The Patriot Post® · The Hyatt of Hypocrisy: Banning Gosnell
When Kermit Gosnell was sentenced to three life terms for killing at least one mom and snipping the necks of who-knows-how-many babies, Planned Parenthood tweeted that “justice had been done.” But apparently, it’s justice they don’t want anyone talking about.
Five years ago, the case had all the makings of a riveting courtroom drama. The man on trial was charged with serially murdering children and at least one mom in a filthy, blood-splattered horror house near Philadelphia. A real-life monster, he preyed on his victims as a doctor, then stashed parts of their bodies in a basement freezer, jars, or cat-food containers. He tried grinding the pieces down garbage disposals or flushing them down toilets. It was a scene that Philadelphia’s District Attorney Seth Williams said “comprehension of the English language doesn’t and cannot adequately describe.”
Normally, the media would be tripping over themselves to report every grisly detail. But as the gruesome testimonies spilled out, the bright lights of the network cameras were nowhere to be found. And the keyboards of reporters, who race to recount the nightmarish details of every other tragedy, fell silent. It wasn’t because the story lacked jaw-dropping revelations. Sherry West, who had been with the office for years, told the court about a screaming baby that had been born in the clinic and then murdered. Steven Massof, who was also hired by Gosnell, sent shivers down people’s spines when he described the busy times: “It would rain fetuses. Fetuses and blood all over the place.” In those moments, Massof confessed, “I felt like a fireman in hell. I couldn’t put out all the fires.”
“The killings became so routine,” an employee admitted, “that no one could put an exact number on them. They were considered ‘standard procedure.’” But what’s also become standard procedure in the half-decade since Gosnell’s conviction is for the media to pretend it never happened. The Left ignored the story then – and they want to ignore now.
Hopefully, that will be a lot harder, thanks to the producers of Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer. Despite four years of roadblocks — from censorship to outright intolerance — the film has survived its share of adversity. When Kickstarter refused to let the movie raise money on its site, they took their project to Indiegogo — and broke a crowdfunding record in the process. This past August, the hurdles only got higher. Executive Producer John Sullivan approached about buying airtime, only to be told that the ad was too conservative. Calling Gosnell an “abortionist,” they said, was a violation of their “value-neutral” policy. When Sullivan offered to change it to “abortion doctor,” executives refused a second time. Gosnell had to be a “doctor” — or no deal.
Now, the same organization that insisted Gosnell got what he deserved is doing everything they can to keep his story from being told. In Austin, the local Planned Parenthood is so afraid of people learning the truth about their industry that they bullied the local Hyatt Regency Hotel into canceling a screening of the film. Why? Because it coincided with Planned Parenthood’s $400-a-plate fundraising gala. According to Sullivan, the producers had more than 250 people registered only to be told the event was viewed as a “security” risk.
How ironic. If anyone’s a security risk, it’s the group killing 881 babies a day! Of course, no one should be surprised at Planned Parenthood’s pathetic attempt to shut the movie down. They’re probably afraid more Americans will make the connection between Gosnell’s barbarism and their support for procedures just like it. After all, if the group really wanted to spare women from these horrors, they’d fight for tougher clinic regulations. Instead, they’ve spent the last two decades trying to stop doctors from helping born-alive babies. Obviously, like Gosnell, they only believe “wanted” children have rights.
That would certainly explain why Planned Parenthood knew about Gosnell’s slaughterhouse and did nothing. For years, women and children suffered at the hands of this monster only to find out that Planned Parenthood could have stopped it — and didn’t. And this is the kind of organization we entrust with more than a half-billion taxpayer dollars? One that’s silent on abuse — and too concerned about profits to care about patients? “If Planned Parenthood thinks what Gosnell did was ‘appalling’” — at least publicly — “what do they call their own facilities’ dangerous, unsanitary conditions and practices of infanticide?” Students for Life asked.
In the end, the only way to stop this nightmare is to expose it. The producers of Gosnell did their part. Now it’s up to us. On October 12, go see the movie that the abortion industry doesn’t want you to see! In the meantime, check out what Gosnell‘s stars — including Dean Cain — had to say at VVS about the powerful story behind the film in the panel below. And take a minute to contact the Hyatt Regency in Austin (@Hyatt) and let them know that if they really believed in choice, they’d give audiences one!
Originally published here.
Conservatives Looking for Justice in Kavanaugh
Becoming a Supreme Court justice is an attorney’s dream. It’s getting there, Brett Kavanaugh will tell you, that’s a nightmare. The father of two girls has endured more than his share in a vicious confirmation fight that ought to scare everyone about the state of American politics.
Senate Democrats have resorted to mudslinging, harassment, and now lawsuits to get their way on a confirmation pick that the American people knowingly handed to the president in the election of 2016. Kavanaugh’s family has had to sit through horrible allegations about a man who’s been widely considered one of the most respected people in the legal profession. Still, liberals, still angry about the courage Majority Leader Mitch McConnell showed in not considering Merrick Garland, are out for blood — and they’ll do anything to stop Kavanaugh from becoming the court’s next justice.
