Guess who's back?

Well, I imagine that the faithful are still here and reading. Thanks for sticking around. The net seems to have stabilized enough over here that I'm willing to attempt a post. And boy, is there a lot to talk about.

Terri Schiavo

Okay, I'll admit that maybe I'm negligent in not posting on this topic already. But honestly, I don't know what else to add that hasn't already been said. And at this point, it almost becomes moot: The rejected appeal by the 11th circuit court is a death sentence to Terri. She has been without food or water since Friday. That she hasn't died already is a miracle.

In any case, I've heard a lot of talk about this. Mainly, the talk is about the repurcussions of how people react to this, because it will set precedents in the future. Most pro-lifers think this is a bad scenario because it will become less and less taboo to "off" the mentally-handicapped in a "quality of life" kind of argument.

Well, that's what I've seen of the argument when discussed in more public, philosophical forums. On the net, I've seen this as all about the legal ramifications. The guys over at Powerline are not too keen on the bill passed by Congress, thinking it sets a bad precedent. Hugh Hewitt and Slublog have been on the other end, arguing that Congress is within its rights to control what goes before the courts, and that Terri's rights have been violated in all of this. Read through their many writings on this, so far. They have much better things to say than I can muster.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to say about the legal rights and what not. Everything I've heard tells me that something went wrong here. Maybe the husband has ulterior motives in pushing for this. Maybe the judge was following preconceived bias in decided as he has all the way through this. I don't know. The problem is, though I've been reading and hearing about this for years now, with it right in the center of the public consciousness, the "facts" of the case are quickly becoming fuzzier. People become hysterical about this, and information starts floating around which might be a distortion of the truth, or a bald-faced lie. But how the media talks about it in part defines the "truth" of the matter. It doesn't matter what was being reported 2, 3, or 5 years ago. Oy.

All I know is this: There are a lot of people saying that she is better off dead, but I think it's just a horrid reflection of their own fear of mortality and ending up in such a condition. If the parents think she is happy, who are we to question that quality of life? Say what you will about her condition, I think there are just too many questions and unknowns in this case to outright say, "Remove her food, let her die."

School Shootings

Another school shooting took place, this time in Minnesota. A 17-year old teen stole his grandfather's gun, killed him and his grandmother with it, then went to school and killed several classmates and teachers before finally killing himself.

They haven't determined the motivation in it yet. My heart just aches for the families and friends in that town. What drives a young heart to such desperations and despair? What brings such black darkness to his life? I know only this: Only, only the light of Christ can help such people out of such dead ends. Unfortunately, it's too late for that poor soul.

Ironically, if that young man hadn't turned his gun on himself, he'd be in no danger of being executed for his brutal crime.

Well, that's enough commentary for now. Talking about the things happening in the news right now is just depressing. There's just too much bad. I'll be back later, and I know of a few more things that are sad to post on, but hopefully after a while it'll be able to return to something good.