Michael Schiavo is a douchebag

[The Scatologist]

He's not planning on telling his inlaws (Terry's parents and other family) about where he is planning to bury her.

What a fucking douchebag and a selfish prick.


Yes, so he got his way in the Schiavo case. He says that Terry would not want to have been kept alive artificially, and I do not really have anything against him pulling the plug, but not telling his inlaws where she's gonna be buried?

Does he really think Terry would not want her own fucking family to visit her grave?

[BigBadBrian]

He's been a cunt for 15 years. Bang new quiff and have two kids while your old lady is lying in a hospital. Why change now. :gulp:

[Nickdfresh]

Yeah, the Schindler in-laws starting a war with him after he refuse to give them part of the settlement, and trying to strip his marital rights are so fucking perfect!:rolleyes:

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by Nickdfresh
Yeah, the Schindler in-laws starting a war with him after he refuse to give them part of the settlement, and trying to strip his marital rights are so fucking perfect!:rolleyes:

Damn Nick, you certainly have an axe to grind against these parents don't you? They just want to see their girl buried. WTF

[academic punk]

He WILL be reporting where he will disperse Terri's ashes, but AFTER it is done. Why? Because he doesn't want her memorial truning into the same media circus that her death did.

Entirely reasonable, especially after being called a spousal abuser and murderer on national TV repeatedly and having to put his family into hiding for fear of some pro-life nuts hunting them down and killing them.

I don't care where you stand on this, the Schindlers were ENTIRELY wrong in that regard.

Also, there are restraining orders in place on each side. One side can't be in the same physical space as the other at any time. So the Schiavos and the Schindlers are obliged to have seperate memorials.

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by academic punk
pro-life nuts

There's a wonderful term. :rolleyes:

[FORD]

Nobody involved in this situation is blameless, but at least Michael Schiavo didn't enlist known terrorists and pedophiles to be his spokesmen.

[academic punk]

ah-ah Brian...you're misinterpreting what i meant there.

not everyone who is pro-life is a nut at all, but there are factions out ther who so fervently believe in the sanctity of all life that they have killed (or attempted to do so) abortion doctors, within hospital walls, and even women who have exercised their legal right to a safe and clean abortion.

The Schiavos have all had a number of death threats towards them in the last two weeks. I mean, Michael's brothers FAMILIES are in hiding. That's fucking SICK, and don't you fucking dare try to deny that.

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by academic punk
ah-ah Brian...you're misinterpreting what i meant there.

not everyone who is pro-life is a nut at all, but there are factions out ther who so fervently believe in the sanctity of all life that they have killed (or attempted to do so) abortion doctors, within hospital walls, and even women who have exercised their legal right to a safe and clean abortion.

The Schiavos have all had a number of death threats towards them in the last two weeks. I mean, Michael's brothers FAMILIES are in hiding. That's fucking SICK, and don't you fucking dare try to deny that.


True enough, but then you have the idiotic post directly above claiming terrorists and pedophiles were involved on the other side. There is no need for that kind of rhetoric.

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by BigBadBrian
Damn Nick, you certainly have an axe to grind against these parents don't you? They just want to see their girl buried. WTF

I was responding to the whole "(axe) job" done on Michael by the religious right. I'd be a little pissed and psychotic after all this too. In fact, I've already been there.

PS. I am not saying he is right in doing this, but I do understand his feelings. Terri become a rope in a giant, fucking putrid tug of war, and the fucking media ate it up! And people used her to advance their agendas! The whole fucking thing makes me sick and I am done posting on this (non)issue!

[Jesus Christ]

Let it go, My children....

[FORD]

Originally posted by BigBadBrian
True enough, but then you have the idiotic post directly above claiming terrorists and pedophiles were involved on the other side. There is no need for that kind of rhetoric.

It's not rhetoric. It's a fact. Randall Terry is a known terrorist and convicted felon, and he was acting as the Schindler family spokesman. And one of the protestors in the mob outside the hospice was a twice-convicted child rapist.

[Warham]

Originally posted by FORD
Nobody involved in this situation is blameless, but at least Michael Schiavo didn't enlist known terrorists and pedophiles to be his spokesmen.

Yeah, he enlisted George 'I can talk to people's spirits' and 'she's more beautiful than I've ever seen her, even though she hasn't been fed in 10 days' Felos.

