Madness. And not the March Madness variety either.

So, the tragic saga of Terry Schiavo finally blew up into a full-blown political media circus over the weekend. In a nutshell, after a Florida judge ruled in favor of Michael Schiavo to have the feeding tube removed from Terry Schiavo, Congress, in a flurry of activity (and sanctimonious, self-serving oratory), hastily constructed a bill that would allow a Federal judge to rule on the case. If anyone can be counted as being victorious, it's certainly not Michael Schiavo or his estranged in-laws. No, those who believe they have earned a "victory" will just have to be content to count themselves among the most craven political opportunists in recent memory. In the rush to appease its right-wing religious base, the emergency legislation enacted by the Republican party effectively emasculates the authority of the Florida court system and sets a dangerous precedent with respect to the relationship between the federal government and state governments. Interestingly enough, no one seems to have noticed the irony that Florida, the state that put our current president into office back in 2000, was the first state to be on the receiving end of the federal bitch-slap. It is also particularly worthwhile to note that the Republicans, the champions of states rights, were the ones who were so eager to enact this dramatic judicial intervention. Hmm, I suppose the Gingrich revolution of 1995 is finally over. I guess there is a silver lining to this whole miserable, sordid affair. Of course, with the conventional media having its collective head stuck up its ass, no one is going to pick up on the hypocrisy and Democrats will be demonized as the root of all evil in no time once again. Dammit.