Politifact has revealed the “Lie of the Year” for 2011.

First let’s review the last couple of winners, followed by some on the left who applauded Politifact for those choices.

In 2009, Politifact’s Lie of the Year was “Death Panels.” The left applauded the choice.

In 2010, Politifact’s Lie of the Year was “government takeover of health care.” Another liberal round of applause.

This year, Politifact’s “Lie of the Year” is…

What?

A “credibility-killing choice” says one unhappy former customer. “Politifact, RIP” writes MRC’s Quote of the Year winner Paul Krugman. The latter thinks Politifact is terrified of appearing partisan and made this choice to appease the right. Apparently the only way Politifact could avoid appearing partisan would be to give a claim from the right the “Lie of the Year” distinction every single year.

Krugman, et al, are claiming that the Republicans did vote to end Medicare and that Politifact got this one colossally wrong. On that, here’s Avik Roy writing at Forbes.com:

Their [lefty critics of Politifact's 2011 "lie of the year" choice] defense of the “ending Medicare” claim, such as it is, is that using private insurers to deliver health care to seniors, instead of a government agency, fundamentally “ends” the program. This is, plainly, ridiculous. When the British government privatized British Rail in 1993, the railway system did not cease to exist. When Germany privatized Lufthansa in 1994, the German airline wasn’t “ended.”

Similarly, if the government comes up with alternate modes of delivering the same health care to seniors, the program hasn’t been ended. As PolitiFact notes, a more accurate label would be to say that the Ryan plan “privatizes” Medicare. The problem for would-be liberal demagogues is that privatization isn’t the scare word for most Americans that it once was.

But just in case “privatization” is still the scare word it once was, let’s show the “Paul Ryan’s going to kill your grandma” ad one more time:

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

The Weekly Standard points out that the creators of this ad, The Agenda Project, have a stated goal to “build a powerful, intelligent, well-connected political movement capable of identifying and advancing rational, effective ideas in the public debate and in so doing ensure our country’s enduring success.” Or just portray people with different political philosophies as murderers — whichever is most expedient.

What’s most surprising is that, in the ad, the Paul Ryan character keeps the wheelchair and doesn’t dump it over the cliff along with gramma to intentionally litter the environment and perpetuate global warming.

Will we eventually see a higher budget Medicare sequel starring Andy Griffith doing a little involuntary octogenarian base jumping courtesy of the evil GOP? Perhaps:

Fun fact: According to Chris Matthews, there/s a 50/50 chance that the elderly woman in the wheelchair was one of his viewers.

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

Terri Schiavo’s father, Robert Schindler, Sr., passed away this morning. He was a passionate and invaluable advocate for life.

R.I.P.

Life News reports on his death here.

Wesley J. Smith writes that “condolences can be sent to: Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, 5562 Central Avenue ~ Suite 2 – St. Petersburg, FL – 33707.”

More from the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation: “Robert was born in Philadelphia on October 23, 1937 and was 71 years of age. Proceeded in death by his daughter Theresa Schindler. He is survived by his wife Mary, daughter Suzanne Vitadamo (Michael), son Bobby Schindler and granddaughter Alexandra. A Mass of Christian burial with visitation preceding will be scheduled to take place in Philadelphia, PA. Times and location will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, 5562 Central Avenue, Suite 2, Saint Petersburg, FL 33707, phone 727-490-7603.”

The NRLC has e-mailed a statement:

NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE MOURNS THE LOSS OF ROBERT SCHINDLER, SR.

The National Right to Life Committee, the nation’s largest pro-life group is a federation of affiliates in all 50 states and 3,000 local chapters nationwide. National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect those threatened by abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted suicide.

***

Some of us have not forgotten the vile treatment the Schindler family received at the hands of the bigots in the media.

The unrepentant boor Chris Matthews never apologized.

***

Terri’s Fight goes on.

