Posted on 03/22/2005 6:31:48 PM PST by BCrago66
Mayor Richard Daley on Tuesday viewed the controversy over the fate of Terri Schiavo through the eyes of a father who lost a young son to a disabling condition.
And though Daley tried not to take sides in the Schiavo case, it became obvious where he stands as he spoke about Kevin Daley, who died in 1981 when he was 33 months old.
"I think it gets down to people with disabilities," the mayor said. "I had a son who was very sick with spina bifida. Some people would have said, `Why should he live?'"
Kevin "had a struggle," said Daley, who was a member of the General Assembly at the time the boy was fighting for his life. He flew regularly from Springfield to Chicago to be with his son. "We loved him just as much as anyone else. If he was here today, we would love him even more. But you are not going to tell me you are God.
"I think every person with disabilities should have the right to good quality care, and the right to be loved by parents, loved by God and to have a life..."
What should happen in Terri Schiavo's case is a complicated matter and one that should be determined "by a full medical review," Daley said. But he expressed admiration for Schiavo's parents, who are fighting to have a feeding tube reinserted over her husband's objections.
"They could walk away and move to California and say, `We have nothing to do with her. She married somebody.' I'll tell you one thing: They are loving parents ... At least she has that.
"Other families don't even care. They put their kids away, their parents away. They wait until they get the call from the funeral home."
Schiavo's parents "have something they see in this child," Daley said. "They see love and good news in her."
Daley said he once read about a doctor in the Netherlands "who said that the last four children that he allowed to die were spina bifida children. I said, `Thank God, he wasn't (our) doctor.'"
The mayor, who sometimes becomes emotional when talking about his son, one of four Daley children, kept his composure Tuesday.
Particularly sensitive to the issue, Daley has made a point of seeking to hire people with disabilities and to promote employment opportunities for the disabled in private industry.
But some people think that the disabled "should be shunted away, should be hidden, should be locked up, (that) they have no life, no mind, no soul," the mayor said.
Hooray for Daley!
"I was pleasantly surprised to see that she didn't seem to be on Michael's side on this."
Me too. Take care and God bless, Judy.
I'm sure that anyone touched by such a situation has a special appreciation of may be going on.
I just posted on this thread, I think most people would agree on this issue if they had all the facts (which we are ALL still wondering about) and if the MSM didn't insist on highlighting differences.
"I know in my heart that man is good - that what is right will eventually triumph - and there is purpose and worth to each and every life."
Ronald Reagan's epitaph
Here's a link to a page of Reagan photos, including one of the gravesite:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pif&GRid=4244&PIgrid=4244&PIcrid=640476&pt=Ronald+Reagan&ShowCemPhotos=Y&
Greta just had two long time friends of Terri on her show who both said that Terri would never have said that she didn't want to live. They were passionate in their defense of Terri and her right to life.
WOW, that's a stunner! A democrat with a heart.
Wow, Michael is a nurse?????? And he is 6'7"? Where can I go to verify this?
This crosses political divides no matter what the MSM would have people believe.
That Delay would come down on the side of life for Terri will not be forgotton by me. I'm seeing people very clearly now and while distressed and angered at the side of some revealed, witnessing those who have come down on the pro-life side brings some comfort.
Thank you for taking the time to find that. I truly appreciate it.
I had a much longer post written but deleted it. I need to think about it (in terms of the emotions swirling around this issue).
Suffice it to say, I think Terri, whenever she leaves this planet, will have a very lasting legacy.
goodnight everyone.
It's true. Someone should check the death rates at the hospital where he works.
I never, never thought I'd have the occassion to say this, but...
BULLY FOR YOU MAYOR DALEY!
Spoken like a true Irish-American!
This case is showing the true fault line in our nation. Between the compassionate culture of life and the utilitarian culture of death.
There is something in the zeitgeist that has propelled this woman's plight to "the top of the charts" to borrow a phrase.
I actually came upon two co-workers discussing this in the ladies' room today. In 25 years of office work this is a first time I've encountered a current events conversation going on in the bathroom. I won't describe as an argument, they were in complete agreement: Michael should walk away, has in fact already walked away, what IS his problem.
Something is afoot, students of history may know the name of Terri Schiavo 150 years from now, maybe for reasons we can't even imagine yet.
This is amazing and horrendous. This means to me that MS knew ahead of time how to get his wife into a locked in state and then had the gall to sue the hospital for not helping her appropriately. What an evil man.
"Something is afoot, students of history may know the name of Terri Schiavo 150 years from now, maybe for reasons we can't even imagine yet."
Before I log off, let me just say that I think you are absolutely right.
This is a bit premature, but I'll throw it out there.
Maybe as a canonized Saint?
How is it that Richard Daley can be so right and some people who have the audacity to call themselves Republicans can be so wrong?
"Michael has a job in the county jail as a Nurse."
Oy, I didn't know that was where he worked. Probably all for the best.
"How is it that Richard Daley can be so right and some people who have the audacity to call themselves Republicans can be so wrong?"
supercat, let me just say (and I LOVE your name) political parties/labels may be indicators, but they are not the be all and end all. Gov. Casey of PA was a dyed in the wool dem, but pro-life as part of that. My dad was a dyed in the wool Irish Catholic, but a Republican as part of that. The problem with the dems, the democratic party, for the last 30 years or so, is that they've been completely infiltrated and taken over by the nihilistic, radical left. Who hate not just capitalism, or America, but religion, God, and life itself. Don't ask that gang about motherhood, or even apple pie.
Not all dems are truly in the belly of the beast, many, more than are just in shaky districts, voted for the Terri bill on Sunday.
We can expect the culture wars to get worse, not better. But we can expect to see some flagration amoungst the dems as part of that, due to their performance in the last election.
True. I don't know if you know anything about Illinois, but our King George (1999-2003) was proof of that. A Republican who ran to the left of Chuck Schumer while his opponent, Glenn Poshard, ran toward the right. After the Chicago Tribune blasted Poshard for accusing George of corruption, King George won the election 51-48%. The allegations of corruption were later proven correct.
Wow! I may not agree with his politics most of the time, but this is powerful.
I believe you are correct about the media's agenda with controversy. Even European newspapers build up any controversy within the US (like they don't have any of their own) - sells papers, eh? Example - the Terri crisis - gives Europeans a false reason to look down their noses at us colonials. :o)
I am not criticizing mothers who work, simply commenting on her story about her son.
When they did the program he was sitting there with the family with a very sullen look on his face.
IMO, she was exploiting a personal situation for her own reasons.
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