Terri Schindler Schiavo, RIP. We mourn the death of Terri Schiavo now...murdered by cruel troika consisting of her adulterous husband, his death-obsessed attorney, and a corrupt judge.

But let us also not forget that the liberal mainstream media is perhaps equally responsible for her death. As this weblog amply demonstrated, the media consistently ignored, covered up, distorted, or flatly denied numerous facts that would have revealed to the public the true nature of this case.

Let us pray for our country, and in particular for our deliverence from the tyranny of the judiciary and their allies in the media and academia. Let us pray in particular for Michael Schiavo, his attorney and Judge Greer...that God will free them from sin, enabling them to repent and ultimately to share in the divine life.

"Our wrestling is not with flesh and blood...."  ¶ 10:25 PM 34 comments

  EMAIL JEB BUSH NOW! UPDATE: ALAN KEYES HAS PUBLICLY STATED THAT JEB BUSH CAN ACT WITHOUT COURT APPROVAL! Click here to read the transcript.

ALERT! Go to this link NOW to email Jeb Bush (also at jeb@jeb.org) to ask him to use the authority he has to take Terri Schiavo into protective custody. Apparently he has the power to do so by exectutive order or through the state's Department of Children and Family Services, despite Greer's ruling against him earlier today:

As CNSNews.com reported Monday, Florida law authorizes the state Department of Children and Family Services' Adult Protective Service Unit to perform an "emergency protective services intervention" if the state has "reasonable cause to believe that a vulnerable adult is suffering from abuse or neglect that presents a risk of death or serious physical injury to the vulnerable adult and that the vulnerable adult lacks the capacity to consent to emergency protective services."

Title III, Chapter 415, Section 105 (2) of the Florida Code also gives authorities emergency powers to forcibly enter a private premise and to remove a "vulnerable adult," who cannot give consent for treatment or ask for help, to a location where he or she can receive that care if an investigator "has reason to believe that the situation presents a risk of death or serious physical injury."

Although no provision in the statute authorizes the courts to override the law, Bush's office has been operating under the belief that the court's order to remove the feeding tube supercedes the state's legislated power to protect disabled adults from neglect.

Email Jeb Bush now! Also, go here to sign the petition urging him to use this power! Terri's life hangs in the balance.  ¶ 11:59 PM 26 comments

  More neurologists counter media accounts about Terri. On Thrownback we learn that three more neurologists have stated that Terri is not in a "persistent vegetative state":

I sent the recordings [of Terri Schiavo] to the four neurologists I interviewed for my National Review Online article from last week, "Starving For A Fair Diagnosis": Dr. Mack Jones, a neurologist in Florida; Dr. Thomas Zabiega, a neurologist in Chicago; Dr. William Bell, a professor of neurology at the Wake Forest University Medical School; and Dr. Peter Morin, a neurologist researching degenerative brain diseases.
...
Three of the four neurologists reported that they believed that Terri was responding to her father, and was attempting to form words. The fourth, Dr. Peter Morin, demurred, saying that he did not want to venture an opinion based on an audio recording without accompanying video.
...
According to the neurologists, if Terri verbalizes, that is, attempts to form words, that is clear evidence that she cannot be in a PVS. Dr. Bell explained:

Verbalization in general requires two phonemes with the intent of communication. "Papa" is two syllables and two phonemes and so is a verbalization regardless who is present to hear it, but "pa" would be meaningful if she said it if only her father was in the room. Just vocalizations that do not have set phonemic patterns are problematic, but if there is a definite vocalization to a question and silence when there is silence then this becomes a pattern in itself and this suggests at least conscious awareness and responses compatible with the minimally conscious state. The minimally conscious state suggests that portions of the cerebral cortex are still functioning.

Dr. Bell said that at one point he believes that Terri did verbalize, saying "hi". He added that "none of this is surprising," since, in his judgment, "she is not PVS, but in a minimally conscious state, despite what the courts say."

