Comments? Michael Schiavo is involved in politics and has a web site.

[Radio_Lady]

Here's the web site:

http://www.terripac.com

I'd be interested in your comments.

[MadMaddie]

1. The Republicans interfered in his private life and made him

a political figure.....it wasn't his personal choice..

I think that he may be a formidable political figure...if he manages it in the right way.

Somethings come full circle and I think this is one of them.....

The Website is nice and clean....maybe advertising his book on the front page of the site may be a negative thing.. It should be on a flyout or secondary page.

Just a few thoughts...

[TallahasseeGrannie]

2. Flame away everybody

gut reaction...don't like the man. Something in his eyes.

Not very logical, huh?

Well, I know. But I just don't care for him. Doesn't have much to do with the situation with his wife, really. I mean I never would have known who he was without that, but I have no real problem with letting her die. We did that with my dad, in honor of his living will.

But my intuition isn't good with this fellow. And you can take that for what's it's worth. (the price you paid..because I can't defend it.)

I'm really interested to hear what others say about him.

[Kashka-Kat]

3. Still don't get why we must see this thing in terms of good guy/bad guys

As some would have it bc the parents (and republicans) were such jerks that must mean he's the "good guy?" Never bought it. Never was convinced that he truly was speaking in his former wife's interest.

The whole thing was incredibly complex, difficult, downright ugly. And contrary to some opinions there never was one single left-liberal stance on this issue... witness the debate within disabled/differently abled activist circles--whole different take on it than what you might read here.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

4. It surely was a case of gray

if ever there was one.

Perhaps I sense he is exploiting the situation. But then I know he lived through hell.

Just knee-jerk on my part..not rational. Just don't like him.

[Radio_Lady]

8. That's OK. But the penetration of government into the family decisions --

is NOT OK.

"Death with dignity" and a family that chooses to makes this decision, unfettered by political outsiders, is a very hot topic in Oregon. We have state laws here that are working that will surely be tackled by the right wing, not only here but nationally. Families have the right to look at all options when a member of the family is dying.

The gray area comes when people don't write down their wishes. Do you have a living will? It's so important.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

10. Yes, I sure do have a living will

I sat with my dad 11 days after we withheld water from him because of HIS living will. He has stopped swallowing because of dementia. It was a difficult but sacred time.

[Beaverhausen]

15. and can you imagine if hundreds of people protested your actions?

If politicians stuck their opinions into your own private grieving?

They created a circus around what should have been a peaceful death for a woman who had really died years before.

Did you know he asked Jeb Bush and W to come visit Terri at the hospital so they could see her for themselves and they refused?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

17. You're preaching to the choir here

I don't have any problem with what the man did. It was legal, he went about it properly. I just have some sort of intuitive mistrust of him. Maybe he reminds me of someone or something.

[Radio_Lady]

19. TG, your expression of your Dad's "sacred" time brings a smile.

My ex-husband has terminal cancer. We knew each other in college, and then were married for nine years. He just turned 70 on 3/23. I've been very morose about this, because we have two wonderful adult children together.

I think he's going to try to get some treatment as a subject in a medical investigation through a university. My daughter will know more about it. I hope his second wife has the gumption to go through what she will have to go through over the next six months. The American Cancer Society says that one out of seven smokers will develop bladder cancer. My ex-husband was a smoker who started with this sick habit very early in his life. I was never able to get him to quit, as I am a rabid anti-smoker who had two parents who died from complications connected with smoking. My mother also had breast cancer, but she didn't die of that. She had a lumpectomy, but refused any more treatment. The official cause of death was "atherosclerosis." Mom was just 71.

My hairdresser said her grandmother has announced to the family that she will not eat or drink any more. She's 82 and has told everyone, "I'm through. I need to rest."

It's hard for the living to accept it, but the dying should be respected, too. It's a pretty blatant issue -- I certainly wouldn't want anyone but my loving husband to make decisions for me -- not my parents or my siblings (if I had any).

So, how's life in Tallahassee, Grannie? I grew up in Miami Beach, North Miami, and Opa Locka, Florida for almost 30 years. We'll be down in Orlando this October for a 50th North Miami High School reunion! My Dad was a lawyer, and vice mayor of North Miami, as well as a judge. He took me to Tallahassee when I was a teenager, and I'd love to see it again!

