The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 04/03/2005 - 04/10/2005

Saturday, April 09, 2005

Grandma "Mae Magouirk" is SAFE !

BlogsForTerri has the latest news on the case of Ora Mae Magouirk. Some of the mysteries of the situation are explained and the judge in the case (and possibly the granddaughter) are expected to comment Monday.

..Judge Boyd seems to believe that things fell apart between the families AFTER they left his courtroom and that Beth may have acted upon information from her grandmother's doctors - that the two doctors in LaGrange must have told Beth that Mae should go into the hospice - else Beth could not have put Mae in the hospice. Judge Boyd had been left originally with the impression that Mae would be placed in a nursing home, hence the language in his formal letter attached to the order that mentioned "nursing home." As to the issue of feeding and hydration, Judge Boyd said that it was testified in his court that Mae "was" getting nutrition and hydration.
The adequacy of that nutrition (occasional ice chips and jello) is what is at issue. Not being terminal, but being heavily medicated with Morphine, Mae could not request foods of fluids. The evidence (that which is available) seems to indicate that the doctors and/or the hospice weren't especially interested in keeping her hydrated or nourished. The letter from Ken Mullinax as well as the information from the hospice helps clear up yesterday's confusion about whether the hospice was denying food and water. Technically their statement about not denying her nutrition is true, but the evidence of her dehydration noted after her move to UAB Medical Center indicates that she was most likely slowly dying of starvation at the hospice. At UAB, Mae is now receiving the food and water she needs, and it was noted that she was seriously dehydrated. Her treatment will be implemented based on the previously negotiated agreement where 3 doctors will confer on her treatment plan.

It's a little to early to proclaim that this story has some larger meaning, but if I had to pick one cautionary lesson that should be evident from the case it's that the much vaunted "living will" you rushed out and drew up is only as effective as as the doctors and guardian who are entrusted implement it make it.

Transcript: Exclusive! Terri Schiavo's Siblings Speak Out

This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," April 7, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

Georgia 'Grandma's' life in hands of 3 cardiologists

Relatives say 81-year-old not being adequately fed despite living will

The fate of Ora Mae Magouirk rests in the hands of three cardiologists, whose court-assigned task is to decide whether the 81-year-old widow should be transported from the hospice in LaGrange, Ga., where she has been a patient since March 22, to the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center for treatment of an aorta dissection.

Under the terms of an April 4 court order, La Grange cardiologists James Brennan and Thomas Gore, and Dr. Raed Aquel, of UAB Medical Center, Birmingham, are to evaluate Magouirk and decide what treatment would be best and where it should take place.

But while the doctors ponder her condition, it is not certain if Magouirk has had a nasal feeding tube inserted for nourishment or an IV for hydration. According to Magouirk�s nephew, Ken Mullinax, 45, his aunt has been without substantial food or hydration for 10 days.


As WND reported, Magouirk was neither terminally ill, comatose, nor in a persistent vegetative state, when Hospice-LaGrange, in LaGrange, Ga., accepted her as a patient upon the request of her granddaughter, Elizabeth ("Beth") Gaddy, 36, of Hoganville, Ga. Also upon Gaddy's request, the Hospice began withholding food and water from the patient.

When she learned of this, Magouirk's sister Lonnie Ruth Mullinax, 74, of Birmingham, and her brother, A.B. McLeod, 64, of Anniston, Ala., protested and attempted to have their sister removed from the hospice and transported to UAB Medical Center for treatment. However, Gaddy and her brother, Michael Shane Magouirk, obtained an emergency injunction from Troup County Probate Judge Douglas Boyd to prevent the planned air transport.

In her petition Gaddy argued that "irreparable harm" would occur to Magouirk if she were removed from Hospice.

Ken Mullinax hoped that publicity about the case would result in a feeding tube being inserted so she could begin receiving nourishment, but he told WorldNetDaily this has not happened.

WorldNetDaily has not been able to verify if food is still being denied, but if it is it would be in contradiction of the court�s ruling.

In his order, Probate Judge Douglas Boyd permitted Gaddy to continue as Magouirk's temporary guardian, but in a formal letter attached to the order stated that her powers were limited. One of the conditions of her guardianship is "To see that the ward [Magouirk] is adequately fed, clothed, sheltered and cared for, and receives all necessary medical attention, including placement in a nursing home, if appropriate."

Mullinax credits Dr. Aquel with saving his mother�s life two years ago, when she � like her sister � suffered an aorta dissection.

"Surgery has never been an option we advocated because Mae's sister, Lonnie Ruth Mullinax, has the same condition as Mae and was successfully treated without surgery at the UAB Medical Center," Mullinax told WND.

It is for this reason that Mullinax, his mother, and his uncle A.B. McLeod are so anxious to have her transported to UAB, and hope the three cardiologists will agree.

Their decision is expected at any moment.

Worrying over the plight of her sister has adversely affected Ruth Mullinux's health. Although she substantially improved following her dissected aorta, doctors advised her son, Ken, who is her caregiver, to "keep all bad news" from his mother.

