Posted on 09/07/2001 2:53:47 PM PDT by bulldog905
Controversial radio shrink Dr. Laura Schlessinger is blasting Katie Couric, Rosie O'Donnell and other sympathetic celebrities, saying they've expressed support for the Texas mom who drowned her five children.
At the center of the firestorm is Andrea Yates, 37, the Houston, Texa, housewife who filled a bathtub and methodically drowned her sons Luke, 2; Paul, 3; John, 5; Noah 7; and her 6 month-old daughter Mary.
Couric and O'Donnell showed concern for the murderous mom, who has battled postpartum depression for years. But Schlessinger, 54, is cutting the jailed killer no slack.
"I understand fantasizing all kinds of things-kids can drive you crazy," say Schlessinger. "But I can't understand doing it."
Schlessinger, quoting other commentators who share her view, expressed particular horror over the death of Yate' oldest son, Noah. He walked into the bathroom, saw his sister lying lifeless in the tub, then tried to run for his life.
His mom chased him down, caught him, wrestled him back to the bathroom and drowned him.
Blasts Schlessinger: "Katie Couric didn't ask Yates, 'How could you chase Noah through the house, drag him to the bathtub and drown his flailing body beside that of a 6-month old?' She didn't ask: 'How are you so depressed you could do that?"
"But Couric ran an address of a defense fund for Yates-so much for objective journalism," she adds.
"And, of course, Rosie O'Donnell, who I hear has what, three and a quarter nannies for each kid? I'm exaggerating. She's supporting Yates."
What Dr. Laura failed to mention, but Star reported in our issue that it the newstands Augu. 24, was that Couric was duped into soliciting contributions to the defense fund.
Off-camera, Couric was seething with anger at Today show execs for putting the ad in front of her to read. Couric successfully lobbied her bosses at NBC to remove the fund-raising tag, from the end of her story when it aired on cable network MSNBC.
And celebs aren't the only ones feeling the wrath of Schelssinger.
She also blasts the Houston area chapter of the National Organization for Women for "asking people to send cards or notes of caring to child-killing mother Andrea. P. Yates in her prison cell.
"The group says she was driven to murder by postpartum depression. Funny, but I don't recall the National Organization for I Don't know What Kind of Women asking that notes be sent to the funeral of her children," Schlessinger rails.
"They are not women who value men, marriage, family and children."
Yates, incarcerated in a Texas prison, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and faces the death penalty.
Schlessinger-who has landed in hot water before for criticizing gays, calls Yates a "political martry" and feels that the growing list of famous supporters need to have their heads examined.
As far as Schlessinger is concerned, NOW members and the bleeding-heart liberals in Hollywood who support Yates "are rallying behind a murderer."
I am not usually a big Dr. Laura admirer, but I happen to agree with a lot of the stuff she says.
She is totally right about the misguided fan-club of child-killer Andrea Yates. "Depressed" people barely have the energy to get out of bed, let alone kill five children.
It doesn't strike me as a big coincidence a lot of her supporters also support abortion, lesbianism and the destruction of family values.
Andrea Yates is a very fitting role-model for the NOW crowd!
I hope enough "soccer mommies" aren't fooled by this murderous bitch and her enablers.
Men should not be afraid to judge on this just because they cannot birth children. You know, and I know, had a "depressed" man who had lost his job, had marital difficulties and substance abuse problems, done the same he would have not gotten the time of day from this crowd! They would have been screaming, quite rightly, that he should get the death penalty. Also we would have been subjected to endless articles about the horror of male violence to children.
What a freaking double-standard this crap is!
I just wish she wouldn't encourage people to defraud the government ...
That's clear as mud.
If you are awaiting someone asking what the heck you're referring to, consider yourself asked.
???????????
Dr Laura told this guy it was a wonderful decision and that he was a wonderful person for making such a hard decision.
I contacted the FBI and Social Security and asked if what this guy was doing was legal. They both said NO! I then sent Dr. Laura a fax indicating that she was encouraging people to defraud the government and that the FBI and SS said it was illegal. I suggested she issue a retraction on her website and on the air. The only response was a deafening silence.
It's really sad to see someone like Dr. Laura, who purports to be the moral voice of America, poison her message with illegal and immoral acts like this one.
I have a audio clip of the entire conversation if anyone is interested in authentication/ verification.
I for one would like to ehar that for myself, go ahead an put it up or a link to it.
That's a typically Liberal point of view - the end justifies the means.
As I said in my post, the FBI and the Social Security administration both stated emphatically that it is illegal to initiate a divorce just so that one of the people involved can acquire eligibility for government programs.
You may not care about obeying the law, but most of the rest of us think it is important.
Also, for those of whom believe it is important to obey the law, here is a link to an mp3 file of the Dr. Laura conversation. It's 231 KB. The original wav file is over 3 MB. If anyone is interested I can make that available, tooo.
This is the original version of the announcement of the "Andrea Pia Yates Support Coalition," found on FEMNET, a bulletin board for the Houston chapter of NOW, posted August 14, 2001 (bold mine):
The media's oversimplification of this case, and in some cases their misrepresentation of NOW's role, are both deplorable and dangerous. NOW has not created a legal defense fund for Andrea Yates. NOW is not raising money for her.</font color=red> The Houston Area NOW chapter leaders have directed concerned people to a fund already set up by Yates' lawyers. Like any other criminal defendant, Yates is entitled to a fair trial with appropriate legal representation. Just as Andrea Yates' crime shocked the nation, Texas' desire to put to death a person who may be mentally ill should shock the nation's conscience.
