Mount Virtus

I have nothing more directly to say to the critic. Every credible source that challenges his sweeping assertions is, according to him, a “quack” or a liar or showboating. But the hallowed judge in black robes can do no wrong.

But I will continue to shine some light on testimonies like this one, from the general counsel for the Counsel on Bioethics O. Carter Snead, thanks to K-Lo at The Corner.

Or the sworn affidavit of nurse Carla Iyer, who worked with Terri for 16 months and swore under oath that she was not at all in a vegetative state and that her husband’s consistent demeanor and actions did not reflect those of a concerned caregiver.

Questions to consider:

And tell me that there are no serious concerns here about starving Terri to death.

Update: Kudos to the Rocky Mountain News for defending Congressional intervention in this case and questioning the circuit court judge’s obstinate and needless delay.

I’ve had a brief e-mail conversation regarding the Terri Schiavo case with a fellow Colorado blogger – who happens to hail from a different part of the country and have a different worldview than I. That’s fine. On one of his latest e-mails he invited me to share my public comment. To do so, I am reprinting his words in italics and my response in normal font. One note to share… the “other cases” he refers to can be found here and here. Judge for yourself if they are comparable to Terri’s case – the problem hinges on my critic’s suggestion that Terri’s nourishment constitutes life support in the same way a ventilator keeps a terminally ill patient alive.

I’m sure I won’t be able to answer all his objections to his satisfaction, for despite my best efforts to point him to credible facts that refute his claims, he continues to hold fast to his beliefs. But here goes:

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A shocking ABCNews poll says that 63 percent of Americans favor the forced starvation of Terri Schiavo. But should we be surprised when the exact wording of the first two poll questions reads as follows:

1. How closely have you been following the case of Terri Schiavo, the woman at the center of a life-support controversy in Florida? Have you been following this issue very closely, somewhat closely, not so closely or not closely at all?

2. Schiavo suffered brain damage and has been on life support for 15 years. Doctors say she has no consciousness and her condition is irreversible. Her husband and her parents disagree about whether she would have wanted to be kept alive. Florida courts have sided with the husband and her feeding tube was removed on Friday. What’s your opinion on this case – do you support or oppose the decision to remove Schiavo’s feeding tube? Do you support/oppose it strongly or somewhat?(Emphases added)

“On life support”? “To be kept alive”? With the misleading reporting in the New York Times and other places, I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised. Either the mainstream media fundamentally misunderstands the particulars of this case or is intentionally cloaking the truth.

The problem in the Schiavo case is NOT of a brain-dead woman hooked up on a ventilator. Until the media is willing to share the facts about Terri (Judge George Greer has been the sole fact-finder throughout the history of this case and has disregarded a plethora of important evidence), results of major polls aren’t going to change.

Here’s a better poll question:

Schiavo suffered brain damage and has been denied thorough medical testing and humane therapy by her guardian and legal husband for most of the past 15 years. Doctors disagree about her degree of consciousness and are not certain whether her condition is irreversible. Her parents have offered to take care of her, but her husband has claimed for the past 12 years that she would not want to live this way. Florida courts have upheld the decision made by a judge who accepted the husband’s testimony, ruled out dissenting evidence and decided that her feeding tube should be removed on Friday. What’s your opinion on this case – do you support or oppose the decision to remove Schiavo’s feeding tube? Do you support/oppose it strongly or somewhat?

To my friend at Curious Stranger, a direct response to your messages will be posted this evening.

A hearty congratulations must be made to the leadership of the United States Congress for hearkening to their constituents’ pleas for life and justice: the House and Senate have both delayed their scheduled recesses to pass compromise legislation that will stop the starvation of Terri Schiavo and give her recourse to her constitutional rights.

Congressman Bob Beauprez announced the development this during his brief speech at today’s State Central Committee Meeting, evoking a grand expression of support from most of the audience members. Only moments before, Congressman Tom Tancredo spoke eloquently in defense of Terri, making some important points:

As always, to stay on top of developments in this ongoing story, visit Terri’s Fight and Blogs for Terri.