[DrMaddVibe]

Originally posted by FORD
Nobody involved in this situation is blameless, but at least Michael Schiavo didn't enlist known terrorists and pedophiles to be his spokesmen.


George J. Felos
Author of Litigation as Spiritual Practice

Attorney George J. Felos is a nationally recognized expert in right-to-die cases. He is best known for the landmark case that helped establish an individual's constitutional right to refuse or have withdrawn unwanted medical treatment, Guardianship of Browning, and the current case of a vegetative young woman, Terri Schiavo, which was featured on NBC's Dateline program.

He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including CBS's Early Show, CNN's Burden of Proof, Daybreak and Greenfield at Large, Court TV's Pros and Cons, Inside Edition, The Kathy Fountain Show, and NPR's All Things Considered. He has also presented seminars and debated end-of-life issues for various professional, civic and religious groups, and leads meditation and personal growth workshops.

Felos is the creator of Meditation for Lawyers, the first-of-its-kind instructional course accredited for continuing legal education. His article by the same name has been published and posted in various journals.

Felos graduated from Boston University School of Law, has practiced in Pinellas County since 1978, was a founding member of the National Legal Advisors Committee on Choice in Dying, and served as Board Chair of The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, the largest non-profit Hospice in the world.

A classical pianist, yoga teacher, Hospice volunteer, saltwater fisherman, and guest minister to various churches in his spare time, Felos resides in Dunedin with his son, Alexander.

[FORD]

So let me see if I get this right, AssVibe....

You're equating a lawyer who, though possibly a little weird, acted entirely under the law.

with

A twice convicted child rapist, and his buddy the convicted felon and terrorist who encourages his followers to "feel a wave of rage and hatred wash over you. yes hate is good".

You're saying Felos is as bad as those two?

[Warham]

Possibly a little weird?

What about George Felos’ worldview in the Schiavo debate?
Florida Baptist Witness ^ | March 11, 2005 | James A. Smith


Posted on 03/12/2005 2:55:45 AM PST by amdgmary


EDITOR'S NOTE: As public attention turns again the predicament of Terri Schiavo – the 41-year-old brain-damaged woman whose husband is seeking her starvation death – I thought it was time to remind our readers of the dangerous worldview which is driving the attempt to euthanize Terri. Below is a reprint of most of my Nov. 13, 2003, editorial published at a time when Terri’s life was in danger, as it is again.

As we go to press this week, a flurry of activity in Tallahassee, Washington and the courts continue as advocates seek to save Terri’s life. Her husband claims – without any written evidence – that Terri would not want to live in her current state, although she is not in a coma or on life support. She merely requires food and water to survive – just like you and me.

If Terri Schiavo dies at the hands of her husband – and a court system that has obscenely failed her – it will mark a terrible blow to the sanctity of human life in our nation. And, her death will advance the dangerous worldview of George Felos, the euthanasia lawyer.]

Reading the newspapers and watching the cable news accounts of the now internationally known Terri Schiavo controversy, one would assume that the passions and motivations in this case are fueled solely by the religious worldview of pro-life Catholics, conservative evangelicals and other members of the so-called “Religious Right.” As usual, the major media are missing an important part of this story – there is another worldview in play in the Schiavo debate advocated chiefly by the famous attorney of the case, George Felos.

George Felos, Michael Schiavo’s lead attorney who gained national prominence more than a decade ago for his role in successfully arguing for the “right-to-die” before the Florida Supreme Court, has called the Schindlers “fanatics” whose ideology has prevented them from properly evaluating Terri’s condition, according to Chicago Tribune (Oct. 23, 2003).

Who is George Felos?

After indulging myself in a bit of spiritual exploration by reading Felos’ book, Litigation as Spiritual Practice, it appears to me that the Schindlers have company in the fanatic department. The book is Felos’ description of the intersection of his law practice with his spirituality, using two cases he successfully argued as the backdrop – the landmark “right-to-die” case concerning Estelle Browning and an arcane tax law battle.

The book was published last year by Blue Dolphin Publishing, which specializes in “comparative cultural and spiritual traditions, lay and transpersonal psychology, education, new science, self-help, health, healing, complementary medicine, ecology, interspecies relationships, and whatever helps people grow in their social awareness and conscious evolution,” according to its Web site.

