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Opinion: Schiavo's demise may not end contretemps

By now, you may be aware that Terri Schiavo died this morning. Or, more, accurately, finished dying. The 15 years she spent in a persistent vegetative state were not really living.

Schiavo's family and their supporters, extremists in the Right to Life movement, planned to continue their assault on America today. The latest plan was to claim that despite Schiavo's extensive time off a feeding tube, the tube could be reinserted. Then, they could file yet another frivolous appeal. But, they would have to refute the consensus among medical experts that Terri Schiavo was in renal failure, after having the feeding tube removed for so long, to claim any credibility.

NBC reports.

Dr. Sean Morrison, a professor of palliative medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said that if her kidneys have already shut down, reinserting the tube at this point might prolong her life by just hours to days. It could also hasten her death because it would supply fluids to a body that can no longer get rid of them.

He said the resulting fluid buildup could essentially drown Schiavo and she could die gasping and choking.

Morrison said Schiavo would have no awareness of this because of her persistent vegetative state, but reinserting the tube might end up being very distressing for families and friends to witness.

The Right to Life movement needed to make it sound as if reinserting the feeding tube is not potentially harmful. So. they found a doctor to say that. The Right Wing opinion site Life News introduced the physician and his argument.

Pinellas Park, FL (LifeNews.com) -- A doctor speaking for the Schindler family said on Wednesday that it may be possible to reinsert Terri's feeding tube, even after such a long period of time. His comments come after news reports highlighted a doctor who said doing so would cause Terri's death.

Dr. Jay Carpenter, an internist hired by Bob and Mary Schindler to help determine whether Terri could swallow, told CNS News [another conservative Web site] that it was wrong to say reinserting Terri's tube would be futile.

"To me that is. . .just speculation and that's a highly irresponsible statement to make. The fact of the matter is we don't know if it's too late. It may be too late, but then again, it may not," he told CNS News.

Carpenter told the Cybercast News Service that no studies exist showing how patients react when a feeding tube is reinserted after 13 or 14 days of starvation and dehydration.

Such a study would be "unethical" Carpenter said.

He goes on to cite a single patient who had a feeding tube reinserted after eight days without negative results. But, that patient was not in a persistent vegetative state. (I checked. Carpenter evades the issue when offering his opinion.)

Carpenter is the vice president of Children of God for Life. He practices internal, not palliative medicine .

The patient he uses as an example is Kate Adamson, who just happens to be a motivational speaker to Right to Life groups. Adamson fully recovered. She says she was just like Terri Schiavo after her stroke, but, obviously, she wasn't. She was locked in, a form of near complete paralysis, not vegetative.

"Thou should not lie" seems not to be a commandment the Right to Life movement takes seriously.

Considering that the movement was planning yet another propaganda barrage even as Ms. Schiavo died, I am not confident that the ugliness is over. Nor do I think the Schindlers will end their vendetta against Michael Schiavo, their daughter's husband and guardian. So, far, they have claimed she was being denied last rites, alleged he barred them from her room at the hospice, when, it is they who refuse to be in the same space with him, and tried to harass him into turning Ms. Schiavo's body over to them when she died. But for her demise, I suspect the Schindlers would have filed another futile appeal today.

Polls reveal that most Americans agree with Michael Schiavo's position -- Terri expressed a desire not to rely on life support, and, therefore, deserved to be allowed to die. But, the Schiavo drama has been a potent fundraising source for Right to Life organizations. They may consider continued efforts to get the public's attention worth their time. Ms. Schiavo's is finally free, but the contretemps may continue.

Commentary: Schiavo neurologist is convincing

The first thing a thoughtful person thinks while observing the reprehensible behavior surrounding the Terri Schiavo cases is not 'There are some intelligent people with useful information involved in this.' No. One thinks: Congress has no role in this kind of personal decision-making. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's plan to send police officers under his command to take possession of Ms. Schiavo by force raises questions about his sanity. President George W. Bush, Sen. Tom DeLay and Rep. J. Dennis Hastert dropped the Schiavo situation as if it were on fire after polls showed more than 80 percent of Americans opposed their intervention. Intelligent people? Useful information? Bear with me. It's true.

By now you probably know the name Ronald Cranford. He is the highly respected neurologist and medical ethicist the trial court appointed to test and evaluate Ms. Schiavo two-and-a-half years ago. His findings -- that she is in a persistent vegetative state -- confirmed those of other neurologists who had examined her. The New York Times recently talkedto Cranford (pictured) about the Schiavo cases.

