CLUELESS GEORGE FELOS...
...just doesn't get it!
From the report on the AOL News page:
''It is simply inhumane and barbaric to interrupt her death process,'' Felos said. ''Just because Terri Schiavo is not conscious doesn't mean she doesn't have dignity."
WHAT "death process"???
Terri was NOT undergoing a death process until a death process was imposed upon her by her husband through the courts on October 15.
Before that time, she was not dying by any stretch of the imagination --except, it seems, Felos' own demented New Age-molded imagination (about which see our October 16 and 17 blogs below). What is really "inhumane and barbaric" was Felos' and Schiavo's attempt to impose death by starvation and dehydration upon her.
The fact is that Terri was not hooked up to any respiratory, kidney, or heart-replacement machines. She was merely being fed and hydrated mechanically. She was undergoing no extraordinary measures to stay alive, unless on defines getting food and water as an "extraordinary measure" --which Felos apparently does.
However, thanks to Messr.s Felos and Schiavo's attempt to kill her, Terri may end up requiring a kidney machine to stay alive. So much for Felos' crocodile tears over Terri's dignity.
If one follows Felos' "argument" to its frighteningly logical conclusion, one ought also to remove food and water --whether supplied mechanically or naturally-- from quadraplegics, AIDS patients, all comatose persons, and bed-ridden elderly persons --all of whom will eventually die anyway.
Affer all, according to Felos' thinking, to let them have food and water is to "interrupt their death processes."
"Any questioning of the moral ideas that prevail ...is received with the utmost hostility.
To attempt such an enterprise is to disturb the peace"
--H. L. Mencken
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
BREAKING NEWS: FLORIDA LAWMAKERS VOTE FOR TERRI:
Florida House Passes Bill Allowing Gov. Jeb Bush to Intercede
Read all about it in the Associated Press report Florida lawmakers jump into Schiavo case to let governor step in published in today's Gainesville Sun.
It seems the Florida House, in a 68 to 32 vote, decided that because Terri left no living will, the Governor has the right to intervene on behalf of family members who opposed her husband's decision to kill her.
However, the bill still has to pass the Florida Senate, which convenes this morning, before Gov. Bush can order Terri's feeding tube to be replaced. But even if this happens --and especially if Terri dies despite all efforts to save her life-- the matter will be far from closed: Envoy Magazine writer Pete Vere, reporting from the vigil at Terri's hospice, notes that
...we need an investigation of the possible abuse [Terri] may have suffered [13 years ago at the hands of husband]. Right now, [husband] Michael Schiavo has reportedly ordered that upon her death she be cremated without an autopsy. We cannot allow this to happen.
NEWS UPDATE, 10:13 pm: According to Fox News and ABC Radio News, Terri was transferred earlier this evening to a hospital in Clearwater in which she is now receiving hydration, to be followed by nutrition. In response, "husband" Micheal Schiavo has threatened to sue not only Gov. Jeb Bush, but also any medical personnel who comply with Bush's orders to treat her.
Florida House Passes Bill Allowing Gov. Jeb Bush to Intercede
Read all about it in the Associated Press report Florida lawmakers jump into Schiavo case to let governor step in published in today's Gainesville Sun.
It seems the Florida House, in a 68 to 32 vote, decided that because Terri left no living will, the Governor has the right to intervene on behalf of family members who opposed her husband's decision to kill her.
However, the bill still has to pass the Florida Senate, which convenes this morning, before Gov. Bush can order Terri's feeding tube to be replaced. But even if this happens --and especially if Terri dies despite all efforts to save her life-- the matter will be far from closed: Envoy Magazine writer Pete Vere, reporting from the vigil at Terri's hospice, notes that
...we need an investigation of the possible abuse [Terri] may have suffered [13 years ago at the hands of husband]. Right now, [husband] Michael Schiavo has reportedly ordered that upon her death she be cremated without an autopsy. We cannot allow this to happen.
NEWS UPDATE, 10:13 pm: According to Fox News and ABC Radio News, Terri was transferred earlier this evening to a hospital in Clearwater in which she is now receiving hydration, to be followed by nutrition. In response, "husband" Micheal Schiavo has threatened to sue not only Gov. Jeb Bush, but also any medical personnel who comply with Bush's orders to treat her.
Monday, October 20, 2003
FLORIDA AND THE NAZIS, 70 YEARS LATER:
Ominous Parallels to the Third Reich’s “Mercy Killing” Program
"...[T]he bioethics departments in most universities are akin to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. The doctors and "scientists" at the Institute gave scientific legitimacy to one of the most grisly, evil barbaric rampages in the history of mankind. That rampage is happening in America without the Gestapo and SS. We have the courts and our institutions willing to couch the horror in legalism and euphemisms." --Diane Alden (10/17/03; newsmax.com)
On October 8, 1933 --exactly 70 years and one week before a Florida court ordered the starvation death of Terri Schindler-Schiavo-- The New York Times published an Oct. 7 Associated Press wire service story on the then-new Nazi government's announced plans to deal with the infirmed.
Following is that report, in full, as it appeared in the Times (emphases added):
Nazi Plan to Kill Incurables to End Pain; German Religious Groups Oppose Move.
BERLIN, Oct. 7 --The Ministry of Justice in a detailed memorandum explaining the Nazi aims regarding the German penal code today announced its intention to ,b>authorize physicians to end the sufferings of incurable patients. The memorandum, still lacking the force of law, proposed that "it shall be made possible for physicians to end the tortures of incurable patients, upon request, in the interests of true humanity." This proposed legal recognition of euthanasia --the act of providing a painless and peaceful death --raised a number of fundamental problems of a religious, scientific and legal nature.
The Catholic newspaper Germania hastened to observe: "The Catholic faith binds the conscience of its followers not to accept this method of shortening the sufferings of incurables who are tormented by pain." In Lutheran circles, too, life is regarded as something that God alone can take. A large section of the German people, it was expected in some interested circles, might ignore the provisions for euthanasia, which overnight has become a widely-discussed word in the Reich.
In medical circles the question was raised as to just when a man is incurable and when his life should be ended. According to the present plans of the Ministry of Justice, incurability would be determined not only by the attending physician, but also by two official doctors who would carefully trace the history of the case and personally examine the patient.
In insisting that euthanasia shall be permissible only if the accredited attending physician is backed by two experts who so advise, the Ministry believes a guarantee is given that no life still valuable to the State will be wantonly destroyed.
The legal question of who may request the application of euthanasia has not been definitely solved. The Ministry merely has proposed that either the patient himself shall "expressly and earnestly" ask it, or "in case the patient no longer is able to express his desire, his nearer relatives, acting from motives that do not contravene morals so request."
Of course, the Nazi policy was implemented and “incurable patients” were routinely put to death or “allowed” to die (via starvation and withdrawal of medical treatment) as an act of Nazi “mercy,” "dignity," and “liberation” from suffering –the very same arguments presented by Terri’s “husband” Michael Schiavo and his “right-to-die” activist lawyer George Felos. (One suspects that Herr Felos' dehumanizing anthropology and anti-Christian New Age "spirituality" would've fit in quite nicely with the Third Reich.)
Eventually, and in very short order, the Nazis’ euthanasia policy was expanded to include all those deemed to have a “low quality of life” and therefore regarded as a burden on the Reich’s newly nationalized health care system: By 1939, the Nazi’s “mercy killing” program included “unproductive” elderly; the retarded; the mentally ill; the senile; epileptics; psychiatric patients; the handicapped, deaf, and blind; and those who were chronically ill for more than five years. Infants born with any of mental or physical disabilities who were unfortunate enough to be born in Reich hospitals were immediately removed from their mothers and killed.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Twenty-five years ago, popular Evangelical Christian writer and teacher Francis A. Schaeffer and nationally-known right-to-life pediatrician (and later US Surgeon General) C. Everett Koop, also an Evangelical, joined forces to oppose Roe v.Wade and abortion-on-demand knowing full well what the implications of that decision and its “right to privacy” fabrication would lead to. They also knew the history of the Nazi euthanasia program and didn’t want to see it repeated.
