March 31, 2005

E-Mailing Terrorists

Ever want to correspond with a terrorist? Now's your chance! E-Mail the webmaster for the Islamic Army in Iraq. And from a whois search that Vlad did you can also e-mail the registered owner of the site by clicking right here.

You may know The Islamic Army in Iraq from such acts of terrorism as Murdering Two Pakistani Truck Drivers or Yes, We Beheaded Italian Journalist Enzo Baldoni. more...

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Terri Schiavo Finally Succumbs to State Sanctioned Starvation

Rest in peace Terri. Rest in Peace.

UPDATE: Confederate Yankee is live-blogging reaction. My own thoughts on the matter are well known. For now, I will only mourn.

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March 30, 2005

Soviets Behind Pope Assassination Attempt

Newly uncovered records indicate that the Soviet Union had indeed attempted to assassinate the Pope, as the Vatican had long contended. The documents show that the Turk Mehmet Ali Agca was recruited by the Bulgarian Secret Service, on orders from the Kremlin, to Assassinate John Paul II.

Catholic World News:

Two newspapers, Corriere della Sera and il Giornale , are reporting that files from the Stasi, the East German spy agency, confirm the suspicions long held by Vatican officials. Documents in newly opened files show that the KGB, the Soviet spy agency, ordered the assassination attempt, which was carried out by the Bulgarian secret service.

Dimitar Tzonev, a spokesman for the Bulgarian government, said that officials in Sofia are ready to hand over their secret-service archives to the Italian commission charged with investigating the assassination attempt, which was carried out by Mehmet Ali Agca. An Italian parliamentary commission is also carrying out an investigation of KGB recruitment in Italy.

Corriere della Sera reports that the Soviet service gave the order to assassinate John Paul II, and Bulgarian agents recruited Agca for the effort. That report confirms a theory that was advanced by the Pope himself, in his book, Memory and Identity; the Pope wrote that he was convinced Agca was not acting on his own initiative, "but someone else planned and commanded it." Almost immediately after the attack-- in which Pope John Paul was shot and seriously wounded after his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square-- Vatican officials quietly advanced the theory that the Soviet Union had authorized the assassination attempt. Italian investigators soon found evidence of ties between Agca and Bulgarian spy officers. But to date there has been no conclusive proof of Soviet involvement.

Hat tip Reliapundit who also makes a good observation here.

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Terri Schiavo and the Pope on Feeding Tubes

Nearly a month ago I wrote a bit of satire I titled, "Florida Judge Orders Pope Removed from Life Support."

Today I learn via Decision '08 that the Pope is actually receiving nutrition through a feeding tube. Where are all the right to die death cult members now?

In another bizarre twist Glenn Beck uncovers a CBS story announcing the death of Terri Schiavo two-days ago. I wonder if they've written a similar obituary for the Pope yet? Scared Monkeys has more.

Why does Monty Python and the Holy Grail suddenly come to mind? Only this time, it's not so funny.

UPDATE: Pennywit notes that the CBS story was probably just a screw up and that obituaries are often written in advance. I seem to recall a Saturday Night Live skit about this.......

UPDATE II: James Joyner points me to Terri Schiavo's blog. Disgusting. If you think the blog is bad, read the comments. Hell has a special place for some of those nutjobs.

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March 29, 2005

Hunting Zarqawi on the Web

Is the FBI seriously tracking down terrorist websites? I doubut it.

This Newsweek piece lays on the excuses for why the job of tracking these websites is so difficult. If informal networks of bloggers and amateur terrorist trackers can keep tabs on them why not the FBI? Pretty amazingly pathetic.

Dan, over at Riehl World View, also makes a few keen observations here. What many readers may not be aware of is that most terrorist websites are hosted by companies in either the U.S. or Europe.

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March 26, 2005

Paul Wolfowitz Has Muslim Mistress?

Paul Wolfowitz is alleged to have a Muslim mistress. The left-wing and conspiracy media are all abuzz about an alleged affair the married man is having with Shaha Ali Riza, acting manager for External Relations and Outreach for the Middle East and North Africa Region at the World Bank.