In peace,

Radio_Lady in Oregon

[TallahasseeGrannie]

27. It is a real loss for you losing the father of your children

and the partner of vital years in your life.

Tallahassee is done with high spring now. The dogwoods are about done, the azaelas and wisteria are fading fast. It is still rather cool, however. Soon enough it will be hot as blazes and we'll all head inside for the summer!

[liberalhistorian]

35. Just because you have a living will doesn't automatically

mean its wishes will be followed. A family member may object and try to get it voided once you're actually in that physical condition and reality sets in. Or some damned fool fundie or politician will stick their noses in it. Did you know that there's a religious fundie movement to try to nullify living wills? Can you BELIEVE that? Who the hell do they think they are?

[Radio_Lady]

40. Do you have a link to the group trying to "nullify living wills"?

We have a complicated stepfamily, but we have provided Oregon wills, powers of attornies, and living wills -- all in place. My lawyer handled the whole procedure. Two executrixes (sp?) will handle this.

And, realistically, there's not enough money for any of our children to have a big grip on this. :) Politicians? Get out of my way! I've handled everyone from paupers to Presidents on my radio show. I would claw their eyes out if they tried to touch this one.

Yes, there could be a rare case where a family member would have enough standing in court or would want to pursue this course of action.

[kevinbgoode]

50. Actually, it was the Living Will stuff that really teed me off the most

For one thing, I resent the idea that the State suddenly believes it has an inherent interest in the wishes of a citizen, when it is obvious that for some citizens (for example, gay couples) the State willfully pretends their relationship doesn't exist. To me, one of the things the public got a little, tiny dose of during the Schiavo fiasco was just how intrusive and outrageous the government can be - AND how flagrant the disrespect for the marital vows and the inherent relationship of marriage. The wingnuts showed the world in that case that they don't give a damn about marriage at all - they care about the State controlling marriage, even to the point of believing the State has the power to DISSOLVE marriage without the consent of ANY partner.

This to me is an absolutely important issue, and in that respect I support Michael Schiavo...this man had the sanctity of his marriage, his family life, and his decision rights questioned by both state and federal courts, every crazed "religious" group, the United States Congress and the President of the United States. When that happened, every American was being notified that Republicans have no respect either for the right of privacy, the right to free association, or the sanctity of marriage and family. For weeks we had a steady parade of unrelated wackos marching across our television screens, issuing declarations about the imagined relationship of this couple - and I found it abominable. Then suddenly, everyone in the country had to start rushing out to get Living Wills, because the marriage vows and family laws suddenly aren't strong enough to protect marriage and the family from the demands and scrutiny of Republicans controlling all branches of government.

I am one of those people who adamantly hate any notion that the state or federal government is my goddamned parent or is capable of legislating my morality without a compelling reason. In the Schiavo case, what we saw was the amount of deception pushed by a line of media whores who thought THEY had the right to demand the state dissolve a marriage and make important decisions about the relationship. And in response, millions of Americans suddenly discovered that their own damned wedding vows meant crap when a bunch of religious fools decide to invade your home - and we cannot let ANYONE return to office who supported that crap.

This especially irritates me because these are the very same people running around the country screaming that we need to protect marriage by amending state and federal constitutions. I think NOT! We already know they have no concern for life, for marriage, for family - and putting any language into a Constitution will only be used and manipulated to allow them to make other decisions. The State has no business asserting that it has the moral foundation to make decisions inside my relationships - period.

[Radio_Lady]

52. Kevin, thanks for the post. I plan to discuss this issue on an upcoming

radio program. Your message, as well as others, will probably form the backbone of the show, which will be aired in April (exact date not decided, but will try and let DUers know.) By the way, you can now find instructions on how to listen to my show on the Internet. Look in the right-hand column of Radio_Lady's DU journal for details.

PS. It's so ironic that Republicans -- who profess a strong belief in personal freedom and limited government intrusion in that freedom -- now puts its ugly, heavy hand on the people. Crazy stuff.

Have a good weekend!

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. I have a lot more respect for him than I do for

her parents or her siblings. Her family has admitted making fun of Terri as she was growing up and teasing her for being fat. Her mother said they always did it in a "loving" way. Well since she ended up dying from bulimia, I see nothing loving about teasing her for her weight.

