Posted on 04/02/2005 8:04:32 AM PST by tessalu
The above report comes from BBC. They are learning the truth.
The death of Terri Schiavo this week has not ended America's painful ethical and political debate over individuals' right to die. Her husband wanted her to be allowed to die, but her parents fought against it and received support from the most powerful Americans in the land.
Terri Schiavo died 13 days after her feeding tubes had been removed
In all the three years that I have been reporting from this country, I do not believe there has been a more important moment in its history than this.
Or an issue that illuminates the complex and vital soul of America as the Terri Schiavo case does.
It transcends the presidential election, the Iraq war, the rows over gay marriage and television nudity and all the other stuff, consequential, inconsequential and downright weird, which counts as "news about America".
The reason the Schiavo case is so important, the reason it has Americans talking and arguing, and the reason it should, in my view, have the rest of us re-assessing our view of this nation, is that Americans were corralled but rebelled.
They were emotionally blackmailed but refused to budge, were told that their deepest held religious beliefs should push them in one direction, but thought for themselves and thought differently.
America is often portrayed as an ignorant lazy sort of place, full of bible bashers and ruled to a dangerous extent by trashy television, superstition and religious bigotry, a place lacking in respect for evidence based knowledge.
I know that is how it is portrayed because I have done my bit to paint that picture, and that picture is in many respects a true one.
TERRI SCHIAVO CASE Feb 1990: Terri Schiavo collapses May 1998: Mr Schiavo files petition to remove feeding tube Oct 2003: Florida lower house passes "Terri's Law", allowing governor to order doctors to feed Mrs Schiavo Sept 2004: Florida Supreme Court strikes down law 18 Mar 2005: Florida court allows removal of tube 22 Mar 2005: Federal judge rejects appeal 23 Mar 2005: Appeals court backs federal ruling 29 Mar 2005: Federal court grants parents leave to appeal 30 Mar 2005: Federal court and Supreme Court reject parents' appeal 31 Mar 2005: Terri Schiavo dies
Q&A: Terri Schiavo case Complete with models of Adam and Eve being chased by dinosaurs, surely some mistake, and explanations of AIDS that blame the disease on homosexuality.
There is plenty of barminess and plenty of nastiness here if you look for it, but for me, the revelation of the Schiavo case was that there is plenty of good sense as well.
Plenty of honest disagreement among reasonable people, religious and non religious, Republican and Democrat.
And in the end a majority who value what we can call, without irony, the American way of life, and believe their politicians and the right-to-life campaigners over-reached themselves in this case.
Remember that two weeks ago, America's Congress interrupted its holiday and in solemn session convened in Washington to change the law in order that Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should be reinserted.
The president himself brought Air Force One back from Texas in order that he could sleep at the White House, and get up at one o' clock in the morning to sign the new law in his pyjamas.
Right to live
As these events were happening, there were heart-rending pleas from Mrs Schiavo's parents who were genuinely convinced that their daughter wanted to live and might get better.
And exhortations from the religious right that this was the moment America could define itself as genuinely culturally conservative.
Mrs Schiavo had been at the heart of a seven-year court battle
Proof of all those claims which were made after the re-election of Mr Bush, that a new dawn had come.
And for good measure, twenty-four hours a day, the television news showed pictures of Terri Schiavo looking responsive, even affectionate, and above all looking vulnerable.
What did Americans make of this?
Well, I do not think its cynical to say the politicians would not have acted as they did, without some fairly strong belief that they would be backed and thanked by a grateful nation.
And at the time, I would have bet any money on that outcome.
But it did not happen and the reasons why it did not happen go to the heart of this wonderfully surprising place.
Americans do believe in God and they do believe in life, but they also believe in law, and rules, and the need for democracy to restrain, not satisfy, the wishes of politicians.
Democracy
The founding fathers, with a wisdom which truly does echo down the ages, decided that there would be a separation of powers.
General laws would be made by politicians representing the people, but then interpreted and applied by judges.
The founding fathers must be watching from their heavenly perches and wondering at the power of the constitution they created
The reason is simple, to limit the power of government to interfere in any individuals life.
If you can convince the courts that you are legally in the right, then no politician, even the president himself in his pyjamas and on his high horse, can stop you.
Michael Schiavo, Terri Schiavo's much vilified husband, did convince the courts.
He believed that his wife would want to die and they agreed.
It is a lesson the Republican party, which has allowed itself to become very closely allied with the religious right, will reflect on in the months ahead.
Already moderate Republicans are talking openly of re-capturing their party from the social conservatives.
It is possible at least that the high watermark of social conservatism has been reached. Its limit set by the will of a silent liberal majority.
The founding fathers must be watching from their heavenly perches and wondering at the power of the constitution they created.
It is common to scoff at American attempts to export Jeffersonian democracy, but after these two weeks the scoffing should stop.
This system works.
The United States has been trying to preach "human rights" to the world, but we are no means a model for any country, for we are putting innocent people here to death, who had done no crime, and forcing them to death by starvation and dehydration, at the whim of an adultereous husband who was allowed to have guardianship, when he was cohabiting with another woman, and he had a clear conflict of interest. He did not want Terri Schiavo to recover and would spent none of her money that was to be allowed for rehabilitation on her. Michael Schiavo was bent on murdering Terri, and he had already replaced his wife, with a woman , the mother gave birth his two children, while he was still married to Terri.