Describing himself as a “spiritual aspirant for close to twenty-five years” (page x), it’s clear from Felos’ book that his spirituality drives his law practice, as well as the rest of his life. It’s also clear that his spirituality is enormously important to his views on death and dying. In fact, Felos’ spiritual awakening, as described in detail, is closely tied to his emerging interest in the subject of death and dying.

A fervent practitioner and teacher of yoga and meditation, Felos is a syncretistic religionist who mixes diverse religious traditions – including generous citations from the Bible and references to Jesus Christ – creating a composite of his own spiritual worldview. He believes “evolution of consciousness” is “our ultimate salvation” (xiv).

In the acknowledgments, Felos notes that he has drawn from a wide range of spiritual teachers and teachings, with particular acknowledgment to the Kirpalu Center for Yoga and Health, based in Lenox, Mass. Throughout the book, Felos cites Buddhist, Hindu, Native American and other spiritual traditions from which he draws his views.

Death and Resurrection

In the chapter entitled, “Death and Resurrection,” Felos notes that although he experienced his “initial spiritual awakening in my early twenties, I had spent the last few years of my mid-thirties backsliding” (47). A ten-day retreat at the Kirpalu Center in 1988 “birthed a personal transformation of immense and unexpected proportions” in which his “old life was vaporized” (47).

The Browning “right-to-die” case was the first legal appointment Felos had after his retreat and he found the case to be a “blessing rather than a coincidence” in light of his “recently acquired fascination with death and dying” (61). (Three years later, Felos spent two months at the Center “where I lived and worked essentially as a monk” (4) while trying to deal with his marital separation which had caused him great pain.)

In a particularly important passage as it pertains to how his spirituality has driven his role in the euthanasia movement (a term he rejects, but clearly applies), Felos discusses reading a book on “conscious dying” on the plane ride home from the retreat. Written by a meditation teacher and activist in the hospice movement, the book “describes the enormous potential for spiritual awakening, both for the patient and the caregiver, which is sometimes realized during the death process” (53).

He continues, “Scripture says neither hands, nor feet, nor emotion, nor mind, nor body are we. Our death—the permanent separation of our spirit, our consciousness, from the body—if experienced with awareness, can provide the opportunity to dispel the greatest of illusions: that we are this body. The author goes on to describe how meditation and spiritual practice is the process of dying—the means by which we extinguish our ego and body identification and realize we are the expression and manifestation of the Divine. Pretty heady stuff, especially for one who had just died and been reborn, so to speak. I deeply connected with the message of this book, and as I gazed out the window upon the clouds and surface below, I felt death move a bit closer” (page 53, my emphasis).

Elsewhere he writes, “In reality you have never been born and never can die” (32).

Felos later discusses the “cosmic law of cause and effect” in which he argues that human beings create their own realities with their minds and have the power to change their reality with their minds – including causing a new, dream car to appear “out of the ether” (178-179). He illustrates the truth of the spiritual principle by explaining how he once caused a plane to suddenly descend, causing chaos for the crew and passengers, when he pondered, “I wonder what it would be like to die right now?” The pilot later explained that the auto pilot computer program mysteriously quit working, resulting in the sudden descent. “At that instant a clear, distinctly independent and slightly stern voice said to me, ‘Be careful what you think. You are more powerful than you realize.’ In quick succession I was startled, humbled and blessed by God’s admonishment” (181-182).

Clearly, Felos’ spirituality and theology of dying is central to his “right-to-die” advocacy.

Throughout the book, Felos repeatedly promotes a pantheistic theology of God in which he argues that humanity and God are one and the same as part of the Universal Consciousness. While numerous citations could be given, one example must suffice: “If we are infinitely large, if the Divine within us, which is us, contains all of creation, what can be taken from us and who is there to take it?” (32, emphasis in original).

‘Soul-speak’

Felos clearly believes in reincarnation and even discusses a conversation with his yet-to-be-conceived, unborn son, who told Felos, “I’m ready to be born…will you stop this fooling around!” (75). He cites this experiences as proof of the validity of perhaps the most bizarre claim in the book concerning what he calls a “soul-speak” conversation he claims to have had with Browning – the patient in the “right-to-die” case. While she never uttered an audible sound, Felos writes that he was able to communicate with the radically debilitated stroke victim who could not talk. He writes:

As I continued to stay beside Mrs. Browning at her nursing home bed, I felt my mind relax and my weight sink into the ground. I began to feel light-headed as I became more reposed. Although feeling like I could drift into sleep, I also experienced a sense of heightened awareness.

