Just say 'no', Canada

So, last night on Twitter, SUZYALLCAPSLOCK, as @roseblue, was squatting on the #M312 (Woodworth's Wank) hashtag in a prolonged fit of echolalia, obsessively repeating her mantra: 'It is *so* human. It's a fact.' Over and over and over again.

I got a little annoyed and decided to post links to Canadian Cynic's scathing take-down of her endorsement this past January of a USian hit list for abortion providers. SHE thinks we should have one here too. I thought that maybe people on the fence on M312 ('what's the harm in discussing when life begins?') might be interested in the sort of person who is fanatically in favour of it. And, in particular, what a lying, eliminationist nutbar SHE is.

By the way, I think desperation is setting in to the pro-M312 camp as they realize the truth of what Chantal Hébert said on May 11. They are going to lose. Big. Time.

A defeat this time — at the hands of the most socially-conservative friendly majority government in decades — would be a crushing blow to the anti-abortion cause.

It could be construed as its biggest setback since the Supreme Court ruling.

Given the active opposition of the prime minister to the motion, it would likely put the issue to rest at least in Parliament and, if not for all time, at least for the rest of his term in office.

This morning it dawned on me that today is the *third* anniversary of the assassination of Dr George Tiller. A man who had been targetted and hit-listed by the very group behind the new hit list SHE endorses. His murderer was, in fact, aided by a member of Operation ReScum.

What do we call that again? Oh yeah. Terrorism enabling.

While we in Canada have our insane fetus fetishists, overall we are not nearly as nutz as the US.

And we are not nutz because, well, we're Canadian, but also because abortion is a settled matter here.

Settled. As in, been there, done that.

No abortion doctors or clinics have been attacked here for years and years.

Let's keep it that way. Don't let the terrorism enablers have a platform for their hate and insanity.

Fuck the debate.

Clue for the Clueless

So, how did Operation ReScum get all that information for its nationwide anti-abortion hit list?

From: Philadelphia Weekly

Last year, in the wake of the arrest of Kermit Gosnell, Operation Rescue came to town. They met in the basement of St. Agnes Church in West Chester. As PW reported in March, the militant anti-abortion organization was there recruiting volunteers to gather doctors’ names and schedules by pretending to be mothers of daughters who were seeking abortions. Volunteers were told they’d find it surprisingly easy to lie, and that the Holy Spirit would tell them what to say. It was described as playing a fun detective game.

Whee! Let's play 'Target Doctors and Clinic Staff for Assassination'! It'll be FUN!

They could make a board game out of it.

'I got it, I got it! Is it Paul Hill with a shotgun in the parking lot?'

'No, no, I got it! Is it Scott Roeder with a handgun in the church lobby?'

'Wait, I got it. Is it James Kopp with a sniper rifle in the kitchen?'

No, the next assassin won't be any of those. It will be a new player. Emboldened and enabled by these domestic terrorists.

Nationwide Anti-Abortion Hit List

Rachel Maddow catches us up on two recent Fetus Lobby moves in the Excited States -- both terrifying.




I won't link to Operation Re-Scum, but here's a description from Ms. Magazine.

Operation Rescue, an extremist anti-abortion group, has launched a website - abortiondocs.org - which lists the photographs and addresses of abortion providers, as well as maps to find their places of business. The website, which describes itself as the "largest collection of documents on America's abortion cartel," aims to list every abortion provider in the country.

Kathy Spillar, executive vice president of the Feminist Majority Foundation and co-founder of the National Clinic Access Project, stated, "What causes us real concern is fear of where this could be headed. It opens the possibility that some so-called 'grass-roots activist,' who does believe in the use of violence, will be able to use this as a tool for stalking doctors, which has happened."

Rachel Maddow remarked on her show on MSNBC last night that website is Operation Rescue's attempt to take individual WANTED posters, which she described as "a tried and true means of intimidation for the anti-abortion movement," to a national level through the web. She stated, this is "an extremist movement with a history of violence taking something that is arguably criminal and trying to make it more mainstream and national."

And oh yeah, Dr LeRoy Carhart -- the subject of an OScum 'research project' -- is on the list.

