Archives for 2005

Some things just make me want to scream. This is one:

A fourth-generation pharmacist whose drugstore still sits on the courthouse square of his conservative small town downstate, State Senator Frank Watson knew exactly what side to take when Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich ordered pharmacies to fill prescriptions for women wanting the new “morning after” pill, even if it meant putting aside their employees’ personal views.

“The governor is trying to make a decision that must be left to the pharmacy,” said Senator Watson, whose family business, Watson’s Drug Store in Greenville, Ill., does not stock the pill. “It’s an infringement on a business decision and also on the pharmacist’s right of conscience.”

It isn’t the pharmacy’s decision, it is the decision of the DOCTOR WHO PRESCRIBED THE MEDICINE AND THE WOMAN WHO WILL USE IT. You are nothing more than someone wearing a sanitary labcoat who is paid to distribute the CORRECT DOSE.

This is not a morals issues. This is an issue about buttinski creeps trying to impose their values on others. Do you stand in judgement of overweight people when they go in for their blood pressure meds?

How about someone who needs an antibiotic to combat a sexually transmitted disease? If they are single, should you deny it so they can suffer yuor God’s wrath? If they are married, do your morals dictate that you call up the patient’s spouse?

These wingnut lunatics need to get their asses in line, check their faux morality at the countertop, and start issuing the damned pills that the people who went to MEDICAL SCHOOL FOR TEN YEARS are prescribing. Otherwise, turn in your damned labcoat, turn in your government license, and run off to seminary school. The church is short a few good men, although most of the priests and ministers I have known are not judgemental know-it-all creeps like these jerks.

And, as usual, guess who is adovcating this lawlessness:

“This is going to be a huge national issue in the future,” said Paul Caprio, director of Family-Pac, a conservative group that urged pharmacists in Illinois to ignore Governor Blagojevich’s rule. “Pharmacists are coming forward saying that they want to exercise their rights of conscience.”

ARGGGGHGHH!Post + Comments (168)

In case you were wondering, I have yet to find one person who attacked Michael Schiavo who has acknowledged the results of the DCF report exonerating him of charges of abuse and neglect. And before you forget, what were some of those charges?

In at least one case, the caller found the evidence of Terri Schiavo’s alleged abuse on the Internet. In January 2004, a female caller reported that Terri Schiavo had an infection on her stomach, at the site of her feeding tube, that was not being treated. But, when questioned, she said she had no first-hand knowledge. She “stated that her information on current infections and lack of treatment was from Yahoo chatline,” the report said.

She found it on the internets. Fabulous. I guess if the internet is good enough for Bill Frist to make a diagnosis on Terri Schiavo, an internet rumor is probably good enough for some crank to trigger an investigation. After all, this is becoming know-nothing nation, where the louder and dumber you are, the more attention you get.

She probably was reading Bryan Preston, who was busy calling everyone Pontius Pilate. Or maybe she was reading the Empire Journal. Or Misha, who had this to say about Michael Schiavo:

No matter what, we breathe a sigh of relief that he won’t be allowed to murder his wife just yet and hope and pray that he’ll be hit by a truck before the legal system either lets him carry out his plan or sets a horrible precedent by deciding that the State’s wishes must prevail over the wishes of spouses.

Apparently, God was on vacation, but I am not. I am going to wait a couple more days, and then I am just going to have to do a big round-up of those who don;t have the nerve to admit they were wrong.

At any rate, where is this self-correcting blogosphere? I saw literally thousands of accusations of abuse- where are the corrections? The only thing I have been able to find at the Corner, which used to be “All Schiavo All the Time” before it became “All Pope All The Time,” is this:

heard this morning that Dean made a speech over the weekend in which he said he plans to make Schiavo a big campaign issue in the next two cycles. If he’s serious, THAT’s a bonehead move. The seemingly pro-death polls on Schiavo were dependent on two things (a) misinformation spawned by the media about basic facts of the case, and (b) the high emotion of the days prior to Terri’s death. A campaign that scrutinizes what happened in Florida is most likely to correct the misinformation — and may even swing things in the other direction (given that the pro-life forces correctly predicted worse cases like the one down in Georgia, and that all the legislative movement at the state level seems to be in the direction of tightening laws to prevent someone like Terri from being killed by someone like her husband under ambiguous circumstances). Plus, how is Dean ever gonna sell that a bandwagon Ralph Nader and Jesse Jackson leaped on with both feet is somehow a right-wing assault on civil liberties?