Longtime readers will remember Haleigh from two years ago. She was the 11-year-old girl in Massachusetts who had been hospitalized after her stepfather allegedly burned her and beat her nearly to death with a baseball bat. Haleigh, in a coma, was kept alive by a feeding tube and ventilator. Doctors said she was “virtually brain dead” — in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery. The Massachusetts Department of Social Services wanted to remove Haleigh’s feeding and breathing tubes. They called her “hopeless.” They called her condition “irreversible.”

As they moved to pull the plug, a miracle happened: She started breathing on her own.

Her case revealed massive, dangerous bureaucratic incompetence and the fallibility of the medical establishment.

Now, the Boston Herald reports that Haleigh Poutre–who turned 14 on Sunday–is now speaking about the unimaginable abuse she suffered:

Defying all odds, the brain-damaged Westfield girl who was days away from a state order to remove her from life support in 2006 is now communicating information about the horrific abuse that nearly killed her, according to new court documents.

Although once thought to be brain-dead, Haleigh Poutre, who turned 14 on Sunday, is now ‘making statements alleging abuse” by her stepfather Jason Strickland, according to a motion filed in Hampden Superior Court last month by Strickland’s attorney, Alan Black of Springfield.

Haleigh is recovering at a Brighton rehabilitation hospital, where her condition has reportedly vastly improved since the legal battle over her life captured national headlines in 2006.

Haleigh was beaten into a coma Sept. 11, 2005, allegedly at the hands of Strickland and his wife, Holli Strickland, Haleigh’s adoptive mother and biological aunt.

Black’s motion indicates that a 51A concerning Haleigh has been forwarded to him by Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett. A 51A is a report of abuse or neglect that can be filed with the Department of Social Services.

“This creates issues concerning competency and (Haleigh’s) ability to testify and recall events in light of her severe head trauma,” Black wrote in the motion that requests a new trial schedule be set so he has time to review the information and hire experts.

Bennett is not commenting on the case against Strickland.

Eight days after Haleigh’s near-fatal beating, DSS sought a court order allowing Haleigh to be removed from life support. Jason Strickland objected, but in January 2007, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that DSS could remove Haleigh from life support. The next day, DSS announced that Haleigh was breathing on her own, and it had halted plans to remove her feeding tube.

News reports last year indicated that Haleigh could eat, write her name and flex muscles – all activities that doctors once said would never be possible.

As I’ve noted before, there is a powerful institutional motive for covering up Haleigh’s progress.

Don’t forget her.

Terri Schiavo’s family is upset with the media for again erroneously depicting the disabled woman as “brain dead” when she was able to interact with them before her former husband took her life. This time, the Schindler family says ABC News and the New York Times wrongly reported on her condition.

Yesterday on ABC’s “This Week” program, George Stephanopoulos, in an interview with Senator Fred Thompson, commented that Terri Schiavo’s autopsy proved she was “brain dead.”

The New York Times reported on the television interview, and repeated the erroneous claim.

Terri’s brother Bobby Schindler told LifeNews.com on Monday that the “brain dead” assessment is patently false. He said Terri’s family is requesting that the media immediately stop using this “offensive and inaccurate expression” to describe her condition.

“Brain death is an authentic diagnosis, not some catch phrase that should be loosely used based upon a ‘summary of widespread response’ or opinions that have been written about my sister,’ Schindler said.

“We are requesting that the media take a few minutes to research the facts regarding Terri’s case and, more importantly, her condition,” he added. In doing so they would learn that not one doctor ever diagnosed Terri as being ‘brain-dead.’”

The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation website is here.

More: Sworn affidavits of more than 40 medical and therapeutic professionals.

Flashback: The Schiavo autopsy–a sober look.

***

As for Fred Thompson, looks like he got his memory back:

September 13, 2007:

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson gave no opinion Thursday when asked about efforts by President Bush and Congress to keep Terri Schiavo alive, saying he does not remember details of the right-to-die case that stirred national debate.

Thompson was asked in an interview for Bay News 9’s “Political Connections” program whether he thought Congress’ intervention to save the life of the brain-dead woman two years ago was appropriate.

“I can’t pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best,” Thompson said. “That’s going back in history. I don’t remember the details of it.”

