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This is why Fox News is different from other cable news stations. They don't know when to stop or when to shut up and no two people are better examples of this than Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly. It seems that Billo doesn't understand when he should shut up and not remind people of his very prominent role in the hate-stoking fires that drove Scott Roeder to murder Dr. George Tiller in cold blood. It's well-known that Bill O'Reilly launched a jihad on Dr. Tiller and by extension, Kathleen Sibelius, as far back as 2005.

Salon report in May, 2009:

But there’s no other person who bears as much responsibility for the characterization of Tiller as a savage on the loose, killing babies willy-nilly thanks to the collusion of would-be sophisticated cultural elites, a bought-and-paid-for governor and scofflaw secular journalists. Tiller’s name first appeared on “The Factor” on Feb. 25, 2005. Since then, O’Reilly and his guest hosts have brought up the doctor on 28 more episodes, including as recently as April 27 of this year. Almost invariably, Tiller is described as “Tiller the Baby Killer.”

Tiller, O’Reilly likes to say, “destroys fetuses for just about any reason right up until the birth date for $5,000.” He’s guilty of “Nazi stuff,” said O’Reilly on June 8, 2005; a moral equivalent to NAMBLA and al-Qaida, he suggested on March 15, 2006. “This is the kind of stuff happened in Mao’s China, Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union,” said O’Reilly on Nov. 9, 2006.

Here's Dave Neiwert's post from June, 2009:

Three years ago, O'Reilly and his ambush-crew specialist, Jesse Watters, went hard after Tiller, accusing him of wantonly murdering babies because he performs late-term abortions:

Bill summarized in a heartfelt Talking Points Memo on Friday, November 10th: "If we as a society allow an undefined mental health exception in late-term abortions, then babies can be killed for almost any reason... This is the kind of stuff that happened in Mao's China and Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union... If we allow this, America will no longer be a noble nation...If we allow Dr. George Tiller and his acolytes to continue, we can no longer pass judgment on any behavior by anybody."

Including, evidently, murderous extremists. And, as you can see in the video above (from 2006), O'Reilly similarly accused anyone who refused to buy into his accusation of coddling killers:

I don’t care what you think. We have incontrovertible evidence that this man is executing babies about to be born because the woman is depressed…if you don’t believe me, I don’t care…You are okay with Dr. Tiller executing babies about to be born because the mother says she’s depressed.

O'Reilly later attacked Kathleen Sebelius for her refusal to prosecute Tiller. And he kept it up. As recently as this spring he again spent a segment excoriating Tiller as a murderer.

Here is a choice Billo quote from 2008:

O'REILLY: He's a health care provider according to Governor Sebelius. Well, Tiller himself donated money to her campaign. She doesn't seem to be real upset about this guy operating a death mill, which is exactly what it is in her state, does she?

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I'm not sure which is redlining higher, my irony or my outrage meter:

The man who killed Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller has filed a petition complaining that his rights have been violated and asking to be released from custody.

Scott Roeder, 52, of Kansas City, criticized the judge, the jail, prosecutors and his lawyers in a habeas corpus petition filed in Sedgwick County, Kan. A hearing is scheduled for June 4. Such a petition requires a judge to determine whether a person has been imprisoned lawfully and whether he should be freed.

Roeder was convicted of first-degree murder in January and sentenced April 1 to life in prison with no chance of parole for 50 years. That case is under appeal.

In the 24-page petition, Roeder said the judge’s imposition of a $20 million bond “along with a suggestion that I might enact ‘more’ violence if I make bond demonstrates heightened disregard for the presumption of my innocence.” He also said that after his arrest, the judge “made a public spectacle of me, forcing me to appear on television without the assistance of counsel or court clothes.”

Roeder complained that the names and addresses of his visitors and correspondents had been made public by the jail “and that some of these have been subjected to questioning by the police power as a consequence.”

Roeder said prosecutors had “made libelous allegations against me.” For example, he said, Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston told the judge that a reasonable person would believe that he had engaged in “alleged acts of American terrorism.”

Roeder argued that he should be released because his attorneys “disparaged me in public behind my back” and deprived him of a fair trial. Roeder also complained that he wasn’t allowed to use a necessity defense, arguing that killing Tiller was justified because he was saving the lives of unborn babies.

