Blogosphere is Steadfast & Crystal Clear in Presentation of the Facts & Need for Justice Once & For All in Terri Schiavo's Right to Live

    Here is the Metro Ad Placed in Tampa Tribune today on behalf of Blogs for Terri.
    It seems pretty Crystal Clear  why the St. Petersburg Times wouldn't initially run this ad without changes when you take a look at this  editorial in their paper (hat tip: Blogicus).
    Don't you find it frightening it takes the money of hard-working bloggers who blog with conviction and  who don't have a financial interest in Terri's life to get facts regarding Terri published but  an editorial not worthy of lining the cat box is eagerly embraced and published for free?
UPDATE: Palm Beach Post Opinion Piece-Jeb's patients don't include Terri Schiavo An opinion piece that while mentioning some valid points regarding other various social issues,  misses so many important  points in Terri's case & its relevance to and for millions, it is Crystal Clear he hasn't taken the time or exerted the effort to reach his own  informed opinion outside the MSM and his likely pro-choice & right-to-die position.. Also let's notice I have yet to find a newspaper Op-Ed piece today in support of  Terri that doesn't  lump those of us, such as myself ,who aren't usually a loud screaming  part of the Pro-Lifers in with that movement. Sorry Mr. Schulz and others of that ill-informed position, but some of us are also screaming about many more things than just the Pro-life agenda's position in asserting the sanctity of  life.

Comments

[fred]

yer surely purdy

[Flip]

I still can't get my head around a so called God fearing "democracy" murdering an innocent woman...

[MrBob]

Just an observation:

That seems to be the general theme anymore, lumping people together. All Democrat's are automatically far to the left and all Republican's are far to the right. With Terri, you're either a pro-life or a pro-choice fanatic on the issue. None of these are even close to reality.

I don't know what the answer is overall, but the reality that they simply aren't flipping a switch to end her life has got to be realized. The plan is to starve her to death which can go anywhere from 2 days to literally weeks to accomplish this modern marvel of legalized murder!

The doctors are trying to cover their backsides and are stating that she won't be in any pain? I challenge those doctors or anyone supporting her death to stop eating and drinking and see how long they can go before feeling pain!

(And this comment is written by a Democrat that's mostly pro-choice.)

[Ma r t i n @ b l o g b a t]

Not exactly "fair & balanced", are they? It's always odd how those who claim to be pro-choice only support choices for the powerful, never the weak, needy or frail. That's probably also why the self-proclaimed "pro-choicers" don't support things like school vouchers (not to chase that rabbit). The media don't surprise me with their rediculous nazi slant. It is good however to know the blogosphere has become the great equalizer for those otherwise without a voice.

[Hidden Nook]

Great Ad! Although it is too wordy! It will probably be overread by the Comics (no joke here, I use to help campaign for someone and they always emphasize pictures with text). Hmm...oh well...I shouldn't complain as the Ad was accepted. Selah!

[Alnot]

Sherri at her blog has many documents related to Terri and I am one of the people that will be going over them to help with blogs defending her. I consider it a privilege and honor to be chosen to help. I will keep you posted on progress. One of the downloads was a zip file with over one hundred and ninty megabytes for over four hundred files. I hope my poor hard drive holds up as the research continues on how to save Terri. We have three weeks to study and discuss the information. Pray that solutions will be found with http://straightupwsherri.blogspot.com/ and other interested parties. Bloggers can be wonderful indeed.

[Kender]

Lock Michael in a room and starve him along with terri and let the one that starves first be the victor.....

[Jo Marley]

Hi there Crystal Clear !
Just wanted to give YOU a heads up on a great article at Empire Journal by Pat Hennessey, volunteer for TerrisFight.org. It is a must read as she unloads on the active prejudice in MSM.
http://theempirejournal.com/0227059_schiavo_extreme_prejudic.htm

Happy Blogs to You !

[Jo Marley]

Kenler..not fair. Michael can pick his nose.

