the evils of single payer health care

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Drag Me to Health - Universal Health Care
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After this was over, Pat led his staffers in a rousing rendition of the Horst Wessel song.

Stone Tablets

In 2005, Maine established the Broadband Access Infrastructure Board, to work on establishing universal broadband access for the state by 2010.In 2007, the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, with the stated goal of assuring mobile phone and internet coverage to all Vermonters by the end of 2010. In 2009, the NH legislature formed the Telecommunications Planning and Development Advisory Board; whose stated goal is to analyze the broadband infrastructure particularly in unserved and underserved areas.

The United States (where the internet was invented) is lagging behind. We rank 15th in the world for internet speed. Other parts of the world are more wired, and wired for faster speed. One reason for this lag, is that the US has is the only industrialized nation with no policy in place to promote universal high-speed internet access. We’ve relied on a variety of companies to cobble together the current system. In other words – we’ve relied on the free market – just as we have for our health care system. In both instances, millions are left unserved.

Telecommunications are not a fad. The internet is not the equivalent of poodle skirts and the lindy hop. Both our nation, and our state are both behind, because of a lack of vision on the part of our elected officials. A few years ago, at a candidate’s forum, we learned that our local GOP legislators didn’t use their emails. No wonder they weren’t pushing for better broadband access in the north country – they were still chipping away at stone tablets. Meanwhile, manufacturing jobs have flown out of the north, with nothing to replace them. Broadband access is essential to job growth and creation in the 21st century – as well as education and health care.

A task force studying the issue of retaining young people in our state issued a report this week, along with some recommendations. The strongest recommendation seems to be improving how we market the state. There was some concern that the motto of NH doesn’t resonate with younger folks. They also found that there is an impression that young folks can’t find the kind of high paying jobs here that they would find in Boston or NY. To correct this perception, the task force seems to be recommending a hip ad campaign – because after all, if we say that high paying jobs are here, they will be, right? As is often the case, this task force assumes that the Canadian border is located just north of Concord. There was a mention of bridging the digital divide, by expanding broadband access in the north country, but that was the only recommendation aimed specifically at the Forgotten Half of the state.

The American Heart Association is calling for high-speed broadband access in rural areas, to enable videoconferencing for stroke patients. They have the right idea. Videoconferencing technology would make a huge difference in the lives of rural doctors and patients. Folks might not have to drive 2-3 hours to access a specialist, or to even ask a doctor a question about a particular condition. Data and imaging materials could be transferred in real time, thus saving hours of waiting for hospitals, doctors, and patients. The possibilities for improved health care in rural areas are exciting. NH, Maine, and VT have formed the New England Telehealth Consortium to work on these issues, with the hopes of eventually connecting to a similar network comprised of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The future is here, if we choose be part of it.

Meanwhile, our neighboring states are way ahead of us. Vermont and Maine both have a goal of universal internet access by 2010. NH has no such stated goal. We have a company with a monopoly in the north country, a company that is likely to declare bankruptcy by the end of the year, and NH is doing nothing remotely proactive. Vermont’s Department of Public Service is calling for an investigation into whether FairPoint should be allowed to continue to operate in VT, if it doesn’t fix billing, customer service, and operational problems.

We need to push our north country legislators to get them to push to bring the north country into the 21st century. The north country is all too often a dumping ground for projects that NIMBY legislators from the southern part of the state don’t want located near them. This is why there are 2 prisons in Berlin – and why the governor was talking about building a third one up there, so that we could import prisoners from other states. The governor has no plans to move to Berlin, at this time. Senator Lou “Slots” D’Allesandro (from Manchester) is an advocate for increased gambling, and had a plan that called for casinos in the north country. I don’t remember voting for Slots, do you?

Get pushy with your elected officials. The north country needs the equivalent of the rural electrification program. It won’t happen if we don’t hold their feet, and their stone tablets to the fire.

