Tom DeLay has been pretty clear in his opinion of the Terri Schiavo case:

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) called the removal of the feeding tube “barbarism” and “an act of medical terrorism.”

“Right now, murder is being committed against a defenseless American citizen in Florida,” he said.

I disagree with him, but let’s assume that he is correct. At the moment the case has been through two federal courts, both of which have declined to order the reconnection of Mrs Schiavo’s feeding tube. There is therefore a reasonable possibility that she will not be ‘rescued’ from her fate. She will, in DeLay’s opinion, have been murdered in an act of medical terrorism.

So what does he do? He can’t just leave it alone; he has knowledge of a murder committed during a terrorist act, which in today’s climate is about as serious as things get. I guess someone with his pull can take it direct to a District Attorney and have somebody prosecuted (the husband? The doctor who flipped the switch?). He presumably will also contact the Department of Homeland Security to get the same people hauled off to Gitmo, though the publicity may be a little problematic.

Decisions, decisions.

No comment, Digby says it perfectly:

By now most people who read liberal blogs are aware that George W. Bush signed a law in Texas that expressly gave hospitals the right to remove life support if the patient could not pay and there was no hope of revival, regardless of the patient’s family’s wishes. It is called the Texas Futile Care Law. Under this law, a baby was removed from life support against his mother’s wishes in Texas just this week. A 68 year old man was given a temporary reprieve by the Texas courts just yesterday.

Those of us who read liberal blogs are also aware that Republicans have voted en masse to pull the plug (no pun intended) on medicaid funding that pays for the kind of care that someone like Terry Schiavo and many others who are not so severely brain damaged need all across this country.

Those of us who read liberal blogs also understand that that the tort reform that is being contemplated by the Republican congress would preclude malpractice claims like that which has paid for Terry Schiavo’s care thus far.

Those of us who read liberal blogs are aware that the bankruptcy bill will make it even more difficult for families who suffer a catastrophic illness like Terry Schivos because they will not be able to declare chapter 7 bankruptcy and get a fresh start when the gargantuan medical bills become overwhelming.

And those of us who read liberal blogs also know that this grandstanding by the congress is a purely political move designed to appease the religious right and that the legal maneuverings being employed would be anathema to any true small government conservative.

Those who don’t read liberal blogs, on the other hand, are seeing a spectacle on television in which the news anchors repeatedly say that the congress is “stepping in to save Terry Schiavo” mimicking the unctuous words of Tom Delay as they grovel and leer at the family and nod sympathetically at the sanctimonious phonies who are using this issue for their political gain.

Heard on the Daily Show on March 17th in the Lewis Black segment:

So far not a single senior Pentagon official has been punished for horrific acts of abuse at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison. Why not? Vice Admiral Albert Church explains:

AC (on tape): I don’t think you can, you know, hold anybody accountable for a situation that…that…maybe if you’d done something different maybe something would have…er…occurred differently

LB: Actually, if I’m not mistaken, that’s the definition of accountability.