These reports are now even claiming that it was the influence of Ms. Riza--who is something far too rare in the Muslim world, a feminist--that led Wolfowitz to advocate the Iraqi invasion in such forceful terms.

Thanks to 'W' for sending me the link. I also noticed several tin-foil brigade sites are running this story word-for-word out of the Arab News, without citing the original source.

Is it true? I've no idea. The Arab News is not the most reliable source of information out there. And whenever you see a Western name publishing in the official organ of the house of Saud, I'd be skeptical.

But stranger things have happened then a Jew getting a little piece of Muslim action. This Guardian piece also reports the two are having an affair--so maybe there is something to this. A number of other publications also ran with this a couple of weeks ago.

The tinfoiled among us are already pointing this out as more evidence of the evil nature of the neocon cabal. That any relationship Paul Wolfowitz is having with Shaha Ali Riza is really just another way for him to dominate Muslims. He is the pitcher, after all.

Cause you know, as a J-O-O Wolfowitz receives orders directly from Tel Aviv via a super-secret implant in his head.

You didn't think those ginormous ears of his were real?!? The left one is the transmitter and the right one is the receiver.

Here is a tidbit from the article:

What they are said to share is a passion to establish democracy in the Middle East.

Riza, in her mid-fifties, was born in Tunis and grew up in Saudi Arabia. Her childhood is said to have done much to shape her commitment to democracy, equal rights and civil liberties in the Arab world based on her first hand experiences.

She brought those beliefs with her when she joined the World Bank in 1997.

Riza studied at the London School of Economics in the 1970s before taking a masterÂ’s degree at St. AnthonyÂ’s College, Oxford, where she met her former husband, Turkish Cypriot Bulent Ali Riza, from whom she is now divorced.

After they moved to America, Riza worked for the Iraq Foundation, set up by expatriates to overthrow Saddam Hussein after the first Gulf War. She subsequently joined the National Endowment for Democracy, created by President Ronald Reagan to promote American ideals.

It was this time that Riza, a British citizen eight years younger than Wolfowitz’s wife — started to meet with Wolfowitz about reforming the Middle East. They allegedly began dating two years ago.

Even by the discreet standards of WashingtonÂ’s powerful inner circle, their relationship is a remarkably closely guarded secret. The Washington Post says the couple rarely goes out together or demonstrates affection publicly, according to friends who are aware of the relationship. They attend low-key Washington social events and visit friendsÂ’ homes together and Riza also sometimes goes to official functions and dinners with him, but is not identified as his partner, an acquaintance said.

“His womanizing has come home to roost,” a Washington insider told reporters. “Paul was a foreign policy hawk long before he met Riza but it doesn’t look good to be accused of being under the thumb of your mistress.”

A Wolfowitz opponent at the World Bank told a reporter: “Unless Riza gives up her job, this will be an impossible conflict of interest.”

Wolfowitz married his wife Clare Selgin in 1968. But they have lived separately since 2001, after allegations he had an affair with an employee at the School of Advanced International Studies where he was dean for seven years. They are now believed to be legally separated.

The World BankÂ’s staff association has told executives it has been swamped with complaints from employees about Wolfowitz.

However, Wolfowitz’s only comment on the complaints has been a terse statement issued through a Pentagon spokesman. He said: “If a personal relationship presents a potential conflict of interest, I will comply with bank policies to resolve the issue.”

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March 25, 2005

More South Park in Iraq

Here is more evidence that South Park Republicans are much more responsible for the Iraq invasion than the neocon cabal ever was. Here is a patch popular with the troops in Iraq (see below), as noted by Will Collier.

Notice that Cartman is the only one smiling? To quote the great sage from Colorado, "I told you Kyle, Jawas have no heart." more...

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Lawyers Kill Terri Schiavo

Why is it that the most authoritative voices on Constitutional meaning are lawyers? The very group least likely to know anything at all about the Constitution?

Looking around the blogosphere I am in awe at the utter ignorance lawyers have of the Federalist Papers and other historical documents written by those who had a hand in writing the Constitution.

