Still Waiting

Dakota Voice ^ | 1/29/2007 | Carrie K. Hutchens

[T'wit]

>> The Last Supper to something more bland, like a church potluck

May all congregations, especially the Lutherans, forgive us and laugh along at that one! Fortunately, I can't really see the Last Supper being held in the basement, with cheerful ladies dishing out hot dogs, baked beans, corn souffle, green bean casserole with Durkee's onion rings on top, and seven kinds of cake, five of them chocolate plus a yellow cake with fudge frosting.

[T'wit]

>> However, I would hope that this would be followed by a public expression of regret for their inaction.

I see that as part of the penance in cases like this where the damage was public and widespread. In Terri's story, the damage was heartbreaking. Before the whole world, an America whose goodness had never failed, was turned into an America of barbarians. How repent such enormity? It is incumbent on the wrong-doer to put things right as best he can. Surely this begins with a public confession and some form of public contrition; for his evil affected everyone. He must publicly correct his lies and apologize for his harmful acts.

Quite a few of the people involved in Terri's death are hiding secrets. If one will make a clean breast of it in public, a lot of others will be exposed. They will have to stop lying and start searching their own souls. Some might do well to think about a jail cell too.

[wagglebee]

I agree with everything you've said.

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Haleigh Poutre update...

DSS is taking lots of heat.

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BOSTON - Citing the "horrific details" of the Haleigh Poutre case, the top leader of the Massachusetts House of Representatives yesterday called for changes in the state's child welfare system, including tougher penalties for teachers, doctors and other professionals who ignore abuse.

Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, D-Boston, said a bill will be filed to improve the state Department of Social Services following a 50-page report issued yesterday by a special House panel on child abuse and neglect.

DiMasi said the report is a road map for helping reduce troubling incidents of harm to the state's most vulnerable children. A bill based on the report's recommendations will be filed, he said.

~Snip~

The report recommended allowing the public to attend court hearings on whether to remove life support for abused children in state custody, training for people who are required to report child abuse to the state and more medical expertise for social workers investigating child abuse.

"That should be a public process," Rogers said. "That should not be done behind closed doors."

~Snip~

Sandra L. Sudyka, 53, of Agawam, Haleigh's maternal grandmother, said yesterday she hopes the report prompts changes and helps other abused children.

Sudyka said she will file a petition in court seeking custody of Haleigh.

"She's my granddaughter," Sudyka said. "I love her. She should be with family, not with the state that wanted to kill her."

Sudyka said she was disappointed the House panel did not recommend that she and Allison L. Avrett, of Agawam, who is Haleigh's biological mother, be allowed to again visit the girl. Sudyka testified in front of the panel on Feb. 6 and asked members to help her lift a state ban on the visits.

"Prisoners have more rights than Haleigh," said Sudyka, who last saw the girl in the Boston hospital on July 18. "Prisoners can get visits from family. They can receive stuff. She can't."

Legislators urge DSS overhaul

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And Rebecca too...

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The Department of Social Services has beefed up its medical staff and a Harvard psychiatrist is now a consultant. But for Rebecca Riley, it comes far, far too late.

    A legislative panel studying the state’s child welfare system yesterday confirmed what has become tragically obvious in the wake of the 4-year-old’s death - and the near-removal of Haleigh Poutre from life support. DSS lacks what the vulnerable children in its care desperately need, and that is unbiased medical expertise.
    There is no guarantee Rebecca would have survived, even if an unbiased medical professional had stepped in to assess reports that she was drugged to the point of being a limp “rag doll.”

But one has to believe that any doctor would have seen the red flags - the diagnosis of bipolar disorder at age 2, the heavy doses of psychotropic drugs - and concluded this child was in peril.
    After all, government doctors who evaluted the Rileys’ bid for disability benefits - their twisted attempt to use their youngest child as an ATM - saw through the claims of mental illness.
    But instead state social workers took Rebecca’s physician at her word, that the prescriptions that would soon kill the child were valid. And somehow DSS Commissioner Harry Spence claims she didn’t fall through the cracks . . .