Dr. Ronald Cranford, a Minnesota neurologist who examined her in 2002 as part of a previous court case, said a CT scan of her brain showed very little but scar tissue and spinal fluid. An electroencephalogram measuring electrical activity in the thinking parts of her brain showed no evidence of continued function, he said.

"It's totally flat - nothing," Dr. Cranford said, "and this is very unusual. The vast majority of people in a persistent vegetative state show about 5 percent of normal brain activity."

In some cases, patients with severe brain injuries may indeed reach or pass through a state of minimal consciousness, where they are intermittently able to respond or move with purpose, say by reaching for a glass. In a study published earlier this year, neuroscientists in New York reported that on brain scans these patients do show evidence of some conscious awareness.

But after a year in a persistent vegetative state, patients who have traumatic brain injuries from blows to the head rarely regain even minimal awareness. And those in Ms. Schiavo's category, whose brain damage was from lack of oxygen, almost never recover after three months.

Despite the high esteem he is held in by those in his profession, Right to Life activists and Right Wing bloggers have relentlessly maligned Dr. Cranford. No one has been charged with intending to murder him yet, as has occurred with Michael Schiavo and Judge George Greer. But, it may occur. One of the reasons they condemn Dr. Cranford is that he has said we should consider not administering food and water to late term Alzheimer's patients artificially. I've looked into his opinion on the matter and find it offers clarity not only in regard to those patients, but the issue of whether long-term reliance on feeding tubes for patients with no hope of recovery in general is defensible. The Star-Tribune published an op-ed article on the topic by Dr. Cranford in 1997.

Medical organizations, courts and other groups generally agree that there are some important distinctions between stopping treatment and acting to cause a patient's death. By insisting that withdrawing a feeding tube is akin to euthanasia, these special interest groups are undermining their credibility.

And they're creating unnecessary confusion for the growing numbers of families losing a loved one to Alzheimer's. Vegetative state cases are not nearly as numerous as cases of Alzheimer's. But both kinds of cases force families to mull over the same question: When the human brain is so badly damaged that its owner can no longer think or even eat, what should be done?

This is a question families should feel free to answer for themselves -- without fearing intrusion from outsiders. And when you really think about it, the idea of placing a feeding tube in a patient with advanced Alzheimer's disease makes no sense at all, medically or morally. It borders on barbaric and cruel. It's just the kind of dehumanizing medical intervention that the public finds so distasteful. It's the sort of practice that undermines confidence that doctors have the best interests of patients and families at heart.

I appreciate Dr. Cranford articulating what the interests actually are. Removing the feeding tube returns the patient to her natural state. Defining removal as ghastly intervention doesn't make sense. But for the feeding tube, nature would have taken its course within two weeks of the injury. So, the intervention is keeping the tube, not taking it away. The intervention is not benign in an end of life Alzheimer's case (or Ms. Schiavo's) because it can only maintain the patient in a hopeless condition. Therefore, it is reasonable to remove the feeding tube. (Cf: A feeding tube for a moderate burn patient whose throat was effected would be benign intervention because the patient is likely to recover.)

As Baby Boomers continue to age, more and more families will be faced with the question of whether to continue life support in the form of a feeding tube. The number of Alzheimer's patients far out number those in a persistent vegetative state and that population will grow. I find Dr. Cranford's position convincing. If the person has deteriorated to the point that she has lost most of her faculties, and, can no longer eat by normal means, insertion of a feeding tube to extend her life serves no defensible purpose.

Reasonably related

Though the far Right followers who have behaved so bizarrely in regard to the death of Terri Schiavo seem unable to understand them, the reasons Robert and Mary Schindler lost in their efforts to continue life support are simple:

•There was oral testimony that established Ms. Schiavo's intent that she not be kept alive by artificial means. In the absence of a living will, oral testimony is acceptable evidence.

•All credible expert medical testimony, which included more than 40 medical personnel over a 15-year period, agreed that Ms. Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state. Persons wishing to read a summary of neurologists' opinions should read all of the NYT article cited above.

News: The Credulous American does Schiavo

It comes down to two things, machinations by the right to life movement and the videotapes. 'It' -- of course-- is the brouhaha over ending 15 years of pointless life support for Terri Schiavo. The Bush administration's use of the brain dead women to curry favor with the anti-abortion movement is obvious and shameful. But, the current circus cannot be blamed on politicians alone. The other shoe belongs on the foot of The Credulous American. You know her. So do I. Sometimes she is a man. Sometimes young and naive. Sometimes old and still a know-nothing. Often as not religious in a platitudes and Hallmark kind of way. The Credulous American is the person the propaganda campaign that had politicans dashing around Washington as if the world is ending is targeted to. She is so open to disinformation and misinformation that she will believe just about anything if encouraged to. Well. . .anything that does not make sense.

