Terri's Day challenges the nation to unify

Renew America ^ | March 13, 2006 | Kevin Fobbs

[KevinNuPac]

Terri's Day challenges the nation to unify

Kevin Fobbs

March 13, 2006

Terri's Day — A Celebration of the Culture of Life honoring Terri Schiavo with a day of remembrance challenges each and every one of us to stop for a moment and ask ourselves a question, do we respect ourselves, our families, our lives?

And if we are faced with the question of the possible certainty of death, does anyone truly know, or even have the faintest clue about, our wishes? That is the greatest good, the greatest legacy that Terri Schiavo's death and an annual "Terri's Day" can bring to our lives and to the celebration of the Culture of Life.

On March 18th, we as a nation will begin to grieve again, to reach into our hearts and feel with our collective national spirit what the Schindler family felt last year at this time as each moment since Terri was disconnected from the feeding lifeline, the moments crept by like hours and hours like days.

All of us have felt in some way that pain — even if it were only in the privacy of our loved one's home, hospital room, hospice or perhaps talking with an attorney and doctor attempting to make sense out of some fleeting comments made in a conversation perhaps voiced ten, twelve or even two decades earlier — not necessarily an expression of her true feeling about an end-of-life decision but merely an incidental musing in a long-forgotten side conversation.

For at least one million Americans, and quite possibly a whole lot more, this is an opportunity to voice an opinion through a pledge supporting a resolution in each state called "Terri's Day — A Celebration of the Culture of Life." Each and every person who cares that your family, your spouse, your mother, your father, your sister or brother understands with clarity what you wish the end of life for you to be, with dignity and certainty should sign the online pledge at www.kevinfobbs.com and take the additional step to sign a Living Will — or as they call it at www.terrisfight.org, the Will to Live.

Some have asked why Americans should care about an annual Terri's Day. It is quite simple, we tend to keep turning the page on the Culture of Life because we feel it does not affect us. We tend to believe that seemingly universal belief that those who are handicapped, those who are not quite living a "perfect" life or by contemporary notion "ideal" then those lives are possibly disposable, marginal, not relevant, and part of the Culture of Death which embraces a "disposable society."

But life and our values for the Culture of Life are not disposable. Think about the young people today who would rather hurt themselves or even take their own lives rather than feel "imperfect" or the elderly person whose family is told by an insensitive health care professional while the stricken person struggles to cling to life, "she would be better off in another place," — just let her die, disconnect her from life, because her quality of life is not up to "contemporary standards. "

Why does celebrating the Culture of Life in Michigan become so essential for all of us in America? It is important for several reasons. Dr. Jack Kervorkian, also known as "Doctor Death" helped launch first in Michigan and then the nation the notion of the death culture. Secondly, and equally as important, at the May 12 event — just two days before Mother's Day — there will also be a "Mary's Moms" celebration of those women and mothers who have met challenges in standing up for some aspect of the Culture of Life.

This past weekend I sat at my cousin's funeral — or going home celebration, which more accurately describes it — thinking about the dearly departed and how she packed so much caring for others into her life even as she struggled with illness and advancing age. She was a wonderful woman who had lived through many, many challenges in her life, but in her 73 years she had met these challenges with dignity and had conveyed to her family when would be the right time to allow her to pass away.

Her daughter, who is a minister, spoke to the packed church about the times when, with all of her pain and then a stroke, the doctors had informed them that perhaps it was better to let her go. Yet that was three years ago that that occurred, and if the family had listened to the doctors and refused to see how she fought back and not only recovered but went back to volunteering at the church to feed and clothe the homeless. The medical professionals didn't care about an elderly lady who was on dialysis, but the family did and they knew better. Patricia lived three more years — years her extensive extended family considered "a gift from God."

So isn't part of the lesson of Terri's legacy and Terri's Day for families and loved ones to have a meaningful conversation with their family and to have the written document on hand as well that conveys the wishes clearly and concisely? You betcha.

As I sat in the church I thought of all of the families across the nation and the world who were sitting at their loved one's bedsides — or even standing outside of a hospital emergency room — overwhelmed with emotion, torn by what may be days of conflicting anguished decisions. I thought again of how out of death we may have the certainty of life. Terri's death reminded the nation that yes a state can and will starve you to death, and your family may be rendered helpless as you watch your loved one's precious life forces drain slowly away.