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." --Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

" I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last the year." --The editor in charge of business books for prentice Hall, 1957

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." --Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977


© s. bruce 2009 This was published as an op-ed in the Conway Daily Sun on July 17, 2009

I've got the internet blues

The problems seems to be worsening. My DSL connection lasts about 5 minutes now, before going out. I've called and emailed FairPoint.

you are not connected to the internet

Is the message I'm getting this afternoon, in frequent intervals:

1:00 pm, 1:15 pm, 1:32 pm, 1:50 pm, and 3:30 pm.

I noticed a flier in my FairPoint bill advertising DSL for as little as $9.99 per month! That's considerably less than I'm being charged, for really, really bad service.

changing expectations - the saga continues

So, on the seventh day, internet service was restored.

Since then, I've learned that I have to alter my expectations of service. During the years of Verizon wireless DSL, I was free to roam throughout my house (that's 3 rooms, people) with only my laptop in hand, able to be on the internet regardless of what room I was in.

Those halcyon days are over. In the FairPoint zone, wireless internet means "connected to a wireless modem by a wire." It means hovering, nearly atop the modem, in order to stay connected. And today, it means being disconnected from the internet 3 times in less than an hour, despite being perched less than 3 feet away from the modem.

I've read that FairPoint will declare bankruptcy by the end of the year. I can't imagine it will take that long.

and on the seventh day....

there is finally internet service. It wasn't easy, though. The modem arrived, in a neat little package, complete with an installation CD - for PCs. I am a Mac user. So, I had to call tech support, again, to take me through a process that was oddly complicated. Way more complicated than it was through Verizon.

To summarize - I'm back online, after 7 days, and innumerable hours on the phone. This should not have been such a process, nor should it have taken anywhere near as long as it did. The tech support people were great - with the exception of the one who finally agreed I needed a new modem, and sent it to some bizarro address. Funny how my bills manage to get to my address, but the modem was sent to a street I don't live on, and a number no one ever heard of.

I'm unimpressed, FairPoint.

As for the rest of us in NH - I would like to see an investigation into why the PUC allowed the sale. I'd also like to know what the plan for the north country is when FairPoint goes under. Let's make some noise, folks.

but wait - there's more

As of tomorrow I will have been without internet service for a week.One reason its taken so long is that the FairPoint tech support guy did not send the new wireless modem to my address. I don't know whose address it was - but it wasn't mine - so Fex Ex didn't deliver. I called them early this morning and gave them the correct address, AND told them to leave the package at my door. Instead, they left the package with the shop next door - and by the time I got home, the store was closed. So, here I am at 9:30 pm on a rainy night, behind the Jackson Public Library, typing this in my car.

If the modem doesn't work - that'll be the real cherry on top. I'm absolutely expecting the worst.

more FairPoint

I can see through my sitemeter that FairPoint Communications has been reading my blog.

It's been almost 6 days with no internet, FairPoint. I'm a writer. The internet is part of my job. I'm losing time and money - and hooking into the local library's internet at 11 pm isn't why I'm paying the outrageous sums for DSL that hasn't worked properly since Verizon left.

Who Could Have Predicted?

A small telecommunications company buying up the landlines of a giant (monopoly) company in NH, Maine, and Vermont – who could have known that such a merger would turn out to be a disaster?

Nearly everyone. Still, the merger of Verizon and FairPoint was allowed to proceed, despite near universal opposition. Some NH politicians thought it was a great idea. Ray Burton, Executive Council member for the north country was a supporter. Be sure to check Mr. Burton’s campaign contributions – you can find them online at the NH Secretary of State’s website. If you can get online, that is.

I had a Verizon DSL account for a number of years. I never had any problems with my service. Since the merger, however, I’ve had nothing but problems with my Internet connection. The signal is weak, frequently disconnected, and then there are the times I can’t get online at all. Two weeks ago, I spent most of a weekend calling the tech support line. The recorded message on the tech support line tells you that if you’re having trouble with your DSL or email, to go to their website support page. The next part of the message informed me that my call might be monitored, and that’s when the call was disconnected. That cycle was repeated 47 times over the weekend. Either these folks have a keen sense of irony, or it never occurred to them that people having DSL trouble weren’t able to get online.

I spent an hour on the phone yesterday with a tech support person, who was undoubtedly weary of hectoring phone calls from unhappy customers. After putting me through a series of idiotic commands (unplug the modem, plug it back in) that took nearly an hour, the tech person decided I have a bad modem. Since I’d been trying to tell FairPoint that for the last 3 months, I was not mollified.

