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There are a lot of issues, serious issues in Florida's gubernatorial campaign.
The Schiavo case shouldn't be one of them except if the question is why the state of Florida fails to protect its disabled and vulnerable.
Michael Schiavo is calling Charlie Crist a liar----Schiavo, a consummate liar himself. That's like the pot calling the kettle black.
Why are candidates being placed on the defensive for having supported the efforts to save the life of a disabled person in a case in which there were and are so many questions of credibility swirling around Michael Schiavo---where there's a strong chain of evidence which indicates not only his pattern of abuse towards Terri prior to her mysterious collapse in February 1990 but his almost maniacal, obsessive march towards achieving her death once he collected the proceeds of a jury award in 1993, shacked up with another woman and fathering babies by her while his wife, who he claimed he wanted to care for the rest of his life when he was after an insurance award, lay helpless and virtually alone after he cut off her therapy and even tried to stop her family and clergy from visiting her.
Who is Michael Schiavo to call Republican candidate Charlie Crist a liar?
Schiavo has been caught red-handed lying about so many facts in the case, changing his story so many times, refusing to appear for depositions, he's become a public egotistical buffoon with a total lack of credibility. His self-serving hearsay, "substantiated" only by two family members who suddenly "remembered" comments allegedly made by Terri Schiavo 10 years after her collapse and immediately before the death penalty trial, should never have been the basis to kill a disabled woman who couldn't speak for herself.
The Schiavo case never should have become a national issue. It should been nipped in the bud in 1993 when the first petition was submitted to remove Michael Schiavo as guardian. Guardianship monitor Daniel P. Nievinski filed his report with the court recommending that Schiavo be removed as guardian but Judge Thomas Penick refused to accept it, instead appointing John Pecarek as guardian ad litem who then recommended that Schiavo remain as guardian.
On March 1, 1994, Pecarek orally presented his report and without any chance for cross examination of Pecarek by the Schindler's attorney, James Sheehan, Penick closed the case and summarily refused any hearing for reconsideration.
In 1993, Schiavo hadn't yet concocted his claim that Terri wanted to die and only after he began paying George Felos and Deborah Bushnell with the money the jury had earmarked for Terri's medical care did he suddenly begin crowing about right to die and right to privacy---Felos' agenda and Felos exploited Terri Schiavo for his own personal interests as much as Michael Schiavo did and continues to do.
Schiavo kept claiming for over 12 years that Terri wanted to die but yet she continued to defy him, surviving two previous attempts, one in 2001 and another in October 2003 to kill her when he and Greer removed her feeding tube.
Had Terri Schiavo left a living will, had she plainly stated for all to see, a clear and convincing statement that she would not want to be sustained by artificial feeding and that she wouldn't want any therapy or rehabilitation efforts, that she wouldn't have wanted her parents to take care of her, then and only then should a fair and impartial court---which would eliminate George Greer--- have granted Michael Schiavo's petition to end her life.
In view of all the circumstances of the Schiavo case, Michael Schiavo clearly did not have "clean hands", should not have been guardian of the person of Terri Schiavo and the case should not have been allowed to set precedents that would forever change the face of America.
Politicians who voted to err on the side of life should not be placed in a position for having to apologize for trying to save the life of Terri Schiavo. They shouldn't now feel that they have to lie about their support of disability rights in America, due process and exercising compassion because now they need to get votes.
Michael Schiavo kept Terri Schiavo literally isolated from the world, locked away in a darkened hospice room, controlled virtually every aspect of every breath she took, denied her social interaction, controlled who could and could not visit her, denied her family pictures, any kind of stimulation and unquestionably tried to deny her medical treatment, later to claim that it was on advice of a doctor. That doctor should have submitted for disciplinary action for violating not only Florida statutes but his Hippocratic oath….." I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone, to please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug nor give advice which may cause his/her death".