By signing the online pledge at www.kevinfobbs.com or going to www.terrisfight.org, you can learn about how to encourage your state legislature to establish March 31st as an official Terri's Day. Hold a Culture of Life Home Party or meet-and-greet to sign pledges, share ideas and support The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation as well as Culture of Life activities and events in your community or around the nation. Between now and March 31st you can make a dramatic difference for yourself, your family and for the nation. Stand up for the Culture of Life because one person, one life, one family can and does make a difference in America. Make the difference and be the difference today. America...The countdown for the Culture of Life has begun.

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Kevin Fobbs is President of National Urban Policy Action Council (NuPac), a non-partisan civic and citizen-action organization that focuses on taking the politics out of policy to secure urban America's future one neighborhood, one city, and one person at a time. View NuPac on the web at www.nupac.info. Kevin Fobbs is a regular contributing columnist for the Detroit News. He is also the daily host of The Kevin Fobbs Show on News Talk WDTK - 1400 AM in Detroit. Listen to The Kevin Fobbs Show online at www.wdtkam.com daily 2-3 p.m., and call in toll-free nationwide to make your opinion count at 800-923-WDTK(9385) © Copyright 2006 by Kevin Fobbs http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/fobbs/060313

[Wampus SC]

"Since when is cannibalism funny?"

Since never. People who think joking about cannibalism is just sooooooooo clever are like those who just couldn't get enough of those "Terri Schiavo is an ashtray" jokes.

[T'wit]

But in this case, the cannibalism concerned Tom Cruise, not Terri, and it wasn't strictly cannibalism -- the placenta is the body's only surplus part, so to speak. Eating it seems to be part of a mammalian life process.

Nevertheless, if the jokes were offensive, my apologies.

[T'wit]

Interesting insight! Thanks.

[8mmMauser]

How much can Mikey get away with and still avoid penalties? Will someone finally say, "Enough already"? North Country Gazette reports...

While Florida Governor Jeb Bush conducted a dog and pony show claiming that he tried to save her life, the sincerity and earnestness of his actions is seriously tarnished by his inane act of calling a news conference to announce his intent to enter into the Woodside Hospice to take the vulnerable adult into protective custody. Had he earnestly had an intent to save the incapacitated woman’s life, he would have quietly performed his constitutional duty.

Jeb Bush is still refusing to perform the duties of his office, refusing to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the alleged false written statements and declarations of Michael Schiavo.

In fact, his legal counsel is still trying to maintain that there’s nothing that the Governor can do in the case...

Bush Counsel Asks DOH To Revisit Schiavo Nursing License

8mm

(this includes Ohioan from Florida's ping list, update to 4/17.)



Terri on the road to recovery before the malpractice case was won..

[8mmMauser]

Surprise, surprise!

WEST PALM BEACH -- The state should not have entered the bitter fight over whether to keep brain-damaged Terri Schiavo alive because government should not be involved in end-of-life decisions, Attorney General Charlie Crist said Thursday.

"There are some decisions that ought to be left to God and family," Crist, a Republican candidate for governor, said at a gathering of the nonpartisan Forum Club of the Palm Beaches.

"Had I been governor, I would have not done the same thing" as Gov. Jeb Bush, he said.

Crist says if governor, he would have avoided Schiavo fray

8mm

[8mmMauser]

Martin Anderson and the sit in...

TALLAHASSEE - With a crowd of students protesting outside his office, Gov. Jeb Bush met Thursday with the parents of Martin Lee Anderson, who expressed their sorrow and anger over the slow and controversial investigation into the death of their 14-year-old son after an altercation with guards at a Panama City juvenile boot camp.

Gov. Bush `saw how I felt'

8mm

[floriduh voter]

Crist as Florida AG was a total failure and violated the laws of the state of Florida. He would become the first OPENLY CULTURE OF DEATH GOVERNOR.

Tom Gallagher would protect the rights of all Floridians.

[floriduh voter]

Crist violated his oath of office too but RINOS run in an elite crowd and thus far, are getting away with murder. Freepers from everywhere should help Tom Gallagher for Governor. Floridians thank you.

Crist will cheat too... just like Greer did. They are both in w/the Sembler dynasty, big developers who steamroll over the little guy all the time.

http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/MGB6GOTZ9ME.html

[floriduh voter]

apology was made. woman arrested. seen it before in Tampa. if someone could, free speech would be outlawed.

[floriduh voter]

Your cannibal jokes are gallows humor but Tom Cruise offends me whatever he's doing. He's not posting on a forum. He's a public figure saying bizarre things all the time and has to backtrack after the public thinks less and less of him.

I'll never think less of you, t'wit. You da man or woman.

[floriduh voter]

Get the impression that Jeb Bush won't help anybody unless he is pressed and then his response is lukewarm, very Clintonesque? He's a liberal. Jeb can't be president. www.northcountrygazette.org is getting tough on Jeb Bush. I applaud NCG for exposing Florida's corruption.