[OfficeRonin]

Again, playing devil's advocate:

First, I'd like to comment that a call for investigation on "If and why the court may have improperly ignored evidence of abuse and evidence of Terri's medical state" is a great thing. The evidence that Terri is reactive has been thrown out, and allegations that she may have been abused have been thrown out. I do not know why -- I assume that it has to do with their veracity. If, instead, it has to do with the court's incompetence, the court should be reviewed.

Second, I will disclose that I believe that my spouse knows me better than anyone else, and I trust her to make decisions regarding my life and death more than I trust the US court system, let alone the court of public opinion. In terms of precident, I support the decision for her husband to remain her guardian. I'd support the removal of his guardianship only if he is convicted of a crime such as spousal abuse, negligence, etc. At this point, he has been accused, it has been reviewed, and those allegations have been thrown out.

Third, intra-family stresses do little to improve relations among family members. Ever seen the dirt fly during a nasty divorce (as opposed to the happy happy joy joy divorces...), or what happens to most parents upon the death of a child? The constant, prolonged stress of Terri's condition might be comparable to surviving the death of a spouse every year for the past 15 years. Scapegoating and demonization (not merely dehumanization) of the other party is really common in these high-stress breakdowns of the family. (Disclosure -- I was a singles minister for a couple years, focusing on divorce recovery. Since I only saw people who were referred to me, I may have a slanted view...) In any case, it's always a mistake to believe one party's claims wholeheartedly. That's not to say that the parents of Terri Shiavo are lying, but to say that they are already pre-disposed to view their son-in-law as a monster capable of monstrous evil, and are likely to view anything as supporting that viewpoint. Investigate these allegations? Sure -- but the courts claim they have already done so...

[MaxedOutMama]

OfficeRonin,

Your points are good and fair, yet they seem to miss the mark in this case. I am one of those who don't wish to demonize Michael, and I appreciate your comments to that regard. I can well imagine that a person placed in this situation could be forced by psychological pressures to assume his stance.

Yet Terri is not in a permanent vegetative state. She is incompetent to direct her own affairs, but according to her medical records she speaks occasionally, tracks, responds to commands, feels pain and attempts to prevent it, and there are legal affidavits that she can swallow. After reading the records I realized that Terri has some consecutive memory and reasoning ability. (This might not be as apparent to someone who has not had brain damage as I have). Terri is probably more aware than I was at my lowest point. Certainly she is more physically viable than I am. I could not survive two days without water.

When Terri's feeding tube was removed the last time a police officer was stationed in her room to prevent anyone from giving her anything by mouth, and one of the litigated points in Terri's case (which Michael won) was that no one should be able to give her anything by mouth, the reason being given was that she could choke and die. A tragic irony, eh?

After reading the medical records, it is clear to me that Florida law is being violated in her case. Admittedly, the court has ruled that she is in a persistent (or permanent) vegetative state - yet she doesn't fit the clinical criteria.

What Crystal is pointing out is that there must be a reason for this consistent pattern of ignoring any facts, witnesses or medical testimony that support a different conclusion. I don't think this court is correct. I feel sure that Florida law is being violated. This violation of Florida law should be of concern to us all. Why are you not concerned, or do you not know the facts?

I would not be concerned if Terri had executed a living will before she fell ill, but she did not. (I will point out, though, that the Florida law saying food and water could be withheld was passed after Terri's injury, so she could not have consented to this even if she had filled out a living will.) I am concerned that what is happening to Terri is all about money - not about the money that may or may not come to her husband at her death, but about the money that the states must spend to support the lives of people such as Terri. I view Terri's case as just one of many in which people are starved to death because they are expensive for the state to support. We have created a mock-legal framework in which we kill those who are unable to escape from our tender, loving care.