However, she had to be told about her sister's situation because it was necessary for her to be in Judge Boyd's courtroom for the April 4 hearing as she was fighting Gaddy's petition for guardianship over Ora Mae, and had already learned about the denial of food by talking with Hospice counsel, Carol Todd.

"The stress from this horror has hit home," Mullinax told WND in an e-mail. "Thursday evening Mom complained of tremendous pains."

He took her to the emergency room at UAB, where tests were performed that revealed her dissection had moved to her aortic artery.

Mullinax said he spoke with vascular surgeons Friday, and was told they were holding off on immediate surgery.

"They're going keep her in intensive care three more days," he said. "Her aorta has extended to what they call a level five � if it goes to six it becomes critical. This situation � what they're doing to her sister � it's literally broken my mother's heart."

Beth Gaddy has changed her telephone to a non-listed number and could not be reached for comment.

CBS Cameraman Could Be Iraqi Insurgent

A cameraman carrying CBS press credentials was detained in Iraq earlier this week on suspicion of insurgent activity, the U.S. military said Friday.

The cameraman suffered minor injuries Tuesday during a battle between U.S. soldiers and suspected insurgents, the military said. He was standing next to an alleged insurgent who was killed during the shootout, the statement said. The military issued a statement then saying the cameraman was shot because his equipment was mistaken for a weapon.

But on Friday, the military said the cameraman was detained because there was probable cause to believe he posed "an imperative threat to coalition forces."

"He is currently detained and will be processed as any other security detainee," the statement said.

CBS News spokeswoman Leigh Farris said, "We're looking into the situation."

A spokesman for Task Force Freedom, Capt. Mark Walter, said the reporter suffered minor wounds and was with "a number of people" involved in the shootout.

Walter said the reporter was detained immediately after the incident, in part because of statements from witnesses to the battle.

Officials are investigating the man's previous activities as well as "his alleged support of anti-Iraqi insurgency activities," the statement said.

Friday, April 08, 2005

Pantano gets congressional support

Officer charged with murder backed by Rep. Jones

Second Lt. Ilario Pantano, the platoon commander charged with pre-meditated murder in the killing of two suspected terrorists in Iraq, is getting the support of a North Carolina congressman.

Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., has sponsored a House resolution supporting Pantano, joined local veterans and others in fund-raising events, written a letter to President Bush asking for his intervention and promises to argue the case if necessary on the congressional floor.


A preliminary hearing for Pantano is set for April 25 at Camp Lejeune. Prosecutors are expected to present evidence supporting their contention the shootings were executions. Pantano faces the death penalty.

Pantano insists he acted in self-defense, certain when he fired that the men were intent on doing him harm.

As WorldNetDaily reported, Pantano's quick-reaction platoon, operating in the Sunni Triangle town of Mahmudiyah, detained the Iraqis April 15, 2004, after securing a terrorist hideaway where the Marines found a weapons cache. Pantano contends the Iraqis disobeyed his order in Arabic to stop, prompting him to open fire on them.

Prosecutors charging Pantano with two counts of pre-meditated murder likely will highlight the officer's statement last June that he emptied two magazines of M-16 ammunition on the Iraqis and left their bodies on display to "send a message."

The prosecution's case is based primarily on the accusation of radio operator Sgt. Daniel Coburn, who was at the scene with Navy medical corpsman George A. Gobles.

Pantano told an investigator, "I had made a decision that when I was firing I was going to send a message to these Iraqis and others that when we say, 'no better friend, no worse enemy,' we mean it. I had fired both magazines into the men, hitting them with about 80 percent of my rounds."

The phrase, coined by controversial Gen. James Mattis of the Marine Corps Combat Development, means the Marines can be a good friend to the Iraqi people but a fierce foe if attacked.

"I simply knew that I had told my platoon that if we were engaged in a gunfight, we would send a strong message that we were not going to be attacked," Pantano said. "Again, I believed that by firing the number of rounds that I did, I was sending a message that we were 'no better friend, no worse enemy.'"

The charge sheet says Pantano was "derelict in the performance of his duties" by leaving the bodies "on display in order to send a message to the local people."

Those actions likely will be used by prosecutors to paint a picture of Pantano's state of mind during the incident, but his lawyer, Charles Gittins, insists it's irrelevant, pointing out the officer did not use the slogan or make up the sign until after the men were dead.

The incident began when Pantano, Coburn and Gobles were outside the suspected insurgent hideaway and saw two men attempting to flee in a white SUV.

The Marines disabled the car by shooting the tires, then handcuffed the Iraqis. After hearing weapons were found in the house, Pantano had the cuffs removed and ordered the Iraqis to search the SUV, fearing the vehicle could be booby-trapped.

"As the sergeant and the corpsman served as my guardian angels, I told the two Iraqis via hand signals to search the car and to pull apart the seats," Pantano said. "They were talking the whole time. ... I told them several times to be quiet by saying 'stop' in Arabic. They continued to talk."

Pantano said he told them to be quiet again, then "they quickly pivoted their bodies toward each other. They did this simultaneously, while speaking in muffled Arabic. I thought they were attacking me and I decided to fire my M-16A4 service rifle in self-defense. I believed that they were attacking me, and I felt I was within the rules of engagement to fire."