Yesterday:

Fred Thompson set forth a more clear picture of his views on assisted suicide and euthanasia in a Sunday interview on ABC News. He said he would have supported Terri Schiavo’s parents in their efforts to prevent their daughter’s euthanasia death and he said courts should err on the side of life.

Thompson said the motives behind the actions Terri’s former husband took to subject her to a 13-day starvation and dehydration death were “suspect” and he said he would have backed the Schindlers’ efforts to save her life.

“From what I know about the facts, or recall about it, I would side with the parents in, you know, keeping that child alive,” Thompson said.

“Based on the notion that I can’t imagine a parent or a spouse or a doctor deciding anything — if there’s any question that this person might live,” he added.

His comments are a more pro-life presentation of his end-of-life views and could help him regain his footing with pro-life voters upset by earlier statements.

Looks like he’s going to need a lot more to “regain his footing:”

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson has skidded into sixth place in a new CNN/WMUR poll of likely Republican voters in New Hampshire, edged out by ex-Libertarian and anti-war congressman Ron Paul and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney topped the poll, widening a lead he has held for months in neighboring New Hampshire, while Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani were running close in the second and third spots.

The CNN/WMUR poll was conducted by the University of New Hampshire between Wednesday and Sunday. Pollsters surveyed 404 Republican voters for the survey, which had a sampling error of 5 percentage points.

Thompson came into the GOP race late with the hope of winning over social conservatives unsatisfied with the rest of the party’s field, and racked up a key endorsement from the National Right to Life Committee last week. But the former star of the television drama “Law and Order” has trailed the GOP front-runners in early voting states since entering the race in August, and his support in New Hampshire dropped from 13 percent in a September poll to 4 percent in November’s survey.

Here is Professor Pausch’s webpage.

More.

USA Today ran a story this week on the “top 25 headlines that shaped history.” The 23rd-ranked story was the fight for the life of Terri Schiavo.

Flabbergastingly, when GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson was asked about the case today, he said he had no opinion and couldn’t remember the details:

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson gave no opinion Thursday when asked about efforts by President Bush and Congress to keep Terri Schiavo alive, saying he does not remember details of the right-to-die case that stirred national debate.

Thompson was asked in an interview for Bay News 9′s “Political Connections” program whether he thought Congress’ intervention to save the life of the brain-dead woman two years ago was appropriate.

“I can’t pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best,” Thompson said. “That’s going back in history. I don’t remember the details of it.”

Congress passed a bill after Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed in March 2005 to allow a federal court to review the case, and Bush returned from his Texas ranch to sign the bill into law. But a federal judge refused to order the tube reinserted, a decision upheld by a federal appeals court and the Supreme Court.

Thompson, a former Tennessee senator who left office in 2003, did say, “Local matters generally speaking should be left to the locals. I think Congress has got an awful lot to keep up with.”

This was a case on fundamental matters of ethics, end of life issues, and the definition of personhood and humanity...and Fred punts the question?

Attention, Thompson campaign: Reacquaint yourself with Terri’s Fight here.

***

Previous Terriblogging.

Click for video

Michelle’s Schiavo archive runs to eleven pages on Google, but for me it’s this short post that resonates the most. I remember a debate in the comments on another website last year about the moral issues in the case, where one of Michael Schiavo’s supporters was asked why, if Terri really was nothing more than an insensate husk, it was necessary to starve her to death before bringing her to the crematorium. Why not just toss her in as is? His response: why not indeed?

And there you have it.

A few flashbacks. Jeff Goldstein articulated my own feelings about people who disparaged the legitimacy of the court rulings here:

I’ve said on numerous occasions now that were Terri Schiavo my daughter, I’d be storming the hospice with a bottle of Gatorade and a box of donuts. I’d force the cops to shoot me or put me down with a taser gun, if only to draw more attention and sympathy to my cause. But in so doing, I’d be aware that I am breaking the law, which ruled, you’ll remember, in favor of Terri — that is, it purported to rule on her wishes, based on a review of the evidence and testimony offered by both sides.

