Ann Coulter should be put to the lash. I'm afraid, however, that a setting of Ann Coulter, Al Barger and a lash would somehow result in me being her woman in some terribly shameful way.
So from a keyboard at a safe distance, I'll call her out for willful ignorance regarding the Terri Schiavo case, as evidenced in THIS COLUMN. Now besides all the ugly and irrelevant attacks on Michael Schiavo, she was willfully blind to the limited powers of government. The significance of this separation-of-powers business should be central to any political conservative, yet she willfully viciously discards this basic principle when it interfered with the pro-prolonging Terri's torture stance Ms Coulter was intent on making. FOUL!
She was particularly peeved over arguments against federal or state legislative interference in the Schiavo manner based on principals of federalism. She acknowledges the argument that it wasn't W's proper place to get involved, and then simply mocks rather than actually answers the argument. Her best argument there was the simply factually unsubstantiated claim that "strict constructionist" states rights opponents of federal involvement in the Schiavo case were the same people who opposed the 1964 Voting Rights Act. She's just pulling that one out of her ass.
She had one interesting summary sentence about this whole legal process:
"Our infallible, divine ruler is a county judge in Florida named George Greer, who has more authority in America than the U.S. Congress, the president and the governor."
Why yes dear, the weight of local judges generally should be deciding how to apply the laws on custodial matters, not legislatures or the US Congress. Of course, this local judge was scrutinized by a half dozen layers of judges over him, challenged repeatedly all the way to the US Supreme Court.
It is the job of state legislatures, and still not really of the US Congress to make the laws determining who gets to make major medical decisions. They set the policy, and it is primarily the job of the courts to neutrally enforce these policies made by the legislature in individual cases. That's the main thing courts are supposed to do.
So yup, as regards personal custody cases in Pinellas County, Florida, George Greer swings a bigger gavel than the US Congress or even his mighty highness King George. That's exactly how it's supposed to be.
Thank God and the founders for that, and now poor Terri has truly gone to her rest.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - RJ
"Ann Coulter should be put to the lash. I'm afraid, however, that a setting of Ann Coulter, Al Barger and a lash would somehow result in me being her woman in some terribly shameful way."
ROTFL!
2 - RJ
Ann Coulter should be put to the lash. I'm afraid, however, that a setting of Ann Coulter, Al Barger and a lash would somehow result in me being her woman in some terribly shameful way.
ROTFL!
3 - RJ
So, if an innocent woman should not be allowed to appeal to the federal courts in order to live, why do we allow convicted murderers, who were tried and sentenced by state courts, to appeal to the federal courts?
4 - gonzo marx
the lash might be a bit lenient..on CSPAN a few weeks ago she was speaking and when asked about the government and the killing of native americans during the 1800's..she said
"well, there were only 100,000 of them and they weren't using the country well, anyway"
for that little ditty alone i would advise a bucket of ice, an iguana and a cattle prod all used in a "Lemmiwinks" fashion while she is forced to listen to Abbie Hoffman speeches..
whoa...i gotta calm down..that was a bit harsh perhaps?
....naaah...too lenient still..
Excelsior!
5 - Al Barger
Abbie Hoffman speeches? Yo Gonzo, as a strict constructionist, I have to object on grounds of unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. I wouldn't do that to the punks at Gitmo.
I might make her listen to Grateful Dead records though. Maybe put the "Alice's Restaraunt Massacre" on a loop for a few days. About the 200th time the story came around again on the guitar, I bet she'd be singing a different tune.
6 - Victor Plenty
Whatever happens with a lash, Coulter, and Barger, you can be sure of one thing:
Hundreds, possibly thousands of people across the Internet would pay good money to see that video.
Not me, of course. Personally I'd never even consider looking at that sort of thing, but my extensive reading of various people's opinions on the subject indicates there is a definite market for it.
On a more serious note, I do have to agree with Mr. Barger on the separation of powers, and on the hypocrisy of the far-right demagogues who clearly want "activist judges" to intervene whenever it's their own pet causes at stake.
7 - gonzo marx
ok Al, howabout Rage against the Machine's first album for..oh ..3 weeks straight?
but it better be a damned big iguana..
and amen on the seperation of Powers bit Victor..
"checks and balances" has been one of my favorite Mantra's....
BTW, Al..did ya get that song?..heh..let me know what ya thought of it..
Excelsior!
