Terri Schiavo Documentary

Land,Gibbs in two-part documentary
on Terri Schiavo

Published June 5, 2008

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. (FBW)—Two thirty-minute television programs to air June 12 and 19 will explore the debate surrounding the death of Terri Schiavo and feature, among others, Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and David Gibbs, head of the Florida-based Christian Law Association.

Joni Eareckson Tada, whose ministry, The Christian Institute on Disability—a division of Joni and Friends International Disability Center—has produced the programs which will be broadcast globally via Trinity Broadcasting Network. Terri Schiavo is the severely disabled Florida woman who died of starvation and dehydration in 2005 after her feeding tube was removed as a result of a court order.

To be aired...

This two-part expose on the life and death of Terri Schiavo will be broadcast on TBN Thur., June 12 at 7:30 p.m. EST, and Thur., June 19, 7:30 p.m. EST. For more information, go to www.joniandfriends.org.

Terri Schiavo Execution Sanctioned by Faulty Polls?

by Carrie K. Hutchens

The polls were often sited as the Schiavo case progressed. Pundits, George Felos, Michael Schiavo and pals used poll numbers to claim the American people believed it was acceptable to execute Terri Schiavo in a death by dehydration and starvation. Other polls indicated it was acceptable to remove "life support", without making it clear the so-called "life support" was in fact a mere feeding tube.

Fast forwarding to the Election of 2008, it became quite apparent that polls are faulty. Polls weren't representative of the results in many cases. Pundits seemed bewildered. Some said they were going to have to revisit the reliance upon polls when looking for an accurate prediction of outcome.

Finally, the inaccuracy of polls was utterly apparent to not only the pundits, news staff, candidates and the candidates' staff -- it was apparent to any who were watching as the election events unfolded. Finally, the obvious was made so obvious that no one could ignore it. But sadly, it was three years too late for Terri Schiavo and her family.

Prior to Terri Schiavo's agonizing death by court order, many tried to point out the problem with relying upon polls, but it didn't hit home with those it needed to hit home with. People were becoming comfortable with the judicial order for murder, because the polls were alleging the majority believed it was acceptable to remove Terri from "life support." The irony being, that even after Terri's death, many believed she had been "brain dead" and only kept alive by a respirator. Some said they believed the latter is what she was removed from, because that is what poll questions appeared to be referring to.

Absolute fact is: Terri Schiavo was neither "brain dead" nor on a "respirator."

It is good that the Election of 2008 threw the truth about the unreliability of polls into the face of the world. It's just too bad it didn't become so apparent in the Election of 2004. Had it, Terri Schiavo might still be alive today and still proving assumptions to be wrong!

Carrie Hutchens is a former law enforcement officer and a freelance writer who is active in fighting against the death culture movement and the injustices within the judicial and law enforcement systems.

Religious Liberals Growing More Prominent in Politics

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Jennifer Riley
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Jun. 06 2008 06:37 PM ET

For decades, when Americans talked about faith and politics the phrase “religious right” came to mind. But the country’s political landscape is changing and now the “religious left” is re-emerging to play a prominent role in U.S. politics, observed one of the country’s foremost experts on faith and politics.


John Green, senior fellow in Religion and American Politics at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, contends the religious right no longer plays the “dominant role” in America’s faith-based politics in a Pew Forum interview posted on Thursday.

Instead, the religious left has, in some sense, replaced the religious right in being the prominent voice for faith voters.

However, Green quickly clarified that this is not to say the religious right is dead.

“[O]ne would want to be cautious about assuming that the religious right’s organizations, leaders and voters have left politics,” Green clarified. “They have not.

“For example, on the same day that Obama and Clinton struggled for religious voters in North Carolina, John McCain was in the state promising to appoint conservative federal judges, a key issue for religious right voters whose support he will need in November.”

Green noted that it’s somewhat difficult to define the religious left because it is a highly diverse group. But he suggested that it is composed mostly of people with “liberal” perspectives on theology and political issues, with subgroups that have conservative theological perspective but liberal views on political issues, or theological liberals and political moderates.

What appears to unite the loose network of the religious left is their concern for social justice issue such as poverty, as well as in their opposition to the war in Iraq, and more recently, advocacy for environmental protection. Members of this group, however, are divided over issues of abortion and gay “marriage.”

“Another thing that these groups share in common is a negative reaction to the religious right,” Green said. “They dislike what they perceive as the religious right’s confrontational style and single-minded focus on ‘moral values.’”

The much sought-after expert also noted that the religious left is not entirely new to American history because for most of the 20th century it was the dominant player in faith-based politics. It wasn’t until the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan that the religious right became dominant in politics.

Although there are no precise numbers for the religious left, Green estimates that a total of a little more than one-quarter of the adult population in the United States can be categorized as the religious left.

“The 2004 aggregate figure may surprise some people, given the small size of each of its components,” Green said. “What it means for the 2008 presidential election is that the religious left, broadly defined, could impact a close contest.”