I’ve just returned from the Colorado Republican State Central Committee Meeting outside of Denver. For some of the nitty-gritty details, read up on Clay’s live-blogging Blackberry account.

Most significant to report is that Bob Schaffer won the role of National Committeeman, culminating a sweeping grassroots campaign that started two weeks ago. The vote was closer than many anticipated (59 to 41 percent), proof that negative campaigning does work to some extent. I was disappointed to see the opponents’ use of half-truths and over-the-top rhetoric to try to tear down Bob.

I just hope now they heed their own impassioned cries for party loyalty and unity. With the leadership of Bob Schaffer and new state party chair Bob Martinez, it seems eminently likely that better times are ahead for Colorado Republican politics.

One of the highlights of the meeting was seeing Governor Bill Owens give Bob Schaffer both a hearty written and spoken endorsement. Those who remember the falling-out during last year’s Senate primary especially appreciated this fact. Finally, here are some closing thoughts from two of the Colorado Republican Party’s most influential figures:

“I know the real Bob Schaffer and I know we can count on him to always do what’s best for our Republican Party.” – Gov. Bill Owens, in his endorsement letter

“All Republican officials must support all Republican candidates at all times, and I’ll do that. I give you my word.” -Bob Schaffer, during his acceptance speech

I’ve just returned from the first-ever Blogfest, too frugal to bring my computer and pay the wireless fee – too forgetful to come up with my blogging password (it’s preprogrammed into my laptop). What kind of future is there for a 28-year-old amnesiac? But I digress.

First things first. The focus of Hugh’s show was on Terri Schiavo. Are you frustrated as I am about this? I will continue to blog on the subject… trust me. But one way you can make your voice heard is at Citizen Link, hosted by Focus on the Family. Tell the Republican Florida state senators who turned their backs on evil to reverse their course of action. Tell the United States Congress to put aside procedural and partisan bickering and do something important: like saving an innocent woman’s life from court-ordered starvation!

Thanks to Colorado Mills Borders for graciously hosting the event, to 710 KNUS for treating us like VIPs, and to Tucanos Brazilian Grill for feeding us. If you’ve never been to Tucanos, you’re missing a terrific dining experience. An all-you-can-eat extravaganza where nothing that touches the tastebuds disappoints. Bring an appetite, and come home satisfied!

Hugh didn’t have nearly the exhausting book-signing experience he had during his previous time in Denver last July. He was out of Borders by 9:15 and left noone disappointed. There are many of us out here blogging who are truly indebted to his passion, ambition, insights, and experience. Thanks, Hugh!

The most fun of Blogfest was hanging out with the blogging friends I already know and meeting many more who I am now glad to know. So, hopefully I’ll leave nobody out, but here in no particular order is the list of all the bloggers I encountered this evening -

From the Rocky Mountain Alliance:

And the others (again in no particular order):

I hope I didn’t forget anyone! Many of the above live-blogged the event, but they’re all worth checking out if you haven’t looked at them before.

I’m impressed with the crop of center-right blogging talent in the Denver metro area and am sure that many more will take the plunge into this wonderful avocation after their experience tonight at Blogfest. Not altogether a bad idea, I say. Let’s do it again some time.

Update: A blogger mistakenly overlooked… Steve of A Muse’s Chatter. Thanks for the reminder, Steve!

Note to readers: This is satire. You can find the real story here.

From “King” George’s Fantastic Megalomaniacal Adventures: Chapter 15

…”King” George did not take the news too well. He nearly tripped over his long black robes as he rose from his office chair and pounded his desk with his fist.

“Where is my royal signet?” he shouted, the veins popping on his forehead.

“Y-y-your what, your honor?” the young judicial aide replied nervously.

“It’s not ‘your honor’! It’s ‘your Majesty’!” He stood erect, his shoulders thrown back and his nose elevated in pompous self-absorption.

