David Daleiden, the guy behind those doctored Planned Parenthood videos, has felony charges dropped in Texas. No surprise there.

Courtesy of HuffPo:

A Texas judge on Tuesday dismissed a felony charge brought against two anti-abortion activists who produced controversial sting videos about Planned Parenthood. The county prosecutor’s office requested the dismissal. 

 A grand jury, which was originally investigating allegations of wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood, indicted David Daleiden, a self-proclaimed citizen journalist, and Sandra Merritt, another anti-abortion activist, in January. They were accused of tampering with a government record, which is a felony offense, and Daleiden was charged with attempting to purchase human organs, a misdemeanor. 

 “The grand jury took the investigation where the facts led it,” said Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson. However, she said Texas law limits what can be investigated after a grand jury’s time is extended ― which happened in this case ― and “in light of this and after careful research and review,” the indictments were dismissed. (Apparently the misdemeanor charges had been dropped earlier.)

Get a load of how Deleiden and his supporters are representing this news:

Daleiden and his supporters framed Tuesday’s news as a First Amendment win. “Daleiden used standard undercover journalism techniques and followed all applicable laws in doing so,” said Peter Breen, an attorney with the Thomas More Society who is representing Daleiden. “Planned Parenthood did wrong here, not David Daleiden,” he added.

Well they should not celebrate too soon because there is still an investigation underway in California, not to mention all of the civil cases filed against them.

The guy is a manipulative POS and I certainly hope that SOMEBODY sends his ass to prison.

A year after the Center for Medical Progress released those doctored videos attacking Planned Parenthood, things have never been better for the organization.

Courtesy of Broadly Vice: 

Officials in 13 states have investigated the Center for Medical Progress's claims and cleared Planned Parenthood of all wrongdoing; officials in eight other states declined to even investigate the reproductive health organization, citing a lack of evidence. In addition, Planned Parenthood no longer accepts reimbursement for its fetal tissue donation program, in order to dispel "the ludicrous idea that Planned Parenthood has any financial interest in fetal tissue donation," according to an October statement from Cecile Richards, the group's president.

While Planned Parenthood has been cleared, the Center for Medical Progress remains under heavy legal scrutiny: In surreptitiously recording abortion providers as part of their "sting operation," the group is accused of fraud and trespassing, among other charges, as well as engaging in a "complex criminal enterprise." 

If anything, according to Laguens, the Center for Medical Progress's tactics have backfired. "Over the last year, millions of people have taken action and have made known their use of and their support of Planned Parenthood," she said. "There's been an outpouring of appreciation for what Planned Parenthood has meant for the country and what Planned Parenthood has meant to individual people's lives." 

She pointed to the recent Supreme Court decision, which struck down Texas's onerous clinic restrictions, as further proof that disingenuous, political attacks on women's bodily autonomy are failing. 

"The real criminals have been exposed and are now facing lawsuits and criminal charges," Laguens added. "I think it couldn't be more different than on the day that they launched. While there's certainly a long way to go and a lot to do, it's a very hopeful time."

That was one of the most dishonest attacks I have ever seen.

Nice to see that in the end it only made its target stronger and virtually destroyed themselves in the attempt. 

Ted Cruz to name Carly Fiorina as his running mate. Oh yeah, THAT will help. Update!

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

Presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) intends to name former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as his vice presidential running mate if he succeeds in winning the GOP nomination, multiple sources reported Wednesday. 

Cruz’s move is seen as a last-minute gambit in hopes of shaking up the race and blocking front-runner Donald Trump, who easily swept five primary states across the Northeast on Tuesday. 

Personally I have no idea how appointing one of the most anti-female female candidates in history is going to help Cruz at this point, but hey when you are desperately grabbing at anything to stay afloat even a rusty anvil looks promising at first glance.

I am so sure that Carly Fiornia's attacks on Planned Parenthood and lies about what she saw in those doctored videos is really going to go over big with those soccer moms. Assuming that soccer moms is still a thing of course.

You would think he might have learned the lesson from John McCain when he made a similar mistake back in 2008.