Yesterday, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) took the circus to a whole new level, announcing his intent to sue the Democrats’ way to success in stopping the Kavanaugh vote. “The unprecedented obstruction of the Senate’s advice and consent obligation is an assault on the separation of powers and a violation of the Constitution.” It’s the latest in a series of ridiculous stunts the Left is willing to try in blocking a good judge from the promotion he deserves.
Tuesday, on “Washington Watch,” Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) could only shake his head at the absurdity of it all. “I’ve been a lawyer most of my adult life,” he told our listeners. “I’ve been a judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney, and here’s what I can say without any doubt: The allegations against Judge Kavanaugh are 35 years old. They can’t identify the time they happened or the location, and the people who were supposedly there denied that it happened. And with that fact pattern, you couldn’t get a warrant, much less take this to court.”
Like most Republicans, he’s promising an open mind when Kavanaugh’s accuser comes to testify this week.
“I will take the allegation, scrutinize it, and be respectful of the accuser — but [h]ere’s what I’ve learned. If you’re a creep, you’ve abused women, if you’re a sexual predator — it happens a lot throughout your life. You don’t just do it for a little period of time and quit… Kavanaugh… has been in legal circles at the highest levels of government for 20 years. Not one woman has said he’s done anything inappropriate toward them when he was in charge of their careers… There would be more accusations about his workplace behavior [if this were true] and it’s not.”
But, he warned, just look at what happened to Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito. “There’s a pattern here,” he warned. “If you want to destroy someone, it doesn’t matter what you do and how you do it.” What’s more outrageous, Senator Graham points out is the Democrats’ double standard. “I voted for Sotomayor and Kagan because I thought they were qualified. I would not have chosen them if I’d been president. But elections matter — except when it comes to us. When we win, it doesn’t matter. You can do anything to our people. I’ve never been more disgusted with the committee than I am right now. The games they play to put us in this box are unconscionable.”
But if it’s voters Democrats are trying to appeal to with these shenanigans, strategist Chris Wilson explained later, they’re blowing it. “This entire situation has become a net-plus for Republicans,” he said. “The sheer audacity of the Democrats… what it is showing the American people and voters is exactly who the modern Democratic party is… What it’s doing is putting one of the biggest drivers of 2016 — [the courts] — back into play as a key issue.” They see it as a manufactured controversy — the same kind the media uses against President Trump. They’re sick of it. If anything, Chris said, it’s “creating a turnout enthusiasm for Republicans.”
“Democrats have seriously overplayed their hand on this.” But unfortunately for Brett, the Kavanaughs are paying the price.
Originally published here.
Mobs on the Menu for Cruz
Politics, chef Fabio Trabocchi said, are like elbows — “best left off the dining table.” Tell that to the zealots on the Left, who seem bent on taking their beef with Republicans to every restaurant in the union.
Two nights ago, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) joined a club no Republican wants to be a part of: the target of dining flash mobs. Unfortunately for him and his wife, Heidi, this wild new form of protest — chasing conservatives away from their meals — is becoming the norm for Trump’s opponents. Like Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Neilsen, White House advisor Stephen Miller, state attorney general Pam Bondi (R-Fla.), and Governor Rick Scott (R-Fla.) before them, the Cruzes just wanted to eat in peace. Instead, they couldn’t even sit down at D.C.‘s Fiola after a dozen raving Trump opponents encircled them and started yelling about his support of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
“We believe survivors!” a dozen voices screamed in unison. “Fascist, racist, anti-gay!” one said. Another called him a “piece of filth.” On a video the group called “Smash Racism” proudly posted, you can see the restaurant staff looking on in shock. “We’re not trained to deal with this,” Fiola’s co-owner, Maria Trabocchi, later told the Washington Post. “How do you deal with things like this? It’s crazy times.” Employees called the police, but not before the Cruzes endured a barrage of insults. “God bless,” Cruz told the crowd. “Can you let my wife through?”
Trabocchi said the restaurant has served both parties proudly for years — and will continue to do so. But he does worry: what will happen if things turn violent? That’s a legitimate concern now after the group released this statement: “This is a message to Ted Cruz, Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump and the rest of the racist, sexist, transphobic, and homophobic right-wing scum… You are not safe. We will find you. We will expose you. We will take from you the peace you have taken from so many others.”
The rallying cry of Democratic leaders — “to get up in the face of some congresspeople” as Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — isn’t shaming the Right, it’s exposing the viciousness of the Left. How many conservatives disrupted former Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’s dinner after she issued the HHS mandate? Or pushed around DOD Secretary Ash Carter when his social policies jeopardized the military? How many conservatives turned congressional baseball practices into gun fights — or walked into a liberal organization with enough ammunition to kill the whole staff?
If you’re looking for the real hate — it’s on your Left!
Originally published here.
This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.