Weasel Word Death Threats In The News

Check out around 2:28 for “If someone would shoot the new abortionists, like Scott shot George Tiller ... It will be a blessing to the babies.”

Take my word Roeder, this kind of backdoor threat isn't going to be very well received. If you're not willing to pull the trigger yourself, keep your mouth shut.

He Knows Your Mind

Marietta Georgia Republican Rep Bobby Franklin: Here's his information page, complete with home number.

And here is the answering machine message on his home phone:

This is State Representative Bobby Franklin. Thank you for calling to give me encouragement about my sponsorship of House Bill 1, recognizing that pre-natal murder is murder. I'm not able to take that encouragement right now, so at the tone please leave your name, number, and a message.

You probably want to encourage him to keep up the good work on this bill:

Georgia State Rep. Bobby Franklin—who last year proposed making rape and domestic violence "victims" into "accusers"—has introduced a 10-page bill that would criminalize miscarriages and make abortion in Georgia completely illegal. Both miscarriages and abortions would be potentially punishable by death: any "prenatal murder" in the words of the bill, including "human involvement" in a miscarriage, would be a felony and carry a penalty of life in prison or death.

May I suggest, ladies, that you leave Bobby an encouraging message? In your own words now.

I Like This Reasoning

Publius, with whom I frequently disagree, takes the time to break down the arguments pro and con about killing abortion doctors. His conclusions, I think, are sound.

Great News For Terrorists

Not just terrorists, but anyone who is frustrated by that whole "rule of law" thing.

A long, difficult chapter in the struggle over legalized abortion came to an end today, when the family of slain physician George Tiller announced this morning that it would permanently close his Wichita abortion clinic, Women's Health Care Services.

Tiller, 67, was shot to death in the vestibule of his Lutheran church on May 31, where he served as an usher.

The shuttering of his clinic means there are no abortion providers left in the Wichita area, and only two other clinics in the country that perform late-term abortions, Tiller's specialty.

Los Angeles Times 6/9

I'm predicting here that no one is going to say it was right that Dr. Tiller was shot, but it's a good thing that the clinic closed down. A fortunate coincidence, if you will. And if the other two don't close down soon, maybe we can hope for more coincidence. And while we're at it, should we really just stand by and allow people to perform gay marriages?

O'Reilly Weighs In

"I'm not saying he should have killed her, but I understand."

- Chris Rock, re: O.J. Simpson

For the Record

I will admit now that I'm ambivalent about abortion. Is it murder? Can't say. I can say that I'm glad it remains a legal option for those who are sure it isn't. I can also say that it's going to be very hard to argue that this isn't murder.

I'd also break with Sarah Palin and state that bombing an abortion clinic is not just murder, but pretty obvious terrorism.

The Trouble With Going Pro

Publius took issue with my post yesterday, opining that I took the occasion of Veteran's day to promote an anti-war agenda. Though that wasn't my intention (as I pointed out, war is often necessary) it got me thinking - should one be pro-war? I mean let's face it - war is costly and it damages people; often as not, it kills people. How can anyone root for that? It's just as wrong to always deny war is an option. Personally, I think the Iraq war is a mistake - the prosecution was bungled, the rationale for going in the first place, if we ever find out what it was, will probably turn out to be flawed. On the other hand, the war that messed my dad up so much was clearly necessary, and I'm awfully glad we went in.

It's not dissimilar to the abortion argument. No rational person is for abortion, but many believe it should be an option in certain situations.

"Pro" and "anti" are binary terms that we apply too frequently to analog situations. Life is too complicated for an up-or-down vote.

Better Safe Than Sorry?

I'm pro-choice (term of art, perhaps, but you know what I mean) so I was intrigued by an editorial in yesterday's Boston Globe by Dean Barnett. Mr. Barnett opposes abortion not on religious grounds, or even moral ones, strictly speaking. The argument boils down thus: we can't agree on when "life begins". Is it at the moment of birth? Conception? Since no one really knows, we must not allow abortion of any kind.

This logic appeals to me. Though in fact, it IS a moral argument, based on the idea that killing another human being is wrong. If you accept that as fact, then you should oppose abortion. And that's where this turns ugly, especially for the modern conservative. Because in no way do most people think it's wrong to kill another human being.

First, I'll grant you that self-defense is an exception. If someone is trying to kill you, you have a right to defend yourself, because you're preventing someone from being killed. But most Americans believe in the death penalty. In this scenario, the man who wants to kill is isolated and prevented from killing you. Killing that man (or woman - I'm talkin' to you, Aileen!) is purely a matter of choice. Maybe this killer would have gone on to renounce their evil ways, perhaps even contribute a valuable book to society. If the majority of Americans support the death penalty, they have no reason to oppose abortion.

Then there is the war. If you support the Iraq war, in which we attacked a country either because we believed they had WMDs or to liberate the country from the oppressive murderous overlord who ran it, well, either way we're killing people because we choose to. Support the war? Leave my foetus alone!

I have no idea how Dean Barnett feels about the war OR the death penalty, though I will point out that he frequently writes for the Weekly Standard and Hugh Hewitt. If he's anti-war or anti-death-penalty, I doubt he'd be welcome there. Still if he is, then more power to him. And congratulations on a good, but problematic argument.