I'm sure that Dr. Tiller would like to have not had his civil rights violated too. And not liking being called a "domestic terrorist"? All I can tell you is if you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

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Finally, one of these anti-abortion extremists is held accountable in a big way. They're domestic terrorists and should be treated as such:

Defiant in court, a man who murdered one of the few U.S. doctors who performed late-term abortions used his sentencing hearing to do what the judge wouldn't let him do during his trial — justify his crime by describing abortion in gritty detail.

Scott Roeder was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years, the harshest sentence possible under Kansas law for gunning down Dr. George Tiller in the foyer of the Wichita physician's church last May.

"I stopped him so he could not dismember another innocent baby," Roeder said. "Wichita is a far safer place for unborn babies without George Tiller."

Roeder, 52, also was sentenced to an additional year in prison on each of two counts of aggravated assault for threatening two church ushers as he fled. With time off for good behavior, Roeder won't be eligible for parole for 51 years and eight months.

An attorney for Tiller, speaking in court as a friend of the slain doctor, said the toughest sentence would discourage other anti-abortion zealots from attacking doctors. Tiller's widow, Jeanne, cried as the sentence for murder was announced.

"We only can hope that this sentence will serve as a deterrent to those who have conspired and continue to conspire to murder abortion providers," the Tiller family said in a statement. "Certainly everything possible should be done by the prison system to insure that this man does not continue to foment hatred and violence from his prison cell."

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There's been a disturbing twist in the trial of Scott Roeder, the man who walked into a church and shot Dr. George Tiller to death:

Jurors in the trial of the man accused of killing Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller could have the option of finding Scott Roeder guilty of voluntary manslaughter instead of first-degree murder, a judge said Friday.

The action by Judge Warren Wilbert surprised those on both sides of the abortion issue and could make the abortion debate more prominent at Roeder’s trial, which is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Wilbert said that based on Roeder’s statements to the media and a 104-page memorandum that Roeder filed in which he admitted killing Tiller but said he had a legal defense for doing so, it was his duty to instruct jurors on all “lesser-included offenses” established by the defense.

“It’s a very real possibility that there would be evidence that would require me to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter,” Wilbert said.

However, he added, “I’m giving counsel a heads-up. This will not become a trial on the bigger issue of abortion. It will be limited to Mr. Roeder’s beliefs and how he came to form those beliefs.”

As KC Star columnist Barb Shelley pointedly observes:

How does that work? If I've seen a loved one died from alcoholism, do I get to go in and shoot up a tavern, based on my unreasonable but honest belief that deadly force is warranted? Of course not. Society breaks down if everybody who fits that mindset is able to get away with murder. Or anybody, for that matter.

Leonard Zeskind observes that this is an ominous development in light of the setting for the trial:

It will be from this pool of voters--who opened their church doors to Randall Terry's protestors and that re-elects Todd Tiahrt like clockwork--that the jury will be selected to try Scott Roeder. Personally, it is beyond me why Roeder's defense asked for a change of venue. Lucky for Roeder, the judge turned him down. All he needs is for one of those protestors or one of the sympathizers to squeak through voir dire and the prosecution is in trouble.

Further, it will be while the jury is deliberating that the theory of Defensive Action, so brilliantly explained in Wrath of Angels, will make a difference. Put most simply, advocates of defensive action believe that committing violence against clinics and doctors, including murder, is appropriate, even good, because it will save the so-called pre-born.

In an odd twist in the courtroom last week, the judge okayed a defense by Roeder that would enable him to argue that he believed, however mistakenly, that killing Dr. Tiller was justified because it would save the pre-born. If jurors believe that Roeder acted on sincere beliefs rather than on the basis of a criminal ideology, then it could be possible for him to be found guilty simply of voluntary manslaughter--which carries a shorter jail term than first degree murder.

In that case, the man who stalked Dr. George Tiller for weeks, the man who shot him down in cold blood while he served as a church usher on Sunday morning could then walk free in just another couple of years.

We'll be watching this trial closely as it develops.

As David Neiwert posted yesterday, a group of violent anti-abortion zealots planned to hold an online auction on eBay to help pay legal expenses for Scott Roeder, the man who murdered abortion provider, Dr. George Tiller at his Kansas church. Thankfully, eBay has stepped up to do the right thing and is blocking the auction:

An eBay auction planned by abortion opponents to raise money for the man accused of killing Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller will not be permitted, company officials said Tuesday.