The accuser, Coburn, claims Pantano shot the men in the back. Gobles' version of events largely supports Pantano, but the Navy corpsman says he believed the Iraqis were moving away from the lieutenant.

Gittins believes the discrepancy is a matter of perspective, based on where each man was standing, and says the two Iraqis were shot not only in the back, but all over their bodies.

The lawyer describes Coburn as a "disgruntled" officer with a grudge who had to be relieved of command by Pantano for poor performance.

Jones' letter to Bush reads: "In an August 2004 executive order detailing your desire to strengthen our intelligence activities, you stated that to improve our ability to prevent terrorist threats, we are to 'give the highest priority to the detection, prevention, disruption, preemption, and mitigation of the effects of terrorist activities against the territory, people, and interests of the United States of America.' It is my strong belief that Lt. Pantano was serving in the interests of the United States when he engaged the enemy and sought to preempt their actions through any means necessary."

Jones said Pantano's situation could cause further questioning about the war in Iraq and may even lead some potential enlistees to second-guess their decision.

"The ongoing war in Iraq has taken a toll on this nation," he said. "Families have been torn apart by the loss of a loved one who has paid the ultimate price in service to our country. Charging Lt. Pantano with murder is not only wrong, but is also detrimental to morale in America. This sends a potentially flawed message to those considering enlisting in the military."

Jones also argued the case could cause other Marines to question their own actions, possibly endangering both their own life and the continued success of the war on terror.

Granddaughter yanks grandma's feeding tube

81-year-old neither terminally ill, comatose, nor in vegetative state
In a situation recalling the recent death of Terri Schiavo in Florida, an 81-year-old widow, denied nourishment and fluids for nearly two weeks, is clinging to life in a hospice in LaGrange, Ga., while her immediate family fights desperately to save her life before she dies of starvation and dehydration.

Mae Magouirk was neither terminally ill, comatose nor in a "vegetative state," when Hospice-LaGrange accepted her as a patient about two weeks ago upon the request of her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy, 36, an elementary school teacher.


Also upon Gaddy's request and without prior legal authority, since March 28 Hospice-LaGrange has denied Magouirk normal nourishment or fluids via a feeding tube through her nose or fluids via an IV. She has been kept sedated with morphine and ativan, a powerful tranquillizer.

Her nephew, Ken Mullinax, told WorldNetDaily that although Magouirk is given morphine and ativan, she has not received any medication to keep her eyes lubricated during her forced dehydration.

"They haven't given her anything like that for two weeks," said Mullinax. "She can't produce tears."

The dehydration is being done in defiance of Magouirk's specific wishes, which she set down in a "living will," and without agreement of her closest living next-of-kin, two siblings and a nephew: A. Byron McLeod, 64, of Anniston, Ga.; Ruth Mullinax, 74, of Birmingham, Ala.; and Ruth Mullinax's son, Ken Mullinax.

Magouirk's husband and only child, a son, are both deceased.

In her living will, Magouirk stated that fluids and nourishment were to be withheld only if she were either comatose or "vegetative," and she is neither. Nor is she terminally ill, which is generally a requirement for admission to a hospice.

Magouirk lives alone in LaGrange, though because of glaucoma she relied on her granddaughter, Beth Gaddy, to bring her food and do errands.

Two weeks ago, Magouirk's aorta had a dissection, and she was hospitalized in the local LaGrange Hospital. Her aortic problem was determined to be severe, and she was admitted to the intensive care unit. At the time of her admission she was lucid and had never been diagnosed with dementia.

Claiming that she held Magouirk's power of attorney, Gaddy had her transferred to Hospice-LaGrange, a 16-bed unit owned by the same family that owns the hospital. Once at the hospice, Gaddy stated that she did not want her grandmother fed or given water.

"Grandmama is old and I think it is time she went home to Jesus," Gaddy told Magouirk's brother and nephew, McLeod and Ken Mullinax. "She has glaucoma and now this heart problem, and who would want to live with disabilities like these?"

Gaddy's telephone is not in operation and she could not be reached for comment.

According to Mullinax, his aunt's local cardiologist in LaGrange, Dr. James Brennan, and Dr. Raed Agel, a highly acclaimed cardiologist at the nationally renowned University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center, determined that her aortic dissection is contained and not life-threatening at the moment.

Mullinax also states that Gaddy did not hold power of attorney, a fact he learned from the hospice's in-house legal counsel, Carol Todd.

On March 31, Todd told Ruth and Ken Mullinax during a phone conversation Georgia law stipulated that Ruth Mullinax and her brother, A.B. McLeod, were entitled to make any and all decisions for Magouirk. Ruth Mullinax immediately told Todd to begin administering food and fluids through an IV and a nasal feeding tube.

Todd had the IV fluids started that evening, but informed the family that they would have to come to the hospice to sign papers to have the feeding tube inserted. Once that was done, Magouirk would not be able to stay at the hospice.