Her brother rarely went to visit her once she was in the vegetative state and her sister never did visit her. In 15 years.

Her father admitted (just the other night in fact) that he became angry with Michael when he (Michael) refused to share the award from the malpratice suit with him and his wife (Terry's parents).

Her parents also continue to insist she was not in an irreversible state even after the autopsy proved she was. So they are either stubborn or stupid.

So yeah, I guess I can see where Michael is not that charismatic. But her family is frickin nuts. I would imagine the years Terri lived with Michael were the happiest of her life.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

12. I hope you are right

because she got a raw deal in the end, living like that for so long.

[qanda]

13. oh. my. goodness.

I was thinking the exact same thing. When I saw him on Dateline the other night, there was just something about him that made my skin crawl.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

18. I feel kind of wrong posting

about it since it is so unfounded. But I guess bottom line is I wouldn't vote for him if he ran for office and he is in my state.

And I know my feelings are not rational and not fair. But human.

[Radio_Lady]

20. Fair enough. I understand the way you feel.

Does he have plans to run for office? I haven't had time to check out his site, but might discuss it when I record my radio program on Friday.

[SeattleGirl]

24. Do you know if your reaction to him was to his words or to the way

he looks? Not picking at you at all here; just wondered.

I watched him on KO and on Larry King both. The thing I kept noticing the most about his looks were his eyes, and the big bags under them. But what I thought was, God, the ordeal he went through with all the protesters, plus finally letting Terri go, was in those eyes.

With both my dad and my maternal grandfather, the family made a decision to let them go when it got to that point. My dad told the whole family that's what he wanted; my grandfather told my mom and my uncle. Nothing was in writing, but the whole time the Schaivo thing was going on, I hurt so much for Michael, as well as for Terri's family, because it's a difficult time. But to have these protesters and politicians insert themselves into something so profoundly personal was, to me, obscene. I'm doing a living will so that there is no question, even though my whole family knows of my wishes.

Anyway, I was just curious about whether you knew what you were reacting to. We all do that, I believe, and sometimes we aren't sure WHY we react to a particular person in a particular way.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

25. I don't mind trying to figure it out

When the whole tragic farce was playing out, I thought he was a nice-looking guy. I didn't pay much attention. But when I saw him interviewed there was something about his eyes that just creeped me out. I think he reminds me of a childhood friend's father who was a heavy drinker and sometimes inappropriate with us...little girls. Made me wary.

Not saying, of course, this poor man is a drinker or a pedophile. And with what he has gone through, I would understand if he drinks himself into bed every night. That's a lot of hate to have aimed at you.

I don't often make such judgments about people and if he lived next door to me and I could interact with him personally I would probably get past that "look" and like him just fine. Such are the limits of TV.

[SeattleGirl]

26. I think that's often what it is -- the way someone looks can remind

us, in a strongly positive or negative way, of someone else. There is a major league catcher that, for years, every time I was him I just felt hate (and I'm not a hateful person). Then I finally realized that he reminded me of someone I went to school with who was one of the meanest, nastiest people I'd ever encountered. As soon as I figured that out, I stopped reacting negatively to the catcher. Gad, the connections we make in our brains are very powerfu things, aren't they?

[qanda]

29. I'm really not sure

He seemed a bit slippery to me, almost like he had an answer for everything. Sometimes it pays to just admit that you are not always right about everything. So, I would say that I was reacting more to his words.

Sorry about what happened with you family. I know that it had to be most difficult to let go and I agree that it is a very personal decision that should not be left up to the public.

[SeattleGirl]

30. I had a little bit of a reaction too, in terms of having an answer for

everything. On the other hand, he lived with the situation for so long, and was in the thick of the fight with the protestors and the freakin' repukes who tried to interfere, he just may be comfortable (thought that is NOT really the word I would use, but can't think of another right off the top of my head), answering questions about so many different aspects of what happened.

And thanks for your kind words. It was very difficult to let go, but we knew in our hearts it was the right thing to do, and our love for these two people helped us let them go.

[Beausoir]

31. No flames...but I chalk it up to the outrage he must feel inside.

Jeb Bush basically publicly called the guy a murderer and said he deliberately let his wife become brain-dead.

