March 21, 2005 by s.z.

All it Needs Is Some Magic Dolphins Oh, and if you want to read a column that out Peggy Noonans anything that Peggy herself could come up with, check out "What's Love Got to Do With It?" by Dr. Samuel L. Blumenfeld.  (Dr. Blumenfeld is not a medical doctor, as you will quickly deduce -- he presumably has a Ph.D. in homeschooling, or something like that.) Anyway, here are a few paragraphs of the very special WorldNetDaily commentary: Terri Schiavo is no burden on her husband. She is being cared for by her parents who love her. The word "love" has not been used by the court in this case. As far as the judge is concerned, love is not an issue or even a consideration. Terri's parents accept her disabled state. She smiles at them. She hears them. But she cannot speak to them. And as long as they are able to maintain and support their daughter in her disabled state, why should the court deny them this expression of their love? Is not sacrifice an important manifestation of love?  [...] Modern science has enabled Terri Schiavo to continue living even though she has been severely disabled. Does she want to die? She cannot tell us. But every time she looks into the eyes of her parents and smiles at them, she is saying, I want to continue to live, if for no other reason than to experience your love. Love conquers all. It is the bridge between Terri and her parents who deeply care for her. If she did not have that continuous infusion of love, which reaches her through her eyes, then she would probably want to die. Apparently, although she is disabled, Terri is not in pain. If she were in pain, her face would show it. Nor would her parents want her to live in a constant state of pain. It seems that Terri lives in a kind of painless euphoria that the love of her parents fuels and keeps alive. Without that love she would probably die for the lack of it. [...] Terri's parents love her, even though they know that Terri is a burden. And Terri's love for them is not disputed by anyone, including her husband or the doctors so eager to pull her feeding tube. As long as Terri can love, is that not a recognition that she is very much alive, much more alive than those who cannot love? While she may not be more alive that those who cannot love, Terri is arguably no more vacant that those who will not think.  6:50:41 AM

The Marketing of Terri Schiavo Last week I received an email appeal from NewsMax on behalf of Terri Schiavo.  (Because I once participated in a NewsMax poll, I am on their mailing list, which they rent out to various other groups -- so I regularly get such appeals.)  This one was actually from an outfit called "RightMarch," and it asked me to send them money so they could take out print and radio ads which would urge people to demand that their Congressmen and Senators supported  Rep. Weldon's proposed law "which would give Terri Schindler-Schiavo and others in similar situations the same constitutional protection of due process as death row inmates now receive." But that was last week.  Here's part of RightMarch's latest pitch, which appears at NewMax in the format of a new story, although I think it should be counted as a paid advertisement:  Message from Terri's father: "Our family has asked Randall Terry and his staff to once again coordinate the efforts to rescue Terri from the clutches of death by judicial homicide. We ask you to help my daughter, Terri, by following Randall's lead, and cooperating with and supporting the efforts we have asked him to undertake. We thank you with all our hearts for your concern for our daughter, and for your help in trying to save her." -- Bob Schindler, Father of Terri Schiavo You may recall Randall Terry, the former head of "Operation Rescue" who was arrested dozens of times for trespassing (and other crimes) as he engaged in "civil disobedience" at abortion clinics.  He was also successfully sued for harassing women at the clinics, causing him to declare bankruptcy when the plaintiffs tried to collect.  So, I'm not sure he's really the kind or person whose lead you should follow, despite what Mr. Schindler has asked. But on to the "urgent message" from Terry and his allies: Dear Friend, It is unthinkable... like some dark scenario in a horror movie... but true. An innocent, disabled woman is now being starved to death. Her food and water were suspended on Friday afternoon. [...] Even if Congress does pass a bill and President Bush signs it, it will only put Terri's case into Federal jurisdiction. Our struggle to save Terri will begin anew. If you can help us keep up the fight, Just Go Here Now. At the minute we are sending this e-mail to you, Terri is starving to death. [...] Give as generous a gift as you can in this historic battle to save Terri's life. We have to pay for email campaigns, meeting rooms, for a bus, for food, press releases, and a host of other items needed to create a firestorm of protest and outrage on Terri's behalf. The buses alone are $1000 each for each day. [...] Friend, every action we can take on Terri's behalf is worth the effort. A nation is judged by how it treats its weakest and most defenseless members. Each of us needs to love Terri, as we love ourselves. That means we do all we can to save her life. [...] Sincerely, Randall Terry, President Society for Truth and Justice William Greene, President RightMarch.com If we do "go there now," we learn that RightMarch, which was formed in March 2003 in order to counter MoveOn.org's "attacks on President Bush and his conservative policies," is a "conservative organization dedicated to giving hundreds of thousands of hardworking, patriotic Americans across the country a strong collective voice in the political process."  The group does this by placing ads;  providing email forms and online petitions that people can send to elected officials;  and by soliciting funds.  They are a 501 organization, so "your contribution is NOT tax-deductible."  