This again belies the contention that is being repeated like a mantra in the mainstream media that "doctors say Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state". Numerous neurologists either question or deny this.  ¶ 6:42 PM 3 comments

  Associated Press reveals doctors who say Terri is not PVS. I believe this is a major development. After I called and emailed the Associated Press about their failure to mention the disagreement among doctors regarding Terri Schiavo's medical condition, AP published this story quoting from the neurologists who testified in her court proceedings, including the two who clearly stated that she was not PVS. I directed them to the spot on terrisfight.org that has the material (it's in the "court documents" section), and apprently they went to the link! This proves that our phone calls and emails can have an effect if we are calm and clear in our attempts to contact the press!

Excerpts from the article:

Dr. William Hammesfahr, a Florida neurologist representing Terri Schiavo's parents, who examined her under the appellate court order in 2002:

"In a PVS patient, a vegetative state patient, they will have maybe a brief glance towards the area from that orienting reflex followed by random eye movements in all different directions with no response, no facial response, no attempting to fixate with her eyes. ... She is absolutely responding to her mother. ... There's no doubt. She is definitely aware of her mother....

"No, she is not in a persistent vegetative state. ... She is severely injured. She was a medical survivor to another physician. I would say that she is expressively aphasic, that means she has lost the power to speak. ...She clearly understands some things. She is like spinal cord victim Christopher Reeves."

Dr. William Maxfield, a radiologist retained by Terri Schiavo's parents, who reviewed her brain scans and visited with her at least three times, said he did not think she was in a persistent vegetative state. He compared scans that were done in 1996 to pictures taken in the summer of 2002:

"The brain tissue on the '02 study has a more normal appearance than it did on the 1996 study. ... There can be some regeneration of brain tissue."

Asked if that meant she had more brain in 2002 than in 1996: "I wouldn't put it in terms of actually more brain. I would say that the brain that we see is more normal in pattern than on the '96 study. ... In looking at the brain we do not have any large areas of absent localization which would indicate total non-function or, and/or, absence of blood flow to that area.

"In my opinion, there's a significant probability that she would improve with hyperbaric oxygen therapy based on what I have seen in the CT of the brain, the SPECT scan, and my observation and examination of the patient."

This is a huge breakthrough...the AP is coming through with the truth! If you want to contact the media, you can easily get their phone numbers and links to email addresses by clicking here. You can enter the media outlet's name (such as "CNN" or "ABC News") and get their phone number. Ask for the national news desk, and encourage them to report the fact that numerous neurologists, therapists, and nurses have submitted signed statements to the court that Terri is not vegetative, and that these statements are at www.terrisfight.net.  ¶ 6:03 PM 1 comments

  Miami Herald on the defensive regarding Michael
The Miami Herald's Carla Buckley (email her here) is apparently ruffled that Terri's former nurses are revealing the truth about her abuse and neglect at the hands of her estranged husband Michael Schiavo, and she has written a full-blown defense of him masquerading as a news article. It is a textbook example of how the liberal mainstream media systematically distorts the news to further their ideology of death.

Buckley begins by attempting to muddy the waters regarding the Schindlers' (Terri's parents) opinion about her condition:

During a January 2000 court battle in which Bob and Mary Schindler sought to wrest Terri's guardianship from Michael Schiavo, the Schindlers repeatedly conceded that their daughter's brain damage was extreme.

''We do not doubt that she's in a persistent vegetative state,'' Pam Campbell, then the Schindlers' lawyer, told the court. Later, Michael Schiavo's lawyer, George Felos, asked Mary Schindler, ''Is Terri in a vegetative condition now?'' to which she replied, ``Yes. That is what they call it.''

Of course, this was in the early stages of the litigation, and the Schindlers were still operating on the limited diagnoses made of Terri up to that time. Note that Mary Schindler responds that "that is what they call it" -- in other words, she was simply taking the word of doctors that had diagnosed her at that point.

In fact, the Miami Herald is forced to admit this because it is becoming common knowledge, so they do so in a muted fashion later in the article:

Several years ago, a few doctors said Terri was, in fact, responsive, evidently causing her parents to believe that the Terri they knew could at least partially be brought back. But judges repeatedly sided with the medical opinion that their daughter's chances for improvement were nil.

