The Enemy always has allies. This current horror only clarifies who they are, where they are, how they think, and what they have in mind for us. It also puts us to the test. There is no third way.

And there are no excuses.

This is a torturous case, but somewhere, years ago, the principals went off the moral track. The chaos of today reveals the venality of the choices made then (and not just by Michael Schiavo).

MUSLIMS KILLING TERRI SCHIAVO!

Brain-Damaged Woman's Feeding Tube Removed
This is the first time I have ever done this: this story has nothing to do with jihad. And yet, in a certain sense, it has everything to do with jihad. "The Americans love Pepsi-Cola, we love death," some Al-Qaeda op crowed a few years back, but here the two strands converge: an unbridled individualism (in the person of Michael Schiavo) that will not stop at murder for its own convenience, and an unbridled absolutism that will not stop at murder for its own sense of right.

I wrote in Islam Unveiled that the West cannot win this fight without recovering its own spiritual resources, and I believe it now more than ever. There is a love of life in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and it is by no means restricted to that tradition; I repeat that the resistance to the jihad should be the cause of people of all creeds and perspectives. But Americans are in danger of becoming so materialistic that they turn into lovers of death no less than Osama bin Laden and the other proponents of the jihad ideology. And in that case, what's the difference?

Robert Spencer
JihadWatch

The Liberals ADMIRE the HOMICIDE BOMBERS of Palestine and have bought into the ISLAMIC LIES of "Martyrdom" - they have OPTED FOR THE MUSLIM CULTURE OF JIHAD AND DEATH!

They are ALL EVIL and MUST ALL BE SENT INTO HELL!

IT IS TIME FOR A HOLY WAR AND WE NEED THE ARMOR OF GOD!

"Finally, my brethren, be Strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might.

Put on the whole Armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Stand therefore, having your loins gird about with Truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.

And shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace.

And above all, taking the shield of faith, wherein ye may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helment of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God."

Ephesians 6:10-18

St. Paul tells us, "If the Lord is with us, who can be against us?"

The Lord is With America

COME JOIN OUR HOLY CRUSADE!

We come with the AVENGING SWORD OF ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL to deliver the SWIFT AND SURE JUSTICE OF GOD TO THE ISLAMIST DEVILS! (and all the LIBERAL PIGS as well)

JOIN OUR HOLY CRUSADE - as we KILL THEM ALL! (God will sort them out)

Hallelujah!

God Bless America,
George M Weinert V
American Jihad Blog
American Jihad Yahoo
American Jihad USENET

Evidently, someone else is off the moral track, too.

George - You have a wonderful story of your recovery from homelessness; God bless you. May the Holy Spirit bring you a spirit of peace of heart, and may you recognize that spirit as holy when it comes and welcome it. Remember what Jesus said about nurturing anger in your heart. We must forgive as we wish to be forgiven, even Muslims and liberals and presumptuous judges. Again, God bless you.

As a teenager, I served more masses than the typical American Catholic attends in 40 years. At 14, I received Extreme Unction when that sacrament (pre-Vatican II) was reserved for the nearly or recently dead. At Easter, beginning on Holy Thursday, I always (always) feel a certain tug.

Let her go.

ghostcat - If she goes, she's going to God. This is not primarily about Terri, it's about us. I do believe that she deserves an opportunity to recover under the care of those who love her, not those trying to kill her. But even more, we deserve a law-ordered society in which laws are upheld, not dispatched in contempt as first the Florida judges dispatched a state law intended to save Terri and now federal judges have dispatched Congress's law.

"This is not primarily about Terri, it's about us."

Well said, PJ.

Something to think about:

"Here's the question I ask of these right-to-lifers, including Vatican bishops: as we enter into Holy Week and we proclaim that death is not triumphant and that with the power of resurrection and the glory of Easter we have the triumph of Christ over death, what are they talking about by presenting death as an unmitigated evil? It doesn’t fit Christian context. Richard McCormick, who was the great Catholic moral theologian of the last 25 years, wrote a brilliant article in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1974 called "To Save or Let Die." He said there are two great heresies in our age (and heresy is a strong word in theology — these are false doctrines). One is that life is an absolute good and the other is that death is an absolute evil. We believe that life was created and is a good, but a limited good. Therefore the obligation to sustain it is a limited one. The parameters that mark off those limits are your capacities to function as a human." - Jesuit theologian Rev John J. Paris

Her likely death during the Easter/Passover weekend beggars description. It is either the most titanic example of irony of this young century, or a not so subtle jab at our consciences by You Know Who.

