Senator Demands Bennett Apology for Remark (Bennett: "abort black babies")

[sonicx]

WASHINGTON - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats on Thursday demanded that former Education Secretary William Bennett apologize for remarks on his radio program linking the crime rate and the abortion of black babies.

Bennett responded that the comments, made Wednesday on his "Morning in America" show, had been mischaracterized and that his point was that the idea of supporting abortion to reduce crime was "morally reprehensible."

The author of "The Book of Virtues," answering a caller's question, took issue with the hypothesis put forth in a recent book that one reason crime is down is that abortion is up.

"But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down," Bennett said.

snip

On his show Thursday, the anti-abortion Bennett said he was "pointing out that abortion should not be opposed for economic reasons any more than racism ... should be supported or opposed for economic reasons. Immoral policies are wrong because they are wrong, not because of an economic calculation."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050929/ap_on_go_co/bennett_comments310_1

[sasquatch]

1. Nominated

:hi:

[bos1]

29. www.FIREBENNETT.cjb.net

Let's get this guy booted like Michael Graham --- http://firebennett.cjb.net

[alarcojon]

52. Check THIS out!

Bennett yesterday, from your link.

"I'll not take instruction from Teddy Kennedy. A young woman likely drowned because of his negligence . . . . He should make no judgments at all about other people. He shouldn't be in the Senate."

Let's cut out the legs from under Bennett AND those who would sponsor his crap.

[bos1]

53. Exactly! Contact his sponsors now! List here

Sponsor list below, links for email addresss and comment forms at http://firebennett.cjb.net

1. Politely tell Salem Radio Network to give him the can:

Go here and demand that Salem Radio Network (SRN) do the right thing and take Bennett off the air.

SRN's phone number is 972-831-1920. Ask for Charles Mefferd, Operations Manager.
Call the sales department at 972-402-8800, fax [phone].

2. Contact his sponsors and politely ask them if they endorse Bennett's bigotry:
Proflowers tel. [phone] [e-mail]
Verbal Advantage tel. [phone] email [e-mail] or [e-mail]
Crosley Radio Co. tel. 1-866-CROSLEY Media contact: Liz Braun - 502.212.4283 [e-mail] FAX [phone]


3. Contact William Bennett directly and tell him to apologize and resign.

[alarcojon]

94. Hey, I just got the following response from the first sponsor

Dear *****,

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We would like to assure you that ProFlowers does not endorse the views expressed by Bill Bennett. We understand your concerns and we will ensure that your feedback is communicated to the producers of the Bill Bennett Radio Show. We appreciate your feedback, as it allows us to more effectively manage our relationships with our advertising partners. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.



Best Regards,

Candice Hanifl
Customer Care
ProFlowers
The Art of Fresher Flowers

[NYC]

105. I think Verbal Advantage has gone home for the weekend.

Thank-you for contacting Verbal Advantage. A customer service representative will respond to your message within 72 hours.

Thank-you,

Verbal Advantage Customer Service

[NYC]

108. ProFlowers has not advertised with Bill Bennett in four months.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We would like to assure you that ProFlowers does not endorse the views expressed by Bill Bennett.

We understand your concerns and we will ensure that your feedback is communicated to the producers of the Bill Bennett Radio Show. We appreciate your feedback, as it allows us to more effectively manage our relationships with our advertising partners.

Obviously we do not support the comments. We find them inappropriate and reprehensible. We plan to further investigate the situation and how to proceed with our current relationship with Bill Bennett. We have not advertised with him in over four months.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
________________________________________

Thought I should make that clear so people do not accuse them of doing so when they write to them.

[alarcojon]

113. Looks like they updated their customer relations pitch

However, they do mention a "current relationship" with Bennett, which seems odd if they haven't advertised with him in over four months.

[NYC]

120. I specifically implied that they advertised on the Bennett program.

(My mistake.) I said they probably didn't have time to listen to the programs within which their advertising appeared. That may be why they said they had not advertised on that program in 4 months.

On the other hand, they do have a "current relationship" if they advertise on the radio station that airs his program. Maybe that's what they mean. In any case, they said they would contact the station about this incident.

Edit: I once emailed an Canadian company whose advertising was on a website that was very offensive in a right wing manner. I asked, "Do you really support this?"

