She's Gone

God grant her soul eternal rest.

May God have mercy on us.

That'll leave a mark!

Bryan Preston smacks InstaPilate around real good:

If you do want our support the next time you have a pet political issue like this, consider wireless hospice-blogging, get some hot able-bodied protester chicks (those disabled ones you've got outside that hospice give us all the creeps!) and send the pics to Instapundit.com. You're in Florida, so that shouldn't be too difficult. Miami Beach is right in your back yard. Get some "Thongs for Terri" and you'll have instasupport in the blogosphere.[...]

And whatever you do, drop the old Christianity crap. It just doesn't go with our hip, modern libertarian coffee-house vibe. Keep up the Jesus stuff and we'll assume she doesn't mind going "home" a little early to meet her God. That's what all you people want, right? We're working on a way to get rid of the rest of you too (just from the political scene of course--see Andrew Sullivan and Jeff Jarvis for a first look at our "theocrats" campaign), so you might want to check out becoming trendy humanists. It's really all for your own good.

Yes, it's harsh, but Reynolds and his fellow bloodless libertoids had it coming. Reading it was very cathartic. And it made Reynolds pout.

Where to go from here...

Unless something miraculous happens, Terri will die at any time now. For someone who supposedly wanted to die and is just a "slab of meat", Terri certainly is showing a strong will to live. I believe that if she wanted to die, or if she really wasn't "there", she would have died days ago.

So, can we make any difference here to make sure that there are no more Terri Schiavos and Baby Does? Can we keep from becoming a society that disposes of the voiceless disabled like they're garbage?

Paul Deignan at Info Theory looks at what we can learn from all this so that we can better respond to other situations like this in the future.

BlogsforTerri proposes that the diverse types of people who are on Terri's side (conservatives and liberals, believers and non-believers, gays and straights, etc.) put aside their differences and work together to make sure the rights of the voiceless disabled are protected.

Mark Shea on Entering into Joy

I feel ashamed to admit this, but I felt absolutely no joy on Easter. Although Jesus' resurrection shows His victory over Satan, all I could do was look around and see evil winning. I saw malevolent glee from those who wished for Terri's death. I saw dismissive apathy and rationalizations from Christians I used to respect. (If the Christians in question ever want to regain my respect, they need to do something about the moral blind spot they have in regards to situations like Terri's. Sorry, but like C.S. Lewis said, wearing a long face isn't a moral disinfectant.)

But after reading this post by Mark Shea, I saw that I was wrong to despair:

So I'm hopeful. And the oddity is that this too is offensive to some Christians. Just as the defenders of Terri are counter-cultural, so Easter is even more counter cultural. God seems to checkmate us at every turn. The world tells us to be buoyant with bubbly and perky pseudo-fun when we should be wearing sackcloth and ashes. It chatters on about how Terri is "full of peace and euphoria" when it knows that a damned dirty and protracted murder full of torture is being done.

But there is another reality as well: God commands us to enter into the Joy when we are tempted to despair. Angry Conservative Catholicism is particularly prone to ignoring this command by labeling every command to be joyful as "kumbayah Catholicism". It's not. Joy is, as C.S. Lewis say, the serious business of Heaven. There is such a thing as the sinful will to resist Joy. It the sort of will that says, "How can you be joyful when Robert Lynch is bishop of St. Petersburg?" The answer is, "I can be joyful because Jesus Christ is the Risen Lord of Universe." We are called to be angry, yet sin not. It is perfectly right to be angry at this murder, at the abandonment of Terri by people who should have undertaken her care, at the cruelty, spite, and gloating of the enemies of Life.

But it is a sin to place anger at the core of our being, to relentlessly practice cynicism, to focus ever and always on what is wrong, to overlook what is white in favor of what is gray, and see gray as black as possible. Such adamant insistence on being angry, defeated, bitter, and hopeless when God is telling us, on the Highest Authority, that Joy is the deepest truth, is to allow Hell a completely needless victory.

Interesting Search

I got the following Google search in my referrals today:

if terri schiavo dies the disabled are in trouble

I think that pretty much speaks for itself...

Catholics and the Sancity of Life

Mark Shea has been on a very lengthy hiatus. However, he broke his silence and suggested a email to be sent to President Bush and Governor Bush.