I'd have a strange look in my eyes too.

[Radio_Lady]

36. John Walsh became a spokesperson against criminals --

when one pedophile took his child decades ago. "America's Most Wanted" had a rocky launch, but ultimately, he has been a successful crusader against the deviates in our midst.



http://www.amw.com/about_amw/john_walsh.cfm

Perhaps Michael Schiavo will find a positive calling such as this -- not necessarily on television, mind you.

As far as voting for him if he would run for office in Florida, here's my current thinking vis-a-vis on the coming elections in Oregon in 2006.

I'll vote for the one Democrat whom I feel is the best in the primary elections. Then I will vote for whomever the Democratic party puts up against any Republican in the 2006 election. My motto: "Any Democrat over any Republican" is what it's coming down to, IMHO.

Your mileage may vary!

[mondo joe]

42. Thank goodness we have facts instead of having to depend on intuition!

Just saying.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

51. You are correct

but sometimes the intution is so strong I just can't ignore it. But I'm not in any sort of decision-making capacity with regard to this guy, so it doesn't matter.

[BuyingThyme]

5. I don't know anything about him, but if we don't take our life experiences

to politics, what's the point?

[Radio_Lady]

7. Good point.

[foreverdem]

6. He was on Countdown last night

KO interviewed him. They only briefly touched on the website, it was mostly about his ordeal concerning Terri. I don't dislike him, he seems like someone who just wanted to do what was right and abide by what Terri's wishes were.

[Radio_Lady]

9. Schiavo said that Terri's parents were used by the right wing for

their own ends. Michael never appeared to be wanting to capitalize on Terri's condition. He persevered for years trying to get her the help she needed.

[foreverdem]

14. I didn't mean to say he did

I wasn't trying to say he was trying to capitalize on Terri's condition. I'm sorry if my post came across that way, it wasn't what I meant. Her care was his utmost concern.

[Radio_Lady]

49. No problem. We share our words, but not the facial or voice intonations

that go along with regular human communication.

Yes, I do believe her care was his utmost concern. I'm sure those parents also loved her, but they certainly carried it to an unbelievable extreme. I can't imagine it going on for months -- but years -- was it fourteen years?

Sad. I wish them all some peace, some day.

[tnlefty]

16. I like the statements very much, but the name of the PAC kinda bothers

me a little, and I'm not sure why. Right now I can't come up with another name that the right wouldn't try to distort, but using her name is a little unsettling to me.

Life with Dignity PAC is a little wordy. Death with Dignity PAC doesn't sound right either.

[Radio_Lady]

21. I'm going to try and get a copy of his book.

I felt so sad that he had to marry his second wife under such difficult circumstances. They had to have a small wedding and they used assumed names to make all arrangements just to keep the media off the trail.

In the light of the tragic circumstances, that really stinks. I don't know the guy and just felt so bad last year as the various senators puffed and blowed about how she would be suffering if they withdrew the feeding tube.

And then, to find about the shrinkage of her brain (1/2 the size of a regular brain at autopsy) and STILL make a case against the doctors who ruled she was surely in a persistent vegatative state -- just God awful, to say the least.

[Horse with no Name]

22. I think it is a brilliant idea

The Republican's will do EVERYTHING so that what they did will be forgotten when the election bruhawhaw starts up.
Michael is there to make sure that the public doesn't forget that our President flew across the country to sign this bill on the taxpayer dime, he will make sure nobody forgets that the opinions of several justices was set aside for politics and that his personal life was invaded by the Fundiefreaks. His good name was drug through the dirt and he was slandered, his family faced death threats--all because he was making a decision that was legally his to make and they didn't like it.
I say good on him.
However, he isn't a warm and cuddly figure. I understand the aversion that you have, however, I do think it is misplaced.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. You know I thought about that middle of the night plane flight

while NO was being battered by Katrina the first week of September. Blew my mind that ONE woman who would never again have any kind of life was more important to him than hundreds of thousands of Katrina victims. Still blows my mind.

[Radio_Lady]

33. A sobering thought, indeed. Thanks for sharing it.

[Hamlette]

28. like him or not. . .

he did the right thing. Did she tell him to do it? I don't much care. He did the humane thing. It had been 15 years and if you read the testimony of the parents at at least one of the many many hearings on this case, you'd be a nut case not to do the same thing. (They said if she had a heart attack they would have her revived, if she developed circulation problems and needed her limbs amputated, they would amputate all of the limbs. It was a radical position on life and death.)