Bruce Cleaver:

She won't die for a week or two. The Pilate analogy still holds, though.

We believe that life was created and is a good, but a limited good. Therefore the obligation to sustain it is a limited one. The parameters that mark off those limits are your capacities to function as a human.

Peter Singer couldn't have said it better. Under Fr. Paris' theology, those who appear to lack "capacities to function as a human" have no right to life. Once more, an "expert" deploys Reason to authorize the powerful to erase "one of these least ones" at our convenience and feel good about it.

PJ: That was the best, most Christian response to anger I've yet seen. You illustrate for me my own manifest inadequacy in that department. Thanks, I needed that.

daniel duffy -- Here's something else to think about:

"For this command which I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, that you should say, 'Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?' Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?' No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.

"Here, then, I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and doom.... I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him."

pj -

It is about her, her husband, her birth family, and the rest of us. In that order. Enough.

What PJ said. This is the biggest travesty of judicial impudence since Dred Scott. At least they considered him 3/5th human; more apparently than Terri.

Even Peter Singer couldn't apply his own utilitarianism to his Alzheimer's-ridden mother.

A sad day. I'm depressed that, if you believe the polls, the people want her to die. I guess we're further on the road to Holland than i would like to think.

Bob:

The polls are very misleading, as has been noted for the past week. The questions about Terri's condition are foundationally wrong, and do not reflect her actual state.

The mythology about this situation will only grow, until someone writes the definitive story (like the book about Jeffrey MacDonald, or the histories on the Rosenbergs, or Alger Hiss).

But even the monsters have their everlasting defenders. Some society or club is probably trying right now to 'honor' Michael Schiavo or Judge Greer.

BTW, did anyone catch Geoffrey Fieger's appearance on Scarborough last night? He looked like a cross between Ward Churchill and Torquemada. I am sure the effect was intentional, death defending death.

jim:

That's true about the polls and mythology, but didn't you get the impression that many people were more than happy to be misled and let the truth (which wasn't that complicated) pass right over them? Honestly, if I read one more account of someone having had the "love and courage" to unplug granny from life-support or assuring us "our loved ones" are the best ones to know, I'm going to burst.

Check out this lovely shot.

PJ, it's time you and your friends had a bite of a reality sandwich:

The medical reality of Ms. Schiavo's case is this: She has been in what is medically referred to as a "permanent vegetative state" for the past 15 years, ever since her heart temporarily stopped (probably due to the severe effects of an eating disorder), depriving her brain of oxygen. Brain scans indicate that her cerebral cortex ceased functioning -- probably just after she experienced cardiac arrest in 1990. Ms. Schiavo's CAT scan shows massive shrinking of the brain, and her EEG is flat. Physicians confirm that there is no electrical activity coming from her brain. While the family video repeatedly shown on television suggests otherwise, her non-functioning cortex precludes cognition, including any ability to interact or communicate with people or show any signs of awareness. Dozens of experts over the years who have examined Ms. Schiavo agree that there is no hope of her recovering -- even though her body, face and eyes (if she is given food and hydration) might continue to move for decades to come. Those are the harsh facts.

She's dead PJ, has been for 15 years.

(see http://www.techcentralstation.com/032405I.html)

Anonymous:

Were that true we wouldn't have to starve her to death.

Jim: Well, I hope you're right about the polls.

As for the last comment, if we redefine "dead"
enough, many retarded and autistic people are dead too. So, lets kill them too.

Anonymous:

I'll see your experts and raise you a couple dozen.

"In addition to the 15 neurologists’ affidavits Gibbs (Schindlers' lawyer) had in time to present in court, I have commitments from over 30 others who are willing to testify that Terri should have new and additional testing, and new examinations by unbiased neurologists. Almost 50 neurologists all say the same thing: Terri should be reevaluated, Terri should be reexamined, and there are grave doubts as to the accuracy of Terri’s diagnosis of PVS. All of these neurologists are board-certified; a number of them are fellows of the prestigious American Academy of Neurology; several are professors of neurology at major medical schools.

