This is a very well written, logical and rational article with points so spot on, it is amazing to me the “god-fearing”, supposedly compassionate, conservatives who actually choose to openly speak this oppressive garbage that supports the murder of a doctor who is practicing explicitly within the law, in which a majority of this country has clearly shown to be in support of, can even open their mouths to continuously spew their hate– all in support of their opinion. There is a title for this type of behavior and the support of it, and it is called DOMESTIC TERRORISM. Clearly the support of it is more abundant in this country than most will admit.

FOR THE RECORD: I do not support abortion as a form of birth control. However by the actions of one and the apparently public support of that one by many, I am forced to take the side of the doctor in this very specific case. While I may disagree with his profession, what happened to him is called domestic terrorism and needs to be labeled as such.

The article along with the title, verbatim from its author is below…

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Dr. George Tiller, Martyr

I don’t do abortions.

I learned to do them, of course, as most gynecologists of my generation did, and I did them as part of my residency. That experience convinced me that abortions were not consistent with my view of providing patient care. I referred those of my patients who wanted abortions to other providers, and I never did another termination again.

Despite my personal views on abortion, I am horrified, appalled, and deeply outraged by the assassination of my colleague George Tiller. I am also profoundly humbled by his ultimate sacrifice. Tiller knew his life would probably end like this. He had already been shot, his clinic had been bombed, and he constantly received death threats. Yet none of that deterred him from standing for what he believed in.

It is a curious fact about conservative Republicans of this era, that they think the law applies to everyone but them. Abortion is legal, yet they try to interfere with it on a daily basis; legal access to abortion is the result of the political will, and is grounded in the American Constitution, yet conservative Republicans feel free to ignore the parts of the Constitution that don’t suit their prejudices; murder is the ultimate crime, yet they tacitly and actively encourage the murder of abortion providers. Many conservative Republicans feel that religion is so important that they attempt to defy the Constitutional separation of Church and State, yet they apparently have no problem violating the sanctity of a church to commit murder.

Terrorists always believe that the end justifies the means. Make no mistake about it; Operation Rescue and similar anti-abortion organizations are terrorist groups. They use the tactics of terror — harassment, threats, and violence — to impose their personal beliefs upon the rest of the country, which has explicitly rejected those beliefs. And while we’re being honest, let’s acknowledge that conservative Republican celebrities like Bill O’Reilly, tacitly encourage and support terrorism.

George Tiller was far braver than most of us could ever be. He believed that access to late term abortion is, in addition to a legal right, part of the reproductive freedom to which all women are entitled. He was willing to put his life on the line to defend that right, and he paid the ultimate price. He knowingly risked death to stand firm for his vision of healthcare. Who among us would be willing to risk so much for an abstract principle?

George Tiller was martyred by anti-abortionists, who, in addition to flouting the law, are foolish enough to believe that killing doctors will stop abortions. Of the million plus abortions performed in this country every year, almost all are first trimester or early second trimester abortions, and murdering Dr. Tiller will stop not a single one of those. Dr. Tiller was a specialist in late abortions, but there are other such specialists both here and in other countries. Anyone who had the means to get to Dr. Tiller has the means to get to the other providers.

What have the anti-abortion terrorists accomplished? They have revealed themselves as the terrorists they are. They have aroused the horror and support of Americans who might otherwise have little concern about abortion rights. They have strengthening the cause of abortion rights in this country. In other words, anti-abortion terrorists have accomplished absolutely nothing, except the senseless murder of a good man.

SOURCE

Realize, Resist, Revolt

“Digital Resistance to Political and Cultural Manipulation and Indoctrination”

ORIGINAL SOURCE

This Propaganda series urges viewers to contemplate and evaluate the information they receive before accepting it as the truth; to question authority and the decisions made by those in power; to become an active participant and producer of thought as opposed to a passive receptacle for broadcast hype. The message is conveyed using a simple and direct visual language resulting in pieces that are easy to interpret and have immediate impact. In addition, animated pieces use audio/visual exclamation points to drive the message home. The purpose of this series is its message. If you agree with this message you can aid in its spread. All images in this series are public domain and I encourage you to download and distribute using the links on each piece’s information page. The downloadable PDF & SWF differ slightly from the original as I have included my url to aid in the virulent dissemination of this work and its message.