Rachel also brings us up to date on the most recent Looney Tunes ReThuglican debate, sponsored by Personhood USA.

Here at DJ!, we've written about the Humpty Dumpty Initiative a few times. These are the nutbars who want a fertilized human egg declared a 'person', thus not only outlawing all abortions, but endangering birth control, emergency contraception, and in-vitro techniques. Also possibly criminalizing miscarriage and spreading the application of child endangerment laws back to second 1.

Basically, you know, shoving the government up every uterus in Merka.

Yabbut, I hear you saying, this dealie recently failed a referendum in ultra-conservative Mississippi, didn't it? So, like, there's nothing to worry about, just a bunch of nutters, right?

Wrong. Rachel points out that while Mississippi -- arguably the most conservative state down there -- rejected this insanity, EVERY SINGLE ONE of the ReThug candidates has endorsed it.

Let me repeat that -- EVERY SINGLE ONE.

There you have it, fans of sense and reason. This is the atmosphere into which a nationwide, online, anti-abortion Hit List has been injected.

Someone -- a doctor, nurse, clinic worker, patient, bystander -- is going to be killed. And it probably won't be long now.

h/t RH Reality Check

Anti-Abortion Terrorism, Part Umpty-Zillion

This is the face of anti-abortion terrorism. Meet Bobby Joe Rogers.



(Man, that's some hard-living 41-year-old.)

Authorities arrested an Alabama man Thursday on federal charges of setting a New Year's fire that gutted a Florida Panhandle abortion clinic long targeted by violence and protests.

Bobby Joe Rogers, 41, of Tuscaloosa was charged with violating federal explosives laws and is being held at the Escambia County Jail pending indictment, the state fire marshal's office said. It was not immediately known if he had a lawyer. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The office said tips from the Pensacola community led to Rogers' arrest.

This clinic has been the site of two murders and a bombing.

July 29, 1994: Dr. John Britton and James Barrett, a clinic escort, were both shot to death outside another facility in Pensacola. Rev. Paul Jennings Hill was charged with the killings. Hill received a death sentence and was executed on September 3, 2003.

December 25, 1984: An abortion clinic and two physicians' offices in Pensacola, Florida were bombed in the early morning of Christmas Day by a quartet of young people (Matt Goldsby, Jimmy Simmons, Kathy Simmons, Kaye Wiggins) who later called the bombings "a gift to Jesus on his birthday."

Good on the people of Pensacola (aka, to anyone who's been there, 'Asshole of Florida') for turning him in.

And good on the cops for quick work.

These terrists need to know they're going to get caught.

UPDATE: Domestic terrorist's motivation:

Authorities say a homeless man charged Thursday with setting a New Year's Day fire that gutted a family planning clinic told investigators he acted out of a strong disbelief in abortion and was also fueled by seeing a young woman enter the clinic while he looked on recently with protesters.

'Protesters', aka 'clinic harassers', aka 'terrorism enablers'.

Race and Abortion in Amerika

I have a USian friend who keeps telling me I will never understand US politics or society until I understand how deeply deeply racist the place is.

I think she's right, because I continue to be gobsmacked.

Last year, I blogged on the fetus fetishists' descent into race politics.

They're at it again, focusing on African Americans and Latinos, as having disproportional abortion rates because they are targeted by the abortion 'industry' because the abortion industry is engaged in enthusiastic genocide. (I'm getting sick of the quotes. Take 'em as read.)

These operations usually have an organization or individual belonging to the targeted group as front men. So, natch, they couldn't possibly be racist, could they?

So, how 'bout this new one, fans of equality?



ALCU says:

No matter how you feel about abortion, we should all be able to agree that a black woman who has had an abortion should not be singled out and degraded like this as a means of advancing an ideological agenda. From forced sterilizations to the experiments at Tuskegee, there is a long and disgraceful history in this country of regulating and exploiting black women's and men's bodies and basic dignity. By suggesting that black women and families cannot be trusted, and their decisions about childbearing must be regulated and controlled for their own good, these billboards are a part of the same pattern of denigration and oppression.

Nah. Not racist, atall atall.

