Court rules that KBR employee’s gang rape wasn’t a personal injury ‘arising in the workplace.’
Court rules that KBR employee’s gang rape wasn’t a personal injury ‘arising in the workplace.’
In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. In an apparent attempt to cover up the incident, the company then put her in a shipping container for at least 24 hours without food, water, or a bed, and “warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.” Even more insultingly, the DOJ resisted bringing any criminal charges in the matter. KBR argued that Jones’ employment contract warranted her claims being heard in private arbitration — without jury, judge, public record, or transcript of the proceedings. After 15 months in arbitration, Jones and her lawyers went to court to fight the KBR claims. Yesterday, a court ruled in favor of Jones.” Mother Jones reports:
Jones argued that the alleged gang rape was not related to her employment and thus, wasn’t covered by the arbitration agreement. Finally, two years later, a federal court has sensibly agreed with her. Tuesday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2 to 1 ruling, found her alleged injuries were not, in fact, in any way related to her employment and thus, not covered by the contract.
One of the judges who ruled in her favor, Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale, is a West Point grad, Vietnam vet, and one of the court’s most conservative members, a sign, perhaps, of just how bad the facts are in this case. It’s a big victory, but a bitter one that shows just how insidious mandatory arbitration is. It’s taken Jones three years of litigation just to get to the point where she can finally sue the people who allegedly wronged her. It will be many more years before she has a shot at any real justice.
“We do not hold that, as a matter of law, sexual-assault allegations can never ‘relate to’ someone’s employment,” wrote the court. “For this action, however, Jones’ allegations do not ‘touch matters’ related to her employment, let alone have a ’significant relationship’ to her employment contract.
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Fox refuses to air ‘Family Guy’ abortion episode.
Fox refuses to air ‘Family Guy’ abortion episode.
The edgy comedy show “Family Guy” is known for its political incorrectness. It regularly features a sexual deviant character, put a McCain-Palin button on a character wearing an SS uniform, and has even taken shots at the Fox network. Only once has Fox refused to air one of the show’s episodes (“When You Wish Upon a Weinstein”). At Comic-Con this weekend, show creator Seth MacFarlane said that there will be soon be another; Fox is blocking an episode on abortion:
“20th Century Fox, as always, allowed us to produce the episode and then said, ‘You know what? We’re scared to f–king death of this,’” MacFarlane said.
MacFarlane later clarified his remarks, saying that he supports “whatever decision Fox makes.” Fox has said that although it will not air the episode, it will likely be distributed on DVD.
Jimmy Carter: ‘The words of God do not justify cruelty to women.’
Jimmy Carter: ‘The words of God do not justify cruelty to women.’
Former President Jimmy Carter, who in 2000 officially severed ties with the Southern Baptist Convention after the SBC declared its opposition to female pastors and reiterated its calls “for wives to be submissive to their husbands,” condemned the mistreatment of women by religious leaders, writing that “the words of God do not justify cruelty to women.” In an opinion piece published last weekend, entitled “Losing my Religion for Equality,” Carter said that a “twisted interpretation of the word of God” taught by male religious leaders has been used to justify the oppression of women:
The truth is that male religious leaders have had – and still have – an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions – all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views.
Although Carter severed ties with the SBC in a 2000 letter mailed to 75,000 Baptists, the former president “continued to serve as a deacon and Sunday school teacher at his local church” in Plains, GA, an SBC affiliate that in 2006 ordained former first lady Rosalynn Carter as a deacon. President Carter, a member of a group of retired statesmen formed by Nelson Mandela called “The Elders,” said last month that the group had concluded that religion has been “a basic cause of the foundational excuse” for “other dominant males to persecute or abuse or deprive women of their justifiable rights.”
‘Operation Rescue’ founder warns of ‘violent convulsions’ if health bill doesn’t ban abortions.
‘Operation Rescue’ founder warns of ‘violent convulsions’ if health bill doesn’t ban abortions.
