MORE SCHIAVO
A different view.
March 22, 2005 - 00:40 (Z-05h)
I almost never do this, but this time is an exception. I'm turning my column over to a different point of view about Terri Schiavo. Yes, the anonymous writer IS a personal friend, so I know he is no loon. In fact, he's an extremely sensitive and intelligent person. Well, ok, he's extremely intelligent.. But in his day he could drink you under the table and still quote Proust (at least, I think it was Proust - it was a LONG time ago.)
This is not about fairness. This about me not playing God. There will be no direct rebuttal by me. If you want to say something, we'll print it, if it's clean.
Sorry, we'll have to disagree on the Schiavo mess.
I guess if I were a Congressman and you were God, you'd have to strike me dead, too. I have plenty of sympathy for all involved, but in the end, it is a STATE of Florida matter, to be decided by the STATE of Florida courts.
There is absolutely no constitutional basis for ANY action by the Congress of the United States, particularly since the United States Supreme Court, which is spring loaded to jump into issues not allowed by the constitution, has explicitly declined to get involved. This may be the cheesiest vote grab I have ever seen by a major American political party.
Not that the Progressives are any better, currently claiming to support strict constitutional interpretation on this one. It's just that they are right on this particular case. I can't tell you how much it distresses me to say that.
And the charade of dressing and making up that poor comatose woman up to present a rather false image of vibrance is unconsciencenable. You may as well dress and make up an old forgotten inflatable doll in the back of your closet. Seriously, Dick, the issues of life and death and their definitions are extremely important, but not more important that raising and settling them in their constitutionally proper venue. Otherwise we accelerate the slippery descent already started toward a tyrannical Federal government dictating to impotent State governments.
That is not the relationship defined in the constitution.