Mine is not an unusual story. A prominent local businesswoman spent 27 minutes on hold, while trying to get her company’s bill straightened out. She was finally given a $50 credit, even though the billing problems reached into the hundreds of dollars. She was not mollified. Another NH company called FairPoint in February to inform them they were moving about a mile down the road, and would need to transfer their phones and fax machine. FairPoint made a date to come set things up at the new office. They cancelled it, and made a new appointment. They cancelled it. The cycle went on for nearly 3 months. The company solved the problem by switching to Time Warner. The employee who told me the story racked up a $450 cell phone bill, doing business during that time period. Time Warner, meanwhile, is laughing all the way to the bank.

FairPoint’s stock is nearly worthless, and they have been relegated to junk bond status. The company has stated that they may default on loans in the fall, and that they may file for bankruptcy by the end of this year. It’s really tragic that no one saw this coming.

The Maine PUC has reported that FairPoint generates the largest number of complaints of any utility operating in the state. Vermont has hired a bankruptcy expert to prepare for the possibility that FairPoint will default on its debt. A group in central Vermont is working to establish their own FIOS network - one that would be owned within the state. No megamergers or monopolies would be involved. Vermont is taking a pro-active approach. NH, predictably, is not. In fact, FairPoint announced recently in NH that they intend to apply for some federal stimulus money to help improve DSL access to the north country. Maybe they can use it to run even more TV ads to tell us what great neighbors they are.

This has been a great deal for Verizon. They were able to dump their unprofitable rural markets that they didn’t want to upgrade, and get a $600 million tax write off at the same time. It’s been so good for them, that they’re doing the same thing in other parts of the country. A small company called Frontier is buying Verizon’s DSL and landline networks in Wisconsin, West Virginia, Arizona, South Carolina, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, N. Carolina, Ohio, and some areas in rural California.

To review: FairPoint has provided poor customer service, has had endless problems with incorrect billing, has been unable to provide adequate DSL and email service to some parts of the state, is in danger of defaulting on loan payments, and may file for bankruptcy. The transition from Verizon to FairPoint has been a horror show – BUT – even though the company is hemorrhaging customers and money – the top executives got bonuses! Former FairPoint Chairman and CEO, Gene Johnson received a 30 percent raise in 2008, and an $83,862 bonus. FairPoint President Peter Nixon was the beneficiary of a $50,000 bonus. At least 5 other executives got raises or bonuses. Doesn’t that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Next time you look at your bill, and it’s wrong, remember that the executives of this company are being paid to fail, and they think we taxpayers should bail them out.

The Public Utilities Commission of NH has a complaint line. The number is: 1-800-852-3793. Their website has an online complaint form (assuming you are able to get online) at www.puc.state.nh.us/Consumer/complaint This merger should never have been allowed to proceed. Its time to call for an investigation into why it was approved. Contact the NH Attorney Generals office to insist upon an investigation. Then, contact your local legislators and suggest that NH get ahead of this situation by developing a plan for what happens if FairPoint goes bankrupt – and a plan for developing a statewide communications plan – and a way to make it happen without the involvement of corporate monopolies.

If only someone had seen it coming.

This quote is too good not to use again:
“I hate to be the one who told you this, but I told you so.” Larry Birkhead

h/t to mainecartoons.com for the cartoon

This will be published as an op-ed in the Conway Daily Sun at some point.

© s.bruce 209

Tapped - the movie

A serious look at the scourge of bottled water - and what Nestle has done to the town of Fryeburg, ME. Nestle/Poland Spring has torn the town apart - and turned people against one another, through intimidation, blackmail (we'll set the IRS on you) and bribery. Anyone who dared dissent against Nestle is retaliated against. Just ask the town librarian. Local cable access broadcasts of a selectman's meeting showed a couple of inebriated local women who were put up to going after Emily Fletcher - calling for her resignation and suggesting she'd been stealing from the town. One of the aforementioned sots turns out to be working for Poland Spring. Their latest action was to ask the selectmen if there was a town ordinance against accusing people of being drunk. Not candidates for Mensa, those two. This is what Nestle has done to Fryeburg.