Fresh off his claim that “[t]o refuse to filibuster [Sotomayor] is to bow in abject obedience to the Angel of Death,” Randall Terry, founder of the right-wing extremist group Operation Rescue, warns that his supporters may engage in violent acts of terrorism unless Congress prohibits abortion services from being covered in the new health reform legislation:
Background: It is clear that many elements in the pro-abortion congress and White House want to force Americans to pay for the murder of the unborn in their “healthcare” program. If that happens, it is tantamount to the government putting a gun to taxpayers’ heads to pay for the brutal murder of an innocent child. This is tyranny and evil of the highest order. . . .
“Nevertheless, the sheer horror and frustration of such an evil policy will lead some people to absolutely refuse to pay their taxes. And I believe — if my reading of history from America and around the world is correct — that there are others who will be tempted to acts of violence.
“If the government of this country tramples the faith and values of its citizens, history will hold those in power responsible for the violent convulsions that follow.” — Randall Terry
Terry is probably the first public figure to raise terrorism as a potential response to a health bill which allows Americans to keep the same access to reproductive care that they currently enjoy. Many conservative lawmakers, however, are pushing a poison pill amendment to the health reform package being considered by Congress that would forbid any plan offered within a national health insurance exchange from providing coverage for abortion services. 71% of Americans oppose an amendment, such as this one, which would cut off women’s access to reproductive care.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt suggests Obama’s mother wanted to abort him.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt suggests Obama’s mother wanted to abort him.
Speaking on the House floor yesterday, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) argued that low-income mothers of African-Americans — like President Barack Obama and Justice Clarence Thomas — would have aborted their children, if only the government had agreed to pay for it. To audible boos from his House colleagues, Tiahrt stated:
If you think of it in human terms, there is a financial incentive that would be put in place, paid for by tax dollars, that would encourage…single parents, living below the poverty level, to have the opportunity for a free abortion. If you take that scenario and apply it to many of the great minds we have today, who would we have been deprived of? Our President grew up in those similar circumstances. If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother might have taken advantage of it? Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court Justice, if those circumstances were in place, is it possible that we’d have been denied his great mind?
Watch it:
Setting aside Tiahrt’s questionable decision to list only African-Americans as candidates for retroactive abortion, Tiahrt also makes the misleading claim that “70% of Americans oppose using public funds for abortions.” In reality, current law allows Americans to pay for abortion through their health plans, and a recent poll shows that 71% of the country supports maintaining the status quo by permitting a public plan to cover reproductive services. Nevertheless, many Republicans are pushing a poison pill amendment that would forbid any plan offered within a national health insurance exchange from providing coverage for abortion services.
Grassley endorses caller’s pledge to forgo paying taxes if abortions are federally-funded.
Grassley endorses caller’s pledge to forgo paying taxes if abortions are federally-funded.
On C-Span’s Washington Journal this morning with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a caller referenced a question Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) posed to Judge Sonia Sotomayor during her Supreme Court nomination hearings yesterday in which Graham asked about taxpayer-funded abortions. “If the tax dollars do start going to fund abortions I am at this point going to refuse to pay my taxes,” the caller said, adding, “I would rather go to jail than have people take my tax dollars and kill innocent human beings.” “First of all,” Grassley replied, “I agree with you on your opinion.” Watch it:
Grassley has been the conservative leader in trying to take away abortion services from women who enter into a new national health care Exchange (which would be established if health reform passes). If Grassley prevails in this fight, “millions of women who have access to abortion services (through their employer) would suddenly lose it, should they chose to enroll in a new health care plan in the Exchange.”
Transcript: More »
Operation Rescue Founder Launches ‘Defeat Sotomayor’ Roadshow
Operation Rescue Founder Launches ‘Defeat Sotomayor’ Roadshow
Randall Terry, founder of the right-wing extremist group Operation Rescue, has announced a twelve-city tour intended to convince senators that “[t]o refuse to filibuster [Sotomayor] is to bow in abject obedience to the Angel of Death.” The graphic depicted to the right is taken from a flier promoting the event, which claims:
“We must stop permitting this hypocrisy, cowardice, and treachery in our midst. Pro-life voters are calling on pro-life Senators to filibuster Sotomayor.