Wait. It gets worse. What follows makes NO sense. (Though I'd be grateful if someone hit me with a clue-bat.)

I've been meaning to write about a spate of anti-abortion films, and I may yet, but news of this one is smacking me in the gob again.

It's called 'Gates of Hell' and here's the plot synopsis with a trailer there too.

Three years in the making, "Gates of Hell" is a documentary from the year 2016 that chronicles the crimes of a band of domestic terrorists known as the Zulu 9. Finnish filmmaker Ani Juva travels to the United States to better understand the mysterious black power assassins, the unexpected eugenics conspiracy theory that drove them to commit extreme acts of violence and how America's political landscape was transformed overnight. Blending real history and real public figures with a fictitious (yet plausible) future, it is safe to say that you have never seen a film like "Gates of Hell".

Hell, indeed. I can barely imagine a film like that.

OK. Work with me.

In revenge for the abortion genocide perpetrated on African Americans, a gang of black power assassins targets abortion providers, resulting in extreme acts of violence. Dutifully and graphically portrayed, no doubt.

And this transforms the political landscape 'overnight' and Bingo! Presto! Abortion is ended.

Where to start?

First, has there ever been an African-American anti-abortion terrorist? The ones I know about have all been dweeby, pathetic, white male losers.

Projection, anyone? 'The blacks made me do it'? 'I did it for the black babies'?

Next, the actual dweeby pathetic white male loser assassins are NEVER called assassins by fetus fetishists. They're misguided loners. NOT, NO HOW, NEVER associated with ANY anti-choice group. They are smartly backed away from by the FFs.

But fictional African Americans who do the same thing are assassins. Not just assassins, but black power assassins. They commit crimes. They are domestic terrorists.

Butbutbut, they're good guys. They 'transform' USian society by killing abortion providers, some of whom must be non-African-American.

So. A race war in defense of the pre-born is a Good Thing.

I'm totally lost. There must be dog-whistles here. But they are obviously not aimed at me. Or sane people in general.

ADDED: You GOTTA read commenter Niles's deconstructions in the comments!

More Anti-Abortion Terrorism

I'm busy with work and revolution-watching, so I'll let Mother Jones do the reproductive rights blogging. They're good at it.

February's been a busy month in the war on reproductive rights. Last week, MoJo's Kate Sheppard broke the story about an effort in South Dakota to classify the murder of abortion doctors as a "justifiable homicide" (the bill was scrapped); this morning we told you about a similar effort in Nebraska, which the Omaha Police Department says could incite violence; and in Georgia, lawmakers are considering a bill that would conceivably permit the state to execute women who have miscarriages.

The legislators behind these efforts have generally deflected criticism by arguing that their bills are being misinterpreted. But Jacksonville, Florida mayoral candidate Mike Hogan doesn't really have that option. Participating at a candidate forum at a Catholic church on Monday, Hogan emphasized his long-standing opposition to Roe v. Wade, which is to be expected from a conservative Republican. But then he went one step further:

Hogan added that the only thing he wouldn't do was bomb an abortion clinic, then the law-and-order advocate added, with a laugh, "but it may cross my mind."

The Mandarin crowd applauded.

Har-de-har-har.

These people are terrifying. Well, that's what terrorists want.

Assassination-Enabling Legislation

Now, if Scott Roeder had only waited a bit and lured Dr. George Tiller to South Dakota, that 'justfiable homicide' defense would have worked jim-dandy-great.

A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of "justifiable homicide" to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus—a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon.

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Phil Jensen, a committed foe of abortion rights, alters the state's legal definition of justifiable homicide by adding language stating that a homicide is permissible if committed by a person "while resisting an attempt to harm" that person's unborn child or the unborn child of that person's spouse, partner, parent, or child. If the bill passes, it could in theory allow a woman's father, mother, son, daughter, or husband to kill anyone who tried to provide that woman an abortion—even if she wanted one.

Jensen did not return calls to his home or his office requesting comment on the bill, which is cosponsored by 22 other state representatives and four state senators.

