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Don't Give Up on Me!

This is the battle cry of those working to save baby Charlotte Wyatt from government sanctioned death by apathy.

Prayers are needed for this family as they fight their government for permission to keep their daughter alive.

MediaCulpa notes:

Eighteen months ago, Charlotte was born premature, with severe health problems. She had to be resuscitated three times. (She is not on a resuscitator, although she does get help from an oxygen tent.) Six months ago the hospital caring for Charlotte sought permission not to resuscitate her again -- over the vehement objections of her Christian parents-- and a British High Court judge ruled on the side of the hospital.

The hospital said that Charlotte was deaf and blind. But she can now see and hear.

The hospital said that Charlotte would die of an infection over the winter. But she's still alive.

Now hospital sources "admit the 18-month-old baby may live on for 'a considerable time' — potentially years rather than months."

First, this snippet from the BBC:

Doctors said Charlotte has "no feelings other than continuing pain", and earlier the court had heard how experts believed her life was "intolerable".

Now, contemplate these compelling thoughts from Baroness Chapman of Leeds:

My parents were told that I would be blind, deaf, unable to communicate and have no noticeable mental function. Doctors and practitioners do get it wrong. We need to ensure that people have the opportunity to prove the medics wrong. Although protected from the Bill as a child, there would have been two or three occasions after childhood where, from a purely medical perspective, treatment could have been withdrawn from me. The Bill ignores the fact that people have a basic right to life; that issue cannot and must not be ignored.

You can visit Charlotte's photo album and web journal.

Slobokan has a helpful blog history as well.

Both ProLifeBlogs and BlogsForTerri are publicizing the case as well.

Benedict XVI and Cats

I knew I liked this Pope.

First, this from Germany:

"I went with him once," said Konrad Baumgartner, the head of the theology department at Regensburg University. "Afterwards, he went into the old cemetery behind the church.

"It was full of cats, and when he went out, they all ran to him. They knew him and loved him. He stood there, petting some and talking to them, for quite a long time. He visited the cats whenever he visited the church. His love for cats is quite famous."

And, this from Australia:

Barry Hickey offers a charming insight into the new Pope - as told by the parish priest at the Vatican. Joseph Ratzinger, so the story goes, is in the habit of taking his late night stroll around the Vatican gardens. After saying The Rosary, he feeds the stray cats in the gardens.

The Catholic Archbishop of Perth concludes with a brief summation of the new pope : "I think you have a man who in his heart is good and will be sympathetic to people with problems and troubles, but who is not going to be shaken on fundamental truths."

And fundamental truths do not change with daily polls.

House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand

There are many who are working feverishly to divide this nation.

Hugh Hewitt has the latest example from Senator John Kerry.

Forces outside the mainstream now seem to effortlessly push Republican leaders toward conduct that the American people really don't want in their elected leaders, inserting the government into our private lives, injecting religion into debates about public policy where it doesn't apply. . . . Will Republican senators let their silence endorse Senator Frist's appeal to religious division, or will they put principle ahead of partisanship and refuse to follow him across that line? . . . Are we going to allow the Majority Leader to invoke faith to rewrite Senate rules to put substandard, extremist judges on the bench? . . . When you have got tens of thousands of innocent souls perished in Darfur, when 11 million children are without health insurance, when our colossal debt subjects our economic future to the whims of Asian bankers, no on can tell me that faith demands all of a sudden that you put the Senate into a position where it is going to pull itself apart over the question of a few judges. No one with those priorities has a right to use faith to intimidate anyone of us.

Over a few judges.

Who, by the way, decide if someone is to live or die [When in doubt, the answer is you shall die -- Ed.].

Or, whether my property belongs to me or the government [The government, of course -- Ed.].

Over a few judges.

Did Senator Kerry just say the Judicial Branch of our government is not really that important?

It is not obvious to me what this incomprehensible speech is saying except one thing: Senator Kerry and his comrades most desperately want to enforce a religious Test for appointees, and orthodox Christians need not apply.

If The Left lose the Judicial Branch, they have no means of implementing their worldview (OK, they still have the US Senate where the GOP does not have a clue what it means to be in the majority).

By conspiring to enforce a Constitutionally prohibited (Ariticle VI, Clause 3) religious Test, Kerry, et al., must engage in nauseatingly Orwellian rhetorical gymnastics to make folks think a religious Test is not being applied.

The only way this can be done is to vilify those with whom you disagree to the point that Americans will not consider disqualification to be part of any religious Test, but rather good sense judgement by those who will not allow orthodox Christians to hold office.

Who is going to call these orthodox Christian abusers to account?