Speaking of Sarah Palin you know that somewhere she is pressing her thighs together and muttering to herself that soon it will be time for Donald Trump to reward HER for her dedicated ass kissing, just like Cruz is rewarding Fiorina.

"Second time's a charm America, this time around my brand new elderly sugar daddy and I are going all the way!"

Update: It looks like Palin has decided to try and make herself part of the news day by mocking Ted Cruz for his basketball gaffe in Indiana:

Damn speaking of having a shelf life hasn't the expiration date been reached on this tired old basketball trope of Palin's?

After all she was as much of a basketball star as she was a hunter, or journalism major, or book author.

Meaning, you know, not.

The guy who shot and killed three people and injured nine others in the Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic actually tried to blow the place up as well.

Courtesy of the Washington Post:  

The man accused of killing three people and injuring nine others during a shooting rampage at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado last year told police he unsuccessfully tried to set off an explosion during this siege, according to authorities. 

Detectives said that Robert Lewis Dear Jr., who has been held without bond since the November shooting, told them he brought propane tanks to the Colorado Springs clinic thinking that they would blow up when he shot them. Dear did shoot them, but the explosion never happened, police said. 

This was one of several details included in a set of documents released Monday by a Colorado court. These documents — an arrest report and a set of search warrants — offer a new account of how the shooting spree unfolded. They also provide a glimpse at Dear’s state of mind, describing how he told detectives that he expected to go to heaven and “be met by all the aborted fetuses at the gates of heaven and they would thank him.”

I think expecting to be thanked by a bunch of fetuses is a pretty good indicator of mental illness. 

You know if this guy were inspired by ISIS we would be going after the individuals who inspired him to commit his act of terror and taking them out.

So with that in mind just when will the Feds lock this little prick up and throw away the key?

David Daleiden the guy behind the doctored videos attacking Planned Parenthood.

California investigators raid home of guy who made doctored Planned Parenthood videos, take laptop and hard drives as evidence.

Courtesy of Politico:  

California investigators on Tuesday evening searched the apartment of David Daleiden, the anti-abortion activist behind the series of sting videos released last summer showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing fees for fetal tissue and organs. 

California Attorney General Kamala Harris said last summer that she would investigate whether Daleiden broke laws in the course of his sting operation, which spurred a huge political battle over Planned Parenthood's federal funding. Daleiden filmed part of his project in Planned Parenthood clinics in California.

Investigators took Daleiden's personal laptop and multiple hard drives from his Orange County, Calif., home, according to a source close to Daleiden. They also attempted to take his phone as he was talking to his attorneys, the source said. 

Daleiden has denied that he broke any laws. But officials with Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Federation and their allies say he used false identification, broke confidentiality agreements and recorded without consent, among other charges. Besides facing at least two civil lawsuits, Daleiden has been indicted in Harris County, Texas, for using false identification and trying to buy human tissue. He posted bond in February.

What? You mean you can't use a false identification and then doctor video to attack an organization that provides health care services for women?

Who knew?

I hope they put his ass away for decades. 

Senators in Missouri want to hold the president of Planned Parenthood in contempt of court for refusing to surrender private medical records.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Senators in Missouri are moving to hold the president of a St Louis-area Planned Parenthood affiliate in contempt of court – under threat of jail time – for refusing to submit private medical documents. 

The move comes after the state general assembly’s committee on the sanctity of life subpoenaed documents from Mary Kogut, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the St Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, in an investigation into her organization. 

The subpoena, issued in November, called for Kogut to turn over any and all consent forms signed by the patient in the process of receiving abortion care at the St Louis affiliate. It also seeks documents that make reference to Dr Mary Gatter and Dr Deborah Nucatola, two Planned Parenthood staff members who are prominently featured in widely debunked “sting” videos by the activist group the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). The videos alleged that Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers throughout the US were engaging in the illegal sale of fetal tissue donation. 

A lawyer responded on behalf of Planned Parenthood that the committee did not have the authority to subpoena these documents, and that handing them over would violate federal privacy law. 

Despite these legal objections, the Missouri senate will begin a hearing Tuesday to introduce a bill determining whether Kogut should be found in contempt.

Amazing to see the impact those doctored videos continue to have despite the fact that they were proven to be full of lies and incredibly misleading.