Schiavo refused to allow photographs to be taken of Terri, refused to allow the media to visit her in calculated successful effort to control the mainstream media who simply reported what they were force fed by Felos, refused to allow videos because then others would see just how responsive that Terri really was.
Schiavo and others complain that physician Bill Frist "diagnosed" Terri from the floor of Congress, but yet had no problem with Judge George Greer with no medical training diagnosing her as being in a persistent vegetative state based on videos shown in court that he couldn't even see because he's legally blind.
By remaining relatively healthy even under all of the adverse conditions imposed upon her by her "loving" husband, Terri Schiavo demonstrated her strong will to live, accentuated by the fact she struggled valiantly, trying to hold onto life, for 13 torturous days after Schiavo and Greer removed her feeding tube. Indeed, even the medical examiner stated that Terri could have lived at least another 10 years, even under such adverse conditions as Schiavo imposed on her.
We read of criminal prosecutions of individuals who keep their children or others captive, away from human interaction, from medical care. Why wasn't Michael Schiavo prosecuted for dictating and controlling such cruel and inhumane treatment of Terri Schiavo, in essence holding her in captivity at the Woodside Park Hospice for five years in conspiracy with his attorney Felos as chairman of the hospice board of directors?
Why is Skip Campbell, the Democratic candidate for Florida Attorney General, trying to make Republican Bill McCollum's support of Gov. Jeb Bush's intervention in the Schiavo case a dirty deed? Why should Campbell be trying to hold McCollum to public ridicule for taking a stand to save her life?
And why is Campbell lying about his own role in the case? Why is he now denying that he sponsored the 2003 bill in the Florida Legislature which became known as Terri's Law which allowed Gov. Bush to order the reinsertion of Terri's feeding tube after Judge George Greer and Michael Schiavo removed it?
Why did Campbell seem to feel that he needed to lie about having been the co-sponsor of the bill? Can the public believe him that he "forgot" that he had sponsored the bill? If he has that bad a memory about such an important issue, then for certain he's not the person to be Florida's next Attorney General. Floridians don't need a repeat of Charlie Crist in that office.
Is Campbell flip-flopping now with a convenient memory because he feels the politically correct thing to do? Seems like Campbell is swaying in the breeze with the palm trees just like Charlie Crist, swaying in whatever direction he thinks will garner him the most votes.
Floridians can only hope that Bill McCollum will be elected as the next Attorney General.
The issue of whether the state should be allowed to purposely deprive a human being of food and water in order to cause a death is for sure an important issue which should have been and must be addressed by the Supreme Court, but it should not have been the Schiavo case. Because of Michael Schiavo's highly suspicious motives and actions, he should have been removed as guardian in 1993 and Terri Schindler Schiavo should not have been allowed to become the nation's poster child for euthanasia, setting a horrendous precedent for the rest of the nation.
There's a lot of people with blood on their hands from the Schiavo case---Judge Greer, Michael Schiavo, state attorney Bernie McCabe, former Pinellas County sheriff Everett Rice and for sure, AG Charlie Crist.
In one of his newsletters to the public as attorney general, Crist said that "one of the greatest features of our system of democracy is the role government can play in protecting private citizens. Florida's government has a number of safeguards built into it, many of them designed to protect consumers for exploitation".
Crist didn't employ those safeguards to protect Terri and now he's lying about his involvement in the case. What would he do as Governor to protect the elderly and disabled, the exploited and vulnerable. What else would he lie about should be elected Governor?
Charlie Crist had a legal and moral obligation to protect Terri Schiavo.
But instead he did nothing. And now he's lying about it.
If Charlie Crist had done his job, the execution of Terri Schiavo last March should have been halted and George Greer prosecuted for using his official power and position to violate Florida Statutes to allow and order Michael Schiavo to kill Terri Schiavo. That's grounds for a conspiracy prosecution at the federal level, a racketeering-RICO prosecution.
Any law enforcement officer could have protected Terri Schiavo from starvation and dehydration.
It was the statutory and constitutional job of Charlie Crist.
