As some of my regular readers know, I’m on vacation doing some some home “improvement” this week, and I thought I would share a couple of valuable lessons I have learned.

First, when trying to cap a copper pipe, the fitting on the right works much better than the fitting on the left. “Son, when I turn this water on, tell me if you see any drips.” “Dad! It’s POURING out!”

Second, when there is a skunk hiding in the garage and he won’t come out from behind the chop saw you’re using to cut studs, it’s time to call it quits for the evening and get a bowl of Breyers ice cream.

As Pontius Whittmore deliberates while an innocent handicapped person starves to death, Dr. William Hammesfahr, nominated for a nobel prize in Medicine and Physiology for his work in stroke and brain injury weighs in on Terri Schiavo.

“The important thing for people to understand is that she can eat and swallow right now,” said William Hammesfahr, a neurologist who has examined Schiavo.

Hammesfahr has examined Terri in the past…

“They are truly withholding food from a person who is awake, alert, and can eat and swallow,” Hammesfahr said. After spending at least 10 hours with Schiavo several years ago, he told Florida Judge George W. Greer that she can improve with therapy.

And there are physicians who corroborate his analysis…

Hammesfahr said there are at least 50 physicians he knows of, in private practice and related to medical universities who have said Schiavo is not in a PVS or in a coma.

And he describes the process of starvation…

“People who die of starvation, their acid eats through their stomach, they develop infections in their body, their body starts to dissolve from the inside out, they develop seizures, [and] frequently it breaks their back,” he said. “They have to have medications to essentially put them into a coma to not have their body break their back or something of that nature.”

Hopefully Judge Whittmore will consult with Dr. Hammesfahr before Terri reaches a point of no return.

UPDATE: Lots of others commenting on Dr. Hammesfahr’s observations.

Billy Goat
Sigmund, Carl and Alfred
AllThings2All
Civilization Calls
Discarded Lies

And many more…

UPDATE: Clearly there is an effort to ignore the evidence for Terri Schiavo’s condition and divert attention by attacking the person of Dr. Hammesfahr. However, as WorldNetDaily is reporting, yesterday, Mar. 23, Dr. William Cheshire from the Mayo Clinic branch in Jacksonville came to similar conclusions as Hammesfahr after examining Terri Schiavo… and note… after she had been deprived of food and water since Friday, Mar.18, 2005.

But there is additional evidence the pro death crowd chooses to ignore. Dr. William Campbell, who conducted the original bone scans of Terri Schiavo concluded she had suffered a trauma, not a heart problem. This was concurred with by Dr. Michael Baden, an esteemed New York pathologist who viewed the scans ten years later. The bone scans and the medical information surrounding Terri Schiavo had been supressed for nearly a decade. There are huge problems with this case. A full, independent inquiry, done by people who are not resident of this area of Florida or perhaps even the State, needs to be conducted. As I have stated several times, this is a very bad case for the right-to-die crowd to champion.

I wonder if it bothers anyone that Michael Schiavo’s attorney, George Felos is being sued by the U.S. Dept. of HHS to recover $14.8 million dollars paid to the hospice which runs Woodside Hospice where Terri is resident? Felos was chairman of the board at the time. The U.S. attorney is accusing fraud in the case.

And another item of interest…

Terri Schiavo was moved secretly by George Felos from Palm Gardens Convalescent Home in Largo to Woodside Hospice, which is operated by the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast of which Felos was chairman of the board. Terri was moved illegally, without doctor certification or a judicial order. People cannot be admitted to hospice without doctor certification that they are terminally ill and have six months or less to live. Dr. Gambone, Terri’s attending physician, indicated in his affidavit that Terri Schiavo was not in a persistant vegetative state, responded well to stimuli, and could function in a limited way. He indicated she did not need hospice care.

Additionally, the fact that Michael Schiavo’s lawyer, George Felos was chairman of the board of the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast which operates Woodside Hospice, was not revealed by Felos. This raises serious ethical issues. And I would postulate that Judge Greer was aware of this because his good friend, Sheriff Everett Rice, now a state legislator, was also on the board of the hospice. If Judge Greer was aware of this conflict of interest of George Felos, the judge had a legal and ethical duty to reveal it. It would also have been Sheriff Rice’s duty to investigate any claims of abuse which he apparently ignored. Would Rice’s relationship to Judge Greer and George Felos have anything to do with this? It would also have been the jurisdiction of district attorney Bernie McCabe, who was elected in 1992. McCabe has refused to get involved in the Schiavo case inspite of being requested to do so.