"Based on the details we know about the anticipated listings, we believe these would violate our policy regarding offensive material," the company said in a statement to The Kansas City Star. "eBay will not permit the items in question to be posted to the eBay site, and they will be removed if they are posted."

It its statement, eBay said, “we do not allow items that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity and will not be a platform for those who promote violence toward others.” Read on...

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Judy Thomas in the Kansas City Star has an amazing piece (picked up by MSNBC) about the online fund-raiser being planned for Scott Roeder, the right-wing extremist who shot Dr. George Tiller in the head in his church:

An Army of God manual. A prison cookbook compiled by a woman doing time for abortion clinic bombings and arsons. An autographed bullhorn.

These are among the items that abortion foes plan to auction on eBay and other Web sites in a fundraiser for Scott Roeder, the Kansas City man charged with killing Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller.

“This is unique,” said Regina Dinwiddie, a Kansas City anti-abortion activist who will sign the bullhorn. “Nobody’s ever done this before. The goal is that everybody makes money for Scott Roeder’s defense.”

One abortion-rights leader called the auction deplorable and said it could lead to more violence.

“The network of extremists promoting and defending the murder of doctors is contributing to escalating threats against clinics and doctors across the country,” said Kathy Spillar, executive vice president of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Roeder, charged with first-degree murder in the May 31 shooting of Tiller, is scheduled to go to trial in January.

Perhaps even more appalling is the line of defense they hope to pursue in the courts with this money:

Leach and others would like to help Roeder hire a lawyer to present what is known as a necessity defense. That strategy would argue that Tiller was killed to prevent a greater harm — killing babies. Other anti-abortion activists charged with violent crimes have tried to use such a defense but with little success.

Yeah, let's legalize killing abortion doctors. Sounds like a job for Antonin Scalia. One can only hope this defense has zero success, as it has in the past.

Rachel Maddow also featured a segment on this story last night on her MSNBC show, including an interview with the attorney for Tiller's family, who says he'll move to have the court attach any funds they raise on Roeder's behalf:

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Scott Roeder murdered Dr. George Tiller in cold blood while he was serving as an usher at his church. Roeder, who has close ties with Randall Terry's Operation Rescue is now considering a Justifiable Homicide defense:

WICHITA, Kan. – The suspect in the killing of abortion provider George Tiller is in talks with a prominent attorney who represents anti-abortion protesters and has long advocated justifiable homicide as a legal defense in such cases.

Scott Roeder, 51, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated assault charges in the May 31 shooting death of Tiller in the foyer of his Wichita church. The Kansas City, Mo., man has refused to discuss his case, but he has told The Associated Press that Tiller's killing was justified to save "the lives of unborn children."

Roeder has court-appointed defense attorneys, but he apparently has now turned to Michael Hirsh, the lawyer who represented Paul Hill on appeal for killing a Florida abortion provider and his bodyguard in 1994. Hill was executed in 2003 after the Florida Supreme Court rejected Hirsh's argument that the judge should have allowed Hill to present to jurors his claim that the killings were justified to prevent abortions.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled in denying Hill's appeal that his motivation would not change the outcome of the case. "As a practical matter, permitting a defendant to vindicate his or her criminal activity in this manner would be an invitation for lawlessness," the justices wrote. Read on...

While the Justifiable Homicide defense in this case is a long shot, I agree with the Florida court's findings. It is clear that an acquittal in the Roeder case would unleash a flurry of violence against abortion providers and the women who seek to exercise their legal rights. The scary part is that this case is being tried in Kansas.

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When Laura Ingraham filled in for Bill O'Reilly on Friday's night's O'Reilly Factor, she ran a segment on abortion that was ostensibly an "investigation" into Planned Parenthood. It featured a logo that placed a red set of crosshairs -- the kind you find on a rifle scope -- over PP's logo.

I'd just like to ask one question:

What the hell were these people thinking?

Now, presumably, Ingraham herself did not order up this graphic, or if she did, it at least went through the hands of the show's regular producers and overseers. These are the same people who just went through a well-deserved round of approbation for their role -- in the form of those 28 references to Dr. George Tiller as a "baby killer" -- in the murder of Tiller by an anti-abortion fanatic.

And now they're running a graphic suggestive of what Ann Coulter calls "a procedure with a rifle" -- something, in fact, that Coulter has actually encouraged on The O'Reilly Factor.

Really, I'm serious. What are these people thinking?

