C-SPAN caller: "make Terri (Schiavo) a widow"...

[slor]

this is the climate the rethugs are creating.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Sure.

There will be dead people before all of this is over. You can count on it. There is little that these people, in their agitation, will not end up doing. Eric Rudolph was only one of the first.

[GalleryGod]

2. Indeed, "It WILL excite OUR base!" has come true!

Limp dicked Wimps heading-up this tough guy operation!
Levitra would be cheaper, guys!:shrug:

[Walt Starr]

3. Yep, I expect incidents of violence once this thing is finally decided

The federal courts have consistently ruled against the Schindlers. The only thing I expect out of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is a ruling that the law was unconstitutional.

[sniffa]

16. i weLcome any of these incidents

i'm sick of these 'tough guys' anyhow.

[etherealtruth]

20. Wasn't this the repug plan all along...

... they knew which court the case would go to and how the judge would likely rule...

They know what the outcome is going to be, they carefully crafted the law not to include others in a PVS...

They were able to garner publicity, throw a bone to the "nut wing" fundamentalists...

In the end they actually did nothing.

I keep praying people get really angry about these stupid manipulations!!!

[BrainRants]

4. I heard a caller on Air America yesterday

(Republican of course) saying that they should just get a divorce.

This is a sanctity of marriage issue with a big fat ribbon on top for the Dems. Let's hope we can maneuver past the short term politics of the moment to set us up in '06 for an all out war on values and the hypocrisy of the ruling party.

The Repubs are making it easy!

[BlueEyedSon]

7. Is there some laws or laws preventing a divorce?

Does this have anything to do with Terri's inability to communicate (i.e. the divorce must be by mutual consent)?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

14. There are a few things.

First of all, the fact that he doesn't want a divorce should come into play. He shouldn't be compelled to do anything he doesn't want.

Secondly, even if he divorced her, the decision to remove the feeding tube was made by an arbitration trial court, and that decision is final. Divorcing Terri will not accomplish anything as it is no longer Michael's decision to make.

[trapper914]

25. True

My feeling is that Terri died 15 years ago. Her husk is still breathing.

Still, maybe Michael feels he would be betraying her memory if he divorced her.

Yes, he's moved on.

My grandmother moved on after my grandfather died. She met a nice man and they married. I never demanded that she divorce my grandfather.

[gnofg]

17. If this

is a sanctity of marriage issue ,why does Michael Schiavo have a "common law" wife with 2 kids. He obviously didn't abide by his vows. That being said, the repubs make me puke. They are using this for personal gain. I just don't buy Michael Schiavo's argument.

[BrainRants]

22. Good point. It's probably worth noting that Michael Schiavo's ability

to get on with his life has been hampered by the court activity brought on by the parents over the years. I don't think Michael Schiavo is the bad guy here regardless of the turns his life has taken as a result of this fiasco. The courts have consistently (and rightly) sided with him, it's the appeals process on behalf of Terri's family that has prevented him from moving on.

IMHO, he's not the bad guy, he's following the law.

[HockeyMom]

30. Schindler's Claiming this violates their RELIGION

Oh, yeah? Then why were they calling for a Divorce? You cannot get divorced in the Catholic Church. Of course, the controlled media didn't bring that one up. Either Teri or Michael could petition for an annulment, but would take MONTHS. Anyway, ADULTERY is NOT grounds for an annulment. An annulment means no marriage ever took place initially. So, the argument the Schindlers are using that pulling feeding tube violates their religion is VERY HYPOCRITICAL when they were calling for a divorce. lol Never mind, can you just imagine the consequences of that one? YOUR PARENTS getting a divorce for YOU? It is obvious that the Schindler's are not thinking rationally, at all.

Besides, since when did Vatican disallowing the removal of Life Support. They have now changed their minds? Mom was in a Catholic Hospital and had a Living Will which said no artificial means of life support. They honored it. What is happening?

[Sydnie]

27. He was encouraged to "get on with his life" by her parents

He even brought the girlfriend to their house many times. They had no issue with it before. It's a non-issue.

[Bunny]

29. He cannot legally have a common law wife while he is still married.

That's a right-wing talking point and I'm sick of hearing it.

And if Michael had stayed faithful to Terri for all these 15 years, that would have meant Jack Squat to the nutcases who want to interfere. They would have just found something else to criticize him for.