Mark Steyn weighed both sides and couldn’t get the scales to balance:

There seems to be a genuine dispute about her condition – between those on her husband’s side, who say she has “no consciousness”, and those on her parents’ side, who say she is capable of basic child-like reactions. If the latter are correct, ending her life is an act of murder. If the former are correct, what difference does it make? If she feels nothing – if there’s no there there – she has no misery to be put out of.

And James Lileks, with an assist from Star Trek, suggested that a woman’s life might warrant at least a moment’s introspection:

I’ll stop here before someone feels compelled to send an email comparing Terry Schiavo to Spock in that horrible episode in which his brain was gone – but even then, you’ll note, they beamed down and looked around for the damn thing. In short: err on the side of life is not a bad motto to keep in mind. This seems simple enough. I respect those who nod, count to three, and offer a soft “however” so that we may refine the particulars. But I don’t have much time for those who hear “err on the side of life” and automatically bristle, because they hear the voice of someone who, damn their black and God-addled brain, once sent $10 to a politician who opposed parental notification law that did not have a judicial review.

FindLaw has a page devoted to living wills and health care powers of attorney. They’re not perfect, as Michelle reminds us, but they’re better than nothing.

R.I.P., Terri.

The latest on Haleigh Poutre: Gov. Mitt Romney has announced an independent investigation into the state’s abominable handling of the case.

Here’s Romney’s full statement (via the Boston Globe):

“One cannot look at the life of Haleigh Poutre without being overwhelmed with sadness. My heart goes out to her.

“Now I ask the question, what could have been done better to help her and to protect her. Yesterday, I read her DSS file. It is over 45 pages, mostly consisting of detailed evaluations and entries over almost 10 years. She was not someone who fell through the cracks — doctors and social workers were watching, but errors in judgment were made.

“I believe that the people in DSS did what they believed was right. No human is omniscient. But I wonder whether any changes in protocol or procedure may reduce the likelihood of error in the future.

“For this reason, I am establishing a panel to review in depth Haleigh’s case history and make recommendations they feel may help in the future. The panel will be announced as soon as possible, presumably by the end of the week. I will ask for their recommendations within 30 days. The panel will come from outside current government employees or officials.”

And this story published in the Boston Herald will make your blood boil.

***

Nixzmary Brown, 7

Meanwhile, in NYC, there are parallel investigations into how city child welfare agents there failed 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown–whose stepfather and mother have been arrested for starving, molesting, and beating her to death after years of abuse and suspicions by school officials, neighbors, and others that she had been victimized–as well as other children under the watch of government protective services who were murdered:

Two key Assembly committees will launch a statewide investigation into New York’s child welfare system focusing on the vigilance, reliability and efficiencies of agencies charged with protecting at-risk children.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) called on Assembly Children and Families Committee Chair William Scarborough and Oversight, Analysis and Investigation Chair James Brennan to hold a series of statewide public inquiries into the operation and procedures for safeguarding the health and welfare of the tens of thousands of children statewide receiving child protective services, preventive services, foster care services, and adoption services.

Scarborough and Brennan immediately set an initial hearing for New York City on Feb. 9. They said additional hearings have been scheduled for Feb. 16 in Buffalo and March 2 in Syracuse.

Calling the four fatalities of children known to New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) in the last two months “a stunning example of sweeping failures on many different levels,” Silver said the hearings would provide an open, public process for legislative oversight. Silver said the deaths of seven year-old Nixzmary Brown, 16-month old Dahquay Williams, seven year-old Sierra Roberts, and two month-old Michael Anthony Segarra were particularly troubling because each child was known to ACS.

More background on the case:

NYDN: Bound, beaten, starved, killed
AP: Final days of girl’s life reveal horrors
AP interviews Nixzmary’s accused murderer stepfather: Nixzmary was beaten for her “own good”
NYPost: Fight for Nixzmary sibs
ACS system back under harsh spotlight

***

Previous/related:

Blogging for Haleigh
Haleigh wants to live
Standing up for the sanctity of life
When government cares for your kids, part II
When government cares for your kids
Homeschoolers vs. big brother

A brain-dead pregnant woman on life support has reached the milestone in her pregnancy where doctors believe the baby could realistically survive outside the womb, giving her family renewed hope about the devastating ordeal.