"The bill in South Dakota is an invitation to murder abortion providers," says Vicki Saporta, the president of the National Abortion Federation, the professional association of abortion providers. Since 1993, eight doctors have been assassinated at the hands of anti-abortion extremists, and another 17 have been the victims of murder attempts. Some of the perpetrators of those crimes have tried to use the justifiable homicide defense at their trials. "This is not an abstract bill," Saporta says. The measure could have major implications if a "misguided extremist invokes this 'self-defense' statute to justify the murder of a doctor, nurse or volunteer," the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families warned in a message to supporters last week.

The Excited States is becoming unrecognizably insane.

ADDED: PZ Myers's take.

Reminder: The Assassination of Dr Tiller

Tonight, 9 p.m. EDT.

Hard 50!

Scott Roeder, confessed assassin of Dr George Tiller, will be 102 years old before he is eligible for parole.

Good.

Kansas is not a death penalty state (surprised? I was), but it does have a mandatory life sentence for first-degree murder, the crime Roeder was convicted of last January (plus two counts of attempted murder of the witnesses, additional year each for those).

The only discretion the judge, Warren Wilbert, had in sentencing was whether to grant eligibility for parole after 25 years or after 50 years, the so-called 'Hard Fifty'.

The judge figured that stalking the doctor for months and choosing to kill him at his church because his clinic was 'like a fortress' -- gee, who's to blame for that? -- merited the extra 25.

At the sentencing hearing, the judge allowed a couple of fellow and sister fetus fetishists to testify -- as long as they stuck to Roeder's character and stayed off the subject of abortion, which they seemed to have done.

Then he let Roeder himself speak.

In his statement before the court Thursday, Roeder said he didn't think he deserved the Hard 50. He claimed his views had been silenced by the court. He described late-term abortion procedures. He claimed he killed Tiller "so he couldn't kill again." The decision was to do so was most agonizing. He called Tiller a "hit man" for the state of Kansas and spoke of judgment day coming and God avenging the deaths of aborted babies. Then he started reading from 'Why shoot an abortionist?' by Paul Hill, who was executed for murdering an abortion provider.

And it went on and on and on. It was as if Roeder were trying to filibuster his way out.

Judge Warren Wilbert grew tired of it all.

It ended thus:

The judge and defendant engaged in a dialogue when Wilbert stopped Roeder from criticizing a sitting district attorney.

"If you were to obey the higher power of God, you would acquit me," Roeder said.

"If you think you were going to convince me with some oratory plea, it's not going to happen," Wilbert said.

There are other accounts of his biblical ravings, complaints about not being allowed to show aborted fetus pr0n to the court, and his likening of himself to jeezuz, which I'll spare you.

All of which prompted a a columnist in the Kansas City Tribune to claim that the sentence was wrong. Roeder is nuts, he says, and should have presented an insanity defense.

If Roeder is mad, it's a virulent and common strain of insanity, particularly in the Excited States. Viz., the Tea-Baggers.

Let's have a look at LifeShite's spin:

Scott Roeder, the former militia activist not affiliated with any pro-life organization, was sentenced to life in prison today for the 2009 murder of late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller.

The rest of the piece makes absolutely no mention of his ranting, his claims to Christianism, or reading of Paul Hill's book. Just a simple murder, justice done, nothing to see here, move along, folks.

What we at DJ! want to know is: are there conspiracy charges in the works for his f.f.friends? And how about federal charges under the FACE Act? Yes, FACE is meant to protect clinics and Dr Tiller was murdered at his church, but couldn't there be a cogent argument made that FACE applies precisely because Dr Tiller and other abortion doctors are forced to turn their clinics into fortresses, a fact FACE's existence recognizes? And therefore determined assassins must stalk their victims to other killing zones?

I'm wondering, though, if the additional 25 years will act as a deterrent to other would-be martyrs. Would someone stop and think: 'OK, I'm prepared to risk throwing away 25 years of my life, but 50? Hell, no!'

I don't think so, either.

No Prison for Terrorist?

Last June, shortly after the assassination of Dr George Tiller, another late-term abortion doctor, Dr Warren Hern, received a telephone death threat. In fact, the caller said that two Vietnam vets were on their way right now to kill him and his family. The FBI was called in and Dr Hern and his family got federal Marshall Service protection.

