The American Spectator

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Concentrated Minds

3.28.05 @ 12:01AM

NO EXCEPTIONS?
Re: Ben Stein's Simply Terrifying:

Ben Stein's writing is the literary equivalent of Samuel Johnson's observation that "The prospect of getting hung in the morning will concentrate the mind wonderfully." Very few writers can say so much, so well and so concisely as Mr. Stein. His comparison of the Bastards in Black Robes with the Falangist followers of Francisco Franco is a flash of insight into the black soul of liberalism. Liberals have come full circle into fascism.
-- Bob Keiser
Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

I live about 15 minutes away from the hospice where Terri Schiavo is living her last days. Last night my wife and I were driving by the area and decided to stop. Not to gawk, not to protest, simply to go there. Because both of us sensed that something extraordinarily wrong was taking place. A few days ago I was one of those saying that Terri should be "allowed to die," that "it was none of anyone's business," etc. My mind is changed after hearing that her husband is that in name only, that there is testimony that she is disabled rather than being in a vegetative state. Maybe that is entirely wrong; but maybe not.

I'm not a particularly religious person but I prayed today for the first time in a long while. And when I was at the hospice last night I turned toward it and mouthed the words "I'm sorry." I don't know if anyone heard my prayers or words.

I have asked myself "why" many times in the last few days. Why is the husband so insistent? Why not cede custody to the parents, walk away, and get on with his new life? Why are there so many pundits anxious to see this woman die? What makes them so sure of themselves? I guess the last straw for me was the poll conducted that showed a majority wanted this woman to die. A poll? Is that how we determine life and death? 51% says death so you die? The people conducting the poll, the people responding to the poll, and certainly the pundits using the poll as support for their position should be ashamed. The Carvilles and Begalas of the world should pray they never are in the position Terri Schiavo is in.
-- William R. Falzone
Seminole, Florida

I totally agree with Ben Stein about the courts being out of control. The part of his column that does not stand up is that Terri Schiavo is not brain dead. Mr. and Mrs. Schindler have hired a neurologist who has prostituted himself by declaring that Terri is not in a persistent vegetative state. In fact it has been reported in the news that this neurologist has been involved in many right-to-life cases. Terri is brain dead. CT scans show that where she used to have a cerebral cortex there is cerebrospinal fluid. Other neurologists have declared Terri to be in a persistent vegetative state. The burden is on Mr. Stein to provide proof that Mrs. Schiavo is NOT brain dead. Testimony by licensed practical nurses with limited scientific training is not proof. C'mon, Ben, what has happened to your otherwise sharp brain?
-- Ed Parker

Dear Mr. Stein: My wife and I are prolife period. No exceptions. America is almost dead to the core. They are murdering Terri. This is Hitler reborn. America will pay for Her slide toward satanism. There should be a national outcry. We are too busy polishing our possessions, attending sports events and generally not paying attention to what is actually at stake here. Thank you so much for your stand and being out front.
-- Marty

How right Ben Stein is. God weeps at our inhumanity. What would it cost to hand this woman over to her parents to care for her? We are a people these days steeped in a deep sickness of PC and PC legalese. We are worthy of God's derision and that frightens me, we are better than that. Spare her some consideration and spare us God's contempt.

LET THE WOMAN LIVE IN THE WARMTH OF HER FAMILY.
-- Gene Hauber
Meshoppen, Pennsylvania

It's idiotic commentary like this by mental midgets like you that WILL get some judge or other court officer shot. Happy hunting.
-- Ben Flores

Ben took the very words from my mouth about the raw unmasked evil of our judges. Hell is too congenial a place for these cravenly wicked men.
-- Tony Bonn

Let's not forget that this began with Terri's "loving husband," Michael Schiavo. He holds the ultimate power of Terri's life and death. It was Michael Schiavo who decided that his wife should die. Why? Because, according to him, this is what Terri wanted. With no directive written and signed by Terri, we are to take his word at face value. People can find fault with the judges and the courts and Congress and the president if they want, but don't ever forget that Terri's death is at the hands of her loving husband, Michael Schiavo.
-- Kitty Myers
Painted Post, New York

Oh dear! Mr. Stein has become unhinged. I thought it was the other side that did that, but I see that Republicans can lose their perspective too. What a bunch of claptrap.

I am not going to defend the Supreme Court decisions that Mr. Stein attacks. Late term abortion is wrong. Depraved minors should be subject to the death penalty if anyone else is. But his attacks on the court system in general as "fascinated by its own obsession with letting innocent people die" is ridiculous.

What we have in the Schiavo case is a situation where the Florida courts in good faith went through a legal process that lasted over fifteen years. The judge heard evidence, evaluated the credibility of the witnesses, and made a decision. Mr. Stein wasn't there; I wasn't there; President Bush wasn't there; Congress wasn't there; the judge was there. The losing party did not accept the decision, joined forces with a powerful political interest, and engaged in a relentless publicity campaign that has involved confusion of the facts and vilification of the other side and the court system itself. If we are to have ordered liberty in this country, we need to respect the court system and the process of the law, not trash them.

Letter to the Editor

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