“A Senator cannot say, ‘I want to overturn Roe,’ and then vote to confirm a Supreme Court Judge that will uphold Roe. A vote to confirm Sotomayor is a vote to uphold Roe.
“Many senators use pro-life rhetoric to seduce us; they get our money, our volunteer labor, and our votes. But once an election is over, they discard us like an embarrassing mistress. . . . Whether they ‘have the votes’ to sustain a filibuster or not, they need to fight to stop her, for the sake of the babies who will die under her judicial reign.“
Sadly, such rhetoric is relatively tame by Terry’s extremist standards. Terry refused to condemn the recent killing of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, instead calling him a “mass-murderer” who “did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God.” Terry also once went on the radio to pray for a Colorado abortion provider to be executed; two days later, that doctor was found dead.
Sally Kern Returns To Blame America’s ‘Economic Woes’ On ‘Same-Sex Marriage’ And ‘Abortion’
Sally Kern Returns To Blame America’s ‘Economic Woes’ On ‘Same-Sex Marriage’ And ‘Abortion’
Last year, Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern (R) drew well-deserved criticism for an outlandish rant against the gay community, in which she compared homosexuality to “toe cancer” and said “it’s the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.” “Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades. So it’s the death knell of this country,” said Kern. Listen here:
Though activists responded to her comments with protests, Oklahoma conservatives rallied around her, saying that they “stand with and support Sally.” Now, Kern is back, once again sparking controversy for her attacks on the LGBT community.
Kern is now pushing a “Oklahoma Citizen’s Proclamation for Morality” that blames America’s “economic woes” on “abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse ,and many other forms of debauchery”:
WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and
WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery;
Though Kern denies that her proclamation is timed to coincide with gay pride celebrations across the country, critics say otherwise. Kern’s proclamation specifically criticizes President Obama for recognizing June as LGBT Pride Month. “Whereas, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior,” reads the proclamation.
Watch an Oklahoma News 9 report on Kern’s proclamation:
ThinkProgress’s Amanda Terkel goes on MSNBC and weighs in on the Palin-Letterman fight.
ThinkProgress’s Amanda Terkel goes on MSNBC and weighs in on the Palin-Letterman fight.
This morning, ThinkProgress’s Amanda Terkel and Sabrina Schaeffer of the Independent Women’s Forum went on MSNBC to talk about the controversy between comedian David Letterman and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R). Both Terkel and Schaeffer said that Letterman’s jokes were inappropriate, but added that Palin should turn back to policy issues and not dwell on this controversy for too long. While Schaeffer said that there was a different standard for conservative and liberal women, Terkel pointed out that President Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, was also the target of frequent attacks (e.g. Rush Limbaugh calling her the “White House dog” when she was 13 years old). Watch it:
Bush DOJ Failed to Enforce Federal Law Protecting Abortion Providers from Anti-Abortion Extremists
Bush DOJ Failed to Enforce Federal Law Protecting Abortion Providers from Anti-Abortion Extremists
In the wake of the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion extremist, the very real problem of extremist violence against abortion providers and clinics has gained a fresh spotlight, even though that violence is not new. After the 1993 murder of an abortion provider, Dr. David Gunn, Congress passed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which made any use of “force, threat of force or physical obstruction” against doctors and patients a federal crime. The law was an attempt to put an end to the constant wave of death threats, acts of vandalism, and clinic bombings.
According to the National Abortion Federation, the “FACE law has had a clear impact on the decline in certain types of violence against clinics and providers, specifically clinic blockades.” Under the Bush Administration, however, criminal and civil enforcement of the law by the Department of Justice declined dramatically, the Washington Independent’s Daphne Eviatar reports:
The day after Dr. George Tiller was murdered, TWI obtained data revealing that under the Bush administration, criminal enforcement of the federal law designed to protect abortion providers and clinics had declined by more than 75 percent over the last eight years.
