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To: TOUGH STOUGH; Barlowmaker
A most odd exchange between you and Barlowmaker, whose account has now been banned.

What's odd is your non-subtle delight to let me know he's been banned. The evidence shows however, that this is not the case. I hope the disappointment doesn't affect your weekend my dear.

P.S. Curiosity kill the cat, or is it nosy rosy?

1,817 posted on 01/28/2005 5:16:28 PM PST by Victoria Delsoul
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To: floriduh voter; tutstar; Ohioan from Florida; phenn; amdgmary

Exploiting tragedy

Since 1990, Terri Schiavo has lived in a Florida nursing home in what doctors describe as "a persistent vegetative state." Her name has become famous, thanks to the seven-year legal battle over whether she should be allowed to die.

Her husband long ago persuaded the Florida courts she wouldn't have wanted to exist this way. Her parents, however, appealed. They are devout, right-to-life Catholics who believe that, with the appropriate therapy, she will recover.

So they and political activists, many allied with anti-abortion causes, got Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida legislators to intervene. Lawmakers and Mr. Bush concocted a special law to override the legal decision that Ms. Schiavo's husband had made -- a law that was clearly unconstitutional, since it applied only to Ms. Schiavo.

Sure enough, the Florida Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional, and this week the U.S. Supreme Court let that decision stand.

But the case isn't over. Ms. Schiavo's parents are appealing on other grounds. Their hopes for their daughter's recovery may be unrealistic, but they, at least, are motivated by love.

The motivations of the others who have glommed onto this case, however, are questionable. Religious zealots and conservative politicians have milked this family's suffering and disagreement to further their own causes.

"May God have mercy on all of us," one Florida lawmaker said in 2003 after the legislature intervened. Meanwhile, they have portrayed Ms. Schiavo's husband as a villain, first for seeking peace for his wife and later for developing a relationship with another woman.

But wanting peace for a spouse who is in a persistent vegetative state isn't villainous. Neither is wanting to move on in life. The villains in this case are the demagogues who have taken advantage of this family's agony for their own political purposes.

For 15 years, Terri Schiavo and her family have suffered. When those opportunists barged in, they made the situation worse.

The courts have rightly ruled that the politicians must butt out. So should everyone else.


http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050128/OPINION01/501280398


1,818 posted on 01/28/2005 5:25:08 PM PST by Chocolate Rose
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