Brad Smith, writing for the Tampa Tribune, has described how edited videotapes have misled The Credulous American to believe that Terri Schiavo is functional.

TAMPA - The videos run only a few seconds.

Terri Schiavo smiles at her mother. Schiavo follows a Mickey Mouse balloon with her eyes. Replayed on countless news shows and posted on the Internet, the clips help drive national sympathy for Schiavo's parents, who oppose their daughter's court-ordered feeding tube removal.

Seen without context, the snippets raise questions for laypeople. Is Terri Schiavo aware? Can she hear? Does she understand?

Less widely known are four hours of images, taped in summer 2002, of Schiavo's inert stare from her hospice bed. They more accurately show the Pinellas Park woman, argue some doctors and Michael Schiavo, who says his wife is brain-dead and should die in dignity after 15 years in what doctors term a persistent vegetative state.

George Greer, a Pasco-Pinellas circuit judge, ruled the tapes fail to prove Terri Schiavo's brain still works.

``She clearly does not consistently respond to her mother,'' the judge wrote in 2002 after hearing from five doctors with divided opinions. ``The court finds that based on the credible evidence, cognitive function would manifest itself in a constant response to stimuli.''

Last week I watched a segment about the television evangelist and faith healer Benny Hinn on NBC's Dateline. He relies on a television show and gatherings in coliseums around the world to support a 'ministry' that mainly consists of lining his pockets. Benny Hinn Ministries reportedly takes in as much as $100 million per year. In his starring role, Hinn claims to dissolve tumors and drive out demons as the supposedly afflicted fall down on the stage at a wave of his hand. The supporting cast of the show are the people who claimed they were healed while watching him on television. They testify that they have been cured of various illnesses, including inoperable cancers, courtesy of Hinn.

But, exhaustive investigations of Hinn by both religious watchdog groups and the media have failed to find even one medically documented example of Hinn curing anyone of anything. What one discovers is an incredible desire to believe. Hinn's faithful desperately want to believe that he can perform miracles. So, they do. The delusional behavior extends to those stricken by illness and supposedly healed by Hinn. Dateline discovered that some of the people who appear on his show convince themselves that he has cured them, even as they continue to die from their terminal illnesses. These people are The Credulous American to their last breath.

Considering just how credulous many Americans are, it is not surprising there is continuing support for maintaining Schaivo on life support despite no credible reason to do so. Many of the people in the 'Save Schiavo' movement lack knowledge of basic biology. They are incapable of grasping that a persistent vegetative state is not reversible. Others either don't realize they are basing their opinion on a severely edited videotape or don't care. Some seem not to understand that removing Schiavo's feeding tube is not invasive. It returns her to the natural state she is in, allowing nature to take its course.

I expect the Schiavo situation to get worse before it gets better. Republican politicians will exploit it for every drop of publicity they can squeeze from it. Many Democratic pols, too afraid of public opinion to show any backbone, have either been co-opted, or cower in a corner afraid to challenge the GOP. Ultimately, the only denouement to this lengthy drama may be the deaths of Schiavo's elderly parents, Robert and Mary Schindler. Without them as props, the show cannot go on.

Reasonably related

• ABC News reports how the 'compromise' bill sending the Schiavo case to federal court -- which gave the Republicans exactly what they wanted -- was reached in Congress. U.S. District Judge James Whittemore has refused the Congress driven appeal. The Schindlers continue to forum shop.

• MSNBC has more information about evangelist Benny Hinn and financial irregularities.

News: Aftermath of Lefkow manhunt intrigues

By now, everyone except the sort of people likely to serve on juries in celebrity trials knows that Polish immigrant Bart A. Ross has been identified as the person who murdered the husband and mother of federal judge Joan Lefkow. Ross shot himself to death after being stopped by police curious about traffic infractions twice within a few hours, while in Milwaukie, Wisconsin. Though he was on the list of people to be interviewed about the Lefkow murders, he was not being approached in regard to that. Speculation that sympathizers with white supremacist Matt Hale were responsible for the murders proved wrong -- this time. Hale is awaiting trial after conspiring with members of his hate group, Creativity, to have Judge Lefkow murdered. Though the major question has been answered, there are so many interesting aspects of this episode that it is worth taking a look at the aftermath.