This movie is scheduled to be shown in Maine - but Nestle is trying to buy up all the tickets and make sure as few people see this film as possible. This trailer also shows some clips of Ohio Congressman, Dennis Kucinich, who understands the water issue better than most - and who told me all about the toxins in plastic water bottles one day on the campaign trail.

Tapped - the website
Check out the Tapped website to learn more about water issues and take action.

Mental Health Break

Incorrect, Foreign Plumbing

The nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has generated even more vituperation than expected. It’s certainly an indication of how far the gains made by the women’s movement in the 1970’s have regressed. The mostly male talking heads of the right wing corporate media have had a field day with Judge Sotomayor, calling her dumpy, emotional, and even a racist. The Supreme Court is traditionally a white male bastion – and white males don’t take kindly to having to share their long held power. Clarence Thomas, at least, had the correct plumbing. Sonia Sotomayor has incorrect plumbing, AND she’s a Latina. That’s threatening on two levels to the insecure white males who seem to dominate the print media and airwaves.

The right wing noise machine was all primed and ready to go before President Obama named Sotomayor as his choice to replace retiring Justice David Souter. Mark Hemingway, of the National Review called Sotomayor “dumb and obnoxious.” Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton. She was a co-recipient of the M. Taylor Pyne Prize, which is the highest honor awarded by Princeton to an undergrad. Next, Sotomayor went to Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. I don’t seem to recall this line of “thought” being put forward when Samuel Alito was being confirmed. His academic background is nearly the same (Princeton, Yale) although somewhat less distinguished. He was never referred to as “dumb and obnoxious.”

Former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, Newt Gingrich, and Rush Limbaugh have all called Sotomayor a racist. This would seem to be a massive case of projection. Here are 3 guys who hate women and minorities, spewing their nonsense on behalf of the GOP. The Republican Party’s problems with attracting women, young people, and minorities are not exactly being advanced by the ravings of the party’s Three Graces. Even Michael Steele, who isn’t exactly a candidate for Mensa, figured that out.

The hysterical racist accusations against Sotomayor are all linked to a sentence plucked from a speech she gave in 2001 at the University of California, Berkley School of Law. The entire speech is five pages long, and can be found here.
I recommend reading the whole speech – it provides an entirely different perspective than the selective one that is being presented as a way to gin up some racist hysteria. The hysteria is in fine, howling form. A visit to the website of James Edwards, self-diagnosed as “America’s most controversial radio host” reveals this astounding statement: “She’s a woman, and not only is she non-white, she hates white people and uses her current post to trample our rights. No matter who gets the job it’s going to be bad news for white people.” Yep, white folks will surely be facing all sorts of discrimination at the hands of women and minorities. Pity the poor, oppressed white man - isn’t he suffering enough?

Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, blogged that Sotomayor should not expect people to pronounce her name correctly, that putting the emphasis on the last syllable of her last name was “unnatural in the English.” Mr. Krikorian is undoubtedly changing his last name to “Krik” since his last name is in need of anglicizing. No word on what he thinks of Rod Blagojevich. There is a fascination with Sotomayor and English by the far right. In addition to his other foolishness, G. Gordon Liddy described the Spanish language as speaking in “illegal alien.” A look at the far right website freerepublic.com shows a number of geniuses judging Judge Sotomayor’s looks, and calling her an “intellectual lightweight”. Once again, the double standard is alive, well, and doing pushups. These same guys didn’t say boo when John Roberts was nominated to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court with less than 2 years experience as a judge under his belt. Sotomayor’s 17 years on the bench are never mentioned. Clarence Thomas had even less experience on the bench, but no one calls him an intellectual lightweight, even though he’s never delivered a memorable decision as an associate justice, mostly just adding a “what he said” to the decisions of Scalia. The right calling Sotomayor an “affirmative action” hire is utter hypocrisy, given that Thomas was chosen for his race and his life story. To say otherwise is incredibly dishonest. To be honest – no one knows what makes a great justice. There is no formula to use to decide how a nominee will perform once confirmed. David Souter certainly defied expectations.