Oh, and a close second place goes to political scientists.

I find it more than a tad bit convenient that lawyers and judges claim an absolute right in expounding what the law means.

Somewhere in Virginia, James Madison is rolling in his grave. He is soon to be joined by Terri Schiavo.

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Unclear on the concept: Robber Uses Box Cutter at Gun Shop

Dumbass. Confederate Yankee has similar thoughts. more...

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March 24, 2005

Legislative vs. Judicial Supremacy: Who Speaks for the State?

I thought I was done with this, but the crux of both this post and this post is that the real issue here is a question of legislative vs. judicial supremacy.

It is indeed proper to raise questions of federalism in the Schiavo case. Clearly the state of Florida ought to be the level of government that handles this case.

But who is the state of Florida? Is it Judge Greer?

Clearly not.

The Madisonian system of government is not, as some have suggested, a government of 'co-equal branches.' Rather, the Madisonian system is a system of checks and balances.

Read your Constitution. You will find nowhere any mention of 'equality among the branches' or anything like this.

What you will find is clear evidence that Congress was to be the most powerful branch, followed by the Executive, and the Courts a distant third. Very distant.

The same Constitutional scheme is embedded in most of our state constitutions. State legislatures are thought to embody the will of the state.

Courts are not supreme. more...

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Terri Schiavo Dies, Rest in Peace

Though Schiavo's agony from starvation and dehydration continue, she is dead. REST IN PEACE TERRI and GODSPEED.

UPDATE 3/30/05 9:00 A.M.: Terri Schiavo passed away moments ago, the victim of state sanctioned starvation.

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What the Loiusiana Purchase Could Teach Us About Terri Schiavo (UPDATED)

UPDATE: This post to stay near the top until it is too late....

Thomas Jefferson believed to his dying day that the Louisiana Purchase was unconstitutional. He believed that the best way to accomplish his goal of westward expansion was through a Constitutional amendment.

When faced with the choice between doing what was right and what doing what he believed to be Constitutional, he chose what was right.

All those who are supporting the judgement of a Florida court to slowly starve to death a severely handicapped woman on states-rights grounds would do well to heed the example of Jefferson.

In the process of arguing the legal niceties of seperation of powers and federalism, a woman's life is being lost. With her life goes part of the humanity that characterizes the America that I know and love.

Often times morality is trumped by legality. That is part of the social contract. Unless we have respect for the rule of law we endanger the thin fiber of rules that keeps our society from plunging into the pits of anarchy.

However, when rule of law itself endangers the very purpose for which poliltical societies are formed--namely, protecting life--than those laws must be ignored.

Terri Schiavo's life is worth more than a thousand dissertations on federalism or the seperation of powers.

It is time to ignore the law.

One more example is in order. That of Andrew Jackson. Most Americans do not realize that there was a time when courts were routinely ignored by executive officials.

Let me paraphrase President Jackson.

A murderous Florida court, a spineless Florida Senate, a weak federal judge, and an impotent 11th Circuit have made their decisions. Now let us see them enforce them.
Enough talk. Now is the time for action.

UPDATE: The Jump Blog notes that Lincoln also did several things he considered unconsitutional, yet necessary and right.

Good Richard's Almanac uses what is a natural law arguement, that is, to ignore what seems to be the law in this instance to uphold the higher intent of the law.

100 Percenter has similar thoughts.

Let me just add that going to an appeals court is the wrong strategy in this case. Appeals courts review law. In the Schiavo case the law seems to side with murder.

Appeals courts are generally reluctant to overturn a lower court's decision. This is a case where executive and legislative officials should simply ignore the Florida courts decision.

Governor Bush should not ask the court's permission to take custody of Terri Schiavo, he should simply take custody.

UPDATE 9:02: James Joyner calls this tactic kidnapping or legal kidnapping at best.

How is removing someone from the conditions which place Terri Schiavo in imminent death kidnapping?

What moral right does the hospice have on keeping Terri Schiavo?

This isn't a kidnapping attempt, this is a rescue attempt.

