<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2627" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>Heck yeah Siarlys! So very cool! I agree with you man!! Amazing what this
woman has done. In some ways I think I'm hardened to this subject because since
the day my brother and I were able to handle the issue our parents have made it
VERY clear they do not want machines keeping them alive. Will it be hard if it
EVER goes there, YES, but it is their wishes and I will not be arguing with
them.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>God bless,</DIV>
<DIV>Lance<BR>John 8:32 "You will know the Truth and the Truth will set you
free."<BR></DIV>
<DIV>On Sat, 7 May 2005 22:06:54 -0400 <A
href="mailto:gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net">gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net</A> writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; MARGIN-LEFT: 10px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid">
<DIV>Hello everybody. Things have been awfully quiet lately, and I have been
wondering about what we could fruitfully discuss. This language is a little
rough for my choice, but I received it from someone who has struggled with
polio and post-polio syndrome, kept herself fully functional for 18 years
after PPS symptoms set in, and continues to cheerfully block out a life for
herself now that she can barely move her limbs. So I think she speaks with
some authority about intrusive self-serving politicians, and individual
choices.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Siarlys</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>> >
Subject: New Advance Directive....<BR>> ><BR>> > I,
_______________________(fill in the blank), being of<BR>> > sound mind
and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by<BR>> > artificial
means.<BR>> ><BR>> > Under no circumstances should my fate be put
in the hands of<BR>> > peckerwood ethically challenged politicians who
couldn't pass the<BR>> > ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on
it.<BR>> ><BR>> > If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail
to sit up<BR>> > and ask for a cold beer, it should be presumed that I
won't ever get<BR>> > better. When such a determination is reached, I
hereby instruct my<BR>> > spouse, children and attending physicians to
pull the plug, reel in the tubes<BR>> > and call it a day.<BR>>
><BR>> > Under no circumstances shall the hypocritical members of
the<BR>> > Legislature (State or Federal) enact a special law to keep me
on<BR>> > life-support machinery. It is my wish that these boneheads
mind their<BR>> > own damn business, and pay attention instead to the
health, education and<BR>> > future of the millions of Americans who
aren't in a permanent coma.<BR>> ><BR>> > Under no circumstances
shall any politicians butt into this<BR>> > case.<BR>> ><BR>>
> I don't care how many fundamentalist votes they're trying to<BR>> >
scrounge for their run for the presidency, it is my wish that they
play<BR>> > politics with someone else's life and leave me alone to die
in peace.<BR>> ><BR>> > I couldn't care less if a hundred
religious zealots send<BR>> > e-mails to legislators in which they
pretend to care about me. I don't<BR>> > know these people, and I
certainly haven't authorized them to preach and<BR>> > crusade on my
behalf. They should mind their own business, too.<BR>> ><BR>> > If
any of my family goes against my wishes and turns my case<BR>> > into a
political cause, I hereby promise to come back from the grave and<BR>> >
make his or her existence a living hell.<BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>>
><BR>>
><BR>_______________________________________________________Dated______________<BR>>
> __<BR>> > Signature<BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>> >
______________________________________________________<BR>> >
Witness<BR>> ><BR>> >
______________________________________________________<BR>> >
Witness<BR>> ></FONT><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4>I find the adjective "peckerwood" offensive,
although "ethically challenged politicians" is perfectly accurate. (I have
many good friends and a few relatives who might be called "peckerwoods" by
persons inclined to use the term, as well as close friends who might for
historical reasons be inclined to use it occasionally).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4>I find the adjective "fundamentalist" less than
helpful. I don't find the above referenced politicians to reflect the Gospel
of Jesus Christ in any way, shape or form. Nor do the fundamentals of the
Gospel come down clearly on the side of any loud voices in this debate. So I
neither give them credit they don't deserve, nor would I use respect for the
fundamentals as an automatic insult. (It is by the same token less than
accurate to refer to Osama bin Laden as a "fundamentalist" Muslim, although he
IS a hypocritical murderous religious zealot who should play politics with his
own life, not everybody else's.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4>The reference to "religious zealots" is more
appropriate, especially when we remember that the original "zealots" were
denounced by their own priesthood AND rejected Jesus. People who show zealous
commitment to their own faith by sending emails to politicians demanding
intrusions in someone else's life are not worthy of respect.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4>Finally, while many individuals rightly fear
political interference in their own personal, private, life choices, there
remains the fact that nobody really knows for sure exactly what Terry Schiavo
wanted -- which suggests that the blunt instrument of the law was simply
incompetent to "do the right thing" in any way shape or form.</DIV></FONT>
<DIV> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>