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/johansen200503160848.asp

Two other points:

Terry Schiavo is not living longer, she's dying slower. A slow death is always a cruel death.

I find it repugnant that those like OJ who desire to go out and kill gays present themselves as champions of life.

Anonymous - I'm afraid it's Dr. Whelan who has her facts wrong. It's not true that a CAT scan showed dramatic shrinkage of her brain; it's not true that Terri has a flat EEG; I don't know what Dr. Whelan means by "brain scan" is, but Terri has never had an MRI or PET scan, which are the only high-resolution scanning methods. The reason she hasn't had them, even though they are routine diagnostic procedures in the case of brain injuries, is that Michael Schiavo and Judge Greer don't want to discover evidence that Terri may recover. Neither has it been medically established that Terri's heart stopped; all that is known is that her brain ceased receiving oxygen for 2 minutes, but that need not have been due to a heart stoppage. Nor is a diagnosis of a persistent vegetative state consistent with her responsiveness to the voice of her parents. And if Judge Greer's court expects us to believe any of these things, he should allow a neutral medical expert, not merely leaders of the euthanasia movement, to examine Terri and serve as expert medical witnesses.

Rick, I'll trump your National Review with the equally conservative Wall Street Journal:

Reading over the report on Schiavo prepared in 2003 by guardian ad litem Jay Wolfson (link in PDF) helps make clear why this last effort will not succeed. Many physicians have backed the PVS diagnosis, and the courts are unlikely to give much weight to an eighth or ninth opinion at this late stage. The 38-page report is by and large a persuasive document, showing that the Florida courts did not lightly reach the conclusion that Mrs. Schiavo should die.

(see http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/)

As for your "experts" I refer back to the Tech Central Station article (a very conservative site):

As it turns out, Dr. Cheshire is not "renowned" as a neurologist -- his limited publications focus on areas including headache pain and his opposition to stem cell research. Dr. Cheshire never conducted a physical examination of Ms. Schiavo, nor did he do neurological tests. Dr. Cheshire is director of biotech ethics at the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, a nonprofit group founded by "more than a dozen leading Christian bioethicists." Everyone is free to be guided by a personal agenda -- and it is clear that Dr. Cheshire has his.

Dr. Chesire and others like him have an agenda that has nothing to do with factual truth.

PJ, the CAT scan does to show significant shrinkage and damage to the brain. She's not there anymore, hasn't been for 15 years.

see http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2005/03/20/regarding-the-cat-scan-of-terri-schiavos-brain/

Follow up:

What the CAT shows is that her cerebral cortex has been replaced with spinal fluid. Awareness, consciousness and recovery are not possible. No therapy is going to regrow her brain.

Daniel: you are right, a slow death is a cruel death. So why have we chosen a method that's going to take two weeks? I say again: give the husband a syringe, or a gun, or even a tire iron; show him how to use it; send him to her room, and lock the door behind him. If he's really doing this for her he should have no objection.

daniel - TCS is libertarian, which usually means atheist conservative, and this is more a Christian-atheist split than a conservative-liberal split. If you can accuse Dr. Cheshire of having an agenda because he's Christian, it's equally fair to accuse Dr. Whelan of having an agenda for being irreligious. We all reason from our beliefs.

Have you read the document by Jay Wolfson? I have, and was shocked. He made no effort to meet Terri and discern the facts directly; rather, he read old testimony from Judge Greer's courtroom, and summarized it for the Florida circuit court. Since that testimony was heavily slanted by Judge Greer's choice of pro-death doctors and experts, and the fact-finding was made by a pro-death judge, it's little surprise that Mr. Wolfson found the facts pointed toward the pro-death side.