RightMarch is strictly an online group which doesn't have any buses or rented meeting rooms -- but since Randall Terry's Society for Truth and Justice advises that it has "chartered a bus to take people from the hospice in Pinellas Park, FL to Tallahassee to hold a candlelight vigil at the capitol," and that they have meetings planned in the Tallahassee Holiday Inn, I guess he gets a big chunk of the money.  So, why isn't he doing his own fundraising? Well, maybe the Schindlers thought that people might remember the June 2003 World magazine report about his fundraising actitivies.  Here's the Christianity Today recap of the story: In other prolife news, World magazine reports on the questionable fundraising of Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry. "The purveyors of abortion on demand have stripped Randall Terry of everything he owned," Terry's website says. "The home was sold, and Randall's equity and assetts were given to pro-abortion activists. Bank accounts were seized ... even his frequent flyer miles were taken by court order ... Please give as generously as you can to restore what the enemy took." The problem, reports World's Lynn Vincent, is that "Mr. Terry is set to close on a new $432,000 home near St. Augustine, Fla., in South Ponte Vedra Beach." Terry explains to the magazine that he needs a home where "we could entertain people of stature, people of importance." The World story is no longer available online, but there is a copy of it at FreeRepublic, and it makes interesting reading.  The first interesting tidbit is that World rented their mailing list to the Terry Family Trust solicitation, so when the first Mrs. Terry reported that she thought that donors were being misled, World felt compelled to do an investigation.  And here's another interesting part: Mr. Terry's critics also say many donors who receive the fundraising letters are likely to assume that the proceeds of the Terry Family Trust benefit Mr. Terry's four oldest children, along with Cindy Terry, his wife of 19 years. Instead, the Terry Family Trust is to help Mr. Terry get back into ministry and to benefit his infant son and his second wife, the former Andrea Kollmorgan. She was 22 and served as Mr. Terry's personal assistant during his failed 1998 New York congressional campaign. In August 1999, Mr. Terry left Cindy Terry, and obtained a divorce in November 2000. He married Miss Kollmorgan seven months later. Mr. Terry told WORLD that he wanted a home where his family will be safe and where "we could entertain people of stature, people of importance. I have a lot of important people that come through my home. And I will have more important people come through my home." [...] To secure the purchase, they needed $20,000 by April 30, 2002. Mr. Terry began calling potential donors, offering in exchange for cash gifts quantities of a country music CD he had recorded in Nashville. His plan worked. By April 30, "We had $20,017.... We made the deposit." But earlier that same month, Mr. Terry had submitted an affidavit to a New York State family court on his financial condition. The court had ordered him to account for his finances in response to a petition Cindy Terry had filed earlier, saying that Mr. Terry was not paying a fair share of child support. In the affidavit, Mr. Terry wrote, "The past two years have been difficult financially for me.... I am three months behind in my rent, in addition to my numerous other debts. Since June, in order to pay necessities, we have been selling many items...." So, Terry was asking for donations from his fellow Christians so he could buy a ritzy new house for the new wife and the new kid, while not paying his fair share of child support for the old kids.  That takes gall. As you may recall, Terry is the man who said the following about Michael Schiavo: The day is past for any of us to pretend that he is a decent man. This guy is a monster. He is not a good person. He has been living with another woman for how many years? He has two children by her. Why doesn't he just divorce Terri, give her to Mom and Dad and go on with his life? Hey, Terry divorced HIS first wife and just got on with his life with his new, young wife, so he knows how easy it is to do. And he also knows how easy it is to forget the commitments one has made to loved ones, as shown not only by his failure to pay his fair share of child support, but also in his article designed to pre-empt the one his son Jamiel had written for Out magazine.  In that piece Terry pretty much washed his hands of Jamiel, claiming that Jamiel was a lazy, dishonest, screwed-up, deadbeat who had betrayed Terry, and stating that Jamiel is no longer welcome at Terry's home not because he's gay, but so that he won't ruin the new kids. So, Terry knows what it's like to pretend to be a good man.  Yeah, he's definitely the guy I would pick to be a spokesman for my family.  But here's more from Terry about Mr. Schiavo, from a flyer prepared by the Society for Truth and Justice: Michael Schiavo has lived with another woman for years, and has 2 children by her. He has declared that he intends to marry her after Terri is dead. So why doesn't he just get a divorce, and let the parents have their daughter? That is a troubling question. Some assert it is because he wants what is left of the money. Others believe that he put her in this condition, and he wants all evidence of abuse buried. Still others guess it is a grudge match with Terri's father.   Why would Randall Terry say such nasty things about somebody he doesn't know?  Some assert that it is because he craves being in the limelight, and hopes the attention will help to get his "career" as a high-profile wingnut back on track.  Others believe that he feels guilt about his own conduct towards his first wife and children, and seeks to rid himself of the shame by accusing Schiavo.  Still others guess it is so he can solicit funds from the same kind of people who donated to his fund to buy a new house when he couched that as a way to get back at Planned Parenthood. I guess we'll never know.  