But when they openly predicted that precisely what is happening today in Florida would be the next thing to come down the Culture of Death pike, the secular media –and more than a few Christians—dismissed them as alarmists and crackpots.
As it turns out, they were prophets.
Ominous Parallels to the Third Reich’s “Mercy Killing” Program
"...[T]he bioethics departments in most universities are akin to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. The doctors and "scientists" at the Institute gave scientific legitimacy to one of the most grisly, evil barbaric rampages in the history of mankind. That rampage is happening in America without the Gestapo and SS. We have the courts and our institutions willing to couch the horror in legalism and euphemisms." --Diane Alden (10/17/03; newsmax.com)
On October 8, 1933 --exactly 70 years and one week before a Florida court ordered the starvation death of Terri Schindler-Schiavo-- The New York Times published an Oct. 7 Associated Press wire service story on the then-new Nazi government's announced plans to deal with the infirmed.
Following is that report, in full, as it appeared in the Times (emphases added):
Nazi Plan to Kill Incurables to End Pain; German Religious Groups Oppose Move.
BERLIN, Oct. 7 --The Ministry of Justice in a detailed memorandum explaining the Nazi aims regarding the German penal code today announced its intention to ,b>authorize physicians to end the sufferings of incurable patients. The memorandum, still lacking the force of law, proposed that "it shall be made possible for physicians to end the tortures of incurable patients, upon request, in the interests of true humanity." This proposed legal recognition of euthanasia --the act of providing a painless and peaceful death --raised a number of fundamental problems of a religious, scientific and legal nature.
The Catholic newspaper Germania hastened to observe: "The Catholic faith binds the conscience of its followers not to accept this method of shortening the sufferings of incurables who are tormented by pain." In Lutheran circles, too, life is regarded as something that God alone can take. A large section of the German people, it was expected in some interested circles, might ignore the provisions for euthanasia, which overnight has become a widely-discussed word in the Reich.
In medical circles the question was raised as to just when a man is incurable and when his life should be ended. According to the present plans of the Ministry of Justice, incurability would be determined not only by the attending physician, but also by two official doctors who would carefully trace the history of the case and personally examine the patient.
In insisting that euthanasia shall be permissible only if the accredited attending physician is backed by two experts who so advise, the Ministry believes a guarantee is given that no life still valuable to the State will be wantonly destroyed.
The legal question of who may request the application of euthanasia has not been definitely solved. The Ministry merely has proposed that either the patient himself shall "expressly and earnestly" ask it, or "in case the patient no longer is able to express his desire, his nearer relatives, acting from motives that do not contravene morals so request."
Of course, the Nazi policy was implemented and “incurable patients” were routinely put to death or “allowed” to die (via starvation and withdrawal of medical treatment) as an act of Nazi “mercy,” "dignity," and “liberation” from suffering –the very same arguments presented by Terri’s “husband” Michael Schiavo and his “right-to-die” activist lawyer George Felos. (One suspects that Herr Felos' dehumanizing anthropology and anti-Christian New Age "spirituality" would've fit in quite nicely with the Third Reich.)
Eventually, and in very short order, the Nazis’ euthanasia policy was expanded to include all those deemed to have a “low quality of life” and therefore regarded as a burden on the Reich’s newly nationalized health care system: By 1939, the Nazi’s “mercy killing” program included “unproductive” elderly; the retarded; the mentally ill; the senile; epileptics; psychiatric patients; the handicapped, deaf, and blind; and those who were chronically ill for more than five years. Infants born with any of mental or physical disabilities who were unfortunate enough to be born in Reich hospitals were immediately removed from their mothers and killed.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Twenty-five years ago, popular Evangelical Christian writer and teacher Francis A. Schaeffer and nationally-known right-to-life pediatrician (and later US Surgeon General) C. Everett Koop, also an Evangelical, joined forces to oppose Roe v.Wade and abortion-on-demand knowing full well what the implications of that decision and its “right to privacy” fabrication would lead to. They also knew the history of the Nazi euthanasia program and didn’t want to see it repeated.
But when they openly predicted that precisely what is happening today in Florida would be the next thing to come down the Culture of Death pike, the secular media –and more than a few Christians—dismissed them as alarmists and crackpots.
As it turns out, they were prophets.
THE "ROE V.WADE"OF THE EUTHANASIA MOVEMENT:
30 Years Later, "Right to Privacy" Is Used Once Again to Kill the Innocent
In her insightful article The Troubling Business of Fading Away, writer Cecilia H. Martin of the Catholic Advocate newsletter notes some striking similarities between the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which ushered in abortion-on-demand, and the Florida 2003 Schindler v.Schiavo decision:
...For Catholic pro-lifers, (in actuality no other type of Catholic is Catholic) Terri’s case is arguably the Roe vs Wade of the euthanasia movement. While Schindler vs Schiavo did not move to the U.S. Supreme Court, as it matriculates through the Florida courts it in being tried in the media, on the Internet and in the highly charged swirl of public opinion.
The fabricated notion that a "right to privacy" was found in the Constitution upon which abortion on demand was predicated, bears a striking resemblance to the hinge upon which Felos has hung his case, that Terri once told her husband she didn’t want to live sustained by artificial means.
Hearsay evidence of a 26-year-old woman, belatedly expressed, (only after a substantial malpractice monetary award) by a surrogate/guardian husband who denies his wife any rehabilitative measures, is now used as "privacy rights" to kill her. The talons of the death-culture that rake the baby from the womb now sever the disabled from their tenuous grasp on life in the name of privacy.
...St. Petersburg‘s citizenry were shocked to read in local papers that the alternative metal band, Hell on Earth, is planning an on-stage suicide of a terminally ill fan to take place on October 4th. The purpose is to "raise awareness for dying with dignity." The fan wishes to put an end to "back alley suicides."
Apparently, this is not a hoax; Fox news anchor Rita Cosby carried the story twice on national television. In Florida, it is a second-degree felony to assist a suicide. Lead singer, Billy Tourtelot, who is a strong supporter of physician-assisted suicide, claims he’s not "assisting." "This is about standing up for what you believe in...What I’m doing may be immoral, but it’s not illegal," says Billy. St. Petersburg’s State Theater as well as another club have denied the band a venue. Tourtelot, nevertheless insists the show will go on. The St. Petersburg police are on the alert.
Physician-assisted suicide is euthanasia. Euthanasia is illegal. Tell that to ["right-to-die" activist lawyer George] Felos who asserted on national TV, "We’re just carrying out Terri wishes," -by starving her to death.
How many elderly people with impatient relatives will become instantly vulnerable once Tourtelot and Felos’ macabre ideology becomes sacrosanct law?
30 Years Later, "Right to Privacy" Is Used Once Again to Kill the Innocent
In her insightful article The Troubling Business of Fading Away, writer Cecilia H. Martin of the Catholic Advocate newsletter notes some striking similarities between the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which ushered in abortion-on-demand, and the Florida 2003 Schindler v.Schiavo decision:
...For Catholic pro-lifers, (in actuality no other type of Catholic is Catholic) Terri’s case is arguably the Roe vs Wade of the euthanasia movement. While Schindler vs Schiavo did not move to the U.S. Supreme Court, as it matriculates through the Florida courts it in being tried in the media, on the Internet and in the highly charged swirl of public opinion.
The fabricated notion that a "right to privacy" was found in the Constitution upon which abortion on demand was predicated, bears a striking resemblance to the hinge upon which Felos has hung his case, that Terri once told her husband she didn’t want to live sustained by artificial means.
Hearsay evidence of a 26-year-old woman, belatedly expressed, (only after a substantial malpractice monetary award) by a surrogate/guardian husband who denies his wife any rehabilitative measures, is now used as "privacy rights" to kill her. The talons of the death-culture that rake the baby from the womb now sever the disabled from their tenuous grasp on life in the name of privacy.