A rescue of a severely handicapped woman from those who would euthenize her simply because they feel she would have wanted it that way.

The judge that has refused the DCF's request to take custody of Terri Schiavo is the same judge that believes that Michael Schiavo should be the legal guardian of Terri. Despite the fact that Michael is in no way, shape, or form her husband.

Governor Bush ought to simply ignore Judge Greer.

A judge may issue an injunction, but who enforces injunctions? Judges do not have private armies. Judges do not have their own private police forces. Judges have no means of seeing that their orders are followed.

All this is left to the executive department.

And the Chief Executive of the state of Florida is Jeb Bush.

Ignore the judge, governor Bush.

Commissar, has some thoughts on the political angle as well. But I think he misses the mark.

I don't care that 60%+ of Americans don't like Terri's law. It's politically irrelevant. In next year's Congressional races what percentage of Americans will vote? 25%? 30%?

Which side sounds more politically energized to you at this point?

Again, federalism is an abstraction. Life is not.

UPDATE 10:45: U. S. SUPREME COURT REJECTS SCHIAVO CASE

As predicted, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the Schindler's appeal.

I understand the sentiments of James Joyner's comments here. When politicians routinely disobey the law, this can lead to a state of anarchy--or worse.

Tyranny has resulted from ignoring the law in the past, and presumably in the future.

In fact, the example I used above of Andrew Jackson illustrates the point. Jackson ignored a ruling by the Supreme Court which granted the Cherokee nation the right to remain in Georgia. Jackson's willful disregard for the law lead to the trail of tears and to the death of thousands of native Americans.

On the other hand there is the example of the Supreme Court in 1854 when they ruled that Dred Scott did not have standing to sue because people of African descent could not be citizens.

How is this any less tyrannical?

When Northern governors, legislatures, and judges simply chose to ignore those laws designed to return escaped slaves to their rightful owners in the South, was this tyranny?

But so far this has been an argument about the meaning of the word tyranny.

If Lincoln and Jefferson's disregard for their understanding of the Constitution was tyrannical their actions certainly were the lesser of two evils.

Further, in the Schiavo case there are real differences of opinion about what the law is.

Congress and the President believe Schiavo's rights have been trampled by a Florida Court. The governor and legislature of the state of Florida believe Schiavo's rights have been trampled by Greer's court.

Constitutional interpretation is not solely the province of the courts. I argued as much in this post here.

When the courts and every other branch of government disagree over Constitutional interpretation, why should the court's will trump?

Obeying the courts is not necessarily the same thing as obeying the law. To say so is to grant the courts a power in which they never were envisioned to have.

If Governor Bush disobeys the court, and I believe he should, there is a remedy. But that remedy is not a judicial remedy, it is a legislative one.

It's called an impeachment.

I'd like to see the Florida legislature try to attempt to impeach Bush over this. It aint gonna happen.

Blogs for Terri is urging Governor Bush to take action now. I agree.

Governor Bush's email: jeb.bush@myflorida.com
Phone: 850-488-4441
Fax: 850-487-0801

UPDATE 11:30: Ann Coulter gets it and proves she is a Jawa Report Reader (via Michelle Malkin). My earlier post on why Constitutional interpretation is not solely up to the courts is here.

As a practical matter, courts will generally have the last word in interpreting the law because courts decide cases. But that's a pragmatic point. There is nothing in the law, the Constitution or the concept of "federalism" that mandates giving courts the last word. Other public officials, including governors and Presidents, are sworn to uphold the law, too....

President Andrew Jackson is supposed to have said of a Supreme Court ruling he opposed: "Well, John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it." The court's ruling was ignored. And yet, somehow, the republic survived.

If Gov. Jeb Bush doesn't say something similar to the Florida courts that have ordered Terri Schiavo to die, he'll be the second Republican governor disgraced by the illiterate ramblings of a state judiciary. Gov. Mitt Romney will never recover from his acquiescence to the Massachusetts Supreme Court's miraculous discovery of a right to gay marriage. Neither will Gov. Bush if he doesn't stop the torture and murder of Terri Schiavo.