The roommate of a skinhead known to be a Hale sympathizer is the worst for the manhunt. Organized racism is rife with distrust. Many of the members of hate groups already have had contact with the criminal justice system and have reason to be wary of additional indictments. They often inform on each other. (Three of Hale's lieutenants testified against him in his trial for conspiring to murder the judge.) That may be why at least one of the reported 350 persons interviewed by law enforcement personnel investigating the Lefkow homicides turned on an associate. The Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The reputed leader of a Missouri skinhead group whom the FBI questioned about the Lefkow family murders beat up his roommate for 11 hours because of suspicions that the roommate fingered the skinhead leader to law enforcement, officials said Monday.

Adam Daniel Jacobs, 27, of Springfield, Mo., was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree assault, kidnapping and armed criminal action. He was being held at a Missouri jail in lieu of $500,000 bond.

Jacobs, the alleged leader of the Skinhead Church of the Creator, beat up his roommate a day after Jacobs was questioned by the FBI in connection with the Lefkow investigation, Missouri prosecutor Cindy Rushefsky said. The FBI interview happened March 4 -- nearly a week before Bart Ross of Chicago admitted committing the murders in a suicide note he left before killing himself near Milwaukee, Jacobs' roommate told police.

Jacobs' roommate, who recently joined the skinhead group, told police that after the FBI visited the trailer they shared, Jacobs accused him of notifying authorities about his role in the white supremacy group. Jacobs allegedly held his friend in their trailer home against his will, according to a police affidavit.

As someone who has always been skeptical of the follower personality, I've continually puzzled by the things some people do to fit in, regardless of the nature of what they are trying to fit in to. I wouldn't be surprised if the the roommate remains a skinhead.

Though members of Matt Hale's family have claimed they resent being in the media spotlight, his mother sought out press attention again yesterday. She told reporters that another son agreed to record his conversations with Hale in hope of proving Hale had not ordered hits of Judge Lefkow's relatives. The Peoria Star-Journal has the story.

PEORIA - The FBI tried to induce Matt Hale's brother, David, to wear a wire and infiltrate white supremacist groups, the mother of both men, Evelyn Hutcheson, said Thursday.

Shortly after the slayings of attorney Michael Lefkow, 64, and Donna Humphrey, 89, the husband and mother of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow, the FBI knocked on her door and interviewed her and David Hale, Hutcheson said.

"They asked him if he'd wear a wire. He said, 'I'll do anything to prove my brother's innocence,'" Hutcheson said.

She objected to the plan, she said, but David Hale, 36, initially agreed.

"He had agreed to do it but I wasn't going to let him," Hutcheson said.

But when the family's visiting rights with Matt Hale were stopped last week, David changed his mind, she said.

David Hale shares his brother's white supremacist views. In 1991, he and Matt were convicted of threatening several black men with a gun. (Matt Hale's felony convicton was reversed on appeal because the police failed to read him his rights under Miranda.) David has also been involved in scuffles with other people of color and Jews, sometimes accompanied by his brother.

Throughout the episode, Hale has tried to use the investigation to create sympathy for himself, releasing statements that seek to absolve him of responsibility in the conspiracy case. Some white supremacists have tried to reap positive publicity from the situation by demanding that legal authorities and the media apologize to the white supremacist movement. They claim that Matt Hale's followers not being responsible for murdering Judge Lefkow's relatives proves they are not dangerous persons. That is ludicrous. Though it turned out that another person the judge ruled against was responsible for these murders, Hale followers were justifiably prime suspects. They have been urging harm to the judge and her kin since 2000. The conviction of Hale for solicitation of her murder proves that the danger is real. Furthermore, the ease with which Ross took the lives of Michael Lefkow and Donna Humphrey may encourage some members of the white supremacist movement to attempt additional harm to the judge or her kin. No apologies are owed and none should be given.

Reasonably related

I have downloaded the pleadings in Bart Ross' medical malpractice cases and am in the process of reading them. I am curious about the trajectory that led him to taking his life when he believed the police were closing in. How did the man go from hopeful immigrant to recluse to murderer? According to the an articlein the Kansas City Star, Ross' body remains unclaimed in Milwaukie, where he apparently was stalking two other judges who had ruled against him. Ross appears to have severed all ties with other people. I will have more to say about the situation later.

Blogospherics

•'Ho' blogger is history

The word 'whore,' and its contemporary version, 'ho,' is thrown around rather liberally these days. But, sometimes the term is earned. It appears that former blogger Jeff Gannon collected at least some of his income from prostituting himself to other men. The blogger came under scrutiny after he won the affection of the Bush administration and was allowed to participate in White House news conferences. His extreme Right Wing views, presented on his blog and at his employer's site, made 'journalist' an ill-fitting term for him. Gannon found himself out of the frying pan and into the fire when he attracted additional attention by demeaning Democrats in a 'question' that served no other purpose at a news conference last month. Close scrutiny revealed him to be James Guckert of Wilmington, Delaware. Guckert sold his services, apparently sexual, through a variety of Internet escort sites. Photographs of an unclad and excited Guckert are still available on the Web, though some of the sites have been removed. The other shoe in the sordid episode fell March 1. The putative news organization that employed Gannon/Guckert has ceased publication.