Ken Mullinax recalled that Todd said the only reason Magouirk was in the hospice in the first place was that the LaGrange Hospital had failed to exercise due diligence in closely examining the power of attorney Beth Gaddy said she had, as well as exercising the provisions of Magouirk's living will.

Todd explained that Gaddy had only a financial power of attorney, not a medical power of attorney, and Magouirk's living will carefully provided that a feeding tube and fluids should only be discontinued if she was comatose or in a "vegetative state" � and she was neither.

Gaddy, however, was not dissuaded. When Ken Mullinax and McLeod showed up at the hospice the following day, April 1, to meet with Todd and arrange emergency air transport for Magouirk's transfer to the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center, Hospice-LaGrange stalled them while Gaddy went before Troup County, Ga., Probate Court Judge Donald W. Boyd and obtained an emergency guardianship over her grandmother.

Under the terms of his ruling, Gaddy was granted full and absolute authority over Magouirk, at least for the weekend. She took advantage of her judge-granted power by ordering her grandmother's feeding tube pulled out, just hours after it had been inserted.

Georgia law requires that a hearing for an emergency guardianship must be held within three days of its request, and Magouirk's hearing was held April 4 before Judge Boyd. Apparently, he has not made a final ruling, but favors giving permanent guardianship power to Gaddy, who is anxious to end her grandmother's life.

Ron Panzer, president and founder of Hospice Patients Alliance, a patients' rights advocacy group based in Michigan, told WND that what is happening to Magouirk is not at all unusual.

"This is happening in hospices all over the country," he said. "Patients who are not dying � are not terminal � are admitted [to hospice] and the hospice will say they are terminally ill even if they're not. There are thousands of cases like this. Patients are given morphine and ativan to sedate them. If feeding is withheld, they die within 10 days to two weeks. It's really just a form of euthanasia."

Ken Mullinax does not want that to happen to his aunt. He pointed out that one of the ironies in this tragedy is that the now-helpless woman worked for years as a secretary for a prominent local cancer doctor.

"She devoted her whole life to helping those who heal others, and now she's being denied sustenance for life," he said.

Mullinax said he has begged Gaddy to let him take on full responsibility for his aunt's care.

"If she would just give us a chance to keep Aunt Mae alive, that's all we ask," he said. "They [Beth and her husband, Dennis Gaddy] have a family and Beth is a teacher, and it was just getting to be a lot of trouble. But I'm the caregiver for my mom, and Aunt Mae could move in with us. We'll buy another house with a bedroom and we'll take care of her. She can move in with us once she can leave the hospital."

But her health becomes more precarious by the hour. Her vital signs are still good, but since admission to hospice she has not been lucid � "but who would be since nourishment and fluids have been denied since March 28," Mullinax remarked.

Attorney Carol Todd could not be reached for comment; a message on her voicemail said she would be gone the entire week of April 4. Hospice-LaGrange did not return phone calls.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

U.S. Chopper Crash Kills 16 in Afghanistan

A U.S. military helicopter crashed in bad weather in southeast Afghanistan (search) on Wednesday, killing 16 people, including four American crew members in the deadliest military crash since the U.S.-led offensive began in 2001.

An Afghan police official said all the dead, including the four crew, appeared to be American. However, the U.S. military provided no details of the passengers' identity. Two more people were listed as missing.

The U.S. military suggested that severe weather brought down the CH-47 Chinook (search) near Ghazni city, 80 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul, as it returned from a mission in the militant-plagued south.

"Sixteen people have now been confirmed dead in the crash," a military statement said. Two others listed on the flight manifest, "remain unaccounted for," it said.

It said the names were being withheld until their next of kin were informed.

Military spokeswoman Lt. Cindy Moore told The Associated Press earlier that the helicopter was one of two Chinooks flying to the main American base at Bagram, north of Kabul, when controllers lost radio contact.

Abdul Rahman Sarjang, the chief of police in Ghazni, said the helicopter came down at about 2:30 p.m. near a brick factory three miles outside the city and burst into flames. U.S. troops rushed to cordon the area to look for any survivors. he said.

"We collected nine bodies, though the Americans told us there were 13 people in total on board," Sarjang told AP by cell phone from the crash site. "They were all wearing American uniforms and they were all dead."

Sarjang said the weather was cloudy with strong winds, but had no explanation for why the aircraft came down in a flat, desert area.

He said there was no sign that enemy fire brought it down. The discrepancy in numbers could not immediately be explained.

According to U.S. Department of Defense statistics, at least 122 American soldiers had died before Wednesday's incident in and around Afghanistan since Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led war on terrorism, began after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Accidents have proven almost as deadly as attacks from Taliban-led insurgents, including a string of helicopter crashes and explosions caused by mines and munitions left over from the country's long wars.

The bloodiest incident was an accidental explosion at an arms dump in Ghazni province that killed eight American soldiers in January last year.

Most recently, four U.S. soldiers died when a land mine exploded under their vehicle south of Kabul on March 26.

Last November, six Americans � three civilian crew members and three U.S. soldiers � died when their plane crashed in the Hindu Kush mountains. The military's last fatal helicopter crash occurred a month earlier when a pilot was killed in the west of the country.