The Republicans will not stop until there is not one clinic left to provide abortion services to women in this country despite the fact that they are perfectly legal.

Unreleased footage and court records show that the folks behind those doctored Planned Parenthood videos planted anti-abortion phrases and coerced false testimony from interviewees.

David Daleiden

Courtesy of he LA Times:  

The videos and court records show that Daleiden and his associates — posing as representatives of a fetal tissue brokerage — tried to loosen the tongues of abortion providers with alcohol.

In conversations, they tried to plant phrases such as “fully intact baby” and to elicit statements suggesting that fetuses were alive when their tissue and organs were harvested for use in medical research. 

A comparison of raw footage and the videos he released shows that Daleiden edited out material that conflicted with his premise that Planned Parenthood-affiliated clinics profit from the sale of fetal tissue for research purposes. 

Daleiden, asked for comment, said: “I think our methods are really credible.” His lawyers have said Daleiden employed common tools of investigative reporting.

Bullshit!

Remember this  woman from the videos?

Well she was carefully rehearsed before she shared her "first hand" accounts of what she saw:  

In footage made public last July, Holly O’Donnell said she had been traumatized by her work for a fetal-tissue brokerage. She described feeling “pain...and death and eternity” and said she fainted the first time she touched the remains of an aborted fetus. 

Unreleased footage filed in a civil court case shows that O’Donnell’s apparently spontaneous reflections were carefully rehearsed. David Daleiden, the anti-abortion activist who made the videos, is heard coaching O’Donnell through repeated takes, instructing her to repeat anecdotes, add details, speak “fluidly” and be “very natural.” 

“Let’s try it two more times,” he told her at one point. 

Later, O’Donnell protested: “I don’t want to tell that story again. Please don’t make me again, David.”

You know I've conducted interviews before, and the rule of thumb is NEVER to rehearse the answers and to instead let the information come out fresh and off the cuff.

Oh, and let's not forget honest.

Do you know who rehearses supposedly candid remarks over and over again?

Reality shows.

Yet based on these fraudulent and amateurish videos Planned Parenthood is still under attack and we are still spending millions of dollars in tax payer money to "investigate" them. 

The anti-abortion witch hunt in response to those now discredited doctored Planned Parenthood videos is still going strong.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

A special House committee empaneled to investigate fetal tissue research is preparing to issue 17 subpoenas to medical supply companies and laboratories, seeking the names of researchers, graduate students, laboratory technicians and administrative personnel — and prompting charges of intimidation. 

Abortion rights advocates and some university officials say the House investigation into how some of the nation’s most prestigious universities acquire fetal tissue threatens to endanger the lives of scientists, doctors and their staff members. The new subpoenas will only escalate a battle that some researchers fear could shut down studies seeking cures for Parkinson’s disease, the Zika virus and other illnesses. 

Representative Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, who opposes most fetal tissue research because of its association with abortion, intends to issue the subpoenas on behalf of the Republicans on the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives. The panel was created to investigate fetal tissue research after the release of surreptitiously recorded videos purporting to show Planned Parenthood officials trying to profit illegally from the sale of such tissue.

The article goes on to remind us that twenty states have investigated Planned Parenthood over those videos, and all of them have found cleared them of any wrongdoing.

Other states that were urged by conservative lawmakers to launch investigations decided there was not enough evidence to warrant such a response.

And yet Republicans in Congress see no problem with potentially destroying the lives of these lab technicians, students, and doctors, not to mention halting important research that could save thousands of lives, simply because they don't like abortion and the doctored Planned Parenthood videos gave them an excuse to overreact.

Bristol Palin (Well Really Nancy French) don't want you to forget this one thing about Carly Fiorina now that she has quit on her campaign.

52 and still looks this good 🙀

A photo posted by Bristol Palin (@bsmp2) on Feb 11, 2016 at 9:19am PST

(Bristol Palin wishing her sugar momma a happy birthday.)


So as you guys know yesterday Carly Fiorina had a rational moment and realized that nobody in their right mind would ever elect her to anything, and jumped out of the GOP clown car.

That is arguably good news for just about everybody.

