Posted on 02/01/2006 7:29:10 AM PST by Ohioan from Florida
In the court (and courts) of life and death, a little 11-year-old Massachusetts girl named Haleigh Poutre could be the next Terri Schiavo. For those who have not heard the tragic story, Haleigh was beaten nearly to death last September, allegedly by her adoptive mother and stepfather. The beating left her unconscious and barely clinging to life.
Within a week or so of the beating, her doctors had written her off. They apparently told Haleigh's court-appointed guardian, Harry Spence, that she was "virtually brain dead." Even though he had never visited her, Spence quickly went to court seeking permission to remove her respirator and feeding tube. The court agreed, a decision affirmed recently by the supreme court of Massachusetts.
And so, no doubt with the best of intentions, a little girl who had already suffered so much was stripped by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of even the chance to fight to stay alive. If she didn't stop breathing when the respirator was removed, which doctors expected, she would slowly dehydrate to death.
Close Call
Then came the unexpected:
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Depends on which little man behind the curtain one is referring to :-)
It most assuredly does! Those lines were written for a man who had a heart, a brain, and courage. They were not written for someone who melts when you pour truth on him.
I was not referring to that one.
that one = the first one
Were you referring to the one that melts like the Wicked Witch when you pour truth on him?
It'll be torture to watch -- Leftist screeching and redefining words from a linguistics prof from Berserkely, yikes! But it's becoming VERY obvious that the Dems plan to use Terri heavily in some twisted script they've written for the upcoming campaign season, so consider it opposition research...
The description is hilarious in a way -- they actually BELIEVE this twaddle! -- but I bolded the sentence that concerned me about seeing what they're up to:
Speech
Don\'t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values
Commonwealth Club of California
San Francisco, California (United States)
ID: 190817 - 01/12/2006 - 0:59 - $29.95
Lakoff, George P., Professor, University of California, Berkeley, Linguistics
George Lakoff talked about his book Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: The Essential Guide for Progressives, published by Chelsea Green Publishing Company. He described the elemental differences between conservatives and progressives and traced the differences in political ideology between the parties to differences in the idealized family model. He said conservatives follow a strict father model while progressives follow a nurturing parent model, basing his findings on research he has conducted as a linguistics professor. He used the differences in these two models to reframe reactions to many current issues, such as Hurricane Katrina, Terri Schiavo, abortion, gay marriage, and the recent Supreme Court nominations. After his presentation the author answered audience members questions.
Just started. I don't know if I have the strength to watch, LOL.
How's the C-Span show going?
-----
OhMY! "Conservatives don't care about infant mortality or starvation, they only care about abortion"! I've been listening to this guy, and I haven't heard anything yet that is more complex than teenage, junior-high philosophical pondering.
Katrina levees weren't fixed "because the money was taken away." But not by corrupt LA Dem levee boards, but by evil conservatives to spend on the War in Iraq! This is more entertaining than I expected. I'm fading, but will try to hang in here for his Terri wisdom.
Aw, that's above and beyond the call of duty. No doubt there will be a transcript. I am of the opinion that the Democrats are crazy to use Terri as an "issue." At least if there is any spirited rebuttal.
It's kinda like that old story about the three blind guys examining an elephant, they all have totally wrong descriptions because each is only feeling one part of the elephant. Well, this guy sort of has some vague concepts of the split between left and right, but his take on what conservatives believe is either moronically ignorant, or viciously slanderous. Conservative values are stern and have dark, bigoted undertones, and "progressive" values all translate as "freedom."
If he's talked about Terri, I missed it, but he's taking questions from the audience now.
We've all talked here on FR about the "reframing" of language to sell the public the whole euthanasia package. This guy is a prime example of how they have to disguise the truth. He's actually doing a reframe on the history of the left and right, I'm watching revisionist history being taught right now. It all looks so harmless and soft-spoken and thoughtful, and these people are lapping it up. Brrrr.
Still haven't heard any Terri stuff.
Rangel accuses Dr. Bradley and myself of confusing the issue, medically speaking, by comparing Terri Schiavo to cerebral palsy. In fact, the Schiavo case isnt all that different from a severe case of cerebral palsy, which is also believed to be caused by oxygen deprivation or some other insult to the brain. And there are cases of severe cerebral palsy in which the patient is completely and totally disabled - as disabled as Terri Schiavo.
I would agree completely except that I have already heard identically-scripted talking points crop up from at least four Dems on C-span in the last six weeks: VA Gov. Mark Warner at some fundraising dinner; Leahy and Durbin while grilling Alito; and someone else I can't recall right now. And Mikey's PAC is part of the plan somehow. The talking points are always about how right-wing religious zealots want a theocracy to intrude into people's private family matters and keep everyone alive forever, and how Terri was an example of the Right's "judicial activism," LOL. That's their script, apparently they really ARE crazy. But I'm convinced they're going to try to use Terri as a campaign issue for the Dems, because I've heard those exact same talking points from several places in the last few weeks.
If this Lakoff guy who was just on C-span said anything about Terri, I missed it. Must have been at the beginning when I was only halfway listening because I thought he was just someone introducing the main speaker. I'll check the tape.
He had to back-pedal later, as we can see by these notes which were later added at the bottom of his column.
Corrections: This article originally stated that cerebral palsy is related to traumatic births--which is not always true. The article also stated that cerebral palsy patients do not "typically" have cognitive deficits. It is more accurate to say that they do not "always" have cognitive deficits. We regret the errors.*How nice of him to correct himself.(/sarcasm)
Too bad Markel, a criminal defense lawyer, couldn't get this right when he wrote the column a week before Terri died.
Well it is curtain call and as FV puts it, we report fair and valenced.
FV, I stole your pun.
Instead, so many others have joined in, and Not Dead Yet is a group that confounds their definitions. Must drive them bonkers like the Alito nomination.
Excerpt:
If the court order had not been appealed, Haleigh Poutre would now be dead, said Diane Coleman, Not Dead Yet's founder and president.
Coleman said that specifically, investigations are imperative into :
"How doctors at Baystate Medical could be so wrong in their "arrogant and hasty diagnosis" that Haleigh had "no chance of recovering cognitive or sensate functioning," and that she "cannot hear, feel, or respond." The doctors presented their diagnosis as established medical fact, whereas any prognosis following a brain injury must be provisional. These doctors must answer to charges of incompetence and negligence. Furthermore, have these doctors withdrawn life-support in similar circumstances in the past? Do they have expertise regarding brain injuries?
Not Dead Yet Seeks Probe of Haleigh Poutre Case
8mm
136 years after his death, the faithful still flock to the grave of a young priest, seeking help
8mm
Medicare Reimbursements Key In Schiavo Hospice Stay
8mm
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.