The CAT scan link you give is interesting. I am not qualified to evaluate it, but I have had a brother who recovered from a stroke, and there is potential for recovery of function after brain damage that is observable on scans. If you're confident of the diagnosis, why not take a few hours for an MRI?

daniel - Extensive discussion of some of the medical issues can be found on Father Rob Johansen's site: http://www.thrownback.blogspot.com/

And here is some more information on her condition:

"Ultimately, Terri's case is understandable, though painfully so. If you take away the "evil" allegations that have been leveled against everyone, it's easy to see what you're left with. You're left with a woman who suffered a heart attack 15 years ago, who essentially died but was resuscitated, though not entirely. Her brain had suffered enormous damage from the heart attack. As time passed, her brain further deteriorated -- to the point where much if not most of her cerebral cortex (the portion of the brain that controls conscious thought, among other things) was literally gone, replaced by spinal fluid. Doctors hired by Terri's husband say the deterioration of Terri's brain left her without thoughts or feelings, that the damage is irreversible, and that Terri's life-like appearance is merely the result of brain stem activity -- basically involuntary reflexes we all have. An independent doctor hired by the court reached the same conclusions. Doctors hired by Terri's parents did not dispute the physical damage done to Terri, but they claim there are new therapies that could improve her condition. In two separate trials, the trial court found such claims of potential improvement to be without merit. Terri's body continues to function without her cerebral cortex. She is sustained by a feeding tube surgically inserted into her stomach. She cannot eat through her mouth without a strong likelihood of choking to death."

(see http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/infopage.html)

And those 17 affidavits that the parents appeal is based on?

None of the 17 affidavits are by providers who examined Schiavo. Only one of the 17 providers claims to have reviewed her medical records. The remaining 16 providers apparently based their statements primarily on six snippets of videotape, totaling 4 minutes and 20 seconds, which have been posted on Schiavo's parents' website and broadcast repeatedly on the news. Several of them explicitly say that they viewed these clips on the net, and the others all refer to the same short samples of behavior (e.g., Schiavo's eyes tracking a balloon). Many of them say they read news stories about Schiavo. One admits to only seeing news stories and photographs. They all reference their experience with "similar patients," but without qualifying what they mean by "similar."

(see http://respectfulofotters.blogspot.com/2005_03_01_respectfulofotters_archive.html#111120735448873570)

According to her web site, Whalen only has "masters and doctoral degrees in public health". It doesn't disqualify her from an opinion but it does not make her the last word either. At least Cheshire is a medical doctor, in fact he is board certified in neurology. You know, come to think of it, I have a juris doctorate, I guess like "Dr." Whalen, I am a doctor.

daniel:

"...showing that the Florida courts did not lightly reach the conclusion that Mrs. Schiavo should die."

Your problem in that sentence. Not "should be taken off life-support" or "should not be the subject of further heroic interventions", but "should die". Are you saying that anyone in that state should die unless the medical consensus is that they might become fully normal again?

PJ, Father Rob Johansen's site makes no mention of the CAT scan. Other than being blatantly biased and completely lacking in expertise, Father Rob is a superb source. (yeah, that was sarcasm)

Pete, the sentence comes from an opponent of pulling her feeding tube, so it should not be a surprise that he phrased it as he did.

daniel - Father Rob has been reporting comments from doctors for two years on Terri's case. For instance, on the front of his site he has replies from four neurologists on the significance of Terri's vocalizations in response to her father. I wasn't sending you there for commentary on CAT scans, but for a multi-year database of factual commentary from a person close to the case. No, he may not lacking in expertise, but he is strong in honesty and integrity.

PJ, this isn't brain damage or a stroke we're talking about here. Her cerebral cortex is gone.

christopher reeve couldn't even breathe on his own, much less feed himself, but i don't recall anyone saying he should be put down. maybe if they put a "i support embryonic stemm cell research" t-shirt on terri, the left will give her a break.

PJ, her father is an understandably biased observer. Therefore, her vocalizations to him have no medical or scientific significance.

daniel - re your long post of 4:08 -- All pro-life doctors have been denied access to Terri by Michael and Judge Greer. If they haven't been able to perform in-depth diagnoses, it's because the pro-death party doesn't want in-depth diagnoses. That's not the behavior of people who care about the truth.

The first quote in that post assumes and repeats Michael Schiavo's narrative of events. This narrative is disputed; another narrative is possible. It is possible that she never suffered a heart attack. As far as I know, no heart damage has ever been observed. A number of doctors have speculated that strangulation was a more likely cause of her brain hypoxia.