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Homeland Security
Download: PDF | SWF		In the wake of 9/11 homeland security became a topic of utmost importance. However, instead of securing the homeland, offensive actions were taken against countries abroad. Instead of working to patch up the foreign relations nightmares that led to the attack by Al Queda, it was decided to head out guns blazing. It is precisely this attitude that led to the terrorist acts in the first place. Here, we moved from the land of the free to the land of suspicion. Now you can be held without bail or notification of your crime, and tried without counsel before a military tribunal, all for ‘acting suspicious.’ Heavily armed guards, and concrete emplacements appeared before government buildings, and a color-coded system of terror alerts was hastily created, but these serve better to frighten and worry the public than protect them or inform them of danger. Still, as long as the public is frightened they will vote more money for defense. Money spent to finance and expand our various military footholds around the globe.

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Terrorist Support Network
Download: PDF | SWF		In the years following WWII a nation for the Jewish faith was created in their ancestral homeland. While this was indeed a noble gesture following the horrors many endured under the Nazi party during the war there was more to it than appeared at face value. The land set aside for Israel was unfortunately the homeland and holy land of another group of people, the Palestinians. An entire nation of people was summarily driven from its land and homes for the creation of the new country of Israel. While neighboring Arab countries were vehemently opposed to this invasion, the United States immediately recognized Israel as a nation followed closely by Great Britain, and both began supplying arms and training. Over the next 60 years Israel continued to expand in a series of wars, financed and armed by their foreign allies. Through the machinations of our mass media, Israel has come to be accepted as the victim of a ruthless terrorist campaign by the Palestinians. The fact that they are fighting merely to gain back the homes and holy land that were rightfully theirs is conveniently glossed over. Palestinian suicide bombers and the carnage wreaked by them upon civilians in Israeli marketplaces are commonly shown on the nightly news. What isn’t shown are U.S. supplied Cobra helicopter gunships firing volley after volley of missiles into civilian Palestinian warehouses and communities, the thousands of Palestinians held without trial in Israeli prisons, and the Israeli settlements forever expanding into Palestinian land. While the U.K. ceased arms sales to Israel after the invasion of Lebanon, the U.S. is quite willing to ignore Israeli terrorism and its direct part in said undertakings for the foothold in the oil-rich Middle East Israel provides it. And now we wage war on even more of the Middle East in our so-called ‘war on terror,’ all the while hiding the hypocrisy from our own people.

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Weapons of Mass Descruction
Download: PDF | SWF		The public and Congress were goaded into war on Iraq with the threats of Sadam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. As can clearly be seen, there are no weapons of mass destruction to be found. What’s more, when Sadam gassed the Kurds both the chemical weapons used and the training to operate them were supplied by the United States. While the lack of weapons found upon the invasion of Iraq has been conveniently explained away citing poor intelligence and mobile factories, the fact is that the United States government perpetrated a believable and deliberate lie against the American people. While the threat of mass destruction is an easily accepted reason for war, the real reason would not have galvanized the public to such a degree. Iraq was about to begin selling its oil for euros as well as dollars. Such a move would seriously undercut the strength of the dollar at home and abroad, and deal a crippling blow to the already haggard U.S. economy. While the livelihood of Americans is indeed important, it is unlikely the friends and family of servicemen and women would support such a war with the lives of their loved ones.

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Land of the Free
Download: PDF | SWF		It is called the land of the free, but everything seems to have a price. In fact, the higher a price you pay for things, the more respect and admiration you receive. Movie stars and athletes are revered not only for their fame, but also for the lavish lifestyles that fame affords them. Wildly overpriced SUVs have become the status symbol of the new millennium, with every car manufacturer scrambling to cash in on this new windfall, regardless of the socio-economic and ecological repercussions. Yes, in America it even costs money to be healthy. While most first world countries realize that healthcare is a basic human right to be provided socially, we feel the profit generated by our hospitals and doctors’ practices are just too lucrative to pass up. Money is so important to us that we will even export our manufacturing to third world counties for cheaper labor, regardless of the collapsing U.S. job market. But are these savings passed on to the consumer? Of course not, they just add to a greater profit margin and larger year-end bonuses for the multi-billionaire company executives. And as ENRON recently showed, the bottom line is more important than anything, including honest accounting and the livelihood of your employees. Yes, America truly is one nation, under the dollar.