But there’s also a civil component to that federal law, known as the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act. That part of the law allows the attorney general to seek an injunction and compensatory damages for anyone who’s been harmed by any activity that violates the law. And it turns out that the Department of Justice over the last eight years didn’t use that part of the law to protect abortion providers, either.
Eviatar found that, according to DOJ statistics, the Bush Administration “brought only about two criminal prosecutions per year in the entire country under the FACE Act, and never more than four in any single year.” In contrast, under President Clinton the Justice Department “prosecuted 17 defendants for violations of the FACE Act in 1997 alone, and an average of about 10 per year since the law was enacted in 1994.” Evitar reports though that the Bush Justice Department had an even more abysmal record of enforcing the civil component of the FACE Act:
Yet despite these broad powers that Congress granted the attorney general in 1994 to prevent and combat violence against abortion clinics and providers, the Bush administration almost never used them. From 2000 until 2008, during the eight years of the Bush administration, the Justice Department filed only one civil case under the FACE Act. From 1994 until 1999, in contrast, in just five years of the Clinton administration, the Department filed 17 civil cases under the FACE Act — in addition to its much heavier load of criminal cases that we’ve reported before.
Between 2000 and 2008, the National Abortion Federation recorded 3,291 acts of violence against abortion providers and “at least 17 cases of ‘extreme’ violence against abortion providers in the United States, such as arson, stabbing and bomb attacks.” However, the Bush Administration’s Department of Justice “prosecuted only 11 individuals for any acts of violence against abortion clinics or providers.”
Operation Rescue interested in buying Dr. Tiller’s clinic.
Operation Rescue interested in buying Dr. Tiller’s clinic.
After the brutal assassination of Dr. George Tiller, his family discussed closing down his controversial abortion clinic. Surprisingly, anti-choice group Operation Rescue — which had made closing down Tiller’s clinic one if its main goals — opposed the move. “Good God, do not close this abortion clinic for this reason,” said president Troy Newman. “Every kook in the world will get some notion.” However, yesterday, the Tiller family announced that the clinic will be “permanently closed.” Kate Klonick observes that “it seems like Newman isn’t quite as upset by the means of closing the clinic — at least not upset enough not to see his movement profit from it.” From the Kansas City Star:
Operation Rescue president Troy Newman said that his group has discussed the idea of buying the tan, windowless clinic in east Wichita. He made the comment after the Tiller family announced that the clinic would be closed permanently.
“I would love to make an offer on that abortion clinic, and that’s some of the discussion that we’re having,” Newman said in a telephone interview Tuesday from his group’s headquarters in Wichita.
It’s unclear for what purpose Operation Rescue would use the clinic. (HT: Yglesias)
O’Reilly: I never called Tiller ‘Dr. Killer.’
O’Reilly: I never called Tiller ‘Dr. Killer.’
Last night, Bill O’Reilly took issue with a recent San Francisco Chronicle article that pointed out that O’Reilly had referred to the late Dr. George Tiller as ‘Dr. Killer.’ “Transcripts prove what reporter Joe wrote was false,” O’Reilly said. In fact, O’Reilly did refer to Tiller as ‘Dr. Killer’ on June 2.
O’REILLY: In order to terminate a life, that has to be catastrophic. And I think it has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, in Dr. Killer’s case, that wasn’t what he was doing. But Ms. Ireland, we appreciate you coming him on.
IRELAND: You call him Dr. Killer, and he was murdered. And I think that that is…just outrageous.
Watch a compilation:
While his June 2 remark appears to have been inadvertent, O’Reilly often referred to Tiller as “Tiller the baby killer” prior to his murder.
Tiller’s accused killer claims that more anti-abortion violence is ‘planned around the country.’
Tiller’s accused killer claims that more anti-abortion violence is ‘planned around the country.’
