musing minds

Here in mid-western Canada the change of seasons is a dramatic metamorphosis. The rise in temperature produces an odd and very brief combination of warm sunshine with snow still on the ground. Our frozen world is quickly melting away, the landscape changing before our eyes. Three foot icicles dangle from the edge of my roof, created by the alternating periods of freezing at night and thawing during the day. Hundreds of miniature streams sprout everywhere, giving passage for melting snow to find lower ground.

Signs of life increase exponentially. The very old, the very young, and those in between who didn’t prefer the benefits of our outdoor winter wonderland, leave their protective cocoons. Our neighborhood is teaming with life again. Children prematurely bring out their bikes, braving the patches of ice and snow still on the roads. They leave their coats and jackets unzipped (OK I do it too) even though it is still quite cool, as if to taunt winter away. With each passing day more birds return from their winter hibernation.

Spring will leave us as quickly as it came. The period of premature unzipping of jackets will be soon followed by the premature wearing of shorts and then summer will be here. It all happens so fast. But change is good. Life is good.

Congress apparently has reached a deal to have Terri Shiavo’s feeding resumed pending an appeal. A vote is expected tomorrow. From ABC News:

“We think we have found a solution” to the Terri Schiavo case, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said at a Capitol Hill news conference.

“We are confident this compromise addresses everyone’s concerns, we are confident it will provide Mrs. Schiavo a clear and appropriate avenue for appeal in federal court, and most importantly, we are confident this compromise will restore nutrition and hydration to Mrs. Schiavo as long as that appeal endures,” he said.

Some semblance of sanity, finally.

Awhile ago I queried what it must be like for a Nazi survivor or a survivor’s relative to witness the belittling of Nazi autrocities with ignorant invocations of Hitler. Victor Davis Hanson just wrote a masterful piece about the causes and effects of comparing Bush to Hitler. I suggest you read it all. After delving into the reasons for the onslought of recent Bush/Hitler comparisons, VDH discusses the effects:

Is there a danger to all this? Plenty. The slander not only brings a president down to the level of an evil murderer, but — as worried Jewish leaders have pointed out — elevates the architect of genocide to the level of an American president. Do the ghosts of six million that were incinerated — or, for that matter, the tens of millions who were killed to promote or stop Hitler’s madness — count for so little that they can be so promiscuously induced when one wishes to object to stopping the filibuster of senatorial nominations or to ignore the objection of Europeans in removing the fascistic Saddam Hussein?

There is something profoundly immoral for a latte-sipping, upscale Westerner of the postmodern age flippantly evoking Hitler when we think of the countless souls lost to the historical record who were systematically starved and gassed in the factories of death of the Third Reich.

VDH concludes his article with the following point:

The final irony? The president who is most slandered as Hitler will probably prove to be the most zealous advocate of democratic government abroad, the staunchest friend of beleaguered Israel, and the greatest promoter of global individual freedom in our recent memory.

Once there has been sufficient time to allow the opportunistic political winds of passion to die down history will indeed judge Bush as one of the greatest promoters of democracy known to man. Until then, expect his opponents to compare him to the worst humanity has to offer.

UPDATE: Betsy has some thoughts on this too.

Find a video of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated, or an American convoy being blown up, or of Micheal Jackson simply walking out of a courtroom and it will get constant media play. Yet here we are at the apex of a furious societal debate about whether to starve a woman to death based on the assumption that she is a vegetable and videos surface showing this purported vegetable laughing, smiling, or otherwise responding positively to loved ones, and there’s complete silence from old media. Isn’t this “news”? I was shocked when I first saw them, as was my wife, as undoubtedly anyone else would be. They are shockingly revealing, and yet the media choses not to show them. Why?

Is it because those advocating that Terri Schiavo should live are being grouped in with “right wing” pro- lifers? Is the message being lost on the messengers as was the case with the Swift Vets? Is old media so blinded by their left leaning bias that they refuse to show obvious evidence of life in somone that is presumed to be dead?

Andrew McCarthy has an excellent analysis which puts into perspective the lack of rights being afforded to Terri Schiavo in comparison to convicted murderers and terrorists. (I can’t stress this enough, it is a must read). Sadly we don’t have to restrict ourselves to the human species in comparing the treatment afforded to Schiavo.