Everybody that is except Brancy who has a case of the sads:

I sort of hate to hear that Carly Fiorina is suspending her campaign. 

But let’s take a moment to remember this amazing 35 seconds that she delivered during one of the debates!

Then Brancy embedded this soon to be iconic video.

Here's the thing, I also don't want people to forget that Carly Fiorina said such an ignorant thing during a nationally televised debate.

Especially as it was proven to be complete bullshit.

Gee it's so rare that I agree with anything that Nancy French/Bristol Palin/Sarah Palin has to say that I am going to take a moment to bask in the golden light of our unity on this issue.

Okay, done basking now. 

Ted Cruz is starting a super wing-nutty anti-abortion group. Apparently he does not feel enough people hate him yet.

"Agh! I told you don't hold up a mirror to my face! It's terrifying!"

Courtesy of Mother Jones:

 During a campaign stop in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said he's created an anti-abortion group that will "champion every child, born and unborn." The Pro-Lifers for Cruz coalition already has more than 17,000 members, according to a press release, and will be chaired by Tony Perkins, the anti-LGBT president of the Family Research Council who recently said same-sex marriage is responsible for "havoc in our homes and blood in our streets." Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has also created a committee, but Cruz has cornered some of the more extreme members of the anti-abortion movement. Also heading up the coalition are 11 anti-abortion co-chairs "representing virtually every perspective on the pro-life spectrum." 

One of those perspectives is that of Troy Newman, the president of Operation Rescue and a board member of the Center for Medical Progress, the group behind the debunked Planned Parenthood videos, whose founder David Daleiden was recently indicted for alleged crimes in connection to the videos. In his announcement on Wednesday, Cruz called Newman's group "one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation."

This Troy Newman guy is so divorced from reality that he once said this about women's health clinics in California:

"Is it no wonder that California is experiencing the worst drought in history when it is the largest child-killer in all of the United States?"

Yes because a lack of precipitation and women controlling their own reproductive organs are so clearly intertwined.

Let's just add this to the growing list of reasons that Ted Cruz must NEVER be allowed to gain any real political power.

Despite being completely exonerated by a Texas grand jury, Republicans have no intention of ending their witch hunt against Planned Parenthood.

"I'm in the middle of an investigation, stop trying to distract me with facts."

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

Republicans are determined to push on with their investigation of Planned Parenthood, even after a Texas grand jury cleared the organization of wrongdoing on Monday and instead indicted two anti-abortion activists who targeted the family planning provider in a series of undercover videos. 

The grand jury’s decision hasn’t affected Republicans' plans to continue investigating Planned Parenthood, however. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who is chairing a select investigative committee that purports to be investigating “big abortion providers" -- but for all intents and purposes is only scrutinizing Planned Parenthood -- said in a statement Tuesday that “the mission of our investigation has not changed.” 

“We will continue to gather information and get the facts about medical practices of abortion service providers and the business practices of the procurement organizations who sell baby body parts,” Blackburn said. “These are issues of importance to the American people. We will study the laws on the books and follow the facts to defend life." 

Blackburn's committee was created even as other Republicans, like Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), said they didn’t find any evidence of wrongdoing on the provider’s part. Multiple state investigations have come to similar conclusions. 

Those are your tax dollars at work folks.

 Just to provide a little context, the Republicans are also still investigating Benghazi.

Republicans, if there is a dead horse around, you can bet they all busy beating it. 

Grand jury indicts anti-choice activists behind doctored Planned Parenthood videos.

David Daleiden

Courtesy of The New York Times:  

A grand jury here that was investigating allegations of misconduct against Planned Parenthood has instead indicted two anti-abortion activists who made videos of the organization. 

In a statement, the Harris County district attorney, Devon Anderson, said Monday that the director of the Center for Medical Progress, David Daleiden, had been indicted on a felony charge of tampering with a governmental record and a misdemeanor count related to purchasing human organs. 

Another center employee, Sandra Merritt, was indicted on a charge of tampering with a governmental record. 

The Center for Medical Progress had covertly shot videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing the provision of body parts from aborted fetuses for research. Mr. Daleiden, 26, had posed as a biotechnology representative to infiltrate Planned Parenthood affiliates and surreptitiously record his attempts to procure tissue for research. 

