T'wit, FReeper extraordinaire, has died.

A great FReeper and close friend passed. T’wit, also known as Timothy Wheeler passed on. In tribute, I would like to make this the August thread of Terri Dailies, the topic foremost in T’wit thoughts.

Tim was a man of great faith, a faith that grew stronger especially in recent months. As I type this, I still am not yet coherent, as I try to awaken and sip a good coffee brought to me recently by Tim. In his usual fashion, he probably figured I would appreciate a little care package and would appreciate the better quality than the usual fare we would fix.

But I do not want this thread to be maudlin, nor a reminiscing on anecdotes, rather a stab at what Tim would want.

T’wit was passionate about the beauty of nature, of good books, good music, and intellectual challenge, but mostly he was passionate about his love for our America, for Jim Robinson’s FreeRepublic, and for our fight for those in the plight of Terri Schiavo. For the latter, he sought justice and fervently hoped and prayed we on Terri’s List would carry on this battle against the evils of those who would control who lived and died.

In our many talks, he would sound like a poster boy for all the stated position of Jim Robinson.

His wife told me last evening the final thoughts he had. As can be expected, it was for us to continue our fight as we have done already. She hoped that rather than flowers or donations sent, that donations be directed at causes like that supporting Terri’s Legacy, the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation. In this way, we remember him and further his wishes. T’wit and I talked a lot about faith and I can reassure all, his faith in Our Lord was strong and growing stronger, a comfort to me that he carried it to the end.

My words come out with difficulty this morning, but should flow better later, although without the word play and banter we would sometimes engage, at least for now. T’wit would be upset if I quit the puns for long, though.

It is always predictible what we can expect from the left. In this case once again the Puffington Host continues to pelt holes in the air, swinging at that Legacy that won't go away.

Honestly, other than ending the Iraq War, what other "important issues" does Mr. Fratto believe Americans are upset about?? Privatizing Social Security? Teri Schiavo's death? When a Republican spokesman chastises a Democratic Congress for not trying to push through their agenda, you just know something's way wrong. Magicians call this "misdirection." You are dead-positive that Tony Fratto is hiding something massive up his sleeve.

Republicans Give "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" a New Meaning

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Please note that Bobby Schindler is a featured speaker...

Thread by wagglebee.

TORONTO, August 28, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Nearly every leader and significant speaker on the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide will be attending the International Symposium on Euthanasia "Current Issues and Future Directions" to be held Friday, Nov 30th, Saturday, Dec 1, 2007 at the Four Points Sheraton - Toronto Airport Hotel.

Organized by the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition - Canada and co-sponsored by: Co-Sponsored by: Euthanasia Prevention Coalition - Canada, NOT DEAD YET - USA, Compassionate Healthcare Network - Canada, Physicians for Compassionate Care - USA, Vermont Alliance for Ethical Healthcare - Vermont, Care NOT Killing Alliance - UK, No Less Human, UK.

Largest Ever International Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Symposium - Toronto Nov. 30 (Pro-Life)

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This comes from Chuck Colson in a thread by Sopater with thanks to wagglebee for the ping.

For the past few years, I’ve been telling BreakPoint readers about our culture’s undeclared war on people with Down syndrome. Earlier this year, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended that all pregnant women, regardless of age, undergo amniocentesis. Obviously that’s to put them under increasing pressure to abort the child if a genetic defect is detected.

I thought that I heard every possible argument for and against this barbarism, but I was wrong. Apparently, in addition to asking themselves “what would Jesus do?” women should ask themselves “what would Darwin advise?”

What Would Darwin Advise?

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Mountainflower pings us to this thread on sneaky Planned Parenthood. Thread by monomaniac.

Aurora, IL (LifeNews.com) -- The city of Aurora has hired an attorney to determine if the new Planned Parenthood abortion business there is legitimate. The abortion center has seen thousands of protesters after pro-life advocates discovered Planned Parenthood used a separate name to get its construction permits.

Planned Parenthood got around public knowledge and opposition by calling the building the Gemini Health Center in all of its building plans and documents.

Aurora Hires Attorney to See if Planned Parenthood Abortion Business Legit

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Bobby Schindler writes in the Jacksonville Times-Union...

......................................

Recently, a group of surgeons restored the consciousness of a man who had been in a "minimally conscious state" for six years, unable to communicate.

The experiment, led by Ali Rezai, involved implanting two electrodes into his brain.

Joseph Giacino, co-leader of the study, recently stated in the National Catholic Register that "the breakthrough raises questions about Terri Schiavo," adding that "his patient's circumstances were different than Schiavo's."

In 1991, my sister, Terri, had a similar procedure. This has prompted some doctors to insist that Terri's procedure failed, implying that her brutal death was somehow justified.

Unfortunately, Terri's experimental implants were done 16 years ago and, therefore, did not include the most recent technology.

In addition, comparing the pictures of Terri's procedure, one can see that this patient's electrodes were placed differently, not to mention that his device (again by the pictures) was also different.

Most importantly, however, is that the doctor involved with Terri's implantations believed that it was working and suggested that she be moved to Shands Hospital, to deliver the rehabilitation that she needed. (This is documented in court records in a statement made by Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband.)

