Documentary? No, anti-abortion propaganda.

Dr. Tiller says "abortion is a matter of survival for women," then an image of a sonogram is utilized to cancel out/short circuit precisely that focus on women. Throughout this portion, a heartbeat-like sound effect plays.

As always, the entire framing of the piece was wrong, and based in what are more often than not the wrong questions.

Because while this may be about access to abortion and women's reproductive autonomy for us, ultimately for Operation Rescue (in all it's iterations) and the like, abortion is merely a decisionalistic crowbar, a mechanism to be used to find who stands for or against them in their ongoing quest to remake this country (ultimately the world) in their own image.

They are part of a revolutionary social movement that seeks to structure America into what my partner and I have termed for years a "Biblical America," the social movement that seeks to use their interpretation of the Bible as the sole basis of all governance and social interaction.

That effort, far beyond abortion was what you heard in the streets and in the rallies over the course of the CPA events in Wichita. Those who think this is merely about abortion simply are not listening. The entire film missed the very nature of why OR and Roeder were there in the first place, they were quite simply there to scrape anyone and anything that is not of them out of their way.

The assassination of Doctor Tiller then, must be understood within that broader context, not merely of "taking out" a key abortion provider and outspoken proponent of abortion access, but as what to them is nothing less than taking territory. When they see this new Wichita with no providers they see more than merely "no abortion", they see in certain delusional ways the city and the area as taken territory. Not just as a place where their Coercive Pregnancy Indoctrination Centers (gateways to the christian eugenic adoption movement) can flourish, they see a cleared space, both metaphorically and literally. A space where they now hope to firmly install their programs, their politics and linguistic structures, never mind the fact that their fantasies rarely unfold the way they wish.

Continue reading >

A followup to The extremist in Rutherford's closet (1998)
Cross-posted to Daily Kos

Frank Schaeffer appeared on Rachel Maddow's show this evening (June 1, 2009), and also published a Huffington Post article earlier today. Schaeffer accepted part of the blame for yesterday's murder of George Tiller. But he still fails to go far enough in reconsidering, and repudiating, his past views and actions.

While Schaeffer attempts to candy-coat his current views, putting himself forward as having some kind of change of heart, his current statements, ultimately, still stigmatize and demonize abortion providers. "...I also believe that [abortion] should be re-regulated according to fetal development. It's the late term abortions that horrify most people."

Frankly, fetal development is none of Schaeffer's business, nor should it ever be the government's business. Abortion of any sort, in and of itself, is not horrible. The matter of abortion is a personal one, solely the province of a woman, who seeks an abortion for whatever reason (or no reason), and those who provide abortion. Schaeffer continues his habit of making statements that inherently serve to marginalize abortion providers and those who have abortions.

Continue reading >

President Gerald Ford

At Teen Mania's "Stand Up," April 15, 2000

Cross-posted to Daily Kos
Front-paged at Talk to Action

SusanG's diary last night singing Gerald Ford's praises as having allegedly kept his faith and his political acts separate finally crossed some threshold that pushed my partner, Mike Doughney and I, into commenting. We wrote for the first time about an event we were present for where Ford threw the full weight of his status as Former President behind one of many key groups in the Biblical American, or what some might term the "dominionist", youth movement; by personally appearing at Teen Mania's "Stand Up" event in Michigan, back in 2000.

This diary, then, are some of the details of that, and unlike almost most every other piece of writing I've seen since Ford's death, this is based on a first hand experience, it reflects an event that happened almost 7 years ago, not during the 1970's.

Continue reading >

'Tis the season when it's not unusual to receive a holiday card inscribed, "Peace on Earth."  It's easy to sometimes assume that this sentiment is a universal one, or if it's not, that it's at least shared by one's neighbors, or among Christians.

But if there's one overarching, most important thing I've learned in recent years, it's that one's assumptions can't be trusted when assessing what's going on among American Christians today.

From time to time, you'll see a report from someone who visited a church and experienced something we would consider jarring and unexpected, or, as in my case, came across a blog entry from a member of a church, who's simply relating what they saw, and how much they thought it was just a wonderful thing.

Yesterday I read one such blog entry, which might serve as an indicator of where some portion of American Christianity is headed - and where it very well may end up.

Continue reading >

George W. Bush following remarks on stem cell research policy legislation, July 19, 2006. White House photo

Ok, so why were there kids as the backdrop setting for Bush's remarks following his veto of the stem cell research bill?

Because these kids are not merely cute props, they are emblematic of, and the end product of one particular corner of the so-called 'culture of life' that Bush and his allies are attempting to remake America into.