I don’t recall Antonin Scalia being described as “dumpy” or “unattractive” when he was a SOTUS nominee. I don’t recall anyone questioning Clarence Thomas’s judicial temperament at the time of his confirmation, despite the testimony of Anita Hill. The men who dominate political commentary would never describe another man as dumpy, or emotional, but women, of course, are judged with a different set of standards. Talk radio host (and former Nixonista) G. Gordon Liddy had this to say about Sotomayor, “Let’s hope that the key conferences aren’t when she’s menstruating or something, or just before she’s going to menstruate. That would really be bad. Lord knows what we would get then.” Studies show men think about sex every 7 seconds. Shouldn’t we be more concerned that men are busy in fantasyland when making important decisions? Should we worry that a number of the male justices are facing potential male midlife crises? Chief Justice Roberts is 54. He may decide to chuck it all, to run off with a silicone enhanced blonde in a red sports car. Oddly enough, one never hears that sort of conjecture.

In spite of the nightly hysteria generated by Bill O’ Reilly, Sean Hannity, and the weepy Glenn Beck, only women are portrayed as being emotional. Talk radio gives lie to that tired old sexist canard. Talk radio is full of howling, emotional men. I guess it’s a good thing they aren’t menstruating. Lord knows what we’d get then.

“God gave us all a penis and a brain, but only enough blood to run one at a time.” Robin Williams

This appeared in the Conway Daily Sun as an editorial on June 19, 2009
© s.bruce 2009

ginning up the faithful with lies

From the Chicago Tribune

Blogger's Baby was a Hoax

Story by Kim Janssen:

The unmarried mother's story about giving birth to a child diagnosed as terminally ill in the womb hit a major nerve on the Internet.
Every night for the last two months, thousands of abortion opponents across the nation logged on to a blog run by the suburban Chicago woman who identified herself only as "B" or "April's Mom."
People said they prayed that God would save her pregnancy. They e-mailed her photos of their children dressed in pink, bought campaign T-shirts, shared tales of personal heartache and redemption, and sent letters and gifts to an Oak Lawn P.O. box in support.
As more and more people were drawn to her compelling tale, eager advertisers were lining up. And established parenting Web sites that oppose abortion were promoting her blog -- which included biblical quotes, anti-abortion messages and a soundtrack of inspirational Christian pop songs.

By Sunday night, when "April's Mom" claimed to have given birth to her "miracle baby" -- blogging that April Rose had survived a home birth only to die hours later -- her Web site had nearly a million hits.

There was only one problem with the unfolding tragedy: None of it was true.

The author of the hoax - a social worker - said that the story was a fictionalized version of her own beliefs. The people who followed her blog and became emotionally involved are feeling betrayed.

And that's the trouble with the anti-abortion movement. The people involved at the grassroots level are easily manipulated, and the manipulators play them with lies. The lies get them all ginned up and self righteous - and they cannot and will not hear the truth.

The truth is that late abortions are seldom done. Maybe 100 a year. Women do not carry to near term and decide to abort. The decisions made to abort in the third trimester are indescribably painful.

Screenshot of the hoax blog

Facts about late abortions

Kansas Stories

I Am Dr. Tiller

The Tearful Troy Newman

This picture is from Operation Rescue's website.

This weekend the NY Times published an article about the abortion clinic protesters in Kansas. It's an amazing read - the antichoice folks do a little too much whining, and show no empathy for Dr. Tiller's family.

Although Operation Rescue worked for years to close down Dr. Tiller’s clinic, his death was never the outcome Mr. Newman wished for, he said. Of the man charged with killing Dr. Tiller, he tearfully said, “This idiot did more to damage the pro-life movement than you can imagine.”

Aw, poor Mr. Newman! Poor Operation Rescue! For years you picketed Dr. Tiller's clinic, held up pictures of mutilated fetuses, screamed about murder - and now you're pissed off because one of your whack jobs killed the golden goose?

