[penowa]

I think Barbaro is probably a "public figure" or whatever you would call a horse as opposed to a human in the same situation. There have been movies, books, art work, and articles written about him and some have been approved by the Jacksons, and some not. To my knowledge, this is the first case of out-and-out exploitation, not to mention totally classless bad taste other than some individual attempts by nitwits on eBay to sell tasteless junk that were either ignored or the sellers were bombarded by e-mails telling them what jerks they were.

The Jacksons have released a statement through The Blood-Horse magazine stating that they had nothing to do with this and it is being done without their approval. I'm sure they've had legal counsel and found that sadly, there is nothing they can do to stop it.

To add insult to injury, they have commissioned a statue of Barbaro, and are on the verge of an announcement of where his ashes will be buried and the statue erected.

[8mmMauser]

Powerful writeup on Wesley J. Smith, hero...

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Since leaving his legal career in 1985 to pursue writing and public advocacy, Wesley J. Smith has worn many hats in the bioethics arena. He is an award-winning author, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, an attorney for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide and special consultant for the Center of Bioethics and Culture.

When Smith is not busy doing government consulting on bioethical issues, appearing on TV and radio, lecturing at universities, writing a new book and traveling the world, he defends the importance of human life on his blog, Secondhand Smoke.

In May 2004, Smith was named by the National Journal one of the nation’s top expert thinkers in bioengineering. He spoke with CitizenLink about his work and his passion for human life.

1. How did you go from writing books with Ralph Nader to defending life?

I had a friend commit suicide under the influence of Hemlock Society literature. (The Hemlock Society, now called Compassion & Choices, is a nonprofit, pro-euthanasia/assisted suicide organization.) When I saw the scurrilous nature of this literature, I saw these people giving this very disturbed woman moral permission to kill herself and teaching her how to do it. I was so upset by this that I wrote a piece in Newsweek magazine that warned against this euthanasia movement and the people that would be victimized by it. I got so much hate mail that I thought, “What happened to my culture and where was I when that happened?” And that got convinced me I had to start advocating against assisted suicide and euthanasia.

2. Terri Schiavo died March 31, 2005, after 13 days of court-ordered dehydration and starvation. What long-term impact do you think Schiavo's death will have on the care of the medically vulnerable?

It really has put the issue squarely on the front burner of people’s consciousnesses. She was certainly not the first one to be dehydrated to death in this manner, and she will not be the last. But before Terri, most people would say, “I didn’t know.” No one can say that anymore. And now, we will be held morally accountable because we can no longer plead ignorance. We now have to decide: Do people with severe cognitive incapacities have the same moral value as the rest of us?

3. What can families do if they are being bullied into ending the life of a loved one?..............................................

Friday Five: Pro-Life Hero Wesley J. Smith

8mm