Reuters reports.

A Texas-based Web site, whose conservative connections touched off a White House media controversy, has shut down "to re-evaluate operations", according to a message posted on the site.

A spokesperson for Talon News said the site closed because its founder, Bobby Eberle of Pearland, Texas, "can only take so much beating" over the page's political slant, the Houston Chronicle reported on Friday.

Talon, which could not immediately be reached for comment, came under fire after its White House reporter, who identified himself as Jeff Gannon, asked a politically loaded question at a White House press conference and was accused by critics of being used by the Bush administration to spread conservative propaganda.

Since then, Gannon, whose real name is James Guckert, has been linked to gay porn Web sites and prostitution, and photos of him naked have circulated on the Web.

Gannon deleted his blog after Internet sleuths divulged the content of the Internet sites where the supposed conservative Christian apparently peddled himself. He had previously said that the sites were unused. In his last public remarks, Gannon claimed that he had decided to keep a low profile because of threats against him online and via email. He has offered no explanation of why he chose to live such a schizoid lifestyle.

•Blogger gets White House press pass

The unsavory episode involving James Guckert gave another blogger an idea. Sure, he thought, that was a heck of mess. But, shouldn't a person with a blog about politics, a real name, and, no hidden agenda, be able to acquire a press pass? With some pulling of strings by Big Media, the goal was achieved. There is now a blogger who has a White House press pass, minus the baggage of Gannon/Guckert.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

WASHINGTON -- With an official credential hanging from his neck, a young man stepped into the White House briefing room Monday as perhaps the first blogger to cover the daily press briefings. He found the surroundings to be dilapidated and cramped and concluded that his morning at the White House was "remarkably uneventful."

Garrett M. Graff, 23, writes Fishbowl D.C., a Web log about the news media in Washington. He decided to see if he could get a daily pass for a briefing after a recent controversy raised questions about White House access and who is a legitimate reporter.

Graff said he got his pass after a week of asking.

I do not perceive any particular problem in granting press passes to non-professionals. The same criteria should be applied to bloggers as reporters, including a proven identity and a legitimate reason for seeking the pass. However, I do hope that inclusion of bloggers in press briefings at the White House and elsewhere doesn't result in embarrassment. The major difference between journalists and publishers of web logs is that the latter rely almost exclusively on opinion. That reliance can result in myopia and even hostility to factual information. James Guckert showed us what happens when a political operative tries to pass himself off as a reporter -- partisan chicanery. Let's hope other bloggers who achieve the same access journalists have do not embarrass the blogosphere by trying to politicize the news they cover.

Entertainment: Tradition, change and the Oscars

Could it be that I am becoming jaded? I used to watch awards shows fairly religiously. (For an agnostic). But, now I'm slipping. I missed both the Grammys and the Oscars. Failed to record them for later viewing, too. That meant relying on broadcast and print media, along with weblogs, to fill me in. Fortunately, blogger and real life auteur Brian Flemming has the transcript of Chris Rock's opening monologue for the Academy Awards.

Best non-Bush-bashing ever:

"A lot of people like to bash Bush.  I'm not gonna bash Bush here tonight. I saw Fahrenheit 9/11, I think Bush is a genius. I thought Bush did some things this year, you, nobody in this room could do.  Nobody in this room could pull off, okay? 'Cause Bush basically reapplied for his job this year.

Now can you imagine applying for a job, and while you're applying for that job, there is a movie in every theater in the country that shows how much you suck at that job?" (Laughter)

It'd be hard to get hired wouldn't it? (Laughter)

Now I watched Fahrenheit, I learned some stuff man.  Bush did some things you could never get away with at your job, man.  Never, ever, ever.

When Bush got into office he had a surplus of money. Now there's like a $70 trillion dollar deficit. Now, just imagine you worked at the Gap. (Laughter)

The show is considered to be of a historical consequence for several reasons. First, Rock (pictured) is thought to be one of the edgiest hosts ever. Commentators cite remarks he made about the irrelevance of the awards to minority movie goers as proof of that. This year's awards are also the first in which two black actors, Jamie Foxx and Morgan Freeman won major recognition. The other reason some people expected more of this year's show was that it was supposedly geared to the hip hop generation, instead of its staid traditional audience.