Let’s go through this again. Republicans act disgracefully, spread all sorts of lies, violate the concept of marriage, create special legislation to intrude into people’s lives, villianize Michael Schiavo, enlist Randall Terry and a group of fruits and nuts on a jihad, have half the elected Congress attacking the judiciary, and have generally exposed themselves as wild-eyed, bible-thumping, pseudo-fascists lunatics who will say anything and on the surface appear more dangerous than the MoveOn and A.N.S.W.E.R. crowd, yet if Dean mentions the Schiavo affair during th election season, it is going to hurt…. DEMOCRATS?

What flavor is the kool-aid today, Andrew?

And what was the truth about Terri Schiavo’s care:

DCF investigators said they made unannounced visits to Woodside Hospice and interviewed the facilities’ doctors before clearing the cases.

“She appeared to be well cared for and here were no signs of any medical problems or distress,” one 2003 DCF report noted.

“…During the time Mrs. Schiavo has been a patient of hospice, the spouse has always been courteous and very compassionate toward his wife,” the investigator continued. “They (staff) have never heard him make any statements pertaining to wanting her to die. He is rarely alone with her when he visits and has never compromised her care.”

Who you going to believe- the demagogues or your lying eyes?

The Brave ‘Self-Correcting’ BlogospherePost + Comments (49)

More detail here:

State investigators found no evidence that Terri Schiavo had been abused or exploited by either side of her family, according to documents released by Florida’s Department of Children and Families.

The agency investigated 89 complaints dating back to 2001, when Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed for the first time and the legal battle surrounding her right-to-die case intensified.

The calls alleged that the brain-damaged woman was being mistreated by her husband and her parents for financial gain. One complaint alleged that Schiavo’s parents were selling videos of her through a Web site; another said Schiavo’s husband wasn’t spending money intended for her rehabilitation.

But investigators said they found no evidence that either her husband or parents were exploiting her, and often noted in their records that they found Schiavo well cared for on their visits to her Pinellas Park hospice.

No evidence. None. No neglect. No abuse. All lies. Eighty-Nine complaints, and not one had any semblance of truth to it. And there are a number of bloggers who need to step up and admit they were wrong, and apologize to Michael Schiavo.

Of course, the fanatics will just claim that the investigation was improper, or incomplete, or that it still doesn;t matter because Michael ‘abandoned’ his wife and fathered ‘bastard’ children.

Who knows what they will say, since saying anything appears to be the modus operandi:

They [the government] should have moved in years ago when it became obvious her husband was abusing her through total neglect.

Why, I bet they found no evidence because the DCF is filled with soulless, God-hating, anti-religious types. Quick, someone call Bill Frist and Tom DeLay! We are fighting a culture war! We are fighting for a culture of life! We shall not be stopped, no matter who we stain with our bile!

Schiavo Abuse, UpdatePost + Comments (13)

Investigators have come to a conclusion regarding Terri Schiavo and have determined she WAS NOT abused in any way, shape, or form:

State investigators in Florida have found no clear evidence that Terri Schiavo was denied rehabilitation, neglected or otherwise abused, according to documents released yesterday by the state’s Department of Children and Families.

The agency completed nine reports of abuse accusations made from 2001 to 2004, including neglect of hygiene, denial of dental care, poisoning and physical harm. The accusations, which have been widely reported, focus on Michael Schiavo, the husband of Terri. Ms. Schiavo died on March 31, nearly two weeks after her feeding tube was removed.

Let me be the first to extend a big MIDDLE FINGER to all the amoral scumbags who spent the previous month tarring and feathering Michael Schiavo with bullshit slurs. Schiavo should be allowed to sue Tom DeLay and the rest of those jerks.

And don’t tell me “the story said there was no CLEAR evidence,” with the emphasis on the word clear. That was the NY Times reporter’s phrasing, not the investigators. Besides, there is no such thing as ‘unclear evidence.’ Unclear evidence is what we usually call suspicion, innuendo, etc. There was plenty of that – but there is NO evidence Schiavo abused his wife or neglected her.

Maybe, just maybe, Michael Schiavo actually loved his wife. You guys ever try to fit that one into your thought processes?

You guys know who you are. You should be ashamed of yourselves, but shame is a human emotion.

(via Dean Esmay)

No Abuse FoundPost + Comments (46)