“Your Majesty… I’m sorry… I-I I must have lost the signet somewhere.”

“Never mind, then. Prepare a royal decree.”

“You mean a court order?”

“A ROYAL DECREE!!” George yelled out, stomping his foot repeatedly to accentuate his point. “I said, ‘A Royal Decree’!”

“Yes, your hon-, your Majesty. What shall it say?” the aide replied meekly, pencil and notepad firmly in hand.

“That the usurping rats, the so-called ‘Congress,’ that whatever they say, or do, their so-called subpoena… it cannot, IT WILL NOT STAND!” George’s fist surged into the air with an impassioned sweep.

As the aide scribbled diligently, George continued with his vainglorious oration. “How dare they? HOW DARE THEY! I have decreed – with my royal signet to prove it – that this peasant serf woman must die! She is to be denied all food and drink until she suffers and dies at last!”

“Sir,” the aide piped in, “er, your Majesty?”

“Not now. I’m on a roll.” He reassumed his royal aura. “Let it be decreed this very day and very hour that the death sentence shall proceed! And no act of so-called ‘Congress’ can do anything to forestall it! So it has been declared, so it shall be!!”

“Turn it into legal speak, right?”

“Yes,” George mumbled. “Whatever must be done….”

At that moment, another aide rushed into the “royal chambers.” He cleared his throat and declared the news: “Congressional lawyers have served the subpoena, your Majesty!”

“Summon the armies! Prepare the royal steed! Within the hour, we ride into battle!!”

The two aides looked at each other with shared confusion, shrugged their shoulders, and sighed. “That’s our judge….”

Since I have no way to turn this blog orange without creating complete havoc, let me just urge readers to use your imagination: pretend the site (or at least this post) is colored a blazing orange!

Why, you ask? In support of Bob Schaffer, who right now is seriously contemplating whether to answer the many calls to run for National Committeeman. Tomorrow is the State Central Committee meeting and the moment of truth. Thanks to all those who have written and urged Bob to run. I feel confident he will make the right choice.

I’ve been active in Republican politics for most of a decade now (one-third of my life!). And I can honestly say, that in all my years of political activity, I have never encountered anyone that possesses and displays the combination of deep principle, vast knowledge, acumen, integrity, personal warmth and good humor of Bob Schaffer.

I moved to Colorado from Michigan in the summer of 2002. In April 2003, a mutual friend arranged a personal meeting for me and former Congressman Bob Schaffer. At that point, he was still quite fresh in his return from Washington, D.C., having impressed countless observers with his decision to honor his term-limits pledge against all the tide of political winds telling him it would be no big deal to fudge it. “What kind of example would it teach my family?” was his chief concern.

Bob came back to Colorado and was taking a lead role in education reform activities. My one-hour meeting with him in a small delicatessen in Denver impressed me beyond belief. He took my resume and a writing sample, and I thought I might never hear from him again. But nine months later he called me back with a new opportunity to help the education reform movement, and I gladly swept it up.

I was at dinner with him and a group of about 8 or 9 people the evening that Ben Nighthorse Campbell announced he wasn’t running for re-election. I remember his remarks about the frequent calls and e-mails on his Blackberry urging him to take a stab at the Senate race. I don’t need to rehash all that history, except to say it was a great honor over the next 5 months to volunteer many hours on his campaign. Even though he lost in the primary, I hold no hard feelings at all.

Now comes an opportunity where there should be no disagreement whatsoever. Bob Schaffer is the man of the hour to run for National Committeeman – a man committed to God, family, and country; a man who represents Colorado values; a man who has a deep and personal connection with the grassroots of the state’s Republican party; a man with the knowledge, experience, and convictions to get the job done.

Let’s do the right thing – to echo the words of Clay: Let’s elect Bob Schaffer!

I hope to see you this afternoon at BLOGFEST.

