O'Reilly blows a Gasket with Joan Walsh of Salon

A) It doesn't much matter what the Kansas complaint against Tiller was since he was acquitted on all charges

Kansas law allows abortions after a fetus can survive outside the womb only if two independent doctors agree that it is necessary to save a women’s life or prevent “substantial and irreversible” harm to “a major bodily function,” a phrase that has been interpreted to include mental health.

Even with this in mind, the charges were largely that the doctor who Tiller often referred his patients to wasn't completely independent - yet the jury took only an hour to find him not guilty on all 19 counts.

The Details of the Complaint against Tiller are here (which I found on the Operation Rescue Website)

The complaint doesn't say anything like what O'Reilly claims, it simply documents the ages and weeks of gestation for 19 pregnancies terminated by Dr. Tiller during 2003 arguing that the second opinion wasn't sufficiently independent (since the only way to access Dr. Neuman was through Dr. Tiller's office), not whether or not the abortions were medically necessary or justified.

This doesn't change the opinion of the John Hopkins Dr, but apparently indicates that his arguments weren't convincing to the jury anymore than they are convincing to Walsh.

B) Joan Walsh is incorrect to say that the Knoxville shooter was inspired by Bill O'Reilly's writings, he admitted he was inspired by the work of Bill's frequent guest Bernard Goldberg.

This is what he said:

"This was a symbolic killing. Who I wanted to kill was every Democrat in the Senate & House, .the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg's book. I'd like to kill everyone in the mainstream media. But I know those people were inaccessible to me. I couldn't get to the generals & high ranking officers of the Marxist movement so I went after the foot soldiers, the chickenshit liberals that vote in these traitorous people. Someone had to get the ball rolling. I volunteered. I hope others do the same. It's the only way we can rid America of this cancerous pestilence."

O'Reilly: I'd like to send (Media Matters) a cake, but I might put something in it - and that might get me arrested

And now he's in denial that his little suggestions like this are being taken seriously.

Here's the thing though, Bill's entire reason for having Joan on his show, other than to attempt to berate and embarrass her, is to try and justify his own comments and actions in regards to his 4 year-long harassment of Dr. Tiller. To him the law doesn't matter - only his opinion. Tiller was found not guilty, his actions and practice was legal - many of the women he helped really DID need his service and withholding it probably wouldn't have saved the life of a severely ill or near dead fetus -- but under any and all circumstances what Scott Roeder did - with O'Reilly cheerleading Against the Law - was a Crime. It was a Hate Crime. It was Terrorism, and Bill is attempting here to minimize that fact.

O'Reilly probably didn't cross the Brandenburg standard and literally say - "Somebody TAKE THIS GUY OUT" - but he practically said everything else leading right up to it. In contrast all Walsh has done is point that out. By accusing Walsh of being a zealot for preaching adherence to the law - he continues to rationalize and justify criminal behavior, period.

P.S. If Tiller only did 19 Late-Term Abortions during 2003, how did the Washington times come up with an estimate of 60,000 during his entire career?

UPDATE: Walsh's Response in Salon (ht Squareboy)

Vyan

Hate Speech Kills!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

As was reported by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and later Homeland Security there is indeed a rise in the intensity and virulence of Hate Groups and "Lone Wolf" Violence.

We've had the Shooting at the Holocaust Museum, before that the Murder of Dr. George Tiller, the Recruitment Center Shooting, the Pittsburg Cop-Killer who was afraid Obama would "Take his Guns", the Knoxville Tennessee killer who Hated Liberals and the Attempted Dirty Bomber from Maine.

There is a connection between the Extremist Gun Culture and these people who are ready, willing and able to kill innocent by-standers in order to make a political point.

It's now interesting how those on the Right, who've been by far the biggest bomb-throwers, and engaged in the most heated rhetoric against "Liberals", "Socialism" who plan to "Take our Guns Away" - even though there's no evidence of that - want to immediately claim that "The Left" is somehow responsible for all this violence.

Sorry, but that's just plain BULLSHIT!.

It's a misdirection, and attempt to shift blame not only away from the actually criminals, but also away from those who really have help enable them.