Perhaps, as Rezai said, his patient's circumstances were different. Even so, there is now a procedure that can restore the ability of severely brain-injured people to speak and eat. Some have begun to ask themselves if Terri should have been given this opportunity as well.

The truth is that Terri was a healthy woman who merely had a disability. She could have lived for many years if only my family was permitted to care for her, which is why we tried to follow the advice of countless doctors and pursue rehabilitation.

Tragically, in the years that followed, there was only a concerted effort to remove Terri's food and water, which ultimately resulted in her horrific death by dehydration.

While it is too late for Terri, there are tens of thousands of brain-injured people who could potentially be helped. That is why we at the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation are working to protect the lives of these people.

Even as medical advances are made, the basic questions remain: How do we decide who deserves to be cared for and who does not? Where do we draw the line?

The value placed on life should be based upon the inherent dignity of every person, not dependent upon changing technology.

Breakthrough for brain-injured

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Haleigh Poutre update, on stepfather, from The Republican...

...............................

SPRINGFIELD - A Juvenile Court date of Sept. 14 has been set to hear a prosecutor's request for impounded documents relating to Jason D. Strickland, the Westfield man accused of a 2005 assault on his stepdaughter who remains hospitalized in Boston.

The date was set by Judge James J. Collins during a status conference yesterday in Hampden Superior Court. The prosecutor is seeking impounded Juvenile Court records involving Strickland's son and stepdaughter. Contents of the documents have not been made public.

Haleigh Poutre, 13, of Westfield, is in a Boston rehabilitation hospital. Strickland, 33, and his wife, Haleigh's adopted mother, Holli A. Strickland, were arrested and charged with assault after the girl was hospitalized. Holli Strickland died later that month in what West Springfield police said appeared to be a murder-suicide at the hands of her grandmother.

The judge said yesterday that The Boston Globe has filed a motion for relief from impoundment of Juvenile Court information regarding Haleigh, but does not wish to argue the request in court. Collins, who is assigned to the Juvenile Court matter and the Superior Court assault case against Strickland, said that he is trying to balance the defendant's right to a fair trial with the public's right to information. He took the motion under advisement for a later ruling..................

Documents sought on Strickland

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Liberal fantasies would be comical, were they not so intended to be lethal to us normal folk. Strip off the sticky sweet coating of liberal euphemisms and quickly one spots their conclusion as downright silly, but flattering in a way.

The President should be impeached because he did not want innocent Terri murdered by the State.

His invitation to destroy the high wall separating church and state through funding of the activities of Christian groups and by pandering to religious zealots in defiance of court rulings during the disgraceful Terri Schiavo debacle debased various clauses of the First Amendment.

Michael Marowitz: Why Bush must be impeached

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Libs say the darndest things...

Liberals can be funny, but don't laugh at them or they get mad.

The Olympian publishes this bizarre account, a graphic illustration of my perception of liberal projection. Haters call people they hate haters.

...............................

Rep. Brendan Williams says he’ll be participating in a rally today against Ralph’s Thriftway in Olympia. The storeowners, including Kevin Stormans, refuse to allow their pharmacy to stock the emergency contraceptive Plan B.

That issue has been a controversy for a year, resulting most recently in a lawsuit against the state over a new rule requiring pharmacists to dispense legal prescriptions. Stormans is in on that lawsuit and so is the Alliance Defense Fund.

Williams, an Olympia Democrat, called the Alliance Defense Fund “a far-right hate group that does not represent my community’s values,” in a press release.

The release cited reasons for the description:

[T]he ADF led efforts to force continued life support for brain-dead Terri Schiavo in Florida; has fought efforts to curb harassment of women’s health clinics; has insisted upon the right of a public school teacher to teach Christianity in his classroom; and has encouraged corporations to allow workplace discrimination against gays and lesbians.

The fund is also involved in a local lawsuit over one man’s request to place a Nativity in the Capitol.

No doubt the Fund does not agree with Williams characterization of it as a hate group. We’ve put in a call and post their response.

UPDATE: Alas, we did not get an official response from ADF. We did, however, talk to Kevin Stormans, co-owner of the store, who said:

I’m surprised by Brendan’s intolerant feeling there. I think this group has different feelings than him or other people. But we ought to respect those differences, and not call each other names. I certainly don’t do that to other people.

Williams denounces Â“hate groupÂ” in Plan B fight

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NYer has a thread on the story of the abortion mistake, of killing the wrong twin. Thanks, Coleus, for the ping.

Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into a botched selective abortion that the Vatican has described as the result of a “culture of perfection” resembling Nazi eugenics.

The deeply Catholic country was embroiled in a bitter ethical dispute yesterday after it emerged that a surgeon had accidentally terminated a healthy foetus instead of its twin with Down’s syndrome. The operation – on a 38-year-old woman 18 weeks into her pregnancy – was performed at the San Paolo hospital in Milan in June but has only now come to light. The foetus with Down’s syndrome was also aborted subsequently.

Vatican talks of 'eugenics culture’ after abortion of wrong twin

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"We will not be silent. We are your bad conscience. The White Rose will give you no rest."