Is leadership today defined as taking action only if sufficient support is read in the blogosphere?

This is not leadership.

And there are depressingly few leaders in the Legistlative Branch of our Federal government today.

Alas, we get what we vote for, but we also have the opportunity to get what we demand.

If the people need to lead their representatives, we have the technology to calibrate them on a daily basis.

Benedict XVI and the Inexpressibly Lonely

A thinker will lead the Catholic Church.

As many have been saying, he certainly does not lack a paper trail.

Excellent resources (among very many) on today's announcement:

• Kathryn Lopez is a one lady information center covering the good, bad and the ugly.

• The Anchoress is simply a delight, and having fun keeping a scorecard.

• Roman Catholic Blog is new and a must visit -- just keep scrolling and celebrate this day of Joy with our Catholic Brothers and Sisters.

• Hugh Hewitt is, well, Hugh Hewitt in his relentless pursuit of media bigotry.

• Don Singleton also has a nice roundup of commentary.

I'm particularly fond of Professor Bainbridge's response to Andrew Sullivan's rather, how shall we call it, narrow thinking.

Cliff Notes version:

So why is Sullivan so worked up? Here's his real gripe in his own words:

... the impermissibility of any sexual act that does not involve the depositing of semen in a fertile uterus ....

It's always about sex with Andrew, isn't it?

Will the Church grow smaller as many now predict?

Benedict XVI has already covered this ground (remember, he is a thinker, and will probably always be miles ahead of others who like to think of themselves as thinkers) and is not afraid:

The Church, then Cardinal Ratzinger said, will

become small, and will to a great extent have to start over again. But after a time of testing, an internalized and simplified Church will radiate great power and influence; for the population of an entirely planned and controlled world are going to be inexpressibly lonely…and they will then discover the little community of believers as something quite new. As a hope that is there for them, as they answer they have secretly always been asking for.

[F]or the population of an entirely planned and controlled world are going to be inexpressibly lonely.

This is why Benedict XVI is now Pope -- he gets it.

Respect for Law

I have written on this topic in the Schiavo context, but we also see the weakening of the respect for law, its makers, interpreters and executive in the context of citizenship.

La Shawn Barber cuts to the chase in two simple paragraphs:

As you may know, the Senate is voting today [It failed -- Ed.] on George Bush’s amnesty-for-illegal-aliens scheme. The so-called AgJobs bill will, among other things, direct “the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant qualifying alien agricultural workers (and their spouses and minor children) temporary resident status and subsequently lawful permanent resident status upon the fulfillment of specified agricultural work and residency requirements,” according to the Congressional Research Service.

Let that sink in. The person in charge of the security of our nation will grant “temporary resident status” to people who didn’t bother going through legal channels to get here. Criminals, in essence, will be rewarded by the Department of Homeland Security for breaching the security of United States!

(Even the Govanator agrees.)

Is this really a floodgate for the disrespect of law we want to open?

Politicians usually think near-term, but they do not see (or do not care) about the long-term implications for the rule of law and how Joe Citizen views the law.

If breaking the law is rewarded, what does that mean?

Touch of Peace

Stones Cry Out shares a powerfully moving celebration of life.

There are many things that Jessica will not be able to do in her life. To some, Jessica should never have been born.

Please take a moment for this quick read to find out why our Darwinian Death Culture is wrong.

Oh, so wrong.

What is Illegal?

Detaining illegals?

The Arizona Republic has additional details:

Patrick Haab, the Army Reservist arrested for holding seven undocumented immigrants at gunpoint at an Arizona rest stop, says he is overwhelmed and encouraged by an outpouring of legal, financial and moral support.

Schiavo Politics

Being vigoriously pursued by Howard Dean and our Democrat friends.

Professor Bainbridge asks the Rhetorical Question:

I wonder what the left and its MSM allies will say now that the head of their party - not some unknown staffer - is pledging to use the Schiavo tragedy for political gain:

"We're going to use Terri Schiavo later on," Dean said of the brain-damaged Floridian who died last month after her feeding tube was removed amid a swarm of political controversy. ... "This is going to be an issue in 2006, and it's going to be an issue in 2008," Dean told about 200 people at a gay rights group's breakfast in West Hollywood .... (LA Times)

PowerLine also takes note.

Democrats for Death just doesn't sound like a vote getter to me. Perhaps I'm politically tone deaf.

Isn't it lovely to see the Chairman of the Democrat Party jazzed about someone's tragic and government-sanctioned death?

UPDATE:

Not only is George Felos planning to get richer from the fact Terri Schiavo is now ashes, his former wife is planning to cash in as well.

