spreading the blame for the agenda

Sojo has commented on the recent murder (please note the word murder) of an abortion provider. Of course, they make use of it by quoting a blog entry elsewhere by Franky Schaeffer (he who blames all on his father).

Abortion: Conversations, Not Killings
The same hate machine I was part of is still attacking all abortionists as “murderers.” And today once again the “pro-life” leaders are busy ducking their personal responsibility for people acting on their words. The people who stir up the fringe never take responsibility. But I’d like to say on this day after a man was murdered in cold blood for preforming abortions that I — and the people I worked with in the religious right, the Republican Party, the pro-life movement and the Roman Catholic Church — all contributed to this killing by our foolish and incendiary words.

Ah, yes, one man acts in an irresponsible manner, and the whole pro-life movement is impugned.

Perhaps Sojo or Schaeffer can tell us, please, how many times abortion doctors have been killed like this man was? Unsure of the number myself, but I'm thinking it must be pretty small, since I can't remember the last time this sort of thing happened. One can think it's blissfully infrequent.

Schaeffer seems to not like that abortion providers are called "murderers". One may assume, I guess, that he would prefer one of the mushy PC titles? Or maybe they are called that because abortion itself is, in fact, murder?

An ancient myth is being played out: You kill me, I kill you, neither of us really knows why. We inhabit a culture where violence is taken for granted. It’s on the air so much it feels like it’s in it. Acts of violence occur at the end of a continuum that begins with how we talk about being human. Moral denunciations, even when focused on people who do awful things, need to be handled with care. Bill O’Reilly isn’t going to change if only enough liberals will shout at him. People aren’t going to stop killing people they disagree with if only our culture can isolate them further than they already are.

Wow, reading that, one would think that the streets are running red with blood, that one can't go out of one's house without having to duck behind the nearest car or other obstacle so that the shooters won't get you.

Seriously, the reason this murder is making the news, and is such a big deal, can perhaps be summed up in two reason.

1. Pro-lifers attacking abortion doctors happens infrequently, so those who see a way to cash in on it are trying to make the most of.

2. It fits the present mindset and attempts to set the agenda by the liberal media and liberal politicians.

It's all about spin.

Schaeffer wants to spread the blame. Sorry, but I do not accept blame for the actions of a loon, not matter what that loon's position. Schaeffer can repent of his own sins (one would wish he truly would), but he does not speak for me.

Because while one man murdered an abortion doctor (a crime and one that deserves justice, which I hope is give), that same abortion doctor murdered many others (a travesty that is currently legal). That abortion doctor deserves justice, too, but you must pardon me if I do not consider him a saint or martyr.

jim wallis' double vision

Last week, Jim Wallis had this to say about former Vice-President Dick Cheney.

The Good News About Yesterday’s Duel

I will leave the judgment of Dick Cheney’s soul to God, who alone is in the position to render that judgment on all of us. But I will say the vision of America that Dick Cheney offers, and did again yesterday, is decidedly evil, and has helped to spread even more evil around the world. Dick Cheney represents the dark side of America, a view of the world dominated by fear and self-righteousness—always a deadly combination. It accepts no real reflection or self-examination, the evil in the world is always external, and the threat ever present. There is only certainty, and never humility. And, when the dark side goes unchecked, what it leads to is a state of permanent warfare, which will only be won by using any means necessary; and where the ends always justify the means. At the end of his breathtaking speech, the former vice president was so full of admiration and praise for those who used “enhanced interrogation” against America’s suspected enemies that you got the impression that he would happily preside over those brutal sessions himself.

I suppose it's pretty clear that Wallis disapproves. Very well, such is his right. Frankly, I think he exaggerates and misrepresents.

For the moment, I'll confine myself to his comments at the end, where he refers to the for Vice-President's remarks about "enhanced interrogation" techniques.

Frankly, I'm more than willing to respect anyone who may be uncomfortable with some of those techniques. I've written elsewhere about that.

But a few weeks ago, Wallis had this to say about someone else.

Thoughts on Obama’s Notre Dame Address

Perhaps this president’s willingness to confront controversy with an appeal to common values can also change the way we address other divisive and controversial issues. We live in a country in which we know everyone will not agree on everything. In fact, it is quite an accomplishment to even get half of the country to agree on anything. Our differences, and our ability to maintain this union in spite of them, are some of our country’s greatest strengths. It’s been a long time since I have heard a president be able to articulate so well a positive vision for how people of faith, and a nation as a whole, can work together to face the difficult moral issues of our time in both disagreement and unity.

Wallis claims to be pro-life. While I have no real reason to doubt it, I find it odd that he should be oh-so-ready to make excuses for a president who has approved not only of abortion of the the infanticide of those babies who had the audacity to not decently die in the abortion process, while ranting against a former vice-president who approved of interrogation techniques that may have caused physical discomfort or even pain but that were not intended to kill.

If he wishes to stand so strong against the one that isn't meant to kill, perhaps he should do so against the one that is out-and-out murder as well.

Or does being a socialist cover a multitude of blood?