Susan Torres, 26, lost consciousness from a stroke May 7 after aggressive melanoma spread to her brain. Her husband, Jason Torres, said doctors told him his wife’s brain functions had stopped.

Her fetus recently passed the 24th week of development – the earliest point at which doctors felt the baby would have a reasonable chance to survive, her brother-in-law said.

“The situation is pretty stable,” said Justin Torres, who is serving as the family’s spokesman. “Susan, we have said from the beginning, is the toughest person in that ICU room.”

He said the family is “as certain within the limits of sonogram technology” that the baby is a girl. “Cecilia” was one possible name the couple had discussed, Justin Torres said.

More information about the Susan Torres Fund and the remarkable family here.

***

Previous:

Baby Torres update
The culture of life in action

You do not need a medical examiner’s license to see that the report raises many more questions than it answers, though from the (once again) misleading media coverage, we are led to believe that the matters of Terri’s life and murder are resolved. They are not.

Here’s a typical example from an article headlined, “No trauma before Schiavo collapse:”

An autopsy report on a brain-damaged woman at the centre of a long legal battle in the US has shown that she suffered no trauma before her collapse.

But on page 4 of the M.E.’s summary, what the report actually says with regard to possible strangulation is this:

Autopsy examination of her neck structures 15 years after her initial collapse did not detect any signs of remote trauma, but, with such a delay, the exam was unlikely to show any residual neck findings.”

Michael Schiavo and his supporters and doctors have long maintained that Terri suffered from an eating disorder. In interviews with Larry King, in countless newspaper articles over the past 15 years, and during his successful malpractice trial against Terri’s primary care physician, Michael Schiavo stressed his wife’s bulimia-related low potassium level as the cause of her initial collapse. Schiavo won $1 million in damages on the grounds that Schiavo’s obstetrician had failed to diagnose bulimia.

Unquestioning journalists ran dozens of stories echoing the claim: “Eating disorder is real issue in Schiavo case,” “Terri’s life a lesson in dangers of bulimia,” “The lost lesson of Schiavo case: the dangers of eating disorders,” etc.

The autopsy report spends three-and-a-half pages debunking Schiavo’s claim, as well as the related claim that she had a heart attack (or, more medically precise, myocardial infarction). But if mentioned at all, the news reports I have seen have downplayed and buried these astonishing revelations (revelations which bear directly on Schiavo’s credibility regarding his claim that Terri would have wanted to die).

In Michael Schiavo’s favor, the autopsy report also casts doubt on the Schindler family’s long-held view that a 1991 bone scan indicated traumatic injury. The report notes that Terri had severe osteoporosis and that the bone scan findings might have also reflected “the aftermath of remote intense CPR, infection, bone turnover, artifact or intense physical therapy. In summary, any rib fractures, leg fractures, skull fractures or spine fractures that occurred concurrent with Mrs. Schiavo’s original collapse would almost certainly ahve been diagnosed in February 1990 especially with the number of phsyical exams, radiographs, and other evaluations she received in the early evolution of her care…”

However, the report notes this caveat: “Without the orginal bone scan and radiographs from that period, no other conclusions can [be] reasonably made.”

With regard to Terri’s alleged persistent vegetative state, most news articles inaccurately portray the report as supporting that diagnosis. But the disability rights group Not Dead Yet has it right:

[C]ontrary to articles stating the autopsy report “supported” the diagnosis of “persistent vegetative state (PVS),” a neuropathology expert today was careful to say that PVS is a clinical diagnosis rather than a pathological one. He added that nothing in the autopsy was “inconsistent” with a PVS diagnosis.

The real elephant in the living room, of course, is whether or not we can really know how conscious anyone labeled “PVS” really is. Several studies have revealed high misdiagnosis rates, with conscious people being mistakenly regarded as totally and irrevocably unaware.

The autopsy also documented significant brain atrophy, and the medical panel called the damage “irreversible.”