About 17,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan battling a stubborn Taliban-led insurgency focused on the south and east. The top U.S. commander here, Lt. Gen. David Barno, told AP the size of the U.S. force would be reviewed after Afghan parliamentary elections in September.

Iraqis Elect Jalal Talabani Interim President

The Iraqi parliament picked Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani (search) as the country's new interim president Wednesday, reaching out to the nation's long-repressed Kurdish minority and bringing the country closer to its first democratically elected government in 50 years.

Ousted members of the country's former regime � including toppled leader Saddam Hussein � watched the event on television in their prison cells, Human Rights Minister Bakhtiyar Amin told Al-Arabiya television.

The announcement that Talabani won drew applause in the National Assembly. In the north, Kurds danced in the streets upon hearing the news.

"Today Jalal Talabani made it to the seat of power, while Saddam Hussein is sitting in jail," said Mohammed Saleh, a 42-year-old Kurd in Kirkuk. "Who would have thought."

In 1988, Saddam expelled Kurds from strategic areas in the north and gassed Kurdish towns near the Iranian border, killing tens of thousands of people.

As the parliament met, mortar rounds landed in the street near the Ministry of Agriculture and the al-Sadeer hotel, injuring at least one Iraqi civilian. The target of the attack was not known, but the hotel, which has housed foreign contractors, has been attacked in the past.

The U.S. military said Wednesday that a Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed a day earlier when his patrol was hit by a bomb and attacked by insurgent gunmen.

Wednesday's election was largely a formality. Lawmakers already had agreed on Talabani and two vice presidential candidates during weeks of sometimes tense negotiations held after the country's historic Jan. 30 elections.

Shiite Adel Abdul-Mahdi (search) and interim President Ghazi al-Yawer (search), a Sunni Arab, were chosen as Talabani's two vice presidents. The three were the only candidates and received 227 votes. Thirty ballots were left blank.

Talabani's election was one of several appointments designed to reflect Iraq's diverse ethnic and religious groups. In addition to al-Yawer's job, Sunni Arabs also got the speaker post with Hajim al-Hassani's appointment.

But prominent Sunni Arab groups � whose members are believed to make up the backbone of the insurgency � distanced themselves from the government, saying al-Yawer and al-Hassani didn't represent them.

"We are not related to any process in this matter of choosing candidates for posts in this government," Association of Muslim Scholars (search) spokesman Muthana Harith Al-Dari told Al-Jazeera television.

Sunni Arabs are underrepresented in the new parliament, mostly because they boycotted the elections or stayed home because they feared attacks at the polls.

Talabani was expected to be sworn in to his post on Thursday, then name Shiite leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari prime minister, clearing the way for talks on a new constitution that must be completed by Aug. 15.

Speaking after his election, Talabani called on neighboring countries to help prevent foreign insurgents from crossing into the country, and made a gesture toward Iraqis who side with the insurgency.

"As for the Iraqis who are carrying weapons out of patriotic and anti-occupation motives, those people are our brothers and it is possible to talk with them and to reach a solution," Talabani said.

He added that his government would work to provide security so that U.S.-led coalition forces "could return home after the completion of building (Iraqi) armed forces that are capable of finishing off terrorism."

Talabani's election came after the Kurdish-led coalition won 75 of the 275 parliament seats in the elections, a major victory for a group that spent years fighting Saddam's regime.

Kurds make up 20 percent of the country's 26 million people; Shiites make up 60 percent and the Sunni Arabs are roughly 15 percent to 20 percent.

Aside from electing the prime minister, the president's post is largely ceremonial. Talabani and his two vice presidents � known as the presidential council � are supposed to "represent the sovereignty of Iraq and oversee the higher affairs of the country," according to the country's interim constitution.

The human rights minister told The Associated Press that lawmakers had asked that Saddam and other jailed members of his former government be shown the process.

Saddam, captured in December 2003, has been in custody with several of his top henchmen at a U.S.-guarded detention facility.

The National Assembly also agreed Wednesday to eventually move into a building that is currently being used by the Defense Ministry. The building, which is outside of the heavily guarded Green Zone overlooking the Tigris River, was used by the Iraqi parliament before the monarchy was overthrown.

Also Wednesday, the Interior Ministry announced that 17 insurgents were killed in clashes in eastern Diyala province two days prior. One Iraqi soldier was killed and 11 others were injured in the shootout. The U.S. military had previously reported that two U.S. soldiers were killed in the same area.

Leftist Media: Pope Getting 'Reagan Treatment'

The late Pope John Paul II is allegedly getting the so-called "Reagan treatment" and the liberal media do not like it any more than they liked Ronald Reagan.

"Many critics argue that the media are doing now what they did when former President Ronald Reagan died in June: reducing a deeply controversial figure to a warm, grandfatherly caricature," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

One critic peddled the current - and dubious - media line that the pope was out step with members of the Church in the West.

"This is a church with declining priests, with declining nuns, with declining church attendance," Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, told the Inquirer. "This was a very conservative pope. Most of his Western flock was not with his program."

