First off, there’s all sorts of strange circumstances surrounding this story…like the theory that Michael strangled his wife which caused her brain damage which some say is supported by a bone scan when she was first admitted to a hospital….then there’s the timing of Michael’s statement that his wife wouldn’t want to live this way in 1997, which just so happened to be the year he got engaged to another woman that he now has two kids with (he’s still legally married to Terri)…there have now been nurses to come forward stating that they have overheard Michael speaking to Terri saying such pleasantries as “would you just die bitch”…the fact that Michael has denied any therapy for her which has actually worked in similar cases….but let’s forget all those things for a moment and look at this story for what it is – a woman who has committed no crime is being treated more inhumanely then the most notorious killers on death row.  Do you know why it takes so long for an inmate on death row to finally be executed?  Because it’s made sure beforehand that all possible courses of action are taken to prevent it.  This process takes YEARS and a lot of times goes all the way to the Supreme Court.  And why?  Because the courts want to make sure that if they made an error that they err on the side of life.  My question is that why isn’t this happening now?  Why is there such a sense of urgency to kill her?  Doctors on Michael’s side say she doesn’t feel any pain and doesn’t even know what’s going on, and doctors on the other side have said that Terri could get better if they were allowed to do therapy, which is something that Michael has not permitted for his wife.  In a criminal case, whenever there is doubt then appeals are granted and so forth…but in this case there is doubt about whether or not she feels pain or is aware or if therapy can help yet judges are striking down any chance of having her feeding tube re-inserted.  Why?  Why can’t they see if therapy would help?  Why the rush to kill her off?  I understand from Michael’s side about rushing to kill her off because I truly believe in my heart that this guy is a lying scumbag who’s the cause of her condition…after all he wants the body cremated which would keep anyone from doing any investigation later on….but why are the courts so quick to dismiss it all?  They’ll bend over backwards for a guy who slaughters a family of 5, but not even flinch when denying a human being food and water who has not done one damn thing wrong.

This entire thing is completely incomprehensible to me…it really is.  For example, let’s say when my dog gets older and can’t get around due to arthritis, what if I decided I should just lock him in a room and let him starve to death to end his suffering?  After all, his quality of life is extremely poor.  Guess what…if it was found out I would be arrested.  I could be thrown in jail for starving a dog to death but courts say it’s ok to starve a human being to death.  Where in the hell is the logic in this?

There is just so much about this story that really disturbs me.  One is the silence of the supposed “human rights” groups.  Those groups like Amnesty International and the ACLU I’ve always looked at as complete jokes anyway…but now…what frauds they are.  Where the hell are they?  What about the human rights groups who were all up in arms over a terrorist with panties on his head?  Where the hell are they?  What about someone like Hillary Clinton who did nothing but scream for the longest time about supposed prisoner abuse in Iraq?  Why hasn’t she stepped forward in all this?  Could it be that she’s more concerned with her future in politics then about a human life?  I do believe it is.  If she says that Terri should die she could be seen as a cold and heartless bitch…well…like I almost don’t already see her that way….but the overall public perception would be that.  If she took the position that Terri should live, well then she would side with "the evangelic right" and she couldn’t possibly do that…after all it might hurt her politically.  If there is one positive that comes out of this entire thing…and believe me that I am trying to find a positive somehow…it’s that maybe, just maybe the American public will see how full of crap our court system is, and how many people want to operate their own agendas at the expense of a woman’s life.  All one of those judges had to do was say that the feeding tube should be reinserted until everything can get straightened out, but instead there’s the rush to kill her.  See, that whole group of people…hippies, environmentalists, amnesty international people, all of those types are people without one set of core values and it shows.  They get wrapped up in trends….oh it’s trendy to protest this or that because it’s the cool and hip thing to do and play like it’s 1968 all over again.  Every single one of them that is not down in Florida protesting Terri’s right to live has shown how full of crap they all are…every one of them.  They protest against the war because they “claim” war is wrong and they want peace, they protest republican anything because it’s seen as evil with ties to tons of big money corporations that don’t care about the poor, yet in Florida there is a woman being starved to death by our government.  If there was EVER a time for all those groups that normally protest anything government related to be protesting it would be right now.  So why don’t they?

