Defending Sarah Palin

This isn't what you think it's going to be. No, I'm not going to bash those defending Sarah Palin's self-serving, ghost-written memoir. Nor am I going to comment on her book, or the controversy it's stirring up at all (beyond that first sentence). I'm actually going to defend Sarah Palin against an unfair attack myself. (Pause for the gasps from the readers).

The group American Right to Life (ARTL) has claimed that Palin secretly supports abortion rights based on her having appointed to the Alaska Supreme Court a judge who has served on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood. On their Prolife Profiles page on Palin, they have archived the press release about Judge Christen's appointment. The press release details many of Christen's qualifications, but makes no mention of her service to Planned Parenthood. But, what I did find very interesting, was the last sentence of the press release:

Under current judicial selection procedures, the Alaska Judicial Council received applications from six Alaska attorneys, winnowed the list to two names, and forwarded them to the governor.

So, only six people wanted the job, only two were qualified, and Governor Palin selected one of those two. Without knowing who the other candidate was, and what their "prolife profile" would say, how can ARTL crucify Palin for the selection she made?

Learning that Palin may have actually, in some cases, put her duties as Governor ahead of her personal agenda is something knew and interesting to me. Good for her!

It should come as no surprise to any of my regular readers that I do not support ARTL's mission, but clearly these people are out of line and way overboard when they describe Judge Christen as "an abortionist" (she's not; she's a lawyer who served on a nonprofit Board), and just as wrong when they use guilt by association (and a rather tenuous association at that) to try to discredit Palin (and here's where I get in my digs; Palin does enough to discredit herself).

Okay. So don't let it be said that I'm a hypocrite of an independent who only sticks up for the liberals and leaves the conservatives out to hang when unfairly attacked. Now, excuse me while I go scrub my hands.

Dr. George Tiller, 1941-2009

For the first time in over a decade, a doctor has been murdered for providing abortions. Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed this morning attending church in Wichita, Kansas. Tiller had previously been shot (and, obviously, survived) in 1993. He led one of the few clinics in the country where late-term abortions were performed in cases where the health and safety of the mother were in jeopardy, putting their health above his own life.

Anti-Abortion group, Operation Rescue, immediately put out a statement saying "We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down... We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller's family..."

Now, on the face of it, that may seem like a benign enough statement. They're denouncing violence - even though they help to incite it - and they pray for Tiller's family. And yet, even in this tragic moment, they cannot bring themselves to refer to him as "Dr. Tiller." Even in death, they insist on insulting him and belittling his work. Nothing like turning a murder into PR moment.

I've said it before in various ways, and I'll say it again: The terrorists I'm most afraid of are born and raised in our own backyards.