Seperation of powers goes straight to hell

You've likely heard the story of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman whose been on life support for 15 years. Several independant doctors have certified that her brain is damaged beyond all recognition, that she's completely unresponsive to outside stimuli and that there is zero chance of her ever recovering. Taking this into account, and what he thinks her wishes would be, her husband has decided to pull the plug. Seems reasonable to me. Her parents wanted to keep her alive. I don't agree with them, but hey, it's their daughter and their choice to challenge the decision. So far so good. The State Supreme court, the most senior eligable court for this case sided with the husband, so it should be case closed. The reason you've likely heard of this story again and again is because the Judge in the case has been very deliberate and careful not to make any mistakes. He made the ruling, and when even the notion that some evidence hadn't been considered, he delayed pulling the plug. Pretty reasonable right?

Well the Bush government, riled into a nonsensical partisan frenzy has decided to make this a federal case. Literally. Not content to, you know, let the courts do their job, they're trying to intervene. Today, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that could prolong Schiavo's life while a federal court considers her case and while House Republicans, stymied by Democrats, scrambled to bring enough lawmakers back to the Capitol for an emergency vote early Monday. Why is this a bad thing? It's completely out of the Senate's jurstiction to do anything other than comment on their case. You don't get to violate the constitution, part of which defines the seperation of powers (in this case, legislative and judicial), whenever you feel like it. It's really disgusting to me that this administration shows such utter lack of respect for the constitution in some cases (Guantanamo, gay rights, this), yet proclaim it's infallability in others (gun control). It's just so remarkably clear that they're trying to have their cake and eat it too.

Add to that their tactics. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, told reporters in Washington today that it's possible Schiavo may recover and suggested her husband may have an ulterior motive for wanting her to die. Alright let's ignore that DeLay isn't a doctor, and every Doctor that has personally inspected Schiavo disagrees with his idiotic and unjustified claim. Buddy. It's his wife. It's his decision. You know how much pain and suffering the guy has already gone through? How would you like it if your wife was in a car crash and became a shell of the woman you love, only to have your name slandered on National TV? Not so much fun is it?

This whole thing pisses me off. This is a tragedy, and eveyone should respect the long held system of justice, instead of trying to make political hay out of it.