Ms. Anderson said in the statement that grand jurors had cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing. She did not specify in the statement what record or records were allegedly tampered with.

You know sometimes justice does prevail.

This is great news and I look forward to Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Carly Fiorina, Fox News, and many other conservatives to come out an apologize to the American people for misleading them about these videos.

Oh who am I kidding, these people will NEVER take responsibility for their actions.

Planned Parenthood to sue organization that tried to destroy their reputation with those doctored videos.

Courtesy of  The Hill: 

Planned Parenthood on Thursday filed a long-awaited federal lawsuit against the anti-abortion activists who have targeted the group with undercover videos for the last year. 

The formal complaint marks the first time that Planned Parenthood has taken legal action against the group, the Center for Medical Progress. 

The national organization, along with its California affiliate, is accusing the Center for Medical Progress and its organizer David Daleiden for unlawful behavior ranging from secret taping to trespassing. The group said the Center for Medical Progress has violated the laws of three states as well as federal law. 

“Today, Planned Parenthood is going on the offense,” Kathy Kneer, president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California said in a call with reporters. 

In response, Daleiden released a statement that said “game on.” 

“I look forward to deposing all the CEOs, Medical Directors, and their co-conspirators who participated in Planned Parenthood's illegal baby body parts racket,” he said.

Well I am looking forward to this as well. 

However I do not think that the outcome will be quite as this Daleiden guy predicts.

By the way just to be clear asking for compensation to cover costs while providing fetal samples to scientists is not illegal.

The only thing that would make it illegal is if Planned Parenthood was attempting to profit off of those parts.

Those videos showed no such thing.

Federal judge says there is no evidence of criminal activity in Planned Parenthood videos.

Courtesy of CBS News:

Recordings secretly made by an anti-abortion group at meetings of abortion providers do not show criminal activity and could put the providers at risk, a federal judge said Friday, citing the recent shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic. 

U.S. District Judge William Orrick made the comments during a hearing over the National Abortion Federation's request for a preliminary injunction that would continue to block the release of the recordings. Orrick did not immediately issue a ruling. He previously issued a temporary restraining order blocking the recordings pending the outcome of the preliminary injunction hearing. 

The National Abortion Federation filed a lawsuit in July, saying members of the Center for Medical Progress infiltrated its meetings and recorded its members. The federation of abortion providers says the release of any audio or video would put members in danger. 

Orrick seemed to agree, saying doctors who have appeared in videos released by the center have received death threats. He also cited suspected arson at abortion clinics and the November shooting at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic that left three people dead and nine wounded.

Of course there is nothing criminal in those videos, however the violent rhetoric coming from Fox news hosts and Republican presidential candidates in response to those videos, well that is another thing altogether.

I am still hoping to see the producer of those doctored videos, David Daleiden, brought up on domestic terrorism charges for the shooting in Colorado Springs.

Supreme Court lays the smackdown on the anti-abortion group that created those doctored anti-Planned Parenthood videos.

Uh oh.

Courtesy of the LA Times:  

The Supreme Court on Friday denied an emergency appeal from the California-based antiabortion group behind the secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal tissue recovery. 

The group, known as the Center for Medical Progress, had filed an emergency appeal asking the high court to allow it to keep its list of key donors and supporters confidential. 

But Justice Anthony Kennedy, who oversees appeals from California, turned down the request. 

The center is fighting a lawsuit from the National Abortion Federation, which alleges the center's members got into federation meetings by lying about themselves and falsely promising not to reveal what transpired.

Now why do I think that the donors to this group REALLY do not want their names to be made public? 

I think I am really going to enjoy watching this case move forward.

Yeah don't you hate it when that happens?

And as Salon points out there are others deserving of blame as well: 

Partisans on the right can pretend the motivation for the killing spree will remain an eternal mystery. But a plausible link obviously exists. As does a plausible link between blood-soaked verbal attacks against Planned Parenthood and the possibility they inspire people to commit violent, and even deadly, acts.

 “When Bill O’Reilly compares Planned Parenthood to Nazis,” wrote Michelle Goldberg at Slate, “we shouldn’t be surprised that some people conclude that taking up arms against it is permissible.”