I received a reply that pretty much said hell no, and tell us exactly where you saw it. (They also thanked me for telling them.)

By the time I read that reply, they had already tracked it down, had it removed, and sent me another email telling me they had done so.

So, sometimes, these things work.

[bos1]

122. Bennett's webpage had a ProFlowers logo on it under "sponsors"

that was what made me list them. Probably means someone forgot to take it off when ProFlowers stopped advertising. Thanks for helping clear this up, and ProFlowers has been great about it.

[bos1]

121. thanks -- people shouldn't accuse the sponsors

I am recommending that people contact the sponsors and politely express their concern and politely ask whether they support the views expressed by Bennett. And now to thank Verbal Advantage for withdrawing sponsorship.

http://firebennett.cjb.net

[Ishoutandscream2]

61. What a bastard! Just stroke out, Mr. Morals

I know that's cold, but I can't take much more of this pompous, self-righteous, bigoted bastard.

[cyr330]

96. Cold?

It's not cold in the least. That is EXACTLY what he deserves at the very least. I can think of much, much worse for that fat fucker.

[AspenRose]

79. WOW you've done a lot of work on that site in the past day or so

Great job! :applause:

[zippy890]

88. done

:-(

Its awful that we have to demand his firing -- WHATS BECOME OF THIS COUNTRY!!!

I just can't believe he doesn't apologize. So racist statements are OK?

UGH Infuriating

[butterfly77]

119. He's not going to apologize because...

He believes black babies should be aborted. If he does it will be because someone tells him to for the sake of his career in some area.
Even if he does black people won't believe him anyway. The repugs will trot out Larry Elder or some other black repug to defend him and justify why what he said was right, because Clinton had Monica's panties. We all know when a black person speaks he is the voice for all black people, don't we? By the way why are blacks wrong all of the time no matter what, as far as Larry Elder is concerned.

[zbdent]

2. Yet another case of a Repuke speaking his mind

and getting caught in his Freudian slip . . .

[indepat]

3. Letting slip the prevailing mind-set of those of his ilk IMHO

[Mabus]

5. What are the odds?

:sarcasm:

[AllyCat]

18. I don't think it was a Freudian slip.

I think that is exactly what was on this evil-doer's mind.

[Cha]

4. What a stupid asshole and

he has a "radio program"? Do they reward inveterate hypocrites in other parts of the world so well?

bennett's statement about "Black Babies" shows how Irrevocably Stupid he really is.

[IndyOp]

11. Did you notice the title of Bennett's program was Reagan's campaign

slogan? Remember the Reagan campaign "Morning in America" ads? They worked -- isn't America a wonderful place? aren't we wonderful people? hope is all around!

:puke:

[0007]

116. America the beautiful - Is for the wealthy

[CBHagman]

22. You ask the right question.

"Do they reward inveterate hypocrites in other parts of the world so well?" I can't tell you, but the wages of sin in the U.S. are certainly very good. Look at all these clowns who have their calls screened and sit on their rear ends in a studio pontificating to us mere mortals.

Bennett obviously has an advanced case of Lawrence Kudlow disease. Kudlow is the former Reagan administration official and current TV pundit who had very public problems with addiction (and also started draining his and his wife's savings to pay for it). He was facing considerable public disgrace and got treatment.

You would think this bring Kudlow to develop a degree of humility and a greater appreciation of human nature. Wrong. He's smug and self-righteous to a grotesque degree.

We all know about Bennett and his gambling habits (Google if you haven't had the disgusting details).

And these clowns have the nerve to tell the rest of us we're getting it wrong.

[EFerrari]

70. It's a natural law. The bigger the hypocrisy, the louder the quacking.

:puke:

[Vinnie From Indy]

6. One only need replace the word "crime" in Bennett's quote to see racism

"But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce CRIME, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your CRIME rate would go down,"

Change the word "crime" into any other word and it is crystal clear that Bennett's statement was, at it's core, racist.

[Igel]

17. You could use 'poverty' or 'single-parent children'.

Or even "sickle-cell anemia". Each would be accurate, if the numbers I've seen for the last 5-6 years are correct. African-Americans account for more impoverished children, and single-parent children than their percentage in the overall population would predict. If the criminality figures are accepted as reported, single-parent impoverished AA also have a higher crime rate. They're highly correlated, and the correlation has been persistent.

