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.
Cheers!!!
I don't think anyone here is calling the Schindlers the Anti-Christ or any other provocative names. Are we criticizing them? Yes. Are they above criticism? No. If they didn't want to be scrutinized they should have thought through some of the people they chose to be involved with and their use of the media. They could have done that very easily.
I've always felt that there was more to this story than we were led to believe. I have no respect for the circus this has become, but I do feel for all involved, especially Terri.
Okay, if Terri makes it 40 days and 40 nights without the tube, I'm definitely going to step back and say, "WHOA!"
We had facts. He plea bargained down to 2 years for sexual battery. He admits he did it, yet you won't admit he did it.
I know what you are saying...but when I was trying to get financing for my sons bone marrow transplant, and I was running here and there, and doing this and that , and saying one thing and another, I am sure I came off as unhinged to some folk...when I see the Schindlers trying one time after another to get the courts to reinsert Terris tube, and they fail, and then they try something else, and then they fail at that...and then one 'Personality' and another come out in their support, ,and in my view, give them false hope...well I just see a little bit of myself, my own desperation, in the Schindlers...
Perhaps I am just projecting what I felt and did in my attempts to save my son, ,and see those same things in the Schindlers...I am glad folks did not hold me responsible for my behavior in those days...but rather realized I was a mother, simply desperate to save her child, at any cost...
That's nonsense. But why don't you post right here, right now, where I said that.
Witness Protection Program For Freepers or in other words:
SMART PEOPLE.
***
It turns out that Felos's weirdness goes deeper still. In a 2003 article, Florida Baptist Witness editor James Smith looked at Felos's 2002 book, "Litigation as Spiritual Practice." Felos's views on the "right to die" are informed by a "syncretistic" spirituality that "mixes diverse religious traditions--including generous citations from the Bible and references to Jesus Christ--creating a composite of his own spiritual worldview."
Smith quotes at length a story from Felos's book about Estelle Browning, the subject of Felos's first right-to-die case:
As I continued to stay beside Mrs. Browning at her nursing home bed, I felt my mind relax and my weight sink into the ground. I began to feel light-headed as I became more reposed. Although feeling like I could drift into sleep, I also experienced a sense of heightened awareness.
As Mrs. Browning lay motionless before my gaze, I suddenly heard a loud, deep moan and scream and wondered if the nursing home personnel heard it and would respond to the unfortunate resident. In the next moment, as this cry of pain and torment continued, I realized it was Mrs. Browning.
I felt the mid-section of my body open and noticed a strange quality to the light in the room. I sensed her soul in agony. As she screamed I heard her say, in confusion, "Why am I still here . . . Why am I here?" My soul touched hers and in some way I communicated that she was still locked in her body. I promised I would do everything in my power to gain the release her soul cried for. With that the screaming immediately stopped. I felt like I was back in my head again, the room resumed its normal appearance, and Mrs. Browning, as she had throughout this experience, lay silent.
*****
Strange
Oh my goodness! Can you imagine trying to take someone in Terri's condition to a safe house? Thank goodness the lawyer did the right thing and called the FBI.
Man, can't you see what happens when you feed them?
There you go...if she does last that long, it will be a true 'miracle'...she may even last longer than 2 weeks...that would not surprise me at all...if she did receive excellent hydration, and has minimal exertion and is in excellent physical health, we do not know how long she may continue....
They felt he owed them the money for the time they supported him. Maybe he did. I don't know nor care. All I know is this story has been in and out of the news here for 15 years. A Pinellas Park family feud is not usually big news around here. What is happening is loco.
PSST. Read the original article, as you move backward through the posts. You may just learn that the author had that conclusion, too.
Yes, and money is the root of all evil. I think both sides are suspect, at this point... with Terri in the middle.
Glenn Beck was talking about Felos and this Evelyn Brown incident. That is beyond weird. Felos is one really strange dude. He is not someone that I would want anywhere near me.
That may be a stretch in a few cases.
;-)
It was answered in post #49.
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