Panel: First, do no harm

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On Boston TV...

BOSTON -- A report set to be released Wednesday will urge the state to do more to protect children, in part by providing medical expertise to social workers investigating cases of abuse and neglect.

The report will also recommend the state open to the public end-of-life hearings for children in state custody, raise child welfare to a cabinet level position, and rename the embattled Department of Social Services to the Department of Children and Families.

Report: State must take additional steps to fight child abuse

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I hope all remember Rev Pat Mahoney and all the efforts he and his followers exerted to fight for Terri at Pinellas Park and elsewhere. His work continues this Easter season two years later, this time, the Protestant Minister does a version of Stations of the Cross at our Capitol.

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The group, part of the Christian Defense Coalition, marked the Stations of the Cross yesterday by walking around D.C., carrying the cross and stopping to pray near various landmarks.

The Rev. Patrick Mahoney, head of the coalition and a Spotsylvania County resident, said the public celebration just prior to Holy Week was intended to make people pay attention to the messages taught by Jesus Christ.

But not too many people paid much attention at first. Only a handful of students pointed or glanced back at the group, praying and singing.

It wasn't until the group stopped to pray for a fourth time that people stopped to ask questions.

"That's really great," said a man walking by with his family.

"God bless you," another woman said.

As the group made its way toward the Supreme Court, a man having to share the sidewalk with them grumbled, "Why do people do things like that?"

And police at the court were quick to make sure the group did not pray on the steps of the court--a rule Mahoney had already warned them about.

While the group members prayed silently at the sixth stop, the Library of Congress, they really got noticed.

A Library of Congress police officer tapped Mahoney on the shoulder and asked to see some identification.

He told his group to keep praying and spoke with the officer. Within minutes, more officers were on the scene.

Mahoney had applied for a permit to hold a demonstration but didn't have it on him. He said he didn't need one because there were fewer than 20 people in the group. But the police told him his permit was for public grounds and that he entered Library of Congress property when he brought the group into a curve in the sidewalk.

"It is a sad thing when American citizens are praying on a public sidewalk and they are told they have to get up and they are told they have to show their ID," said Mahoney. He's a veteran of many public demonstrations and has led protests against abortion, removing the Ten Commandments from courthouses and the decision to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.

His wife, Katie, said yesterday was just another typical day with Mahoney, who often fights for First Amendment rights.

"You just have to constantly fight for it," she said, "because it just erodes away."

Group carries cross in D.C.

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Father Pavone...<p><i>STATEN ISLAND, NY, Mar. 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, President of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, and a bedside witness to what he described as the murder of Terri Schiavo, will be available for comment about the second anniversary of Terri's death. Terri died on March 31, 2005. <p><i> Fr. Pavone became a familiar figure in the court-ordered dehydration of Terri Schiavo as a friend of her family, and one of the few people who was on Terri's visitors' list and therefore able to access her room. He appeared frequently in the media on the family's behalf during the ordeal. Following Terri's passing, Fr. Pavone was blunt in his description of her final hours as "an agony unlike anything I have ever seen" and has since not backed down from his characterization of her death as murder. <p><i> Fr. Pavone preached at Terri's funeral Mass and will preach at her second anniversary memorial Mass.<p></i><p> <font color="#ff0000" size="4"> <a href="http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/700222633.html">Priest Who Spent Final Hours with Terri Schiavo to Observe Anniversary of Her Passing; Available for Comment</a> <br> </font> <p> 8mm<p>

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Strange happening in the post above on Father Pavone...

It showed up perfectly formatted in the Preview, but reverted to html when posted. I will try again.

Father Pavone...

STATEN ISLAND, NY, Mar. 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, President of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, and a bedside witness to what he described as the murder of Terri Schiavo, will be available for comment about the second anniversary of Terri's death. Terri died on March 31, 2005.