As Mrs. Browning lay motionless before my gaze, I suddenly heard a loud, deep moan and scream and wondered if the nursing home personnel heard it and would respond to the unfortunate resident. In the next moment, as this cry of pain and torment continued, I realized it was Mrs. Browning.

I felt the mid-section of my body open and noticed a strange quality to the light in the room. I sensed her soul in agony. As she screamed I heard her say, in confusion, ‘Why am I still here … Why am I here?’ My soul touched hers and in some way I communicated that she was still locked in her body. I promised I would do everything in my power to gain the release her soul cried for. With that the screaming immediately stopped. I felt like I was back in my head again, the room resumed its normal appearance, and Mrs. Browning, as she had throughout this experience, lay silent (73).

Much, much more could be cited to demonstrate that Felos’ spirituality is not exactly mainstream, but space demands require this to suffice. (For more excerpts from Litigation as Spiritual Practice, see other excerpts online: http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/1782.article.)

It’s also not possible to refute in detail each of Felos’ esoteric spiritual claims except to say that the Bible’s teaching about God and man are starkly different than those advocated by him, in spite of his occasional use of God’s Word. God is real, infinite and personal, and He is distinct from his creation, including humanity. Our human bodies are not illusory and one day will be glorified for those who die in Christ Jesus, while those who die without Christ will suffer eternal, conscious punishment in hell.

If ideas have consequences, as a political philosopher has argued, it’s even more true that spiritual ideas have eternal consequences. That’s why it’s important to understand the worldview behind George Felos’ strong advocacy for Terri Schiavo’s starvation death.

The point here is not to ridicule Felos’ religious views. He is obviously a serious thinker who has developed his spirituality over many years of searching. His views should be taken seriously – especially since they so clearly drive his effective advocacy of the “right-to-die.”

As Richard Land, head of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, told the St. Petersburg Times, the Schiavo case presents a “clash of two very disparate civilizations – the Judeo-Christian civilization, which is based upon the sanctity of human life, and the neopagan, relativist, quality-of-life civilization” (Oct. 28, 2003).

Both worldviews are in play in the Schiavo debate and it's long past time for the public to understand this.

[Nickdfresh]

Going to the Christian cut-and-paste sites again for the character defamation crap again, eh WARHAM?:rolleyes:

[Warham]

Nothing defaming about it if it's true, Nick.

He's just one strange motherfucker, no two ways about it.

I'd hardly call Free Republic a 'Christian' site.

And you of all people, who basically gets his worldview from the NY Times and LA Times, the bastions of far-left liberal thinking, shouldn't be lecturing me on where I get my news.

[FORD]

Originally posted by Warham


I'd hardly call Free Republic a 'Christian' site.



Now THAT is the understatement of the century!

But the point remains that you and AssVibe are equating a "weirdo" with 2 convicted felons, and that's not a reasonable comparison.

[Warham]

I don't give a shit about who they bring out as their 'representative'. And I didn't compare Terry with Felos. The only thing that I pointed out was that not just one side has some less-than-stellar people on it's side.

I still think Schiavo's a dickhead, especially if he doesn't allow her to have a Catholic funeral.

[FORD]

I'll have to agree with you on that part. He should have made arrangements for her family to attend the funeral. Without their right wing criminal buddies and the media circus, of course.

Of course there was some doubt as to whether or not she was a practicing Catholic before she went into her vegative state. Maybe she would have actually wanted a Jewish funeral?

[DrMaddVibe]

Originally posted by FORD
So let me see if I get this right, AssVibe....

You're equating a lawyer who, though possibly a little weird, acted entirely under the law.

with

A twice convicted child rapist, and his buddy the convicted felon and terrorist who encourages his followers to "feel a wave of rage and hatred wash over you. yes hate is good".

You're saying Felos is as bad as those two?


???

You're insane! How you brought THAT bullshit into this is beyond me.

"Nobody is blameless"...remember that? Felos has an agenda and Shiavo was his "soup" du jour. He exploited the entire situation and pushed his "cause" further. Remember Dr. Kevorkian? He was a "nazis" that could've done them proud then. Check into his "artwork". Real "window into his soul" stuff there. Felos will be writing another book real soon.

I'd rather take Life and all it has to offer than Death. That's the way I'm wired. I'd rather see the glass half-full and you'd rather live in a delusional paranoid world where everyone and everything is a cog in a wheel running you over.