This past weekend, abortion providers from across the country gathered in Wichita, Kan. to attend the funeral the of Dr. George Tiller, who was murdered last month. On the same weekend, the man accused of murdering Tiller told the AP that “similar violence was planned around the nation for as long as the procedure remained legal”:
Scott Roeder called The Associated Press from the Sedgwick County jail, where he’s being held on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the shooting of Dr. George Tiller one week ago.
“I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal,” Roeder said. When asked by the AP what he meant and if he was referring to another shooting, he refused to elaborate further.
It wasn’t clear whether Roeder knew of any impending violence or whether he was simply seeking publicity for his cause. Law enforcement authorities including the Justice Department said they didn’t know whether the threat was credible.
The Justice Department told the AP that Roeder’s “threat was being taken seriously and additional protection had been ordered for abortion clinics.” Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder dispatched U.S. Marshalls to protect “appropriate people and facilities around the nation” in the wake of Tiller’s murder.
Limbaugh: I Could Support Sotomayor If I Became Convinced That She’s Anti-Choice
Limbaugh: I Could Support Sotomayor If I Became Convinced That She’s Anti-Choice
Just hours after President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh accused her of being a racist and demanded that conservatives oppose her nomination. But in a little noticed portion of his radio show yesterday, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh highlighted the fact that Sotomayor is a Catholic whose views on abortion are not well-known. Limbaugh suggested that, if he becomes convinced that she is anti-choice, he would consider supporting her nomination. Sotomayor “might be the biggest hope for overturning Roe v. Wade down the line,” he said:
We know she’s Catholic. We also know she has no record on abortion. Sonia Sotomayor being Catholic and having not said a word about abortion, I find that interesting. All libs who want to go anywhere in liberalism are pro-choice and they make no bones about it, she hasn’t said a word about it, which could mean that her private feelings are she’s pro-life.
If I could be convinced that Sonia Sotomayor might be the biggest hope for overturning Roe v. Wade down the line, then I might be persuaded to look at her nomination in a different light. I’m serious. I’m dead serious. I’m dead serious. Life, preserving life, to me, is a far more important issue — we can deal with the racism and the bigotry, that can be canceled out by other justices and so forth.
Limbaugh reiterated this argument again today on his radio show, saying, “She would be the sixth Catholic on the Supreme Court. … She’s a Catholic, a devout Catholic, she hasn’t got a record on [abortion] … I can see a possibility of supporting this nomination if I can be convinced that she does have a sensibility towards life.” According to Limbaugh, the fact that she is Puerto Rican, makes it even more likely that she is “devout.” Watch it:
Limbaugh’s hope that Sotomayor will allow the anti-choice stance of the Catholic church to influence her rulings in the court room is a direct contradiction of his insistence last week that Sotomayor’s nomination must be stopped by conservatives because, as he argued, she would allow her personal experiences to influence her rulings from the bench:
RUSH: Have you seen, and do you remember if you have seen it a picture of the lady holding the scales of justice? Do you know what’s remarkable about the lady in that rendering? She’s blindfolded. She doesn’t know whether the people before her… Justice does not know whether the people before it are black, white, Hispanic, male, female, rich, poor, Martian, or whatever. There is nothing about Sonia Sotomayor that is blindfolded where justice is concerned.
Apparently in Limbaugh’s view, when judges allow their religious backgrounds to directly influence their rulings in ways conservatives view favorably, it’s blind justice. When judges remark that being a minority can give individuals perspective on the impact of their rulings, it’s racism.
Ingraham and O’Reilly joke that MSNBC and liberal blogs are responsible for attack on Army recruiting center.
Ingraham and O’Reilly joke that MSNBC and liberal blogs are responsible for attack on Army recruiting center.