And why would the judges do that? Why, if there was a division of medical opinion, would they accept the doctors who said there was no hope for improvement instead of erring on the side of life? Why would they take such a position when the stakes were so high, when a woman was to be starved to death? The answer is obvious to anyone who is familiar with the "culture of death" that is consuming the elites in the judiciary, media, and other sectors of our society.

Later in the article, Buckley admits that Terri's parents always believed she was aware of them, but that her awareness was limited:

In 2000, despite conceding their daughter's persistent vegetative state, the Schindlers said they still believed she knew when they were there. When Felos, Michael Schiavo's lawyer, asked Bob Schindler if he thought Terri would be tormented by her current state, he replied ''Yes,'' but added, ``she's not that cognizant to be aware of it.''

So the truth is grudgingly conceded, perhaps in an attempt at preemptive damage control as non-liberal media sources gradually disseminate the truth about Terri's situation.

The article is also a textbook example of distortion by omission; it attempts to imply inconsistency in the postions of the Schindlers while never mentioning that Michael Schiavo has publicly admitted in recent interviews that he doesn't know what Terri wanted. Don't expect to find that anywhere in an MSM article.  ¶ 5:18 AM 3 comments

  Media poll scam is falling apart. A recent poll now shows only 52 percent of respondents wanting Terri to die, down from 63 percent in the ABC poll:

A USA Today telephone poll of 620 adults found that 52 percent agreed with U.S. District Judge James Whittemore's decision not to order the feeding tube reinserted, compared with 39 percent who disagreed.

What none of these stories tell us is how the questions are phrased. We now know that the ABC poll done yesterday was a scam, with respondents being told that Terri was in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery. Here was the question:

Schiavo suffered brain damage and has been on life support for 15 years. Doctors say she has no consciousness and her condition is irreversible. Her husband and her parents disagree about whether she would have wanted to be kept alive. Florida courts have sided with the husband and her feeding tube was removed on Friday.

This is a total distortion, as anyone can see if they read the affidavits and statements submitted by numerous doctors, nurses, and caregivers to the courts that have examined the case. Terri is not in a "vegetative state" and she interacts and even speaks to her family and others. To learn the truth. go to terrisfight.net, click on "Court Documents" on the left, and then read the documents on the right navigation bar.  ¶ 1:37 PM 6 comments

  What Terri's caregivers say about Michael and Terri Schiavo

Here's information the mainstream media hasn't reported about Terri: multiple nurses and others who cared for Terri Schiavo over the years contradict Michael Schaivo's claims about his wife, and portray him as an abusive and cruel man who wanted her money. The following quotations are from affadavits on file at terrisfight.net. To access them, go to the site and click on "court documents" on the left navigation bar. These documents will then appear on the right, among many others:

Michael Schiavo is lying about Terri's desire to die

"He would confide all the time in me that he did not know...I swear to you he never knew what Terri wanted. He would confide in me all the time about how he did not know....I have tried to avoid reading and listening about any of the Terri Schiavo case, but I felt guilty because I did not want to get involved. I should have sooner, and my heart is sick for the rest of the Schindler family." -- Trudy Capone, nurse and former caregiver for Terri Schiavo

Michael Schiavo was cruel to Terri and wanted her to die

"Throughout my time at Palm Gardens, Michael Schiavo was focused on Terri’s death. Michael would say “When is she going to die?,” “Has she died yet?” and “When is that bitch gonna die?” These statements were common knowledge at Palm Gardens, as he would make them casually in passing, without regard even for who he was talking to, as long as it was a staff member. Other statements which I recall him making include “Can’t you do anything to accelerate her death - won’t she ever die?” When she wouldn’t die, Michael would be furious." -- Carla Sauer Iyer, Registered Nurse and former caregiver of Terri Schiavo

"On one occasion Michael Schiavo arrived with his girlfriend, and they entered Terri’s room together. I heard Michael tell his girlfriend that Terri was in a persistent vegetative state and was dying. After they left, Olga told me that Terri was extremely agitated and upset, and wouldn’t react to anyone. When she was upset, which was usually the case after Michael was there, she would withdraw for hours. We were convinced that he was abusing her, and probably saying cruel, terrible things to her because she would be so upset when he left." -- Heidi Law, former caregiver of Terri Schiavo