Critic Caryn James, writing at the New York Times, says the show broke barriers only superficially. A copy editor agrees, using the headline: "A Ceremony Stuck in the Past Clings to Its Old Glory."

When Chris Rock walked onstage to host the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday night, he got a standing ovation just for being there - an encouraging sign that the establishment-heavy audience was eager for a show that was fresh and irreverent, with a whiff of the future. That illusion lasted less than five minutes. All those Oscar voters in the audience weren't amused when Mr. Rock started taking some mild jabs at the industry, as he did with an early joke that called Jude Law a second-rank star.

By the end of the evening, Sean Penn was jabbing back with the pompous comment that Jude Law "is one of our finest actors," a humorless, self-important moment he seized before announcing Hilary Swank as the all-too-predictable best-actress winner for Million Dollar Baby.

The Rock-Penn showdown, and the mini-sweep of top awards for "Baby," create a perfect snapshot of the dilemma the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences faces: it knows it ought to move into the 21st century but hates the idea.

Mr. Rock's presence alone suggests that the Oscar people know they have to shake things up, if only to compete with the long parade of televised awards shows that now precede it and take such a huge bite out of the Academy Awards' distinctiveness and glamour. But the tepid response to even the slightest irreverence from the host, and the affection for the old-fashioned Million Dollar Baby, send a more powerful message: the academy prefers to remain entrenched in the past, clinging to its former glory.

Can awards that name the actress who starrred in a movie about a female boxer the best of the year, confer the top award for an actor on a young African-American for a biography of Ray Charles and commend a veteran black actor with the best supporting actor nod, not be cutting edge? Yes. James is right. These awards, though conferred on deserving people, remind me of the inclusiveness of the Bush administration. Two African-Americans have been named Secretary of State. A Hispanic is the next attorney general. Women and minorities will also be considered for sub-cabinet level positions, and, federal court appointments. But, all of that will occur within a conservative framework. If Condoleezza Rice were not willing to echo what her conservative role models say, we would never have heard of her. The Bush administration 's inclusiveness and the Academy's are similar. As James observes, "Baby" is a Rocky retread. "Ray," which I really enjoyed watching, is a homage to about as uncontroversial an African-American achiever as can be found. Morgan Freeman, though he is a fine actor, is also 'safe.' Furthermore, now that Rock has hosted, and Foxx and Freeman have been honored, the aged, white and wealthy Academy may consider itself 'done' with change for a while. Not only change in considering the complexion of actors, but in considering themes of movies, too. James believes the Academy has signaled its opposition to innovative ideas by enshrining "Baby."

And with "Million Dollar Baby" winning three of the four biggest prizes - best picture, Clint Eastwood's for director and Ms. Swank's for actress - the awards themselves hint at how happy Oscar voters are to linger in the past. The film may be about a woman boxer, but it is shaped by a pure retro sensibility. It's a throwback not only to 30's-era boxing movies but also to other Oscar-winning films about underdogs, like "Rocky."

"Million Dollar Baby" is, essentially, "Rocky" with a tragic ending, the kind of familiar movie it is easy for the academy to embrace. (The grumbling from some advocacy groups about the film's theme of assisted suicide never got much traction.) But in the future the enthusiasm for such an unoriginal film may seem as inflated as the Oscar for "Rocky" does now.

The most original film to gather a handful of nominations this year, "Sideways," went the way of another fine, innovative movie, "Lost in Translation," which in 2003 was also nominated for best director and best picture and, like "Sideways," won only for its screenplay. The fate of "Sideways," like the choice of Mr. Rock as host, says that the academy will let in a breath of fresh air, but quickly close the window before an actual breeze comes in.

Perhaps James is also becoming jaded. Years of watching a culture wallow in its stagnation can have that effect.

Reasonably related

Do read the full transcript of Chris Rock's Academy Awards monologue and the complete text of Caryn James' analysis of the show.

News: Matt Hale judge finds family murdered

You probably heard the news in passing within the last couple days. Members of a federal judge's family have been killed. Investigators are wondering if retaliation might have been the motive. Though most criminal cases are heard in state courts, those involving interstate activity or criminal syndicates may be tried in federal courts. Occassionally, a defendant displeased by the outcome will have his associates strike back. Three federal judges have been killed during the last 25 years. But, it is unlikely that some disgruntled mob boss caught in the tentacles of RICO ordered this hit. The judge was not just any jurist. She was the person who heard the trademark infringement case of white supremacist Matt Hale's World Church of the Creator. Though the case was the kind of relatively simple civil matter that usually ends with an order to desist and a fine, nothing involving hatemonger Hale is ever truly simple. The New York Times reports what presiding over the case may have cost the judge.

