Schiavo vs. the big picture: Fiddling while Rome burns

A waitress in Miami, whose son died of cancer:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11183185.htm

The father of a 17-yr-old girl that was brain-dead after a car wreck:  http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/11191872.htm
He still resents Ashcroft's meddling.

The Nashua Advocate gets it: http://nashuaadvocate.blogspot.com/2005/03/in-terry-schiavo-case-republicans.html

Slate answers some questions, gives some data.

The Slate article has some numbers.  But how many parallel cases do hospitals encounter each year, how often are poor and minorities quietly denied expensive life-prolonging treatment, are parallel cases going on right now, how does Bush reconcile this with his Texas law, what about unfair incarceration, torture, extraordinary rendition?   And most importantly, what's being ignored during this circus?