It's like Sarah Palin, who did start out with a good point in criticizing David Letterman's jokes about her daughter(s) for being inappropriate and over-the-line taste-wise, is now arguing that comments such as these which go unchallenged create an "Atmosphere of Abuse" for young women. I think she's right about that, but then when she Rails against the Scary Federal Government Coming to take over your LIFE - she doesn't see that as creating a potentially Atmosphere of Abuse against public Servants like the Museum Security Guard or the Pittsburg Police who all recently gave their lives to Wingnut Fanatics.

If Letterman is responsible for sponsoring and enabling pedophilia and the degradation of women, then Palin has been emboldening Domestic Terrorism, by allowing people are her rallies to shout "Kill Him", "He's a Terrorist" and "Where's the Birth Certificate?".

If he's responsible for the actions of others based on his statements - so is she.



As a matter of fact, it's RIGHT HERE!



Yes, Obama was born in Hawii - even if he wasn't he would still be a U.S. Citizen since his mother was born in Kansas. Just like John McCain is an American Citizen because his parents were born in the U.S., and he was born in Panama.

At a certain point, people need to back slowly away from the CRAZY!!! Obama is not a Kenyan, he's an American. He's not a Socialist - particularly when half of the Socialism he's being accused of came from Bush (Bailouts), and the other half from Clinton (tax policy) - The Jews and the Illuminati are not hatching Secret Plots Steal our Currency - 9-11 was NOT an inside job - America is not about to be Taken Over by the Government.

All of that is Fracking Crazy Talk.

And you know what - the Crazies are taking it seriously. People are dying. Cut it the FUCK out.

If we have genuine beefs with someone personally or politically, we need to find a way to express those issues using verifiable Fact not hyperbole, rumor, innuendo or crazed conspiracy theories. But unfortunately when we have prominent Governors and Members of Congress (like Michelle Bachmann) exposing the nuttiest things imaginable like the idea the we need an "Anti-American Test" of Congress - getting that slow boil of Paranoia and Hate back down to a mild simmer gets all the more difficult.

And all the more neccessary.

Vyan

O'Reilly Says Missing Coverage of Muslim Shooter Biased, so why doesn't Fox cover it

So, Bill O'Reilly says the fact that Katy Couric didn't cover the shooting at the Recruitment Center by a Radical American Muslim is a case of Media Bias?

O’REILLY: Look, Katie Couric didn’t cover Private Long. Charles Gibson ignored Private Long. Ignored it. Didn’t — didn’t say a word about it. … It’s a news decision, and our news decision is based on what is important. Their news decision is based on ideology.

Ok, so when the survivors of that shooting had a live Press Conference yesterday, exactly why didn't Fox News Cover it?

Despite O’Reilly’s insistence that Fox News has been following the attack story more closely than its competitors, when the lone survivor of the attack, Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, spoke with reporters earlier today, only CNN and MSNBC carried the press conference live. Fox News never cut to the press conference, choosing instead to focus on Newt Gingrich’s criticisms of the Obama administration from last night’s congressional Republican fundraiser:

I would agree that the coverage has been lacking, but that's mostly because the debate over Dr. Tiller, Abortion and the Free Speech connected to that shootings has simply been incredibly intense, even O'Reilly in his own coverage has spent more time talking about Tiller than Private Long - but there's really no excuse for ignoring the Press Conference that both CNN and MSNBC covered live and in full.

Vyan

New Music Page on Reverb Nation

Hey, I've got a Brand New Music Page on Reverb Nation - Check it out. http://www.reverbnation.com/vyan

Also Scope This Cool Widget!



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Shep Smith Responds to Fox Fired Hate Speech

Shep Smith honestly has to be just about the only straight shooter on Fox News, he's openly and loudly condemned torture by U.S. personnel and now he's calling out Fox News own Viewers for their Radical and Ridiculous Views - to bad he fails to realize the primary source of many of these completely wrong-headed ideas (like the idea that Obama hasn't shown his birth certificate) is actually Fox News.



(H/T to Andrew T. on the Cut)

Vyan

Ed Goes Ballistic over "Socialist GM" Boycott

Ed hits it out of the park on this one... what he hell is wrong with people like Hewitt? Not only do they want Obama to Fail, they now want GM, Chrysler, all their employees and the Entire Country fail purely out of Spite!

Definately Psycho Talk!.

Full Transcript

Hewitt: I won't be visiting a GM or Chrysler lot, now matter the quality of the product. The only way to fight socialism, is to Boycott GM.