This isn't novel with Bennett; the numbers have been around for a while, and while the idea's repugnant--and it's unclear that he's saying otherwise--the same could be said for any group that displays some property to a greater extent than the average population, as long as the correlation between group membership and trait is persistent over a sufficient number of years.

Abort all pre-offspring of ...
white engineers/science majors whose father was also college
educated and you'd reduce the autism rate;
Jews and you'd reduce the rate of Tay-Sachs;
Latinos and the diabetes rate would drop;
Arab-Americans to decrease the thalassemia rate;
alcoholics and you'd reduce the alcoholism rate;
child abusers and you'd reduce the rate of child abuse.

[pennylane100]

7. It's about time.

Why is it that when republicans make these disgusting statements, they never get blasted by the media and the democrats take their time in responding.

This would have been headline news by now if a democrat had said it.

[lateo]

8. Check this out...

I had a wingnut I know bring up this article from TAP...

He said

Is Bennett incorrect?:

http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/1/abramsky-s.html

He may be speaking the truth and paying the price for it.

After all, legalized abortion is what Margaret Sanger's 'Planned Parenthood' intended to achieve from it's inception: Curtail the population increase of black Americans. Likewise, declining birthrates can't keep Social Security afloat no matter how much the government inkpen revisionists try to edit out that fact, and people have been saying for a generation that the political liberals have been effectively sterilizing themselves out of power from decades of abortion.

Why can't we honestly expose the truth in that regard, and why is Bennett being held responsible for it?

I see the greater picture as less liberals, less crime, less poor, less Chelsea Clintons.

... What's not to like?

To wit someone I know replied...

Congratulations, that was possibly the least right-wing-favorable article you could have linked to. I'm aware of that study which came out a few years ago. For those who didn't read the link, or are too lazy to, a study showed that falling crime rates in the 1990's were correlated with Roe v. Wade. In other words, aborting unwanted children starting in the 1970s eventually led to lower crime rates two decades later when such unwanted children would have been legal adults.

I don't understand why you posted that article, as it undermines a big piece of the right-winger's ideology.

For example:
1. It suggests that the right-wingers monolithic stance against abortion will actually make crime in the USA worse. In other words, the right-wingers are doing their damndest to increase the crime rate in this country.

2. It suggests that being tough on crime (a favorite right-winger attitude) has very little effect on the crime rate.

So, not only does it show that the right-wing agenda will lead to a crime-ridden america, the right-wing solution to such a future crime-ridden country will not work either. Conclusion: If we adopt the right-wing stance on abortion and crime we're screwed.

I might add that a corollary of the right-wing attitude is they want to halt all abortions, yet they simultaneously want to cut funding for social programs for economically disadvantaged citizens. In other words, they are doing their damndest to make more poor people and to keep them poor, in concert with the increased crime rates that unwanted children growing up in poverty will lead to.

So please tell me again why cutting social programs, overturning Roe v Wade, and being 'tough on crime' will make this a better country? I have no problem with locking up murderers and rapists, but giving a life sentence to a guy who's been caught smoking a doobie three times --- ala 3 strikes you're out --- is an insane way to run a criminal justice system. Then again, if they found DeLay was guilty of 2 more crimes ..... hmmm.... maybe three strikes you're out is ok after all.

[Pirate Smile]

9. I saw Pelosi doing the same thing on C-span today.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. The sad thing is

that the point he makes about not opposing abortion for economic reasons is a valid one.

He just shows his own bigotry with his remark linking the crime rate to aborting black babies.

[deadparrot]

12. Glad to hear the Democrats speak out on this. nt

[anotherdrew]

13. how about a mandatory retroactive abortion of bennett?

in theory of course...

[Califooyah Operative]

14. I've heard of reid, pelosi, and dean so far.

anyone else? they seem to be coordinating a fair amount recently.

[AspenRose]

80. Rep. Rush of Illinois made a proposition on the floor yesterday

don't know the number, have been looking for it on THOMAS.

[doubleplusgood]

15. the Bookie of Virtues

what a racist asshole

[area51]

16. Ah, Billy "Jackboot" Bennett.

Can't you just see Bennett saying to an assistant, "Gee, I have no idea why black people tend not to vote for republicans."

