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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tsigprofit who wrote (17693)	6/15/2005 10:54:04 PM
From: Ron	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20773

Indeed. "She certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli" The results of Terri Schiavo's autopsy are in, and they make one Senate Majority Leader look very foolish. According to Pinellas-Pasco, Florida medical examiner Jon Thogmartin, Schiavo's brain had suffered massive and irreversible damage; it "weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain." Thogmartin also refuted assertions from Shiavo's parents and some members of the GOP that Schiavo could have recovered: "This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons." But the kicker for those who tuned in to the footage of Schiavo seeming to follow the movement of helium balloons with her eyes is that the autopsy results show that "the vision centers of her brain were dead." In other words, Schiavo was blind. Which, as blogger Nico at ThinkProgress aptly pointed out, is pretty much the opposite of what Bill Frist said in his "diagnosis" of Schiavo's condition back in March. Speaking from the Senate floor during a special late-night session, Frist disputed Schiavo's doctors' diagnosis of persistent vegetative state. "I question it based on a review of the video footage which I spent an hour or so looking at last night in my office," he said in a lengthy speech in which he quoted medical texts and standards. "She certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli." -- Page Rockwell salon.com

To: tsigprofit who wrote (17693)	6/16/2005 12:48:11 AM
From: Bucky Katt	Respond to of 20773

Schiavo autopsy results reach a divided Congress WASHINGTON — There were few public regrets in Congress on Wednesday about its extraordinary effort to keep Terri Schiavo alive. "None whatsoever," said Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., when asked whether he had second thoughts after autopsy results released Wednesday showed that Schiavo had been beyond hope of recovery. "Where a state court tries to take the life of somebody, there should be a federal review," said Santorum. He flew to Florida to pray with Schiavo's parents at her bedside during her last days. Conservative lawmakers, led by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, joined Schiavo's parents and their supporters in March in their fight to prolong her life over the objections of her husband Michael. The controversy evoked emotional rhetoric: DeLay called the court-ordered removal of Schiavo's feeding tube an "act of barbarism." After repeated rulings by Florida state courts that would have allowed the husband to have the feeding tube removed, Congress voted to give the federal judiciary jurisdiction to review the case. President Bush signed the bill, but federal courts refused to intervene. Schiavo died March 31. The autopsy said she had irreversible brain damage, was blind and couldn't respond to visual stimulus. (Related story: Autopsy finds no signs of abuse) Although the Republicans involved in the case rejected suggestions by some Democrats that they were imprudent for stepping in, at least one senator said he had a partial change of heart. "I've had second thoughts as to whether a federal review was the right way to go or not," said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. His former legal counsel admitted writing a memo touting the political gains Republicans could make from the case. But, Martinez added, "it's always good to err on the side of giving someone a chance. I never really did any of this because I had on my mind that she was going to heal one day, although I didn't know." The Democrats said the medical findings confirmed that Congress and Bush should never have tried to get the federal judiciary to overrule state court rulings. "It's rare that you get such a total repudiation of one side," said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. He said it underlined that "all these politicians pretending to practice medicine, including one doctor pretending to practice medicine" — a reference to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist — were driven by "ideology and partisanship." Frist, a surgeon, had questioned a court ruling that Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state. He said he based his assessment on watching "an hour or so" of video in which the woman appeared to respond to stimulus. Frist did not respond to reporters' questions Wednesday as he entered his office, saying he hadn't read the pathology report. His spokeswoman, Amy Call, said he had never made a diagnosis. The autopsy results "only confirm the discontent of a lot of people with Congress and the president getting involved," said Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. The autopsy "reaffirms that these kinds of heart-wrenching, end-of-life decisions should not be made in an emotionally charged political body like" Congress, said Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla. DeLay was mum. His spokesman, Dan Allen, issued a statement saying DeLay's "thoughts and prayers remain with the friends and family of Terri Schiavo." usatoday.com

To: tsigprofit who wrote (17693)	6/16/2005 8:57:10 AM
From: Bucky Katt	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 20773

You catch the new show '30 days' by Morgan Spurlock (the supersize me guy) on FX last night? It was about living on minimum wage for 30 days.. fxnetworks.com

To: tsigprofit who wrote (17693)	6/17/2005 12:43:19 PM
From: Bucky Katt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20773

This is insane> Probe Sought in Terri Schiavo 911 Call TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Gov. Jeb Bush said Friday that a prosecutor has agreed to investigate why Terri Schiavo collapsed 15 years ago, citing an alleged gap in time from when her husband found her and called 911. In a letter faxed to Pinellas-Pasco County State Attorney Bernie McCabe, Bush said Michael Schiavo testified in a 1992 medical malpractice trial that he found his wife collapsed at 5 a.m. on Feb. 25, 1990, and he said in a 2003 television interview that he found her about 4:30 a.m. He called 911 at 5:40 a.m. "Between 40 and 70 minutes elapsed before the call was made, and I am aware of no explanation for the delay," Bush wrote. "In light of this new information, I urge you to take a fresh look at this case without any preconceptions as to the outcome." McCabe was out of state Friday and couldn't immediately be reached for comment, but Bush said McCabe has agreed to his request. Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment from The Associated Press. But on Wednesday he said his client didn't wait to call for help. He said his client has conceded that he confuses dates and times. Felos has said that if Michael Schiavo had not called 911 immediately, as Bush and others allege, Terri Schiavo would have died that day. "There is no hour gap or other gap to the point Michael heard Terri fall and called 911," Felos said. "We've seen the baseless allegations in this case fall by the wayside one by one ... That's what I would call it, a baseless claim to perpetuate a controversy that in fact doesn't exist." Terri Schiavo died March 31 from dehydration after her feeding tube was disconnected at her husband's request, despite unsuccessful efforts by her parents, Bush and others to keep her alive. An autopsy released Wednesday concluded that she had been in a persistent vegetative state and revealed no evidence that she was strangled or otherwise abused before she collapsed. It left unanswered the question of why Terri Schiavo's heart stopped, cutting oxygen off from her brain. The autopsy showed she suffered irreversible brain damage and her brain had shrunk to half the normal size for her age. Bush's request was immediately criticized by some lawmakers. "Enough is enough," said Democratic Sen. Ron Klein. "I don't want to see it on TV any more, I don't want to hear politicians talk about it. Let her be at peace." Bush acknowledged in his letter that an investigation may be difficult. "I understand that these events took place many years ago, and that you may not be able to collect all the relevant records and physical evidence. However, Mrs. Schiavo's family deserves to know anything that can be done to determine the cause and circumstances of her collapse 15 years ago," Bush wrote. "The unanswered questions may be unanswerable, but the attempt should be made." By JACKIE HALLIFAX The Associated Press Friday, June 17, 2005; 11:49 AM washingtonpost.com