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Truth
Download: PDF | SWF		On television and in print both the news media and politicians take great pride in the appearance of truth, honesty and lack of bias. Nothing could be further from the truth. The mass media exists for one reason only; to turn a profit. While their business is indeed the dissemination of current information, every facet of their operation, from which stories are covered to the editorialization of said stories, is designed to increase their profit. Stories of rape, murder, child abuse, conflict, all of these make entertaining television spots and engrossing blurbs in a newspaper. For this reason these types of stories are included in far higher proportion to ‘happy’ news stories, thereby altering the public’s view of the world and their own safety. The media also puts a spin on current politics, showing the government and the president in the best light possible. This is especially true since 9/11 and the ‘war on terror.’ While this may or may not be patriotic, it is not unbiased coverage of events and decisions that affect us all as citizens. Politicians themselves are no better. While the goal of the media is increased revenues, the politicians strive for broader voter bases and election or reelection. Their solutions and stances are modulated to be as bland and middle-of-the-road as possible. No question is answered straightforwardly when it can be avoided. By making every statement and stance as vague as possible, politicians avoid decisively eliminating anyone from their voter base. While the tactics of the media are excellent for making a profit, and the tactics of the politicians are superb for keeping a broad voter base, they both fail miserably at the jobs they profess to be doing; those of informing the public of current events in the world and in political thought. As Americans we need to take these ulterior motives into account before accepting politicians and the news media at face value.

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Who’s Next?
Download: PDF | SWF		Our economy balances precariously on barrels of oil. Our military, plastics, and automotive industry depend on a constant and inexpensive supply. Our shopping malls, restaurants, factories and office buildings rely on it to transport customers and employees to and fro. The dollar itself depends upon oil. Our currency currently holds favored status in the world. One of the main reasons is that it is the only currency used for the trade of oil. Iraq was about to allow its vast oil reserves to be bought with euros instead of dollars setting a dangerous example for the rest of the oil producing countries. American invasion and occupation quickly saw to that danger. Now, with precedent set the only question is: who’s next?

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American Idle
Download: PDF | SWF		The United States portrays itself to its people as the savior of the rest of the world, sending ‘peacekeeping missions’ to Kosovo and ‘freeing’ Iraq. Regardless of the catchy names the government labels these actions with, the fact remains they are military actions that would not be carried out unless it was for the gain of America, either strategically or financially. While our wars in the name of peace make national headlines every single day the campaign ensues, our other exploits garner far less attention. The fact we supplied arms, training, and financial support to both Afghanistan and Iraq, our direct and indirect support for the overthrow of various democratically elected rulers in favor of U.S. supporting dictators, and our blatant flouting of worldwide regulations on nuclear, chemical and biological arms production and stockpiling. Yes, these and other shameful facts are there to be found, but they are buried behind the constant stream of propaganda and spin-doctored reports provided by the mass media. In the wake of 9/11 and the ensuing patriot acts even mentioning these facts or otherwise questioning the integrity of our country or its government is met with hostility and possibly imprisonment. Behind the façade of peace and freedom the U.S. hides its nuclear threat and capitalist greed. Now that the propaganda machine is in full swing and jingoism is at its height it is more necessary than ever for the people of this country to search out the whole truth. Our future as a free nation depends upon it.

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American Diplomacy
Download: PDF | SWF		In the weeks before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, U.N. weapons inspectors and the international community tried valiantly to come to a peaceful resolution. The effort was doomed from the start, as the U.S. wanted nothing to do with diplomacy, only to finish the war that Bush senior had started during his administration. While the trendy propagandistic catchphrases of weapons of mass destruction and terrorist support networks were thrown around to appease and pacify the public both here and abroad, the U.S. readied for the unprovoked invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation. The vehement and honorable French opposition to the war was openly mocked, going so far as a presidential mandate renaming french-fries and french toast as freedom-fries and freedom toast. Having not already burned enough diplomatic bridges, the U.S. proceeded to invade Iraq in spite of Germany’s stern misgivings and without U.N. sanction. Clearly American diplomacy is best expressed by cruise missiles and assault rifles.