La Shawn Barber on the case:
When it comes to the protection of life, decency, fairness and American values in general, liberals dismiss the will of the people, preferring judge-made law. But when death, destruction, and indecency are in play, suddenly the will of the people is paramount. I got a kick out of reading the rambling posts of liberal bloggers pontificating about “the rule of law.” It was hysterical.
UPDATE 11:49: Steven Taylor makes a good argument here.

But if I'm not mistaken, Conservatism is not built on a single guiding principle. Yes, federalism is part of the conservative movement.

But from it's foundations Conservatism has also rejected the notion that the Supreme Court is the last word on Constitutional meaning.

The last time I checked, Judge Greer was, er, you know, a judge. Jeb Bush, on the other hand, is the governor.

The Schiavo debate is not just about federal courts intervening in what is properly a state court issue.

The Schiavo debate is also about who will have the last say in what the law means.

Will it be our elected officials, or will it be 'the least dangerous branch'?

UPDATE 12:00: Judge Greer admits error.....OpiniPundit wonders how many more of these there could be.

UPDATE 1:00: Chris Short chimes in "Don't step on my Constitution."

But I'm not sure why a governor exercising his Constitutionally delegated powers could possibly be construed as to be acting unconstitutionally?

Unless we buy into the myth of judicial supremacy, that is......

And I should have linked this earlier, but go check out Wuzzadem. That's pretty f*cked up right there.

Scott Ott:

The interim ruler of Florida, former Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer, today promised to appoint a new "people's legislature" in the wake of a coup which overthrew Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida legislature.

While Gov. Bush and "pro-life" legislators have not yet fled Florida, helicopters are reportedly standing by.

Kevin at Wizbang:
On a related note there have been a lot of stories about polls showing support 60% to 80% support for keeping the courts and/or the government out of this messy family affair. A lesser publicized statistic is that 80% of Terri's immediate family wishes that the courts not order that she be killed by starvation.
Florida Constitution, Article I Section 2: All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and libertyÂ…No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion, national origin, or physical disability.

1:25: IT IS OVER. (via Matt Margolis)

A circuit court judge denied Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's request to take protective custody of Terri Schiavo (search) on Thursday, perhaps spelling the end of the protracted legal battled over how the severely brain-damaged woman ought to die.

The decision by Judge George Greer, who has consistently ruled that Schiavo did not want to be kept alive artificially, was not surprising, though it came two hours later than expected.

Greer had earlier barred the Department of Children & Families in an emergency order from taking custody of Schiavo.

Governor Bush, like most modern Americans, believes that the law is whatever judges say it is.

We have reached the end.

Terri Schiavo, may you Rest in Peace.

UPDATE 4:00: It is too late now, but I see the judicial supremacy angle is catching on. See my new post here for an ellaboration.

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March 22, 2005

Judge To Let Schiavo Die, Orders Stephen Hawking Feeding Stopped

terrischiavo.jpgTampa, Fla (Jawa News Service): A federal judge on Tuesday refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, denying an emergency request from the brain-damaged woman's parents that had been debated in Congress and backed by the White House.

He also ordered caregivers of Stephen Hawking to stop feeding the 63 year old nobel prize winning physicist.

U.S. District Judge James Whittemore said the 41-year-old woman's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, had not established a "substantial likelihood of success'' at trial on the merits of their arguments. He also noted that since Stephen Hawking appeared to be in "pretty bad shape, we better err on the side of caution and stop feeding him too."

Whittemore wrote that Schiavo's "life and liberty interests'' had been protected by Florida courts. Despite "these difficult and time strained circumstances,'' he wrote, "this court is constrained to apply the law to the issues before it.''

"And by 'law'," he added, "I mean the disregard of this court for the express will of the legislature which wrote the law, substituting my own judgement for their's."

stephenhawking.jpgThe Florida legislature had attempted to clarify the law in Florida so that in cases where a person in a vegetative state had not left clear instructions as to whether to continue life supporting activities, that the presumption would be in favor of life. The Florida Supreme Court declared that law unconstitutional.