Of course, we know all too well that O'Reilly and Co. did their best to disavow any culpability in the matter whatsoever -- somewhat less than convincingly. So maybe the continuing demonization of abortion providers on this program is part and parcel of that defiance.

And the same sort of anecdotal demonization that characterized O'Reilly's attacks on Tiller were similarly at play in this segment on Planned Parenthood. It essentially involved an ambush team using a youngish-seeming woman posing as a 14-year-old entering a variety of Planned Parenthood clinics and recording the responses -- most of which, as described by the fake teen here, actually fit the standard response of most properly run clinics in trying to make sure that younger patients feel at ease.

The overriding message, once again, is that these abortion providers are a pack of morally depraved sickos who deserve to be in the crosshairs. Lovely.

I can think of three possibilities here:

1. Someone just thought putting an organization in the crosshairs was the best way to represent that they were under investigation, and the other implications of such a graphic just didn't cross anybody's radar.

2. They thought about it, recognized that it might not be appropriate, but did it anyway, either out of defiance or simply not caring.

3. They did it with full intent, understanding full well that the suggestion of violence against Planned Parenthood was present, and in fact designing the graphic with that in mind.

Of the three, I think the second is the most plausible. But it's only slightly less appalling, for different reasons, than the other two.

Look, despite what the O'Reillys and Glenn Becks and Laura Ingrahams like to claim, no one is trying to "silence" them for expressing their opinions. This is about being responsible with that big media megaphone they hold. Promoting a violent mindset toward abortion providers, as we have already seen, is profoundly irresponsible. It's long past time that it stop.

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Heather at VC:

Joe Scarborough attacks Paul Krugman for his op-ed The Big Hate:

Scarborough: I’m just gonna say it. As somebody that has to sort through a lot of hate mail, a lot of hate email, a lot of viciousness. Paul Krugman’s name is attached to a lot of those emails. They use Paul Krugman as their shield for their left-wing hate. This is because Paul Krugman, like a lot of extremists on the right, they only see their side. They have a closed-minded world view. Paul Krugman uses this tragedy, uses this death to try to knock down his opponents on the right.

Unbelievable. Project much Joe?

Scarborough was attacking Paul Krugman by using the DHS report with the phony conservative line that the report was targeting our veterans. Not true. Do these conservative hacks want America to be safe? The report wasn't a partisan witch hunt, but conservatives are trying to find anything to jump on and make an issue out of. Then he goes of into la-la land when he brings Bush and Cheney into it. And by the way, there are no left wing radicals threatening to kill you, Scarborough, so your argument makes no sense.

On a separate but related matter ... I wonder why Joe didn't talk much about Dr. Tiller, either? Oh, wait. Seems Scarborough first got famous down in Florida defending an abortion-doctor killer named Michael Griffin, and it appears Joe didn't want that info dredged up. In fact, it appears that Scarborough used the murderer to get himself elected to Congress. Who knew?

Wayne Barrett of the Village Voice writes: Why Don't MSNBCers Question "Morning Joe" About Abortion Doc Killings?

Scarborough's hometown of Pensacola -- where his show once frequently originated -- was the site of the first two abortion murders, the second also occurring during his first run for Congress in 1994. A raw 30-year-old, Scarborough's surprising Republican win was principally funded by anti-abortion groups and he immediately went to Washington and voted against bills to protect abortion clinics, including one version sponsored by a Republican congressmen.

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Last night on his Fox News show, Bill O'Reilly discussed with Amanda Carpenter a website devoted to the memory of Dr. George Tiller called "I Am Dr. Tiller".

The site, as you can see, features many people from various walks of life -- ministers, health-care providers, medical students, even children -- who are making a public statement about their support for the work Dr. Tiller was engaged in before he was gunned down by a right-wing fanatic named Scott Roeder. They are saying when the fanatics go after Dr. Tiller, they're going after people like them too.

Many of them placed the signs proclaiming, "I am Dr. Tiller" over their faces, O'Reilly asks Carpenter this:

O'Reilly: Well, why are they hiding their faces, Amanda, if it's such a noble cause?

Gee, I dunno, Bill. It couldn't be that they're afraid that, after Bill O'Reilly puts their faces on public display and holds them up for public demonization, some fanatic will walk into their church and shoot them in the head, could it?

Of course, Bill himself would adamantly say No. The rest of us, however, are a different story.

[Incidentally, you can see if you visit the site that not all of them protect their identities; O'Reilly can't even get that right.]