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Inequality Destroys Democracy
Download: PDF | SWF		The CEO of a British manufacturing firm makes on average eighteen times the salary of his/her average employee. In Germany the same CEO makes only thirteen times the average salary his/her corporation pays out. In the United States a CEO in the manufacturing industry makes on average four hundred and forty one times the salary of his/her average employee. This appalling discrepancy in earning power has consequences that stretch far further than simple economics. In a democracy, everyone’s voice has the same volume, and everyone’s opinion is given equal weight. In America this is decidedly untrue. Our society no longer works as simply as it once did, when a presidential hopeful would take a train across country speaking at the major cities along the way. Now is the time of mass media; television, radio, newspapers and magazines carry information from coast to coast and into people’s homes. These new media cost money, and only those with the most money can afford the exorbitant fees charged for a 30 second commercial spot on a national television syndicate. These peoples voices are magnified to thousands of times the volume and impact of the average American, and fed directly into the nation’s collective ears. The detrimental effect of this monetary magnification of opinion is especially apparent in politics. While there are myriad political parties, only two consistently manage to raise enough money to organize the massively expensive election campaigns used to promote their candidates. The other parties cannot advertise thusly, leading to enormously fewer votes and their continuing exclusion from the nationally televised presidential debates. In the same manner those wealthy individuals and corporations that can afford to donate millions of dollars to the campaign funds of the two main parties gain massive political sway with the members of said party. In this manner we receive our government as surely as if it were a dictatorship. A party empowered by its money, acting in the name of those who provided its funding. Capitalism at its finest.

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War and Peace
Download: PDF | SWF		The United States portrays itself to its people as the savior of the rest of the world, sending ‘peacekeeping missions’ to Kosovo and ‘freeing’ Iraq. Regardless of the catchy names the government labels these actions with, the fact remains they are military actions that would not be carried out unless it was for the gain of America, either strategically or financially. While our wars in the name of peace make national headlines every single day the campaign ensues, our other exploits garner far less attention. The fact we supplied arms, training, and financial support to both Afghanistan and Iraq, our direct and indirect support for the overthrow of various democratically elected rulers in favor of U.S. supporting dictators, and our blatant flouting of worldwide regulations on nuclear, chemical and biological arms production and stockpiling. Yes, these and other shameful facts are there to be found, but they are buried behind the constant stream of propaganda and spin-doctored reports provided by the mass media. In the wake of 9/11 and the ensuing patriot acts even mentioning these facts or otherwise questioning the integrity of our country or its government is met with hostility and possibly imprisonment. Behind the façade of peace and freedom the U.S. hides its nuclear threat and capitalist greed. Now that the propaganda machine is in full swing and jingoism is at its height it is more necessary than ever for the people of this country to search out the whole truth. Our future as a free nation depends upon it.

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American Idol
Download: PDF | SWF		Capitalism and consumerism are quickly becoming the religion of the American masses. Television programs in which people do increasingly immoral and insane acts for large sums of money have become wildly popular. Spurred on by television, both in commercials and in the values held by the characters in the programs themselves, happiness is rapidly being redefined as buying power. The major corporations, more than happy to take the public’s money in exchange for ‘happiness,’ gleefully egg on this paradigm shift. Corporations resort to sub-subsistence wages in third world countries while cooking the books at home in order to make greater and greater profits while supplying the public’s insatiable thirst for new material goods. This god of currency is a dark and evil one, serving only to cheapen life while shackling America to the false hope of material happiness.

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Money Drives The Media
Download: PDF | SWF		In our society, a person’s worldview is increasingly based upon events that were not physically experienced but dictated to him or her by the various media. Though the media is an effective tool for communication, one must remember its actual purpose. A television news program, like any other television program in this capitalist system, exists to make a profit. It makes this profit by selling advertising time and it sells advertising time by getting high ratings. It is not designed to simply tell you the news, but to tell you the news in a way that will keep you from changing the channel. The same applies to radio news programs, while newspapers are written to sell the newspaper itself. They are all designed to tell the news, but more importantly they are designed to tell the news in a manner that will generate a profit. To some this may seem like a minor distinction, but this difference determines which news stories are covered, the amount and visibility of coverage, and the manner in which they are editorialized. A society that accepts this edited information as the whole and unbiased truth subscribes to a worldview based upon popular opinion rather than fact and subjects itself to the will of the information providers. Without objective sources of information our society cannot make informed decisions concerning world events, or homeland politics. Such a state puts us in grave danger in this time of international power struggles and global corporations.

