The Dutch need to just ignore Santorum.

The guy is just a neanderthal throwback to the Dark Ages.

.

US1776

Hey the dark Ages only ended about 700 years ago Neanderthal went extinct 24,000 years ago... oh wait Santorum hm-mm... well maybe not, I guess some are still here .

Tried and true GOP scare tactics - this is just recycled "death panel" talk left over from 2008.

And yet this is a leading contender for the GOP nomination for President of the United States of America. A man who will tell any lie, pronounce any myth, in order to gather up enough true believers to launch himself into the most powerful office in the entire world.

What would happen if we kept score of the lies, and disqualified those who lie the most. What would our future be like then?

EDIT: The obvious answer is that we would have no one running for President.... Or the Senate, or Congress... hmmm...

Another winning comment from the 'real conservative.'

Am i the only one who sees the irony in how many times "FactCheck" is misspelled in this article?

Is it really any wonder that Americans are so disliked through out the world? We have crazy people HERE who are given to LOUD of an audience and too much media attention........like Santorum, and the wacko who wanted to burn the Quran in Florida, and the sickening obsession with Religion....... Now, we have pissed off the Dutch, on top of our burning the Qurans....

Now now, he is a republican, he dint do anything out of the norm for them.

Any idea how hard it is to piss off the DUTCH!?!?

Hahaha. I had nearly the exact same thought, Larry.

What concerns me is that FactCheck cited only government or official sources for their information, who will no doubt say whatever they have to in order to cover their collective hindquarters. Is it possible that there could be a grain of truth in what Santorum says? Possibly. I'm sure that it's possible there could have been at least one person euthanized against their will because they were terminal, or by the family's request but against the will of the individual. Does that make it an epidemic? No. It's so hard these days to ferret out the truth from this biased media, but still, I think Santorum was just trying to make a point that euthanasia is a bad idea BECAUSE it can cause such abuses.

Santorum is running out of feet to stick in his big mouth.

Yes, Jack...that gave me a chuckle and made me a bit sad that no one caught it.

The Dutch hopefully will discover that most of us here in the USA would like to publicly rebuke Santorum for all the lies and how desperately he seems to need to be in every woman's pants and doctor's office. They aren't the only ones who feel as the Dutch people who want him rebuked. They aren't alone..lol.

Hopefully he will go away soon, and we know he is blowing smoke...again.

Thank you Larry, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. How true!

Please, someone, anyone, EUTHANIZE SANTORUM!!!!

But save his KICK-ASS SWEATER VESTS!

Santorum is following the time honored policy of republicans to piss off Europe as much as possible

Most tea partiers spell it "Youth in Asia". I've seen the signs.

Gee, Catsclaw81, euthanasia doesn't cause such abuses. People who want to kill other people for their own convenience cause such abuses. These killings would occur with our without legal euthanasia -- they're called murder. Is there a grain of truth in Santorum's statement? There is not a single grain of truth in Santorum, the little sweater-vest boy.

Read up a little on Holland's actual laws and the problems they've had with enforcement. Euthanasia is a rather common practice in Holland, with the State recognizing that the official statistics are grossly under-reported. Moreover, there are two legal forms of euthanasia: VE (voluntary euthanasia) and NVE (NON-voluntary euthanasia). The guideline for NVE is that the doctor “holds the conviction that the patient’s suffering is lasting and unbearable.” [Chapter II, Article 2, 1b] There is no requirement that the suffering be physical or that the the patient be terminally ill. The patient must also be unable to give consent, either through mental disorder (dementia), or by being unconscious (sedated, coma, etc).

Read more here:ht tp://www .euthanasia. com/holland99 .html

wait... so a politician LIED and/or made something up??!?!?!

i wouldn't be surprised if it happened because the dutch ignored santorum's farmville invite.

Catsclaw81 - Really? I mean - because FactCheck cites only Government and official sources you'd be concerned? You'd rather them only cite Santorum? Or is it better for them to only cite gossip and hearsay?

The fact that they cite actual proven official records and doctors is pretty hard to beat. Not only that - the Netherlands, being a very liberal country is all about people being able to have a voice and choose for themselves. I've been to the Netherlands many times and am going back in just a few months. I speak for someone that's been there (is that what you want - someone OTHER than an official source?) and can tell you that no such bracelet exists. The Netherlanders are very peaceful, happy people and they are on the cutting edge of technology (even more than the U.S. at this point) and I would say that they wouldn't euthanize against anyone's will.

It is clear that Santorum is just trying to ruffle some feathers, but unfortunately he didn't do all of his fact checking. Or - rather - he didn't have his people do the fact checking for him.

I think he's just afraid of his family finding out that he's crazy and taking him for a "vacation" to the Netherlands.

He's just pissed at the old conservatives who tossed him out of Pennsylvania. Any old fart is fair game.

I think he's just afraid people will realize he's brain dead and try to euthanize him.

Relax guys, this is just an small example of Santorums foreign policy stance, tomorrow he's is going after Lithuania for not being Lithuanian enough.........

Nasty little Ricky proving once again that he is "less than erudite."

Santorum is running out of feet to stick in his big mouth.

Sounds like tentacle porn.

I always love the opportunity to see where some of these imbeciles are getting their moronic ideas from. Follow the link (you'll have to correct the mistakes in it) provided by C. Smith. At the bottom is this: Provided By: The Pro-Life Infonet, a daily compilation of pro-life news and educational information. Then it goes on to describe how to subscribe to this right-wing brainwashing blog. (shakes head and walks away)

Larry, that is the funniest thing I have heard all day. If it were not for the fact that he is running to be the president of the most powerful country on earth, then his comments would be laughable. I do not think it is possible for him to win, but if he somehow ever did become president, I would just have to learn a British or Australian accent, and pretend to be from somewhere else whenever I visit other countries. It would be too embarrassing to publicly admit that I would be from the US, if we collectively were stupid enough to elect this clown. 200+ years of a democratic republic all the sudden replaced by a theocratic republic? Or would that be a madcrazycratic, or awhoopswhatwerewethinkingcratic? Either way, we should all be locked in a rubber room if he gets elected.

