Thursday, March 24, 2005

Will Terri become the new Elian?

So I'm listening to the radio on my usually LONG commute to my bill-paying job (which will soon hopefully be a SHORT commute) when I hear this little possibility... that either Governor Jeb or President GW (Bush, that is) will order a military-style takeover of Terri Schiavo, much like the US Department of Justice did with Elian Gonazlez during the Clinton Regime.

Well the courts have refused to do what the hyserical members of Congress and the White House want them to do in this matter. They refuse to step in and order her feeding and water tube to be re-inserted. Even the justices of the US Supreme Court have said no for a FOURTH time on this matter!

By the way, how ACTIVIST is it to not get involved? One would think that it WOULD be an ACTIVIST judiciary that would be willing to stand in the way of doctors and a husband's understanding of his wife's wishes.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, acting more and more like a genuine medical quack over this matter, is demanding information so he could make his own official "diagnosis". Senator, the problem isn't in the heart, which is your medical specialty, it's in the HEAD... and might I add so is your problem, sir.

And now we have Randall Terry, the "appointed" family spokesman, who promises "hell to pay" for the judges who refuse to heed the demands of the bible-thumpers and self-appointed "champions" of Terri. Given which group Mr. Terry represents, "hell to pay" is sounding more and more like a terrorist threat. Will somebody PLEASE get the Department of Homeland Security on this guy's sorry ass??

So will either Bush do it? Will they just go ahead and pull their own intervention on this matter? They have the means, they have the firepower, and they both can invoke an executive order for the duration of the activity. And by the time the courts catch up to this hypothetical abuse of power, it would already be too late to prevent them putting her back on a feeding tube, which would be the whole intent in the first place.

I wonder also what the repercussions would be for pulling that sort of stunt. Obviously neither Bush would be impeached for it. The legislative halls both in Tallahassee and Washington are full of people who would back such a stunt. The bible-thumpers would impose their dictatorial stance of "because WE SAID SO" and that would quell any resistance in the political world.

But would there be a backlash from the public? Remember a lot of people are opposed to the government stepping in on this matter! Would this be remembered in the 2006 mid-term elections? One can only wonder!

Your thoughts?

03/27 Update - Apparently the idea of seizing custody of Terri Schiavo was more than just a rumor or a theory. The Miami Herald (*) reports that state officials were prepared to storm the hospice and seize custody on behalf of Governor Bush. The only thing that supposedly stopped them was that Miami police were equally prepared to enforce the judge's ruling. This would have led to a dangerous confrontation between two different divisions of law enforcement.

Thanks go to Brent for providing the link.

(* - website requires registration. Or just visit BugMeNot.)

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