The caller wasn't very clever and was identified and charged fairly quickly.

Satisfyingly, given recent events, he was also charged with a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances act, a federal crime which has penalties of a prison sentence of up to six years and a fine of up to $350,000.

Today we learn -- and jeez, will I be glad when the fucking healthcare debate in the Excited States is over and I don't have to plow through pages and pages of headlines shrieking 'Abortion will be covered!' alternating with 'Abortion will not be covered!' -- that the accused, 70-year-old Donald Hertz, has reached a plea bargain that may keep him out of prison.

Stay tuned. (It was good to see that comments at that news site were not too accepting of the idea.)

BONUS: In googling around I found that Dr Hern is the subject/object of a prayer assault from Spiritual Adoption of Enemies of Life. Their list of prayees includes Cher, Hilary Clinton, nurses, and researchers. (It's a tad out of date, though; it notes that Clinton is contemplating a run for President.)

What was Cher's crime against Life, I wondered, and hit the link. Sadly, we'll never know. 'Page not found'. The same for Clinton. I got bored.

Wanted: Twelve Not-Angry Men/Women

Man, it's hard to find a good anti-abortion saint/martyr these days.

There is so much ill will in the town of Owosso towards murder victim James Pouillon that 'jury selection could be difficult'.

This is the case that the fetus fetishists jumped all over last September as being exactly the same as the assassination of Dr George Tiller. And proving that pro-choice people are as hate-driven and violence-prone as their own anti-abortion terrorists.

When, if they'd waited a few days, more of the sad story of accused Harlan Drake would have revealed him to be a troubled, haunted man on medication for depression.

His lawyers plan an insanity defense.

Well, we're not surprised. Remember what Pouillon's own son said about him?

"It will be impossible for some to believe, but my dad really didn't care about aborton.

He did this to stalk, harass, terrorize, scream at, threaten, frighten, and verbally abuse women. He had a pathologic hatred of women: his mom, my mom, everyone.

After my mom finally left him and he lost his favorite punching bag the violence and abuse that was always contained within our 4 walls was unleased on the people of Owosso.

My dad used the pro-life movement and 1st Amendments foundations to defend him, support him, and enable him. He fooled them all.

He was at the high school because my niece was there, and female family members were always his favorite targets.

Again, my dad didn't care about abortion. He wanted to hurt people, upset people. He enjoyed making people suffer.


His goal was to be shot on a sidewalk. His goal was to make someone so angry, to make them feel so terrorized, to make them feel the only way they could make him stop was to kill him.

His pro-life stance was the most perfect crime I personally know of. He hid behind the 1st Amendment and was allowed to stalk, terrorise, harass, be obsene, ect. These things are crimes. Offending people isn't a crime, and having different political views isn't a crime, but he committed several crimes over the last 20 years and got away with it.

Yes I really am his oldest son. Owosso is now rid of a mad man."

Anyone still need convincing that anti-choice is -- often violently -- anti-woman?

Hey, SUZY! Still pumping for his canonization?

With Friends Like These. . .

Catching up on Roeder now.

First, it is still possible that federal charges will be laid against him.

For a week, a federal investigator sat in a Wichita courtroom and listened to testimony that Scott Roeder murdered abortion provider George Tiller.

Even after the conviction came a week ago, federal investigators are still at work.

They are looking into whether the 51-year-old Kansas City man truly acted alone; at least one Roeder supporter made a striking comment about the crime last week. They might consider federal charges against Roeder as well.

It's happened before: Two other anti-abortion activists who killed abortion providers in the 1990s were charged with violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, signed into law in 1994 to prevent clinic violence. Like Roeder, the activists also were convicted of state murder charges.

Why push for federal charges when prosecutors already are assured of a long sentence?

"Additional penalties that can be assessed," said Richard Levy, a University of Kansas law professor who followed Roeder's trial. "That way, they could avoid any chance of him ever being paroled.

"Another reason for a federal prosecution is that if there might be others involved, a federal case might provide a vehicle for getting that information, whereas the state may not have an interest or the wherewithal to investigate a conspiracy that involves people in several states."

Well, we know good and well others were involved.