Quoted from her release: “Upon the release of the autopsy report, she can analyze the results and weigh in on the important matters of how--by reason, not emotion--the "persistent vegetative state" diagnosis of Terri Schiavo was arrived at, and why.”

The Terri Schindler-Schiavo Foundation would like to take this opportunity to point out that not only was Ms. d’Angelis co-counsel to George Felos during the guardianship proceedings on behalf of Michael Schiavo, she is not qualified to interpret or analyze a Medical Examiner’s report. She is only licensed as an attorney and as a massage therapist.

Ms. d’Angelis is the former owner of lovinglawsuits.com and the author of “Pancha Karma - A Life Changing Experience”.

She aided George Felos in bringing forth a petition to remove ‘artificial life support’ from Terri Schiavo that originated in 1998 though current law at that time did not provide for the removal of a feeding tube under Terri’s circumstances.

Pancha Karma?

These folks are real sweethearts.

UPDATE II:

The release of the Florida Department of Children and Families reports should be a comfort to Michael Schiavo, but the reporting to date is superficial at best -- media fatigue or are there inconvenient facts remaining?

I would love to be wrong, but why don't the media snuff out such questions as those raised here?

Until more substantial reporting is published, I'll have to settle for:

DCF investigators said they made unannounced visits to Woodside Hospice and interviewed the facilities' doctors before clearing the cases.

"She appeared to be well cared for and here were no signs of any medical problems or distress,'' one 2003 DCF report noted.

"During the time Mrs. Schiavo has been a patient of hospice, the spouse has always been courteous and very compassionate toward his wife,'' the investigator continued. "They (staff) have never heard him make any statements pertaining to wanting her to die. He is rarely alone with her when he visits and has never compromised her care.''

The DCF investigators noted that Michael Schiavo did not have the freedom to spend money in his wife's medical trust fund without court approval. . . .

But where is the debunking of other claims:

Carla Sauer Iyer worked as a caregiver for Terri Schiavo and the story she tells is incredible. She claims that she reported Michael Schiavo to her supervisors and police for injecting Terri with Insulin in an effort to deepen her comma or bring death to her quicker. She states she was fired from her job when she reported these and other allegations to proper authorities. And viewers, according to Carla, a police report was filed.

If all of this is pure nonsense and fabrication, I'm sure the State of Florida has evidence that Carla Sauer made it up.

Right?

UPDATE III:

Tim Blair makes it simple to understand:

CASE ONE: The fight over removing Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube “is a great political issue ... and a tough issue for Democrats ... This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue.”—Republican legal counsel Brian Darling in a memo first reported on March 18.

Result: Much left-wing rage, many on the right embarrassed, Darling resigns.

CASE TWO: “We’re going to use Terri Schiavo later on. This is going to be an issue in 2006, and it’s going to be an issue in 2008.”—Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, April 15.

Result: Pending.

Quiz Time

Which Christian Theologian Are You?

John Wesley here.

Public Education is a Disgrace

Thanks to administrators who allow developmentally disabled children to be sexually assaulted and do nothing to stop what they know is a crime.

Incredible:

POSTED: 2:25 pm EDT April 12, 2005
UPDATED: 9:11 am EDT April 13, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A 16-year-old disabled girl was punched and forced to engage in videotaped sexual acts with several boys in a high school auditorium as dozens of students watched, according to witnesses. . . .

The girl was forced to perform oral sex on at least two boys, according to statements from school officials, obtained by The Columbus Dispatch.

Part of the alleged assault was videotaped by a student who had a camera for a school project.

School officials found the girl bleeding from the mouth. An assistant principal cautioned the girl's father against calling 911 to avoid media attention, the statements said. The girl's father called police.

Her father said the girl is developmentally disabled. A special education teacher said the teen has a severe speech impediment.

Catch this outrage (emphasis added):

Also, the principal, Regina Crenshaw, was suspended and will be fired for not calling police, school officials said. And three assistant principals were suspended and will be reassigned to other schools.

If the assistant principals were aware, they should be fired immediately.

And, they should never be allowed near a public school position of responsibility ever again.

Absolutely incredible.

UPDATE:

Captain's Quarters comments section has some even more infuriating details (from The New York Times):

When the father arrived, he asked whether the school administration was going to call the police, [Special Education Teacher] Mrs. Upshaw said in her statement. "[Assistant Principal] Mr. Watson said, 'No, we don't want to do that. We don't want the police,' " she told the investigators.

The father then stepped into the hallway and called the police on his cellphone.

Mr. Watson and other administrators told investigators that the principal, Regina B. Crenshaw, had also advised the father to avoid calling the police, the investigation report says. Mrs. Crenshaw recommended that the father return the next morning and report the incident to a police officer who was usually stationed at the school but who was not there on March 9, the report added.