Like I’ve said, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, is it a dove?

Check out this story. It will amaze you.

Judge James Whittmore seems to be waiting for Terri to die while he “deliberates.” I guess he figures he’ll emulate Pontius Pilate given it’s Passion week… condemning the innocent to death through an unwillingness to act on their behalf.

More here.

Kind of sad.

UPDATE by Eric: Others are picking up the “Modern day Passion Play” theme.

Reader Chris Arsenault at Dawn Eden’s site spells out the parallels.

I’m not claiming Terri Marie Schindler-Schiavo is a saint, but the number of parallels between her and Christ are starting to add up.

Jesus was innocent and did not deserve to die.
Terri is innocent and does not deserve to die.

Jesus was betrayed by one he loved for a price.
Terri has been betrayed by one she loved for a price.
Both betrayed by a kiss - Terri with a wedding vow.

[more…]

And Katrina, cross posted here and here, also makes similar points. Check ‘em out.

Cast:
Terri Schiavo - Jesus
Michael Schiavo - Judas
George Greer - Caiaphus
George Felos - Satan
James Whittemore - Pontius Pilate

America’s sacrificial lamb, the innocent and tragic Terri Schlinder Schiavo has been arrested and is now being savagely scourged while Pontius Pilate, Judge James Whittemore, decides whether or not to wash his hands and declare himself innocent of her blood.

[more…]

Remember Elian Gonzales? It seems that little Elian and Terri Schiavo may have something in common. The Democrats were/are against both of them.

Little Elian’s mother gave her life so he could be free. The Democrats, as you may recall, would have none of that and forcibly and violently sent him back to a communist tyrant. Freedom, it seems, is just an empty word at best to the Democrats and, at worst, something they innately dispise.

And now there is Terri Schiavo; a woman who apparently has had poor medical treatment, no rehabilitative efforts, seems to be physically viable except for her need for a feeding tube, has some questions surrounding the cause of her condition, and the leftist Democrats are joining the group that wants to kill her. This is just not a good case for the Democrats to trumpet as a right-to-die case. But blinded by their twisted ideology they foolishly stumble on.

Is it hard to understand why the Democrats are opposed to something like, say, a free Iraqi people and seem to love the tyrants (terrorists)? It really is who they are; leftists sitting on the edge of their primordial soup; an imposed tyranny of the twisted ideology of, what they believe to be, the true religion. They are the elitists, the rightful survivors of the next step in the progressive process of evolution. Just give them all the power and the world will be perfect or so they seem to believe.

And so we face a truly defining moment in the course of history. And it has taken a George W. Bush to flush them out with his courage, his faith, and his tenacity. The leftists cloaking themselves in the Democrat mantle are fully exposed. For they no longer represent the downtrodden, the helpless, or the defenseless. They have come to represent themselves and will use anyone and anybody to try and achieve the crowning they think is rightfully theirs.

And Terri Schiavo and her tenacity are defining the moment even more. She is truly a hero whether she lives or whether she dies. While the Democrat leftists root for her death, they may well be spelling that for their party.

Eric adds: It seems there are others who also are seeing some similarities between Elian’s and Terri’s situations. Southern Appeal links to James Lileks:

The Schiavo matter is the Elian Gonzalez case of 2005, a person who stands at the nexus of a variety of irreconcilable issues. Some people wouldn’t care at all if she died, unless she had been the sole occupant of a hospital in Baghdad leveled by an errant Tomahawk; then you’d see her face in every protest march.

Talk Show America:

Back in 2000, the Clinton administration saw fit to send machine-gun-toting federal agents into Miami under the cover of darkness to ship Elian Gonzalez back to Fidel Castro.

Unfortunately for then-Attorney General Janet Reno, a photographer was able to capture that horrible moment in an enduring image of shameful tyranny. Now Florida state judge George Greer has issued a morally corrupt order for the brutal starvation of an American citizen, Terri Schiavo - and an outraged nation is impotent to act.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush, President Bush, and the United States Congress have all moved to save her life and yet the nation is held hostage to a single judge.

The Department of Injustice has a different take:

Conservatives weren’t interested in parents’ rights when Elian Gonzalez was brought to America. His father wanted him returned to Cuba, but those on the right are opposed to Castro’s regime, and didn’t think that Elian’s father’s rights should have mattered. With Terri Shiavo, her parents want her kept alive. Now parents’ rights are the only thing that matter to the right.

