| The Rant Section Week Ending April 23, 2005 |
 |  |
| LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS (with exceptions) TERRY SCHIAVO - Everything about this case feels wrong to me. Everything. First, Michael. This whole thing turns on his credibility; or lack thereof. I can't pinpoint his motive, but I have ruled out love and respect for Terri. Nurses have come forward on their own to file sworn affadavits chronicalling how Michael would come in daily and ask, "Is the b*itch dead yet?" and other loving questions. He strikes me as a power-hungry dirtbag who knows no bounds when it comes to the pain he is willing to deal the Schindler family. Even now, after he won his decade-long fight to have her legally murdered, he makes no overtures to her family to ease their pain in any way. Second, George Felos. The bottom-feeder is indicative of everything that is wrong about this country. We have embraced a culture and facination with death ever since Roe v. Wade was affirmed by a Supreme Court that lost touch with the values that made this the greatest country on Earth. George Felos is a living example of a Kevorkianesque fixation with death, even denying that what took place was government-enforced starvation. Did I mention he is Michael's lawyer? Third, the courts. In a country that has 230 of championing causes of the helpless, our courts have somehow deemed that it is legal and noble to deprive an infirmed human being of food and water until they die. We do not treat convicted murderers in this way. Our Constitution doesn't allow it. But somehow, our courts upheld time and time again that Terri Schiavo was not entitled to similar Contitutional protection. Even when the legislative branch (the elected representatives of the people) passed a law requiring federal courts to hear the case again, the judge simply reviewed the state's old case and summarily upheld the lower court's ruling without hearing a single new argument. OUR JUDICIARY IS OUT OF CONTROL. They are not elected, yet they do not recognize the Constitutional requirement of checks and balances. The Judiciary wields more power than any other group of its size and it is accountable to no one. And they are ruling against the will of the people time and time again. MAKE NO MISTAKE, WE ARE IN AN ERA OF JUDICIAL TYRANNY! The freedom that we so proudly tout and defend is being carved away with every decision radical judges make like a chainsaw through pine. Before you even realize it, they will have restricted our freedoms in the name of the Constitution while declaring it's most precious tenets unconstitutional. Lastly, the legislature. The members of the Florida and US legislatures sanctioned and enforced a barbaric and cruel treatment of another human being and ultimately failed the person who needed their championship the most. The government should stay out of the lives of citizens as much as possible. But when victims cannot speak for themselves, it is then that the government is obligated to step in and defend the helpless. You failed to do that and may your nights be as haunted as those of her family. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - unless, of course, you become a burden on those who really don't want to be bothered with you and you do not have the means to speak for yourself. Then you are entitled to starvation. And maybe some morphine to dull the pain of what Felos calls the "beautiful and peaceful" process. Shame on us. |
The tax man has come and gone. A free nation raped one more time. The pope
is gone, too. As Cardinals deliberate his successor, the Secretary General of the
UN is revealed more each day to be, at best, incompetent, and at worst, a
criminal. Our national leaders on the Democratic side of the aisle continue to
threaten shutting down the government if the Republicans actually follow the
Constitution in the fight for confirmation of federal judges. The Republicans, on
the other hand, are dragging their feet in doing what the voters sent them there
to do. In the days following the election it was said that Republicans and Bush
had a mandate - a blank check by the American people to accomplish the agenda
they actually ran on. But now, they wring their hands and whine about the lack
of across-the-aisle cooperation instead of forging ahead with what they have
been charged to accomplish. Politics in this country has become trademarked by
the unwillingness to make a decision for fear of the next election. Not only does
that betray the constituents, but it derails our democratic process altogether.
This country made the choices it made in November expecting decisiveness and
strength. What it has gotten is much of the same flip-flopping that it soundly
rejected in John Kerry.
Republicans, you have the power to remedy this problem of the out of control
judiciary. You have the votes. The Senate has the Constitutional authority to
censure, sanction and overrule activist judges who openly thwart the will of the
people and disregard the rule of law. Your inactivity is making it more difficult
to prosecute our war on terror, which was the very foundation of your platform.
Our Supreme Court is not without its own checks and balances - you hold the
power to correct these horrible decisions that have been made recently. You
have the obligation to bring your power to bear and force the Court to interpret
the Constitution on its face; without referencing foreign opinions and treaties we
refused to ratify. Stand for the values you touted during the campaign or people
like Howard Dean will seem more and more attractive - he's the only one whose
story hasn't changed from beginning to end. The absence of commitment on
your part will make his fringe ideas seem like leadership. And there is someone
out there waiting to capitalize on your indecision - she will appear to have the
strength of commitment and the will to stand by her beliefs (even though we
know her to be as diabolical as they come) and her absence of a plan will be
meaningless when the shrill shriek of her voice sounds like leadership. You are
writing the battle plan for the Democrats in '08. Hillary Rodham will use all you
fail to do against you and kick your ass with it. The American people said they
believe as you believe and you reward them with spinelessness. Damn whether
or not you get re-elected - start spending that "politcial currency" we heard so
much about after the election. Lead this country or next time, you may find
yourself being led.
In this era of judicial activism and war, we find ourselves devoid of any real
leadership. I'm not Catholic and never have been, but Pope John Paul II showed
more leadership in the final hours of his life than our elected leaders have in
months. I can't remember the last real decision W made. I certainly can't
remember the last good thing Congress has done - the Schiavo decision proved
not to have any teeth. We can't protect our children from repeat offenders. We
can't prosecute a war without the ACLU making the rules. Get out front and
take chances. Leaders are risk-takers by nature. If you don't have the guts to
lead from the front, you are more disloyal than those bastards I voted against in
November.
| |