Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader sees that the Smallholder has declared this blog to be all Schiavo all the time. And since your Maximum Leader does have a few things to say on this subject, he will continue with this theme.

In case you are living under a rock or just ignoring the news, a Federal Judge (empowered by the new - and bad - law) has denied the Schindler’s request to reinsert Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube. They are appealing the decision.

Your Maximum Leader, up to this point, hasn’t said much on this case. Indeed, he finds himself in nearly total agreement with his good friend the Smallholder on this.

Let us revisit the tragic facts here. Terri Schiavo had an attack related to an eating disorder. She recieved incorrect or otherwise bad care from doctors immediately after the attack. The result of the attack and subsequent mistreatment was that many portions of Terri’s brain were liquified. For 7 years Michael Schiavo and Terri’s parents, the Schindlers, worked with many different doctors and specialists to try and treat Terri’s condition. All attempts failed. After 7 years of trying, Michael Schiavo determined that Terri’s feeding tubes should be removed, and action that would result in Terri’s death. (He did this in the absence of some legal document stating the same.) The Schindler’s objected and have been fighting the action in court for 8 years or so. In the intervening 8 years, Michael Schiavo has moved on, started a new family - while not divorcing Terri - and has fought to remove the feeding tubes.

What is in dispute here? From a legal perspective few items are in dispute. First is if Terri would have wanted to “live” in her current condition. Second is if Terri’s due process rights have been denied to her. Basically that is it. Those are the two legal issues here. And frankly, legal issues are all that we are left with in this case.

Allow your Maximum Leader to state a few opinions of his own on this. First off, insofar as your Maximum Leader is concerned Terri Schiavo died 15 years ago. Large portions of her brain have been liquified. No doctor has ever disputed this point. Nothing will regrow brain tissue. Nothing! The video distributed by her family, as well as many stories about her vocalizing sounds ultimately mean nothing. The human brain is as fragile as the rest of the body is strong. What we have in this case is, unfortunately, a body that is kept going by the autonomic nervous system of the brain. It is capable of making vocalizations. Itis capable of some muscle movement. It may make some basic responses to outside stimuli (like sounds and light). But that is it. No amount of therapy, medicine, or treatment will change any of this.

Legally speaking, when you have a person in this condition, the next of kin is responsible for taking decisions concerning the person’s care - or withdrawl of care. In this case the legally competent person to make that determination was Michael Schiavo.

It is clear that when this case began, Michael Schiavo had the legal right to do what he has sought to do - remove the feeding tubes and starve Terri’s body to death. When the Schindler’s first objected to this course of action, hearings were heard and a judge adjudicated according to established case law and tradition that Michael’s wishes were those that would prevail.

That is it from a legal perspective. Michael Schiavo had the legal authority to take a decision. He took a decision. The Schindler’s objected. A court heard the evidence. The court examined the records. And the court decided the case according to the law and the Constitution.

Your Maximum Leader will go so far as to say that this case can be heard by any in the land, and the same decision will be reached.

What makes this case hard are the other facts. The fact that now Michael Schiavo has moved on, had kids with another woman, and generally seems to be an unreasoning asshole. The fact that the Schindler’s still hold out false hope. And the fact that Terri Schiavo doesn’t look dead.

Your Maximum Leader will grant anyone that Michael Schiavo appears to be a bastard of the first rank. But that doesn’t matter from a legal perspective. Even the rankest bastards are entitled to equal justice under the law.

Your Maximum Leader must also confess that he feels pity for the Schindlers. Pity that they engage in, what the Smallholder has called, “magical thinking.” Nothing anyone can do now will restore Terri’s liquified brain. Nothing anyone can even speculate about doing will restore Terri’s liquifed brain. The parents want to keep the husk of their daughter alive because they want to believe that somehow something will happen to change the facts.

Excursus: Your Maximum Leader is familiar with the basic breakdown here between Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers. It is a breakdown that could have occured in his own family. You see… Your Maximum Leader’s venerated mother was drafting her Advanced Medical Directive (Living Will) and designated your Maximum Leader as the person with authority. She chose to bypass your Maximum Leader’s sainted father. This caused a little bit of surprise when it was revealed to your Maximum Leader in the lawyer’s office. He specifically asked why his dad was not to have the legal authority over his mother should an Advanced Medical Directive be required. His mother spoke bluntly to your Maximum Leader. She said, “Your father believes that where there is breath there is life. You know that isn’t the case. He can’t pull my plug. You can. And I want you to if it comes down to it.”

Excursus Pt 2: Your Maximum Leader had a difficult converstation with Mrs. Villain on this same subject. (That is Advanced Medical Directives.) When his attorney was drafting the documents for your Maximum Leader; Mrs Villain confessed that she wasn’t sure she could pull the plug on your Maximum Leader. We discussed the possibilities over and over again. Finally your Maximum Leader just told Mrs Villain that to avoid the pain and anguish being put on her shoulders - he would designate someone else (either the Big Hominid, Smallholder, or AirMarshal). Indeed a first draft was done naming people other than Mrs. Villain. But in the end, she determined that she could carry out my wishes - should it ever come to that.

And your Maximum Leader will admit that when he sees the video of Terri, he finds it hard to believe that so much of her brain could be liquified. But that is the fact. Other bloggers have mentioned that Terri hasn’t had a CT scan, or MRI on her brain. What would they show that wouldn’t be shown on the X-rays which have been taken? You would see the missing parts of Terri’s brain in glowing colour?

It is tragic. It is heartbreaking. And is it all repulsive. Starving a body to death. That is horrifying. Absolutely horrifying. But that is the only recourse in this case. Administering life-terminating drugs is a crime. So we are left with a barbaric way to go.

Your Maximum Leader is very sad that it has come to this. But the situation is what it is. You have a man who will not give up his position for anything. And a family who will not give up in their attempts to stop him. This is a family dispute gone horribly horribly wrong. One wishes that Michael Schiavo would just up and leave. That he would just give in, but he will not. 8 years should have proven that to everyone.

But that said, it is not appropriate for Congress to intervene in these affairs. The special session of Congress, the actions of many Representatives and Senators on both sides of the asile, they are all replusive. This is not a case where the Federal Government has any standing. It is horrifying to thing that there is serious business before the Congress, but it is not getting done so that a debate that is more about grandstanding than policy can occur. It goes against every principle your Maximum Leader wants his elected representatives to live up to.

So. Where do we stand now? The courts will not reverse themselves. Politicans are grandstanding. Everyone is leaping to conclusions based on emotional hype - not the law, the facts, or anything else it seems. And the body that was once Terri Schiavo keeps dying slowly from starvation.

It is a horrible spectacle. And it is sickening.

Carry on.