At some point, as a society, we need to accept that keeping a brain dead person alive and going to extraordinary lengths to keep that person alive, is wrong for the person, wrong for the loved ones and wrong for the the taxpayers.

95% of what we spend on health care we spend in the last 2 years of life. We might someday soon (maybe already?) have the ability to keep someone "alive" forever. We need to be realistic. This was not an iffy case. She'd been like that for 15 years! They had dozens of hearings. All the doctors (except the hack hired by her parents) said she could not recover.

The cowardly way out would have been to divorce her and walk away, leaving her to her crazy parents to decide treatment. The parents were not/are not rational. Did you hear them on the autopsy? They say it is wrong. Sheesh. What do you do with people like that?

I think there is something about him I don't really like either but I temper it with what he has done and judge him on that instead of my vague notion of his affect/looks whatever.

[Radio_Lady]

34. It will be very interesting to see what they do with Ariel Sharon.

He's been in a coma since a massive stroke. I'm not privy to Israeli newspapers or correspondents, but perhaps one of you know if there is going to be an endless vigil to keep him alive by artificial means.

Of course, this is an elderly statesman, not a young female who just succumbed to medical difficulties of questionable etiology.

[creeksneakers2]

32. If he wants to help he should start by suing

talk show hosts Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity.

I followed the right wing media from the beginning of this and the lies the RWs told about this man who had this great tragedy upon him were voluminous and shocking. Glenn Beck even took up a collection, which totaled $6 million, which was offered to Michael if he'd sign over custody of the wife. Michael's refusal to take the money convinced me he was genuine. It also proved that Glenn Beck's offer to buy Terri's body for his corpse carnival was nothing but a sick smear on a decent man.

These RWs lie constantly on their radio shows and a good lawsuit could teach them a lesson. I wish everybody would start suing them, but Michael especially.

If Michael looked shifty, I think it was because he was being asked accusatory questions that made him look guilty. At least, that's the type of interview Matt Lauer of Dateline conducted.

[Radio_Lady]

37. Is there a link where you could send your message directly to him?

I think it has a lot of merit.

[Radio_Lady]

38. Here's an article from Kansas which goes into some interesting details.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/nation/14200104.htm

[Maru Kitteh]

39. My OP? They all did and continue to do TACKY things.

Mr, Schiavo, the parents, EVERY SINGLE politician that used them all? I refuse to subscribe to the idea that because one side of this story is wrong that the other side cannot be wrong as well. Life and death is messy like that.

[Radio_Lady]

41. Fascinating concept! Not wrong vs. right, but ALL WRONG!

Goodness, what an idea! (However, it would have ruined many Superhero concepts -- there goes The Hulk, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Lone Ranger, you name it.)

But seriously ..... I admit I never quite thought about it in that way............

[mondo joe]

43. What did Mr. Schiavo do that was so "tacky"?

[Radio_Lady]

45. My next question, too. Was it the fact that he wrote a book?

Trust me, he really doesn't look like the kind of a guy who moves easily in groups of people. He also doesn't seem to be someone who wants publicity of any kind for himself.

But maybe it's the same kind of problem that haunted the Scott Peterson case. Or Ward Weaver here in Oregon.

Difficult to call from this distance, don't you agree?

[mondo joe]

46. I just know if I were in Terri's position I can only hope my spouse would

see me through per my wishes the way Michael Schiavo did.

It would have been so easy, and I suspect so tempting, to just walk away.

Instead he saw out his responsibiliity to the end.

[Beausoir]

44. I may just have to agree with you on this.

I guess I get stuck on the us vs. them concept.

Maybe they were ALL wrong.

[politicat]

47. Good for him.

I hope he can do something with it.

After all, his former in-laws have tons of anti-choice money behind them....

[mondo joe]

48. When elected Dems sat silent, Michael Schiavo and Cindy Sheehan did the

most to challenge Bushco and the GOP. More power to him.

[Radio_Lady]

53. Mondo Joe, thanks for your post. Good thoughts as we go into

the spring and summer before the 2006 election.