Mark Shea is just one of the many Catholics of blogdom who have been so devoted to the fight to save Terri. Andrea Harris has noted this as well. She makes note of something that I also have found frustrating -- that there are (non-Catholic) Christian bloggers who are not against starving Terri.

Yes, I've read all the usual mealy-mouthed crap from people who should know better. Those who care more about states rights than saving this woman. Those who yammer about "quality of life" and say, "I wouldn't want to live that way." Those who think they are just too cool and above it all to get sucked in by all the "Terri hysteria". They think that those of us who are concerned about this are an embarrassing bunch of yahoos.

Those Christians who have posted the above takes on the Schiavo situation have one thing in common -- they are Protestants. Well, I'm Protestant too -- an LCMS* Lutheran in case you didn't know. And there are many Protestants who are against what is being done to Terri. However, it seems to me that devout Catholics are far more consistent when it comes to standing up for the sanctity of life. You have to wonder why this is.

*I'm pleased to report that the LCMS is solidly against what is being done to Terri.

From "Baby Doe" to Terri Schiavo

You may remember me mentioning the song "Baby Doe" by Steve Taylor. MCJ links to the whole story on the case that this song is about.

B. Preston at JunkYardBlog modified the lyrics for the current situation. As he says, "We've been here before."

I also have to thank Preston for coming up with "InstaPilate". How wonderfully fitting that moniker is!

Just Sad

Like Alicia, I have felt overwhelmed, helpless and guilty the past few days over the developments in the Schiavo situation. Since I'm recuperating from gallbladder surgery, I just haven't felt like I have my wits about me enough to post. All I can do is watch the events unfold and then pray.

Like I was telling Alicia in her comments, when I was waking up after the surgery, my mouth and throat were very dry. I managed to say to the nurses looking after me in the recovery room, "Throat dry." They then gave me ice chips. Those ice chips tasted so good! This makes me think of how unimaginably worse Terri's thirst is, and how there are no ice chips to refresh and relieve her.

Blog Reads on the Schiavo Situation

Since I may not be posting much the next few days, I'll link to a few good posts on the Schiavo situation. As always, keep visiting BlogsforTerri and Terri's Fight to find out the latest news.

• Straight Up with Sherri looks at what may be motivating Judge Greer to rule the way he does. (Via BlogsforTerri.)
• Steve H. says, "Terri Schiavo is the Rosa Parks of the disabled."
• Tony Woodlief weighs in and reminds us that Terri embodies "the least of these".
• Andrea Harris has several good posts on this subject. She also has a modest proposal*.
• Rachel (aka the Blue-Eyed Infidel) has an impassioned rant* on this subject as well. (Via Bunnie Diehl.)
• Lileks addresses this subject in his characteristically thoughtful, compassionate way.

*Salty language alert.

Surgery tomorrow morning...

I will be having my gallbladder surgery tomorrow morning. I will be able to come home after the surgery, but I don't know what I'm going to feel like afterwards. I may not post again for a few days, or I may feel well enough to do some posting...it depends. I've never had surgery before, so I'm pretty nervous. Say a little prayer for me, won't you?

What Awaits Terri

Fr. Rob Johansen has obtained a document prepared by the hospice at which Terri is confined. This document is an "exit protocol" that makes it clear that starvation and dehydration is hardly "peaceful" and "painless". This is not "nature being allowed to take its course". This is not "letting her go".

Fr. Johansen also wrote this NRO column linked a few posts down. The column is an exposé of how Terri has not been given proper medical care or proper tests to accurately diagnose her condition.

(Via Andrea Harris.)

Just Angry

Judge Greer has run roughshod over the federal subpoena and Terri's feeding tube has been removed.

Meanwhile, Neal Boortz demonstrates why I quit listening to him a long time ago. I lost count of the inaccuracies, ignorance and culture of death talking points he managed to vomit forth in those few paragraphs. Boortz' post epitomizes why I have no use for libertines of any stripe -- whether they call themselves libertarians, moderates, liberals, South Park conservatives or whatever.

The latest developments in the Schiavo situation...