Rex Sparklin, an attorney representing Terri Schiavo's parents, said lawyers were immediately appealing to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to "save Terri's life.'' That court was already considering an appeal on whether Terri Schiavo's right to due process had been violated.

Lawyers for Hawking also plan to join the suit.

Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, praised the ruling: "What this judge did is protect the freedom of people to make their own end-of-life decisions without the intrusion of politicians. Terri Schiavo and Stephen Hawking would have wanted it this way.''

Bobby Schindler, Terri Schiavo's brother, said his family was crushed. "To have to see my parents go through this is absolutely barbaric,'' he told ABC's "Good Morning America'' on Tuesday. "I'd love for these judges to sit in a room and see this happening as well.''

But Scott Schiavo, brother of Terri's husband, Michael, called the judge's decision "a good thing,'' and said he did not believe Congress should have intervened.

"Plus," he added, "that computer voice thingy of Hawkings is just freaky. Not natural, like."

"There's not a law that's made for this,'' Scott Schiavo told The AP in a telephone interview. "This is something that goes on 100 times a day in our country, that people, their wish to die with dignity is not a federal issue. And if they refuse to die with dignity, we'll just help them along some.''

Attempts to reach Bob Schindler were unsucessful early Tuesday. George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, hung up twice when reached by reporters from The Associated Press. Hawking's people were equally short with reporters, one of them telling the AP to, "go bugger off."

Whittemore's decision comes after feverish action by President Bush and Congress on legislation allowing the brain-damaged woman's contentious case and the ALS afflicted (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) physicist's to be reviewed by federal courts.

The tube was disconnected Friday on the orders of a state judge, prompting an extraordinary weekend effort by congressional Republicans to push through unprecedented emergency legislation Monday aimed at keeping her alive.

Gov. Jeb Bush was described by a spokeswoman as "extremely disappointed and saddened'' over the judge's decision not to order the tube reconnected. "Gov. Bush will continue to do what he legally can within his powers to protect Terri Schiavo and Stephen Hawking, both vulnerable persons,'' said the spokeswoman, Alia Faraj.

Terri Schiavo did not have a living will. Her husband has fought in courts for years to have the tube removed because he said she would not want to be kept alive artificially and she has no hope for recovery. Her parents contend she responds to them and her condition could improve.

Stephen Hawking has lived with ALS his whole life, and first noticed its affects on his Oxford rowing team. The disease slowly ate away at his motor functions.

Doctors, hired by the ACLU for this case, note that Hawking's latest attack on string theory, published in the journal Nature, was, "nothing more than a reaction to light and sound and only mimicked higher motor functions."

David Gibbs III, the parents' attorney, argued at a Monday hearing in front of Whittemore that forcing Terri Schiavo to starve would be "a mortal sin'' under her Roman Catholic beliefs and urged quick action: "Terri may die as I speak.''

Hawking's, an agnostic, is said to believe that the right to life is the fundamental basis of democracies and that no man can sit in judgement of anothers inherent human worth. He noted that without the help of a specially designed computer that he might also appear to be braind dead.

Hawking communicates through eye movement alone.

But George Felos, an attorney for Michael Schiavo, argued that keeping the woman alive also violated her rights and noted that the case has been aired thoroughly in state courts. "Hawkings," he added, "was just thrown in for safety's sake."

"Yes, life is sacred,'' Felos said, contending that restarting artificial feedings would be against Schiavo's wishes. "So is liberty, particularly in this country. And if it's not in England, it should be.''

Hawkings is a British citizen who has often complained that his computerized voice system makes him sound American.

Michael Schiavo said he was outraged that lawmakers and the president intervened in a private matter. "When Terri's wishes are carried out, it will be her wish. She will be at peace. She will be with the Lord,'' he said on CNN's "Larry King Live'' late Monday.

When King asked Michael Schiavo if dying really was Terri's wish, he answered, "We didn't know what Terri wanted, but this is what we want...."

Terri Schiavo suffered brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped briefly because of a possible potassium imbalance brought on by an eating disorder. She can breathe on her own, but has relied on the feeding tube to keep her alive.

