Jun 16, 2005

The Totally Worthless Currency of The American Taliban

It's a dangerous thing to be making medical diagnoses by looking at an edited video, by reading a holy text and determining that a person has no right to exit in a manner of his/her choosing. It's also a crime to lie and accuse someone of physically abusing and eventually killing his former wife. And, I guess, it's utter stupidity and a disservice to the American people and the truth when the mainstream media gives a forum to charlatans to claim that a dead-brain patient can fully recover, and/or she can communicate with us via a ..seance!

Would those people, who are exposed today as frauds, liars, agitators, entertainers of the lowest denominator, peddlers of the supernatural & the superstitious, feel any shame or the need to apologize? No, not at all. The Terri Schiavo autopsy revealed more than what her doctors, the 20 judges, and her husband had been saying about her being brain dead. It revealed that her case was more about a religious debate raised by the fundamentalists and exploited by the far right and charlatans of all stripes, some of which, like majority leader Frist, unfortunately, hold leadership positions in our government.

The Schiavo issue wasn't about a "culture of life" but whether a person has the right to choose his medical treatment at the end of his life. The Republicans had circulated a secret memo in the Senate saying that this case would be "a great political issue." President Bush got on the bandwagon too. He conveniently forgot that, as the Texas governor, he had signed a law giving the spouse & the patient's doctors the final say in matters of life and death. Bush also had signed a law that the state could turn off life-support when a patient like Terri Schiavo didn't have insurance to pay for such extended care! And, it had happened with babies in Texas!

Science told us that Schiavo's brain had atrophied by 50%, much of it replaced by spinal fluid--an irreversible condition, known as PVS (persistent vegetative state). She was also blind and not responsive to external stimuli. No thoughts, no self-awareness. No PVS patient has ever recovered. This is different than a coma. It's insane that we spent so much time, energy and money preventing a person from exercising her oft-stated wishes in a terminal situation, while those who supposedly propose a culture of life also oppose universal health care available to every single American! We lost some 3,000 people on 9-11-01. That was tragic indeed. Since, we've spent thousands of lives and several hundred billion dollars with more to come in Iraq. Yet, every month, thousands of Americans die because they don't have health insurance and no access to healthcare! Aren't these Americans "innocent?" Our indifference can be deadlier than a few fanatics blowing up a building.

I'm in favor of the culture of life, because life should be protected, enhanced with quality and individual choice! All this when it clearly matters, which includes the period from birth and throughout our existence in this physical world! Liberals believe in freedom of choice, especially when it involves our own self. But, having the freedom without any real choices it's pointless. And, more and more choices are being taken away, not by our foreign enemies, but by our own government. I'm not just talking about civil rights, important as they are, but about limiting our ability to move up the socio-economic pyramid. Even if I'm free to vote & speak up, if I can't feed and shelter myself, or if the quality of my life diminishes because of lack of health care, then obviously there is something wrong here.

As the Schiavo case proved, the American Taliban and the neo-cons are not interested in the truth--which is discarded if it's unpleasant or doesn't fit within their own narrow & distorted world. If it weren't so, then I'd expect anyone who "made a mistake" in the Schiavo case to come out and apologize today. After all, the autopsy totally confirmed what the doctors had been telling us in the last 15 years. But, don't hold your breath. No one, not a single person from the irrational side, will come out and admit his error. Reason is not their currency; superstition and fear are!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Frist lied to Matt Lauer on the Today Show...

LAUER: But when you stood on the floor and you said, She does respond, are you at all worried that you led some senators…

FRIST: I never said, She responded. I said I reviewed the court videotapes – the same ones the other doctors reviewed – and I questioned, Is her diagnosis correct...

Oh, I guess Frist was right.. He didn't say "she responded" but he said "she responds"...

Now, that clears it! What a shameless bigot First is!

L.K, NYC

Anonymous said...

From the Think Progress blog:

Now that we know Terri Schiavo was blind, it’s worth noting that Sen. Frist wasn’t the only member of Congress with a medical degree to claim she was responding to visual stimuli. Here’s Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL):

“That woman is not in a vegetative state,” he said this week, challenging media reports that claimed she was. “She responds to verbal stimuli, she attempts to vocalize, she tracks with her eyes, she emotes, she attempts to kiss her father.”

“As a doctor,” Weldon said, “I would never pull her tube out.”

Anonymous said...

i wouldn't want to be treated by those "doctors"...

Wasn't Frist a torturer of kitties?

Anonymous said...

I watched the tapes too. I spoke to the spirits over several seanses. I've read the secret book. I determine that the Republican leadership, the fundamentalist Xtians, and the right-wing media whores are all Satan's minions! The Prince of Darkness has developed this strategy and he's winning! The only way to defeat all evil and prevent Armageddon is to immunize ourselves by doing all anti-satan things: use reason, be tolerant & inclusive, love & help each other.
Satan has power only if your mind is filled with superstition and your heart with fear!

Anonymous said...

of course it wasn't about Schiavo, but a chance for the lunatic fringe to come out and gain points by exploiting a sensitive situation. Loads of emotional stuff, etc. I'm not saying that some people don't believe what they were saying about Sciavo, but most didn't care about her at all.
especially those who in every other way they've shown that they are NOT compassionate. there are so many people who are truly needy and trying to make a living in this country only to be denied basic services!

Anonymous said...

What makes you think that those people who rallied against Michael Schiavo are going to be convinced by the results of Terri's autopsy? If the facts don't fit within their story they're thrown away. Simple!
DG

Anonymous said...

The autopsy is another conspiracy by the scientists. I mean, how could they possibly say something different now? Once, they said Terri was brain dead they couldn't go back and change that! And how did they know how much her brain weighted before? Did they take it out? So, how do they "know" that the brain weighted 50% less after her death? And don't you think removing the tubes dehydration sets in.... the brain and much else is mostly water anyway!

Righteous Brother

Anonymous said...

RB,
You forgot to mention that some people can function with just 50% of their brain, much less in many cases! I doubt if you, and our president, use more than 0.000001% of your brains.

Hokus

Anonymous said...

Now you want to eliminate the returded people? So what if Terri recovered and she was a bit impaired? Isn't this life worth it? Btw nobody knows how much brain a person uses..
RB

Anonymous said...

The question is not whether morons should be allowed to exist... you go on with your life and give it your own meaning. However, having a head full of mush (spinal fluid) or water if you prefer means that you are a goner! No one can even recover from this. There are certain instances when the situation is irreversible....like losing your head!

Ty

Anonymous said...

I see your point Andros, the question is whether a person has the right to his own body! I, too, believe that at a certain point (when I determine that I have a terminal disease) I should be able to decide when to exit, with dignity and not to unnessarily prolong my pain and suffering. And if I can't do it myself, I want others to help me, follow my instructions. It's simple. It works for me. If others don't want or can't muster the will to decide for themselves that's fine too. I'm not imposing on them, they shouldn't impose on me either.

L.S. MA

Anonymous said...

Funny cartoon today... The GOP elephant is screaming "I don't care what the autopsy says, if I had to do it over again I would!"
And, the doctors look at say to each other, "yeah, there is no hope for recovery!"

Ha