Schiavo issue haunts Crist

St. Petersburg Times ^ | November 1, 2006 | ADAM C. SMITH

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Republican gubernatorial front-runner Charlie Crist says he was perfectly clear in opposing governmental intervention in the Terri Schiavo case.

He spoke out loudly.

And he was silent.

Loudly silent.

The day after limping through a tough nationally televised debate, the Republican attorney general wanted to talk about his plans to slash taxes. Instead reporters questioned him about his debate assertion that, “Yes, I did’’ speak out against Congress trying to force the reinsertion of the severely brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube in 2005.

Crist did not publicly express his opposition to the Schiavo intervention until April 2006, more than a year after the Pinellas woman’s death. But he maintained on Tuesday that he forcefully expressed his opposition from the start.

“I spoke loudly,” Crist said in Tallahassee. “I think it’s important that when issues like that come up and you believe that government is the appropriate place for it that you act that out, and you walk the walk, and don’t just talk the talk.’’

The attorney general noted that his office “by not going to court and pushing the agenda on that issue, that was speaking out louder than anybody else did in Florida.”

This is one of many issues — from insurance reform to abortion and civil unions — where Crist has been accused of ambiguity or trying please all sides.

Contrary to his comments Tuesday, during the Republican gubernatorial primary in August he stressed to the weekly newspaper of the Florida Baptist Convention that his office helped the governor’s office with legal work to keep Schiavo alive, even though he personally had qualms.

“I don’t remember that, but I’ll check on it and see,” Crist said when asked about that interview with the Florida Baptist Witness.

Gov. Jeb Bush came to his would-be successor’s defense. “He spoke out to me,” Bush told reporters. Crist, however, said he never directly talked to Bush.

There are few issues in the political realm so black and white as the Terri Schiavo case. People either supported the state and federal government intervening to keep her alive or they didn’t.

But Crist is the second statewide candidate recently to face questions about how he acted during the Schiavo end-of-life controversies that erupted in 2003 in the Legislature and in 2005 in both the Legislature and Congress.

Democratic Attorney General candidate Walter “Skip” Campbell, a state senator from Broward County, has been on the defensive this week for having voted to keep Schiavo alive and later criticizing the governmental intervention. Crist’s involvement in the Schiavo case may be the only common ground between the Schindler family, Terri

Schiavo’s parents and siblings who fought to keep her alive, and her husband, Michael Schiavo, who insisted his wife did not want to be kept alive in a persistent vegetative state. Both sides have criticized Crist.

“When he said in that debate that he’s going to be a leader, my heart dropped. He’s not a leader, he’s a follower,’’ Michael Schiavo said Tuesday. “If he really wanted to stand up he would have said, 'No, this is wrong. The government should stay out of this.’ ... Charlie Crist did not say a word, he was nowhere to be found. He’s a coward.’’

Terri Schiavo’s father, Bob Schindler, wrote an essay in August accusing Crist of snubbing the family’s pleas for him to help their efforts. “Florida Atty. Gen. Charlie Crist let my daughter die. He had it within his authority to save her life, but he turned a blind eye to her suffering,’’ Schindler wrote.

The Florida Democratic Party issued a release saying Crist “lied” about his role in the Schiavo case, but at a brief campaign stop at Arco-Iris restaurant in Tampa on Tuesday, Davis would only say that Crist “misrepresented his position.”

“I was up fighting George Bush and the entire United States Congress, both political parties, and Charlie Crist was unwilling to take a position,” Davis said.

Davis, trailing in polls and campaign money, is hoping his debate performance Monday night will cut Crist’s advantages. No statewide viewership numbers were available Tuesday, but in the Tampa Bay area about 152,000 households tuned in — a ratings jump for that time slot on WFLA — and that doesn’t include those who watched on MSNBC.

- Tallahassee bureau chief Steve Bousquet and staff writer Alex Leary contributed to this report. Adam C. Smith can be reached at asmith@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8241.\

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Hospices going into the Funeral Home business.

Nothing to see here-move along........

Unbelievable. This is just blatant.

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Haleigh Poutre's father is in the running for a recognition of sorts. The article is a collection of stories of "parents" of the year...

Jason Strickland nearly beat his 11-year old stepdaughter, Haleigh Poutre, to death. He and his wife adopted Haleigh when she was five after her mother’s boyfriend was (apparently falsely) accused of molesting the little girl. Massachusetts social workers pressured Allison, Haleigh’s mom, to give her up for adoption, even threatening to take her unborn child from her immediately after birth if she refused. Allison’s sister, Holli Strickland and her husband adopted Haleigh. Six short years later, after DSS workers dismissed a series of complaints about onoging abuse, Haleigh lay in a hospital bed totally dependent on machines in what doctors said was a permanent and irreversible persistent vegetative state, caused by the final beating in a string of ongoing abuse by her adoptive parents...

