Federalism and the Terri Schiavo Case

Legally, Michael Schiavo was within his rights to remove his wife Terri's feeding tube. Florida Statutes allow for him to submit a Petition to Withdraw Life Support; he is considered the next of kin as her spouse. Judge George W. Greer was just doing exactly what he is expected to do - uphold the state Constitution to the best of his ability. The fact that the Court of Appeals confirmed Judge Greer's initial ruling, and that the Florida Supreme Court declined to even hear the case provides clear evidence that this matter was cut and dried in terms of the law.

I believe it was inappropriate for President Bush to call a special session of Congress with the intention of intervening where he clearly had no jurisdiction. According to Article 2 Section 3 of the US Constitution, the president's power to call special sessions is only on "extraordinary occasions" and he has the responsibility to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." The law, according to Florida Statute 765 had already been faithfully executed by the Pinellas-Pasco's Sixth Judicial Circuit, and he chose not to heed their ruling. The executive branch has clearly overstepped its bounds when it attempts to force the US Supreme Court to hear a case it had already deemed unworthy. "Terri's Law" was a despicable attempt to void state's rights. It is in fact the Founding Father's version of federalism that ensures such things do not happen. Florida has certain powers as a state in this union that cannot be infringed by the central government.

Regarding the right-to-die debate and the nature of the federal government's authority, I do not believe that a faceless official should decide if someone's family member can continue (or not) with life support. However, the Terry Schiavo case at its core was not really about the federal government's authority to pull the plug. President Bush and his Congress were rightly censured for attempting to flout our system of checks and balances. Even after the autopsy was performed, Jeb Bush continued to hound Michael Schiavo, primarily because Schiavo had become involved with another woman and had two children during the fifteen years Terri was comatose. The law stands as it should: in the absence of a will, the spouse makes the decision between life or death. We cannot adjust for every case that comes forward.

Picture Sources:

Terri Before and After

Robert Schindler

The American Dream

The current economic situation, particularly its persistence, has created an atmosphere of apathetic fear - a dull ache every time we watch broadcast news or pick up a newspaper. The "American Dream" as we know it from birth glosses over the issues every person faces in this country today. The idealized life: house in the suburbs, green lawn, SUV, 2.7 kids, and happiness, is the exception not the rule. Materialism holds the average American in a vice grip, and when certain luxuries become unavailable or unattainable, we blame the government instead of taking responsibility for our poor decision-making.
Joan Claybrook in the PBS "Deepening the American Dream" series said: "It's time to take back America, to make it our dream, not the dream of the financial and special interests." I completely agree with this statement. Our founding fathers never intended for public policy to be dictated by power-hungry corporations and their goons; their unchecked efforts to mislead consumers caused the world-wide economic collapse.
Another aspect of today's American Dream is our involvement in and awareness of foreign governments and people. David Frum (speaking in the same PBS series) said: "Human beings have the ability to...make their own limits without resentment against others." I agree that people have the ability but I don't believe, with our current government, that people have the capability. We are severely restricted by the news media. Without transparency and tolerance, we cannot hope to reach out, citizen to citizen. If I can ever achieve that, I'll consider my personal American Dream fulfilled.

Blogs I'm Following

Fight Against the Plutocrats: A Punk Music Blog
This blog reviews punk music releases or re-releases. The author (Dirk) also includes a "wanted list" of albums he's looking for/suggesting. I like that he provides information to order copies of the music being reviewed. The author's profile says that he hails from the Netherlands, so his blog includes a wide range of punk music in various forms, not just the British and American manifestations already familiar to most fans. He provides links to his other blog, (Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll) and there we learn that Dirk recently died of cancer. His parents have been updating a separate memorial blog for him with videos of the funeral and other home movies.

At War: Notes from the Front Lines
This blog, published via the NY Times website has up-to-the-minute information about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The blog is compiled by a team of NY Times reporters, photographers and interpreters on the ground in the Middle East. Additionally, they follow news from Pakistan and "other areas of conflict in the post-9/11 era."It's important that Americans don't lose focus on our government's involvement in the Middle East. It is too easy to become complacent, and that is a far greater risk to society than physical violence can ever be. One cannot question authority without the knowledge to speak with it.
As far as format is concerned, I like that it includes sidebars of reader commentary and suggestions for further reading. It also has that glossy, professional look to it that makes it easy to jump from feature to feature.