Terri Schiavo's Parents Seek Divorce on Her Behalf

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by OnyxCougar

Extremism is news. Moderacy is not.

That's right! I had a media class about twenty years ago where the professor said the same thing, the media seeks out extreme views.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Well now, welcome to the Cellar CloeTaz8795. We certainly are honored and humbled by your coming. After all, since you can personally speak for God, tell us what he thinks and what he's going to do to these people, that puts you above........oh,....say,...the Pope. Actually above anyone else on earth....that I can think of.

[mrnoodle]

You guys fire too fast. Wait till you can see the whites of their eyes -- now she's gone an run off into the woods. :hafucking

So, once the hysteria of who's killing who and why wears off (give it a week post-mortem), what's the bigger picture? Will we have another look at euthanasia laws? A hard look at Congress' jurisdiction in matters relating to the courts? An even harder look at judges who try to create legislation through their decisions? Or is it just another flavor-of-the-hour drama that will be quickly disappear under the next big show?

There's a lot of focus on kids lately. I predict the next brouhaha will be about kids. We haven't had a Susan Smith in awhile, at least not on the national level. There was a guy who cooked his baby in the microwave a few months back. Don't know if it got national play or not. Come on, media, we hunger for the next act... [/cynicism]

[Undertoad]

I'm just glad the War on Terror is officially over so Congress can concentrate on these issues of much greater importance.

[Happy Monkey]

Well, if things had fallen out in DeLay's favor, the issue would have been the judges. They were hoping to get a popular uprising against "tyrant judges", and generate indignation against any attempts to block Bush's worst nominees. Of course, what actually happened is that the judges were shown to be the only thing checking the supreme authority of the executive and legislative branch, so that angle will probably be dropped.

I doubt euthanasia will get much play, since many of the people lamenting the starving and dehydration were less concerned with the method than they were opposed to any sort of euthanasia, active or passive.

Congress isn't likely to press the issue of congressional jurisdiction, and that's too complicated an issue for the press.

So my guess is that the next issue will be Michael Jackson again. And that's about kids.

[Trilby]

You know, the thing is, and I'm sure you are all aware of it, but this shit happens every freaking day! Every day people are quietly taken off life support, respirators, etc. and are allowed to die with dignity. I read where the elementary school next door to the hospice had to send the children to another locale due to the extremity of the demonstrators. The protestors are getting WAAAAAY out of hand. Even the Schindler's seem fed up with them.

[lookout123]

me + Sig 229 + .40 Cal + large box of shells = no more protesters.

[Happy Monkey]

Hopefully they won't realize what the purpose of hospice is, and set up a permanent camp...

[Undertoad]

Maybe the next one will be more of the same: Bucks judge hears suit to block a feeding tube

The daughter of an Alzheimer's patient asked a Bucks County judge today to enforce her father's living will and prevent doctors from inserting a feeding tube, despite her mother's requests that they do so.

Mariann Judith Clunk of Hatboro filed suit against her father's doctors and health-care facilities last week when she learned that her mother had asked for a feeding tube. His living will clearly says he did not want one, Clunk said.

[lookout123]

it would be more fun to just shoot them. if there were a trial, my defense would be that it was obvious that they had completely missed the point of Christ's teachings and I wanted to arrange a meeting so that he could explain to them what he really meant about "loving thy neighbor", "casting the first stone", etc...

it would be a public service that i would be willing to perform.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Well, if things had fallen out in DeLay's favor, the issue would have been the judges. They were hoping to get a popular uprising against "tyrant judges", and generate indignation against any attempts to block Bush's worst nominees. Of course, what actually happened is that the judges were shown to be the only thing checking the supreme authority of the executive and legislative branch, so that angle will probably be dropped.

--snip--

Hey, who needs a popular uprising against activist judges when you've got "Recess Appointments"?!

[glatt]

I read yesterday that DeLay, who had a pretty big role in this whole circus, actually joined the effort to allow one of his own relatives to die by taking them off life support, and putting in a DNR order. This was a decade ago.

We should call him Tom "Do as I say, not as I do" DeLay.

[vsp]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Of course, what actually happened is that the judges were shown to be the only thing checking the supreme authority of the executive and legislative branch, so that angle will probably be dropped.

Not a chance in hell. The judiciary will be _the_ target of the right wing for the next couple of years. Expect to hear about "unconstitutional" Senate filibusters, "activist judges," "judicial tyranny," floods of individual anecdotes intended to demonstrate that the entire judiciary is out of control, and such from every conservative TV talking head, newspaper pundit and radio jock.

The religious wing isn't getting what they wanted from the Schiavo circus, and thus judges (the one branch of the federal government that Republicans don't control outright at the moment) will be a convenient target and scapegoat to redirect their ire.

Hell, Limbaugh's _already_ ranted about how the judicial branch was "never intended" to have checks-and-balances powers over the executive or legislative branches of government, and that THE VOTERS were the actual third branch. Santorum wants to schedule hearings to grill the Florida judges as to what authority they thought allowed them to "ignore the clear will and intent of Congress" by refusing to interpret the federal-court-jurisdiction emergency-law the way Santorum & Co. wanted it interpreted. People like Roy Moore and Randall Terry are popping up on respectable news sources as if they had the slightest shred of credibility, not just on the likes of Hannity's show. The conservative politicians upon whom the fundies are now turning ("Defy the immoral judges and rescue her, Jeb, or her blood is on your hands") will say anything to deflect fundie torches and pitchforks.

They thought they had a winning hand _before_ the Schiavo case flared up again. This will rouse the far right like nothing else, but it's hard to imagine that the majority of Americans who support Schiavo's right to die and disapprove of government intervention in this case will continue to pay attention once she's gone.

[wolf]

I told you they were going to start killing Alzheimer's patients ... I just didn't expect it to be here first.

[OnyxCougar]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Maybe the next one will be more of the same: Bucks judge hears suit to block a feeding tube

Need a registration to go there. Too lazy.

However, I would think that if you have a legal, living will, then it is legally enforcable.