I can honestly look at this whole thing and not have one shred of politics involved in what I think should be done.  When there is a woman that some doctors say can’t recover and some doctors say can recover…can we not find out?  Can therapy be given a chance just to see if it works???  Obviously not…she has to be killed…and not with an injection where there is really no suffering….no she has to be starved to death.  Another thing that infuriates me is when I hear people say that the only reason Senator Bill Frist tried to have a congressional action done to stop this is because he’s posturing for a run at the Presidency in 2008.  Oh I don’t know…could it be he’s a friggin doctor and is maybe trying to save a life???  See, this is beyond political parties, because there are democrats who want her kept alive and there are republicans who won’t take action to keep her alive…this is a matter of what is the right thing to do and what is the wrong thing.  And I don’t see how starving a woman to death who’s parents are MORE then willing to take care of her and therapy could be given to her to see if she would respond (but the husband won’t allow it) could EVER be seen as doing the right thing.  How in the hell could a judge make a decision over the course of a couple of hours that this woman will never get better and she should starve to death when doctors have said otherwise???

What happened to the founding fathers claim that Americans have a right to “life, liberty, and a pursuit of happiness”?  Has it been now changed to a right of “death and starvation”?  When the hell did the judicial branch of the government get the right to make the laws?    Now my FAVORITE piece of info on this whole thing is the ruling a judge made denying her food and water…not just removal of the feeding tube…but actually denying her food and water.  An actual US judge has said someone is no longer allowed to eat or have water!!!  See, the ruling was about removing the feeding tube, but he threw that on because…get this…he said if she was fed or given water orally she could choke to death.  I honestly don’t know if I should laugh or cry over the stupidity in that ruling.

And now our beloved Supreme Court has refused to hear the case…yet MILLIONS can be spent on appeals of serial killers in trial after trial and go to the Supreme Court.  I mean heaven forbid we hurry up and get rid of the guy who was found with skulls buried under his house, but a woman who has done nothing wrong?  Screw her...let her die…we don’t care.  Attorneys for Michael Schiavo told the justices “the Florida courts have far exceeded the constitutional requirements of due process under the law in protecting and promoting Terri Schiavo's rights”.  RIGHTS???  What rights???  Doesn’t someone have a right to some friggin FOOD AND WATER???  Oh, and guess what happened today…there’s a death row inmate in Colorado who was given a reprieve just 5 hours before his scheduled execution.  Why?  Because his attorneys said that instructions given to the jurors in his 1991 trial may have been unclear.  Now isn’t that sweet?  Maybe our justice system works after all.  I feel all warm and fuzzy all over now.

This isn’t a republican or democrat issue, it’s not about the right or the left, it’s about life and helping someone.  There is a woman in a hospice (and you gotta wonder how she ended up in a hospice where they put terminally ill people when she isn't terminal) in Florida who can breathe on her own and who is not hooked to life support.  She isn’t brain dead, otherwise she wouldn’t be breathing on her own or able to have limited movement, the only thing she requires is a feeding tube…and there are doctors who have stated she could one day eat on her own given the proper therapy.  She has a family who wants to care for her and give her a chance to recover…something her husband has not allowed anyone to do.  We have judges and courts who either don’t want to hear this case or fully support that someone be starved to death.  It’s a very sad day in this country…I am shocked, confused, bewildered, saddened, and amazed at what is transpiring.  And then Michael Schiavo saying on Larry King that she is dying of “natural causes” because we all know how starvation is so natural.  Also, he was trying to say on that same show that when a body is starved, electrolytes are released which gives the person an almost state of euphoria, and then they just sort of go into a sleep before dying.  Wow…sounds so blissful…where do I sign up for that???  Tell you what, why don’t we just make it easy?  After all, if starvation is such a euphoric state, let’s put it into practice.  Look at the inner cities…I mean the kids there have no quality of life do they?  Nah…let’s save them their adult world of drugs and gangs and just go ahead and starve them to death.  How’s grandma?  Oh really…having some trouble getting around is she?  Doesn’t even appear to know who she is sometimes?  Well she’s old and had a long life so let’s starve her to death.  Hey, it’s almost euphoric remember?  And what about groups like UNICEF and “adopt a child”?  They should be done away with…I mean those kids live in such dirt-poor areas they’ll never have a good life or amount to much so let’s give them a few moments of euphoria and stave them to death…we’ll be doing them a favor.  Come to think of it, we never should have sent aid over for tsunami relief, you know?  Those areas now are so disease-filled and it will be too much trouble to rebuild over there.  We might as well let them have a few moments of happiness right before dying so let’s starve them too.  Just had a baby and it’s severely retarded?  Why not starve it to death then…at least it will experience SOME pleasure before dying.  Starving to death provides a euphoric feeling…huh...I wonder if that’s how the Jews who were at Auschwitz would describe it?