And Captain Ed:

This case may not be an exact analogy, but it comes close. Terri cannot make the decision for herself, and the two families have essentially taken mutually exclusive positions. The court has weighed in to take the extreme position, the one that cannot be reversed if carried out in full, despite the existence of other family members willing to take care of her. Despite pleas for mercy and a rehearing on the factual basis of the case, as it turns out that Terri did not have the proper tests done to reach the diagnosis accepted by the court, the judge has essentially closed off the debate and appellate courts don’t usually take up findings of fact, only matters of procedure. Just as with Elian, when the government abdicated its responsibility to determine what was best in favor of the knee-jerk reaction to abide by the wishes of the next of kin, the Florida court appears ready to do the same thing with Terri.

This is truly amazing. The Left and their cronies in the press are really going to sink on the Terri Schiavo case.

Here is a reporter from the New York Times, Elisabeth Bumiller, trying to say that the Republican and Bush interests in the Terri Schiavo case are purely political… so they can score points with political conservatives. These leftist journalists are disgusting. It never occurs to them that President Bush, the Republicans, and the conservatives just might really have compassion on Terri Schiavo and want to protect her, something of which the Left claims to have so much. Elisabeth’s premise is that these evil people can’t really have compassion, so it must be political. Truly amazing folks.

Here’s an excerpt. You can read the whole article here.

Nonetheless, White House officials acknowledged that the final bill could have been flown to Mr. Bush in Texas, a round trip of six or seven hours that probably would have made no difference in whether Ms. Schiavo lives. Doctors say she can survive for up to two weeks without the liquid meals that have sustained her for 15 years.

Elisabeth if you were being starved to death and being forcibly dehydrated, don’t you think that six or seven hours would matter to you? Maybe we should try an experiment…one of those free research projects where you are the only participant.

The Left is just sooo compassionate.

Terri is really exposing these people. Keep it up Terri. Hang in there.

What a great quote:

“The guy’s got the whole world - I have two or three acres,”

This quote is from an inmate who is about to be surpassed as the world record holder for the most four leaf clovers collected. He thinks it’s unfair that a non-incarcerated 73-year-old guy in Alaska is going to get more than him.

This a very bad case for the Democrats to be trumpeting as a right-to-die case. There are too many suspicious aspects to it. Here are some of them (perhaps you have some to add):

1. She has not received adequate medical treatment (When will those Doctors be investigated? Or when will Woodside Hospice be investigated?). There apparently have been no routine tests such as an MRI given.
2. There has been no rehabilitative effort made during the entire time of her confinement. Outside medical observers indicate therapy could vastly improve her condition. The money received in a settlement ($1.7 million) was supposed to be for her care and treatment. That care and treatment appears to be minimal to the point where she is developing unnecessary bedsores.
3. She is not in a persistent vegetative state. Terri is responsive and attempts to communicate, recognizing different people.
4. Her visitors are closely monitored and restricted, no cameras or videos are allowed. Is someone trying to hide something?
5. There is some question surrounding the cause of her condition and the circumstances attendant thereto. Some medical records indicate the possibility of foul play (domestic violence?)
6. Her husband’s behavior, since he claims to care so much for her, is rather odd given that claim. (Denial of medical treatment for a urinary tract infection. Living with someone and has two children by that someone. Extreme effort to have her die. Others above and below.)
7. For some reason Michael seems to be limiting the medical care Terri receives choosing to spend the money on expensive attorneys that want her dead.
8. Michael will not allow Terri’s parents to take her out of the room for “walks.”
9. Nor will Michael permit Terri to be taken outside to see others.
10. There is no written directive from Terri regarding medical treatment in such a condition. The court is only going on the words of her husband Michael whose interest in this is suspect at best.
11. And now it seems she has uttered a desire to live.

There are more here.

Clearly AP and other media outlets do not want you to know these things. Articles about this case routinely omit these circumstances.

There is one simple solution to this. If Michael would allow independent observers from both sides, some with extensive medical knowledge in this area, accompanied by video cameras, to spend a week with Terri (providing she wasn’t drugged prior to the observations), many of these questions and issues could be resolved.

And if Michael won’t allow it then the court or legislature could require it.

Yet even the value of this option is fading as Terri gets weaker from starvation and dehydration.

Frankly Michael and his attorney are acting very oddly in this particular case. They are clearly trying to hide something.

