Senator Tim Johnson(D) of S. Dakota Suffers Stroke

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Dec 13 2006, 04:34 PM) [snapback]361861[/snapback]</div>

First and foremost, I hope he is ok.

 

If someone wrote a book about all of the twist and turns of our political system as of late, they would call it fiction.

 

All the speculation is a little unseemly, I think.

Thoughts and prayers are in order for Senator Johnson and his family for a speedy and full recovery. I think he's in his late 50's, early 60's, so our hopes are for a mild medical event and many more years for him and his family.

 

If it comes to it...

How would you feel about Cheney casting the tie-breaker on some of the party line votes.

Personally, I'd love to get live video feed each time it happens... :lol:

Even if he can't continue as senator, I hope this guy comes out ok on this.

 

CNN is reporting a cerebral hemmorage and it's something that typically takes weeks or months to recover from.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Dec 14 2006, 10:59 AM) [snapback]362151[/snapback]</div>

Makes no difference how you feel about Cheney casting the tie-breaking vote - those are the rules.

I too hope he returns to normal health - my primary concern. By all accounts he is a decent man and my prayers are with him and his family.

I too hope the Dems maintain control over both houses for the next two years...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Delta Flyer @ Dec 14 2006, 08:06 AM) [snapback]362159[/snapback]</div>

I heard some more about this on the radio this morning. It is technically a stroke, but caused by a congenital defect in the arteries and veins in the brain.

It can take months to recover, but there's no hurry. There is no "incapacitated" rule for Senators like there is for Presidents, so Sen. Johnson can take as long as needed to recover. Even if he lapses into a coma, and never comes out of it, he can finish his term until the next election.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fshagan @ Dec 14 2006, 10:39 PM) [snapback]362654[/snapback]</div>

Then you'd have wanted continued life support for Terri Schiavo?

 

Doctors anticipate a full recovery.

Plenty of Senators have had more serious illnesses with longer recoveries.

Republicans would be ill-advised to attempt a "coup".

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Dec 15 2006, 08:48 PM) [snapback]363032[/snapback]</div>

Then what did you think of Jim Jeffords (I-VT) jumping ship to alter the Senate balance?

What if Joe Lieberman (I-CT) becomes an 'R' after the 'D' party threw him overboard, restoring 50/50 with Cheney tie-breaker flipping the Senate to 'R', just as Jeffords did for 'D's'?

Honestly, I wish Johnson a full and complete recovery. It's a sign of the partisan times that virtually every breath one takes is measured against an agenda while the Islamist world sharpens their knives.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(amped @ Dec 15 2006, 09:19 PM) [snapback]363042[/snapback]</div>

The "Islamist world" ??? The world of Islam is as diverse and as divided as the world of Christianity. Most Muslims are as peaceful and as nonchalant about their religion as most Christians are about theirs. The proportion of Muslims who celebrate when people are killed is probably the same as the proportion of Christians who celebrate when people are killed. Sadly, there are angry and hate-filled people everywhere. But to characterize an entire religious group is simple ignorance. I have known many Muslims, and none of them have wanted anybody to be killed. And not a single one of them has shown the slightest hostility against me for being a Jew. In fact, the only anti-Semitism I personally have encountered was one white neo-Nazi teacher I had in high school, and one American Indian when I was in Sandstone, MN.

This idea that "liberals" are causing the U.S. to drop its guard while the "Islamic world" is gathering for the attack, is just plain naive.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Dec 16 2006, 07:38 AM) [snapback]363094[/snapback]</div>

Nothing like completely missing the point. I never wrote 'Muslim', you did. I wrote 'Islamist', the religion whose devotees basic tenet is 'convert or die'.

You surely recall that all 19 hijackers of 9-11 were Islamists, along with the murderers of hundreds in Madrid, Bali, London and other places worldwide, plus individuals singled out like Daniel Pearl, Nick Berg and others whose main 'offense' was being a Jew. The current president of Iran, an Islamist radical, has sworn the destruction of Israel and the West.

Incidentally, I don't know any Christian who celebrates death, but I believe it was bin Laden who said 'we love death as you love life' (paraphrased). I don't cheer when radical Islamists blow up Muslims, Christians or Jews, and get along well with my Muslim neighbors who have never shown any anti-Semitic traits towards my family.

I liken those who deny the threat of Islam to Holocaust denial. Ignorant at best, lethal at worst.

 

A Muslim (or Moslem - alternate spelling) is a person who follows the Islamic religion.

Christian history is as violent as Islamic history, and even today we see extremist Christians praying for the death of political figures they do not like, such as Hugo Chavez, for example. Yet most Muslims, like most Christians, are peaceloving people who abhor the violence of extremists who claim to represent their religion.

If you celebrate the victory of either side in a battle or a war, you are celebrating death. If you cheer when a murderer is executed, you are celebrating death. The emblem of Christianity, at which most Christians worship, is the Roman equivalent of a gallows.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(amped @ Dec 16 2006, 11:11 AM) [snapback]363102[/snapback]</div>

I liken those who constantly push the threat of Islam to the Nazis who blamed the Jews for everything, resulting in the Holocaust.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(amped @ Dec 14 2006, 11:47 PM) [snapback]362666[/snapback]</div>

Not sure how you got THAT from what I said. Besides wishing Senator Johnson well, I stated that there is no "incapacitated" rule for Senators. That's a value-neutral statement that reflects the truth as I know it.

As to specific medical decisions, they should be left up to the next of kin if the person is incapable of answering for themselves, which is what the law allows. You, me, the media and especially special interest groups have no right to try and assert our opinions in any specific case. In fact, we have no right to even KNOW about the decision making process as all medical issues are covered under the HIPPA regulations. If we have an opinion about end of life issues, the proper place to effect change is in our legislatures.

But our hopes and prayers can continue for anyone we like. I will continue to maintain that the best outcome is not one that tickles someone's political fancy, but rather that Tim Johnson recovers fully and goes home to his family, friends and co-workers.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Dec 16 2006, 04:12 PM) [snapback]363242[/snapback]</div>

Which innocents did the Jews kill indiscriminately?

As I wrote, I wish Johnson a full and complete recovery. In the meantime, while he's in critical condition, I hope no vote critical to the nation's health comes up despite Sen. Reid's assurance that Johnson 'looked good...'.

I celebrate the victory of the Allies over Axis powers in WWII, as did FDR and Churchill. They celebrated freedom over tyranny. We face the same dilemma today. Choose one, Islam or death. Does that make you celebrate death over freedom?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Dec 17 2006, 01:53 AM) [snapback]363322[/snapback]</div>

Make sure to differentiate Jews (religion) from Israelis.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jennjay @ Dec 17 2006, 01:25 AM) [snapback]363336[/snapback]</div>

And make sure to differentiate Muslims (religion) from al Qaeda.