[RaRa]

19. OMG, that is truly

the most racists thing I've read in a while. Actually, it's the worst I can recall.

On the flip side, living in s blue state, our state will seem like a crime free zone compared to many others in the years of post Roe v Wade. Enough repukes care just about money that you would think they would push for abortion given the evidence that it impacts crime favorably.

[leftchick]

20. great Catholic example isn't he?

Jesus would be proud! :sarcasm:

[brentspeak]

21. I guess you could that Bennett gambled with his comments

and lost.

[Catfight]

23. If he doesn't apologize for racist remarks, he should be fired. nt

[AuntiBush]

24. Can't Fantom...

he was the "Education Secretary," at that! Heard this on AirAmerica Radio earlier. Hit the floor hearing his words.

Culture of Corruption: Faith-Based on What!?! Not mine, that's for sure.

[dusty64]

25. Finally some

outrage about another fascist extremist "speaking his mind" on hate radio.

[TankLV]

26. No billy! You were pointing out that black people commit all the crimes!

That's why we demand an apology from your filthy hide!

Don't even TRY to tell us what you were trying to say or why we are demanding an apology, you racist bastard!

[Dr Fate]

27. Bennet supports John Roberts.

These Country Club Rednecks and all their enablers kill me.

[usregimechange]

28. Kick

[bos1]

30. Kick + Help the Campaign to get Bennett

http://firebennett.cjb.net

[usregimechange]

31. WP: Bennett Under Fire for Remark on Crime and Black Abortions

Democratic lawmakers and civil rights leaders denounced conservative commentator William J. Bennett yesterday for suggesting on his syndicated radio show that aborting black children would reduce the U.S. crime rate.

The former U.S. education secretary-turned-talk show host said Wednesday that "if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down." Bennett quickly added that such an idea would be "an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do." But, he said, "your crime rate would go down."

Bennett's comments, flagged by the liberal news media watchdog group Media Matters for America, were quickly condemned by Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who issued a statement demanding that Bennett apologize. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) circulated a letter, signed by 10 of his colleagues, demanding that the Salem Radio Network suspend Bennett's show.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/29/AR2005092902126.html

[lcordero2]

32. with Katrina fresh on everybody's mind

I wonder why he had to go there

[AspenRose]

82. Because GOP arrogance emboldens them

They don't care if blacks complain about the comment. But if whites complain about it too, well...they'll offer some lukewarm apology and try to be more cryptic about their beliefs next time.

Too bad he didn't say anything about nipples, else the FCC might have had half a mind to kick him off the air. (yeah, RIGHT.)

[Erika]

33. If black babies were aborted the crime rate would go down?

That is what he actually said. Why did he single out black babies for crime control? This is racist and yes, ethnic cleansing in action. No wonder we are hated world wide.

[Roy]

44. Why did he single out black babies for crime control?

Because this is what he and probably the majority of his party truly believe. They have been told and even trained to hide these thoughts behind a facade to appear palatable to the public.
But, the feeling of perpetual control of everything governmental, have caused them to not be so careful.

Deep down they REALLY don't understand why their racist and hurtful statements are not acceptable.

[Erika]

46. Because he is racist

[Roy]

49. Yep..... And he is proud of it.

But, in his mind, he doesn't believe that anyone else can see it(even after being called on this stupid racist statement).

[hollowdweller]

117. No. Because he knows this will get the GOP votes in the south.

Every now and then they get one of their operatives to say something like this and then the rest condemn it but it's kind of a wink and nod to the racists saying "we're still with you"

[LostinVA]

62. Trust me, I have lots of people in my extended family who

believe this, and would be all for aborting all black babies... some people just hate... I honestly consider this evil, and cannot fathom how people like this honestly believe they are Xians.....

[Raster]

34. and this is mr. morality and virtue? go back to your craps table,

you obese gasbag.

[gumby]

35. Glad he got caught.

This is the same crap these wing-nuts say every day, day after day.

For some reason the NOLA disaster seems to have given them a green light to be more graphic. They've always been there.

[KT2000]

37. It's amazing

the racism that has oozed into the media after Katrina must reflect some awful discussions going on among the RW. We are likely only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

These asses are making the case for the need for civil rights laws and renewing all those that are expiring. We must use quotes from their "Dumb and dumbest" as the proof.

