalent is nothing new on FR.
A few years back, many of us were called jack-booted thugs and told we marched "lock-step" because we supported GWB. I didn't like it then, nor do I approve of it now. But it is NOT a new phenomenon on FR, is it?
Like a "death monger."
That's one of the milder things I've been accused of.
again, either you are for life or you aren't. this is really very simple, the Pope gets it. i will leave you to gyrate over the lunacy that you see in fellow freepers and to remonstrate over and over and over again about who is to blame.
I never suggested it was her father. This "bleeding eyes" incident, BTW, simply casts doubt on anything Weller says.
I have an honest question about that video; why do they cut if off just after the male says "Now close your eyes" or something like that?
Unfortunately .. that is true
I haven't seen the video. Perhaps its content is disgusting, perhaps not.
Does it matter? When asked, she performed.
How about the FR Death Squad?
"There's nobody home in there"...
sw
To: Chad Fairbanks
Just caught a segment of Schindler's update on Terri.
He seemed positive about her appearance. I wonder what happened to the bleeding eyes etc?
1,539 posted on 03/30/2005 3:08:29 PM EST by verity
Do you mean that everybody should live regardless of what they may want?
Thanks for jumping in while I was absent.
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