Andy McCarthy has written a great piece on this case.
I saw it via Michelle Malkin who also has some good takes on the Schiavo situation.

To repeat, this is not a good right-to-die case for the Left to champion. Terri has exposed the Leftists for who they are. They clearly stand against life, liberty, and the pursuit of your happiness.

Regardless of the outcome, Terri has done more good for us as a country than she will ever imagine. Perhaps the Schindlers will tell her that.

If the Left kills Terri, she will not die in vain.

Matt Savage, a home-schooled spelling bee winner at Great Brook School in Antrim, NH, won’t be going on to the National Geograhpic Bee’s state competition because the rules forbid it. This is apparently part of the Bee’s efforts to ” reach out to all different groups to make sure the kids can take part.”

LaShawn thinks:

Home-schoolers are making government school kids look so dumb that officials have surreptitiously changed the rules so home-schoolers won’t be eligible to compete.

If you haven’t seen it yet, read this post by an Iraqi.

So you ask me, Husayn, was it worth it. What have you gotten? What has Iraq acheived? These are questions I get a lot.

…

Now I answer you, I answer you on behalf of myself, and my countrymen. I dont care what your news tells you, what your television and newspapers say, this is how we feel. Despite all that has happened. Despite all the hurt, the pain, blood, sweat and tears. These two years have given us hope we never had.

Roger L. Simon says it’s more important than any other editorial he’s read on the subject.

Also mentioning Husayn’s post are Abe and Captain Scarlet.

And Carl has a huge roundup of Iraqi responses to the two year mark.

It looks like the story we blogged about earlier this month is gaining some momentum.

Chicago Jewish News has more details. And LGF has picked up the cause.

President Bush signed the Schiavo legislation very early this morning.

Michelle Malkin links to several mirror sites that have posted the audio of Terri Schiavo’s response to the removal of her feeding tube. They are here, here, here and here. There are others here and here. She also references NZPundit and Xrlq who have the legal definition of “Persistent Vegitative State” … read it after watching the video, and see what you think. Soft Reset has an opinion.

Sierra Faith, as does Taste of Liberty, has misgivings about the strategy of putting this in the hands of judges again.

Also, if you haven’t seen it… Liberals for Terri:

The purpose of Liberals For Terri is to draw from across the political spectrum - liberals, conservatives, progressives, left-wing radicals and right-wing curmudgeons - to agree on the following point:

There are other reasons besides the “right-to-life” platform to remove Michael Schiavo as Terri’s guardian, and restore Terri’s right to choose.

Read their piece called “What if Terri was set up?” It’s long, but worth the read.

Captain Ed, up late last night, reported the vote count. “Official count was 203-58, with five Republicans voting nay.” Paul at Wizbang elaborates:

So for all their posturing and complaining, the leadership only got 53 of their fellow Democrats to vote for Terry Schiavo’s death sentence. The vast majority of the Democrats were smart enough to stay away from this one. 112 Democrats refused to vote at all.

Shane Raynor wonders if Terri will become a liability for the Democrats. “Become”???

Eugene Volokh is have a discussion on the constitutional statutory elements of the situation. And Josh Claybourn has some thoughts on this as well.

Nick Queen (via Speed of Thought) has an interesting quote from Michael Schiavo on LKL (I didn’t see it, so I can’t verify it’s accuracy):

KING: Have you had any contact with the family today? This is a sad day all the way around, Michael. We know of your dispute.

M. SCHIAVO: I’ve had no contact with them.

KING: No contact at all?

M. SCHIAVO: No.

KING: Do you understand how they feel?

M. SCHIAVO: Yes, I do. But this is not about them, it’s about Terri. And I’ve also said that in court. We didn’t know what Terri wanted, but this is what we want…

Jeff Harrell makes this excellent observation about the speed at which the government moved in this case:

I think events like this one are a testament to the overwhelming power and flexibility of our system of governance. Terri’s feeding and hydration were stopped late on Friday. In a matter of hours, there were bills before both houses of Congress. Our elected representatives debated the measures all day today, and finally got a bill in front of the President after midnight tonight.

If you stop and think for a second about the sheer magnitude of how many people had to get involved here, that’s a remarkable achievement.

Say what you want about our country — we’re divided, we’re flawed, we’ve got our troubles — but whichever way this story turns out, I’ll be proud of the fact that our government was capable of acting so quickly and decisively to halt what some of us see as a great injustice.