...St. Petersburg‘s citizenry were shocked to read in local papers that the alternative metal band, Hell on Earth, is planning an on-stage suicide of a terminally ill fan to take place on October 4th. The purpose is to "raise awareness for dying with dignity." The fan wishes to put an end to "back alley suicides."
Apparently, this is not a hoax; Fox news anchor Rita Cosby carried the story twice on national television. In Florida, it is a second-degree felony to assist a suicide. Lead singer, Billy Tourtelot, who is a strong supporter of physician-assisted suicide, claims he’s not "assisting." "This is about standing up for what you believe in...What I’m doing may be immoral, but it’s not illegal," says Billy. St. Petersburg’s State Theater as well as another club have denied the band a venue. Tourtelot, nevertheless insists the show will go on. The St. Petersburg police are on the alert.
Physician-assisted suicide is euthanasia. Euthanasia is illegal. Tell that to ["right-to-die" activist lawyer George] Felos who asserted on national TV, "We’re just carrying out Terri wishes," -by starving her to death.
How many elderly people with impatient relatives will become instantly vulnerable once Tourtelot and Felos’ macabre ideology becomes sacrosanct law?
Saturday, October 18, 2003
HOLY COMMUNION DENIED TO DYING CATHOLIC:
The Latest Outrage Against Terri Schindler-Schiavo
According to the latest news update on the Schindler family's web site, Terri's so-called "husband" Michael Schiavo has refused to allow his dying Catholic wife to fully receive the last rites from her priest:
...Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski, who has been Terri’s spiritual provider for over 3 years, was told he may not administer to her the sacrament of Holy Communion. Monsignor was informed by police at Hospice that he would be arrested if he tried to administer the Catholic woman the sacrament.
In a statement to the press, Michael Schiavo’s attorney, George Felos stated that the reason for this was that he didn’t want “anyone to do something that would cause Terri distress”.
Really now.
How a dying Catholic woman would be "distressed" by receiving a Catholic sacrament from her Catholic priest, the non-Catholic Felos doesn't bother to say. After all, for years both Felos and Schiavo have been telling the courts and the press that Terri was in a "permanent vegetative state" and oblivious to her surroundings. How then could she get "distressed" by any external stimuli?
Moreover, how does Herr Felos know Terri would be "distressed" by her priest administering the viaticum or anything else?
Oh, wait a minute. We forget that Herr Felos has the ability to communicate with Terri telepathically. Or so he claims (cf., our Oct. 16 and 17 entries on Felos titled, respectively, "MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S NEO-NAZI* NEW AGE LAWYER" and "MORE ON MICHAEL SCHIAVO’S LOONEY LAWYER" below.)
Nevertheless, Herr Felos, what about the possibility of causing Terri distress by starving her to death???
As Bugs Bunny would say, "Nyaaah. What a maroon."
The Latest Outrage Against Terri Schindler-Schiavo
According to the latest news update on the Schindler family's web site, Terri's so-called "husband" Michael Schiavo has refused to allow his dying Catholic wife to fully receive the last rites from her priest:
...Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski, who has been Terri’s spiritual provider for over 3 years, was told he may not administer to her the sacrament of Holy Communion. Monsignor was informed by police at Hospice that he would be arrested if he tried to administer the Catholic woman the sacrament.
In a statement to the press, Michael Schiavo’s attorney, George Felos stated that the reason for this was that he didn’t want “anyone to do something that would cause Terri distress”.
Really now.
How a dying Catholic woman would be "distressed" by receiving a Catholic sacrament from her Catholic priest, the non-Catholic Felos doesn't bother to say. After all, for years both Felos and Schiavo have been telling the courts and the press that Terri was in a "permanent vegetative state" and oblivious to her surroundings. How then could she get "distressed" by any external stimuli?
Moreover, how does Herr Felos know Terri would be "distressed" by her priest administering the viaticum or anything else?
Oh, wait a minute. We forget that Herr Felos has the ability to communicate with Terri telepathically. Or so he claims (cf., our Oct. 16 and 17 entries on Felos titled, respectively, "MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S NEO-NAZI* NEW AGE LAWYER" and "MORE ON MICHAEL SCHIAVO’S LOONEY LAWYER" below.)
Nevertheless, Herr Felos, what about the possibility of causing Terri distress by starving her to death???
As Bugs Bunny would say, "Nyaaah. What a maroon."
Friday, October 17, 2003
ON THE FLORIDA COURT'S EUTHANASIA ORDER:
A Catholic Bishop Speaks Out Loud and Clear....
...unlike the Catholic Bishop of St. Petersburg, Florida:
"If you establish and apply the principle that you can kill 'unproductive' fellow human beings then woe betide us all when we become old and frail!
"If one is allowed to kill the unproductive people then woe betide the invalids who have used up, sacrificed and lost their health and strength in the productive process.
"If one is allowed forcibly to remove one's unproductive fellow human beings then woe betide loyal soldiers who return to the homeland seriously disabled, as cripples, as invalids.
"If it is once accepted that people have the right to kill 'unproductive' fellow humans--and even if initially it only affects the poor defenseless mentally ill--then as a matter of principle murder is permitted for all unproductive people, in other words for the incurably sick, the people who have become invalids through labor and war, for us all when we become old, frail and therefore unproductive.
"Then, it is only necessary for some secret edict to order that the method developed for the mentally ill should be extended to other 'unproductive' people, that it should be applied to those suffering from incurable lung disease, to the elderly who are frail or invalids, to the severely disabled soldiers.
"Then none of our lives will be safe any more. Some commission can put us on the list of the 'unproductive,' who in their opinion have become worthless life. And no police force will protect us and no court will investigate our murder and give the murderer the punishment he deserves.
"Who will be able to trust his doctor any more?
"He may report his patient as 'unproductive' and receive instructions to kill him. It is impossible to imagine the degree of moral depravity, of general mistrust that would then spread even through families if this dreadful doctrine is tolerated, accepted and followed.
"Woe to mankind, woe to our German nation if God's Holy Commandment 'Thou shalt not kill,' which God proclaimed on Mount Sinai amidst thunder and lightning, which God our Creator inscribed in the conscience of mankind from the very beginning, is not only broken, but if this transgression is actually tolerated and permitted to go unpunished."
--Cardinal Clemens von Galen,
Archbishop of Munster, Germany
August 3, 1941
A Catholic Bishop Speaks Out Loud and Clear....
...unlike the Catholic Bishop of St. Petersburg, Florida:
"If you establish and apply the principle that you can kill 'unproductive' fellow human beings then woe betide us all when we become old and frail!
"If one is allowed to kill the unproductive people then woe betide the invalids who have used up, sacrificed and lost their health and strength in the productive process.
"If one is allowed forcibly to remove one's unproductive fellow human beings then woe betide loyal soldiers who return to the homeland seriously disabled, as cripples, as invalids.
"If it is once accepted that people have the right to kill 'unproductive' fellow humans--and even if initially it only affects the poor defenseless mentally ill--then as a matter of principle murder is permitted for all unproductive people, in other words for the incurably sick, the people who have become invalids through labor and war, for us all when we become old, frail and therefore unproductive.
"Then, it is only necessary for some secret edict to order that the method developed for the mentally ill should be extended to other 'unproductive' people, that it should be applied to those suffering from incurable lung disease, to the elderly who are frail or invalids, to the severely disabled soldiers.
"Then none of our lives will be safe any more. Some commission can put us on the list of the 'unproductive,' who in their opinion have become worthless life. And no police force will protect us and no court will investigate our murder and give the murderer the punishment he deserves.
"Who will be able to trust his doctor any more?
"He may report his patient as 'unproductive' and receive instructions to kill him. It is impossible to imagine the degree of moral depravity, of general mistrust that would then spread even through families if this dreadful doctrine is tolerated, accepted and followed.