The really troubling part is that they are unlikely to stop, and this is unlikely to be the last murderous rampage as a result. 

Alabama taxpayers to pick up the $51,000 tab for Republicans efforts to defund Planned Parenthood.

Courtesy of TPM: 

Not only have Alabama's attempts to defund Planned Parenthood Southeast been blocked by the courts, Alabama taxpayers will also have to foot the bill in the more than $51,000 in legal fees for the reproductive health organization, the Montgomery Advertiser reported, under a settlement filed in federal court Monday morning. The agreement still must be approved by a U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. 

Other states have faced their own legal obstacles in attempting to defund the healthcare organization. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has warned states that blocking Planned Parenthood's Medicaid funding may not be legal. 

In Monday's agreement, Planned Parenthood Southeast said it does not participate in the fetal tissue donation programs that led to the claims that clinics are harvesting tissue for profit. 

"Had the governor checked beforehand, he would have known that," ACLU attorney Randall Marshall, who represented Planned Parenthood Southeast, told the Montgomery Advertiser.

Yeah but calling and finding out it was all a waste of time, would not give these idiots that chance to  beat their chests and look like champions for the unborn.

Not children mind you, fuck them, but potential children who are not yet a huge disappointment to their parents.

Man I hope this sends a signal to all of the other right wing politicians thinking about wasting taxpayer money on this witch hunt.

But you know, it probably won't.

While conservatives try desperately to play down the possibility the shootings at Planned Parenthood were the result of the anti-abortion propaganda, or those doctored videos, evidence starts to surface that their efforts might prove futile.

Robert Lewis Dear

As I pointed out yesterday there is an ongoing and concerted effort to redirect any suspicion that the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooter was inspired to go on his shooting spree by by the so-called "pro-life" movement or those doctored videos that have been all over the news recently.

Even Sarah Palin did her part to play down any connection:

Our prayers are for Colorado Springs and the families of the three killed there yesterday, including a heroic police officer who put his life on the line for others. Such a horrible, evil act perpetrated by a deranged man who'd been repeatedly investigated by law enforcement over the years. Senseless acts of violence involving stabbings, beatings, shootings, etc., are equally evil, abhorrent, unacceptable. The evidence isn't all gathered but it appears yet another criminal mind ignored all sensibilities and all laws to fulfill his mission to kill. Pray that our culture receives wisdom in dealing with any dark intention that is manifested in ugly violence - using any weapon - and that glorification of death and violence - using any weapon - is wholly condemned. We must have a collective commitment to reversing the trajectory we're on towards creating a hard-hearted, selfish civilization. Yesterday's crime was so wrong, so terrible, so tragic - as is every deadly act of violence we sufferably witness everyday here and around the world. May God comfort Colorado Springs' victims.

Did you notice that there was NO mention of Planned Parenthood, and the  emphasis on "any weapon" so as to distract from the fact that this was yet another senseless act of violence using a firearm?

Pretty clumsy misdirection for a journalism major don't you think?

Sadly for Palin, and her ilk, there is at least some circumstantial evidence of why Mr. Dear did what he did: 

In one statement, made after the suspect was taken in for questioning, Dear said "no more baby parts" in reference to Planned Parenthood, according to two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case.

Now I am going to err on the side of caution and remind everybody that we still do not have definitive evidence as to what Mr. Dear's motives were, but I can tell you that if he did NOT go on this shooting spree because of abortion, then he is really going to disappoint his new fans:

Like I said we don't know what this guy's motivations were for sure, however there is still plenty of evidence that demonstrates an uptick in violence against Planned Parenthood since the release of those videos: 

Back in September, CBS reported that the FBI had noticed an uptick in attacks on reproductive health care facilities since the first video was released by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress (CMP). There were nine criminal or suspicious incidents (including cyber-attacks, threats, and arsons) from July, when the videos first came out, through mid-September. 

An FBI Intelligence Assessment at the time found these attacks were "consistent with the actions of lone offenders using tactics of arsons and threats all of which are typical of the pro-life extremist movement." Moreover, the report said it was "likely criminal or suspicious incidents will continue to be directed against reproductive health care providers, their staff and facilities." 

