Why Judges Matter
Two new stories bring home the reason why it's important that the judicial branch not be full of right-wing nut cases and ideologues.
First, demonstrating that stubborn refusal to let go of an issue (especially when proven wrong) is a family trait, Jeb Bush has asked a prosecutor to investigate Michael Schiavo. Yes, that's right. It wasn't enough that Jeb stood in the way of allowing the man to follow his wife's wishes and dragged him through the courts and media for years. Not enough that actual physical evidence now shows the whole "we can rehabilitate her, she is responding to her parents" thing was delusion and political opportunism.
What possible pretext could Jeb have? Well, it appears that, more than a decade after the event, Schiavo said Terri collapsed at a time that differs from when the 911 records say he called for help. (Imagine, that years later, one might not have a precise recollection of the exact time during a major early-morning crisis.) Jeb seems to think there might be something nefarious in the supposed delay between Terri's collapse and Michael's call to 911. And, you know, the autopsy couldn't prove what had caused her initial collapse...
Michael's reality-bound lawyer points out that, had there actually been such a delay, Terri would have died outright. In which case none of us would have heard of her, because she wouldn't have been forced to linger in a vegetative state for years and years. But Jeb has never let reality intrude on the Schiavo case.
Meanwhile, in Texas, a school nurse has been accused of forcing a 15-year-old student to take a pregnancy test, simply because a boy at the school was bragging that he'd had sex with her. The girl denied being pregnant or ever having sex with the boy, but the nurse gave her the test, without notifying her parents. The nurse and the school system are being sued in federal court.
Apparently, in Texas, teenage boys never exaggerate about their sexual prowess, nor claim to have had sex with people they've never gotten close to. And, for some reason, it's critical to the state's public education function to know the pregnancy status of its females. Why else would the nurse, if concerned, not just call her parents and let them know what Johnny was claiming, and let them deal with it?
Golly, I wonder what Priscilla Owen would rule here.
First, demonstrating that stubborn refusal to let go of an issue (especially when proven wrong) is a family trait, Jeb Bush has asked a prosecutor to investigate Michael Schiavo. Yes, that's right. It wasn't enough that Jeb stood in the way of allowing the man to follow his wife's wishes and dragged him through the courts and media for years. Not enough that actual physical evidence now shows the whole "we can rehabilitate her, she is responding to her parents" thing was delusion and political opportunism.
What possible pretext could Jeb have? Well, it appears that, more than a decade after the event, Schiavo said Terri collapsed at a time that differs from when the 911 records say he called for help. (Imagine, that years later, one might not have a precise recollection of the exact time during a major early-morning crisis.) Jeb seems to think there might be something nefarious in the supposed delay between Terri's collapse and Michael's call to 911. And, you know, the autopsy couldn't prove what had caused her initial collapse...
Michael's reality-bound lawyer points out that, had there actually been such a delay, Terri would have died outright. In which case none of us would have heard of her, because she wouldn't have been forced to linger in a vegetative state for years and years. But Jeb has never let reality intrude on the Schiavo case.
Meanwhile, in Texas, a school nurse has been accused of forcing a 15-year-old student to take a pregnancy test, simply because a boy at the school was bragging that he'd had sex with her. The girl denied being pregnant or ever having sex with the boy, but the nurse gave her the test, without notifying her parents. The nurse and the school system are being sued in federal court.
Apparently, in Texas, teenage boys never exaggerate about their sexual prowess, nor claim to have had sex with people they've never gotten close to. And, for some reason, it's critical to the state's public education function to know the pregnancy status of its females. Why else would the nurse, if concerned, not just call her parents and let them know what Johnny was claiming, and let them deal with it?
Golly, I wonder what Priscilla Owen would rule here.
posted by Paul at 8:56 AM |
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