"Do not call the police; let our officer handle it tomorrow, and you will be happy with the results," Mr. Watson said Mrs. Crenshaw told the father, the investigation report says.

I'm speechless. . . .

Now, the article also suggests Assistent Principal Watson (and other administrators) reported the action was consensual.

Color me stupid, but first of all, that is irrelevant. This is a school, not some adult playground.

Secondly, color me really stupid, is it consensual when she is beaten and her mouth is bleeding?

And, she told her special education teacher minutes after the incident?

UPDATE II:

Comments (including those of my compatriot in South Africa, Cousin Nancy!) have rightly observed that this does not happen only in public schools. I will not argue the obvious, that we are all sinners and capable of unspeakable horrors, but I will argue that those who cannot escape the public school system have no choice.

I think we can all agree that the fact that, as of this writing, Assistant Principal Watson has not been fired is inexplicable.

Wizbang! and Blue State Conservatives are exasperated as well.

UPDATE III:

Weekend update from the AP:

The district said it will fire Principal Regina Crenshaw and has suspended three assistant principals. Police have not said who will face charges, but a city attorney said school officials could be prosecuted along with the alleged assailants.

Witness statements to school investigators paint a picture of a slipshod response to the alleged assault, which came on the heels of other problems. Earlier in the day, administrators had to deal with an assault on a Somali student and a report that a student had a concealed weapon [Did the students know the school policeman was out for the day? -- Ed.]

Just after noon, the girl said four boys grabbed her by the arm. Students said one assailant punched the girl in the face and she dropped to her knees. One of the boys told her, "If you scream I'll have all my boys punch you."

She was forced to perform oral sex on at least two boys, according to statements from school investigators.

A student who had a camera for a school project videotaped the alleged assault, illuminated by light from a cell phone. Another witness said at least 15 people were in a room that looked into the auditorium because they had heard what was happening.

When some students eventually went to look for an adult, the boys involved in the alleged assault fled.

Police have not said how many boys may be charged, but plan to give their evidence to prosecutors early this coming week. Potential charges could include delinquency counts of rape and pandering obscenity, said spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio.

The boys, who have not been publicly identified, are not expected to return to class this school year, district spokesman Andrew Marcelain said.

Whether school administrators will be charged is unclear. State law requires officials to immediately report cases of abuse to law enforcement or face up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine, said City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr.

However, he said officials would be charged only if someone filed a complaint. So far, no complaint has been filed. An attorney for the girl's father would not say if he planned to file one.

The father is probably waiting to see if the Assistant Principals are fired.

If not, he would have significant motivation to file charges.

65th Christian Carnival

Enjoy.

Showcasing thoughts from a Christian perspective.

Previous submission can be found at the 64th Christian Carnival.

Where Does America Stand?

America's unfortunately dynamic stance on Life can be found several places around the blogosphere, but Blogs For Terri and Pro-Life Blogs are great starting points.

Mae Magouirk Updates:

• The Life-and-Death Struggle over Mae Magouirk.

• BlogsForTerri Exclusive: Judge Donald Boyd's Complete Response VERSION 2.

Terri Schiavo Reflections:

• How "Terri's case" was Handled in Argentina.

• Misdiagnosing PVS - Cranford and Terri Schiavo.

• Lawmaker proposes bill in response to Schiavo death.

• Pravda: Terri is Gone, I hope liberals are happy.

Euthanasia Updates:

• Euthanasia of Infants by Doctors Responsible for Nearly Half of Newborn Deaths in Belgium.

• The Ugly Face of Euthanasia.

• Before You Sign . . . On the Dotted Line.

Stem-Cell Updates:

• Big Companies Initiate Embryonic Stem Cell Research.

• Massachusetts Gov. Vows to Veto Embryonic Stem Cell Bill.

• Stem Cell Bill Fails in Seattle.

Abortion Updates:

• Hospital admits abortion at 34 weeks.

• UN Steps Up Vigorous Call for Universal Access to Abortion.

Culture of Death California Update

California Panel OKs Right-to-Die Measure.

By STEVE LAWRENCE
Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A legislative committee Tuesday approved a measure modeled after an Oregon law that would allow the terminally ill to end their lives with a doctor's assistance.

The bill cleared the Assembly Judiciary Committee after more than a dozen hours of testimony and debate spread over three hearings. It now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, and finally to the floor. The Senate would then have to take up the legislation.

Euphemism Watch:

Democratic Assemblywoman Patty Berg said the bill was "about autonomy."