And yet this is a leading contender for the GOP nomination

Hardly, Simply the flavor of the week. Fortunately he's not very good at hiding (lying) about who he his.

Rick Santorum, a hero with the vision to take on holy war with that ancient enemy of civilization, the Dutch.

Will somebody please throw a net over this horror show of a man?

Does Santorum EVER open his mouth without offending SOMEONE? Once again he is trying to force his personal beliefs down my throat........thanks everyone- I love to start the weekend with a good laugh and ya'll are in fine form!

Leave it to "I wanna look tough" lunatic Sanatorium! Yeah, so darn eager to pissed off more countries because he is so eager to start another Medieval Crusade war. As if we don't have enough enemies already. Is isolating the US another dream of his?? This idiot does NOT have any foreign affairs knowledge and diplomacy! It is NONE of our business how the Dutch run their country!

Right wing lemmings do yourselves a favor and forget this idiot. He doesn't even know who you are, how to help you, much less help this country. With his ideas, we'd be living in the Dark Ages!!

I think Santorum was just trying to make a point that euthanasia is a bad idea BECAUSE it can cause such abuses.

What abuses are you talking about. The only evidence available indicates that Santorum lied. I live in Oregon "Death with Dignity Law". He doesn't need to go as far as Europe. We don't kill people against their will either. It amazes me how the "keep big govm't out of our business" people are trying so desperately to involve "big govm't" in our business when it fits their religious beliefs. Guess what, your religious beliefs are not my religious beliefs! Keep your religion out of my business!

scum. that is what this man is. scum. him and the rest of his GOP.

putting out garbage like that is the intellectual equivalent of poisoning the well. you can't simply apologize. you can't simply round up everybody who heard him saying it, and tell them that it isn't true and forbid them from further parroting it.

once things like death panels, kenya, taking away gun rights, 200 planes, 1000 carriers and a bazillion people going to india, or czars, or whatever nonsense mischaracterization or half thruths you hear from the GOP or fox news hits ground, it is literally impossible to dispel them.

sure, they always come out and apologize, oh, it was just a mistake, oh i just mispoke. oh i said 'blah people' not 'black people', but how many times is it just a mistake? because they people who support you already understood the message. they dont care if you lied, and care even less if you apologize for it.

mitt romney for example, began claiming that obama made the recovery worse in his standard stump speech. he got called on it by some reporters, and his campaign admitted it was a false statement and he stopped saying it. for a while. and then began doing it again.

once again. every last one of them in the GOP are intellectually dishonest scum.

Am i the only one who sees the irony in how many times "FactCheck" is misspelled in this article?

I have a friend who calls it "FatChick" in honor of the multiple misspellings...

Oh, and Comanchepilot? We happen to give a crap what the Dutch think when one of our Presidential hopefuls tells a big, fat, whopping lie about one of our allies. You know there were Dutch troops in Iraq, don't you?

"And guess what Wake up - its not for them to give a damn how we run ours either."

How odd that Santorum would bring them up then, half-wit.

He was using the Netherlands as an example, and he LIED, plain and simple. So who gives a crap what Santorum thinks?

Does anyone know how to say "Please Euthanize me NOW!" in Dutch? If so I'll have a bracelet made up for Santorum and send it to him along with a first class ticket to Amsterdam. One way, with any luck he won't need the return ticket. :-)

Obama/Biden 2012

Comanchepilot

Unfortunately for your side of the argument you are not a very effective spokesperson for your conservative point of view. You said:

Santorum did not bring up any of these issues on his own - OBAMA brought them up. OBAMA made a rule requiring religions to violate their convictions. Mr. Genuis himself had no CLUE over the fire storm he was going to set off -

Santorum made the above statement early this month, before President Obama's ruling concerning birth control. Within three days he changed the ruling with a compromise measure that satisfied the Catholic bishops which DOES NOT REQUIRE CATHOLIC ORGANIZATIONS TO PAY FOR BIRTH CONTROL. This compromise has been ignored by the Republican presidential candidates because they wish to keep bashing the President for "war against religion."

You said:

If we actually reported on what the Republican candidates SAY we could have lot more interesting discussion instead of creating "many say this about you" and forcing the candidate to invent shlt on the fly . . .

Here is what SANTORUM SAID:

“They have voluntary euthanasia in the Netherlands, but half the people who are euthanized every year, and it’s 10 percent of all deaths, half of those people are euthanized involuntarily in hospitals, because they are older and sick,” Santorum said. “So elderly people in the Netherlands don’t go to the hospital. They go to another country. Because they’re afraid because of budget purposes they will not come out of that hospital if they go in with sickness.”

This is not a "many say this about you" situation. This is what he actually said, voluntarily and before Obama's ruling in yet another effort to pander to the willfully ignorant. Santorum brought up the subject and used the Dobson theocracy forum to spread misinformation.

I'm sure it was "not intended to be a factual statement." I think the GOP should adopt that as their motto.

The worst thing is the reaction on the audience you can hear. Nobody questions what he says, they all just go "Oh, my", or "Hmmm"... you never hear "That's bullcrap." Who are these idiots that sit and listen to this bigger idiot sdpew nonsense? And, they'll likely vote for him!!!

For the most part, Americans are really, really stupid. The republican debates are evidence of that.

Give Santorum enough rope and he will hang himself.

Ricky, Ricky, Ricky, Just like all of your right wingnut friends that believe every rumor you hear in church, you think it is a fact. Do the world a favor, just shut your little old pie hole and drop out of the race. You are embarrassing the republican party and yourself. This position is way above your job description and far, far, above your mental capacity. Bible study is not college and I know it will come as a shock to you, But the story of Noah's ark is a myth. The earth is way older than 6000 years ( Chinese history goes back further than that ) and you sir are a flaming nut job.

Pro lifers are the worse kind of murders there are and the static to prove it is that we have reached 3rd world nation status in infantile deaths.

Pro lifers demand that children be brought into the world and then abandon the ones in need. That is just a sick mind at its worse.

Do I need to say anything more about Santorum?

We can only hope...