There are so many things happening that it's hard to keep up with it all. I'm on my lunch break but I have to go back to work soon. The latest news from BlogsforTerri is that the hospice has been served with federal subpoenas preventing them from removing Terri's feeding tube. It is also important to keep the heat on your representatives to make sure they pass that incapacitated bill for Terri. Keep checking BlogsforTerri for the latest developments.

Time is short...what to do now...

• The U.S. House and Senate have passed a bill that will help Terri. The President will sign the bill, but first it has to go back to the House so that they can fix some technicalities.

  There's one problem with this, and that is that the House will be adjourning for two weeks starting today. BlogsforTerri has some information that is crucial to making sure the House fixes the bill before they go on break.

• I am confused as to what the status is of the Florida Senate bill that is the companion to HB 701, which was passed by the Florida House. One bill (SB 804) was voted down. Another, which also appears to be a companion, hasn't been voted on. This bill is SB 2128. If anyone could shed some light, I would appreciate it. In the meantime, I'm going to write my state Senator and ask him to support SB 2128.
• If these bills fail to be made into law in time, Terri's starvation will start at 1:00pm today. So today is a day for prayer and fasting for Terri.

Fr. Robert Johansen - Starving for a Fair Diagnosis

Has Terri been properly diagnosed? Is she getting appropriate medical care? Has she received sufficient rehabilitative therapy? Father Robert Johansen's column at NRO answers those questions. The answers will shock and anger you.

Terri’s diagnosis was arrived at without the benefit of testing that most neurologists would consider standard for diagnosing PVS. One such test is MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). MRI is widely used today, even for ailments as simple as knee injuries — but Terri has never had one. Michael has repeatedly refused to consent to one. The neurologists I have spoken to have reacted with shock upon learning this fact. One such neurologist is Dr. Peter Morin. He is a researcher specializing in degenerative brain diseases, and has both an M.D. and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Boston University.

In the course of my conversation with Dr. Morin, he made reference to the standard use of MRI and PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scans to diagnose the extent of brain injuries. He seemed to assume that these had been done for Terri. I stopped him and told him that these tests have never been done for her; that Michael had refused them.

There was a moment of dead silence.

“That’s criminal,” he said, and then asked, in a tone of utter incredulity: “How can he continue as guardian? People are deliberating over this woman’s life and death and there’s been no MRI or PET?” He drew a reasonable conclusion: “These people [Michael Schiavo, George Felos, and Judge Greer] don’t want the information.”

There's more, including how one of the main medical witnesses who claims Terri is PVS, one Dr. Ronald Cranford, is also a well-known "right-to-die" advocate:

In published articles, including a 1997 op-ed in the Minneapolis–St. Paul Star Tribune, he has advocated the starvation of Alzheimer’s patients. He has described PVS patients as indistinguishable from other forms of animal life. He has said that PVS patients and others with brain impairment lack personhood and should have no constitutional rights. Perusing the case literature and articles surrounding the “right to die” and PVS, one will see Dr. Cranford’s name surface again and again. In almost every case, he is the one claiming PVS, and advocating the cessation of nutrition and hydration.

In the cases of Paul Brophy, Nancy Jobes, Nancy Cruzan, and Christine Busalucci, Cranford was the doctor behind the efforts to end their lives. Each of these people was brain-damaged but not dying; nonetheless, he advocated death for all, by dehydration and starvation. Nancy Cruzan did not even require a feeding tube: She could be spoon-fed. But Cranford advocated denying even that, saying that even spoon-feeding constituted “medical treatment” that could be licitly withdrawn.

And Dr. Cranford's method of examining Terri included hitting her on the head!

Yes, I know it's a cliché to say this, but please read the whole thing -- especially if you are undecided or think that Terri's feeding tube should be taken away from her.

(Via Dawn Eden.)

Why is Terri in a Hospice?

That's what I've been wondering. After all, she's disabled, but she's not dying. Hospices are for people who are terminally ill. Patients stay in hospices for a few weeks or months, not for years. But yet Terri has been in one for years and she's not terminally ill.

Here's what I think. Putting Terri in a hospice, rather than in some place like a nursing home, was a very shrewd PR move on the part of Michael Schiavo and his lawyer, George Felos (who once served as chairman of the board of directors of this hospice).