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Two Faces, One Card
Download: PDF | SWF		The United States government is often referred to as a two party system. This very statement highlights one of the biggest issues in U.S. politics. There are far more than two parties involved in any election, be it sate or federal, however only the Democrats and Republicans manage to get a representative in office regularly. Both parties receive inordinate sums of money from private individuals and corporations that serve to fund their massive nationwide ad campaigns. Without such funding the lesser parties cannot hope to attain the voting base needed to appear in televised debates, let alone win a national election. While this in itself is highly undemocratic, it pales in comparison to the transgressions of the two great parties perpetrated for their own benefit from their corporate sponsors. In order to garner the favor of the large corporations, both parties must maintain a pro-capitalist, pro-corporate, pro-rich stance on politics. It is absolutely vital that they not lose favor with the richest segment of society in order for them to maintain their hegemony. While one of them may lose come election time, the other is guaranteed to win, keeping the rich minority in control of our nation. One leans slightly left, the other slightly right, but both have the same core of business friendly policies and corporate aid. We are not of the people, for the people; we are of the wealthy for themselves. One nation, under the dollar.

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Pro-War Rally
Download: PDF | SWF		The day President Bush addressed the nation saying he had given the order for all U.N. inspectors to pull out of Iraq I watched the stock ticker for a half hour straight. For that entire half hour not a single stock reported losses or stayed unchanged; every one I saw went up. Therein lies the true reason for our war against Iraq. Our entire economy hinges upon the dollar’s current status as the favored world currency, and that favor hinges on its being the only currency accepted for the sale of oil. With our economy already in dire straits Iraq began preparing to accept the euro for sales of oil. This would have disastrous consequences, so naturally our military intelligence found weapons of mass destruction and the invasion / occupation began. While people marched in protest in the streets the stock market continued its pro-war rally.

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Who Owns You?
Download: PDF | SWF		Advertising and television show happy smiling people decked out in the latest designer fashions driving brand new SUVs to eat out at the latest semi casual chain restaurant. The implied moral is that without the newest and best products you have no hope of living a happy life. American consumerism has reached astonishing proportions, with a product to cure any and all woes and ailments your life may contain. People are encouraged not to think about their problems, but to purchase an item or medication that will fix it for them. Hundreds of thousands of man-hours are spent to allow the purchase of that name brand item over its generic counterpart. Without the hippest newest clothing and accessories one’s social standing is placed in jeopardy. Nowadays more than ever people are convinced they are what they own. This attitude not only cheapens life and free time, but further entrenches multinational corporations and their illegal and inhumane methods of cutting costs for a higher profit margin.

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Political Prisoners
Download: PDF | SWF		Since 9/11 and the passing of the Patriot Acts, Americans have become prisoners in their own country. We are supposedly the land of the free; yet protesting government actions or criticizing the president can land you before a closed military tribunal without counsel. Our choices are dictated to us by the mass media and ensuing popular opinion and those who stray are dubbed unpatriotic if not outright terrorists. We are allowed to elect any man as president, so long as he happens to be a Democrat or Republican. Other parties exist, but cannot hope to compete with the financial juggernauts the two mainstream parties have become. In a catch 22, nationwide television commercials and advertising are simply beyond the reach of any party without an enormous financial support base, yet gaining that support base is nearly impossible without advertising. We must take a stand for what we know is right, regardless of hype and propaganda, before the shackles are tightened so far that there is no freedom left.

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Education Prevents Manipulation
Download: PDF | SWF		These days people are constantly bombarded with information from every direction. Television and radio stream news clips and sound bytes, interrupted only by commercials and political advertisements. Even those shows that appear informative have their own agendas of increased viewership and the associated ratings and profit. Swimming in this sea of skewed information, spin-doctored accounts, and blatant propaganda it is easy to lose ones way and jump to the wrong conclusions. It is even easier to simply succumb to the constant outflow of data and accept everything your mind takes in as fact at face value. In today’s age of global interconnectedness and world politics such lapses of critical thought are increasingly dangerous. It cannot be left to those few at the top to dictate what is correct and incorrect for the vast majority of society. It is even more criminal to restrict or alter the information necessary for those masses to make an informed decision. Yet that is exactly what our government, mass media, and corporate society are doing. Only by detaching ourselves from our preconceptions and the media outlets and taking an educated, informed look at the world around us can we hope to make the correct decisions in this ever changing world. Those who have educated themselves are far harder to manipulate with propaganda and half-truths.

Know your rights and protect yourself from the all common, illegal government search, seizures, intimidation and the like, by starting with the understanding of, and the assertion of your rights when confronted by police officers.