Like the overwhelming number of her mainstream media colleagues, Miss Jamieson failed to understand that the program she mentioned was not John Paul's but the 2,000-year-old dogma of the Roman Catholic Church that he or any other pope is powerless to change.

Another popular media fiction is that the pope was a "polarizing" figure who created needless divisions within the Roman Catholic Church - a notion that avoids recognition of the fact that the alleged polarization arose from his defending what his church defines as good against that which it declares to be evil.

Jeff Sharlet, editor of The Revealer, a Web magazine about media coverage of religion funded by New York University's department of journalism and its Center for Religion and Media, adopted that line of attack.

"The reason we're getting sick of thinking about it is because this complicated story line is being reduced to a shallower level even than Ronald Reagan," he said. "The Pope was a figure of tremendous polarization. ... Now people are being asked to turn on a dime and consider him ... a mythic figure who had a simple and straightforward meaning."

Christopher Winner of United Press International, who the Inquirer noted covered both papal deaths in 1978, says the pope has been transformed in death into another one-dimensional cult celebrity. "The coverage to me is extremely manipulative. It's Hollywood coverage - it's celebrity coverage. It's uncritical. ... I'm not suggesting that he wasn't a remarkable figure - he was. But this is completely out of proportion."

Stewart Stehlin, described by the Inquirer as an NYU history professor familiar with the Vatican, disagrees that coverage has been uncritical and notes there is a natural tendency to speak well of the dead.

"I've read an awful lot where they would be laudatory but then say, well, he hasn't accomplished this, he was too strict on that. ... I would expect in a situation like this that most comments would be laudatory."

To the leftist media elite (who view Ronald Reagan - who, with the pope, brought Communism tumbling down - as an amiable dunce), John Paul is likely seen as a cranky old conservative wedded to outmoded doctrines who stood in the way of what they regard as human progress.

Monday, April 04, 2005

Big Iraq pullout seen next year

Sources say most U.S. troops out by February as terror attacks down, base closings begin

Much of the U.S. military force in Iraq will be withdrawn within a year, says a report published yesterday in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

Many bases will be closed down by June under plans now being made in vulnerability assessments by the U.S.-led coalition, according to sources of the premium, online intelligence newsletter published by the founder of WND.

Even more bases are targeted for closure by next fall, the sources say. And by February 2006, a big portion of the U.S. force in Iraq will be withdrawn under current plans.

The secret plans for early withdrawal are bolstered by the sharp reduction in terrorist attacks, which have fallen dramatically since the Jan. 30 elections. The number of U.S. deaths reported in March was the lowest in a year.

Terrorists are now focusing their attacks on Iraqi government and security officials as the new leaders of the country assume a greater role in the fragile nation.


Both U.S. and Iraqi officials agree that attacks overall have fallen since the Jan. 30 elections, although it is unclear if the trend is just a temporary lull as terrorists change tactics, or a sign that the insurgency is weakening.

"After Fallujah, and with all the weapons caches we keep finding and destroying, its getting fairly calm," said one G2 Bulletin intelligence source inside Iraq. "The international Zone hasn't had a rocket since December."

The change was apparent after the elections, with the number of U.S. soldiers killed dropping from 58 in February to 30 in March -- the lowest monthly death toll since 20 American soldiers were killed in February 2004.

Military sources tell G2B U.S. forces could begin coming home in significant numbers if insurgent violence is low through general elections scheduled for the end of the year.

More Americans oppose gay 'marriage,' poll finds

Public opposition to "marriages" between homosexuals is at an all-time high, according to a poll released yesterday.
When asked whether they thought same-sex "marriages" should be recognized by the law as valid and come with the same rights as traditional marriages, 68 percent of the respondents in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll said they should not.
Twenty-eight percent said same-sex "marriages" should be valid and 4 percent had no opinion. The survey of 443 adults was conducted March 18 to 20.
A similar poll by Gallup last year found that 55 percent thought homosexual "marriages" should not be valid, while 42 percent said they should be recognized.
In addition, 466 adults were asked in the same time period what marital arrangements they thought should be recognized for homosexual couples.
The poll found that 20 percent favored same-sex "marriage," 27 percent said civil unions, and 45 percent said "neither."
When asked whether they favored a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as "between a man and a woman," 57 percent said yes, while 37 percent were opposed.
Last year, 48 percent favored the amendment and 46 percent opposed it.
Currently, 43 states have laws that bar recognition of same-sex "marriages," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Twenty-six states have only statutes defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, and 17 have constitutional language. Seven states -- Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin -- have neither.
Kansas voters will decide Tuesday whether their state should amend its constitution to outlaw same-sex "marriage." Voters in Alabama, South Dakota and Tennessee will weigh in on the issue next year.
The debate is a complex one. The South Carolina state Senate will vote on a bill Thursday that would place the question on the state's 2006 ballot.
One economist told the lawmakers that the state will lose "money, talent and opportunity" if it gains a reputation as being intolerant. The economist cited a 1993 study that found anti-homosexual attitudes in Cincinnati cost the city $46 million in convention business.
Meanwhile, Connecticut's state Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee approved a bill Wednesday granting same-sex couples the same rights as traditional married couples. The General Assembly will vote on the matter next month.
Things differ in one corner of the consumer realm, however.
"Same-sex marriage might have polarized lawmakers, but it has galvanized advertisers in the gay press," the Gay Press Report said March 21.
The survey from New York-based Rivendell Media found that spending on advertising in 139 homosexual publications reached $207 million last year, an increase of 28 percent from 2003. Fifteen percent of ads for services were for same-sex "wedding" consultants, the analysis found.