"Any time Terri would be sick, like with a UTI or fluid buildup in her lungs, colds, pneumonia, Michael would be visibly excited, thrilled even, hoping that she would die. He would call me, as I was the nurse supervisor on the floor, and ask for every little detail about her temperature, blood pressure, etc., and would call back frequently asking if she was dead yet. He would blurt out “I’m going to be rich!,” and would talk about all the things he would buy when Terri died, which included a new car, a new boat, and going to Europe, among other things." -- Carla Sauer Iyer, Registered Nurse and former caregiver of Terri Schiavo

"Several times when Michael visited Terri during my shift, he went into her room alone and closed the door. This worried me because I didn’t trust Michael. When he left, Terri was very agitated, was extremely tense with tightened fists and some times had a cold sweat. She was much less responsive than usual and would just stare out the window, her eyes kind of glassy. It would take much more time and effort than usual to work her hands open to clean her palms." -- Heidi Law, former caregiver of Terri Schiavo

Terri Schiavo is not in a "persistent vegetative state", and is able to talk

"Terri’s medical condition was systematically distorted and misrepresented. When I worked with her, she was alert and oriented. Terri spoke on a regular basis while in my presence, saying such things as “mommy,” and “help me.” “Help me” was, in fact, one of her most frequent utterances. I heard her say it hundreds of times. Terri would try to say the word “pain” when she was in discomfort, but it came out more like “pay.” She didn’t say the “n” sound very well." -- Carla Sauer Iyer, Registered Nurse and former caregiver of Terri Schiavo

"The Palm Gardens staff, myself included, were just amazed that a “Do Not Resuscitate” order had been put on Terri’s chart, considering her age and her obvious cognitive awareness of her surroundings...During the time I cared for Terri, she formed words. I have heard her say “mommy” from time to time, and “momma,” and she also said “help me” a number of times. She would frequently make noises like she was trying to talk. Other staff members talked about her verbalizations." -- Heidi Law, former caregiver of Terri Schiavo

"Terri had very definite likes and dislikes. Olga and I used to call Terri “Fancy Pants,” because she was so particular about certain things. She just adored her baths, and was so happy afterward when she was all clean, smelling sweet from the lotion her mother provided, and wearing the soft nightgowns her mother laundered for her. Terri definitely did not like the taste of the teeth-cleaning swabs or the mouthwash we used. She liked to have her hair combed. She did not like being tucked in, and especially hated it if her legs were tightly tucked. You would always tell when Terri had a bowel movement, as she seem agitated and would sort of “scoot” to get away from it...In the past, I have taken care of comatose patients, including those in a persistent vegetative state. While it is true that those patients will flinch or make sounds occasionally, they don’t do it as a reaction to someone on a constant basis who is taking care of them, the way I saw Terri do...I witnessed a priest visiting Terri a couple of times. Terri would become quiet when he prayed with her. She couldn’t bow her head because of her stiff neck, but she would still try. During the prayer, she would keep her eyes closed, opening them afterward. She laughed at jokes he told her. I definitely know that Terri “is in there.”
" -- Heidi Law, former caregiver of Terri Schiavo

Terri can eat without a feeding tube, and will do so if fed

"I personally saw her swallow the ice water and never saw her gag. Olga and I frequently put orange juice or apple juice in her washcloth to give her something nice to taste, which made her happy. On three or four occasions I personally fed Terri small mouthfuls of Jello, which she was able to swallow and enjoyed immensely. I did not do it more often only because I was so afraid of being caught by Michael." -- Heidi Law, former caregiver of Terri Schiavo

Contact the media with these quotes!

More to come...
  ¶ 8:42 PM 25 comments

  Reuters/MSNBC: Give up, it's hopeless...

A recent article by Reuters, which is being pimped by MSNBC and is not-so-subtly-titled "Schiavo Recovery Impossible, Experts Agree", assures the public that

She [Terri Schiavo] is in a permanent vegetative state, and no one has ever come back from such a condition, according to the American Academy of Neurology.