So, let's get back to RightMarch, the other group Mr. Schindler has apparently endorsed. RightMarch is led by "long-time conservative activists William Greene and Phil Sheldon."   Here's some info about Greene from Politics Online: Greene is also president of Strategic Internet Campaign Management, Inc. (SICM.com - pronounced “sick ‘em”), an online political consulting firm that enables organizations and candidates to harness the power of the Internet for fundraising and grassroots activism; in 2004, Greene’s firm was instrumental in raising nearly half a million dollars online in less than three months for the upstart U.S. Senate candidacy of Dr. Alan Keyes in Illinois. Hey, anybody whoi can raise half a million dollars for a loser like Alan Keyes is pretty good at harnassing the internets all right!  Anyway, apparently Greene learned his tricks from "political direct mail legend Richard A. Viguerie," when Greene was a VP at Viguerie's Conservative HQ. com.  Greene's brags at the SICM site that SICM's "response rates for corporate grassroots activism exceed both direct mail and telemarketing."  And he advises that for "nonprofits and candidates that qualify," he will conduct "no-risk" e-mail fundraising campaigns that guarantee a return on your investment.  Do you think that's the deal that Terri Schiavo's dad got?   BTW, here's one of SICM's success stories: Goal: To raise funds online for a large conservative Christian organization, and to build a database of names, postal addresses and opt-in email addresses of evangelical Christians on the Internet for future solicitations.  Solution: Through emailings to opt-in email lists and revenue-sharing partnerships with evangelical and conservative news websites, "translated" successful direct mail packages to the Internet, including appeals like "Help Save the Boy Scouts,", "Help Protect Our Troops' Religious Liberties Overseas," "Stop Anti-Christian Bigotry," and "Get Out the Christian Vote."  Results: Over the months of testing and rolling out online campaigns for the organization, the Internet appeals grossed over $20,000 and brought in over 1,000 new postal addresses and opt-in email addresses. So, by entering into "revenue-sharing partnerships" with "conservative and evangelical news websites" (to presumably include NewsMax), and then using those websites mailing lists to send emails that push several hot buttons, SICM helped this "conservative Christian group" (which, after doing a Google search of the above hot buttons, I am pretty sure is the Traditional Values Coalition) collect over $20,000 and over 1000 new addresses of evangelical Christians for future appeals.  Donate or sign a petition for the "Save Terri" campaign at RightMarch and I bet you'll be hearing from SICM's other clients in the future too. Oh, and those current clients reportedly include NewsMax and RightMarch.  So, what an incestuous little circle we have here! But there's more!  The other guy behind RightMarch, Phil Sheldon, is the son of Rev. Louis Sheldon, founder of the Traditional Values Coalition.  Per a San Francisco Chronicle story, Phil has worked with the Traditional Values Coalition for much of his adult life, but also does political consulting.  In 2002, he was paid $30,000 to coordinate the email campaign of Republican businessman (and CA candidate for governor) Bill Simon.  (But after taking heat for hiring someone with Sheldon's extreme anti-abortion and anti-gay rights views, Simon's camp said that they had hired Sheldon basically just to rent his email addresses).  Sheldon also runs a web site, ConservativePetitions.com.   ConservativePetitions.com harnesses Internet technology to help conservative Americans, like you, let those in charge know what we think. Not only is it full of news and information about crucial issues, this site enables you to take action through petitions that voice our concerns to the people who need to hear it -- all in one convenient location. So, it's just another site that sends petitions and collects email addresses for fundraising purposes.  Here's one of its current campaigns: TWO-PETITION EFFORTRight the wrong now being done to Terri Schiavo and fix judicial system The execution has begun! Without 11th-hour help Terri Schindler-Schiavo is now being starved to death -- thanks to yet another outrage by an activist judge. You can not only help right the wrong being done to Terri, but fix the system that allows it. Act now while there's still time! Here's where to demand Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida legislature act immediately to void the court's unconstitutional violation of Terri's unalienable right to life. Here's where to urge President George W. Bush to nominate only U.S. Supreme Court justices who will faithfully interpret the Constitution as written in order to repair our nation's last line of defense against judicial tyranny. So, sign these petitions today, so that you can add to Phil Sheldon's email addresses, which he rents out for thousands of dollars (but he's still looking for donations, because those online petitions cost money, you know).  Maybe I'm just cynical, but I suspect that if you sign a petition at RightMarch, both Phil Sheldon and William Greene will make use of your information for their paid consulting endeavors.  And while Randall Terry probably won't be able to use your donation to pay for his house, he will use it to get his name in the papers and/or his face in front of the TV cameras. So, I think that you would better serve the cause of life by using your funds to support a program offering medical care to poor kids, or food to the homeless or something like that.  After all, nothing can help Terri now, since the part of her brain that made her Terri died a long time ago.  And helping Randall Terry, William Greene, and Phil Sheldon just doesn't sound like that virtuous of a way to spend your money. 4:23:46 AM