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.
Whittmore said differently. They offered affadavits from medical Professionals, indicating a chance of success in a new hearing. Whittmore than upped the ante.
I wonder if they could sue their lawyer for malpractice? To blow a chance like that....
i totally agree with you. if not for the husband's situation, i think this would be perceived completely differently.
Yes, there is a time to say enough. Her brain was probably w/o oxygen for at least 10 minutes by the time the medics arrived.
Poohbah is mistaken. Plaintiffs submitted new evidence showing a possiblity of success in a hearing. Whittemore penalized them for not arguing it.
Exactly.
I've discussed this at length with my husband and my parents. If I were in the same condition and the doctors were saying to remove the tube, it would have been done long ago.
But IF for some reason there was a slender ray of hope and they didn't want to remove the tube, I certainly wouldn't expect my husband to put his life on hold for 15 years while I lied in a bed.
And the Schindlers said under oath that they told Michael it was time to get a girlfriend (he was only 26!) and they wanted to meet his girlfriends!
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 03-29-05 1418ET- - 02 18 PM EST 03-29-05
You know it, xsmommy...a lot of people perceived a conflict of interest that led them to believe the worst, whether it is true or not, just because of Michael's living arrangements.
Um, no, your first comment was removed because you implicitly called all the people asking for a return to civil discourse "nazis".
All the evidence available on this thread is that no one here is advocating censorship. Of course, if you think that a simple request that people abide by forum rules and not engage in name-calling and personal attacks is "limiting debate", then your mileage may vary.
The Legislation required a De Novo review. That means New, from scratch to you and me Rusty, that didnt happen here now did it?
No, it didn't.
It did not happen because the Schindlers' attorney did not present a de novo case, and instead rehashed the same procedural issues that had already been litigated to an unsuccessful conclusion.
I'm sure that, by the time the Schindlers realize that the case was deliberately thrown by their attorney (assuming they ever actually do), and they find an attorney willing to take a case against another attorney on contingency (fat chance), and they manage to pursue such a case to a successful conclusion...
...Gibbs will be completely bereft of assets.
And the national director of programs for Boy Scouts has just been charged with pornography.
I don't think I would let them revive any of my family with that long a gap, I don't think...of course panic being what it is, I can't promise it wouldn't happen.
He did. If any of you ahd read Whittemores decision you woulds have seen that.
We learn about the next of kin/survivorship rule when we marry, and we accept it wholeheartedly. It's just that somewhere along the line the Schindlers decided to overstep their bounds and oust Michael Schiavo from his role as spouse/guardian.
I believe she did have PET scans, just not the MRI. I think the scan that Trinity_Tx has on her homepage is a PET from 1996. I know there is at least one other PET scan, which was probably from 2002 when she was re=examined at the request of the court.
Mehlman said he believes the public will perceive the situation that way, and there won't be any political fallout from the controversy.
``I don't think people are going to blame the president or people that did what they think the right thing to do in this case is,'' said Mehlman, the former Bush-Cheney '04 campaign manager, who was chosen by Bush as Republican National Committee chairman. ``I think leaders who act on principle will be respected by the public.''
Mehlman made his comments in an interview with the Tribune in response to questions about polls showing a majority of Americans - even those who call themselves born-again Christians - disagree with government attempts to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube.
A Time magazine poll published Monday showed Bush's overall approval rating dropping to 48 percent. Also, 75 percent of respondents said it was wrong for Congress to intervene in the Schiavo case, and 70 percent said it was wrong for the president to do so.
Of those identifying themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians, 53 percent agreed with the decision to remove Schiavo's feeding tube.
The results were similar to others that have shown Bush's job approval rating edging down below half recently.
Most polls also have shown majorities of 65 percent to 80 percent oppose involvement in the Schiavo case by the president and Congress.
But Mehlman refused to discuss possible political implications. ``This is about a very difficult situation a family went through. It's not about politics,'' he said. ``The president's position and the position of most members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, was not based on politics - it was based on principle.''
Mehlman disavowed any knowledge of a memo circulated to Republican senators and leaked to the media last week that speculated on the political benefits Republicans could glean from the issue, naming Democratic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson as a potential target.
Mehlman is in Florida for a town hall meeting in Orlando this morning and two local party fundraising dinners. One of his main subjects will be Bush's proposal to overhaul Social Security by letting younger workers put some of their taxes into private retirement accounts.
That proposal also has had rough political sailing recently, and polls look unfavorable for Bush on the issue as well. Majorities say they disapprove of his handling of Social Security.
But Mehlman said those same polls also show the public generally favors personal accounts in Social Security, and said Bush has succeeded in bringing the issue to the forefront.
``What I see is a president that has had significant success,'' he said. ``Four months ago this issue was barely a blip on the radar screen. It's now the No. 1 issue'' in most people's minds, he said.
``What you have is a president that by being a strong leader and by taking on a tough issue has helped inform the public,'' he said.
Some experts say the public's disagreement won't hurt the Republicans politically.
``The 2006 election is a long way away,'' and voter memories are short, said Scott Paine, a University of Tampa political scientist. ``If you are going to take these risks, now is the time to take them.''
Among conservative Christian voters, Paine said, ``Taking political heat from a majority of Americans about the Schiavo case burnishes [Republican] credentials.''
http://info.mgnetwork.com/printthispage.cgi?url=http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/MGBY45XOV6E.html&oaspagename=www.tampatrib.com/news/story.htmâ„‘=tbologo80x60.jpg
As others have said, I would have preferred if the tubes had remained. However, as time has passed I have grown weary of the vicious intolerance of other views. This is a complex situation. I have been disgusted by the grandstanding by some of our fringe attempting to use TS's plight to resurrect the sagging careers. I have been disgusted with pols going places they have no buisness going. Conservative principals of less government being left in the dust.
On a lighter note. I wonder who is next. After Randall Terry,Bo Gritz, Larry Klayman, Ralph Nader and Jesse. I'm thinking Miss Cleo will turn up outside the hospice. I understand she has a letter from a local Congressman recommending her for a Nobel Prize.
Since Terri's law only created jurisdiction to review alleged deprivation of Federal constitutional rights, for a judge to hear and decide other issues would be judicial activism.
It was not the charge of the Federal Court to decide whether Terri could be rehabilitated. It was their charge to determine whether the State of Florida, in deciding that she was PVS, violated her Federal constitutional rights. It is a process issue, whether you like that or not.
Having only heard that Gibbs blew his chance from several sources, I will not argue the fine points of what he did wrong, cause I lack enough info to know how he did it...only to say that some capable lawyer people here on FP were aghast at how he handled it.
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