I caught the 2 out of 3 errors in FactCheck.org as well as "of hat" instead of "of what". What can you expect though? Very few people use spellcheck here on Newsvine either. Everyone, including not just the online media but also print media and social site posters, is in such a hurry to post their story/comment that they fail to take the time to check either the spelling or the grammatical correctness of what they post. I've done the same thing myself a few times, mainly because my editing time timed out before I could correct errors I caught after "post comment." There are some words that spellcheck won't catch because they are valid words, but if you don't also have "grammar check" open, those wrong application words won't get caught for correction. Their/they're/there, your/you're, its/it's, etc. are classic examples.

When a nut case like Ron Paul says "your fake" you lack any creditability. Personally who cares what the Dutch do. It's their country. In the Netherlands if you are sick/injured and want to smoke some pot to easy your pain/symptoms you can. Sounds like a pretty smart healthcare plan to me. A terminally ill person or a patient in unbearable pain should be able to "call it a day" and checkout. Once again the party of personal liberty and get the government out of my life doesn't live up to the rhetoric they espouse.

I am sorry we have such an asshat running.

The only time pro-lifers give a damn about life is when it's still in the womb or on it's deathbed.

I find it interesting that it seems nobody in researching the article or posting on this site looked any further than FactCheck.

While FactCheck is correct in the percentage of euthanasia performed in the Netherlands, they fail to mention that the Dutch definition of euthanasia is somewhat different than expected. For example, they do not consider an overdose of painkillers administered on purpose to be euthanasia since it is normal procedure. It is exempted from reporting to authorities. All exemptions are below:

• stopping or not starting a medically useless (futile) treatment
• stopping or not starting a treatment at the patient's request
• speeding up death as a side-effect of treatment necessary for alleviating serious suffering

According to the Remmelink Report (Sponsored by the Attorney General of the Netherlands) , Dutch physicians deliberately and intentionally ended the lives of 11,840 people by lethal overdoses or injections–a figure which accounts for 9.1% of the annual overall death rate of 130,000 per year. The majority of all euthanasia deaths in Holland are involuntary deaths.

Based on this 1990 Dutch report and the real "facts", it seems like Santorum may be a lot closer to the truth than FactCheck.

Us guys in Pennsylvania knew what we were doing when we threw the Junior Senator out of office by a record setting margin. His school has recently produced several people with questionable moral values, (Penn State)

Spider and Lucy - Exactly!

spider

If you don't believe that health care is "rationed" by corporate health insurance companies you are delusional.

Insanatorum grossly mischaracterized something??? I'm SHOCKED, I tell you I'm SHOCKED......

The bile coming out of this man's mouth just keeps getting worse and worse. I guess he was losing on the economic front, so they have to pull out the boogie man politics again... oh my GOd.. they are killing all the old people in Holland and it could happen here too... oh we got trouble... trouble with a capital T...

Santorum probably read the same reports on the Internet as I did (see, for instance ). He is not that far off. Where he differs from many other is in his boldness to state the hard truth that others won't mention. Kudos to him!

wives fan

So what exactly did he mischaracterize? Oh yeah, I guess you just blindly agree with MSNBC and FactCheck.

If this is true we need to send Mr O , Nancy and Harry over there , this gets me to thinking of Solin Green wher the old were made into food for the country , Mr Santorum might have just given the liberals an idea, if we can abort a baby why not abort old people then we could save a bundle on ss checks and medicare.

There needs to be a law passed with a stiff penalty for any politician that willfully misleads the public. Forced euthanasia would make a fine penalty too.

I didn't know it was possible to piss off the Dutch. God help us all if Santorum becomes president

Rick thought you said "You, then asia".

Ponce de Santorum...

I've found the FOUNTAIN OF EUTHANASIA!

Freedom of speech = GOP Lies= Suckers!

What is it that is suprising to folks on this issue that the sand man has laid claim too. He has already , becaUSE OF CHURCH, made the claim that women should not have health care paid for by a church or church group,,,even if they are getting paid by said church..Well folks, business is business..whether it be a church or not.. But then...churches have not been all that supportive of womens rights if it interfers with what the churches claim is their right to do whatever pleases them.

armurray, do you know how euthanasia is done? seriously its been done all over the nation for years. Usually it is the great unspoken thing when someone is suffering and with no chance of survival. Use of narcotics and sedatives to remove the pain, and we do not worry about the consequence of death. Its the realm of removal of life support by the request of families. If fact checker doesn't know that is the very definition of euthanasia....

Anybody want to take bets on when the "misspoke" half-a@@ apology comes out?

What an idiot, Santorum that is. Having elderly relatives over there, I know for a fact that the medical treatment they are getting is first rate. We could only wish that Medicaire provided the superb health care the elderly Dutch are getting. If I were Dutch, I'd be steamed about this guy's insane and totally unjustified comment too.

He's not in Pennsylvania any more. They threw him out so he thought they meant that they wanted him for president. Now the GOP will throw him out and he'll run for King of the U.N.

What a blithering idiot.

I think, as Bill M. said, that Rick Santorum buys in totally to the "elitist" claptrap which would not allow him to know anything about a foreign country because, "elitist" includes anyone who has learned a foreign language, been to a foreign country, or read a book that was about something other than a 5 year-old who has been to heaven.

I remember this song and dance. Let me see, 2000-2008, Dubya. "Let me just say, that I don't care if I offend the rest of the world, because America is the biggest, baddest, bully on the block."

Then we got our ass handed to us in Iraq, we are getting it handed to us in Afghanistan, the Chinese have been handing us our economic asses for more then a decade.

In fact, I remember a us intelligence plane that went down, fell into the hands of the Chinese, and Bush said, "give us our plane back, or else!" and the Chinese, glanced over, and said, "or else what?" and proceeded to strip the plane of everything it had of value.

Yep, we can just go it alone. In a GOP wet dream.

Devils son You are proof there is mind control going on in Amreica. Ron Paul is no nutcase. Santorum is. Ron Paul actually makes sense. If you are going to call him a nutcase try to back it up......................You can't.

Easy, Ted. Ron Paul opposes the Civil Rights Act and the First Amendment. That makes him a nutcase.

Santorum believes in the opposite of euthanasia--eternal life support for those in a persistent vegetative state -- as evidenced by his unwelcome fight to keep Terri Schiavo "alive" against the recommendations of her doctors and the wishes of her husband.

