Being the Change I Wish to See

Two young soldiers who just completed basic training were volunteering at a local recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 1 when they were shot. Private Quinton Ezeagwula is recovering and Private William Long was killed. Our prayers are with Private Long’s family and friends for his loss and with Private Ezeagwula and his family and friends for a speedy recovery.

The alleged gunman’s name is Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad (formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe) and he had a significant amount of fire power in his car along with a substantial amount of ammunition. He was already under investigation by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force after returning to the U.S. after being jailed in Yemen for using a fake Somali passport.

Rachel Maddow interviews former FBI counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence specialist David Cid:

Many questions remain, such as how does someone under investigation by an elite FBI task force get so much hardware, and was he working alone.

This domestic terrorist attack is very similar to the murder of Dr. George Tiller. It was motivated by religious extremism and the idea that it’s okay to kill people who don’t share your views.

The difference? Muhammad is a Muslim and is being called a home-grown terrorist and something needs to be done about stopping people like him who come from radical Mosques. Roeder is a Christian who is associated with a known radical anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue. These Christian radical anti-abortion groups are known and have been known for decades to incite and commit violence, including murder, against other Americans because they disagree with those other Americans’ beliefs. In other words, they commit domestic terrorism.

Either way, they are all home-grown terrorists, except the anti-abortion movement operates in the open, in full view of law enforcement. If Muslim anti-American terrorists tried that, we would catch them instead of ignoring them.

When are we going to see the violent anti-abortion movement as the same sort of domestic terrorism as we see Muhammad, McVeigh, Nichols and the Unibomber? Roeder is the same as these guys.

The ultimate question is how do we stop this kind of violence and protect our civil liberties and privacy at the same time?

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Technorati Tags: Civil Rights and Justice, domestic terrorism, Little Rock Arkansas, William Long murder

written by Sherri Joubert \\ tags: Civil Rights and Justice, domestic terrorism, Little Rock Arkansas, William Long murder

As most everyone has heard by now, Dr. George Tiller, a physician who provided late pregnancy abortions to women in need was allegedly murdered by an anti-abortion extremist/terrorist associated with Operation Rescue, Scott Roeder, on Sunday, May 31 at his church.

Here is how the abortion extremist movement began: an interview with Frank Shaeffer:

Frank Shaeffer’s book: Crazy for God

The murder of Dr. Tiller was a terrorist act, a political assassination, and part of an organized terrorist network. The rhetoric from the far right that has been going on for years set the tone for a culture of hate and violence.

No one likes it that we need to have abortion available to women as a health care procedure. But real life doesn’t always deal us the cards we need to protect our lives and health. No woman or family makes a choice to have an abortion lightly. It is a grueling, heart-wrenching situation to face. The anti-abortion extremists would have you believe women choose abortions on a whim, just because they feel like it at the moment. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

There are three sets of beliefs about women’s reproductive rights in America today. There is the pro-choice group, the pro-life group, and then there is the far right, extremist/terrorist anti-abortion group who believe they have the right to intimidate, harass and kill people because of their warped beliefs.

If anti-Muslim Americans protested outside of Mosques and targeted Muslim Americans for harassment and assassination, they would be arrested and their behavior would be stopped. This type of protesting would be seen for what it really is–setting up a culture ripe for violence and the murder of innocent Muslim Americans.

Interview with Dr. Warren Hern, friend and colleague of Dr. Tiller:

There is no common ground with fanatics who want to kill you. The only difference between the American anti-abortion movement and the Taliban is about 8000 miles. The Christian churches have been at the forefront of this kind of fanaticism. — Dr. Warren Hern, friend of Dr. George Tiller

I’m eagerly awaiting more information from the Department of Justice and what they plan to do about the present violent culture surrounding abortion in America. President Obama condemned the murder. The Department of Justice sent U.S. Marshals to protect abortion providers.

Dr. Tiller was an innocent man who provided much needed services to women in horrendously difficult circumstances, being in need of a late pregnancy abortion. No person had the right to decide his life was worthless or to take his life. His murder was a cold-blooded act of domestic terrorism directed at abortion providers and the patients who seek their services. They are no different than al-Qaeda terrorists who are willing to take our lives because they believe our way of life is heretical according to their beliefs.

Technorati Tags: abortion, domestic terrorism, Dr. George Tiller, Dr. Warren Hern, Frank Shaeffer, O'Reilly Factor, Rachel Maddow, reproductive rights, women's rights

written by Sherri Joubert \\ tags: abortion, domestic terrorism, Dr. George Tiller, Dr. Warren Hern, Frank Shaeffer, O'Reilly Factor, Rachel Maddow, reproductive rights, women's rights