Yesterday, “[a] 23-year-old man upset about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan opened fire from his truck at two soldiers standing outside a military recruiting station here on Monday morning, killing one private and wounding another.” In response, conservative talker Laura Ingraham suggested that websites and news outlets that have been critical of the war in Iraq were responsible for the obviously horrible attack. Her guest Bill O’Reilly seemed to agree with her tongue-in-cheek reasoning:
INGRAHAM: Are we now going to look at the websites that he frequented to see if he was on some of the crazy left-wing anti-war websites, Win Without War, George Soros-funded websites, DailyKos, all the crazies. … The way they are reporting on the George Tiller murder, all of talk radio was responsible for that. … Did he frequent MSNBC, did he like to watch it? [...]
O’REILLY: Since they have been unrelenting in describing their country as a torture nation, I’m sure that set this muslim guy off to kill one and wound another of our military and I’m sure that’s NBC’s fault. Look, the absurdity of this is beyond the pale.
Listen to a compilation here:
These commentators weren’t criticizing O’Reilly and groups like Operation Rescue simply because they are opposed to abortion. Many right-wing activists used words like “murderer” and “killer” when they criticized Tiller’s abortion practices. O’Reilly, in particular, sent his producers to ambush Tiller and said that anyone who didn’t “stop” Tiller would have “blood on their hands.”
O’Reilly Responds To The Tiller Murder: ‘No Backpedaling Here…Every Single Thing We Said About Tiller Was True’
O’Reilly Responds To The Tiller Murder: ‘No Backpedaling Here…Every Single Thing We Said About Tiller Was True’
After yesterday’s brutal shooting of George Tiller, a Kansas doctor who administered abortions, many anti-choice groups quickly condemned the murder and attempted to separate themselves from the actions of the killer. Even Operation Rescue, which made Tiller a special target of its harassment over the years, denounced the killing as “vigilantism” and a “cowardly act.”
Fox News host Bill O’Reilly had also singled out Tiller in the past. According to Salon, O’Reilly first discussed Tiller on Feb. 25, 2005, and subsequently did 28 more episodes mentioning the doctor. When Fox News announced that O’Reilly would be making his first comments on Tiller since his murder, some journalists believed that O’Reilly would “most certainly decry” the killing.
At the top of his Talking Points segment, O’Reilly did briefly say, “Americans should condemn the murder of Dr. George Tiller,” but he then quickly segued into more attacks on Tiller. He also used the opportunity to attack his critics, saying they were trying to “exploit” the incident to attack Fox News. In particular, he singled out the writings of Helen Kennedy of the New York Daily News, Mary Mapes on the Huffington Post, Mike Hendricks of the Kansas City Star, Markos Moulitsas of DailyKos. O’Reilly blasted liberals who were “very very sympathetic” to Tiller and said one of the first things that he thought of when he heard the news of the killing was…himself:
When I heard about Tiller’s murder, I knew pro-abortion zealots and Fox News haters would attempt to blame us for the crime, and that’s exactly what has happened. [...]
No backpedaling here, madam [Mary Mapes]. Unlike you, I report honestly. Every single thing we said about Tiller was true, and my analysis was based on those facts. [...]
Now, it’s clear that the far left is exploiting — exploiting — the death of the doctor. Those vicious individuals want to stifle any criticism of people like Tiller. That — and hating Fox News — is the real agenda here. Finally, if these people are soooo compassionate — so very compassionate, so concerned for the rights and welfare of others — maybe they might have written something, one thing, about the 60,000 fetuses that will never become American citizens. Or am I wrong?
Watch it:
Besides repeatedly referring to the doctor as “Tiller the Baby Killer,” what are some of the factual statements O’Reilly has made about Tiller over the years?
– “If you want to kill a baby, you hire Tiller. You’ve got to pay him $5,000 up front, and he’ll kill the baby.”
– “No question Dr. Tiller has blood on his hands.”
– “Dr. George Tiller destroys fetuses for just about any reason, right up until the birth date.”
– “This man executes babies that are about to be born.”
– “This is the kind of stuff happened in Mao’s China, Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union.”
In the past, O’Reilly has sent out producer Jesse Watters to ambush Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) and ask her about Tiller. Although many people disagreed with what Tiller did, as President Obama responded, such differences “cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.” “[T]he same bullet that killed George Tiller also shattered the moral underpinnings of the movement that inspired its firing,” wrote Hendricks.