CHICAGO -- For Joan Humphrey Lefkow, the nightmare began shortly after her appointment as a federal judge in 2000, when an Oregon group's lawsuit to block white supremacists from using a name it had trademarked, World Church of the Creator, landed in her lap.

Soon, Judge Lefkow found her home address and family photographs posted along with violent threats on hate-filled Web sites. Last April, one of the Aryan movement's most notorious leaders was convicted of plotting her murder.

On Tuesday, Judge Lefkow was under armed federal guard in an undisclosed place, mourning the deaths of Michael F. Lefkow, her husband of 30 years, and Donna Humphrey, her 89-year-old mother, whom she found dead of gunshots to the head in their basement the evening before.

"I think she's very upset with herself, maybe, for being a judge and putting her family in this danger," said Laura Lefkow, 20, the third of the judge's five daughters, "but there's no way she should have known."

Throughout his career as a leader in the racist movement, violence as been an adjunct to Hale's actions. Members of the 'Creativity' organization have been convicted of assault and murder. The most notorious crime spree did not result in a conviction because the perpetrator committed suicide at the end of it. In 1999, Hale follower Benjamin Smith set out to maim and murder as many people of color as he could in Illinois. He injured nine and killled two before taking his own life. The murdered men were African-American basketball coach Ricky Birdsong and a Chinese graduate student. The crime spree was a response to Hale being denied the privilege of practicing law in Illinois because of his dubious character.

With any other type of defendant, the trademark infringement case that led white supremacists to focus on Judge Lefkow would have been forgettable. The Oregon group which had called itself the World Church of the Creator for decades had an unassailable claim. There was nothing controversial about the judge's ruling. The proper response would have been for the defendant to alter his organization's name, probably to something similar. (In fact, that is what occurred, despite Hale's opposition.) Matt Hale's irrational response was to order his bodyguard to kill Judge Lefkow. He was convicted of that crime, with the bodyguard, who taped conversations, the star witness. Hale is scheduled to be sentenced for attempting to have the judge murdered March 6. The timing of the murders of Judge Lefkow's husband and mother seems to be in response to the sentencing, as Smith's crime spree was in response to the unfavorable resolution of that conflict.

Creativity has been in turmoil since before Hale's trial. He ejected several long term members about three years ago. After he was taken into custody, another disgruntled Creator sold books written by the 'religion's' founder, Ben Klassen, to anti-racism activists for a pittance. Creators had relied on selling the books for income. The remaining active participants have begged for donations to maintain their web sites. Still, it seems most likely that persons associated with organized racism killed Judge Lefkow's family members. Authorities are saying it is too soon to reach any conclusions, but have apparently focused on white supremacists in their investigation.

Not everyone is appalled by the murders. Some racists are celebrating them. Aniong them is short-wave radio show host Hal Turner. He has turned his web page into a salute to the murderers, who he assumes to be white supremacists. Hale's father, Richard Hale, a former police officer, says his son could not have had anything to do with the murders. News 25 has the story.

The elder Hale says, ''He's in solitary confinement. He can only see his mother and father and attorney if he has one. We see him through thick glass by use of telephone. We haven't touched him in more than two years. It's a terrible life. There's no way he could have communicated with anybody to do anything and he would have no reason to do it in the first place. It's just crazy, but everybody is jumping onto Matt Hale.''

But, to those of us who are familiar with Hale's 'career,' that is not convincing. His modus operandi has been to set the stage for violent acts, but have others carry them out. He did not commit the Illinois assaults and murders, but seems to have known they were coming. But for his affirmative response to a question about murdering Judge Lefkow, Hale might have denied responsibility in that case, too. Nor did any plotting have to be immediate. Plans to murder the judge date back at least three years. Plans to substitute family members may have existed just as long.

It is early in the investigation of these murders. However, I will not be surprised if the trail of evidence leads to a would-be Aryan ruler of the world, Matt Hale.

Reasonably related

• Matt Hale was denied a license to practice law because of doubts about his moral fitness. However, that rarely happens. Several leaders of organized racism are lawyers. They include Kirk Lyons, Richard Barrett and Edgar Steele. Steele is also a blogger.

• Why is the white supremacist 'religion' called Creativity? Its adherents maintain that only white people are capable of creating civilizations. Learn more about Creativity here.

• Who is Matt Hale, really? He has claimed to be a white supremacist since he was in elementary school. For most of its existence, his 'church' was headquartered in his bedroom in his father's house. Hale, now in his 30s, has seldom lived on his own or engaged in other behavior associated with adulthood. He seems to have never grown up.

