Who will wash Terri’s feet?

Jeff asked me to post on this story: Cabot farmer serving reparative sentence for cow deaths From the Barre – Montpelier Times Argus in Vermont. Christian DeNeergaard, from Cabot, VT was convicted of not feeding or watering his 75 cows, allowing 11 of them to die as a result of this neglect. He was supposed to rectify the situation, but on a subsequent inspection, 15 more cows were found dead of starvation. PETA, of course, wanted him to go to jail. He was not sentenced to jail because of technical issues in the search of the property.

Of course, this man’s behavior is abhorrent and should be punished. But where are PETA now? There is a term “The Human Animal” isn’t there? Get all up in arms for starved cows, but not for a starved human being? Maybe it’s because the cows didn’t tell the bull that they wanted to die.

Anchoress has another story on starving cows: O Irony! FL rancher charged with starving cattle

Welcome Polipundit readers.

I was watching a talk show the other day and a civil rights advocate was on. The host was attempting to ask him a very simple question: does it matter that feeding’s being denied on the word of one individual, the husband. He refused to answer the question directly and went on to attack those supporting Terri being kept alive for not respecting her “wishes”. The question was asked again, and then yet again, and each time he attempted to avoid the question with proclamations of her right to choice being violated accompanied by attacks on the motives of those supporting Terri.

The problem I have had all along with this, as have so many others that support Terri being kept alive, is that the above interaction seems to be playing out in the broader sense. We’re skipping right to the defence of the “right to choose” without answering the hard FACTUAL questions as to whether she did choose, whether she is really in a PVS and what is sufficient evidence to make that determination having regard to the fact that if we’re wrong were killing an aware person who doesn’t want to die.

The fear that many “right to choice” people have about their cause being questioned appears to have led many to willfully ignore the facts in their support of Schiavo’s death. What is reprehensible is the media’s complicity in all of this. The result is that the mainstream population are also left with similar impressions. Very few of the startling facts we have seen in the blogosphere are being reported. Instead we get condescending images of those poor ignorant parents that just “can’t let go”, the throwing up of the hands and declaring both the parents and the husband’s love for Terri and desire to do what’s best for her. The media also seems to be playing Terri in a PVS as a certainty. As for the courts, they’re copping out, pleading “the law is the law” in applying standards that are largely designed for the protection of property, not the protection of life.

It is so wrong.

The Florida Department of Children and Families has filed a petition to intervene after receiving reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation of Terri Schiavo. The petition cites 30 “detailed allegations of abuse.” Here is the PDF Petition.
Hat tip PoliPundit reader Catherine.
UPDATE: Here is the Affidavit in PDF of the expert (Dr. Cheshire). Read it all, its remarkable. Hat tip NRO.
Welcome Polipundit readers.

According to Junk Yard Blog:

The Hapless Misadventures of the Pinellas County Court System keeps getting stinkier and stinkier and scarier and scarier. Michael Schiavo’s attorney George Felos took his case and then filed the petition to introduce HB 2131 in 1999. Then the law in Tallahassee gets changed. Then the Schiavo case gets heard. In that order.

In April 1999 – House Bill 2131 was introduced in the Florida legislature by the Florida Elder Affairs & Long-Term Care Committee to amend Section 765 (Civil Rights) of the Florida Statutes. The amendments to Section 765.101 were the legal definition of “life prolonging procedures” to add: “INCLUDING ARTIFICIALLY PROVIDED SUSTENENCE AND HYDRATION, WHICH SUSTAINS, RESTORES, OR SUPPLANTS A SPONTANEOUS VITAL FUNCTION”. It becomes law on October 1, 1999.

Go read the rest.

Need someone dead? Get a law passed that will assist you in your endeavor.

Welcome Polipundit, Wizbang, & Myopic Zeal readers. There is a list to the right of other Terri stories at this site.

Apparently two more nurses have come forward to substantiate Carla Iyer’s claims about Michael Schiavo. Our friends at OpiniPundit are all over it. Below we provide the video and transcript of Carla’s damning revelations.

It was interesting when I saw a similar interview of Carla Iyer on CNN (which, not surprisingly, was more hostile than the Fox interview we linked to) the host asked in an accusatory manner why other nurses hadn’t come forward.

We just reached 10,000 on our sitemeter. Thanks to all our visitors and referrers.

Also just to put our growth in perspective, while we had 2000 hits last month, this month we’re approaching 6,000. It’s been great working with kimsch and we really appreciate all of our visitors and……….and………there I go……I promised myself I wouldn’t cry……………..talk amongst yourselves. (Jeff)

From Fox News:

TAMPA, Fla. — The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has denied a request by the parents of Terri Schiavo to reinsert the severely brain-damaged woman’s feeding tube. The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 to deny the request, a day after a federal judge in Florida rejected a similar appeal.

In its ruling, the panel said the woman’s parents “failed to demonstrate a substantial case on the merits of any of their claims.”

“There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo,” the ruling reads. “We all have our own family, our own loved ones, and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision concerning a question of law.”

From the dissenting judge:

But in the dissenting opinion, Judge Charles R. Wilson expressed concern that Schiavo’s “imminent” death would end the case before it could be fully considered.

“In fact, I fail to see any harm in reinserting the feeding tube,” he wrote.

I find it objectionable that the majority would cast itself as slaves to “the law” while at the same time acknowledging the “absolute tragedy” Terri Schiavo faces. As for the dissenting opinion, many of our current laws today have arisen from dissenting opinions of judges who had the courage to see that the state of the law as it was, could not equitably be applied to the facts before them. I can think of no case where this applies moreso than the case of Terri Schiavo.

The American Spectator Where There’s No Will By Clinton W. Taylor

In Florida under the intestacy (dying without will) statute, everything goes to the spouse no matter what. Clinton Taylor states: “[T]he kind of testimony Michael Schiavo gave would not be sufficient (or even admissible) to affect the disposition of Terri’s property — but it is sufficient to end her life.”

Go read the rest.

Via Patterico’s Pontifications.

Hannity and Colmes just did an interview with one of the “experts” who testified that Terri Schiavo was in a PVS. He admitted that he based his conclusions on one 45 minute session. One. In that 45 minute session he had Terri’s eyes follow a balloon as he praised her for doing a good job.

Incidentally one of the nurses that cared for her was also on and she said Terri was was responsive, aware, had spoken and thus couldn’t be in a PVS. I wonder how many hundreds of hours she spent with Terri in comparison to the one hour the “expert” spent with her.

Also our good doctor further admitted to previously opining that persons in a PVS should not be afforded constitutional rights, and that we shouldn’t bother tube feeding alzheimer’s patients.
UPDATE: For those readers interested in the nurse’s revelations about Michael’s conduct, we’ve previously posted on another Fox interview she did earlier in the day, along with the transcript and video here.

UPDATE II: Here’s the transcript of the “expert” for Michael Schiavo. Also, hat tip to PoliPundit reader Newton for pointing me to this transcript of an expert who says Terri can get better. I’ll let you go right to the link but here’s a hint, he spent a bit more than 45 minutes with Terri.