Ed: We are talking about hundreds of thousands of Americans. And this is what they have? They openly say, if you‘re angry. No, I think the word is “if you hate Obama.” If you hate Obama. If you can‘t stand the fact that he‘s having success as a president. If you just hate the fact that this guy has got a 60-plus percent approval rating. He‘s trying to save American industry.

If you hate him that much, don‘t buy a GM and don‘t buy a Chrysler. Now the thing that bothers me, this is the crowd that was on the president because they didn‘t—he didn‘t wear a lapel pin. This is the crowd that wrap themselves in the flag and said that the liberals weren‘t American.

Sometimes you have to step back and just stunned at the sheer utter STUPIDITY of some people on the right. This Knee-Jerk Anything-The-Government-Does-is-BAD-BAD-BAD reaction is just so ridiculous. Would they behave this way with our Police, Firefighters and EMTs? They're all part of the Evil Socialized Government!.

Let's just stop having Paved Roads and an Interstate Highway System anymore because it's SOCIALIST!

Both Bush and Obama did what they did with the Bailouts for the greater good, they came in only after the Free Market had completely, utterly FAILED - to help protect America from massive job losses and a potential Second Great Depression. Saving the American Auto Industry is a matter not just of National Pride, it's a matter of National Security to maintain the highly technical manufacturing expertise and personnel inside the nation.

After all that we've been through you DON'T - repeat DON'T - start arguing that those few people who still have good jobs, good incomes and good credit ratings should spend it on Foreign Products instead of at least considering investing in American Cars and their fellow American workers without being called exactly what you are.... Anti-American!.

That goes out to you Mr. Hewitt.

Vyan

O'Reilly Equates Illegal Torture with Legal Abortion

In this clip Bill O'Reilly seriously attempts to make the argument that the only torture that ever took place under George Bush was the Waterboarding of KSM, al Nishiri and Zubaidah. He chooses to ignore that report from the International Red Cross which shows that nearly everything they did to those men held in both the Black Sites, GITMO, Bagram AFB and Abu Ghraib was either cruelty or torture, not just what was done to those three. FBI Agent Soufan? and the CIA Inspector General's report have both debunked the claim that we found "valuable information" using these techniques, and that these actions were ILLEGAL (as Juan Williams eventually points out) to which O'Reilly says...

Billo: You can dance "the law" dance - all day long. Laws are passed by people and they can be changed.

Juan: Torture is Illegal

Billo: You're hiding behind semantics and meaning Juan rather than getting to the crux of the matter, the Attorney General ruled that Waterboarding was legal

Let just remind Bill that the Attorney General, is not A JUDGE and can't "RULE" on anything. Not to mention the fact that the memo which were issued to authorized various enhanced techniques were vigorously opposed by attornys in the State Dept and NSA, and were eventually all rescinded - while the authors of those memos are facing potentially disbarment.

Bill then goes on condemn George Tiller for his medical practice, which as Juan points out repeatedly, was completely within Kansas Law. There had been a trial of Dr. Tiller which ended in March, but unfortunately for O'Reilly rhetoric he was aquitted.

Kansas law prohibits aborting viable fetuses, which is generally midway through the second trimester, unless two doctors certify that continuing the pregnancy would cause the woman "substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function."[28] Tiller went on trial in March 2009, charged with 19 misdemeanors for allegedly consulting a second physician in late-term abortion cases who was not truly "independent" as required by Kansas state law.

O'Reilly claims that Tiller would perform abortions for "any reason", but that simply isn't true.

On the issue of the Recruitment Office Shooting and the Killing of Private Long, I agree that this issue has not been addressed or talked about nearly enough - but I don't think the reason is bias in the media against addressing Muslim Terrorism. I think the issue is simply that NO ONE IS ARGUING IN FAVOR OF THIS SHOOTING and making excuses for it the way that they are for the Killing of Dr. Tiller. Even in his own segment O'Reilly spend much more time arguing with Juan over Dr. Tiller and Gitmo than talking about Private Long, because there's no Controversy over that subject.

There's just a tragedy.

Vyan

Pro-Life Groups need to Stand up Against Christian Terrorism

In this clip from Rachel former Evangelical Anti-Abortionist Frank Schaeffer calls out the Pro-Life movement for not standing up and helping to STOP the violence and vandalism which is occurring at Women's Clinics and attacks on Doctors.