Reading: Sherri S. Tepper and a mean old world

Some writers have a natural knack for getting the telling aspects of human behavior right. I believe part of the reason they can do it is that they look at people's actions unblinkingly. The rationalization and accommodation that is common to most of us is foreign to them. I often associate such honesty with classic writers such as Thomas Hardy, Honore Balzac and Emile Zola, or writers of domestic realism such as Cynthia Ozick, Charles Baxter and Edward Jones. But, there are writers of speculative fiction who get people right, too. I've been reading book after book by Sherri S. Tepper during the last year and I am still impressed. Blues singer T-Bone Walker said "It's a mean old world." Tepper knows there are reasons the world is mean and that those reasons can be traced directly to human behavior, if not human nature. Sometimes her plumbing of the things people do leads to unpleasant conclusions. For example, in The Visitor, a god solves the dilemma of chronic human misbehavior by having a meteor destroy nine-tenths of Earth's population. Tepper's depiction of the malevolence that is often the dominant characteristic of people, especially leaders, convinces the reader that the god's resolution is a reasonable one.

In Six Moon Dance, "human" has been redefined to mean beings capable of treating others with a modicum of fairness. Some members of homo sapiens qualify as human, some don't. Members of other species who meet the requirement are considered human. The Questioner, a supercomputer android, sifts the wheat from the chaff. If a planetary civilization is found to have engaged in genocide, the entire planet is destroyed. Lesser remedies are applied for other egregious violations of human rights. The novel is set on the planet Newholme. There, women are privileged because of a shortage of the gender. Most boys are considered supernumerary and funnelled into service occupations as children. Girls are treasured and bring dowries that can make a family upper-class. A clique of women rulers, the priestesses of the Hagion, dominate the society.

Meanwhile, both genders engage in an act of denial so ridiculous that one would laugh but for its resemblance to treatment of 'inferior' populations right here on Earth. The Timmys, the indigenous people of the planet, perform most of the menial labor on Newholme. But once they are seven years old, humans are forbidden to acknowledge the existence of Timmys. So, youngsters are cared for by persons not there. Laundry, housekeeping and gardening are done by figments of the imagination. Those figures in brown robes loading ships, hauling rubbish and painting houses are "invisible people," not to be mentioned at risk of being made an outcast.

Only the intervention of the Questioner ends the oppressions the humans of Newholme have taken for granted.

A Plague of Angels has that same underpinning of realism, despite being speculative fiction. After centuries of upheaval, most humans in the Americas have returned to farm life. Others live in protected enclaves with some technology called Edges. Some people are rebuilding towns, but not cities, for cities seem to be the root of much of what ails humans. The few remaining cities are ruled by gangs. Arms dealers and drug sellers fulfill an seemingly endemic desire for weapons and drugs. As a result of hunger, disease and war, the population has been greatly reduced. Few city dwellers live past their forties. But, myth has it that people did not perish. Instead, millions are said to have built space craft and immigrated to the stars.

Among those who believe mankind dispersed is the Witch, Quince Ellel, the most powerful person at the Place of Power. The Place is built on a natural source of fusion energy and ruled by four families. Originally, the quartet was dedicated to rediscovering high technology. But, as time passed, only one of the families has retained that goal. The Witch derives her power largely from control of the Walkers, bionic killing machines. Ellel, a megalomaniac, reactivated the devices after they were buried centuries ago because of their lethalness. She is set on retrieving additional weaponry from a space station built before much of mankind supposedly left Earth for other planets. Central to Ellel's plan is locating the natural navigation system she believes can guide the space shuttle she has her minions completing. The 'navigation system,' is the youngest of the Gaddis. They are a mysterious family that occupied a towering mansion at the Place of Power before the four families arrived. Much of the narrative focuses on the Witch's efforts to find the Orphan, the Gaddi youngster hidden away, apparently to thwart her plans for planetary rule.

It is difficult to imagine anyone communicating the kinds of truths Sherri Tepper does in her books in real life. They are decisively not "nice." Truths seldom are. And, that is what makes them worth knowing.

What's the art?

A cover from A Plague of Angels.

Reasonably related

• A biography of Sherri S. Tepper.

• The Tepper oeuvre at Bookfinder U.S.

A note from the editor

Between computer problems and completing a book manuscript (after the supposed deadline, unfortunately), I have not kept Mac-a-ro-nies as up to date as I like to. However, I hope to return to doing so. Persons wishing to help with the computer replacement plan can do so by contributing to my PayPal account.