George Tiller’s Murder – a Missed Wake-up Call?

The man who gunned down one of the few doctors in the U.S. to perform late-term abortions could be sent to prison Thursday for the rest of his life, but he may have gotten what he wanted all along: It is now markedly harder in Kansas to get an abortion.
via George Tiller Murder: Scott Roeder Faces Life Sentence, But Some Argue Abortion Provider’s Killer Got His Way.

The recent sentencing of Scott Roeder to life in prison for the murder of Dr. George Tiller caused me to revisit this painful issue from last year. Given the accelerating craziness of the Tea Party crowd, the arrest of the militia group in Michigan, and the insane responses to the health care reform bill, that act of ultra-rightwing violence now seems like a wake-up call that we hit the snooze button on.

Here’s something that is both topical and positive on the topic:

hello birmingham

hold me down
i am floating away
into the overcast skies
over my hometown
on election day
what is it about birmingham?
what is it about buffalo?
that the hate-filled wanna build bunkers
in your beautiful red earth
they wanna build them
in our shiny white snow
now i’ve drawn closed the curtain
in this little booth where the truth has no place
to stand
and i am feeling oh so powerless
in this stupid booth with this useless
little lever in my hand
and outside, my city is bracing
for the next killing thing
standing by the bridge and praying
for the next doctor
martin
luther
king
it was just one shot
through the kitchen window
it was just one or two miles from here
if you fly like a crow
a bullet came to visit a doctor
in his one safe place
a bullet insuring the right to life
whizzed past his kid and his wife
and knocked his glasses
right off of his face
and the blood poured off the pulpit
the blood poured down the picket line
yeah, the hatred was immediate
and the vengance was devine
so they went and stuffed god
down the barrel of a gun
and after him
they stuffed his only son
hello birmingham
it’s buffalo
i heard you had some trouble
down there again
and i’m just calling to let to know
that somebody understands
i was once escorted
through the doors of a clinic
by a man in a bullet proof vest
and no bombs went off that day
so i am still here to say
birmingham
i’m wishing you all of my best
oh birmingham
i’m wishing you all of my best
birmingham
i’m wishing you all of my best
on this election day

© 1999 ani difranco / righteous babe music

via : : : righteous babe records > > > hello birmingham : : :.

One response to “George Tiller’s Murder – a Missed Wake-up Call?

  1. I love that they asked for “Public Defenders” (and they thought they could bring down our government), undercover FBI agent, sweet. The simpleton Tea baggers keep missing the point. These are the same whiners that were crying when the McCain/Bailin ticket lost. Now they are crying again because their yelling and screaming (because they are haters not debaters or as others have dubbed them screamers not dreamers) did not stop the health care debate or the bill from passing. They think they can scare, intimidate and force others to go along with them by comments like “This time we came unarmed”, let me tell you something they are not the only ones that are armed and not all ex-military join the fringe militia crazies who don’t pay taxes and run around with face paint in the parks playing commando, the majority are mature and understand that the world is more complicated and grey than the black and white that these simpleton make it out to be and that my friend is the point. Do not cry when regular people openly laugh at your group when they see on TV that your leaders are Sarah Bailin, Orly Taitz, Victoria Jackson, Michele Bachmann and your own turn coat Glenn Beck from the LDS. They do more to discredit you group on TV (powerful) than any of comments on the blog sphere. Yee Haw!

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