If those people who are Pro-Life like this person here, don't want to be associated with murderers like Scott Roeder, they need to do more than just complain and whine when these types of crimes happen, they need to help stop them.



I sympathize which his feelings here, as a Black Man in American I know exactly what it's like to be held responsible for every other guy who might look a little bit like myself and have to deal with people and law enforcement who prejudge my likelihood of being a potential criminal based on generalizations and statistics that don't apply to me individually. Every time someone says "Black Men are 8 times more likely to go to Prison", and use that as a justification for Racial Profiling and disparate Sentencing, I get what it's like to be lumped into a group that you personally have nothing to do with.

However...

There are things that can be said in opposition to people like this one who made this comment in response to a Keith Olbermann clip on Youtube.

x FREE Scott Roeden is a HERO for killing Dr. Tiller!

They lie to us saying that "we are a nation of laws"...

Yet our courts have unjust "laws" that allow "doctors" to commit genocide and eugenics to murder thousands of innocent lives.

It is up to righteous people to break these laws and kill these murders!

Tiller killed over 60,000 innocent lives!

Killing terrorist Dr. Tiller was HEROIC!

Watch this video and then ask WHY Obama promotes killing babies:

watch?v=XghfFjVY_KU

This is the kind of person that drives us to talk about Domestic Terrorism and the danger of idolizing a murderer. This is the kind of person that is giving Pro-Life groups a bad name. This is the kind of person that needs to be opposed, or else this nation will soon be drowning in blood.

Vyan

Interview with Innocent Former Gitmo Detainee

Released by order of a Federal Judge last November, Lakhdar Boumediene, whose case went all the way to the Supreme Court and re-established Habeas Protection for Foreign Combatants was interviewed by ABC after seven years of unlawful and unjustified detainee at GITMO.

Vyan

Tiller Shooter Warns of More Imminent Attacks - Will We listen?

For those who insist that Scott Roeder is just another "Lone Gunman", apparently *He* doesn't think so...

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.

We've had over 20 years of bombings, acid attacks and shootings at Women's Clinics - including the Olympic Park Bombing Eric Rudolph.



So since this guy is admitting to having knowledge of future attacks how long will it be before the Right-Wing starts demanding he be sent to Gitmo for Waterboarding, so we can "Save American Lives?"

Or do they only think torture is "warranted" for the brown terrorists?

Frankly, I think all they have to do is visit Army of God.com - it's not like they're keeping this stuff a secret, they actually have a recruitment drive going.

Maybe sending out U.S. Marshalls to protect Women's clinics isn't enough, maybe they need to actually enforce the Face Act and start catching these guys before they kill again.

I'm just saying, when killers declare they'll kill again - we should believe them.

Vyan

Vyan on Evil Conservative Radio Tonight

A Liberal in the Den of Lions?

I'll be interviewed at 10pm EST on Evil Conservative Radio to discuss whether America is a "Christian Nation" or not. Tune In, and Pray for Me - I'm gonna need it!

Vyan

Busting Open the Christian Nation Myth

This weekend Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich (who was forced to leave his post due to an scandal with infidelity) spoke for three hours in Virginia and "Rediscover God in America" and in the midst of his talk actually claimed that American are now "Surrounded by Paganism - as if that is somehow a bad thing.

GINGRICH: I am not a citizen of the world. I am a citizen of the United States because only in the United States does citizenship start with our creator. [...] I think this is one of the most critical moments in American history. We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism.

He along with other speakers such as Mike Huckabee also railed against...

the continuing availability of abortion, the spread of gay rights, and attempts to remove religion from American public life and school history books.

Yes, he attacked abortion just days after a tragic abortion murder. Way to root for the good guys Newt. He claimed, like a great many American Theocrats that America is a "Christian Nation" and ties that argument back to the Declaration of Independence.

Gingrich, now a consultant and author, said the ties to religion in American government date to the Declaration of Independence, when Thomas Jefferson wrote that men are endowed by God with certain inalienable rights.

It is true he wrote that, but what he didn't write - what was specifically left out was exactly "Which God (or other form of Creator)" he was talking about.