Following Criticism For His Demonization Of George Tiller, O’Reilly To Address The Murder Tonight
Following Criticism For His Demonization Of George Tiller, O’Reilly To Address The Murder Tonight
Yesterday, after the news broke that George Tiller, a Kansas doctor who administered abortions, had been murdered while attending church, The American Prospect’s Ann Friedman pointed out that Tiller had been the target of “an ongoing campaign of intimidation and harassment” by anti-choice activists. The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan and Salon’s Gabriel Winant both quickly noted that one of the most prominent voices in the demonization of Tiller was Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly.
According to Winant, O’Reilly first discussed Tiller on Feb. 25, 2005 and followed it up with 28 more episodes that mentioned the doctor. In the past four years, O’Reilly described the doctor as “Tiller the Baby Killer” and “a moral equivalent to NAMBLA and al-Qaida.” “This is the kind of stuff happened in Mao’s China, Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union,” said O’Reilly on one show.
Jed Lewison has put together compilation of O’Reilly’s attacks on Tiller over the years. Watch it:
As Winant points out, O’Reilly’s rhetoric against Tiller was most troubling when he said that anyone who didn’t “stop” him would have “blood on their hands“:
This is where it gets most troubling. O’Reilly’s language describing Tiller, and accusing the state and its elites of complicity in his actions, could become extremely vivid. On June 12, 2007, he said, “Yes, I think we all know what this is. And if the state of Kansas doesn’t stop this man, then anybody who prevents that from happening has blood on their hands as the governor does right now, Governor Sebelius.”
Three days later, he added, “No question Dr. Tiller has blood on his hands. But now so does Governor Sebelius. She is not fit to serve. Nor is any Kansas politician who supports Tiller’s business of destruction. I wouldn’t want to be these people if there is a Judgment Day. I just — you know … Kansas is a great state, but this is a disgrace upon everyone who lives in Kansas. Is it not?“
TVNewser reports that O’Reilly “will give his first public comment on Dr. Tiller’s murder” on his show tonight. As Winant notes, O’Reilly can be expected to condemn the murder and “genuinely mean” it. But will O’Reilly admit that his rhetoric was “sensationally irresponsible?”
Operation Rescue Tries To Distance Itself From Roeder’s Activities On Behalf Of The Group
Operation Rescue Tries To Distance Itself From Roeder’s Activities On Behalf Of The Group
Yesterday, 51-year-old man named Scott Roeder gunned down George Tiller, a Kansas doctor who administered abortions, as he stood in the foyer of his church. As PFAW noted, Tiller had “long been the most prominent target of anti-abortion activists in this country due to the fact that he was one of the few physicians in the country willing to perform ‘late-term’ abortions.”
Shortly after news broke of the killing, Troy Newman, President of the anti-choice group Operation Rescue, issued a statement condemning Roeder’s actions: “We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller’s family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ.”
However, veteran anti-abortion activist Randall Terry — who founded Operation Rescue — issued a statement calling Tiller a “mass murderer,” adding that he was an “evil man” whose “hands were covered with blood.” “We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches,” he said.
Operation Rescue’s protests were often far from peaceful. Tiller had to be protected by federal marshals and his clinic was fortified by bulletproof glass and security guards. Operation Rescue’s 1991 protests drew “thousands of anti-abortion activists to this city for demonstrations marked by civil disobedience and mass arrests.”
Roeder, in fact, had been an active member of the Operation Rescue community and used the group as a platform for his vigilantism. (Authorities found a Post-It note with the group’s phone number in his car after the shooting.) This morning, Operation Rescue President Troy Newman issued a new statement, trying to distance his group even further from Roeder’s actions:
Scott Roeder has never been a member, contributor, or volunteer with Operation Rescue. Mr. Roeder may have posted to our open blog web site, as have thousands of members of the public, including those with pro-abortion views, but he is not affiliated with this organization. [...]