Less than two weeks after CBS reported that, another abortion clinic was firebombed in California. It was the fourth arson at a Planned Parenthood location in as many months. 

"The toxic rhetoric directed at Planned Parenthood has dangerous consequences," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein in a press release at the time. "It sends a signal that using violence to close clinics and intimidate healthcare professionals and women is 'OK.' It is not."

So even if this guy was NOT there with guns blazing in response to those videos, it is really only a matter of time before somebody will be.

Update: Here's a little more from HuffPo:  

Planned Parenthood said late Saturday that witnesses said the gunman was motivated by his opposition to abortion. An official who has been briefed on the investigation told The Washington Post that the attack was "definitely politically motivated."

Still not case closed, but once the police release their statements I imagine the conservative media might have an awful lot of crow to eat.

Sarah Palin greatly appreciates being chosen by Newmax, as one of "100 Most Influential Pro-Life Advocates" based mostly on her faked pregnancy.

Courtesy of Hypocritical Hattie's Facebook page:

I greatly appreciate a respected media leader, Newsmax, acknowledging the importance of acting on our Founders' commitment to protecting innocent Americans' God-given right to LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, no matter their age. And to even be mentioned in the same breath as many of our culture warriors on this list - I mean Phyllis Schaffly and reps from Concerned Women for America and Susan B. Anthony List? I'm not worthy - but it's the kind of a humbling experience that strengthens resolve to making my life's work useful to the cause of helping save America. (Her "life's work?") Our nation's majority understands respect for life, and I'm sure I speak for others here when I say we're more committed than ever to working on their behalf to open the eyes and hearts of any in a lost culture who were led to believe it's somehow conscionable, profitable and even celebratory to kill a child for convenience. (Says Ms. Wite Out.) By the grace of God, we won't let you down. 

--Sarah Palin

Palin then links to this article over at Newsmax.

There they place her on the list in third place, right behind Franklin Graham and David Daleiden, the guy who created those doctored Planned Parenthood videos.

In the description they wrote, "Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor — Palin proudly doted on “perfectly beautiful” infant son Trig during her address to the 2008 Republican National Convention. Some 40 million viewers learned Trig had been prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome. Palin, the “mama grizzly” who ran for vice president, has been revered by the pro-life community ever since."

So after all of these years that phony pregnancy is still paying off for Palin. 

Not very well of course, but still paying off a little.

Of course this final babygate story remains my great white whale. Now that Palin has lost all credibility as a potential candidate, political king maker, and Christian this remains the final nail to drive into her coffin of irrelevance.

But I'm working on it.

I actually have a new approach to the babygate story that I am pursuing, as well the possibility of an interview with somebody with some very interesting things to share.

Just waiting for some final pieces to fall into place.

Keep those fingers crossed.

Judge blocks Alabama's attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. Cites lack of "legal reason." Gee, no kidding.

Courtesy of ABC News:  

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Alabama to restore Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, money the state tried to cut off in the wake of undercover videos shot by abortion opponents. 

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued an order that temporarily bars Alabama from cutting off Medicaid contracts with the group's clinics in Alabama. Planned Parenthood Southeast and a Medicaid recipient filed suit in August, days after Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced he was ending the Medicaid agreements with the two clinics. 

"Today's ruling is a victory for the women who rely on Planned Parenthood for quality, compassionate affordable health care," said Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast. "It's outrageous that Governor Bentley is trying to take care away from women and families in our communities who need it the most." 

In his 66-page opinion, Thompson said Alabama did not identify a legal reason to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood and that the state's action likely violated a free-choice-of-provider provision of the federal Medicaid Act that limits a state's ability to bar family planning providers for reasons unrelated to quality of care.

And once again let's remind ourselves that Alabama is NOT one of the places where Planned Parenthood donated fetal tissue to researchers, so this  entire thing was ridiculous from the get go.

Of course you would think that the anti-choice folks would look at this and think "Well if we can't accomplish this in Alabama what  chance do we have in other states?"

But of course that will not happen and these Right Wing assholes will just keep right on spending tax payer money in the desperate attempt to take away a woman's right to choose.