Pope John Paul II's Funeral Set for Friday

Pope John Paul II's funeral will be held Friday morning, and his remains will be interred in the grotto of St. Peter's Basilica where pontiffs throughout the ages have been laid to rest, the Vatican said Monday.


Chief spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls made the announcement after the College of Cardinals held two meetings over the course of 2 1/2 hours in its first gatherings since the pope's death and ahead of a secret vote later this month to elect a successor to John Paul.

Poll: DeLay's Support Has Slipped

Support for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has slipped in his district, and a majority of voters surveyed disapprove of his decision to lead Congress into the Terri Schiavo case, according to a Houston Chronicle poll.

Forty-five percent of 501 voters questioned last week said they would vote for someone else if a congressional election were at hand, while about 38 percent said they would re-elect DeLay. The powerful Texas Republican maintained that his constituents backed his decision to take Congress into the dispute over whether to keep the severely brain-damaged woman alive. But nearly 58 percent of those surveyed said they opposed his decision, while about 33 percent expressed support.

"There seems to be no question that there has been an erosion in support for the congressman," said John Zogby, whose company Zogby International conducted the poll. "These are not good re-election numbers."

DeLay spokesman Dan Allen defended the congressman's record.

Voters have been electing DeLay for more than 20 years "because he's getting things done for the area. He's also earned their support because they know he's guided by principles not polls," Allen said Sunday.

DeLay, who has been admonished three times by the House Ethics Committee, won his 11th term in 2004 with 55 percent of the vote, his lowest share ever. The poll findings come about a year-and-a-half before he faces re-election.

About 40 percent of those polled said their opinion of DeLay has grown less favorable in the last year. Eleven percent said their view of him has improved, and about 47 percent said their opinion has not changed.

Questions have also been raised about financial backing for some of DeLay's overseas trips, and a county prosecutor is investigating fund-raising tactics of a political action committee DeLay helped establish.

The poll of 501 voters in Texas' 22nd Congressional District was conducted Wednesday through Friday and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Zogby Poll: Americans Wanted Terri to Live

By a significant plurality, Americans did not agree with the decision by state and federal courts last week that Terri Schiavo should be starved to death, a new Zogby poll has found. According to a report on the survey by Life News, Zogby pollsters asked: If a person becomes incapacitated and has not expressed their preference for medical treatment, should "the law presume that the person wants to live, even if the person is receiving food and water through a tube?"

Forty-three percent of those surveyed said yes, with just 30 percent saying the feeding tube should be removed.

Zogby then asked: "If a disabled person is not terminally ill, not in a coma, and not being kept alive on life support, and they have no written directive, should or should they not be denied food and water?"

A staggering 79 percent said the patient should not be denied food and water. Just 9 percent said yes.

Zogby followed up with a question about Congress' decision to intervene in the Schiavo case:

"When there is conflicting evidence on whether or not a patient would want to be on a feeding tube, should elected officials order that a feeding tube be removed or should they order that it remain in place?"

Forty-two percent said officials should order that the tube remain in place, with just 18 percent disagreeing.

When told that Schiavo's estranged husband, Michael, "has had a girlfriend for 10 years and has two children with her," 56 percent of Americans said guardianship should have been turned over to Terri's parents.

Just 37 percent disagreed.

Sunday, April 03, 2005

DeLay Will Seek Review of Courts

Perhaps dissatisfied and frustrated by the performance of the federal court system in relation to the Terri Schiavo case, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says he'll ask a House panel to look into it.

The Texas Republican, who is known on Capitol Hill as "The Hammer" for his unrelenting style, is already a Democratic target of ire for his past criticism of federal courts, the Washington Post reports. The paper said his office did not reveal specifics, but did say DeLay would ask the House Judiciary Committee to conduct a "broad review of the courts' handling of" the case. Earlier this week, DeLay accused state and federal courts of their "failure" to save Terri Schiavo's life; she died of starvation Thursday after her parents repeatedly failed to convince courts to order her feeding tube reinserted. The tube was removed by order of Florida Judge George Greer, who sided with husband Michael Schiavo by ruling his brain-damaged wife was beyond rehabilitation.

In response to that ruling, state and federal lawmakers attempted to intervene and, at one point, Congress passed and President Bush signed a law requiring a federal court to review the case.

The court heard the case but did not, according to some legal analysts, actually fulfill the law's requirement to conduct a full analysis and, in the meantime, order Terri's feeding tube reinserted.

Terri's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, appealed each unfavorable ruling all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which repeatedly refused to even consider the case.