Imagine how health care costs would skyrocket under Santorum's rule! Families would be left to pay medical costs out of pocket, and on top of that they would end up paying legal costs for the government to keep its nose out of their healthcare decisions.

It's interesting that the Dutch are paying attention to Santorum's wild assertions.

Thanks, Rick, for trying to make America the laughingstock of the world..

I would guess these politicians in either party may have some kind of proof to back up their statement.

Hahahahahaha

Wow, you right-wingers crack me up... seriously. Politicians having "proof" to back up their claims? You are funny.

Birth certificate, death panels, war (an actual declaration of war) on the catholic church, socialism, economic rape, end of times, man on dog... all of these claims have been made by the GOP with absolutely ZERO proof.

Oh, I forgot... the only "proof" you need is some moron on Fox News telling you a LIE... and you believe it.

Okay, who does the "open mouth insert foot" better--Biden or Santorum? Can't we shut this guy up? (to protect him from hiimself)

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me again and again and again... I'm a Republican.

Not even president yet and pissing off the rest of the world. Do we really want 8 more years of an ignoramus religion touting rabble rouser? He's like bush on steroids.

For the religious right: Please tell me about your personal relationship with Jesus and how santorum and his words find meaning in your relationship with Christ.

If the Republicans had been in charge these last three year's , we would be in world war three ! Every time I see that one of them like John Mc Cain and that Ghassley or whatever his name is man who went to another country to discuss something , scares me to death because I do not trust them and feel that they hate the President so bad that they will start $#!+ just to win back" La Casa Blanca "

Send that Santoran man back to" never never land "

This guy is poison personified, he is the exact reason I turned away from religion in my early twenties.

What about a law that fines politicians for lying? I though I read there was a law like that somewhere, but couldn't find anything on the web. Oh and their Super-Pac can't pay the fine, actually what about over-turning Citizens United. I still can't believe politics is this openly corrupt, everybody knows about it and nothing is being done. I saw the piece about Congressional Insider Trading, someone should put them all in jail, but Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who will guard the guards?)

Is he running for President or Pope?

If only the founding fathers had written "...freedom FROM religon..." not "...freedom OF religon..." Two little letters, but such a big difference. Rick for Pope!

" ... I think Santorum was just trying to make a point ... "

And the fact that you not only ARE defending Rick, but that you actually CAN defend him, puts you in second place behind Rick. For the biggest idiot on the planet. A prize, much sought after by many,many Republicans/Conservatives.

Who would have thought.

Not Rick, that's for sure. Is he even able to think?

It's no suprise that the rest of the World hates the US more and more.

Just keep giving microphones to Republicans...

I just ordered one of those "Learn Dutch in 10 days" things- so I can apply for political asylum in the Netherlands if Fuhrer Rick somehow steals the election.

I'd rather have a Netherlands tour package that includes one day/night in Amsterdam, followed by room service with euthansia included, than live under a religous despot.

Using 21 year old data to support comments that were made recently just goes to show how deceitful one is wilingl to go to hide the truth.

Santorum using 20 year old data to support his argument just indicates why he shouldn't be president.

Well, who cares about the Dutch. That's some of that foreign affairs stuff.

Sentor Rick isn't having any kind of affair and even if he did, he'd have one with a good American woman.

That's what I say.

Rick Santorum is a silly man and well, we just can't have a silly man hold the most powerful office in the country, just can't do it, Rick.

Weird that 9-11, a tragic and horrendous event caused by Muslim religious fanatics, has led to the ascent of Christian religious fanaticism in the U. S.

Leave it to a republican to take lying to an international artform.......good grief...Santorum can't seem to stop lying nor can he seem to keep his mouth shut about things he knows nothing about...

this man has demonstrated absolutely NO qualities required to hold the office of President of The United States of America.....

not only is this man an embarrassment to the republican party but now an embarrassment to the entire United States........

he should do the grown up thing and drop out.

How arrogant can he get?!.....using lies to condemn how other countries treat their citizens and vowing to convert ALL Americans to his own twisted ideological will...........

if this is conservatism we need to redefine the word....

conservatism.."the ability of one man to tell utter falsehoods in order to gain world dominance while ensuring the total dumbing down of a once great nation and making sure women stay barefoot and pregnant and their offspring as uneducated as possible"............oops, it could just say..

"see RICK SANTORUM under "S"....

Santorum should be more certain of his facts before he runs his mouth, however we have seen over and over again that he doesn't bother with pesky old facts! Why should he? He thinks people will vote for him anyway. (Unfortunately, some will.)

Now to another subject I saw addressed here:

@Comanchepilot- While it is clear the majority of posters here just prefer to ignore you and generally speaking- I would too. But I have a problem with people who can't stay on topic and instead throw out something like "Obama did this" when you don't even have those facts correct. The HHS department of our government is in charge of writing the policy for insurance coverages that will be required for insurance supplied by employers. It isn't like President Obama is sitting in the oval office deciding what is covered and what isn't, but one thing that was to be required was for institutions and/or businesses to provide birth control services to their employees. We aren't talking about the local church- we are talking institutions like Catholic hospitals, who employee several hundred to several thousand people, many of who are not of the same faith. They should have a right to health coverage that meets their needs and might not be in line with the personal choices of people within the Catholic church. No one would be required to take birth control if they do not choose to and those who do want it will not be discriminated against due to being employed at such a hospital.

Rick Santorum - living proof that you should question everything put forward by conservatives. If they can be so wrong on this why would you trust anything they say and believe.

Rick is just mouthing real, true, conservative dogma, unvarnished by slick obfuscation so common among other conservatives who believe this but know that they had better tone it down when they speak in public or they will be seen (rightfully) as certifiable. Anything that can be used as proof of a conservative assertion will be used even if it is a lie created to support that beliefe by some other conservative. Remember, it is not a lie if you believe it, according to current conservative thought.

Conservatives are so in favor of life that, as Santorum said on national television that becoming pregnant by a rapist is a gift from God. Yet those same people are also in favor of the death penelty for the post-born who were convicted by reliably unreliable govermnental processes.

Haven't we had enough, or are we just plain stupid?