Stephen Hawking was born in 1942 and first noticed symptons of ALS when he was 20. At 21 doctors diagnosed him with multiple sclerosis. Later he learned the diagnosis was incorrect. Since 1974 he has been unable to feed himself, and has been assisted by his wife Jane. Since 1985 he has been under full time medical supervision.

Court-appointed doctors say Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery, while her parents insist she could recover with treatment. Doctors have said Schiavo could survive one to two weeks without the feeding tube.

Hawking is expected to expire in a much shorter time.

According to a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll of 909 adults taken over the weekend, nearly six in 10 people said they think the feeding tube should be removed and felt they would want to remove it for a child or spouse in the same condition.

In another poll, nearly one in three agreed with the statement that 'the holocaust has been blown way out of proportion.'

The poll was taken before the judge added Professor Hawking to the list of those that will be euthenized.

On Tuesday, reaction to the judge's decision from the handful of protesters outside the woman's hospice came quickly. "It's terrible. They're going to talk and talk and she's going to die,'' said Miriam Zlotolow, 59, of Venice, Calif.

Larry Flynt, of Hustler publishing fame, is said to be holed up in his Malibu home and is said to be looking for a non-extradition country for immediate emmigration.

UPDATE: It looks like we both forgot our lithium on the same day.

UPDATE II: Dan is on the same wavelength:

A conservative judge in Orange County, California has come under fire for ordering the removal of at least three feeding tubes sustaining the live's of a small group of anti-war protestors in Southern California.

The therapist, too:

Florida officials are setting up a makeshift "tent city" in Pinellas County, Florida, in anticipation that recent court rulings may provide a spike in euthanasia requests.

"We've received many letters from distraught husbands with ‘vegetatively constrained’ wives. We'd just like to be prepared for the boom."

(both via Cranky Neocon)

UPDATE III: Via Bill at INDC my thoughts summed up exactly by Dale Franks suggests:Do us all a favor. The next time you go to the doctor, put in a DNR/No Heroic Measures order. Save us all a bunch of trouble if you get a nasty bump on the head, would you?Allah provides us with this link: "Click, register, and download your very own state-specific living will and/or health-care proxy. Follow the instructions on the forms closely, as you'll probably be required to sign in front of two witnesses or a notary."

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March 21, 2005

Supreme Court Denies Zacarias Moussaoui Appeal

SOL. I resemble those remarks. more...

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Mujahadin Army of Iraq Issues Letter to America

This is an archive page. For the latest news about communiques and videos coming from terrorists in Iraq, please go to the MAIN PAGE HERE.
----------------------------

UPDATE: Something just clicked. I've updated this post here, check it out.
more...

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March 18, 2005

Soldier Returns from Iraq

Why we fight.

Why they fight.

taliban_beating_woman.jpg

Any questions?

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March 17, 2005

Congress Works to Outlaw 132nd Trimester Abortions; Michael Schiavo's Lawyers to Appeal

The United States Congress frantically continues working to reconcile two ultra-late-term abortion bills before Congressmen go home for the Easter holidays. The Jawa Report's Washington bureau chief, Dale Gribble, has been following the legislation.

The Senate has a narrowly focused bill that deals only with the planned abortion of Terri Schiavo, allowing her standing in federal court, which would immediately stay a Florida court's ruling which would allow Planned Parenthood's Boca Raton office to perform the controversial abortion procedure, now scheduled for March 18.

The House, however, passed a more broadly defined bill on Wednesday night. In it, "persons" — defined as "any born individual who is presently outside the womb and in at least the 50th trimester of life" — are given the right to take their case to federal court after the state court route has been exhausted. The House bill does not grant an automatic stay for Schiavo despite support from House leaders like the ultra-conservative Rep. Tom DeLay, the House Majority Leader.