This is not the same as saying she had no cognitive ability.

“It’s always seemed to us that PVS isn’t really a diagnosis; it’s a value judgment masquerading as a diagnosis,” said Stephen Drake, research analyst for Not Dead Yet, a national disability rights group that filed three amicus briefs in the case. “When it comes to the hard science, no qualified pathologist went on the record saying she couldn’t think or couldn’t experience her own death through dehydration.”

Diane Coleman, president and founder of Not Dead Yet, agreed. “The core issues remain the same. Protection of the life and dignity of people under guardianship, and a high standard of proof in removing food and water from a person who can not express their own wishes. These are issues of great concern to the disability community – evidenced by the 26 national disability groups that spoke out in favor of saving Terri Schiavo’s life over the past few years.”

It is not clear to me from the neuropathology report when and over what period the much-talked-about brain shrinkage occurred. I have also noticed that some are already mocking the claim that Terri recognized visitors (note that the report also does not appear to indicate when and over what period that loss of sight occurred).

For God’s sake.

Terri Schiavo, a profoundly disabled woman who was not terminally ill and who had an army of family members ready to care for her for the rest of her natural life, succumbed to forced dehydration at the hands of her spouse-in-name-only.

This is something to gloat about?

***

Good blog analysis at Patterico, Captain’s Quarters, and The Anchoress. La Shawn Barber has a round-up. Gateway Pundit and Lorie Byrd at Polipundit with more.

***

Finally, here’s the last paragraph of the medical examiner’s report:

It is the policy of this office that no case is ever closed and that all determinations are to be reconsidered upon receipt of credible, new information. In addition to fading memories, the 15-year survival of Mrs. Schiavo after her collapse resulted in the creation of a voluminous number of documents many of which were lost or discarded over the years. Receipt of additional information that clarifies outstanding issues may or shall cause an amendment of her cause and manner of death.

In other words, the medical examiner has pledged to keep something rare in this still unresolved tragedy: an open mind.

***
More blog reax…

Gerard Van der Leun calls out the Washington Post.

Emcee on brain weight, Wuzzadem spoofs, and Patterico eviscerates a very foolish critic.

Meanwhile, Mark Fuhrman’s investigative book on the case, Silent Witness : The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo’s Death, is due out on June 28.

Terri’s brother and sister will attend a memorial in her name at the National Right to Life Convention on Thursday in Bloomington, Minn.

Britain has its own Terri Schiavo case brewing.

And Blogs for Terri is still up, running, and expanding.

Update: The autopsy is here.

- Baby Alexander Locke Johnson, in memoriam. Deepest condolences to the family– via Little Green Footballs.

- Baby Kalea Lynn Allen: She’s 11 ounces, and a fighter

- A baby named Hope

Meanwhile, in the death cult capital of the world, the Netherlands, a new bone-chilling survey has been released. See Many Dutch Doctors Support Euthanasia for Terminally Ill Kids. An excerpt:

A child is suffering terribly from incurable cancer, and both he and his parents request a lethal injection of drugs to put an end to his pain. According to a new survey, up to 60 percent of Dutch pediatricians say they would honor that request, were such a step legal.

In fact, a smaller but significant number of pediatricians — up to 28 percent — said they would be willing to resort to lethal injection in such cases even when parents did not agree with their child’s wish to die.

The survey comes on the heels of the so-called “Groningen protocol,” issued in March by two Dutch physicians who contend that newborns with defects that cause them severe, chronic pain should, in certain cases, be euthanized.

Hugh Hewitt’s must-read piece from December, “Death by Committee,” on the Groningen protocol’s impact beyond Netherlands’ borders is here.

*0725am 5/16. PBS Watch brings a significant error about the Groningen protocol to my attention regarding Hewitt’s piece. See also Captain’s Quarters. Thanks for their vigilance in keeping the facts straight. I will say, though, that the new survey highlights continung grave concerns about the medical establishment’s lack of respect for parental authority in these matters, even if the protocol doesn’t spell out such undermining explicitly.

***
Related:

The culture of death in Belgium