Consider this: it is likely that the issue of whether lobsters experience pain has undergone greater scientific/medical scrutiny than Terri Schiavo’s vegetative state. A court has decided to put a woman to death and the most basic of neural analysis, an MRI scan, has not even been performed. What a sad commentary on our society that this comparison has any validity whatsoever. What complete moral bankruptcy that we show such concern over the infinitesimal possibility that a crustacean may have some feelings yet we put a woman to death on the assumption that she has none.

UPDATE:
Do Vegetables Laugh? – One look at this video of Terri Schiavo responding to a loved one with laughter should be evidence enough that she is not a vegetable. Forget all of the affidavits, reports, analysis and opinions and see for yourself. Medicine uses the term “vegetable” quite literally when describing someone as brain dead. While they are technically living, their brain no longer functions, and so they are literally considered to be plantlike. Except that vegetables don’t laugh.

Lots more videos over at Blogsfor Terri.

UPDATE II: Jeff Jarvis did a piece on blogs on the Terri Schiavo issue on MSNBC, which included a brief piece on our blog Musing Minds. The full quote cited by Jeff Jarvis is here. The video clip can be seen at The Political Teen. (Double hat tip to Lorie Byrd at PoliPundit)

UPDATE III: Jeff Jarvis linked to us here.

Terri’s received a repreive for now. Judge Greer is unlocateable, to deal with the subpoenas, so another Judge has “stayed” the order again. Via Fox News.

Dear Lord,

Please let Your will be done for Terri Schindler-Schiavo. Please aid those who would help her and hinder those who would harm her.

Amen

Via Fight4Terri:

THE US SENATE HAS THANKFULLY JUST PASSED THE BILL FOR TERRI.

IT MUST RETURN NOW TO THE US HOUSE TO FIX THE LANGUAGE SO BOTH HOUSE AND SENATE MATCH!

THIS IS WONDERFUL NEWS FOR THE MOMENT.

PLEASE PRAY…..PLEASE..THAT THE HOUSE WILL FINISH WITH SUPPORT OF TERRI, A MOST BEAUTIFUL AND VIABLE HUMAN BEING. PLEASE!!!

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

CHERYL

An article by Rev. Robert Johansen at NRO is a must read (hat tip PoliPundit). It is filled with a number of startling revelations. In addition to the apparent evidence of neglect, what I find absolutely astounding is that Terri Schiavo has never received a proper diagnosis, and in particular she has never had an MRI scan. I had bad head aches for awhile and my doctor ordered one. It’s standard. Yet life and death decisions are being made in the absence of such basic diagnostic techniques. Why, you may ask? Because Michael Schiavo has refused to consent to one.

What is the standard of proof required to ends someone’s life? What should it be? In the criminal context it’s “beyond a reasonable doubt”. That standard is based on the premise that it’s better to let ten guilty men go free, than put one innocent man in jail. Yet in this instance, what is “better” than keeping Terri Schiavo alive? What is the weighty factor that sits opposite life on the scale of justice? What is the harm in keeping her alive?

Via Jeanette at Oh How I Love Jesus:

ACTION ITEM NEEDED NOW:
This item is extremely important with how it is handled.
Please call and email Governor Bush with one item only.
Subject Line:
Terri’s tube MUST NOT be removed surgically on Friday. Her feeding tube can be safely capped off while the investigations are underway.

It is invasive and risky to have Terri surgically undergo removal of the feeding tube when the same results can be achieved by placing a cap at the end of the tube. Feeding tube must NOT be surgically removed.
Governor…please take ACTION to stop the surgical removal of Terri’s feeding tube NOW!

Call Jeb NOW!

Gov. Jeb Bush
850-488-4441
850-487-0801 (fax)
jeb.bush@myflorida.com, fl_governor@myflorida.com, jeb@jeb.org,
jeb@myflorida.com

Executive Office of Governor, Legal Team to Jeb

*Ask to speak to the following individuals*

Robert H. Fernandez (Deputy General Counsel to Governor) ->
fernanr@eog.state.fl.us

Raquel A. Rodriguez (General Counsel to Governor) ->
raquel.rodriguez@myflorida.com

Christa Calamas (Assistant General Counsel to Governor) ->
calamac@eog.state.fl.us
850 / 488-3494 (voice)
850 / 488-9810 (fax)

Section: 415:1051— allows DCF through adult protective services to provide protective custody for the victim of alleged abuse, neglect and/or exploitation.

This comes from http:// Fight4terri.blogspot.com This is of utmost importance that as many people as possible contact this office to get some positive action for Terri.