These people (Repub. legislators) are playing their political games with a piece of meat. Terri's consciousness -ie., the soul you right wing idiots claim to treasure - has long since departed . Her piece of the collective soul has joined the whole (Heaven, as they choose to call it) and I picture 'her' looking down and shaking her head at all the uproar. And if she has any connection to earthly emotions, still, she is frelling outraged at the treatment of the shell she left behind. Note to my children: don't wait 15 years to disconnect me!! PVS=no more care, dammit. I wonder how these a**holes reconcile their strong support for the death penalty with this one? Of course, they don't. Here's a little quote from Alternet: (well, maybe not little:)
"A memo, which the AP reports was distributed by Senate leadership to right-wing members, called Schiavo "a great political issue" and urged senators to talk about her because "the pro-life base will be excited." Over the weekend, DeLay and Frist held special sessions of Congress to facilitate passage of a bill that would allow a federal court to overturn years of Florida jurisprudence – encompassing seven courts and 19 judges – and intervene in the Schiavo case. (Underscoring that this was about the politics of the Schiavo case and not policy, the bill was written explicitly to apply only to Terri Schiavo.) President Bush played his part in the spectacle, flying to Washington from his ranch in Crawford to sign the bill, even though waiting a few hours for the bill to be flown to him would likely "have made no difference in whether Ms. Schiavo lives."

**CrossFire babblers make the point that GWB received a CIA warning on Aug. 6, 2001, that Al Queda had some pretty specific plans to attack the U.S. He didn't feel it important enough to interrupt his vacation in Crawford, TX. **

In a statement released early this morning, President Bush said he will "continue to stand on the side of those defending life for all Americans." But the facts make it hard to believe that Bush is standing on principle. In 1999, then Gov. Bush signed a law that "allows hospitals [to] discontinue life-sustaining care, even if patient family members disagree." Just days ago the law permitted Texas Children's Hospital to remove the breathing tube from a 6-month-old boy named Sun Hudson. The law may soon be used to remove life support from Spiro Nikolouzos, a 68-year-old man. Bush has not commented on either case.

At every opportunity, Tom DeLay has sanctimoniously proclaimed his concern for the well-being of Terri Schiavo, saying he is only trying to ensure she has the chance "we all deserve." Schiavo's medications are paid for by Medicaid. Just last week, DeLay marshaled a budget resolution through the House of Representatives that would cut funding for Medicaid by at least $15 billion, threatening the quality of care for people like Terri Schiavo. Because the Senate voted to restore the funding, DeLay is threatening to hold up the entire budget process if he doesn't get his way.

Bill Frist has been positioning himself in the media as a champion for Schiavo's interests. Yet, much of Schiavo's medical care has been financed by $1,000,000 from two medical malpractice lawsuits Schiavo won after her heart attack 15 years ago. Frist has been leading the charge to limit recovery for people like Schiavo who are severely debilitated. If Frist is successful, people like Schiavo would not be able to recover any punitive damages no matter how severe their injuries."

Good grief. The woman's cerebral cortex is liquid. She's GONE, been gone, not there ! But a 13 year old retarded kid can be executed for a crime (in Texas, of course.) Where is your sanctity of life?