Roundup: Parent of the Year Contenders, part 1 January 2006

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The Texas Futile Care law is under increased heat thanks to the notoriety of cases made known by efforts like ours.

"Most people don't know this law exists in Texas. It's our dirty little secret," said Lanore Dixon, whose 54-year-old sister, Andrea Clark, died in a Houston hospital this year after her family clashed with hospital officials over whether to keep her alive.

Snip...

Dixon becomes tearful at times talking about her family's battle against the state law. She said she'll work to change it, using the Internet to tell her sister's story and post information about the Legislature.

Such Texas cases attracted heightened attention following the case of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman who died last year after her feeding tube was disconnected.

Critics oppose stop-treatment law

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This is the first of a series of commentaries on how the death advocates have already established in hospital and care facilities and lends support to the thesis that some deaths may occur conveniently to further the benefits of the organ transplant industry.

Thanks to FReeper and researcher extraordinaire, BB.

A gunman fired on a car early Friday, killing a male passenger and injuring the pregnant driver and another passenger.

Snip...

Parks had earlier said the pregnant woman had died, but later Friday he said she was on life support.

Commentary: This is about the third article I've read recently in which the police erroneously declared someone dead while they were still alive. In the other instances, the undead people turned out to be brain damaged, and were dead within a few days. I have no doubt that will be the case here too.

1 killed, 2 wounded in Clayton County shootout

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All the more important that we care, eh?

We keep investigating and we keep finding pieces to the jigsaw puzzle. We think out loud and that's brainstorming -- we trigger each others' memories and give each other new lines of thought (such as Grieco's role). As we publish here in FR, the word gets out and the pressure grows.

There are a lot of people with knowledge of the case who might break. Think about that, Jodi. You're living in a house of cards with a proven wife killer. Wait till he gets moody next time. Who knows what will set him off.

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Andy Holmes, 50, of Eagle Vail, Colo., died Wednesday from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident on Saturday. Holmes was CEO and president of Northern Star Ski Corporation, owner of the Burke Mountain ski area, from 1995 to 2000.

Snip...

Despite the fact he was wearing a helmet, he suffered severe head injuries. He was transported by helicopter to Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs where he remained in a coma and was placed on life support. His brain was so damaged, even if he had come to, doctors said he would be paralyzed and would not be able to speak, Holmes said.

"He was very fit and healthy," Holmes, who lives in Lyndon, said, speaking by phone from Colorado Thursday. "The boys and I and Andy's mother knew he would not want to live in a vegetative state."

Andy Holmes was taken off life support Tuesday night and died early Wednesday morning. He leaves three sons, Oliver, 23; Charlie, 21; and Rory, 16. He is also survived by his mother, Susan Goodhew of England. He was predeceased by a brother, Hugo, who also died of a head injury 20 years ago.

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Commentary:

If he died from his injuries, that means he wasn't euthanized, right?

Despite the fact he was wearing a helmet, he suffered severe head injuries.

Hmmm.

His brain was so damaged, even if he had come to, doctors said he would be
paralyzed and would not be able to speak, Holmes said.

"He was very fit and healthy," Holmes, who lives in Lyndon, said, speaking
by phone from Colorado Thursday. "The boys and I and Andy's mother knew he
would not want to live in a vegetative state."

Uh huh. Tell us more. Obviously he didn't have a written directive, or they
wouldn't have to read his mind to know what he would or wouldn't want.

Andy Holmes was taken off life support Tuesday night and died early
Wednesday morning.

Such a loving family. 

 

Former CEO Of Burke Mountain Dies In Colorado

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Hospices going into the Funeral Home business.

Wait till the hospices start selling body parts.

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Family and friends of an 18-year-old Corpus Christi man seriously injured in a one-vehicle rollover earlier this week continued to pray for a miracle Thursday after doctors said tests showed the teen showed no signs of brain activity.

"Right now we need help. He’s a good boy and a strong person. We just need to have faith," said Roberto Velasco, Jesus Ballesteros’ grandfather.

Commentary: I'm still waiting to read, just once, that doctors performed these mysterious "tests" on somebody, and actually found brain activity. They never find any brain activity.

My commentary: Do we suppose his organs will not be donated?

Family hoping for miracle for student injured in rollover

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Wait till the hospices start selling body parts.

That would be in direct competition with the funeral businesses already selling spare parts if not the brain dead declarers at your local medical facility.

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>> Jason Strickland nearly beat his 11-year old stepdaughter, Haleigh Poutre, to death. He and his wife adopted Haleigh when she was five after her mother’s boyfriend was (apparently falsely) accused of molesting the little girl...