"Woe to mankind, woe to our German nation if God's Holy Commandment 'Thou shalt not kill,' which God proclaimed on Mount Sinai amidst thunder and lightning, which God our Creator inscribed in the conscience of mankind from the very beginning, is not only broken, but if this transgression is actually tolerated and permitted to go unpunished."
--Cardinal Clemens von Galen,
Archbishop of Munster, Germany
August 3, 1941
MORE ON MICHAEL SCHIAVO’S LOONEY LAWYER:
New Age Pro-Death Activist George Felos Thinks He’s Psychic…
…among other things, according to this message board discussion among several pro-Terri advocates.
For example:
[Post 1]: On pages 181-182 of his book (Litigation As Spiritual Practice), Felos claims that merely by visualizing a plane crash during a flight he was taking back to Florida, he caused the plane to begin to crash and that God spoke to him at that moment to warn him,
"’Be careful what you think. You are more powerful than you realize'.....I was startled, humbled, and blessed by God's admonishment."
[Post 2]: Felos is the real "tin-foil-hat" nut job and people who can see the forest for the trees recognize that.
[Post 3]: …Right-to-diers who make the news, like Nancy Cruzan's father and George Felos, talk about releasing the person/soul from their body….
[Post 4]: IMO, Melone got her info on Cruzan from an email to her.
Perhaps Felos used his telepathic powers to give Melone some pointers.
[Post 5]: Too bad he can't recall and edit all those books in which he reveals his wacky thinking patterns. If his acolytes edit enough books with black magic markers, they might be able to undo some of the harm his own words caused his reputation.
It's apparent that Felos thinks he is on a "higher plane" than the rest of us. I hope Floridians have learned enough about him to know they should distance themselves from him.
[Post 6]: …George Felos, the new age lawyer, student of reincarnation, (If "Felos" means cat, does he get 9 lives?) who wants to '"free us" from our bodily chains.
[Post 7]: Isn't it strange that Felos says that the unconscious Mrs. Browning could communicate with him, but he insists that Terri can't communicate with her own family whom she's known for almost 40 years?
And last but not least:
[Post 8]: Curios.
One the one hand, it's considered a sign of insanity for someone to think they are just one person like Napoleon.
On the other hand, the opinion of someone like Felos, who thinks he is "all," is taken seriously by an American judge who has jurisdiction over the lives of incapacitated people.
BTW, does anyone know if Felos has said he can use his telepathic powers to contact the spirits of dead? He says he communicated, mind-to-mind, with that elderly lady who wanted to be "free of her body."
Of course, if he believes in re-incarnation, he has to locate the new incarnation of the previously-dead person, before he can communicate with them.
It seems the patients are running the madhouse known as the Florida court system.
An article on Felos' New Age "spirituality" and how it influences his law practice can be found HERE at the St. Petersburg Times web site. This article notes the following about a case Felos litigated in 1988:
...the case of Estelle Browning ...gained him a reputation as the person to see when you want to let someone die. Browning, of Dunedin, had written a living will in 1985, saying she did not want to be kept alive by artificial means if she ever became ill. A year later, she had a stroke. But the nursing home refused to stop feeding her because she was not technically brain dead. Her cousin and former roommate, Doris Herbert, asked Felos to take the case.
He wanted to see Browning for himself. She could not speak, but Felos says his spiritual side picked up on something. He says her soul cried out to his soul and asked, "Why am I still here?"
Browning died in 1989 of natural causes while the case was still unresolved, but the suit has had a lasting effect on the law. In 1990, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a living will can allow caregivers to withhold food and water from an incapacitated person, even when death is not imminent.
It seems the patients are running the madhouse known as the Florida court system.
New Age Pro-Death Activist George Felos Thinks He’s Psychic…
…among other things, according to this message board discussion among several pro-Terri advocates.
For example:
[Post 1]: On pages 181-182 of his book (Litigation As Spiritual Practice), Felos claims that merely by visualizing a plane crash during a flight he was taking back to Florida, he caused the plane to begin to crash and that God spoke to him at that moment to warn him,
"’Be careful what you think. You are more powerful than you realize'.....I was startled, humbled, and blessed by God's admonishment."
[Post 2]: Felos is the real "tin-foil-hat" nut job and people who can see the forest for the trees recognize that.
[Post 3]: …Right-to-diers who make the news, like Nancy Cruzan's father and George Felos, talk about releasing the person/soul from their body….
[Post 4]: IMO, Melone got her info on Cruzan from an email to her.
Perhaps Felos used his telepathic powers to give Melone some pointers.
[Post 5]: Too bad he can't recall and edit all those books in which he reveals his wacky thinking patterns. If his acolytes edit enough books with black magic markers, they might be able to undo some of the harm his own words caused his reputation.
It's apparent that Felos thinks he is on a "higher plane" than the rest of us. I hope Floridians have learned enough about him to know they should distance themselves from him.
[Post 6]: …George Felos, the new age lawyer, student of reincarnation, (If "Felos" means cat, does he get 9 lives?) who wants to '"free us" from our bodily chains.
[Post 7]: Isn't it strange that Felos says that the unconscious Mrs. Browning could communicate with him, but he insists that Terri can't communicate with her own family whom she's known for almost 40 years?
And last but not least:
[Post 8]: Curios.
One the one hand, it's considered a sign of insanity for someone to think they are just one person like Napoleon.
On the other hand, the opinion of someone like Felos, who thinks he is "all," is taken seriously by an American judge who has jurisdiction over the lives of incapacitated people.
BTW, does anyone know if Felos has said he can use his telepathic powers to contact the spirits of dead? He says he communicated, mind-to-mind, with that elderly lady who wanted to be "free of her body."
Of course, if he believes in re-incarnation, he has to locate the new incarnation of the previously-dead person, before he can communicate with them.
It seems the patients are running the madhouse known as the Florida court system.
An article on Felos' New Age "spirituality" and how it influences his law practice can be found HERE at the St. Petersburg Times web site. This article notes the following about a case Felos litigated in 1988:
...the case of Estelle Browning ...gained him a reputation as the person to see when you want to let someone die. Browning, of Dunedin, had written a living will in 1985, saying she did not want to be kept alive by artificial means if she ever became ill. A year later, she had a stroke. But the nursing home refused to stop feeding her because she was not technically brain dead. Her cousin and former roommate, Doris Herbert, asked Felos to take the case.
He wanted to see Browning for himself. She could not speak, but Felos says his spiritual side picked up on something. He says her soul cried out to his soul and asked, "Why am I still here?"
Browning died in 1989 of natural causes while the case was still unresolved, but the suit has had a lasting effect on the law. In 1990, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a living will can allow caregivers to withhold food and water from an incapacitated person, even when death is not imminent.
It seems the patients are running the madhouse known as the Florida court system.
Thursday, October 16, 2003
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, POPE JOHN PAUL II:
After Twenty-Five Years, He's Still Going and Refuses to Give Up...
...despite suffering from advanced Parkinson's Disease and other serious ailments.
Truly amazing.
Columnist Maggie Gallagher has a wonderful piece reflecting on John Paul's remarkable 25 years in the Chair of Peter. Also, the Vatican's own web site has special links celebrating Pope John Paul II's anniversary, including one for the Catholic faithful and other admirers to email their greetings to him.
Incidentally, the word through the Catholic e-grapevine is that the Holy Father has been trying to intervene on behalf of Terry Schindler-Schiavo. We pray that Judge Greer will heed the Pope's pleas to spare her after he rejected Gov. Jeb Bush's.
After Twenty-Five Years, He's Still Going and Refuses to Give Up...
...despite suffering from advanced Parkinson's Disease and other serious ailments.
Truly amazing.
Columnist Maggie Gallagher has a wonderful piece reflecting on John Paul's remarkable 25 years in the Chair of Peter. Also, the Vatican's own web site has special links celebrating Pope John Paul II's anniversary, including one for the Catholic faithful and other admirers to email their greetings to him.