But even with an agreement between the Senate and House, sources told The Jawa Report on Thursday that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has "dug in" against passage of the Senate bill by unanimous consent. He is a well-known pro-choice advocate and in a recent press statement said that,

Michael Schiavo has a right to terminate his wife's life. His wife's body belongs to him. What he does with Terri's body is nobody elses busines.
Wyden then added in a press-conference on the steps of Capital Hill,
My personal view is that 132nd trimester abortions are wrong. However, I believe that such decisions are best left to a couple and their doctor.
Wyden's stance could force the Senate to move to cut off debate, setting up a process that could give Wyden and possibly other Democrats, like Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), an opportunity to express their opposition. However, other Democrats oppose letting Schiavo's case end at the state court.

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) has said he will hold up adjournment of the Senate for Easter recess, scheduled to begin Friday and last two weeks, until a vote is taken on this bill. Santorum is a staunch ultra-late-term abortion opponent and is strongly against aborting Terri Schiavo. Santorum's opposition to abortions has been termed "radical" by many moderates because of his support for a Constitutional Amendment which would ban all abortions after the 25th trimester.

The debate comes as Schiavo's parents appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Florida Circuit Court Judge George Greer scheduled a hearing Thursday to consider a request from the state to halt the abortion. Judge Greer, in a related case, ruled that the Pope should be removed from life support because people in a vegetative state--even when such vegatables can 'laugh', 'pray', and 'bless the masses'--serve no useful social function.

Florida's Legislature is also taking action similar to that of Congress. A similar state law passed in 2003 was later declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court. The Florida Supreme Court, citing Roe v. Wade, had claimed that:

among the penumbra of rights gauranteed in the US Constitution was the right to abort spouses at any time during the first 200 trimesters of life.
"However," said the majority opinion, "the state may pass such laws deemed necessary to protect the welfare of society after that time, provided such laws are narrowly taylored and do not impede the doctor-patient-patient's wife relationship."

Schiavo, 41, has been at the center of a long and bitter court battle between her parents and her husband, who wants to have the ultra-late-term abortion performed.

In a press-release from the White House today, President Bush said:

The case of Terri Schiavo raises complex issues. Yet in instances like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life. Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our special care and concern. It should be our goal as a nation to build a culture of life, where all Americans are valued, welcomed, and protected and that culture of life must extend even those in the 132nd trimester of life.
Actor and pro-life advocate Mel Gibson added the fuel to the fire to keep ultra-late-term abortion illegal when he sent the following fax to the parents of Terri Schiavo:
I fully support the efforts of Mr. & Mrs. Schindler [Terri's parents] to save the life of their daughter, from a cruel starvation.

Terri's husband should relinquish his right to an abortion and turn the 132nd trimester fetus over to the Schindler's care.

The outlook of 'Terri's Law' was in seriuos jeapordy as the House and Senate could not agree on the scope of the bill. Anticipating the delay, attorney's for the Schindler family have filed an emergency appeal to the US Supreme Court asking for an injunctive stay on the Florida Court's ruling.

George Felos, Michael SchiavoÂ’s lead attorney, filed an immediate response to the motion. NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood also filed an amicus curae brief in support of Michael Schiavo's right to an ultra-late-term abortion.

"Trying to outlaw Mr. Schiavo's clear Constitutional right to do what he pleases with his wife's body is an outrageous attempt by Congress to interfere with the workings of the judicial branch," said NARAL spokesperson Evelyn Becker in a written press-release. "Today the right-wing ideologues are trying to take away Mr. Schiavo's right to a 132nd trimester abortion. If they succeed, then this country may well be on its way back to the days when 132nd term abortions were performed by unlicensed doctors in back alleys under unsanitary conditions, contraceptives were outlawed, homosexuals were rounded up, and negros were forced to ride in the back of the bus."

UPDATE: House to meet in morning to vote on ultra-late-term abortion bill, over Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) objections.

UPDATE II: Related from Scrappleface

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360 Panorama of Lebanon Protest

Possibly the coolest photo I have ever seen. (via Instapundit)

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March 16, 2005

Wolfowitz to Head World Bank: World Reacts (UPDATED)

President Bush has nominated Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank. World, blog, and tin-foil hat reaction below.

more...

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Al Jazeera Compares Abu Ghraib to Holocaust

Click for bigger image.

This is why the jihadis fight us. They believe this stuff.

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