An "epiphany" for us all, about AETNA Insurance, in a thread by wagglebee...

HARTFORD, CT, August 29, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Fortune 100 company Aetna, one of the nation's largest health care insurance providers, has a surprising and little known policy. "Aetna will pay for a woman to receive an abortion for any reason at any time during her pregnancy. Whether she is 6 weeks pregnant or 6 months pregnant, whether it is her first or her tenth abortion, the company imposes no restrictions whatsoever," according to Epiphany Funds a company which was invested with Aetna and is now aiming to have Aetna change its policy.

AETNA Insurance Will Cover Any Abortion, for Any Reason, Any Time During Pregnancy

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Meanwhile, Here is the commentary in Human Events. Thanks to TheSarce for finding this...

..........................

In the old days before Gingrich, Reagan and even Goldwater, there was National Review, HUMAN EVENTS and a small but growing band of conservative stalwarts around the country who formed the nucleus of what was to become the modern conservative
movement.

Timothy J. Wheeler, a charter member of that stalwart band, died last week at the age of 70 and was buried in the soil of his native Wisconsin where, against all odds, he played a key role in the creation of the movement that was to produce the vibrant conservatism of today.

In the late 50s, he and a few others founded Insight & Outlook, the nation’s first student conservative journal. He later wrote a humor column for National Review, founded and edited a lively non-student conservative journal called Rally that he published from his Wauwatosa home from 1964-70 and went on to work for the Conservative Book Club and pen speeches for conservative candidates.

Tim was bright (he once studied and mastered Polish in less than six weeks), imaginative and bore life’s failures as well as its successes with unfailing good humor. He ventured out of the Midwest on occasion, but his heart remained in Indiana and, most of all, in Wisconsin where he fought the good fight and made a difference.

-- David Keene, Chairman of
the American Conservative Union

If you see a teary-eyed but smiling conservative -- especially one who is a veteran of the Goldwater era -- there’s an explanation for the mixed emotions being conveyed. This person probably knew Tim Wheeler, who died of heart failure August 4 at the age of 70.
We miss him dearly, but we cannot think of him without a chuckle. Most people knew him only anonymously -- for years he contributed many of the best zingers in those unsigned humorous paragraphs at the beginning of each issue of National Review. We who were lucky enough to know him personally were treated to the same ironic, sardonic, literate wit, usually spoken softly with a barely visible smirk on his face accompanying the mirthful twinkle in his eyes.

An example of his one-liners is the one that became known as “Wheeler’s First Law”: “The way to end corruption in high places is to get rid of the high places.”

A few of his many contributions to the cause: Tim was founder and editor of Rally, one of the earliest and best magazines produced and written by young conservatives. In addition to a stint on the editorial staff of National Review, he was a senior editor at Arlington House and worked for the Conservative Book Club in the late 1960s. Tim was also a trustee of the Philadelphia Society, and a member of the equally prestigious Flat Earth Party and the Beer and Pizza Marching Society of Indianapolis.

-- David Franke, in 1957, was a
member of the first HUMAN EVENTS
summer journalism class in 1957

Friends Remember Tim Wheeler

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And here is the text from the National Review (subscription) in the September 10 issue. Thanks to wagglebee and TheSarce for finding it...

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Timothy J. Wheeler, R.I.P.

Tim Wheeler wasn’t a household name, even within the conservative movement. But a generation of NR readers took delight in his words, whether or not they knew the identity of their author. Tim was the king of the “offbeat paragraph” — the short items, sometimes political but often not, with which WFB, as editor, always began and ended the opening section of The Week.

“What, you ask, are the two greatest health problems among teenagers? Pregnancy and pimples, in that order. Now aren’t you sorry you brought it up?”

“Three cosmonauts spent a record 238 days in the Salyut 7 space station, but were finally forced to return to the Soviet Union.”

After the Mount St. Helens eruption: “I’m sorry I made an ash of myself. Lava, come back to me. Love, Helen.”

And one of WFB’s own favorites: “Iraq and the budget are as nothing compared to the firestorm following the retirement of maize, raw umber, lemon yellow, blue grey, violet blue, green blue, orange red, and orange and their replacement by vivid tangerine, wild strawberry, fuchsia, teal blue, cerulean, royal purple, jungle green, and dandelion, by the makers of Crayola crayons.”

Tim had come to Bill’s attention as a student journalist at the University of Wisconsin, where he was editor of Insight & Outlook — the first and one of the best conservative campus journals. He later founded a journal called Rally, sort of a triple-A farm team for National Review; many later-prominent conservative writers had their first pieces published in Rally.

Tim eventually moved to a farm in Indiana, from which he did editorial work for the Conservative Book Club and for Bill Rickenbacker’s financial newsletter. He also produced a line of buttons and notepads of his own, with slogans like “Every joyous calorie cries Yea! to life,” and “Ad Hoc Committee to Send the 20th Century Back to the Factory.”

Tim seldom bylined, seldom spoke in public. But he was a steady sardonic libertarian presence at the Philadelphia Society and other right-wing gatherings, from which he will be sorely missed.

Timothy J. Wheeler, R.I.P.

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