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The Rock of Our Foundation

American Minute from William J. Federer

On JUNE 8, 1845, "Old Hickory" died.

Wounded by a sword during the Revolutionary War, he later fought the Seminole Indians and, in the War of 1812, defeated the British in New Orleans. He was governor of the Florida Territory, and is credited with proposing the name "Tennessee" at that State's first convention. His name was Andrew Jackson.

His wife Rachel dying just three months before he took office as the 7th U.S. President, Andrew Jackson stated in his 2nd Inaugural: "It is my fervent prayer to that Almighty Being before whom I now stand, and who has kept us in His hands from the infancy of our Republic to the present day...that He will...inspire the hearts of my fellow-citizens that we may be preserved from danger."

On December 30, 1836, Andrew Jackson wrote to A.J. Donelson, upon the death of his wife, Emily: "We cannot recall her, we are commanded by our dear Saviour, not to mourn for the dead, but for the living...She has changed a world of woe for a world of eternal happiness, and we ought to prepare as we too must follow...'The Lord's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'"

Of the Bible, Andrew Jackson stated: "That book, Sir, is the Rock upon which our republic rests."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.

Schwiesow, Running as Independent, Provides Choice in Dist. 32 Race

Rapid City, SD – Elli Schwiesow will be on the November ballot, a Republican running as an Independent for the Senate seat in District 32.

Schwiesow ran for the South Dakota District 32 Senate seat in 2006 against incumbent Stan Adelstein and won in the Republican primary. However, after losing, Adelstein provided financial and other support for her Democrat opponent, Tom Katus. Adelstein, a Republican, even campaigned for and took out campaign ads on behalf of Democrat Katus.

In the November 2006 general election, Schwiesow lost to Katus. Some have stated they believe Schwiesow's prominent support of Referred Law 6, the abortion ban, hurt her campaign by making it easier for the opposition to paint her as a "single issue candidate."

That was not the reality, however, as Schwiesow campaigned in 2006 on a variety of issues, and will be emphasising several issues this year.

When asked what issues she considered most important for the South Dakota legislature to deal with, she responded, "I will center my campaign on affordable healthcare, putting education dollars in the classroom, transparent government, and protecting private property from the abusive use of eminent domain."

Schwiesow said she intends to spend less time organizing this year, with more time getting out and talking with District 32 voters.

Schwiesow said the reason she is running as an independent is to provide choice for the voters of District 32.

“Currently there is a Democrat in the race and there is a Republican in the race but there is really only one shared philosophy between them," said Schwiesow. "I offer an alternative, a conservative choice to the voters of District 32," said Schwiesow.

In November, Independent Schwiesow will face both Republican Stan Adelstein and incumbent Democrat Tom Katus.

On social issues, there is little difference between Adelstein and Katus. For instance, both Adelstein and Katus oppose restrictions on abortion. Both Adelstein and Katus opposed protecting marriage and defining it as between a man and a woman in South Dakota.

Schwiesow went on to state, “As a limited government conservative I found it contrary to my principles to raise and spend the kind of money it would have required to remain competitive in the District 32 primary elections.

“I know the voters of my district. They are asking for a third choice, a common sense conservative choice. I am in this race to win, and I will work hard to meet every voter in District 32. It will be a lean, person-to-person, door-to-door campaign."

Schwiesow says she hopes her campaign will appeal to conservative voters in both parties. "Politics is the art of compromise. Many may find that difficult to accept but progress is not made unless common ground is established. I believe that for many years my role as a Republican official was to rally the troops, to get out the vote and build a winning team. I found it challenging to shift gears from being a conservative party advocate to a being a candidate," said Schwiesow.

She also says not to underestimate the voting power of the so-called Reagan Democrats, who care about many of the same issues as conservatives in the Republican Party.

Elli Schwiesow is a South Dakota native, a 28 year resident of Rapid City and District 32. She is married to Joel, her husband of almost 40 years, and has 5 children, 2 foster children and 11 grandchildren. Mrs. Schwiesow received an education degree from Concordia - St. Paul with minors in music and physical education. Elli has a long history of community service. She is a listener and a consensus builder.

She has a long history of service within the Republican Party, so conservatives need not worry that because she's running as an Independent, her values have suddenly changed. She has served as President of the Pennington County Republican Women, President of the State Federation of Republican Women, Chair of the Republican Ambassadors, the Pennington County Republican Vice-Chair & State Committee Member, and Vice-Chair of the South Dakota Republican Party.

When asked about concerns some Republicans may have that she could split the Republican vote and hand the election to Katus, Schwiesow was confident that her campaign would appeal to conservatives in both the Democrat and Republican parties, and that she would actually draw from a larger base than either Katus or Adelstein.

Schwiesow also believes that women are underrepresented in Pierre. "Women bring a unique voice and perspective to most situations. That voice and those perspectives are needed in the legislature," she said.