raze the dead

'we the people' have crossed over. we're now in a place where the federal government is all-powerful.

a place where the dead are declared alive because the Government says so.

displaying their omnipotence, republicans stuck a feeding tube into the withered body of a brain-dead woman, and called it good.

"I will continue to stand on the side of those defending life for all Americans, including those with disabilities," said george w. bush, leader of the newly minted gods.

it's the first time i can recall death referred to as a disability.

the woman's husband is resisting this transition of power, and the redefinition of life. "Terri died 15 years ago," Michael Schiavo said, referring to the collapse and cardiac arrest that doctors say virtually destroyed his wife's brain. "Have they ever met her?" Schiavo said. "What color are her eyes? What's her middle name? What's her favorite color? They don't have any clue who Terri is. They should all be ashamed of themselves."

before he was elevated to deity, bush-the-governor signed a texas law giving doctors and hospitals the authority to pull the plug on patients beyond hope or help--even against the wishes of the patients' families. republican lawgivers also eliminated medicaid funding for the kind of care required by people with a 'disability' like terri schiavo.

but those decisions are part of the old america, the pre-deiocracy america. the america that respected states' rights and the rule of law and the right of the dead to rest in peace. this new country? i don't recognize it, and i will refuse to recognize it. as should all of you, if you find yourselves staring into the maw of this new, rough beast, its time come 'round at last.

"Come down, President Bush," Schiavo said in a telephone interview. "Come talk to me. Meet my wife. Talk to my wife and see if you get an answer. Ask her to lift her arm to shake your hand. She won't do it."

She won't, Schiavo said, because she can't.

even if she could, who would blame her for refusing? who would want to touch the hand of the republican god?