These kids, in evangelical adoption parlance, are referred to as "snowflake children", so named after the "Snowflake Embryo Adoption" program of Nightlight Christian Adoptions.

For Bush, thousands of couples' frozen embryos are not their individual genetic material to make their own decisions about. No, the cryogenically preserved embryos, to Bush, constitute a unique national resource. One which must be appropriately handled and appropriated, a national resource in a zero sum game tug of war between stem cell research and thousands of potential snowflake children reparented into couples deemed appropriately Christian.

Continue reading >

Strong title? Perhaps. But that's the kind of feeling I come away with when I read Talk to Action or much of what is written about Christianity in America today.

Why? If there's a root cause for my visceral, negative response to some of what I read, it probably comes from the fact that I don't identify with any particular institution or tradition. No, this is about saving my own skin. Continue reading >

It's always painful when places you thought might be one of the last few outposts of sanity's owner and other readers decide they're willing to trade your life away, and the lives of others away, and ultimately their own lives away, because for some reason, they genuinely don't understand what's at stake. Words are important, and so tonight, at Daily Kos, I, as one of the written off, am going to write a diary for the first time, raise my voice, and once AGAIN tell so called 'friends' how much they're hurting the people next to them. To say nothing of how much they're cutting their own throats in the process.

Sorry Markos, but "abortion" IS the whole ball of wax. It is, for those of you who've read their "Art of War" our "dying ground;" it is one of the "must defends" if we're going to survive. Why? Because far from some cute little women's issue deserving lip service and to be refiled under some more palatable heading, abortion is autonomy. We lose abortion, and we've lost the most basic ownership of our own bodies and lives, no matter what gender you happen to be.

Perhaps no one has ever concretely, and theoretically explained strategically, why abortion, and abortion providers, and women who have abortions must be stood beside and actively supported if you have any intention of living anywhere other than a fascist snitch culture of State-ist and vigilante control. Continue reading >
Followup >

We wrote this article following the Promise Keepers' 1997 mass rally on the Mall in Washington, DC. While focusing on that event, in this article we pointed out that PK was one indication of "a very basic shift in American culture which will be felt far beyond the political sphere." More than a decade later, the rise of a "Biblical America" continues, with major domestic and international consequences; most of the observations and conclusions we made then still hold true today, and are helpful in understanding current events. Continue reading >

Operation Save America and Minutemen United, led by Flip Benham and Dave Daubenmire, conduct a ritual Koran burning at Columbus, Ohio, City Hall, July 22, 2004. Enlarge - Photo: Mike Doughney/barf.org

"We have now three choices when we deal with Islam. We can be killed by them... We can kill them... Or we can convert them to Christ."
-- OSA director Flip Benham

During July, 2004, Operation Save America (OSA), also known as Operation Rescue, held their annual week-long event in Columbus, Ohio, in cooperation with the Ohio organization, Minutemen United. OSA has had a long history of targeting entire cities, disrupting neighborhoods, businesses and organizations that they believe stand in the way of their vision of an America governed entirely by their particular interpretation of Biblical law. OSA director Flip Benham and a number of OSA and Minutemen United members have since been arrested in Florida outside the hospice of Terri Schiavo during March of 2005.

theanswerisno.org was a communications resource for developing and coordinating an effective oppositional response to the actions of Operation Save America and its Ohio symphathizers in Columbus during that summer. It now serves to tell the story of that event, and it's a resource for others seeking to respond effectively to OSA or similar groups in the future.

In the aftermath of Joseph Ratzinger's elevation to Pope, and the raising of the question of "respecting" religion and the religious being raised in many Daily Kos diaries, I have a story to tell, about a public event I witnessed with my own eyes last summer that involved both prominent Catholic clergy and activist Protestants. Perhaps it will serve to clarify exactly how religion should be "respected," or not. From Mike Doughney's diary at Daily Kos, April 19, 2005. Continue reading >

The occupation of Columbus City Hall grounds by Operation Save America was an unprecedented event, both for the city and OSA. Never in the history of this group, as far as we can determine, have they taken over such a public space for six days, twenty-four hours a day. In doing so they demonstrated exactly what we had written about them months before: that more than simply an anti-abortion and anti-gay group, they are, in the words of director Flip Benham, out to "kick the table over in the name of Jesus Christ and take over." As published on The Columbus Free Press website, August 15, 2004. Continue reading >

Vigilante enforcers of the so-called "culture war" will be targeting the city of Columbus this summer. Operation Save America, the organization that once called itself Operation Rescue and was infamous for its actions targeting abortion clinics, has named Columbus as the target of its week-long national event beginning July 17. As published in The Columbus Free Press, July 2004. Continue reading >

Norma McCorvey with Jubilee editor Paul Hall. From The Jubilee Newspaper, May/June 1998. Enlarge

Norma McCorvey and Bernard Nathanson - the "Jane Roe" of Roe vs. Wade, and a former abortion provider - today are periodically put forward in advertising or promotional events as "trophy converts" who now work in support of the "pro-life" movement.