Incidentally, the word through the Catholic e-grapevine is that the Holy Father has been trying to intervene on behalf of Terry Schindler-Schiavo. We pray that Judge Greer will heed the Pope's pleas to spare her after he rejected Gov. Jeb Bush's.
"WHEN IS THE BITCH GONNA DIE?":
Michael Schiavo on His Wife Terri's Condition in 1995-96...
...according to an article quoting the sworn testimony of Carla Sauer Iyer, "a registered nurse who was employed at Palm Garden of Largo Convalescent Center in Largo, Fla., from April 1995 to July 1996, while Terri Schiavo was a patient there."
In addition to this heartfelt expression of love and loyalty to his wife, Schiavo also asked on other occassions, "When is she going to die?" and "Has she died yet?" Notes the article, "Others at Palm Garden also testified similarly in sworn affidavits. All swore that Terri had spoken to them frequently and backed Iyer's recollections."
A complete photocopy of Nurse Iyers' Affidavit can be read in full HERE
The same article notes that according to attorney Wesley J. Smith, Schiavo "realiz[ed] back in the early 1990s he would inherit $750,000 if Terri died, and began to refuse medical treatment such as antibiotics for infections and so forth. In 1998, when Terri didn't die he filed a request with Judge Greer to be allowed to remove her feeding tube, and that’s how this whole business started."
Sure sounds like Litigation As Homicide to us. With "spouses" like that, and greedy shysters all too eager to "help" them (for the right price, of course), who needs the Mafia?
Michael Schiavo on His Wife Terri's Condition in 1995-96...
...according to an article quoting the sworn testimony of Carla Sauer Iyer, "a registered nurse who was employed at Palm Garden of Largo Convalescent Center in Largo, Fla., from April 1995 to July 1996, while Terri Schiavo was a patient there."
In addition to this heartfelt expression of love and loyalty to his wife, Schiavo also asked on other occassions, "When is she going to die?" and "Has she died yet?" Notes the article, "Others at Palm Garden also testified similarly in sworn affidavits. All swore that Terri had spoken to them frequently and backed Iyer's recollections."
A complete photocopy of Nurse Iyers' Affidavit can be read in full HERE
The same article notes that according to attorney Wesley J. Smith, Schiavo "realiz[ed] back in the early 1990s he would inherit $750,000 if Terri died, and began to refuse medical treatment such as antibiotics for infections and so forth. In 1998, when Terri didn't die he filed a request with Judge Greer to be allowed to remove her feeding tube, and that’s how this whole business started."
Sure sounds like Litigation As Homicide to us. With "spouses" like that, and greedy shysters all too eager to "help" them (for the right price, of course), who needs the Mafia?
MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S NEO-NAZI* NEW AGE LAWYER:
Is Terri Schindler-Schiavo a Test Case for Culture of Death Activist George Felos?
It seems that George Felos, the Florida lawyer spearheading the drive to kill Terri via judicial fiat, is a nationally known "right-to-die" activist and New Age pagan intent upon establishing legalized euthanasia in his state as well as all over the USA, his repeated denials of such intentions notwithstanding. (Actions speak louder than rhetoric, Herr Felos.)
The evidence? A book Felos wrote last year titled Litigation As Spiritual Practice
According to the publisher's blurb on this book --described as "the excitement and drama of the courtroom, and the ecstasy and anguish of spiritual evolution in a combative environment"-- Felos "became the legal advocate of Estelle Browning's right-to-die and in the process plumbed the depths of death and dying and spearheaded a social revolution to enable death with dignity in the state of Florida. Felos uses this case and Fellouzis vs. United States of America --a decade-long tax battle sending him to Hong Kong's back alleys in search of antique jades and ivories-- as framework to interweave the story of his law practice and spiritual unfoldment."
Apparently what is meant by "spiritual unfoldment" is discovering the "right" of neo-Nazi* Culture of Death New Agers to do away with "useless eaters."
Sieg Heil, Herr Felos.
*(EDITOR'S NOTE: By "neo-Nazi" we mean, of course, not that an individual or group so named is necessarily Neo-Nazi in any formal sense, but rather that such has adopted any attitude or theory which is identifiably Nazi in origin. In this case, i.e., the philosophical relationship between euthanasia and the so-called "right-to-die," please see the article Euthanasia in the Third Reich: Lessons for Today?, first published in Volume 18:1 of Ethics & Medicine.)
Is Terri Schindler-Schiavo a Test Case for Culture of Death Activist George Felos?
It seems that George Felos, the Florida lawyer spearheading the drive to kill Terri via judicial fiat, is a nationally known "right-to-die" activist and New Age pagan intent upon establishing legalized euthanasia in his state as well as all over the USA, his repeated denials of such intentions notwithstanding. (Actions speak louder than rhetoric, Herr Felos.)
The evidence? A book Felos wrote last year titled Litigation As Spiritual Practice
According to the publisher's blurb on this book --described as "the excitement and drama of the courtroom, and the ecstasy and anguish of spiritual evolution in a combative environment"-- Felos "became the legal advocate of Estelle Browning's right-to-die and in the process plumbed the depths of death and dying and spearheaded a social revolution to enable death with dignity in the state of Florida. Felos uses this case and Fellouzis vs. United States of America --a decade-long tax battle sending him to Hong Kong's back alleys in search of antique jades and ivories-- as framework to interweave the story of his law practice and spiritual unfoldment."
Apparently what is meant by "spiritual unfoldment" is discovering the "right" of neo-Nazi* Culture of Death New Agers to do away with "useless eaters."
Sieg Heil, Herr Felos.
*(EDITOR'S NOTE: By "neo-Nazi" we mean, of course, not that an individual or group so named is necessarily Neo-Nazi in any formal sense, but rather that such has adopted any attitude or theory which is identifiably Nazi in origin. In this case, i.e., the philosophical relationship between euthanasia and the so-called "right-to-die," please see the article Euthanasia in the Third Reich: Lessons for Today?, first published in Volume 18:1 of Ethics & Medicine.)
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
TERRI IS NOT IN A COMA:
The Video Evidence Can Be Seen HERE
These video clips show Terri Schindler-Schiavo responding directly to various kinds of stimuli, including the following via the above link:
--"During an examination, Terri shows CLEAR annoyance with being tickled with a cotton swab."
--"Terri is seen lying quietly until her mother is in view. Terri's eyebrows pop up, she smiles broadly at her mother and she vocalizes when her mother asks her how she is feeling."
--"During an examination, Terri is asked to track a balloon with her eyes. She does and the Dr. SAYS 'You see that, don't you!' During his testimony, however, he called Terri 'totally unresponsive'."
--"Terri is shown reacting to her mother's affection with a glowing smile."
Comatose??? "Vegetative state"??? The evidence says "NO!"
The Video Evidence Can Be Seen HERE
These video clips show Terri Schindler-Schiavo responding directly to various kinds of stimuli, including the following via the above link:
--"During an examination, Terri shows CLEAR annoyance with being tickled with a cotton swab."
--"Terri is seen lying quietly until her mother is in view. Terri's eyebrows pop up, she smiles broadly at her mother and she vocalizes when her mother asks her how she is feeling."
--"During an examination, Terri is asked to track a balloon with her eyes. She does and the Dr. SAYS 'You see that, don't you!' During his testimony, however, he called Terri 'totally unresponsive'."
--"Terri is shown reacting to her mother's affection with a glowing smile."
Comatose??? "Vegetative state"??? The evidence says "NO!"
THE TERRI SCHINDLER-SCHIAVO SMOKING GUN VIDEOS:
Secretly-Made Videotapes Disprove "Persistent Vegetative State" Claim
Yesterday the parents of allegedly comatose Florida patient Terri Schindler-Schiavo, who is scheduled for a court-ordered slow execution by starvation and dehydration today at 2PM, released to the news media videotapes which clearly show Terri fully awake and breathing on her own, and not in a coma as her philandering husband (who stands to earn a cool mil $ upon her death) has been claiming for years.