Fr. Pavone became a familiar figure in the court-ordered dehydration of Terri Schiavo as a friend of her family, and one of the few people who was on Terri's visitors' list and therefore able to access her room. He appeared frequently in the media on the family's behalf during the ordeal. Following Terri's passing, Fr. Pavone was blunt in his description of her final hours as "an agony unlike anything I have ever seen" and has since not backed down from his characterization of her death as murder.

Fr. Pavone preached at Terri's funeral Mass and will preach at her second anniversary memorial Mass.

Priest Who Spent Final Hours with Terri Schiavo to Observe Anniversary of Her Passing; Available for Comment

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A thread is up by marshmallow on Bobby Schindler and Bp. Lynch. Thanks, TheSarce.

In light of the fact that Bishop Lynch refused my family's pleas for his help in our attempt to save my sister's life, I am posting an "open letter to Bishop Robert Lynch" which I sent to him on March 9, 2007, and to which I have, to date, received no response.

On March 13, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI reasserted that Catholic politicians have a "grave responsibility" to defend all innocent human life, and a "non negotiable" duty to oppose the practices of abortion and euthanasia.

Terri Schiavo's Brother Rebukes Bishop Lynch

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More strangeness from Pinellas Park area...

Thanks, TheSarce for this ping to thread by Between the Lines.

Lawrence Roach agreed to pay alimony to the woman he divorced, not the man she became after a sex change, his lawyers argued in an effort to end the payments.

Man says sex change should end alimony

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Girl Scouts and more...

Thread by wagglebee.

Waco, TX (LifeNews.com) -- A Texas pro-life advocate who was one of the first to work to expose the connection between Planned Parenthood and the Girl Scouts says pro-life advocates need to know the abortion business works with a leading breast cancer group as well.

John Pisciotta's encouragement comes at a time when Susan B. Komen Foundation groups are preparing for annual breast cancer runs across the country.

Pro-Life Advocate Encourages Exposing Komen-Planned Parenthood Link

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The stuff of nightmares, a thread by wagglebee...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Another pro-abortion group has endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton's bid to become the Democratic nominee for president. The endorsement from the NOW political action committee comes on the heels of an endorsement from Emily's List, the largest political group in the nation.

Noting that the House of Representatives has the first woman speaker, NOW chairman Kim Gandy told LifeNews.com in a statement that this is the right time for the first female president.

Another Pro-Abortion Group Endorses Hillary Clinton for President

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Two years ago today in the White House...

Q In the Terri Schiavo case, there seems to be more efforts to exhaust legal wranglings to reinsert Terri Schiavo's tube. What are the President's thoughts about this. As he said, there's nothing else he could have done.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I don't think that's what the President said, first of all. Let me correct you on that. The President is saddened by the situation. We continue to stand on the side of defending life. We stand on the side of the parents and all those who are working to defend life. This is a complex case, and the President believes in a situation like this, we should always err on the side of life. And so we will continue to stand with all those who are seeking to defend life.

Q So is he working with the senators in some kind

-- working the phones, some kind of backdoor approach to possibly work out some kind of emergency situation to reinsert this tube?

MR. McCLELLAN: As he spoke about last week, we looked at all our options, we explored all our options from the executive branch side, and we made a decision to support the congressional efforts. And Congress passed legislation that the President signed; that legislation gave her parents another opportunity to try to save their daughter's life. They are continuing to work, as well as others, to save their daughters life. And we will continue to stand with those who are on the side of defending life. The President believes that our nation, in situations like this, where someone is at the mercy of others, we should have a presumption in favor of life.

Q Has the President, since he feels so strongly about this, has he reached out to the parents of Terri Schiavo?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't have any updates on phone calls he's had with them, but obviously, like I said, we continue to stand on the side of the parents and all those who are working to defend life in this situation.

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan

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Two years ago today...

WND

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"I think Mr. Felos has some infatuation with death."

That's what Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri's Schiavo, now in her 12th day of court-ordered starvation, said on Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes" last night.