"It's about providing a safe venue for patients to have a conversation with their doctors, a conversation that a huge majority of Californians say they would like to be able to have if they are ever put in a position to do so," she said.

Ask Terri Schiavo about safe venues.

What unadulterated nonsense.

Fortunately, there are still some doctors who understand the original Hippocratic Oath:

Opponents said the bill could lead to the killing of patients who weren't terminal or didn't want to die.

"Physician-assisted suicide is the wrong answer to the right question," said Dr. Robert Miller, former president of the Association of Northern California Oncologists. "The focus should be on doing everything we can to improve care at the end of life."

Diagnoses of terminal illness can be inaccurate, he added.

Of course this AP story does not reference any of the controversy over Terri Schiavo's diagnosis as context (more context from CodeBlueBlog can be found here and here).

That might, well, provide context.

Not only do we have a living Constitution, we also have a Hippocratic Oath redefined annually by vote (emphasis added below).

The trend among many medical schools, though, is to have each graduating class hammer out an oath of its own that reflects the professional ideals of its members.

“Each class is asked to think about what the Hippocratic Oath means, what its purpose is, and how they want to articulate that,” says Nancy Angoff, M.D., assistant dean for student affairs at the Yale University School of Medicine. “There is much discussion about the nature of the oath as something that connects students to the practice of medicine and the physicians who have come before them. In that regard, they want to keep it reminiscent of the original oath as the first ethical grounding of their profession,” she says. “But at the same time they are not willing to accept all of the original words because they don’t believe all of them and they feel their integrity is at stake.”

Dr. Angoff says the democratic process of deciding on the oath’s specific wording forces students to reflect on their definition of an ethical physician. Some years the oath is simply an altered version of the original; other years, it is the unique declaration of a specific class. . . .

With so many differently worded oaths claiming the name of Hippocrates, Dr. Lasagna sticks to his suggestion that a competition be held to choose a common oath for all new physicians. “To the extent that we have everybody going their own way, we lose that thread of commonality preserved in the original Hippocratic Oath,” he remarks. “And I think that’s a pity.”

A pity indeed.

Life in the Sierra

Many Blessings expressed in pictures.

Simply gorgeous! Carolyn had no problems skiing down from the top of the mountain (I'll never catch up). . . .



My Babes in Blue.



Carolyn wonders if her Dada has back problems. . . .



Now she's really worried. . . .



Hurry up Dada! Time's a Wastin'!



Speaking of Time on Great Grandpa Victor's watches. . . .



Music of time. . . .



Tick, Tock, Zzzz. . . .



I promise not to bite, but I can't promise I won't lick you Hermie!



I'll scratch your back. . . .



Carolyn and Hermie reckoned one another. . . .



Please pass along to my agent. . . .

Happy or Hopeless Hell

Much passion and prayer have been focused recently on life and death.

With Karol Wojtyla passing from this world to his Creator, some have suggested that while John Paul II was an admired leader and all other such effectively patronizing nonsense, he did not do much for the Catholic Church. Clearly the thinking of empirical rather than eschatological minds.

Has all of this reawakened thinking, or more importantly, a reflection on Heaven and Hell?

I do not know, but I can only have the Hope that it has.

Happy Hell can only be a place in our minds where God lets us smoke pot, engage in adultery of the mind or body, and otherwise offend His Word, and He simply pats us on the head and says, "I still love you no matter what you do." This is a place where God is Loving but not Holy. Did Jesus have to die if God is not Holy?

No.

What cultural and historical events like Terri Schiavo and the John Paul II epoch have illuminated is that there are Truths that we deny at our own peril and the peril of civilization itself.

We deny life only by playing God when there is no compelling need to do so except to placate our own selfishness rationalized through bigotry.

We also risk being intoxicated by the narcotic of narcissism when we think John Paul II was a conservative crank who would have done much more for the Catholic Church by passing out condoms and bananas.

My respect will endure for someone who celebrated Mass in the forest out of sight of the Communist Deity in 20th Century Poland. My respect will never exist for those who think it helpful for us to teach children how they can safely indulge their senses without regard to the health of their heart here on Earth and their soul for eternity.

No, I am not saying that sin cannot be forgiven. On the contrary, it is!

However, Grace is not without price, and Heaven does not exist without Hell.

Father Lombardi, in his public debate with Italian Communist leader Velio Spano in Cagliara on December 4, 1948 stated, "I am horror-struck at the thought that if you continue in this manner, you will be condemned to hell." Spano replied, "I do not believe in hell." Father Lombardi replied, "Precisely, and if you continue, you will be condemned; for to avoid being condemned, one must believe in hell."

Believing in a non-existent or Happy Hell only leads to a Hopeless Hell.