Moreover, Terri's parents have told reporters that when told earlier this year of her impending execution, Terri "bolt[ed] upright and [tried] to get out of her chair."
The court's reaction to this breaking evidence was to immediately rescind its order, right?
Wrong!
In fact, not only is the court going through with its execution order, the court has threatened Terri's father, Robert Schindler, who covertly made the tapes, with arrest and prosecution if he does not immediately turn over all copies to the court.
Truly, we live in what Pope John Paul II has labeled "the Culture of Death."
Secretly-Made Videotapes Disprove "Persistent Vegetative State" Claim
Yesterday the parents of allegedly comatose Florida patient Terri Schindler-Schiavo, who is scheduled for a court-ordered slow execution by starvation and dehydration today at 2PM, released to the news media videotapes which clearly show Terri fully awake and breathing on her own, and not in a coma as her philandering husband (who stands to earn a cool mil $ upon her death) has been claiming for years.
Moreover, Terri's parents have told reporters that when told earlier this year of her impending execution, Terri "bolt[ed] upright and [tried] to get out of her chair."
The court's reaction to this breaking evidence was to immediately rescind its order, right?
Wrong!
In fact, not only is the court going through with its execution order, the court has threatened Terri's father, Robert Schindler, who covertly made the tapes, with arrest and prosecution if he does not immediately turn over all copies to the court.
Truly, we live in what Pope John Paul II has labeled "the Culture of Death."
THE NEW NEO-STALINISTS:
Or, How to Promote Tolerance for Yourself by Persecuting Others
It seems that the gay and lesbian community of a certain city in La-La-Land (aka California) is up in arms because one Jeff Culbreath, a devout Catholic fellow who owns a small printing business, refused to accept a job printing business cards promoting a gay and lesbian organization. Culbreath told his would-be client that he objected to taking part in the promotion a "lifestyle" which, according to the dictates of his faith and conscience, is immoral.
Rather than simply tell the fellow, "OK, then, we'll take our business elsewhere," as any reasonable adult would do, his would-be client and her komrades decided to try make his life a living Hell by pummeling him with hate e-mails, crank phone calls, and a campaign to shut down his business for being a "bigot."
In other words, it's "okay" for gays and lesbians to follow their consciences by practicing their "lifestyles," but it's not "okay" for non-gays and non-lesbians --especially if they're practicing, believing Christians-- to follow their consciences by refusing to engage in promoting those lifestyles.
Harvey Milk, meet Joe Stalin.
Or, How to Promote Tolerance for Yourself by Persecuting Others
It seems that the gay and lesbian community of a certain city in La-La-Land (aka California) is up in arms because one Jeff Culbreath, a devout Catholic fellow who owns a small printing business, refused to accept a job printing business cards promoting a gay and lesbian organization. Culbreath told his would-be client that he objected to taking part in the promotion a "lifestyle" which, according to the dictates of his faith and conscience, is immoral.
Rather than simply tell the fellow, "OK, then, we'll take our business elsewhere," as any reasonable adult would do, his would-be client and her komrades decided to try make his life a living Hell by pummeling him with hate e-mails, crank phone calls, and a campaign to shut down his business for being a "bigot."
In other words, it's "okay" for gays and lesbians to follow their consciences by practicing their "lifestyles," but it's not "okay" for non-gays and non-lesbians --especially if they're practicing, believing Christians-- to follow their consciences by refusing to engage in promoting those lifestyles.
Harvey Milk, meet Joe Stalin.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
OUR COMMENTS FEATURE IS KAPUT...
...at Least Until We Can find a Better Program
Because of the complaints we've received about how difficult it's been using our Enetation comments program, we've removed it and are looking into an alternative plug-in.
If you have any recommendations, please e-mail us at dpinstitut@aol.com
Thanks for your patience.
...at Least Until We Can find a Better Program
Because of the complaints we've received about how difficult it's been using our Enetation comments program, we've removed it and are looking into an alternative plug-in.
If you have any recommendations, please e-mail us at dpinstitut@aol.com
Thanks for your patience.
Tuesday, October 07, 2003
THE KAY REPORT REDUX:
What the Mainstream Media Won't Publish
If one reads accounts in the Washington Post or New York Times about what was revealed this past week to Congress by David Kay, the leading U.S. weapons inspector sent to Iraq in search of evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, one gets the impression that Mr. Kay came away empty-handed.
But according thean editorial in yesterday's New York Post nothing could be further from the truth. Notes the editor, in part:
Did Kay find nuclear-tipped ICBMs on their launch pads?
Of course not.
But evidence of biological, chemical and nuclear programs in various stages of development - from just-getting-started to possibly can-be-deployed-in-a-week?
Yes. And he found massive evidence of big-time coverups by Saddam and his evil elves.
And Kay says he's barely scratched the surface - though, again, what's been found already is impressive enough.
"We have discovered dozens of WMD-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in late 2002," Kay told Congress Thursday. Including:
* "A clandestine network of laboratories and safehouses . . . that contained equipment . . . suitable for continuing [chemical and biological weapons] research."
* A prison lab, "possibly used in human testing" of biological weapons.
* "Reference strains of biological organisms, one of which can be used to produce biological weapons."
* Hidden documents and equipment, useful for enriching uranium for nukes.
* "UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] not fully declared."
* "Plans and advanced design work for long-range missiles."
* "Clandestine attempts between late 1999 and 2002 to obtain from North Korea technology related to [long-range] ballistic missiles . . . cruise missiles and other prohibited equipment."
There's more - like reports by Iraqi scientists of the development of a production line that "could be switched to produce anthrax in one week if the seed stock were available."
Why hasn't even more been found?
"Iraq's WMD programs spanned more than two decades, involved thousands of people, billions of dollars and were elaborately shielded by deception operations that continued even beyond the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom," said Kay.
He noted that two key scientists were shot after talking to his team. And that chemical weapons might be stored at any of 130 known Iraqi "Ammunition Storage Points."
How many have been inspected? Ten.
Given that many exceed 50 square miles, we'd say that's pretty good work for three months. But much work plainly lies ahead.
What the Mainstream Media Won't Publish
If one reads accounts in the Washington Post or New York Times about what was revealed this past week to Congress by David Kay, the leading U.S. weapons inspector sent to Iraq in search of evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, one gets the impression that Mr. Kay came away empty-handed.
But according the
Did Kay find nuclear-tipped ICBMs on their launch pads?
Of course not.
But evidence of biological, chemical and nuclear programs in various stages of development - from just-getting-started to possibly can-be-deployed-in-a-week?
Yes. And he found massive evidence of big-time coverups by Saddam and his evil elves.
And Kay says he's barely scratched the surface - though, again, what's been found already is impressive enough.
"We have discovered dozens of WMD-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in late 2002," Kay told Congress Thursday. Including:
* "A clandestine network of laboratories and safehouses . . . that contained equipment . . . suitable for continuing [chemical and biological weapons] research."
* A prison lab, "possibly used in human testing" of biological weapons.
* "Reference strains of biological organisms, one of which can be used to produce biological weapons."
* Hidden documents and equipment, useful for enriching uranium for nukes.
* "UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] not fully declared."
* "Plans and advanced design work for long-range missiles."
* "Clandestine attempts between late 1999 and 2002 to obtain from North Korea technology related to [long-range] ballistic missiles . . . cruise missiles and other prohibited equipment."
There's more - like reports by Iraqi scientists of the development of a production line that "could be switched to produce anthrax in one week if the seed stock were available."
Why hasn't even more been found?
"Iraq's WMD programs spanned more than two decades, involved thousands of people, billions of dollars and were elaborately shielded by deception operations that continued even beyond the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom," said Kay.
He noted that two key scientists were shot after talking to his team. And that chemical weapons might be stored at any of 130 known Iraqi "Ammunition Storage Points."
How many have been inspected? Ten.