The Dutch do not get pissed off. We simply call a liar a liar straight to his face. What a buffoon. The Dutch do not euthanize old people against their will. The Dutch, believing greatly in free will, simply do not make it illegal for the suffering to choose their time of departure. It is the same thing as abortion. A woman must have complete control of her body. Period.

A woman must have complete control of her body. Period.

Sane people agree, Peter Jacobs. I would not blindly follow the advice of my own personal physician, let alone allow the government to control my body or my mind, as some conservatives seem so eager to do.

Funny how these same people were screaming that 'Obamacare' was taking away their rights! The hypocrisy is stunning.

.

Peter Jacobs

Did you read the report? Per the Netherlands report, 70% of euthanasia is performed without the permission of the individual or the family. They just have another name for those in their law.

I don't necessarily disagree with their system, but it is very different than what we in the US would consider to be euthanasia.

Unfortunately, too true. That's the problem with this type of lying. Once, it's out, it's locked in their tiny little pointed heads. No amount of fact checking will change that. I still remember the Glen Beck episode where he made one of his more preposterous statements and then proceeded to say, 'and if this wasn't true, I wouldn't be able to say it on television....' People actually believe this.

It goes to show that lying is one of the most effective strategies for a politician. So much for principles. He says that he'll stand behind anything that he's said. Well, good luck with that Rick.

The devil does exist in Mr. Santorum's heart and he spews forth from his lying tongue.

Read up a little on Holland's actual laws and the problems they've had with enforcement. Euthanasia is a rather common practice in Holland, with the State recognizing that the official statistics are grossly under-reported. Moreover, there are two legal forms of euthanasia: VE (voluntary euthanasia) and NVE (NON-voluntary euthanasia). The guideline for NVE is that the doctor “holds the conviction that the patient’s suffering is lasting and unbearable.” [Chapter II, Article 2, 1b] There is no requirement that the suffering be physical or that the the patient be terminally ill. The patient must also be unable to give consent, either through mental disorder (dementia), or by being unconscious (sedated, coma, etc).

Read more here:ht tp://www .euthanasia. com/holland99 .html

Sicky Ricky Santorum looks scarier than Osama bin Laden did. The anger, contempt, and hatred in his tones and eyes when he speaks against President Obama gives me the jitters. I wish nothing more than to see him out of politics, for good.

Unable to give consent? Do they not have power of attorney in Holland? If my grandmother has Alzheimer's the doctor isn't just going to euthanize her when she goes in for a checkup without her attorney speaking for her. That would be her next of kin who are more than capable of giving consent. The power of attorney would be quite specific in the grantee's wishes when it comes to euthanasia. If there are no wishes then the decision is left to the next of kin. The only instances where a doctor decides is when there is no next of kin to give consent.

Therefore this argument is ridiculous.

It depends on when you got the Power of Attorney. Many power of attorney's become invalidated if the principle were to become incapacitated in any way. I say it depends on when you get the POA because if for example your wife gave you POA when you were 30 years old you may have never bothered to update it when you got old. In this case most POA's do not have anything specifically stating that the agent can still have POA over the principle should they become incapacitated.

*Keep in mind I'm only speaking to the POA portion of your statement not the next of kin part.

Jon, that is why everyone also needs to have a living will, with the POA noted in that LW and what powers are granted to the POA in making those final decisions...based on the wishes noted in that LW. My family just went through that a year ago. My mother had a living will that had a DNR clause in it. My second sister was the POA for all financial and decision making matters per the way the POA was written and tied to the LW. When Mom was taken to the emergency room at 3:45 in the morning and tests showed that she had total renal failure, my sister was able to inform the doctor that nothing drastic (taking her to another hospital for dialysis that would have done no good at that point) was to be done, that they were to just make Mom comfortable for her remaining hours. She passed on quietly later in the afternoon after nearly ninety years of life (would have been 90 on June 1, 2011.

Gravis, you don't win preaching to the choir, thank the invisible man who lives in the invisible place. (god)

Ric should be in the NUT HOUSE. How can a responsible American Politician keep telling LIES with NO facts behind the LIE.

He should be publically chastized by the American Secretary of State and made to appoligise to the Dutch Nation.

I don't have any first hand knowledge of the Dutch Medical practices but I would assume they allow someone to die if they are terminal and requestthat their life be terminated. We had/have a Law in Oregon that allows the same thing. Death with dignaty I think they call it in Oregon. Dr. K. made it a front page story.

The right to lifers seem to forget about the Shiveo case in Florida. She was dead but the Republican Party would not let her expire normally. They kept her alive for quite some time for what? NADA

C. Smith is quoting from a pro-life, right-wing brainwashing webpage. He was already shut down in an earlier post and now is coming back with the exact same pile of dung. The 'research' to which he is referring is completly biased.

Nice try, Cherry Smith!

Go to Amsterdam and sit on a sidewalk. With any luck...

I heard today Mr O said that of all the crackers there are out there he prefers a dumb cracker, and there is a whole country full of them.

when ricky says that satan is around he is right he looks at him every morning in the mirror as he is shaving . he hates and attacks women for the choices they may make if it does not conform to what he thinks is right , he does not feel any women should have any freedom to choose what she wants. not to mention God gave every human being the freedom to choose who is he to override what god wants for us . now he is atacking the dutch oh come on .

I wonder if him and bob morris are good friends if they have late night chats about how to change america to their standards . between the girl scouts being a subversive organization to what ricky wants all women to be submissive . no abortions no birth control and dont let anyone die with dignity what a horror show this country would be like if these morons were to run our beloved country heck we may not be what he wants but hey we do have a great country based on freedom of speech , freedom of religion no matter how bizzare some may be freedom to own your own business , home , car , go to college ect . do we really want a republican behind the wheel again that is why we are in the mess in the first place . we have bush to blame for that playing with our hard earned tax money and hurting our economy and just walking away oh well to bad. he is rich he does not care . he was another that used and exploted the christian vote. are you people going to fall for this again???

I'm sure Obama will apologize for Santorum, he's good at them

I am more disturbed at his delusional remarks about education today. He actually said that parents should not send their kids to college because they will come back atheists and sex maniacs using contraceptivies. Then his wife said that "god" told him it was his calling to run for president. I had to watch it twice to believe that he was actually that pathetic. I still believe all candidates should have to take a shot of truth serum before every primary.