The more Michael Schiavo talks, the farther he shoves his foot down his throat, kind of like a terminal case of hoof and mouth disease.
Everyone in politics these days is accusing their opponent of lying in regard to their involvement in the Schiavo case.
Charlie Crist stood silently by and let Terri Schiavo die.
Charlie Crist is speaking with a forked tongue again and what's really ironic in Florida's gubernatorial race, for the first time in over a dozen years, the parents of Terri Schindler Schiavo and their heavily conflicted son-in-law Michael Schiavo who killed their daughter are on the same page regarding Republican candidate Charlie Crist.
In a debate earlier this week, moderator Chris Matthews directly asked Crist about his actions during the Schiavo debacle, "Did you speak up at the time against the Congressional action?" and incredulously, Crist stood before God and the television cameras and said "Yes, I did".
Schiavo says Crist, "The man lied through his teeth". Schiavo was quoted by the Palm Beach Post as "the man ran from this (the Schiavo case) like the plague. And now he's going to say he spoke up? He did not. He didn't say a word".
The St. Petersburg Times quotes Schiavo, the individual who euthanasia advocates George Felos and Deborah Bushnell have led by the ring in his nose, saying that Crist "isn't a leader, he's a follower…..Charlie Crist did not say a word, he was nowhere to be found. He's a coward".
Takes one to know one.
In an op-ed written earlier this year, Robert Schindler Sr., Terri's father, said that through his callous inaction, Crist "let my daughter die. He had it within his authority to save her life but he turned a blind eye to her suffering. Even worse, he worked to ensure her death.
"Not only did Charlie Crist refuse our family lawful access to the assets of his office, but he violated his oath of office by actively cooperating with those in positions of political and judicial authority whom denied us legal access to the police and regulatory systems meant to protect the weak. Multiple sworn agents from responsible police and regulatory agencies who found probable cause to investigate allegations of abuse in Terri's judicial and physical care, were ordered to shut down those probes. This heavy-handedness made us powerless.
"Information of direct interest to Attorney General Charlie Crist's office was directly delivered to his personal hands, and he refused to properly execute the duties of his office. And it was with deliberate decision that he failed to attend a scheduled Tallahassee meeting with our family. On another occasion, we approached each other by chance. Upon recognizing me, Charlie Crist abruptly stopped and walked away.
"That callous action encapsulates Charlie Crist. He walked away from a man whose daughter's fate he controlled. At that moment, he turned his back on Terri. And he turned his back on the most fundamental duties of his office", Terri's father said.
Crist now claims that he "spoke up" by discussing the case in private conversations with his colleagues and says that "by not pursuing it more vigorously is one way" of opposing something.
The trouble is, Crist took an oath to perform the duties of the office, and he didn't do so.
It was up to Charlie Crist as attorney general to ensure compliance with the laws, to enforce existing statutes, not address an issue with his own personal views. Charlie Crist failed to perform the duties of his office, duties that he took an oath to perform.
Charlie Crist thought he was Charlie Christ.
In April, during an appearance at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Crist said that Gov. Jeb Bush shouldn't have gotten involved in the Schiavo case. Strange position for the Attorney General to take, saying that Gov. Bush shouldn't have made at least the appearance of performing the duties of his office. Bush was statutorily and constitutionally empowered to take the incapacitated woman into protective custody and although he obviously didn't have any real intent to do so because he stupidly called a news conference to announce it, at least be gave the appearance he was trying to do something. That's more than Crist did.
Crist had said that government shouldn't be involved in end-of-life decisions. However, Mr. Crist, government---and in particular the attorney general---should be involved in protecting the rights of vulnerable adults and in investigating Medicaid fraud. If Charlie Crist can't perform the duties of as Attorney General, why would the people of Florida ever want him to be their Governor if he only takes action if he feel it's politically correct?
As attorney general, Crist is constitutionally charged with protecting the civil rights and liberties of the state's citizens but he did nothing to protect the rights and liberties of Terri Schiavo. He stood idly by and let her be dehydrated to death.