He was commenting on claims made by attorney George Felos, long-time counsel of Terri's estranged husband Michael Schiavo, that Terri looked "beautiful" as she lay dying.

While virtually all other eyewitnesses described the dying brain-injured woman as "gaunt," "drawn," "struggling" and "fighting like hell" for life, Felos described Terri as "beautiful" and "peaceful" to reporters during a Saturday press conference:

"She is calm, she is peaceful, she is resting comfortably. ... Her lips are not chapped, they're not bleeding. Her skin's not peeling. Frankly when I saw her ... she looked beautiful. In all the years I've seen Mrs. Schiavo, I've never seen such a look of peace and beauty upon her."

Following the controversial press conference, TV pundits debated the propriety of Felos's remarks and his unusual characterization of a person starving to death as emanating "beauty."

One explanation for Felos' comments is suggested in the attorney's own 2002 book, "Litigation As Spiritual Practice." In one passage, Felos, a longtime volunteer hospice worker, says he promised one patient he would "do everything in my power" to bring her life to an end.

The patient was Estelle Browning, focal point of a landmark "right-to-die" case. Browning, profoundly debilitated by a stroke, had been confined to a nursing home for over a year and a half when Mrs. Herbert, her cousin and caregiver, sought to have Browning's feeding tube removed, in accordance with her living will. Felos took the case.

Recalling his first encounter with Browning, Felos writes: "'Mrs. Browning, do you want to die? ... Do you want to die?' – I near shouted as I continued to peer into her pools of strikingly beautiful but incognizant blue. It was so eerie. Her eyes were wide open and crystal clear, but instead of the warmth of lucidity, they burned with the ice of expressionlessness."

In Chapter 8, titled "Soul-Speak," Felos describes a psychic communication between him and the "vegetative" Browning, during which he promised to "help" her leave this earthly life. The narrative describes a strange, spiritual experience of some sort:

As I continued to stay beside Mrs. Browning at her nursing home bed, I felt my mind relax and my weight sink into the ground. I began to feel light-headed as I became more reposed. Although feeling like I could drift into sleep, I also experienced a sense of heightened awareness. As Mrs. Browning lay motionless before my gaze, I suddenly heard a loud, deep moan and scream and wondered if the nursing home personnel heard it and would respond to the unfortunate resident. In the next moment, as this cry of pain and torment continued, I realized it was Mrs. Browning.

I felt the mid-section of my body open and noticed a strange quality to the light in the room. I sensed her soul in agony. As she screamed I heard her say, in confusion, 'Why am I still here … why am I here?' My soul touched hers and in some way I communicated that she was still locked in her body. I promised I would do everything in my power to gain the release her soul cried for. With that the screaming immediately stopped. I felt like I was back in my head again, the room resumed its normal appearance, and Mrs. Browning, as she had throughout this experience, lay silent.

I knew without a doubt what had transpired was real and dispelled the thought as intellect’s attempt to assert its own version of reality.

Despite saturation press coverage of the Terri Schiavo case, Felos's New Age spirituality has not emerged as an issue. However, as Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission said to the St. Petersburg Times, the Terri Schiavo case represents a "clash of two very disparate civilizations – the Judeo-Christian civilization, which is based upon the sanctity of human life, and the neopagan, relativist, quality-of-life civilization."

Adds James A. Smith Sr., executive editor of the Florida Baptist Witness: "Both worldviews are in play in the Schiavo debate and it's long past time for the public to understand this."

For backround on the 15-year saga, read "The whole Terri Schiavo story."

Editor's note: WorldNetDaily has been reporting on the Terri Schiavo story since 2002 – far longer than most other national news organization – and exposing the many troubling, scandalous, and possibly criminal, aspects of the case that to this day rarely surface in news reports. Read WorldNetDaily's unparalleled, in-depth coverage of the life-and-death fight over Terri Schiavo, including over 150 original stories and columns.

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Court documents and other information are posted on the Schindler family website.