This is the thing. The fetus fetishists had control of the White House, both houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court - yet they did nothing to stop abortion. Why? Because for the GOP and the Christian Taliban - abortion really is the golden goose. It's a way to keep money flowing, keep crazy people busy, and get folks all stirred up - without Operation Rescue having to do very much work at all. Tearful Mr. Newman of Operation Rescue was undoubtedly raking in a nice big salary for blabbing on endlessly about a cause he probably could care less about, as long as the faithful were sending in donations. How much more cynical, and transparent could these people be?

Scott P. Roeder, a Kansas City man charged with murder in Dr. Tiller’s death, was not a member of Operation Rescue or a contributor to it, Mr. Newman said. But the authorities found a slip of paper with the organization’s name in Mr. Roeder’s car when he was arrested, as well as the name of one of its leaders and her telephone number. He had also met Mr. Newman at least once.

“I have been racking my brain to see if there was something I could have done,” Mr. Newman said of Mr. Roeder.

Dr. Tiller’s clinic was the one — the big one — Mr. Newman had always hoped to close. Still, he said, if it closed now it would be no victory for Operation Rescue.
“Good God, do not close this abortion clinic for this reason,” he said. “Every kook in the world will get some notion.”

Apparently his brain isn't very big. It's pretty easy to discern what Mr. Newman might have done. The Operation Rescue staffer, Cheryl Sullenger, whose name was in Roeder's car had been convicted of clinic bombings in the past. Perhaps Mr. Newman could have avoided hiring convicted terrorists.. Perhaps he could have instructed his terrorist army to tone down their rhetoric. He could have instructed his army of terrorists not to put up websites with pictures of doctors, their families, maps to their homes and churches, etc. There are plenty of things he could have done. He didn't do a single one of them.

I won't be surprised to find that Mr. Newman's organization helped fund Scott Roeder. A guy with no job, and $10 to his name needed money for gas to keep driving across the state to glue clinic doors locked. Someone was funding Roeder.

Troy Newman worked for an organization that (at the very least) helped to ensure that this happened. For him to whine about it shows incredible hubris. This arrogant little whiner has blood on his hands - and lacks the grace and intelligence to feel guilty for having helped to incite a murder.

Republican Jesus

hat tip to Jesus' General

This Murder was allowed to Happen

On Sunday, May 31, Dr. George Tiller was gunned down in the lobby of his church, in Wichita, KS. He was murdered as he handed out church bulletins to his fellow congregants at the Reformation Lutheran Church. His wife was there. A terrorist came in and shot Dr. Tiller. Dr. Tiller was one of the few remaining doctors who performed late term abortions. Anti-abortion extremist groups had targeted Tiller for assassination. There is an irony in how religious these groups are. Their websites are covered with scripture – and yet George Tiller was murdered in the house of God.

Abortion clinics have been the target of violence since Roe v Wade became law in 1973. Bombings, arson, butyric acid attacks, and anthrax mailings have all been staples of these domestic terrorists. The killings started in the early 1990’s. Dr. David Gunn was murdered in Florida in 1993. That same year, a woman named Rachelle Shannon shot Dr. George Tiller in the arms. She is serving an 11-year term for attempted murder, as well as some additional time for 6 arson and 2 butyric acid attacks at clinics. In 1994, Dr. John Bayard Britton and his clinic escort were shot and killed by Paul Hill, who also shot and injured another clinic worker that day. That same year, Dr. Garson Romalis was shot and wounded at his home in Vancouver, BC. James Kopp is the suspect. In 1994, John Salvi shot up two clinics in Brookline, Ma. He killed Shannon Lowery and Leanne Nichols, and wounded 5 others. In 1995, Dr. Hugh Short was shot and wounded at his home in Ontario. James Kopp has been charged with attempted murder in this case. Kopp is also a suspect in the 1997 shootings of a doctor in Rochester, NY and one in Winnipeg. In 1998, a clinic bombing in Birmingham killed Officer Robert Sanderson; AL. Nurse Emily Lyons was seriously injured. Eric Rudolph is serving a life sentence for bombing that clinic and another, as well as a gay bar, and the bombings at Olympic Park. In 1998, Dr. Bernard Slepian was shot and killed at his home in NY by James Kopp, who is serving a life sentence.