Unbelievable....he can't really want to be elected. I think he's just using this as a platform for his messed up points of view.

C.Smith - you need to cite to more reliable and more current information than some clearly biased site preporting to take its information from a dated article from a British tabloid. That is what Santorum does without the atribution so that it seems like the informagtion might be more reliable comming from a presidential candidate (who should know better).

Floyd - you should support our men and women in harm's way and not snidely complain when the President, who is CIC, does. People who offer criticism of a man who is trying to save the lives of our troops by attempting to molify whipped up mobs of religious (crazy) people make me angry because of who they are.

ol' Rick's foaming at the butt again...

Voluntary euthanasia? Blasphemy!

Santorum knows: the best way to die with dignity is to go fight in another 3 wars. He'll be bringing those along shortly.

Knock off the troll repetitive posting, Smith. And euthansia.com is your source? Seriously?...

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha!...

C. Smith, you MUST consider the source for your so-called information. I followed your link out of curiosity - giving you the benefit of the doubt - and the site is an absolutely partisan platform with no pretense of impartiality. What they say may or may not be true, but their obvious need to push a certain agenda makes it as suspect as Santorum himself. It is pure propaganda. Try again.

C. Smith--if you are interested in involuntary euthanasia data that is reliable, your best bet is the State of Texas and the State of Virginia--here's an explanation of the law in Texas:

Under the 1999 law, a hospital may withdraw life support as long as its ethics committee agrees with the attending doctor that continued treatment is inappropriate and the family gets 10 days' notice to arrange a transfer to another facility. The family gets 48 hours' notice of the ethics committee hearing.

So, yes, there is involuntary, passive euthanasia performed by the withdrawing of life support at the decision of the doctor/hospital (not surprisingly--this is virtually always done when the patient and the patient's family has exhausted any ability to pay bills). But, this happens in the US, and not in the Netherlands. It also is happening in two of the most conservative and Republican-controlled states in the union. Hope that helps!

BTW, I read today that the next edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary will include a definition for "santorum," the definition that applies to the lower-case "s" word. LOL

Jane asks the President if her 100 year old mother (now 105) would have gotten a pacemaker under his plan. Well now that's a tough one ... that costs a lot and maybe we will have to say, just take a pill. Priceless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-dQfb8WQvo

Dadoftim, I knew a 83 year old woman. Her doctor said she needed both her knees replaced or she would soon no longer be able to walk. She listened to the doctor and was dead 5 months after the surgeries. Sometimes less doctors and less medicine is the answer. Meaning, do you think a doctor ever recommends expensive and painful surgery and such just to keep the money rolling in? No doctor would ever do that would they? BTW she died of a stroke that may have been caused by blood clots from the replacement surgeries.

There is no "pill" to replace a pacemaker, the "pill" is a metaphor for euthanasia, i.e. "give her morphine until she dies"

The real point is the government makes the decision not you.

dadoftim-

Know a lot about pacemakers and cardio-thorasic care do you? You should add another layer of foil to your hat. Some of the crazy is still getting through.

The clip appears overwhelmingly like it was cut to purposely misrepresent. Medical care in the United States is a joke for the common people used to line the pockets of insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and medical hardware companies. With the massive corruption runb rampant since the deregulation and social financial cuts starting under Reagan we absolutely cannot trust our medical care so in some cases, if massive profit were removed from humanitarian issues such as healthcare, there's a good chance medication could have been a better choice than surgery earlier in the process. Seeing the malpractice in the treatment allowed both my mother and myself due to our age on our insurance coverage charts I can see exactly how Jane's mother ended up with the situation she found herself in. Due to my mother's age (69 at the time) our hospital system in conjunction with her insurance choose NOT to repair her broken shoulder and have left her an invalid bidding her time to die and be released from the hell life has become.

Cut the holier than thou because we are the United States and are perfect because Jesus says so bulls**t! Pretty much ALL of Scandinavia and northern Europe at least does healthcare BETTER and have far more respect for their citzen than the United States does especially, once Reagan ended assistance, you know mental hospitals, for our mentally ill, many of which are war veterans, after Daddy Bush got Jr. "12 step and hide the cocaine arrests' Now I've Found Jeebus Bush dliminated the Constitution and Bill of Rights with the "Patriot" Act and spying on any citizen who disagrees with him and his ilk. After all this the United States hasn't a leg to stand on morally which will be the longest and hardest battle for us as a people and country to fight.

the Dutch are surprised that an American politician and especially a guy like Rick Santorum would lie? Well, get over it! A Fox News anchor recently reported that, "There was no terrorist attack on America while George Bush was President." I think that Europeans, who are held accountable for public lying are taken aback by the lack of punishment for the outright slander and libel perpetrated by the Republican Party and their Bible Thumping, Far Right Wing Fanatical, Wide Stance, Tea Bagging, Sheep sheared base. The GOP is a dying political force in the last throes of deceit, treachery and treason.

I got cut off in repairing where some comments didn't post. Basically. we became a radically less humane society under whoever was telling Ronald Reagan what to do. Closing our mental hospitals put masses of ill people on the street who are a danger to themselves and others, most were veterans with PTSD but they went to the cities so middle America wasn't affected and denied the truth of it. This set the stage for a lame leader, Geo H.W. Bush to spend money, call on generational friends of the family to get his problem loser son, Junior, who H. W. had to hide cocaine charges about, into the White House, the last job in the world an addict should have and Junior continued his weakness of character showning ZERO concern for the average person and less than that to Katrina victims but damn well got the Bin Ladens out of the country and avoided the fact that the 9/11 terrorists were citizens of close family friends, the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. We sold our humanity and souls for oil and gold for a handful of people who have no loyalty to anyone or anything but themselves.

dadoftim-

Know a lot about pacemakers and cardio-thorasic care do you? You should add another layer of foil to your hat. Some of the crazy is still getting through.

I think I "know" as much about it as Obama, who made the statement. I have no need for "tin foil" as I don't drink the "kool aide" speaking of which maybe its time for you to "go on the wagon".