The world needs to know the truth. We are NO example of Human Rights, so please so not look to the USA as a model. We must straighten up our own courts and our own laws. The Arabs need to pay no attention to us, for we have a corrupt Judicial system. Give us time to get straightened up.
The USA does have some caring legistlators who did try to save Terri's life. President Bush tried, and Jeb Bush, the Governor of Florida tried and failed. It was the court system that failed all of us, so all government officials are guilty of this murder. No part of the government would even listen to Terri's parents pleading for her life. The adultereous murdereous "husband" was allowed to prevail, cremate her body and run and hide it from those who loved her.
Allowed? That was cold hearted premeditated murder. Sadly, America failed the test.
Ignorant Brit.
what would the reaction of the American people and gutless politicians be ???
Think about it
My guess is that they would be wondering what the he## happened to us. The "least dangerous branch" my foot.
"...No part of the government would even listen to Terri's parents pleading for her life."
Due in some part to the Schindlers lawyers not making full use of the legislation signed by Prez Bush.
On the contrary. Republicans just got themselves landslide support. The liberals were around 30% of the population, but that just went way down.
Do the Europeans really believe the liberals have public support? They only way they ever get things done is through a dictatorial court. No one wants them at the voting polls.
It didn't work at all in this case. What are they talking about?
Yeah, that "allowed" told me all I needed to know, though I read through to the end just to make sure I wasn't jumping to conclusions. But no surprises here. Liberals are incapable of surprising me anymore.
Exit Protocol
Exit protocol
They say in Orwell-speak
But what it is is murder
An early end they seek
Gods they are
They think
But Satan pulls their strings
As into hell they sink
EV
"I do not believe there has been a more important moment in its history than this"
Terri Shiavo case, historic yes, tragic yes, the most important thing to happen to America no.
- James Madison, Federalist Paper 51
======================
The Federalist No. 51
The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments
...If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions...(snip)
In a single republic, all the power surrendered by the people is submitted to the administration of a single government; and the usurpations are guarded against by a division of the government into distinct and separate departments. In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself...(snip)
...In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates...(snip)
Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. In a society under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign as in a state of nature, where the weaker individual is not secured against the violence of the stronger...(snip)
---- James Madison
=====================
“...Particular misconstructions and contraventions of the will of the legislature may now and then happen; but they can never be so extensive as to amount to an inconvenience, or in any sensible degree to affect the order of the political system. This may be inferred with certainty, from the general nature of the judicial power, from the objects to which it relates, from the manner in which it is exercised, from its comparative weakness, and from its total incapacity to support its usurpations by force...”
- Alexander Hamilton
Federalist Paper 81: The Judiciary Continued, and the Distribution of the Judicial Authority
Did I detect a bit of gloating in this British subject's tone as if the Liberal left had somehow won something in the Terri Schiavo tragedy?
Yes. There was a little giddiness, wasn't there?
Notice how the article claimed "the silent liberal majority" like it was fact, as if there really was one.
Oh yeah, they're gloating. Whenever we do something that's very much like what they'd do, they gloat. In France, where they let a heat wave kill off 14,000 of their unwanted a couple years ago, they must really be smirking into their wine.
The only thing that this case has demonstrated is how easily the Liberal media can lead the Sheeple around by the nose-ring by framing the nature of the debate.
When the media, (including this author) frames the debate as a "right to die", it is no wonder that the majority of Americans would want to reserve that right for themselves.
This past week, a friend of mine brought up the issue of Terri Schiavo and commented on how she believed Terri Schiavo had a "right to die". I agreed with her but told her that what bothered me about the case was that I was not at all sure that Terri Schiavo had ever communicated such a thing at any time.
When I described major aspects of the case to my friend, she had never heard of them: The million dollar lawsuit award to the husband.......the husband waiting until after the lawsuit award to remember Terri Schiavo's alleged wishes........the husband living in a common law marriage with another woman and having kids with her.........the husband refusing to authorize any therapy.........My friend had not been informed of any of that by the Liberal Media she relied upon for her news.
My friend then began to ask the usual questions:
Why didn't the parents just pay for therapy themselves?...........Because the husband refused permission.
Why didn't they complain to the Judge about that?.......They did and the Judge ruled that the husband had complete authority over their daughter as her guardian.
When my friend left, her opinion was switched from what the Liberal Media had wanted her to believe to the opinion that the case was very troubling.
So, women of America, here is a poll question for you:
If your husband has been awarded $1 million dollars for your care that he can keep if you die, has moved in with another woman and has had two kids with her and has denied you therapy, who would you trust with making your medical decisions for you?
A. Your husband.
B. Your parents.
A poll can come up with whatever answer the pollster wants to get.
Your two sentences are diametrically opposed to one another. Both cannot be correct. The first sentence is the correct one. The second is simply wrong. At both the state and national levels both the executive AND legislative branches went to great efforts to save the lady, and were (wrongfully) over-ruled by the judicial branch. The ONE thing that needs to happen out of this fiasco is that WE THE PEOPLE need to let our legislators, governors, and President that the current JUDICIAL TYRANNY must be stopped.
You are right it was premeditated murder. It took Micheal Schiavo fifteen years and 13 days of sravation and now water to get it done. This guy makes Scott Peterson look like a sissy.
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