Links to all "Terri briefs" regarding the governor's defense of Terri's Law are on the Florida Supreme Court website, public information.

STARVATION: DAY 12 Terri's brother: Felos in love with death Strange passages from attorney's book raise questions about Terri's case

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Two years ago today...

Another glaring lesson is that of how the executive and legislative branches of government (both state and federal) are ceding power to the judiciary at a frightening pace! For all practical purposes, we do not have three "separate but equal" branches of government anymore. Instead, we have an all-powerful judiciary with no checks and balances provided by the other two branches. The Terri Schiavo case shines neon lights upon this reality.

There is no question to anyone who understands the Separation of Powers doctrine that Governor Jeb Bush has the discretionary authority and obligation to faithfully execute his state's laws protecting the right to life. This same authority is given to all state governors. And in matters relating to the federal government, this same authority is granted to the President of the United States.

TERRI SCHIAVO ISN'T THE ONLY ONE DYING-SO IS LADY LIBERTY

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Two years ago today...

Who is one to believe???

Nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that the media have treated attacks on Michael Schiavo, husband of Terri Schiavo, as "off limits." In fact, the Los Angeles Times has noted that talk radio and The Wall Street Journal editorial page, among others, have "vilified" Schiavo.

On the March 29 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh said: "[W]e're [the media] not to ask any questions about Michael Schiavo. We can put out all the dirt we want about the Schindlers [Terri Schiavo's parents], and we can associate them with the liberal media's most hated people in America. Michael Schiavo? No, no, no, no, no! Off limits!"

The Times reported on March 24 that "Michael Schiavo has become the target of accusations that he caused her [Terri Schiavo's] heart attack and collapse with abusive, violent behavior; that he fabricated the story that she wouldn't want to live this way only after collecting more than $1 million in a malpractice claim; that he has sabotaged her therapy and barred her friends and family from comforting visits; and that he wants her to die so he can marry a woman with whom he has lived for the last few years and fathered two children."

Though Michael Schiavo has "vehemently denied the accusations of abuse, greed and heartlessness in interviews and to investigators, and an independent report to Gov. Jeb Bush and the judicial system two years ago said 'the evidence is incontrovertible that he gave his heart and soul to her treatment and care,'" the attacks have spread through the media, the Times reported, adding: "The attacks on his character have become talk-show fodder and high-profile commentary, from the Wall Street Journal's editorial pages to website chat rooms and morning drive-time call-ins."

Limbaugh falsely claimed attacks on Michael Schiavo have been "off limits" to the media

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[T'wit]

>> Legislators urge DSS overhaul

This may not be such good news. In fact, I would be wary of any changes except sunshine laws. The main interest of state legislators is increasing the power of the state. They haven't a clue how to be foster parents. They treat kids like prisoners. They were ready to kill Haleigh Poutre for her organs. They'll only make things worse for children by increasing state power, funding and regulations.

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Two years ago today...

Attorney Johnnie Cochran, whose famous quote "If it doesn''t fit, you must acquit" typified the O.J. Simpson murder trial, died Tuesday of a brain tumor at his Los Angeles home. He was 67.

The "must acquit" phrase was coined as Simpson tried on a pair of bloodied gloves allegedly found at the scene of the 1994 murders of Simpson''s wife and her friend. Simpson was acquitted in the criminal case, which Cochran turned into an indictment of the Los Angeles Police Department -- suggesting that the department had planted evidence to frame the former football star because he was a black celebrity, the Associated Press recounted.

Over the years, Cochran also represented football great Jim Brown on rape and assault charges, actor Todd Bridges on attempted murder charges, rapper Tupac Shakur on a weapons charge and rapper Snoop Dogg on a murder charge, according to the wire service.

O.J. Simpson Lawyer Johnnie Cochran Dies

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[T'wit]

>> "She's my granddaughter," Sudyka said. "I love her. She should be with family, not with the state that wanted to kill her."

Everybody knows this -- except boneheaded state bureaucrats.