Separation of Powers (the Right to Die part 2)
Again Terri Shiavo’s parents have appealed to the Supreme Court.
Congress is saying that the law they signed required doctors to reinsert a feeding tube until the case can be heard by presumably “activist judges” who share the same “right to life” opinions as the religious right.
Jeb Bush is trying to step in again to have the state take custody of Terri just as they would take a child out of an abusive home. This is the same state agency that a few years ago lost a child in its care who later turned up dead (good karma for a link 
)
Good ole (bad ole?) Dubya has to face his own polar views. When he was governor of the state of Texas he signed what is called the Advanced Directives Act. According a recent article a mother who wanted her child maintained on life support was pre-empted by the child’s doctors and was disconnected just last week. Now he wants to make sure that we “err on the side of life”? Give me a born again break.
This brings us to the main topic of this posting. In their infinite wisdom, which I dare say we have not seen since, the Founding Fathers knew that concentration of power was a bad thing, that it leads to tyranny; they saw it with King George. Our Constitution is based upon a separation of powers, three branches of government that are independent of each other. Three separate branches none required to “obey” the other but still accountable.There is a great little chart and quick overview on the gpo website. This system is designed to provides checks and balances, to reduce the power of any one or two branches of government.
Clearly, our system of separated powers is not designed to maximize efficiency; it is designed to maximize freedom.link
So I would say to Dubya, or any other whacked out politician, that “activist judges” are exactly what the Founding Fathers wanted. They wanted the President, Congress and the Courts to be separate. They wanted judges to look at the laws passed by Congress. To hold those laws up to the piercing light cast off by the Constitution to determine whether the law should stand. And so far as “activist judges” go, they are not out looking for these cases. The laws are challenged by Citizens of the United States- remember they are the “people” in “of the people, by the people, for the people”. Give me separation, give me recourse against unconstitutional laws, give me freedom over efficiency, give me “activist judges”.
Dear friends, since Easter Sunday is fast approaching and we are all waiting for a bloody miracle here, maybe Terri Shiavo will rise from the dead. But until then, the only thing that could possibly help matters along would be to hold a pillow over her head for a few minutes or to spike a vein and send her into a deep, narcotic induced slumber. While admittedly cruel, it’s far better than starving the poor woman to death. In retrospect that ‘diet’ she tried; i.e., eating whatever you want for dinner as long as you have “two fingers for dessert,” the undeniable cause of her problems, seems to have not been such a good idea in the first place. A lesson well learned; albeit a bit late, for the “soon to be” dearly departed.
Comment by Toobis — 3/26/2005 @ 4:34 am