The outcome has left many lawmakers, ethicists, medical professionals and political analysts angry and frustrated, wondering why � in this day and age, when courts so often extend unreasonable protections to convicted killers and other felons � they could not find legal precedence to spare Terri's life, at least long enough for one final review of her medical condition.

DeLay's statement regarding his intention to seek a full accounting of the courts' behavior reflected some of this frustration. According to the Post, DeLay said "the time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior." And later, in a television interview, he said he intends to "look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president."

In an interview with Fox News, DeLay said lawmakers "need to look at this case."

"We need to look at the failure of the judiciary in Florida. We need to look at the failure of the judiciary on the federal level," he added.

Democrats attempted to portray DeLay as threatening U.S. judges, in violation of law.

"Threats against specific federal judges are not only a serious crime, but also beneath a Member of Congress," wrote Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, the Post reported. "Your attempt to intimidate judges in America not only threatens our courts, but our fundamental democracy as well."

Added Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts: "At a time when emotions are running high, Mr. DeLay needs to make clear that he is not advocating violence against anyone."

DeLay spokesman Dan Allen rejected those allegations, saying his boss was merely "expressing his disappointment in how the courts clearly ignored the intent of the legislation that was passed."

Guessing Begins on Pope's Successor

Roman Catholics and others began to speak out Sunday about their hopes � and expectations � for a new pope, as the intense guessing game began over who would succeed John Paul II in leading the Church.

Only one thing is certain: The cardinals must decide whether to follow John Paul II with another non-Italian or hand the papacy back to its traditional caretakers. Cardinal Bernard Panafieu, one of five French prelates with a papal vote, said Sunday he was hoping for someone "who dynamizes the people � God's people � as John Paul II did. At the same time, a man who has an international sense, of the opening of Catholicism to the world. An open man and at the same time, a man faithful to the great traditions of the Church."
The Polish-born John Paul was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and brought a new vitality to the Vatican, challenging parochial attitudes throughout the church. One view � echoed from outside Roman Catholicism by Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu � holds that the papal electors will want to maintain the spirit by recognizing the Roman Catholic influence outside Europe in Latin America and Africa.

"We hope that perhaps the cardinals when they meet will follow the first non-Italian pope by electing the first African pope," Tutu said Sunday from Cape Town, South Africa.

Another theory suggests that the Italians will press to reclaim the papacy after John Paul's 26-year reign � the third-longest in history.

There is no clear favorite when the 117 cardinals begin their secret conclave later this month.

But names often mentioned as "papabile" � the Italian word for possible papal candidates � include Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Vatican-based Nigerian, and Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes.

Arinze, 72, converted to Roman Catholicism as a child and shares some of John Paul's conservative views on contraception and family issues. But he brings a unique element: representing a nation shared between Muslims and Christians at the time when interfaith relations assume growing urgency. If elected, he would be the first black pope of modern times.

Hummes, 70, is archbishop of Sao Paolo, Brazil, and urges more attention to fighting poverty and the effects of a globalized economies. His supporters note that Brazil's role as a Latin American political and economic heavyweight could help the Vatican counter the popularity of emerging evangelical churches in the region.

Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodiguez Maradiaga of Honduras, the 62-year-old archbishop of Tegucigalpa, is also mentioned as a possible candidate. But he could be too much of a break for Vatican conservatives. He has studied clinical psychology and has a dynamic, outspoken style.

Among Italians, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, the archbishop of Milan, is a moderate with natural pastoral abilities and an easy style that appeals to the young. But Tettamanzi, 71, is not considered widely traveled and some critics believe he could impose too strong an Italian outlook.

Other Italians widely mentioned as possible candidates include: Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice, 63, who is relatively young and brings a cosmopolitan flair from his city, a historic cultural crossroads; and Giovanni Battista Re, 71, who has served as president of the Vatican commission for Latin America since 2001.

Within Europe, several cardinals are seen as possible rising stars, potentially able to win support in the way Karol Wojtyla, then archbishop of Krakow, Poland, did in the 1978 conclave that elevated him to pope. They include: Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, the 69-year-old archbishop of Vienna, Austria, who is multilingual and has diplomatic flair, and Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, 71, who is well known in political and diplomatic circles.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, another French elector, said Sunday he hoped for a powerful figure to follow John Paul.

"When you see his face, and when you hear him speak, you should have the impression like that made by the arrival of John Paul II in October 1978: 'Wow, here you can see Christ come among us,'" Barbarin said in an interview with radio network France Inter.

Europe has the biggest bloc with 58 papal electors � cardinals under 80 years old. Italy alone has 20.

Latin America has 21 and Africa brings 11. The United States also has 11 cardinals and could sway the voting if they remain united. An American pope, however, is considered a virtual impossibility because of the Vatican would avoid any such a deep and complicated association with the world's sole superpower.

Any other forecast would find itself on shaky ground.

One only has to recall that after two days and eight rounds of voting 26 years ago, the name of Karol Wojtyla � never mentioned as a serious candidate � was announced to the crowd in St. Peter's Square. Many there were baffled.

What Happens After the Pope Dies?

After the death of Pope John Paul II, a strict procedure of events is set into motion leading to the burial and election of a successor. DW-WORLD looks at the key steps for the next several days.