Almost?

yes, a three O-ring circus, lubricated with a nice frothy batch of santorum.

Better than cartoons even...

Exactly! Who says that we should force people at the end of their life cycle to suffer needlessly? For what? A couple weeks or months of intense pain and suffering? Because some archaic book written and edited by MEN over thousands of years tell you so? At least those in the Netherlands have gotten past such selfishness, and realize that its quality, not quantity of life that counts.

Now poor Hans will have to keep a finger in the dyke, to hold the sea back, and a foot in Santorum's mouth to hold back the lies. My guess is that the finger will win.

Where can I get a "Don't Euthanize Me" bracelet? Bumper sticker? This will be a must have for the 2012 race if Santorum is the GOP candidate!

Abby,

I agree with you for the most part, but Sick Rick's thinking is more closely related to 12th Century. !5th century science was far ahead of the Rickster.

Oh yeah! Where can i get one of those "Don't Euthanize Me" Bumber stickers. I want to put it next to my "I am a voting member of the Death Panel" bumper sticker on my car.

He sho has purty teeth for puttin his feet in his mouth so often..

really, "obooboo". Seriously. So its worse to misspeak a number then to outright, flatly lie and make @#$% up out of nowhere. I bet your a good christian too aren't you?

nycguy,,,,,,,,A perfect example of how an idiot will believe anything, Regardless of how ridiculas

actually, I think Romney is the worst out of the remaining four. Santorum very smoothly spun off a lie. Romney: "I like firing people..." "I don't care about the poor..." " I'll bet you $10,000" That's just not thinking.

57 states? Where do you people come up with this stuff?

NYC,

Obama's academic credentials and intellectual capacity far surpass any of his possible opponents, even if the GOP convention produces someone other than those currently running for its nomination. He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School, one of the top three law schools in the country, and held the most intellectually prestigious position for a law student, Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Law Review.

Time and again he has stood before reporters and eloquently expressed himself. Just because Faux News prepared a phoney video of him, repeating the same 1/2 second verbal flub 20 times per minute doesn't mean he's incapable of being articulate. Perhaps you want us to return to the halcyon days of W, who proved himself capable of butchering the word "nuclear" (nucular) and inventing more words that don't exist than any of his predecessors?

What is the fixation with a teleprompter? Everyone uses teleprompters. Everyone, that is that has a careful and specific point they want to make and has to give twenty different speeches a week.

We all see what happens when Rick "foamy" goes off prompter. We start talking about Satan, condoms, and death panels instead of jobs. Maybe Rick should think about that prompter one more time?

@ Radagast...no kidding. I seem to remember a teleprompter being on each side of the podium when the God - Oracle Reagan spoke yet they seem to forget about that.

@ Michael...my all time favorite video of Bush II was him ending his speech and walking smack dead into a closed door. I mean really...I glass door I could almost understand but a big honkin' wooden door closed right in front of him? That takes some serious talent!

Maybe Rick wouldn't sound so crazy if he would just have a bigger teleprompter, up his rectum.

besides Romney, wow the GOP sure can pick'em. Who is voting for these clowns? How blind do you have to be to see the GOP is a plutocracy? Plutocracy is a government run by the wealthy, for the wealthy.

If you vote Republican and are not a millionaire, you are voting against your own financial interests.

I suspect a good deal of non Fifth Avenue/South Hampton voters either have arterial flow problems, don't take their Lithium etc, are products of the most financially cut schools systems, Evangelical Charter schools or home schooled by fearful, mostly white, fundamental parents. 99.9% of the GOP policies and talking points point to these sources. I truely feel awful for the few Goldwater/Eisenhower Republicans out there. I pray you organize and take back your party.

Check out the "Kentucky Fried Mouse" New Youth N Asia Video...

Newt actually said something like that!? I believe it, but this is the first I've heard of it.

Yeah, I was kinda wondering how that "Thou shalt not bear false witness"-y thingy was workin' out for him...

Have you ever noticed that the people who are truly religious, no matter what faith they follow, don't need to walk around drawing attention to themselves and expect a pat on the back because they believe? Those like Santorum, Romney, Perry, Gingrich, etc. seem to need to talk about it all the time to convince themselves that they are. Maybe that's why they are so ignorant on what religion really symbolizes and continue to make fools out of themselves.

More of them need to memorize Matthew 6: 6-7 I for one am sick and tired of loud mouthed, lying hypocrites claiming to be spokesmen for Jesus Christ.

I for one hope he gets the nomination. Two good things will come out of that:

1) He will make Obama look good

2) It may finally convince the Republicans to dump the ignorant religious right.

Believe it or not, I want to have choices in 2016 (yes, I'm already writing off the R's in 2012). So if the R's run a complete nutjob in this cycle and get TROUNCED maybe they'll realize that they need to stop pandering to the lowest common denominator in their camp. Either that or risk disappearing as a viable party. I'm fine either way.

@JM -- You are a good-hearted optimist, but it seems that whenever you think the GOP can't trot out anything worse, they always surprise you (and I used to be a Republican!). I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they ran a rabid squirrel.

Unfortunately you seem to have missed the point entirely & I have no intention of trying to explain it to you (I suspect you don't have the IQ to grasp it & I know I don't have the time to try). Santorum continues to use the typical Republican technique of saying whatever makes headlines, never mind the facts. I believe it will be called "Bachmanizing" in the future.

@ White Lotus: Good thing it's not happening then, right?

If you don't want to read the article-Why comment?

Yes it is murder if it's not with consent. That is why this is about his comments about euthanasia in the Netherlands. It isn't about murder...you know, like when the insurance companies decide not to pay for needed medicines or treatment despite the person begging for help? Not that's another story...but this is about dignity and choices. Santorum just made up some more lies to fire up his base.

I had to try...your statement is correct but doesn't apply to the article at all.

Or about a certain governor (**cough cough** of Arizona!**cough cough**) taking people off transplant lists...

I'm still counting his 15 minutes, it's starting to feel like 15 days. At least he has a very clear vision of his foreign policy if he is elected; piss off all of our allies and declare holy war against all non-christian countries. Hee Haw!