Newt is allegedly a student of History, but in a recent Dkos post another Historian, one far from being so high profile as Newt, broke down the true origins of American Religiousity in a response to a Theocrat Relative - and it's nothing like what Gingrich and Huckabee describe.

First in response to a blast email which lists all the state Preambles which mention "Almighty God" our heroine Laine presented the Treaty of Tripoli.

Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

Authored by American diplomat Joel Barlow in 1796, the treaty was sent to the floor of the Senate, June 7, 1797, where it was read aloud in its entirety and unanimously approved. John Adams, having seen the treaty, signed it and proudly proclaimed it to the Nation. (Worth noting that we have not lived up to those words.)

This nation was founded on freedom of religion for ALL- not just Christians. The Preamble for Oregon says:

Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I Section 2. All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences

The dictates of my conscience, not yours.

The response from her theocrat aunt was pretty much what you'd expect, a personal attack laced with accusations against a long dead parent for their failings in raising such an "Anti-God" Child. To this Laine responded with something I think every person who is confronted with this type of rabid Christo-Facism should have memorized.

~The settlers who came here from England in the 17th century came for various reasons; some as entrepreneurs, some looking for land of their own, some for religious reasons. The latter are the ones we usually think of- hardy Pilgrims coming to the new land for religious freedom. Except not quite- those coming from England came because they held to faith other than the Church of England (Anglican, here in the States we call them Episcopalians). They did not come for freedom, per se. They came to establish a community where their sect would be the official Church. The various early Colonies were a mish-mash of different sects. What was a legal religion in one might be outlawed in another. (Don't believe me? Read up about Ann Hutchinson or Roger Williams- they were both expelled from Massachusetts for failing to toe the Puritan party line.)

~The Founders (who signed the Declaration of Independence) and the Framers (those who helped draft the Constitution) were a very interesting group of men. They came from all walks of life, and all sorts of backgrounds, ethnic and religious. The greatest number of them were Episcopalians, and there were also Presbyterians, Congregationalists, a few Methodists, Lutherans, etc. There were also several Deists- among them George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin (though Franklin would occasionally cop to being basically agnostic).

~I have to explain here what 'Deism' is. Deism is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme god created the universe, and that this and other religious truth can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, without the need for faith. Deists generally reject the notion of divine interventions in human affairs - such as by miracles and revelations. It is a handy vague vision of God than excludes no one.

~Now, go back to the Colonies and their disparate religions. One of the difficulties in putting together any federation of the colonies was the religious issue. And this is why the various documents that stitch together our country refer only vaguely to a non-specific God. Because they are trying to avoid what we would now call a Balkanization along religious lines. By using the very vague Deistic references, they can go honor to God without invoking sectarian conflict. (Pretty smart guys, those Founders.)

If you were to adopt the Christianity of the original settlers - ignoring the existing religion of the Native American's who had already been here for countless centuries - the State Religion of the United States would most likely be Puritan. Or maybe Quaker.

These sects who fled English shores for America to avoid being persecuted by the Church Of England (C.O.E.) aka Anglican. That Church itself only came into existence as an offshoot of the Catholic Church when King Henry VIII (now made slightly more famous by Showtime's The Tudors) wanted to be able to divorce his first wife Catherine, but was barred from doing so by the Roman Pope.

In forming the C.O.E. Henry made himself it's Pope, and then proceeded to divorce and/or behead 6 several more wives. In the meanwhile he made it an act of Treason to oppose and criticize his action in splitting with Rome, yet one Protestant author named Dr. William Tyndale did criticize Henry and was eventually executed for it. Reportedly as he died he exclaimed, just as he was strangled to death and later burned at the stake - "Lord! Open" the King of England's eyes!"

So yet again we see the problem and the danger of "Which God" the Declaration and various Preambles describe, is it the Catholic/Protestant/ Anglican/Episcopalian/Puritan/Quaker/Jewish/Muslim "God" that Thomas Jefferson was referring to? Since he himself was a Deist, the not so simple answer is All of Them and also none of them.

The point was the allow the Freedom to persue the Religion of our individual choice, but not to attempt to force that choice upon others. America is designed to specifically NOT to have a single Church authorized for the state or else we may face the type of orthodox religious wrath that befell Dr. Tyndale.

Or for that matter, Dr. George Tiller.

Vyan