A real ruckus has been raised after former US Senator and University of Northern Colorado President Hank Brown withdrew his name from consideration for an interim term in the top post at CU, following critical remarks from a black Democrat state senator saying that Brown lacked a commitment to affirmative action and racial diversity.

Hank Brown, a conservative Republican of character, experience, and stature, commands tremendous respect in wide-ranging circles in Colorado. It’s a shame that he decided to withdraw his name from contention, since Senator Brown is a qualified man of class and dignity who could have done wonders for the campus at Boulder. Of course, the charge by Senator Peter Groff (President pro tem of the Senate) that Brown isn’t committed to diversity is a cheap canard, as evidenced in the Rocky Mountain News story.

Now that Hank Brown is out of the running, though, that improves the chances for other candidates seeking the endorsement of the Rocky Mountain Alliance. Following the debacle, the CU Regents may be looking more intently for a permanent replacement – someone outside the state to exert a sane and calming influence on the university: Hugh Hewitt and King Banaian both qualify. But there are also other candidates to consider, and the RMA’s announced endorsement is coming next week.

Yesterday the US House unanimously passed The Protection of Incapacitated Persons Act of 2005 – also known as “Terri’s Law II” – that will effectively save Terri Schiavo’s life before tomorrow’s deadline.

Today the bill, S.539, comes before the US Senate for debate and passage. Please contact your Senators and urge them to vote for “Terri’s Law II”.

We’re proud of the way the House acted, responding to the overwhelming voices of its constituents, to move the bill through so quickly. It’s exciting not only because it portends the hope of saving Terri’s life and getting her the therapy and treatment she has been denied for so many years. It also has the potential to energize America’s mainstream voters to see they don’t have to settle for the silly and sometimes oppressive decisions that certain judges create from whole cloth.

Most Americans want to make sure that good people occupy the federal bench, judges who will interpret the law and not impose their own radical opinions (or an estranged husband’s death wish for his disabled wife). So says a recent poll conducted by the Judicial Confirmation Network:

The survey also found 75 percent of voters agree that “President Bush should keep his promise made during the campaign to nominate a U.S. Supreme Court justice who will apply existing law, not make new law.”

And another poll finding:

Eighty-two percent of voters agree that “if a nominee for any federal judgeship is well-qualified, he or she deserves an up or down vote on the floor of the Senate,” the poll found.

The case of Judge Greer is not an isolated one by any stretch. However, the public scrutiny of the many injustices and unanswered questions in the Terri Schiavo case have helped to add attention to the problem of judicial tyranny across the nation. Next to saving a disabled woman’s life, that would be the best development to come out of this whole affair.

This morning I read with care a column in the Dallas Morning News by radio talk show host Mark Davis: “Zeal for ‘life’ in Schiavo case blinds us to unknown.”

His basic point – without quoting from the column at length – is that we just don’t know what Terri’s wishes are, and since we don’t know with certainty we should be careful about making any judgments in this case. He asks several questions as well, including: Is it right for us to “err on the side of life”? Could the motives of many fighting for her cause be tainted by a zealous political agenda?

Regarding the last question, I find it dangerous to assess the motives of others, but I can honestly say that his description does not fit me. But truly that’s beside the point.

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While 99% of the population goes on obliviously with their everyday lives, the jockeying goes on among potential and declared candidates for Colorado political offices.

The Rocky Mountain News reports this afternoon that University of Denver President and former investment banker Marc Holtzman still is not an official candidate for governor. I’m not sure this story would be newsworthy except that the state’s political insiders are waiting with baited breath to see if Congressman Bob Beauprez is going to throw his hat into the ring. Holtzman well may be waiting to see what Beauprez will do before officially joining the race. Beauprez in, Holtzman out. Beauprez out, Holtzman in. State Treasurer Mike Coffman appears to be hanging in there for now. And the rumors are flying around former Congressman Scott McInnis.