Though it seems that every lunatic must have his/her moment during the Republican primaries, it's surprising how long this openly insane Santorum has lasted.

Santorum doesn't believe that people who have different beliefs than him, whether they live in America or elsewhere, have a right to make their own moral judgements or to pray the way they want to or to believe what they believe. He is the head of the US Taliban. If you don't believe what I believe and practice my religion they way I say it should be practiced, you have no right to live in my world.

Like all politicians who make wild promises they can never keep and say any lie to get elected, I don't take any of them too seriously. But the fact that Santorum has edged into the lead of the Republican pack worries me. Not that they might win, because if their choice is Santorum, it's already over. But two other things. One, that what Santorum says are not simply outright lies....the scary part is that he actually BELIEVES this stuff! And two, perhaps the scariest of all, there are people out there actually VOTING for this guy. And I'm afraid that they are people who ALSO BELIEVE the way he does. I know that there are Republicans who are repulsed by the fact that there is a Democrat in office. And there are racists who are repulsed by the fact that there is a black man in office. But there is no excuse for voting for Santorum....there are other candidates in the race. HOW can anybody vote for such a Dark Ages candidate unless THEY also think like they live in the Dark Ages? I'd rather vote for Romney and hand the country over to the intelligent 1% than to vote for Santorum and hand it over to the ignorant religious bigots!

Steel
I agree wholeheartedly. What worries me too is that because he is running for the Leader of the Free World, the rest of the world is watching. We have enough issues with our image around the world. We certainly don't need these guys adding this 'stuff'. What a laughing stock we have become.

note to santorum--- i suggest if traveling in the netherlands at some future date you wear one of those bracelets you describe indicating ''do not euthanize''-------with any luck they will ignore your instructions since you've given them sufficient provocation to do so . however they are civilized people and would follow the directions of the law and spare your stupid self.

I don't know, Santorum might be in danger in the Netherlands. After all, if he's right and they euthanize people who are mentally incapable of consent, Ole empty head Santorum may find himself in front of a death panel yet! He'd better make sure he brings a friend who can speak for him!

Amen to that! I too apologize to the Dutch people for this sorry lying lunatic and Sanctimonious barf who wants to be POTUS. Yes, by all means, you are welcome to state your criticism of this moron which I am sure is the truth. :D

I never would have believed I would see a day when I felt the need to apologize for my country and its politicians. I am sincerely sorry for what this man has said about the Netherlands.

Hopefully not until after he gets the Republic Party nomination--and loses 40 states in the general election...

Thank you very much for that clarification, hopefully what you stated has not changed over the years. I also would fear that with Santorum in the White House, womens rights would be curtailed thro I would question if it is a right to abort the unborn. And partial birth abortion is a horrible thing to imagine.

He's just has to stick his nose where it doesn't belong, just like in the US.

E. Jensen--"partial birth abortion" was typically performed when the fetus had no chance of surviving outside the womb (for example, the fetus had no brain--just a brain stem) or was already dead in the womb. The procedure was utilized so that the fetus would be born intact (versus being dismembered while still inside the womb--the practice used now) and the parents could hold the fetus, mourn him/her, and give him/her a dignified burial.

Not all fetuses work out--when one has access to ultrasound, one knows whether the fetus is still alive or whether the fetus has defects so severe that there is no possible chance for life. While I personally think that abortions of this nature should only be performed when there are multiple opinions from doctors and a ethics review board has made certain that the fetus is, in fact, not going to result in a live birth with a child who has a chance for some quality of life (one wouldn't want to allow it for a Down Syndrome child or one with a cleft palate) . . . and while I also believe that it should be permissible to induce labor at 7 months when the child is reasonably capable of life outside the womb and the mother does not want to continue the pregnancy (again, after review from an ethics board and with the stipulation that the mother, having put the child's life at risk, will have no custody nor will the father) . . . I don't agree with making blanket statements about a procedure that you don't understand.

E. Jensen, yes, those rules still are the same - I am Dutch, live in the US but was born and raised in the Netherlands. My brother is a physician in the Netherlands, and my sisters both are nurses there - I have some first-hand info about the laws, therefore. Here is the current page from the Dutch government:

My apologies - of course the site in in Dutch since it's meant for the Dutch population.

I think the US should follow the Dutch. I don't want to be kept alive in pain without any chance of getting better. We make some people suffer greatly for additional weeks or months.

But he's lyin' fer Jayzus, don't you know! The holy kind of lying!...

But I have to ask why James Dobson, the strawberry blond bigot, who sponsored Frothy's appearance seems to be getting a free pass. His spooky "Focus on the Family" program is carried by any number of radio stations. If Dobson is on one of your local radio stations, call them and tell them to cancel his prejudiced crap.

77401... you said it best. He touts he's a Catholic and per Catholic belief lying is a sin. Credibility issue assured, questionable character absolutely, accoutability seems he and Catholic priests have a lot in common. One can't help but wonder whose coaching who.

You don't get arrested for slander, you get sued. So...any attorneys up for taking Holland's case against Sanctimonium?...

Right now CAT we are up 28 to nothing. I hope some LAWER will help out.!

If it were true that you cannot just go around making stuff up and should be put in jail, Santorum would have plenty of company. Mitt would be the next name that comes to mind...and Sarah...and the nut jobs who came up with the libel about John Kerry...etc.

It's funny how ultra conservatives are against contraception and abortion and then rail about neglected welfare children. It is also curious how they are dead-set against assisted suicide but don't blink twice about cutting funding for Medicare. They new a new motto: Republicans - the pro-life party (as long as life starts at conception and ends at birth).

On a related note: if you are on the fence on right to die issues, watch the documentary "Frontline: The Suicide Tourist" and tell me if you are of the same opinion after that. You can find it on Netflix and Youtube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxQYTFIZi8A).

I for one would WELCOME the choice to check out with the assistance of a medical professional by my side.

War and capital punishment both kill innocent people.

A fertilized egg cannot be a person because it is not a corporation; according to the Supreme Court.

How is it possible that he beat out 100,000 other sperm cells?

the other sperms were even more defected

Gumps, thank you for the laugh. Wow, Nature is cruel.

Nice. ;-)

Nice. ;-)

Nice. ;-)