"There are some decisions that ought to be left to God and family", Crist has said. "Had I been governor, I would not have done the same thing".
Good thing he wasn't Governor then, and if the voters are smart, he won't be Governor in the future.
Crist consistently stayed out of the Schiavo case although he should have been front and center in the protection of her civil rights. Less than four months after she died a horrific death, Crist had the audacity to call the judges in the Schiavo case "heroes", breaking his silence, saying that he was proud of Pinellas County Court Judge George Greer and U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore. While he claimed he wasn't endorsing the court rulings against reconnecting Terri's feeding tube which led to her death, others didn't see it that way.
In an even further twist of irony, it was Whittemore who ruled in favor of allowing Reform Party Max Linn participate in Tuesday's debate between Crist and Democratic challenger Jim Davis. Schiavo has endorsed Davis and has financially supported him with highly questionable donations through his political action committee, TerriPAC.
Crist is now trying to claim that he's pro life, incredulously telling theaudience of a previous debate that "I also feel it is more important to promote a culture of life. What I mean by that is that I believe what we need to do is not change the law but change hearts".
Culture of life? There Crist goes speaking with a forked tongue again.
Why did Charlie Crist run and hide in the Schiavo case instead of protecting one of the state's most vulnerable and disabled? He was dodging the question and now he's lying about it.
Prior to an earlier debate between Crist and Tom Gallagher who was also seeking the GOP nomination, there was an opportunity for people to submit questions for the panel and moderator to ask the candidates.
Although there were several direct questions asked about the candidates' positions on protecting the elderly and vulnerable, the issue was sidestepped.
This one was directed at Crist.
"During the Schiavo matter, the immediate family of Terri Schiavo ---and a number of disability advocates-contacted you to ask that you ensure there were no instances of abuse or neglect under Florida Statute 744.3215 which defines the retained rights and protections of incapacitated persons. You rebuffed these efforts. How is it that you justify not taking every step imaginable to ensure that Florida's elderly, disabled and ill citizens are not afforded every protection, under our statutes, against neglect or exploitation?
"What would you have done differently had the subject or victim in question been a member of your own family?
"This question does NOT relate to the removal of Terri Schiavo's food and hydration. It relates to charges of neglect by the guardian with regards to denial of dental care, female care and confinement issues".
Crist didn't answer the question. If the voters unwisely decide to elect him Governor, is he going to cower, evade issues as Governor that he doesn't want to address like he has as attorney general or is he going to lie about it? Neither is a good attribute for any public officer and certainly not Governor.
Another viewer submitted a question to Crist, which of course was unasked and unanswered, that how he honestly" promise on TV or in any campaign ad that IF he is elected governor that he would "protect" the healthcare and well being of Floridian's AND keep the criminals behind bars when he wouldn't even do an "investigation" into the alleged wrongdoing of Michael Schiavo in the Schiavo case, of the neglect, abuse and exploitation of a vulnerable person that Charlie Crist took an oath to protect. Instead, he turned his back on Terri Schiavo. Will he do so to all the disabled and elderly if he's elected Governor?
Charlie Crist says he's pro-life.
Crist stood idly by and watched a disabled woman die by one of the most inhumane methods of death possible. He would have immediately arrested and prosecuted a person who caused an animal to die such a horrific death.
But he allowed it to happen to Terri Schiavo.
Where was Florida's chief law enforcement officer then, the person in state government constitutionally and statutorily charged to protect those rights? He failed Terri Schiavo and it's likely he'll continue to fail the elderly and the disabled in the state.
And worse, you won't be able to believe a thing he says.
Anymore than anyone can believe a thing that Michael Schiavo says.
Politics make strange bedfellows. 11-02-06
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/060206ConvincingFraud.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/062406SchiavoIllusions.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/052406TheWholeTruth.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/052106JoanSchiavo.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/071006WordGames.html
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