[floriduh voter]

BREAKING NEWS: FDLE HEAD FLORIDA RESIGNS... (over Martin Anderson's murder).

Follows, an email to Jeb Bush from a Terri supporter who knows what he's talking about.

Regarding the Resignation of FDLE Commissioner Guy Tunnell

“This evening I accepted the resignation of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Guy Tunnell. I thank Guy for his service. ...

Governor Bush,

Would you next mind checking Guy Tunnell's (AND his key command people) email messages for correspondence linking his office to your office to Bernie McCabe to George Greer in the corruption behind the state sanctioned judicial murder of Terri Schindler Schiavo? All of those dirty dots are known to scores of people. Politics. All dirty politics tracing to your people, your office.

Those Tunnell emails, what a pity they were discovered, causing you all this embarrassment with the legislature in town. Freedom of information requests were submitted searching for those dirty secrets in Terri's state sanctioned murder, but surprise of all surprises -- those FOI requests have been ignored.

About the FDLE shutdown Terri investigation: HONEST officers of law here were not threatened with loss of their jobs? In bureaucratic double speak that may have been technically correct, but if that criminal jacket had not been shut down -- failure to comply with a direct order, issued not once but twice -- that would have resulted in severe punishment on grounds of insubordination. I'm looking forward to seeing the Miami Herald piece in the morning on Tunnell. Florida has a whole bunch of really good FDLE agents and I know a bunch of them.

The dirt is at the agency management level -- political hacks with badges. Smart money is saying you will hand pick another yes man to keep the top FDLE chair warm until you pack your bags for a cabinet position in the District of Corruption.

You had wanted to be remembered as the education governor. But Florida's lower socialist ignorance and stupidity schools bureaucracy hates your guts -- all that you think you accomplished will be erased within months of your departure.

So what will you be remembered for? Yes, there are a few major economic initiatives that will be remembered in local communities for a season, but statewide -- chasing HURRICANES? Not exactly what you had in mind. I will NOT hold my breath. But you just might want to do something really ballsy.

Appoint a real cop, with real street experience, incorruptible, and tell him -- "Go forth and clean out up the official corruption top to bottom and anybody who tries to obstruct your lawful authority, arrest him."

Luke 22:26 (Whole Chapter) But among you, those who are the greatest should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.

The leader should be like a servant.

If you have half the brains you give yourself credit for, you would understand that you work for the least among us, that you were hired by Florida's voters to be Terri's servant. You did? Bull spit! At a critical moment either as a matter of deadly cold, deliberate calculation or was it was politically expedient cowardice, you told a woman who screamed for life to go ..... herself. No earthly soap will ever wash that innocent blood off the record of your incumbency. May you one day acknowledge your part in that evil event, not to me or any mortal -- but in repenting tears in prayer before a forgiving God.

John S.

MEDIA, if you'd like to contact the above writer, please freepmail floriduh voter. He is telling the truth. FLORIDA IS THE STARVATION STATE

[floriduh voter]

Crist pushes False Witness bill. Well, uh, ARREST YOURSELF, CRIST. (my words)

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/042006FalseWitness.html

[floriduh voter]

New from Life News:

http://www.lifenews.com/bio1459.html

[floriduh voter]

Crist: "Had I been governor, I would have not done the same thing" as Gov. Jeb Bush, he said.

FV SAYS: He WAS FLORIDA'S ATTORNEY GENERAL and it was not a matter of choice. He was SUPPOSED TO INVESTIGATE HIS JUDGE FRIENDS, HOSPICE, MEDICAID, MICHAEL SCHIAVO, THE DEATH LAWYERS, ETC. Charlie Crist is in the pocket of the culture of death. If you don't help save one innocent life, you are with the culture of death. Crist broke the law and he should be impeached but in Florida, nobody's impeached because the impeachers are also beggar RINOS.

Remember also that Crist said that Greer and J. Whittemore were heroes for killing Terri. Heroes! West Palm Beach Country Club just last year, a keynote speech by Crist.

[floriduh voter]

Michael Schiavo is not the only who kept his promise...

It took a lot of powerful men and a few women to kill one woman but they got er dun.

[floriduh voter]

bttt. FDLE Head resigns. Florida's House of Cards is crumbling a year later.

[floriduh voter]

P.S. I KNOW you are joking.

[floriduh voter]

google images don't show Charlie Crist with Janet Reno or with the judges who made Terri's murder possible. fyi

[floriduh voter]

I'm freeping alone this mornin' I guess. I'll be back... FV