[Erika]

38. Ethnic cleansing for the U.S. exists

We just frame it a little differently.

[AspenRose]

83. Is it time to move to Canada.....(?)

Underground Railroad, 21st century style?

Remember the Harlem Renaissance? How many of them went to France?

Just wondering out loud....

[Dr Fate]

40. You know the type-they say this kinda shit in private all the time.

n/t

[LostinVA]

63. Come on! It was taken out of context!

Didn't you hear ole Billy Boy say this??? Those Repubs: they say something, get called on it, then say they didn't say it.... AND GET AWAY WITH THIS!!!!!

[antonialee839]

36. "flagged by the liberal news media watchdog group Media Matters"

If I didn't know better, I'd think the Post was trying to trivialize the utterly disgraceful comments made by this little man.
Why else the "liberal" mention other than to make this seem like some partisan nonsense? The Post has become such a rag!

[sonicx]

43. i don't think that was a bad description

as media matters is run by liberals, however i see your point. the statement is terrible no matter who made it.

[alarcojon]

51. I agree

a responsible news organization should provide accurate background, such as the leanings of MediaMatters. Unfortunately, I don't think the MSM is at all even-handed in this - a liberal group is a lot more likely to be identified (accurately) as such than a conservative group is likely to be identified (accurately) as such in a news story.

Damn librul media!

:sarcasm:

[PegDAC]

124. Media Matters

is headed up by David Brock, former extreme RWer who wrote for the RW American Spectator, and was a self-admitted part of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy attempting to ruin Anita Hill and President Clinton. He eventually became so disgusted with the sleaze machine that he told them "NO MORE" and is now dedicated to exposing RW lies. Read "Blinded by the Right" and "The Requblican Noise Machine".

[xxqqqzme]

84. That got me riled as well.

Is fux called ultra conservative every time it is mention in WaPo articles?

[Dr Fate]

39. Bennet is your Country Club Redneck. n/t

n/t

[Erika]

41. Hate speech is hate speech. Bennett showed the way

for hate speech. Will he be allowed to get away with it? It amounts to a subtle racial genocide/ethnic cleansing.

[Ben Ceremos]

47. Start the letter writing campaign to remove Bennett.

We must swamp them with our disgust and demand he be fired. I have already sent the letter I wrote and I am posting the link to the Salem Radio Network below. I suggest we threaten a boycott of their advertisers and that we carry through with a dedicated campaign to identify and inform their advertisersof our boycott if they support Bennett. I have had it with tolerance and I am spoiling for a fight with these racist loonies!!! Let's fight the good fight with the only tools we have left...our morals!!!



http://www.salem.cc/aboutRadioNetwork.htm

[GregW]

42. Ah yes, Bill Bennett, a Republican pillar of virtue

[Binka]

50. Bend It Author of The Book Of Bullshit & Vapid Platitudes For Numbskull's

eom

[Bluesplayer]

45. The search for bennett's morals continues

[Skittles]

48. he is just f***ing disgusting

why even bother demanding an apology? We all know that bastard is a lying, hypocritical, unapologetic racist asshole.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

54. I wonder what Condi thought of his remark.

MKJ

[alarcojon]

66. WIll anyone in the MSM ask her?

Probably not.

[BiggJawn]

55. Sometimes, my species REALLY disgusts me...

"My comments were taken out of context..."

Yeah, just like that person we all know someplace who says "I'm not a Racist or anything, BUT..."

So, Bill....Got a copy of "The Bell Curve" and "The DaVinci Code" on your nightstand along with "How to Win BIG at Poker"?

[bos1]

56. Bennett just said

"to pretend that there's no connection between race and crime, that it's not on people's minds, is crazy"

http://firebennett.cjb.net

[AztecGringo]

57. Bennett the sociologist

There is a relationship between socioeconomic status and crime and blacks might have a lower overall socioeconomic status. So, while there might be a relationship, it is spurious insofar as the true causal connection does not directly connect race to crime...and I heard the comment too...He is such an asshole...

[alarcojon]

74. That's exactly it

Nimrod and his band of clueless followers do not understand that correlation does not imply causation!!!

[rmgarrette64]

99. Can you provide a link?

Can you provide a link to a study that controls for socioeconomic status then? I'd like to see one that studies the effect of crime by race with such a control in place. I was not able to find one in a quick search - but then, I'm also not sufficiently familiar with sociology studies that I'd know where to look.