Both appear to have an ongoing relationship with televangelist D. James Kennedy, whose Center for Reclaiming America created both the Operation Outcry and Shake the Nation campaigns in which both McCorvey and Nathanson have been featured.

The "Jane Roe" of Roe v. Wade is now a fixture on the "pro-life" talk circuit. She's also been quite friendly with the racist editor of a newspaper closely associated with the Christian Identity movement.  Continue reading >

Nathanson at Philadelphia press conference, November 16, 1997

The producer of the "Silent Scream" film now puts himself forward as a bioethicist. How does he respond when he's asked about his own questionable conduct? And what does he really think about abortion prohibition, its inevitable impact on women, or the nature of secular government? We caught up to Nathanson at an event in Philadelphia, where even we were surprised by his answers.   Continue reading >

Canadian televangelist Dick Dewert

During the runup to the 2006 Canadian parliamentary election, the founder and president of Canada's first religious television station, The Miracle Channel, in a live national broadcast, explicitly directed viewers who wanted more information on how they should vote to the website of votemarriagecanada.ca. This website contains lists of endorsed candidates and says that the site's purpose is "Working to Elect a Pro-traditional Marriage Parliament."   Continue reading >

A speech by Ashcroft in which he praises an instance of religious intolerance suggests that, as Attorney General, he would pursue a supremacist ideology, threatening the civil rights of many Americans.Continue reading >

This was a video montage composed of selected video clips that we'd gathered to illustrate four obvious themes of this movement. The most basic theme, from which this web page gets its name, is the assumption that America must be based on their particular literal interpretation of the Bible. We also show how they use military imagery and terms to promote their agenda, demonize their opponents and all those whose lifestyles don't conform to their demands, and how they manipulate human reproduction to advance and grow their movement. Produced as part of a presentation at the Bastard Nation conference in San Francisco, July 1998.  Continue reading >

On the eve of the twenty-sixth anniversary of the Roe versus Wade decision, it's time to come to terms with where we are. 'Choice' as a euphemism for abortion is dead. It's part of a flawed and obsolete strategy; we should instead ask for what we really want: unrestricted access to abortion. Continue reading >

The tactics that have been used by Special Prosecutor Ken Starr, which have resulted in the impeachment of President Clinton, seem very familiar to some of us who work around issues of reproductive freedom. Why? Those tactics are the very same ones that have been honed for years through attacks on reproductive health clinics and abortion providers.Continue reading >

Our coverage of Operation Rescue National's visit to Orlando, Florida, in June 1998.  Continue reading >

This is the most persistent question we heard preceding Operation Rescue's 1998 visit to Orlando. We dig through the theology and history of the leadership of ORN and much of Biblical America in our effort to develop an explanation for this anticipated and unprecedented event. Continue reading >

The founder and head of the Rutherford Institute, while financing Paula Jones' attack on the President, insists that he's "not out to get Bill Clinton." The same can't be said for his close friend, associate, and onetime Rutherford board member Frank Schaeffer, who has called Clinton and the Democratic Party the "spearhead of the new neo-Nazi eugenic movement." Schaeffer made these comments at an event organized by a group whose leader advocates the formation of militias and violence against abortion providers. Continue reading >

Part 1 of the series, as published in the Body Politic, March/April 1998. Continue reading >

While many people are uneasy with the Promise Keepers movement, attempts to counter the PK influence are frustrated by a persistent scarcity of credible criticism and effective practical methods. We continue our exploration of the ideology of the Promise Keeper movement and propose several methods of explaining and exposing the more disturbing aspects of the PK agenda, with a particular emphasis on showing how much of that agenda is abhorrent to most Americans. Continue reading >

BARF's inaugural article, as it appeared in the Body Politic. We explain why we view Promise Keepers as only one manifestation of a broad cultural and political movement, and how the so-called 'pro-life' movement - that we name by their true goal, compulsory pregnancy - are a laboratory through which methods of conversion, and legitimizing vigilante action, are developed. Continue reading >