Federal authorities last week heard Roeder tell jurors that he began thinking about killing Tiller as far back as 1993, when Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon shot Tiller in both arms as he was leaving his clinic. During cross-examination by Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston, Roeder said he sought out people who shared his belief that killing abortion providers was an act of justifiable homicide.

Roeder testified that he visited Shannon in prison in Topeka and that he admired her for shooting Tiller. He also said he and Shannon applauded others who had been involved in abortion-related violence.

"And these individuals were people you might have counted among your friends?" Foulston asked.

"Yes," Roeder replied.

On February 2, Shannon issued a statement from prison.

In her e-mail, Shannon said the judge had been influenced by media and abortion rights activists who said that if Roeder had been allowed to use that defense more abortion doctors would be killed.

"Abortionists are killed because they are serial murderers of innocent children who must be stopped, and they will continue to be stopped, even though Scott didn't get a fair trial," she wrote. "May God bless Scott for his faithfulness and brave actions and stand."
. . .
FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said Shannon's e-mail was not specific enough to require investigation.

We remember nutbar Shelley Shannon, don't we? She was going to contribute her prison cookbook for the aborted (snerk) fundraiser for Roeder's legal costs.

And speaking of legal matters, Roeder's lawyers yesterday signalled their intent to ask for a new trial or order of acquital.

Among other reasons, they cite a decision by the judge at Roeder's trial last month to not allow jurors to consider a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Apparently, such moves are routine, but the lawyers might wish they'd checked on what one of their client's good friends was up to yesterday.

Army of God associate and good buddy of Roeder's, Dave Leach, posted a YouTubed interview with Roeder.

As he awaits sentencing for first-degree murder, Scott Roeder said in an interview released Monday that he has little sympathy for Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller’s family.

“The fact that George Tiller was involved in the practice that he was, similar to that of a hit man, if you could have sympathy for a hit man’s family, that is the sympathy I would have,” Roeder told anti-abortion activist Dave Leach in interviews recorded last week from jail. “If they would have talked the man into stopping his practice many years ago, this would not have had to happen.”

Leach intends to post a series of such interviews.

But this may not be such a shit-hot good idea.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, said Roeder’s statements could be used against him at his sentencing.

“Typically, in this kind of case, the defendant would want to do everything he or she could do to avoid a stiff sentence,” Tobias said. “So what lawyers tend to advise their clients — and clients usually follow their advice — is to say nothing, just because of the concern about prejudicing the sentencing.”

However, he added: “There hasn’t been very much that’s been normal about this case.”

I ask you -- could Scott Roeder be a more perfect patsy for the fetus fetishists?

No 'Necessity Defence' for Tiller's Killer

Scott Roeder, confessed assassin of Dr George Tiller, will not be allowed to use the 'necessity defence', a judge has ruled today.

WICHITA — A Sedgwick County district judge ruled this morning that Scott Roeder's murder trial will begin next month in Wichita and limited the use of the so-called "necessity defense."

But Judge Warren Wilbert said he would "leave the door open" for Roeder's defense to present other evidence and arguments that he killed Wichita abortion provider George Tiller in belief that he was saving the lives of unborn fetuses.

That leaves open the possibility that Roeder's public defenders could ask jurors to consider crimes less than first-degree premeditated murder. Kansas law, for example, defines voluntary manslaughter as the "unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force."

. . .

Wilbert said that he will not, however, allow Roeder to use what has been called a "necessity defense," where the defendant claims that he or she broke the law to prevent a greater harm. Roeder has said he killed Tiller to save the lives of fetuses who were being aborted.

But Wilbert said the necessity defense is not recognized under Kansas law, and appeals court have ruled it unacceptable in cases of trespassing on abortion clinics. If courts have ruled it not a viable defense in misdemeanor cases, it wouldn't apply to murder, Wilbert ruled.

Earlier in the day, Wilbert ruled that the defense would not be allowed peremptory jury strikes based on a juror's beliefs about abortion.