In spite of these horrific events, we remain dedicated to working through all peaceful and legal means available to bring an end to the killing of innocent children through abortion.
In May 2007, Operation Rescue organized a “77-hour round the clock prayer vigil” in Wichita, KS, Tiller’s hometown. “Let’s keep the pressure on George Tiller and the authorities until they are willing to bring him to justice!” read the announcement for the event. On May 19, Roeder commented on the thread, chillingly urging Operation Rescue members to take the fight inside Tiller’s church:
Bleass [sic] everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp. Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tillers church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the Pastor, Deacons, Elders and members while there? Doesn’t seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller.
Hunter at DailyKos also caught a “Scott Roeder” commenting on another Operation Rescue site, Charge Tiller, which has since been taken down. On Sept. 3, 2007, Roeder stepped up the violence in his rhetoric, writing:
It seems as though what is happening in Kansas could be compared to the “lawlessness” which is spoken of in the Bible. Tiller is the concentration camp “Mengele” of our day and needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgement [sic] upon our nation.
As Mike Hendricks of the Kansas-City Star wrote yesterday, Operation Rescue couldn’t have been “shocked” by Tiller’s death. After all, it was that group that coined the name “Tiller the Killer” and “spent decades fomenting hate toward a man who simply believed that he was serving a purpose by being one of the few doctors in the country performing late-term abortions.” “His accomplices know they have blood on their hands, which might explain why they were quick to issue statements…expressing disapproval of Tiller’s murder,” added Hendricks.
Right-wing hate reacts to murder of Dr. George Tiller.
Right-wing hate reacts to murder of Dr. George Tiller.
Earlier today, George Tiller, a Kansas doctor who administered abortions, was murdered “as he stood in the foyer of his church.” Tiller, who frequently wore a bullet-proof vest for protection, was shot and killed by an assailant, purported to be a 51-year old man named Scott Roeder. The killing comes only two months after he was found not guilty of performing illegal late-term abortions. People For The American Way’s right-wing watch blog notes that “those who had long targeted and demonized Tiller were quick to issue statements,” including this one by Randall Terry which essentially blamed Tiller for his own murder:
George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller’s killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder.
Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the Law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches.
Some pro-life groups have been quick to denounce the murder. Attorney General Eric Holder said “the murder of Doctor George Tiller is an abhorrent act of violence. … As a precautionary measure, we will also take appropriate steps to help prevent any related acts of violence from occurring.” And President Obama released a statement expressing his shock and outrage. “However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence,” Obama said.
“He died the way he lived.” “His was a bloody death.” Rev Rusty Thomas, Operation Save America (OSA) Someone “chose” to end George Tiller’s life this morning, in his church.John Amato, Andrew Sullivan, Amy Sullivan, and Gabriel Winant have more.
Santorum: ‘Conservatives believe in the stewardship of patrimony.’
Santorum: ‘Conservatives believe in the stewardship of patrimony.’
Last night on Fox News, former senator Rick Santorum told Greta Van Susteren that the Republican party “has to stand up for conservative principles.” They have to support the “patrimony” against “a guy named Barack Obama” who wants to upend “our social structure”:
SANTORUM: The other thing we have to do is we have to stand up and say, look, America — Conservatives believe in the stewardship of patrimony. In other words, there are things in America that are really good, that work, have worked for 200 years. And we have a guy named Barack Obama who’s trying to fundamentally rewrite everything, change our economy, change our social structure, change our economy to something new.
Santorum also praised the 75 percent of Californians who did not vote in yesterday’s special election, “because they knew enough that they didn’t know enough to vote.” Watch it:
Part of that “patrimony” that has “worked for 200 years” — besides limited franchise — is apparently the subjugation of women. Santorum has declared that birth control is “harmful to women” and “harmful to society.” And in his book, “It Takes A Family,” he railed against “radical feminists” who “succeeded in undermining the traditional family and convincing women that professional accomplishments are the key to happiness.”
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