Should Beauprez declare himself a candidate for governor, he would be the prohibitive Republican favorite. The only danger there would be the critical loss of incumbency in the 7th CD race. The Rocky reports some redeeming good news for the GOP, however. The first Democrat to declare her candidacy in the 7th CD is Joanna Conti, who ran an aggressive campaign against Tom Tancredo in the 6th CD. I have to agree with the Dead Governors: Conti is not the Dems’ best hope and will certainly look like an interloper in that race. But I won’t shed any tears over that.

On the Democrat side of the gubernatorial race, Congressman Mark Udall has already bowed out, and now the Dead Governors have some serious inside speculation that big Dem donors have serious doubts about the Rutt Bridges campaign. Does that leave room for John Hickenlooper? Andrew Romanoff? Jared Polis? Let’s wait and see.

Which gubernatorial candidates – Republican and/or Democrat – would you most want to see square off next fall?

Update, 10:30 p.m.: Word has come directly from Bob Beauprez’s office that the 7th CD Congressman is forming an exploratory committee to run for governor. My guess is that a few weeks of talking to enough people in the party will convince him he’s the GOP’s man to make a run for the state’s chief executive office.

A few weeks ago I posted on a significant case where two Fort Collins parents have filed a formal complaint against the local teachers’ union for violating campaign laws, including using public resources for political purposes.

According to Paul Marrick, one of the parents who filed the complaint, both sides have requested a continuance and no date has been set for the hearing to start. Eventually the case will go before an administrative law judge. And when it does, the light of day will be shined on the union’s practices. If Marrick and his fellow complainant Wayne Rutt are successful, it could be a critical blow struck for education reform in Colorado. Such a result could open up investigations into further violations and offenses in other locations.

Yes, it’s true, and there’s a way you can help to make it happen. The costs to bring the case before the law judge can get steep, and Marrick and Rutt aren’t able to finance it alone. Since what they are doing is not simply on their own behalf, but on the behalf of many others interested in bringing desperately-needed reform to the education monopoly, fellow reform-minded individuals should not hesitate to chip in. Marrick and Rutt are collecting funds through an organization known as the Society for Independent Teachers and Parents. Make a notation that the contribution is for the “Fort Collins Project” and send it to:

Society for Independent
Teachers and Parents
P.O. Box 1996
Denver, CO 80202

They would also appreciate your words of encouragement as they conduct this important fight for justice.

Update: The initial court hearing has been scheduled for May 2. The sooner you are able to help, the better.

Nearly 10 days after a grassroots campaign began, urging former Congressman Bob Schaffer to run for the Colorado Republican Party’s National Committeeman spot, the Denver Post has caught on:

Schaffer has not announced his candidacy for committeeman and refused Monday “to discuss the issue in the press.”

“It’s an internal party matter,” he said.

Conservative backers of the failed 2004 U.S. Senate candidate have launched an intensive e-mail campaign on his behalf.

The cumulative list of those participating in the “intensive e-mail campaign” can be found here, here, and here. Now add the following to the list:

-Terry Kunkel, Chairman
-George Culpepper, Vice Chairman
-Lois Landgraf, Secretary
-Jeff Crank
-Robert Balink
-Matthew Werner
-Colin Mullaney
-John Newsome
-Conrad Gutierrez
-Kent Lambert
-Paul Lundeen
-Amy Lathen
-Amy Stevens
-Anna Bartha
-Amy Mullaney
-Cindy Newsome
-Sam Schafer
-Mary Ann Tebedo
-Allisa Bohall
-Linda Carroll
-Sharon Adams

Four days until the State Central Committee meeting, and still no official announcement from Bob Schaffer. If you have yet to add your voices to those urging him to run, drop him an e-mail at Schaffer.Bob@gmail.com.

Cliff May has posted some incredible pictures of the massive freedom demonstrations in Beirut over at The Corner.

Note to the Left’s Fever Swamps: get back to work coming up with explanations for how all that progress towards freedom in the Middle East is happening in spite of President Bush. You’re falling behind!