More information on the 'necessity defence':

The necessity defense has been used with sporadic and very limited success in the area of civil disobedience since the 1970s. The most common circumstances involve public protests against Abortion, Nuclear Power, and Nuclear Weapons. Virtually all abortion protesters who have tried to avail themselves of the defense have lost. The courts have reasoned that because the right to an abortion is constitutionally protected, it cannot simultaneously be a legally recognized harm justifying illegal action.

Indeed, it was used unsuccessfully by Shelley Shannon who was convicted of attempted murder for the crime of shooting Dr Tiller in both arms in 1993.

We'll be following the circus trial in January.

WANTED posters. Again.

They don't learn. From Ms.Magazine, 'Wanted' posters appear in Charlotte, NC.

The posters have the word “WANTED” in large black letters at the top and contain the following language: “We would like to introduce you to Drs. X and Y [names withheld here]. Their specialties are Obstetrics, Gynecology and Murder. Not only do these two men assist women and deliver babies, but they also harm women and kill babies…. You may contact them at their office or the clinic in which they perform the abortions.”

Using the real names of the doctors, and the addresses of their private practices, these posters have recently shown up in Charlotte, N.C. They are terrifying, and that is precisely their intention, as they invoke comparison to the notorious Old West-style wanted posters of abortion doctors that were circulated by two militant anti-abortion groups in the early 1990s. Three abortion-providing doctors—whose faces appeared on WANTED or unWANTED posters were, in fact, murdered by anti-abortion zealots.

In a celebrated case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that these posters constituted a “threat of force” designed to intimidate abortion providers (in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances, or FACE Act), and were thus not protected by the First Amendment on free speech grounds. The Court also noted that extremists had listed the doctors’ information, including home addresses, on a “Nuremberg Files” website. The names of doctors who were killed were lined through in black, and wounded doctors’ names were lined through in grey.

So one can imagine the fears engendered by this latest round of postering. But they’re just the latest straw in what the beleaguered staff of the Family Reproductive Health clinic in Charlotte has had to put up with. In 2002, the high-profile antiabortion extremist Philip “Flip” Benham, formerly head of Operation Rescue and now heading Operation Save America, moved to the Charlotte area and vowed to close down Family Reproductive Health.

The Ms. piece includes a link to a video of the harassment at the clinic. I'm not embedding it, because it's horrible. The appropriately named Flip Benham bellows lies and death threats including 'Satan will drink the blood of your child'.

Why do we call these anti-abortion harassers misogynists? Dig this from the Wiki link:

In a 2006 interview with Al Gross of KJSL-AM in suburban St. Louis, during the morning drive-time program "Mornings with Tim and Al", Benham stated he would let a daughter die rather than abort an ectopic pregnancy. When pressed on the question by Gross and an on-air telephone caller, Benham backed down and grudgingly admitted he would allow an abortion under such a circumstance.

Dr Tiller's Assassin Confesses

Looks like he's going with the 'imminent danger' defence.

The man accused of shooting a Kansas abortion provider has confessed to the killing to The Associated Press, saying he has no regrets.

In a telephone call from jail today, Scott Roeder told the Associated Press: "Because of the fact pre-born children's lives were in imminent danger, this was the action I chose."

I figured he'd take this route. I hope it works as well for him as it did for Paul Hill.

Get your anti-abortion terrorism fetishes here!

There's one word for this: surreal.

An Army of God manual. A prison cookbook compiled by a woman doing time for abortion clinic bombings and arsons. An autographed bullhorn.

These are among the items that abortion foes plan to auction on eBay and other Web sites in a fundraiser for Scott Roeder, the Kansas City man charged with killing Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller.

“This is unique,” said Regina Dinwiddie, a Kansas City anti-abortion activist who will sign the bullhorn. “Nobody’s ever done this before. The goal is that everybody makes money for Scott Roeder’s defense.”

One abortion-rights leader called the auction deplorable and said it could lead to more violence.

“The network of extremists promoting and defending the murder of doctors is contributing to escalating threats against clinics and doctors across the country,” said Kathy Spillar, executive vice president of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

These twisted fetishes represent a veritable Who's Who of the anti-abortion terrorists who enabled the assassination of Dr George Tiller.