This was a murder that was allowed to happen. Dr. Tiller had been a target for decades. There is a web page with his picture, the picture and address of his clinic, his home address – and a map, pictures of his wife, and interestingly, a picture of his church – along with the address. The unnamed group responsible for the site didn’t go as far as photoshopping a bull’s eye on any of the many pictures of Dr. Tiller, but their intent is obvious.

There was a steady barrage of harassment and threats against Dr. Tiller for years. Some of it came from the far right extremist media. Bill O’Reilly has been beating the drum about “Tiller the killer” for the last five years. Naturally, O’Reilly denies any culpability - but, then again, he’s a well-known liar. Fox has almost nothing to do with news, and everything to do with ginning up their followers. As the old saying goes, “If you hang around a barber shop, you’re going to get a haircut.” If you continually indulge in inflammatory, violent, hate speech – you’re going incite some violence.

Extremist anti-abortion groups have all been screaming about how, since they didn’t pull the trigger, this isn’t their fault. We are supposed to believe their websites, protests, and endless hate rhetoric all exist in a vacuum. The only reason these groups exist is to inflame the passions of their followers and incite them to action. Only 3 days after Dr. Tiller’s murder, antiabortion extremist blogger Jill Stanek (a frequent Fox News guest) put up pictures of the next target, Dr. LeRoy Harrison Carhart. She included pictures of his clinic, too – and a helpful link to the same website that had all of the Tiller information. Dr. Carhart’s hit page contains pictures of him, his wife, his daughter, the clinic – and a request for more information and better pictures. Apparently they don’t have his home address, and that of his church. Still, there’s plenty available for a gunman to work with, presumably after he reads the helpful scriptures and quotes.

This is a murder that was allowed to happen. Scott Roeder was a well known anti-abortion terrorist. He’d done time for having bomb-making materials in his car. The FBI is charged with protecting abortion clinics and staff. Roeder had been twice reported for gluing the locks of a clinic in Kansas City – the second time was the day before Dr. Tiller’s murder. The staff person who caught Roeder, called the FBI, and reported the incident, and provided the plate number on the car Roeder was driving. The FBI told the staffer that they couldn’t do anything until a federal grand jury convened. Roeder drove to Wichita in that same car, and killed Dr. Tiller. This is a murder that was allowed to happen.

Abortion is legal. The violence continues – because no one is willing to defend abortion and a woman’s right to choose. It has been determined that abortion protestors have a right to stand in front of clinics and harass women. To interfere with their right to harass patients, staff, and doctors would be a violation of their right to free speech. I’m guessing that a group of protestors outside urology offices chanting and handing out pamphlets about “IMPOTENCE – GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU” would not be given similar latitude. Abortion – and women- make us squeamish.

Abortion is legal. Murder is not. What are we going to do about it?

“If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.” Florynce Kennedy

“If the anti-abortion movement took a tenth of the energy they put into noisy theatrics and devoted it to improving the lives of children who have been born into lives of poverty, violence, and neglect, they could make a world shine.“ Michael Jay Tucker

For thorough documentation of clinic violence: http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/violence/index.html

This was published by the Conway Daily Sun on May 5, 2009 as an op-ed.

© s.bruce 2009

terrorist rhetoric

Statement by Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue:

"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."


So, when will Randall Terry be rounded up and sent to Gitmo? That is where we send terrorists, right?

US Physician killed by Terrorist

Dr. George Tiller was murdered by a terrorist on Sunday morning, in Wichita, Kansas. Dr. Tiller was murdered in the lobby of the Reformation Lutheran Church, as he welcomed congregants into the worship service.

Dr. Tiller worked at a women's health clinic. The clinic was one of the few that provided late term abortions for women whose health (and perhaps their lives) would be compromised by giving birth.

Dr. Tiller was murdered by a TERRORIST. His murder was a HATE CRIME against women. Dr. Tiller was murdered by a TERRORIST for performing a LEGAL medical procedure.

At what point will terrorists stop having more rights than women and doctors? At what point will we take domestic terrorism at abortion clinics seriously?

How would you feel if your marriage was up for a vote?

Careful what you wish for.