Right to Die
MARCH 18, 2005 - After 15 years of living in a persistent
vegetative state and a seven-year legal battle, Terry Schiavo's feeding tube
was removed. Schaivo had collapsed in her home from a heart attack on February 25, 1990, which resulted in severe brain damage. Over the next
several years she underwent multiple therapeutic treatments, none of which were
successful. In 1998, her husband and guardian, Michael Schiavo, attempted to
have her removed from life support. Terry's parents objected and filed suit to
block Michael's request. Over the next seven years the case drew a great deal
of media attention and ultimately action by the Florida legislature, the U.S. Congress and President
George W. Bush. Despite their attempts to keep Terry on life support, the courts
ordered the feeding tubes to be removed. She died 13 days later.
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Closing the Rock
 MARCH 21, 1963 -
The Federal penitentiary located on Alcatraz
Island in San
Francisco Bay
closed. The island had served as a military prison since as early as 1861 and
became a Federal prison in 1934. Its residents included such riff-raff as Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly and Alvin Karpis. The several factors that
contributed to its closing included the expense of operation (it cost nearly
$10 per prisoner per day, as opposed to $3 per prisoner per day at Atlanta)
and the deterioration of the buildings. During the prison's 29 years
of service no inmates ever successfully escaped, although 36 prisoners
were in involved in 14 attempts, with two men trying twice. The most
violent attempt, known as the Battle of Alcatraz, claimed the lives of two
guards and three prisoners and required the assistance of two Marine platoons
to resolve. |
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Star Wars
MARCH 23, 1983 -
President Ronald Reagan proposed a space-based nuclear missile
defense system called the Strategic Defense Initiative with the goal of making
nuclear weapons "impotent and obsolete." The focus of the initiative was on defense as opposed to the prior strategic offense doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction. It was widely criticized as being unrealistic and unscientific and
was nicknamed " Star Wars." The program
continues to operate today under the Missile Defense Agency and has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to "hit a bullet with a bullet." In fact, the controversial technology came to the rescue in February 2008 when it was used to successfully
shoot down a wayward satellite before it could crash to Earth. |
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The Army's King
MARCH 24, 1958 - Roc  k 'n' Roll star Elvis Presley entered two-years of service in the U.S. Army. Presley had come to national fame in 1956 and had several number-one
hits when he was drafted in December 1957. His entry into the service was
deferred for a few months so he could finish filming King Creole, his fourth film. Elvis insisted that he did not
want special treatment in the Army. Fellow soldiers later attested to Presley's
wish to be seen, despite his fame, as an able, ordinary soldier, and to his
generosity while in the service. He donated his Army pay to charity, purchased
television sets for the base, and bought an extra set of fatigues for everyone
in his outfit. His record label continued to release prior recordings during
his two-year military hiatus, and Presley had 10 top-40 hits between induction
and discharge. |
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Did You Know?
Hirschi Law Group offers estate planning services, including Living Wills, a document that Mrs. Schiavo unfortunately did not have in place.
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Heath is suffering from
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"I call upon the scientific community who gave us nuclear weapons to turn
their great talents to the cause of mankind and world peace."
- President Ronald Reagan
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