An excellent short recap of Haleigh Poutre's sad story. Here, tongue in cheek, Haleigh's wicked stepfather is nominated for a "parent of the year" award. Her even more wicked stepmother could have been nominated for parent of the decade -- except grandma shot her dead. (And who says there's no good news these days.)

Which leaves only the DSS, the supposed Massachusetts "child-protection" agency in the Haleigh-abuse business now. The agency tried unsuccessfully to kill the poor battered girl, yet still has legal custody. This is insane.

P.S. Keep praying for Haleigh.

Parent of the Year Contenders... Jason Strickland

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>> My commentary: Do we suppose his organs will not be donated?

The surest way to die is to sign an organ donor card. You can bet the rent that an organ donor will have "no brain activity." The cannibals will chop him up for spare parts before a week is out.

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PINEVILLE - A hearing has been set for an Anderson father accused of child abuse in connection with an alleged baby-shaking incident at his home in late June.

David Kenney, 27, will appear at 10 a.m. Dec. 13 before McDonald County Associate Circuit Court Judge John LePage for a pre-trial conference. Kinney has been charged with abuse of a child, a Class C felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.

His daughter, nearly 4-months-old at the time of the incident, was life-flighted to a Joplin hospital, then sent to a Springfield hospital for additional care. She remains on life support.

Commentary: This one's being allowed to live, at least for now. Since they haven't rushed to kill her yet, it seems unlikely they will. I like to close on a happy note, so I'll end it here. I know this isn't a happy story, but it's about as happy as can be expected when reading about people with brain damage. At least she's not being murdered.

Conference set in alleged shaken baby case in Pineville

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Yes, the same passage caught my eye instantly -- "The boys and I and Andy's mother knew he would not want to live in a vegetative state."

He didn't leave a directive. "WE" knew. "WE" decided he should die.

Call me a teensy bit cynical but I'll bet Andy left lots of money to "the boys and [me] and Andy's mother." A sizeable estate is another fast track for getting taken off life support.

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>> ... dead within a few days...

Sounds as if they may keep her on a machine pending birth of the baby. I hope she fools them and recovers from her wounds, given some time to heal.

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Cynical, huh? Money is one thing, parts are another thing, too. Consider this commentary:

When a person suffers a traumatic brain injury, more often than not, they're killed in the first few days. This is just my observation, not scientific proof. I frequently read articles about people who suffer traumatic brain injury, and are removed from life support within days. Presumably, if they were allowed a recovery period, they would eventually breathe on their own, but still have severe brain damage, requiring a lifetime of care, with little to no hope of recovery. I'm confident that if I suffered a brain injury, no one in my family would try to kill me during this time. But my observations suggest that most families would. Caring for a brain injured loved one requires more sacrifice than a selfish person is willing to make.

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Thanks, BB, once again...

Serba was hit in the head with what was believed to be a brick as he left a Jane and Bloor St. bar Saturday night. He was in a coma, then taken off life support on Tuesday afternoon.

His family has decided to turn their tragedy into a kind of triumph, by donating the hockey player's vital organs to those awaiting life saving transplants, a generous donation they made reference to in their touching tribute.

"When our family learned that Michael was no longer with us in body, we did not hesitate to donate his organs to help others in need," they note.

"We are certain this is what our son would have wanted. His organs have now been recovered to save lives ... to turn what has been a tragedy for our family to goodness for others and further Michael's legacy.

Commentary: From my own limited experience around a patient shortly after traumatic brain injury, and from my extensive reading of articles like this, I believe that typically a brain injured patient requires a respirator or ventilator (I still haven't figured out the difference, since so many use both terms interchangeably) for about two weeks, after which they can be weaned off it. During this time, it appears more patients are killed than allowed to live. It's real easy to kill a patient during this initial period. Once they can breathe on their own, killing them becomes a public relations nightmare.

Serba Family Releases Statement On Death Of Son

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>> a brain-damaged Florida woman who died last year after her feeding tube was disconnected.

Don't you love it? These idiot reporters do not know the difference between "dying" and being purposely starved and dehydrated to death.

Let me rewrite a celebrated chapter of history to conform to modern journalism:

Chicago Tribune News Service, St. Valentine's Day, 1929. Seven members of the Bugs Moran gang died today. Police said the men happened to be in a near northside garage, facing the back wall with their hands up. Members of rival Al Capone's gang opened fire at that same garage wall with shotguns and submachine guns. Funeral arrangements for the seven men have not been announced.

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They were removed from life support. Later inquiry showed no feeding tubes present.

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>> Caring for a brain injured loved one requires more sacrifice than a selfish person is willing to make.

"Bye-bye, Andy. We, your wife and kids, KNOW you love us so much, you wouldn't want to put us to the inconvenience in caring for you. And we love you so much, we will honor your wishes at once and pull your plug."

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Later inquiry found that the mobsters' body parts were leaky and could not be salvaged, not even one little kidney.