What suggestion is planted in the average person's mind when they hear that somebody is in a hospice? Naturally they think, "That person is dying." So Terri being in a hospice sways the public into thinking she's dying, that she's a "vegetable". Then they hear about the legal battle between Terri's parents and her husband and they think, "Oh, the parents need to just let that poor woman go. She's dying. Pull the plug!"

If you remind them that there is no "plug" to be pulled, only a feeding tube, they say something like, "Well would you want to live that way? I wouldn't want to live that way!" Of course, nobody wants to be disabled or brain damaged. But is it okay to starve someone to death because they are in such a condition? Unfortunately, it looks like some are all too willing to say that it is okay. It's getting to a point that if you are disabled, you are considered as good as dead.

If Terri dies of starvation, will we start seeing more brain damaged and disabled people sent to hospices? While they may not be dying, they will be considered as good as dead by many people. People will expect them to die. And killing them will be no big deal because, as people will say, "Who wants to live like that anyway?"

Site Strangeness

The site seems to be acting weird this morning. It may be an issue with my host. So if you have trouble bringing it up, that's why.

Hate to Say I Told You So

Like I said a few posts ago, it's too bad Terri Schiavo isn't a murderer on death row, because then Amnesty International would give a damn about her situation.

Blogroll Temporarily Removed

Blogrolling is down, so I took down my regular blogroll for the time being. I load my regular blogroll with PHP rather than Javascript. That means that when Blogrolling is down, the blog won't come up at all. (Apparently, with Javascript, the blog still loads, but the blogroll doesn't.)

Update: I put the regular blogroll back up. I decided to load it using Javascript instead of PHP to prevent future problems.

Apologies for the inadvertent hiatus...

I'm sorry that I haven't been posting lately. I've been very busy trying to get caught up on some things, plus I haven't been feeling all that great.

My gallbladder surgery is scheduled for a week from tomorrow. I can go home after the surgery, so I won't have to stay overnight at the hospital. Then I'll be off work for a week to recuperate.

Anyway, posting will be intermittent for the time being...

My iBook -- I think it's finally fixed!

I got my iBook back yesterday evening and it appears to be working great now. It should be -- they replaced both the logic board (again) and the hard drive. I had to set everything up again, but I had backups of things like my browser settings, photos from my digital camera (including the last pictures I took of my dog about a week before she died), and my purchased iTunes songs. And I was able to restore all the other songs that were on my iPod using iPodRip.

Also, my wireless connection is still working much better than before the iBook had problems. I have no idea why, unless I didn't install the Airport Extreme card quite right or something.

My exciting Saturday night...

I have mentioned before that I have gallstones. Well, last night, I had the worst gallbladder attack I've ever had and ended up going to the emergency room.

The doctor said that I should get my gallbladder taken out in the very near future, since this isn't going to get any better. He said to not wait until it gets inflamed or infected, because that would make the surgery much worse than it needs to be.

Except for minor outpatient stuff (two wisdom teeth removed, a cyst removed from my scalp), I've never had surgery. I've never even stayed overnight in the hospital. So, I really dread this. I know it's a much easier surgery than it used to be, but I still dread it.

However, I think I dread another gallbladder attack like the one I had last night a little more...

Today's Schiavo Items (3/1/05)

Here are some important items over at BlogsforTerri and ProLifeBlogs:

• Florida residents -- write your representative and ask them to support HB 701. It goes up for vote on March 8.
• More Terri Schiavo mythbusting -- this time it's the "Terri wants to die" myth.
• Kate Adamson knows what it's like to be disabled and to almost starve to death because doctors mistakenly thought there was no hope and that she wasn't aware of anything. She recovered and lived to tell her story. Now, she is speaking up for Terri.
• Terri's parents ask judge to let her divorce her husband. Since her husband has, for all practical purposes, abandoned her, I think this is appropriate. He's living with another woman, has had two children with this other woman and he wants his wife dead. Yeah, I think the marriage vows are pretty much broken...
• The blogger supported ad in the Tampa Tribune ran on Sunday. USA Today is next!
• Where is Amnesty International on this issue? Since Terri isn't a criminal on death row, I wouldn't hold my breath about them caring about this, but it may be worth a try to write them anyway.
• Please sign this emergency petition for Governor Jeb Bush. (Via ProLifeBlogs.)