Just the facts,
From: thedivadeb@y...
Date: Tue Aug 14, 2001 9:38 pm
Subject: - 081401
THE FEMINIST ONLINE NETWORK
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2001
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world ...indeed it's the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
THE ANDREA PIA YATES SUPPORT COALITION
This coalition formed as the result of the response the National Organization for Women has taken to the news of the tragedy of the drowning of five children. The horrifying news that these children were murdered at the hands of their own Mother has shocked the nation. We then were to discover that Mrs. Yates was known to suffer from severe postpartum psychosis and had in fact been under treatment and on medication at the time of the incident. That led us to view the case in light of the untold numbers of women who suffer from this illness. We were further concerned that the State of Texas might seek the death penalty if Andrea Pia Yates was to be charged in the murders.
The Disability Constituency Issues Hearing voted to present a resolution regarding this matter. The National Organization for Women therefore passed a resolution at its National Conference in Philadelphia, PA on July 1, 2001 regarding the issue of postpartum depression.
The consensus among the members of NOW is that we must focus on several areas and it is our sincerest hope that some good may come of this tragedy.</font color>
[1] We offer what support we may to Mrs. Yates on a personal level so that she may realize to whatever degree she is able: that she is not alone, that there are thousands who care about her and that we will stand by her
[2] We offer our support likewise to Russell Yates, Andrea's Mother and the rest of the family so that they know that there is a community of caring citizens willing lend their personal support, sympathy, and help in what ways they can
[3] We seek to shed light on the issues of mental illness and concerns of women who suffer from it particularly depression and the poorly understood issues of post-partum depression
[4] We hope to raise funds that will aid in the defense of Andrea Pia Yates</font color> and that additionally will help fund research, education and treatment in the field of women and mental health.
[5] That we address the issue of the death penalty when it is asked for in cases where someone is mentally impaired, either by retardation or mental illness. We without a doubt seek save Andrea Yates from being murdered by the State of Texas. She does not poise a threat to society for one thing and there is no reason to believe that the Citizens of this State would benefit in any way from her being executed.
[6] That we at all times will work with the cooperation of Mrs. Yates defense team and not take any actions that would be in conflict with their defense strategies or in any way jeopardize the case.
</font color> What we entertain at this time is the formation of a coalition in Support of Andrea Pia Yates with these five points at its core. Beyond that we seek discussion and ideas what other concerns may be added to these and on how to accomplish these goals.
1. Candlelight vigil – outside the site of Mrs. Yates incarceration on Sunday, August 26, the night before the competency hearing.
2. Court watch – that members of this coalition will have access to view the proceedings and lend support during the trial.
3. A media watch of how the case is portrayed in news stories (Internet, TV, radio, papers), watch for exploitation of the case.
4. Seek to lift the gag order.
5. To sign on as Friends of the Court where appropriate and in conjunction with the desires of the defense team.
6. A March
7. A teach-in/Educational Forum
8. Cards or notes of caring to be sent to Andrea Pia Yates. Send to: Mrs. Andrea Pia Yates, c/o Andrea Pia Yates Support Coalition c/o Parnham and Associates 440 Louisiana St., Suite 800 Houston, TX 77002
9. Defense Fund Information: For those who wish to contribute, a defense fund has been established at Horizon Capital Bank, for the purpose of offsetting expenses in the mental health defense of Andrea Pia Yates, charged with capital murder.</font color=red> The State of Texas has made known that it will seek the penalty of death, The account is styled:"Andrea Pia Yates Defense Fund"
Horizon Capital Bank
One City Center
1021 Main St.
Houston, TX 77002
ATTN: Bank TellersAny contributions received that exceed expenditures necessary for the defense of Andrea Pia Yates will be designated for use in the areas of women's mental health issues, particularly postpartum depression and psychosis. The actual recipient or recipients of these funds will be announced in the future.
I am a taxpayer and this is one situation where I don't mind seeing my tax dollars go.
How about the government defrauding the people. I have a whole list of programs where my money is going down the drain. Get some sense.
You are often a veritable fountainhead of unknown information!
P.S: You sure were right about that phoney "carving" incident. It's sad you had to shout out that you happen to be black to prevent accusations of "racism"!
Your premise is flawed in two parts. First, neither the FBI nor Social Security Commission is part of the Judicial system. To determine if this is illegal, you would go to a member of the Judicial system such as the DA.
Secondly, both the FBI and Social Security Commission make a living by depriving citizens of their Constitutional rights. Would you go to a used car salesman to find out if it's legal to sell a car with sawdust in the transmission to make it run quieter?
It's really sad to see someone like Dr. Laura, who purports to be the moral voice of America, poison her message with illegal and immoral acts like this one.
I would hardly call this either illegal or immoral. It's a very moral act to take care of a loved one. It may or may not be ethical, but it is certainly moral.
I have a audio clip of the entire conversation
Have a lot of extra time on your hands?
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