Be wary. A systemic pattern of perverting facts to fit a desired conclusion is always indicative of underlying hypocrisy. The real issue Greer was deciding (read Wolfson's report) was not what Terri's condition now was but whether there was any possibility that she could once again lead an independent life. Once that medical conclusion was ruled out, all the rest followed. And that is why Terri may not be allowed to swallow, and given that chance of life. It is not about the feeding tube, but about the cost of her future care. This is what we have become.

May I say that although I regard the bonds of marriage as deeply real, it is a sad fact that not all legal marriages contain this element of mutual confidence and trust. The idea that a spouse should automatically have the ability to make this life and death decision in the absence of the a directive to do so is one that should give us all pause.

Speaking to the issue of mutual respect and trustin a marriage and if Terri and Michael had such a union; it does not appear to be the case with Terri and Michael Schiavo's marriage especially in 1990, at the time of Terri's collapse. Sworn affidavits of Terri's best friend(s) state that Terri was talking of divorce because of Michael's possessiveness, jealousy and controlling behavior. Michael belittled Terri with demeaning comments, and would monitor her car odometer to control where she went. He had lost 6 jobs in 2 years, and was under the care of a psychiatrist for his bouts with rage. Judge Greer's ruling that Michael is a loving husband was another ruling decided after first dismissing affidavits to the contrary. And most revealing, Michal and Terri had a very heated argument because Michael was furious that Terri had spent $80 at the bueaty salon the day of her collapse. This information was all I had to learn to make up my mind that theirs was not a trusting, warm, respectful relationship. Michael's tempwerment is still obsessive, controlling , self serving. There is a psychological profile written on Michael Schiavo that by Dr Carole Lieberman that is look into him.
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1339926/posts

[OfficeRonin]

"Be wary. A systemic pattern of perverting facts to fit a desired conclusion is always indicative of underlying hypocrisy."

I could not have said it better myself.

Consider what is required to hold the parents' position as true: 1. Their son-in-law is a conniving murderer. 2. The court of Judge Greer has either been corrupted or is incompetent. 3. Further, the Judge has compounded the errors of #2 by making the refusal to review evidence a matter of policy. 4. It's not just this Judge -- the judge of the 1992 trial (which found some other patsy for Terri's condition) must also have been corrupt and/or incompent. 5. It took the court 15 years to persistently ignore the claims of the parents and uphold the claims of the spouse without review. 6. The doctors appointed by the court (by the court, not by Michael, mind you...) are in on this conspiracy to the point where they have decided to risk their practices and licensure to give false testimony.

That's a lot to believe.

To believe my position, you have to believe that the parents hold a particular view, that they looked around until they found doctors and other experts amienable to their cause, and they talked to the press a lot.

I do not know Terri's condition, but I view the claims I read here suspiciously, and I'll tell you why: Last Friday, Terri was reportedly able to follow a balloon with her eyes, today I read that she can talk -- by next week I expect to read that she had been square dancing. I do not mean to make light of this tragic situation, but I think it is you (I am particularly addressing MaxedOutMama) who is pre-disposed to believe only the evidence that supports your foregone conclusion.

Here is the challenge:

Central to any serious inquiry into a conspiracy is motive -- what is the motive of the judge, or the court-appointed doctors? Without that, this conspiracy is a house of cards. Prlease elaborate on these motives. Central to the non-serious "conspiracy theories" is the refusal to accept third party investigations (unless they uphold the theory). While I believe there is independent, third party verification that Terri meets the criteria of a vegetative state (in the form of the doctors appointed by a third party -- the court), please tell me what neutral parties you would view as acceptable.

I am not close-minded about this issue, and this is really to be read as an invitation to dialogue.

As a sidenote, I read the "psychological profile", and felt embarrassed for those of us who are/were in the "helping" professions. It was based almost entirely on anecdotal evidence from people with an axe to grind -- I wondered if the author were actually seeing clients or just writing for the Lifetime channel. It was just disgusting, and embodies the problems of psychologic services in the US. But, that's my own axe to grind, and a different topic...