Given that many exceed 50 square miles, we'd say that's pretty good work for three months. But much work plainly lies ahead.
Friday, October 03, 2003
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
MAYBE SHE JUST LOOKED OLD FOR HER AGE:
Bush Critic's 40-Year-Old CIA Wife Was Undercover for 30 Years...
...at least according to former CIA analyst Larry Johnson, who claimed to have "trained" with Valerie Plame, the wife of former Clinton-era-Ambassador-turned-Bush-critic Joseph Wilson.
Hmmmm. We had no idea the CIA recruited 10-year-olds.
Bush Critic's 40-Year-Old CIA Wife Was Undercover for 30 Years...
...at least according to former CIA analyst Larry Johnson, who claimed to have "trained" with Valerie Plame, the wife of former Clinton-era-Ambassador-turned-Bush-critic Joseph Wilson.
Hmmmm. We had no idea the CIA recruited 10-year-olds.
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
OF ANGELS, ROCKY ROADS …AND HEROISM:
A Local Singer’s Battle and Triumph
We were heart-broken to learn this past weekend that Grace Griffith, a very talented and much-loved Washington, DC-area-based singer-songwriter well-known to fans of traditional and contemporary Celtic and folk music here and around the US, faces a long, hard, rocky road ahead in the form of advancing Parkinson’s Disease, a gradually crippling neurological disorder.
Anyone who has experienced Griffith’s music, whether on CD or (especially) in one of her small, intimate local concerts (which, sadly, have become much less frequent), can testify to the magic she works with her voice, a magic which goes straight into the listener’s heart and soul. This is to be expected, for Griffith pours her own heart and soul into her performances; so much so that, even long before PD set in, the experience would, she has said, leave her completely drained both emotionally and spiritually at the end of a concert. Not surprisingly, then, she developed a large, loyal following over her 20-plus-year-long music career.
But even more noteworthy than her wonderful voice (which, happily, remains unaffected by PD), Griffith is known among friends and colleagues for her kindness and generosity, especially towards other lesser-known singers, songwriters, and musicians --including one (about whom more in due course) who would later surpass her in fame and attention. For example, although she is a talented composer and lyricist in her own right she rarely records her own work, preferring instead to give other artists a chance to give their work more exposure.
In a highly competitive field like professional music, it’s unusual for one recording artist to risk his or her own career advancement for the sake of another performer. To do so would be seen by many as foolhardy rather than as what it really is –unselfish and noble.
Yet in early 1996, Griffith did exactly that when she convinced her record company, Blix Street, to sign on the phenomenally talented singer Eva Cassidy, who at that time was playing Washington, DC area pubs and other small venues. Once Blix Street followed Griffith's advice, Cassidy become an international star almost overnight, and continues to remain popular in Europe and Canada since her untimely death later that same year. Griffith's career, on the other hand, seems to have been eclipsed by Cassidy's.
In an article she wrote earlier this year, Griffith downplayed her risky act of generosity because, she noted, she had struggled with the decision to carry it out:
…My debate was between my better self and my ? less-than-better self. The better self was inclined to pass her beautiful music along regardless of any potential cost to my own position, because beauty should be shared. The less-than-better self was voicing concern that I might be shooting myself in the foot by making my record label aware of an artist of such caliber -- I have often been accused of not being competitive enough in a competitive world, and I was thinking twice about this one. But I am a person who must follow a certain way to be comfortable in my own skin.
In our opinion, not only was what Griffith did objectively praiseworthy in and of itself, the very fact that it was the result of a spiritual struggle -- a conflict between one's better inclination to serve another at risk to oneself and one's lesser impulse to “look out for number one”-- made her choice something more than merely praiseworthy.
It made her choice heroic.
The same choice would not have been as significant --or heroic-- if it had been made by someone who had no such conflict to overcome. Such battles within ourselves –battles, ultimately, between self-giving love and self-serving egotism-- are often more important than any other battles we may find ourselves engaged in, even when we end up "losing" in the end:
For when such a choice is made we enter the ranks of the angels.
In her case, Grace Griffith's battle between her "better self" and "less-than-better self" ended in a triumph rather than a loss, for it resulted in a great accomplishment: Were it not for Griffith’s efforts to promote her younger, much lesser-known “competitor” --who also happened to be one of her most ardent fans-- the world would probably not have known about Eva Cassidy.
For that gift, as well as for the gift of her own music, the world has Grace Griffith to thank.
A Local Singer’s Battle and Triumph
We were heart-broken to learn this past weekend that Grace Griffith, a very talented and much-loved Washington, DC-area-based singer-songwriter well-known to fans of traditional and contemporary Celtic and folk music here and around the US, faces a long, hard, rocky road ahead in the form of advancing Parkinson’s Disease, a gradually crippling neurological disorder.
Anyone who has experienced Griffith’s music, whether on CD or (especially) in one of her small, intimate local concerts (which, sadly, have become much less frequent), can testify to the magic she works with her voice, a magic which goes straight into the listener’s heart and soul. This is to be expected, for Griffith pours her own heart and soul into her performances; so much so that, even long before PD set in, the experience would, she has said, leave her completely drained both emotionally and spiritually at the end of a concert. Not surprisingly, then, she developed a large, loyal following over her 20-plus-year-long music career.
But even more noteworthy than her wonderful voice (which, happily, remains unaffected by PD), Griffith is known among friends and colleagues for her kindness and generosity, especially towards other lesser-known singers, songwriters, and musicians --including one (about whom more in due course) who would later surpass her in fame and attention. For example, although she is a talented composer and lyricist in her own right she rarely records her own work, preferring instead to give other artists a chance to give their work more exposure.
In a highly competitive field like professional music, it’s unusual for one recording artist to risk his or her own career advancement for the sake of another performer. To do so would be seen by many as foolhardy rather than as what it really is –unselfish and noble.
Yet in early 1996, Griffith did exactly that when she convinced her record company, Blix Street, to sign on the phenomenally talented singer Eva Cassidy, who at that time was playing Washington, DC area pubs and other small venues. Once Blix Street followed Griffith's advice, Cassidy become an international star almost overnight, and continues to remain popular in Europe and Canada since her untimely death later that same year. Griffith's career, on the other hand, seems to have been eclipsed by Cassidy's.
In an article she wrote earlier this year, Griffith downplayed her risky act of generosity because, she noted, she had struggled with the decision to carry it out:
…My debate was between my better self and my ? less-than-better self. The better self was inclined to pass her beautiful music along regardless of any potential cost to my own position, because beauty should be shared. The less-than-better self was voicing concern that I might be shooting myself in the foot by making my record label aware of an artist of such caliber -- I have often been accused of not being competitive enough in a competitive world, and I was thinking twice about this one. But I am a person who must follow a certain way to be comfortable in my own skin.
In our opinion, not only was what Griffith did objectively praiseworthy in and of itself, the very fact that it was the result of a spiritual struggle -- a conflict between one's better inclination to serve another at risk to oneself and one's lesser impulse to “look out for number one”-- made her choice something more than merely praiseworthy.
It made her choice heroic.
The same choice would not have been as significant --or heroic-- if it had been made by someone who had no such conflict to overcome. Such battles within ourselves –battles, ultimately, between self-giving love and self-serving egotism-- are often more important than any other battles we may find ourselves engaged in, even when we end up "losing" in the end:
For when such a choice is made we enter the ranks of the angels.
In her case, Grace Griffith's battle between her "better self" and "less-than-better self" ended in a triumph rather than a loss, for it resulted in a great accomplishment: Were it not for Griffith’s efforts to promote her younger, much lesser-known “competitor” --who also happened to be one of her most ardent fans-- the world would probably not have known about Eva Cassidy.
For that gift, as well as for the gift of her own music, the world has Grace Griffith to thank.