Consider also that, after this supposed heart attack, Michael Schiavo, who was the only person present, did not call 911; that he was found sobbing on the sofa by his brother, who arrived a half hour later and called 911; that Michael has been trying to have Terri killed more or less since his malpractice case was finalized; that a hospice nurse reported that he once attempted to kill Terri in her bed; and it seems to me there are grounds for a deeper investigation.

It may be that Terri's injuries are beyond recovery and she could never tell us the truth. But she has apparently never been in the care of someone who wanted her to recover. If she had a period of time in the care of her parents and doctors who want her to recover, and still could not testify to her wishes, it would be less galling to return her to the clutches of the Florida courts.

daniel - There are no unbiased observers. If she is delivered into the custody of her father and she doesn't recover, isn't that far stronger evidence that she can't recover than her experience in the hands of a man who wants her dead? As a lover of science, you should be eager to run the experiment.

so i assume that the autopsy will show that the cerebral cortex is indeed gone, replaced by spinal fluid. what's that you say--there isn't going to be an autopsy, since Michael doesn't want one? convenient, that...

daniel - Here's a link to a neurologist who did examine her and reports:
- She had no heart attack, nothing in the medical record indicates a heart attack;
- She had an injury to her neck vertebrae consistent with strangulation;
- She is responsive and is not in a persistent vegetative state and may recover from her brain injuries.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,101458,00.html

daniel duffy:

The following is an excerpt from a doctor who has seen 10,000 brain CT's.

"First of all, the University of Miami's appellation for this scan is inaccurate. "Cortical regions" are not and can not be filled with spinal fluid. The sulci (spaces between cortical ribbons) are enlarged secondary to cortical atrophy and these sulci are filled with cerbrospinal fluid.

The most alarming thing about this image, however, is that there certainly is cortex left. Granted, it is severely thinned, especially for Terri's age, but I would be nonplussed if you told me that this was a 75 year old female who was somewhat senile but fully functional, and I defy a radiologist anywhere to contest that."

http://codeblueblog.blogs.com/codeblueblog/2005/03/csi_medblogs_co.html

We could go on all night about this. The point is that nobody really knows and, that being the case, we should err on the side of life.

Or at least on the side of a swift death. Put it this way, Daniel: if you and I were out hunting together, and I shot a rabbit or a partridge and then just stood there watching it fight for breath, I'm sure you'd tell me to go ahead and finish it. If I looked at you and said, I can't, I imagine you'd do it for me, and that would be the last time we went hunting together. If I looked at you and said, why? it's just an animal, it'll die of thirst in a week or so if it doesn't bleed to death first, it shouldn't be a surprise if you threw down on me and told me to finish it or else. If we mean to kill, then we should kill, and not make a mess of it. Deal this woman the same death we'd deal a rabbit, for Christ's sake.

Rick - That's a fascinating site, thanks. His latest post is also great:

http://codeblueblog.blogs.com/codeblueblog/2005/03/csi_medblogs_fu.html

Her medical records show that she had a normal brain CT scan on 2/27, two days after her initial injury, and then in another CT scan on 3/30 she had severe brain injuries - showing that most of her brain damage occurred while she was in the hospital between 2/27 and 3/30.

He concludes:
How does one develop NONCOMMUNICATING HYDROCEPHALUS in ONE MONTH? By a blood clot obstructing the CSF outflow from the brain at the Foramen of Magendie.

4. How does one get #3.

BY BEING HIT ON THE HEAD AND SUFFERING INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE.

So Terri WAS HIT ON THE HEAD OR DROPPED ON HER HEAD DURING LATER FEBRUARY OR EARLY MARCH WHILE IN THAT HOSPITAL.

*****

So, what does that suggest? We have a nurse's testimony that Michael Schiavo attempted to murder his wife in the hospice in 1997. We have a suggestion from neck trauma and brain anoxia that he attempted to strangle her to death on 2/25/1990. We have evidence that somebody may have attempted to kill her through trauma to the head between 2/27/1990 and 3/30/1990. Who had access to her in that time?

I think this judge is wrong.He probably doesn't have a family or kids because when people have families they always do the best they can to keep their family together like Terry Schiavo's parents. They want their daughter to live.I hope one day he remenbers this because we will remember this like we remember when Hitler killed all those inocent people because he had power. I hope this judge changes his mind."MONSTER"