So where are you ACLU?  Where are you war protesters who want peace?  Where the hell are you amnesty international?  Where are you to all those who were outraged by the treatment of terrorist prisoners in Iraq?  Oh wait, you have to sit this one out don’t you.  After all, that means you might side with all those religious zealots and we just can’t have that now can we…even if it means saving someone’s life.  You people sicken and disgust me beyond belief.  I wouldn’t care if Clinton was President and wanted her to stay alive…I would have NO problem saying “yep…I agree with Bill Clinton”…I would have no problem at all.  You “activist” types will be more then happy to join a trendy protest, but when it truly comes down to making a stand for something that is right and just, you have no conviction.  You are all frauds and cowards.  You have no soul, no character, no values, no nothing.

In fact, I can't tell you how disappointed I am in President Bush and his brother Jeb Bush, the Governor of Florida.  BOTH of them have an executive right to go in and save this woman.  Why the hell won't they???  President Clinton issued an executive order for the siege on the Camp Dividian compound in Waco and also in the seizing of Elian Gonzales...the President DOES have that power.  So why isn't President Bush saying "screw the judges, we're gonna save this woman"???  George ol' buddy...you really let me down this time...you really did.  And Jeb, that logic you used of "well I would also love to stop all abortions in this country" or whatever it was you said is a complete smokescreen..don't hide behind that crap...GROW SOME BALLS!!!

One more thing….take a look at the photo below –

See this kid being led away in handcuffs because he tried to get into the hospice and give Terri some water?  He’s got a better head on his shoulders then these federal judges…this kid “gets it”.  This kid has a better understanding of right and wrong then a lot of adults.  Oh yeah…where’s the outrage that usually comes with an image of a child being arrested???  Hmmm….silence again….

Terri Schiavo has been through an unnecessary hell…and I truly hope all that were involved in it pay dearly.  This is literally heartbreaking, and the only good thing that will happen when she dies is that her hell will be over and the family won’t have to suffer the way they have been at the hands of our judicial system.  You know, it goes beyond the judicial system...the entire government has broken down here.  The day our government can sit idly by when a guy has a wife who collapses in 1990 and suffers brain damage....then the husband sues for malpractice because he's going to need the money to care for his wife and GETS the money...then in 1997 decides "oh wait, she said she would want to die" while he's already got another woman lined up after all therapy has been blocked by him even though that's what the money was supposed to go to...and then last week it be decided she should starve to death is a truly sad day in this county's history.  This story has literally shaken my faith in the government of this country...and that infuriates me beyond belief.

Why am I so worked up over this?  Well first off I think it's horrendous it's happening, but also the fact that next week marks the 25th anniversary of my sister's death.  I will never forget the pain and anguish my parents went through seeing their first-born die...and I can't imagine one bit what it would be like to be a parent having to watch your child starve to death and there is not one thing you could do about it...all the while knowing SOMETHING could be done about it.

I have done my best to really try and watch my language in doing these columns, but in closing I have one thing to say to Michael Schiavo, The Federal Judges, The District Judges, The Supreme Court, and every other government official who sat by and let this happen...and this comes from the bottom of my heart –