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
"SAPPY ECUMENICISM" VS. TRUTH-SEEKING:
Why Religious Debate Is Important, Now More Than Ever
Two years ago, in response to movie actress Nicole Kidman's decision to leave the Church of Scientology (a popular Los Angeles-based sci-fi-oriented "self-help" cult she and now-ex Tom Cruise belonged to) and return to the Catholic Church of her youth, taking her children with her, National Review writer Arthur Stuttaford made the following astute observations in his article Scientology Chic:
....Ask most Americans, and they will tell you about their respect for the spiritual, but it is a sloppy and uninformed devotion, a pastiche piety with no intellectual force behind it, more Hallmark than holy, the perfect background for a new cult recruit. Ironically, Nicole Kidman herself provided an example of this mindset in a 1998 interview with Newsweek. Asked about her religious beliefs, the actress replied, "there is a little Buddhism, a little Scientology. I was raised Catholic, and a big part of me is still a Catholic girl."
Hand in hand with such an attitude is an unwillingness to debate the religious beliefs of others. Such debate is now believed to be insensitive at best, bigoted and hateful at worst. These days everyone is meant to be a little bit Buddhist, Catholic, Scientologist , whatever. A sappy ecumenicism is now America's civic religion, and it appears to include just about everyone (other, interestingly, than atheists and agnostics). We are taught that such supposedly inclusive tolerance is the hallmark of a tolerant society, when, in fact, it is precisely the opposite. True religious tolerance is the acceptance of the right of others to follow a different creed. In our ersatz, contemporary version, however, it is denied that there are any different creeds. Instead, we are encouraged to think that all religions are basically the same, just different routes to the same transcendental Truth.
In the name of "diversity," we try to erase difference. When it comes to religious belief, this is a country chary of controversy and anxious about argument. In the interest of fraudulent civility and soi-disant "respect" we have removed the right of the religious to disagree with each other. On the face of it, traditional religious distinctions remain, but all too often they have been trivialized and shrunk down to the superficial, reduced to a matter of folklore or ethnic heritage, nothing more consequential, say, than a choice of headgear: Yarmulke, or turban?
This is a mistake. Old-style rigorous religious debate was bruising, tough, and frequently impolite, but it served a function. Homo Sapiens is a credulous creature, ready to believe just about anything, but, fortunately, he has an innate love of argument. Controversy sharpened our great faiths and pushed them, however painfully, towards some form of intellectual coherence. More than that, it acted as a filter for the worst of the nonsense that people would otherwise be tempted to accept. Now that filter has disappeared. The more established religions are gutted, sunk into PC blandness, or, ironically, introspective fundamentalism. In their intellectual retreat they have left behind a spiritual landscape in which anything goes....
Why Religious Debate Is Important, Now More Than Ever
Two years ago, in response to movie actress Nicole Kidman's decision to leave the Church of Scientology (a popular Los Angeles-based sci-fi-oriented "self-help" cult she and now-ex Tom Cruise belonged to) and return to the Catholic Church of her youth, taking her children with her, National Review writer Arthur Stuttaford made the following astute observations in his article Scientology Chic:
....Ask most Americans, and they will tell you about their respect for the spiritual, but it is a sloppy and uninformed devotion, a pastiche piety with no intellectual force behind it, more Hallmark than holy, the perfect background for a new cult recruit. Ironically, Nicole Kidman herself provided an example of this mindset in a 1998 interview with Newsweek. Asked about her religious beliefs, the actress replied, "there is a little Buddhism, a little Scientology. I was raised Catholic, and a big part of me is still a Catholic girl."
Hand in hand with such an attitude is an unwillingness to debate the religious beliefs of others. Such debate is now believed to be insensitive at best, bigoted and hateful at worst. These days everyone is meant to be a little bit Buddhist, Catholic, Scientologist , whatever. A sappy ecumenicism is now America's civic religion, and it appears to include just about everyone (other, interestingly, than atheists and agnostics). We are taught that such supposedly inclusive tolerance is the hallmark of a tolerant society, when, in fact, it is precisely the opposite. True religious tolerance is the acceptance of the right of others to follow a different creed. In our ersatz, contemporary version, however, it is denied that there are any different creeds. Instead, we are encouraged to think that all religions are basically the same, just different routes to the same transcendental Truth.
In the name of "diversity," we try to erase difference. When it comes to religious belief, this is a country chary of controversy and anxious about argument. In the interest of fraudulent civility and soi-disant "respect" we have removed the right of the religious to disagree with each other. On the face of it, traditional religious distinctions remain, but all too often they have been trivialized and shrunk down to the superficial, reduced to a matter of folklore or ethnic heritage, nothing more consequential, say, than a choice of headgear: Yarmulke, or turban?
This is a mistake. Old-style rigorous religious debate was bruising, tough, and frequently impolite, but it served a function. Homo Sapiens is a credulous creature, ready to believe just about anything, but, fortunately, he has an innate love of argument. Controversy sharpened our great faiths and pushed them, however painfully, towards some form of intellectual coherence. More than that, it acted as a filter for the worst of the nonsense that people would otherwise be tempted to accept. Now that filter has disappeared. The more established religions are gutted, sunk into PC blandness, or, ironically, introspective fundamentalism. In their intellectual retreat they have left behind a spiritual landscape in which anything goes....
Monday, September 22, 2003
SANITY AND REASON ABOUT "THE PASSION":
David Horowitz Reviews Mel Gibson's New Film
One of our heroes, former far-left activist turned conservative activist David Horowitz, who now devotes his time blowing the whistle on the hypocrisy and deceptions of liberalism and the Left, had the following to say on his web log in defense of Mel Gibson's new film, which he viewed earlier this year.
One of the most remarkable aspects of Horowitz's review is that he is not only not a Catholic, he's not a Christian of any kind. He's a secular Jew.
....Gibson's film is an artistic vision and must be judged that way. ...It is an awesome artifact, an overpowering work. I can't remember being so affected by a film before. It is extremely painful to watch and yet the violence is never gratuitous. You never feel like you want to take your eyes off the screen. It is a wracking emotional journey which never strays from its inspirational purpose. It is as close to a religious experience as art can get.
It is not anti-Semitic, as the film-burners have charged. [For example,] Jesus is referred to in the film as "rabbi," and there is never any distancing of Jesus or his disciples from their Jewishness....
...The moral of this Christian story -- of Mel Gibson's film -- is that we all killed Jesus -- Jew and Gentile alike -- and tortured him, and we do so every day. But if you believe the vision that Gibson has rendered so searingly and so well, Jesus forgives us for that very act. Whosoever will give up cruelty and love his brother will enter paradise. That is the message that Gibson has framed in his extraordinary work. The effort to shut down his film before it opens is just another station of the cross.
David Horowitz Reviews Mel Gibson's New Film
One of our heroes, former far-left activist turned conservative activist David Horowitz, who now devotes his time blowing the whistle on the hypocrisy and deceptions of liberalism and the Left, had the following to say on his web log in defense of Mel Gibson's new film, which he viewed earlier this year.
One of the most remarkable aspects of Horowitz's review is that he is not only not a Catholic, he's not a Christian of any kind. He's a secular Jew.
....Gibson's film is an artistic vision and must be judged that way. ...It is an awesome artifact, an overpowering work. I can't remember being so affected by a film before. It is extremely painful to watch and yet the violence is never gratuitous. You never feel like you want to take your eyes off the screen. It is a wracking emotional journey which never strays from its inspirational purpose. It is as close to a religious experience as art can get.
It is not anti-Semitic, as the film-burners have charged. [For example,] Jesus is referred to in the film as "rabbi," and there is never any distancing of Jesus or his disciples from their Jewishness....
...The moral of this Christian story -- of Mel Gibson's film -- is that we all killed Jesus -- Jew and Gentile alike -- and tortured him, and we do so every day. But if you believe the vision that Gibson has rendered so searingly and so well, Jesus forgives us for that very act. Whosoever will give up cruelty and love his brother will enter paradise. That is the message that Gibson has framed in his extraordinary work. The effort to shut down his film before it opens is just another station of the cross.
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