The Army of God manual is a handbook on tactics to shut women's clinics down, including bomb recipes, donated by Dave Leach, who reprinted the 'underground' manual in 1996.

The prison cookbook's author is Shelly Shannon, in prison until at least 2018, for shooting Dr. Tiller in both arms in 1993.

And there will be other items associated with other 'heros' of the anti-abortion terrorism gang.

Dinwiddie is a friend of Roeder. She also was a friend of Paul Hill, who shot an abortion doctor and his escort to death in Pensacola, Fla., in 1994. Hill received a death sentence for the killings and was executed in 2003.

“Regina is digging out her old VHS tapes of Paul Hill in her home praying before Shelley’s trial,” Leach said. “She wants to start that one off at $500.”

The bullhorn autographed by Dinwiddie is similar to those she used when protesting outside abortion clinics.

The money raised will go to Roeder's defense. Roeder is pretty thrilled about it, having been thrown under the bus by another prominent gang of terrorists, Operation Scumbag Rescue.

“I think it’s great,” he said. “I appreciate all of the efforts going into that. I’m all for anything that might bring some donations in.”

I have some thoughts about other items that might fetch a few dineros from the demented.

How about some fake anthrax letters identified by the FBI as coming from Army of God members?

Maybe some good old-timey 'Wanted' posters featuring abortion-providers?

And, to go with that bullhorn, a blood-stained autographed copy of this:



written by the cheerleader-in-chief for Dr Tiller's assassination.

Roeder Watch

In the comments to this post at JJ's, I discovered Roeder Watch, a site devoted to keeping track of the trial -- and no doubt antics surrounding the trial -- of accused assassin Scott Roeder.

I'm going to put it in our blogroll.

Break out the champers!

Operation Rescue "completely out of money".

The Wichita-based anti-abortion group Operation Rescue says the recession has dramatically hurt fundraising and as a result it's nearly out of money.

President Troy Newman sent out a plea for help to supporters last night, saying he had to borrow money to pay for the letter. "This is the worst financial crisis we've ever faced," he writes.

Of course, Newman also promises that should OP survive, it's about to launch "the most ambitious and most significant project" in its history.

Go to the link for the whole glurgey, whiney letter.

He says Operation Scumbag may have to close.

And he blames it on the recession?

I'd venture the truth is that many, many of his former supporters came to their senses suddenly and realized exactly what their hard-earned dough was paying for.

Domestic terrorism.

Maybe enabling the assassination of Dr George Tiller wasn't such a shit-hot idea, eh, Troy?

Fetus Fetishists Having a Rough Few Days

Things haven't been going so well for the fetus fetishists lately. *barely suppressed big grin icon*

And now, there's a report of more anti-abortion violence.

Well, attempted anti-abortion violence.

Lincoln [Nebraska] police say someone attempted to throw a Molotov cocktail at the local Planned Parenthood clinic, but missed.

Instead, police say, the makeshift explosive fell just short of the building and burned pavement in the parking lot. It was reported about 11:20 p.m. Thursday.

How does one miss a building?

Maybe the woody in his trews messed up his aim.

*even bigger barely suppressed grin icon*

Push-Back UPDATE

About that push-back at Dr Carhart's clinic:

The rally in Bellevue came nearly three months to the day after Tiller's killing. A massive police presence, including heavily armed rapid-response teams, monitored the demonstrators. Streets were blocked off, and police kept both sides separated with buffer zones in between.

Abortion rights supporters outnumbered their opponents nearly 2 to 1.

Operation Rescue drove in two of their so-called Truth Trucks, delivery trucks with giant billboards of dismembered fetuses on the sides. The vehicles parked in a designated area outside the clinic to gasps from the women's rights groups. Police used sniffer dogs to make sure the vehicles did not have any explosives before allowing them to park.

Megan Belleavia called the trucks abortion "pornography" that shouldn't be allowed. "You can't stand out in the street corner and show pictures of a bare-breasted woman without getting in trouble, so why should they be able to show that?" she said.

Two to one. Excellent.

In the comments here, JJ links to Amanda Marcotte's piece, 'They push the hardest on abortion because we give the most on it'.

We've got to stop letting the batshit crazies intimidate us normal, sane people.