8 - Dave Nalle
>>So, if an innocent woman should not be allowed to appeal to the federal courts in order to live,<<
Last I checked Terri Schiavo never filed a single court paper or appeared before a single judge, what with being brain dead and all.
Dave
9 - gonzo marx
oh Dave..if you go down that road with Ms. Coulter..ya could take years...almost every hate filled word that spills from her perky mouth can be dissected and found wanting...
what am i saying?!?!?!?!?!?
SIC HER DAVE!!!
Excelsior!
10 - RJ
Right, Dave. She couldn't, because she was handicapped, so her loving family did the legal legwork for her.
11 - RJ
Do we starve retards to death, because they "wouldn't want to live that way"?
12 - Victor Plenty
Strike that liberal "Ms." stuff. "Mistress Coulter" is surely her preferred title.
13 - gonzo marx
no RJ, just you...
as has been gone over countless times..the Facts were presented in a Court of Law...a Judge decided based upon the merits in accordance with Florida Law
due process was followed for YEARS, hitting every Court on the way up..the Supremes turned it down..what..6 times?
what more do you want under the Rule of Law?
do you consider the 11 Circuit court a bastion of death loving liberals or something?
i can sympathize with both sides..but i am damn glad we live under the Rule of Law and not the whims of the mob
Excelsior!
14 - RJ
Only one court (Judge Greer's) actually found for the husband. ALL the other courts merely refused to revisit this case, because they found no Constitutional errors in his reasoning.
Of course, that doesn't mean his "reasoning" was correct.
Were you aware that poor Terri was never given a PET scan or an MRI?
And that Terri's hubby only brought up that "fact" that she "wanted" to starve to death AFTER several years?
And that he stands to gain financially from her death?
15 - Adam
He stands to gain about $40,000 iirc. Not exactly worth fighting for years over.
Hehehe...
16 - Steve Huff
"...Ann Coulter should be put to the lash..."
Dude, you coulda stopped right there and I would have considered this the best political post on blogcritics, ever. Let's hope there are enough sane republicans out there to offset her earnest Nazism.
17 - DMD
Ann Coulter is an internet troll who's escaped into the real world.
18 - Adam
Lots of facts
19 - andy marsh
I have this picture in my mind of Ann all decked out in leather and Al on his hands and knees with a ball gag in his mouth. Luckily for me, my mind goes blank just as Ann raises the whip!
20 - Shark
"...a setting of Ann Coulter, Al Barger and a lash..."
Al, I thought you were attracted to men in drag...
21 - gonzo marx
ummm..RJ..according to the record, she had MANY MRI's..i saw some last night on TV..
can't say fer certain about the PET scan tho..
Excelsior!
22 - Maurice
Well I for one am glad this ordeal is done and I can get to the business of killing my oldest son. Unbelievable to me that I have been so stupid to be changing his diapers and hauling him out in public all these years thinking I was doing a 'good' thing. My son, Heath is in a much worse state than Terri. I wish he would look at me the way Terri looked and responded to her mother. One last question: Do I have to move to Floriday to kill him or can I just kill him here in Idaho where we live?
BTW my son, Heath has been in this 'condition' from birth and is now 24 years old.
23 - Scott
"poor Terri was never given a PET scan or an MRI?"
She was given a CT scan taken in 1996 which revealed profound abnormalities. An EEG performed revealed that there was no electrical activity. In 2002, a CAT scan demonstrated massive atrophy. In place of normal brain tissue, almost all that was left was connective tissues and spinal fluid. Aside from a brain stem that keeps some autonomic functions going, she simply didn’t have a brain. What would a "PET" scan or an MRI reveal that these tests wouldn't?
24 - Maurice
This whole episode has opened my eyes! We should form a helpful committee to go to all the group homes and single out the people on feeding tubes. We could call this committee a 'death squad' cuz that would be fun. Anywho, their job would be to determine which people were only making random noises (not really trying to communicate!) and then relieve them of the burden of life.
Of course maybe we are setting the bar to low. Maybe we should alleviate the people that scored less than 1000 on their SAT. I mean what kind of 'quality of life' do you have with that score? Is there evidence of 'real brain activity' for people with such a low scores?
BTW the idea of a living will doesn't really work for people like my son that are in worse shape than Terri and have been so since birth.
25 - andy marsh
Maybe we should have all stayed out of this debate and left it to the family. The govt. shouldn't have gotten involved, Jesse Jackson shouldn't have gotten involved and none of us should have gotten involved. Maybe, just maybe, it's none of our fucking business!