The Terri Schiavo case closed a key chapter today with the Florida woman's death shortly before 10 a.m. this morning. The bitterness hasn't ended, though, with spokesmen for the Schindlers calling Michael Schiavo out to the very end, including accusing him of denying the parents the opportunity to be with their daughter when she died (her brother and sister, and their priest were allowed in about 10 minutes before). The spokesman also implied that Michael Schiavo wasn't there when his wife died -- a pretty cruel charge leveled by people who admit they weren't there... Michael Schiavo's future brother-in-law has told CNN that Michael was in fact by her bedside. CNN is racking the video now, and I'm sure they'll replay it over and over again throughout the day.
Anyway, the end of this case is by no means the end of the fight, either between the Schindlers and Schiavos, who are now battling over Terri's body and burial, or between abortion opponents and the courts, whom the venerable Randall Terry said today on CNN must be "reigned in." Also, the finger-pointing has begun among the Schindlers' supporters, who are blaming each other for bad legal strategy, bad political strategy and more.
Efforts in Congress and the courts to prolong Terri Schiavo's life failed because of political miscalculations, missed deadlines and misguided legal strategy, according to legal experts and some of the conservative activists who made the case a national issue.
That harsh assessment is causing recriminations and finger-pointing among social conservatives and Republican staffers on Capitol Hill, who say there's plenty of blame to go around for why efforts to reverse state court rulings fell short. Ken Connor, the former head of the conservative Family Research Council who gave legal advice to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as the case was moving through the courts there two years ago, said Congress' inability to agree on a bill to keep Schiavo alive before her feeding tube was removed March 18 "severely prejudiced Terri's case."
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives took credit for getting a bill passed two days later, "but that's like an arsonist claiming credit for putting out his own fire," said Connor, who worked for weeks on the Schiavo legislation. "They should have acted with more dispatch."
On another front, the Catholic church has formed an entire order dedicated to fighting euthanasia and abortion.
...hang on to your seats, folks, this is just the opening round of what will be a very long battle. The rights of the federal government and courts versus those of the states and individuals are on a major collision course, and make no mistake, this isn't about Terri Schiavo, it's ultimately about abortion.
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dim done
done = request.form("done")
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done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
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End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