This article ignores the fact that at least six neurologists have stated that Terri is not PVS (see my last post). Either the authors don't know it, or more likely, they don't want you to know it, but that's standard practice when reporting Terri's situation. What is interesting about the article is the way the author inadvertantly gives away the truth about PVS, which is that full recovery is unknown:

Schiavo has been in the condition, which is far more severe than a coma, since she had a heart attack in 1990 that deprived her brain of oxygen. Under the medical definition, that became a permanent state after a month...Dr. Ronald Cranford, a neurologist and bioethicist at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said...“There are no confirmed reports of anyone fully recovering from a permanent vegetative state lasting more than three months.”

From the screaming headline that declares that Terri cannot recover, we go to this quote, that says that there are no confirmed reports of a full recovery from PVS. Of course, if there were, it wouldn't be a truly permanent vegetative state in the first place, would it?

The liars at ABC News, in a similar attempt to convince us her case is hopeless, tell us that it takes a year, not three months, to become permanently vegetative:

The AAN [American Academy of Neurology] considers those who have been in this condition for a year or longer to have "almost no probability of recovery."

So which is it? Three months, or one year?

Apparently the liberal media is aware that people are going to terrisfight.net and finding out the truth about her condition, so they try to assure us that the video on the site proves nothing. The Reuters article states,

“To the families and loved ones, and to inexperienced health care professionals, PVS patients often look fairly 'normal,'" Cranford said in a statement.

“Their eyes are open and moving about during the periods of wakefulness that alternate with periods of sleep; there may be spontaneous movements of the arms and legs, and at times these patients appear to smile, grimace, laugh, utter guttural sounds, groan and moan, and manifest other facial expressions and sounds that appear to reflect cognitive functions and emotions, especially in the eyes of the family.”

Such patients can even squeeze a hand in response to a caress, Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago says in guidance posted on its Internet Web site.

“Sadly, these actions often appear meaningful to hopeful families but are all automatic reflexes -- not movements with a purpose,” it reads.

Aside from the irrelevanceof the statements regarding Terri, who clearly is not PVS, the statements show how far the medical establishment have gone in their attempt to write off the lives of people under their care. Even people who squeeze your hand, make expressions, laugh, etc., are diagnosed as "vegetative". How would they know there is no cognition in such people? Has anyone ever seen a vegetable smile? And since when is a smile, a laugh, or a hand-squeeze a "reflex"?  ¶ 6:40 PM 5 comments

  Associated Press and ABC tag-team against Terri Schaivo
Mitch Stacy at the Associated Press (AP) continues the media echo-chamber in his perpetuation of the lie that

Doctors say she (Terri Schiavo) is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery. Her husband has insisted she never wanted to live in such a condition, and criticized House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who helped broker the congressional compromise.

Is Stacy a raving incompetent, or is he a deliberate liar, or perhaps both? Numerous doctors and therapists have submitted statements and/or testimony to the court that Terri Schiavo is not in a "persistent vegetative state", as Terrisfight.org observes:

Dr. Victor Gambone testified that he visits Terri 3 times a year. His visits last for approximately 10 minutes. He also testified, after viewing the court videotapes at Terri’s recent trial, that he was surprised to see Terri’s level of awareness. This doctor is part of a team hand-picked by her husband, Michael Schiavo, shortly before he filed to have Terri’s feeding removed. Contrary to Schiavo’s team, 14 independent medical professionals (6 of them neurologists) have given either statements or testimony that Terri is NOT in a Persistent Vegetative State. Additionally, there has never been any medical dispute of Terri’s ability to swallow. Even with this compelling evidence, Terri’s husband, Michael Schiavo, has denied any form of therapy for her for over 10 years.

It would require very little time of this reporter to examine Terri's parents' website, where he could discover these facts and view videotape that irrefutably proves that Terri is not in anything remotely similar to a "persistent vegetative state" -- but that would not further the liberal media's agenda of redefining the purpose of life in hedonistic and functionalistic terms. The media establishment views Terri as nothing more than a social liability, one that must be disposed of. They know that the stakes are high in this battle, so the drum-beat goes on: Terri must die, Terri must die.
Click here to complain to the Associated Press.
  ¶ 6:55 AM 37 comments