[gnofg]

21. This is a loser for us

This case is in the gray area. I'm quite liberal but something doesn't ring true with Michael Schiavo. He has moved on and has a "wife" and a family. Most people I kanow would csde the caretaking to the parents. What harm is there in that? The bond is much stronger betweeen the parent and child than spouses

[Divernan]

34. The "harm" is twofold.

First, it denies the right of individuals to make advance directives (whether written or oral) to not be kept alive by artificial means when they are brain dead or otherwise terminal; or to execute Do Not Resuscitate orders.

Second, it imposes tremendous waste of medical resources and often, tax payer funds, to keep otherwise terminal cases alive via artificial means.

Either you have never been happily married or are currently unhappily married to make a blanket statement like "the bond is much stronger between the parent and child than spouses."

[johnnie]

32. If there is a divorce

The parents get the life insurance money I believe. I don't think the husband is eying the money, I think he doesn't want the parents to have it. I don't think this is his only motive, if even a top one.
I'm not sure about the life insurance, I'm just guessing here.

[bowens43]

5. Yes, the right to life party.....

unless you cross them or disagree with them or live in a nation that has a lot of oil then they want to kill you.

[BlueEyedSon]

10. "Right to life" really means their "right over life"- yours, mine, Terri's

innocent Iraqi kids, impoverished teens with unplanned pregnancies, etc, etc.

[Cooley Hurd]

6. The culture Cold War is on the verge of becoming HOT...

:scared:

[LynneSin]

8. This is all "Wagging the Dog"

God I hate this administration!!

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. This is the kind of thing they get away with time and time again.

They can threaten other people's lives without this Administration even blinking, because it's become an acceptable reaction to call for the death of liberals.

[stevebreeze]

11. another right to lifer speaks out

morons!

[Azathoth]

12. More compassionate conservatism from the Christian right n/t

[LizW]

13. I heard that one.

That was the first caller I heard. The rest haven't been much better.

Later, there was a woman who said Michael Schiavo had been offered "mega-bucks" for book and movie deals that wouldn't go through unless Terri died. I can't believe the ignorance of some of these callers.

[Skidmore]

15. Sadly, I think it is going to take something extreme like

a person acting out on a threat for the nation to snap out of its collective psychosis. It took Kent State to break the warmongering a lies of the Vietnam era.

I find this atmosphere frightening.

[BornLeft]

18. Why is it I can never find these people

who spew their violence behind telephones and computers? I want so bad to meet one of them. Oh the pleasure I will take.

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. I hope law enforcement is knocking on that person's door right now...

But of course, that won't be the case.

[Malva Zebrina]

23. I hope Michael gets some protection and Mr. Folos also

The Republicans control every bit of the three branches of government, and a significant part of the fourth estate. Yet they CANNOT be satisfied with that power.

They continue on with hate, vengeance, threats, dirty tricks, verbal abuse and do it without hesitation, conscience or moral imperative.

You would think they control nothing, so compulsive is the urge to destroy and villify others in order to---what?--win?. I am convinced now there is a portion of the Republican brain that has developed into a golem--it must be fed constantly with tons of hate.

[Skidmore]

24. Republicans have chosen to cultivate their base from

among the most intolerant and greedy among us.

[Flammable Materials]

26. The real issue here.

Michael wants Terri to go to a better place.

Terri's parents want to keep her around as long as medically possible. They've already stated that if she gets diabetes and her limbs become gangrenous, it doesn't matter to them - they'll simply amputate the rotten parts and keep her around. This represents the sickest of outcomes for a family that can't come to grips with the fact that their daughter is gone. It's ghoulish, it's selfish, and it's inhumane.

Why is the religious right so violently opposed to letting someone who has suffered in a vegetative state for FIFTEEN YEARS go on to their heavenly reward? Perhaps they don't really believe in all that dogma they spout?

This is the issue. This is, I believe, the central issue behind the large amount of public support against reinserting her feeding tube. For once, the religious right doesn't get it.

[Ganja Ninja]

28. For them it's all "Gotta get a win! Gotta get a win!"

They never stop to consider that they might be wrong or even that it might not be any of their damn business.

[izzie]

31. Now face it, you could just 'picture' that screw ball.

:+

[PC12]

33. This is the result of a generation of the RIGHT WING HATE MACHINE...

in action! The Rethugs (I will them that because they are so!) have fostered a culture of Hate in America.

Democrats better fight like hell, starting right now!

[ProfessorGAC]

35. At Least They Cut Him Off Instantly

What a scumball that guy was. The solution to not letting her die is to kill someone else? The very definition of tortured logic.
The Professor