Thanks for the help,

R. Garrett

[AztecGringo]

100. Socioeconomic Status and Crime

Obviously, my comment was not directed towards white collar crime, but I believe one would be safe to assume that there is a correlation between socioeconomic status and non-white collar crime. Similarly, there is a relationship between socioeconomic status and education. As a teacher, this particularly bothers me with regard to No Child Left Behind and the erroneous assumption that simply improving the teaching will lead to greater achievement. But that is another issue for another board....

[rmgarrette64]

101. Not quite what I meant

First off, I'm being picky here because of regular arguments I have over issues such as this (with both husband and family...) Anyway, I know any claims I make will be answered with a request for data - fair enough, as I do the same for them...

Anyway, I accept the correlation between socio-economic status and crime as a given. I believe the data exists to back that up without any difficulty. No, what I was looking for is a study that examines the likelihood of criminal behavior by race within a given socio-economic strata.

Do you, or anyone else on the board, know of such a study? Thanks,

R. Garrett

[AztecGringo]

58. Bennett the sociologist

There is a relationship between socioeconomic status and crime and blacks might have a lower overall socioeconomic status. So, while there might be a relationship, it is spurious insofar as the true causal connection does not directly connect race to crime...and I heard the comment too...He is such an asshole...

[AztecGringo]

59. Sorry for double Post

It's early...my bad...

[FourStarDemocrat]

111. Bennett's idea of crime obviously doesn't include serial murderers and..

white collar extortionists, securities fraud, corporate theft --the majority of which are perpetrated by white criminals. And all of which (for example Enron, Worldcom)probrably thieved more money from the life savings of Americans than all black criminals in the US combined.

Also,the majority of serial killers in this country are white males.

[FourStarDemocrat]

112. Bennett's idea of crime obviously doesn't include serial murderers and..

Edit: dupe post from above

[Tight_rope]

60. What an ignorant mutherfucker.....

Dumbass...who do you think is doing most of the white collar crimes which hurt the economy more...should we abort Ken Lay, Tom Delay and most definately KKKarl Roves unborn kids or grandkids...

Stupid mutherfucker.:grr: :nuke:

[shrike]

64. There goes the outreach to the African-American community

Dead, in one fell swoop.

[NewJeffCT]

now, if we aborted all white babies, wouldn't the crime rate go down more?

After all, whites are still the majority in this country and have the most babies.

[NewJeffCT]

65. now, if we aborted all white babies, wouldn't the crime rate go down more?

After all, whites are still the majority in this country and have the most babies.

[redqueen]

67. I love how he totally avoids the substance of his statement...

He goes right to trying to defend WHY he said it, sidestepping any apology for WHAT he said.

Hateful bastard.

[drumz4hire]

68. So it's a pretty safe bet...

that Bennett will be #1 on the next Conservative Idiots list?

[AspenRose]

85. Looks like it will be a "white sheets" edition

Don't forget about the idiot in TN comparing the Black Caucus with the KKK....

[superconnected]

69. I want to see the naacp response

"But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down," Bennett said.

The Republican mind just amazes me. How can these people be so mean. If it gets made a big enough deal out of, he will get booted.

I hope the naacp steps up.

[AspenRose]

86. Here ya go

http://www.naacp.org/news/2005/2005-09-29.html

[NYC]

104. Black America Web article:

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/headlines/bennett93005

Looks like just the AP article:

The White House on Friday criticized former Education Secretary William Bennett for remarks linking the crime rate and the abortion of black babies.

"The president believes the comments were not appropriate," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said...

The discussion:
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/headlines/bennett93005?view=Forum&message_id=124265#forum_msg_124265

By: m 9/30/2005 8:53:57 PM

All of the comments I have read were right on point. To say that I'm outraged is an understatement!! But my question for all of us is not what are we going to do about it, but WHEN are we going to do something about it? My suggestion is this: start by contacting the Salem Radio Network and conveying to them that the ONLY acceptable response to this reprehensible episode is have this individual removed from the airwaves IMMEDIATELY!!! Second, contact our elected officals black and or white and ask what can we expect of them in response to this reminding them that if we know enough to contact them odds are we're registered voters who VOTE! Third, how about the good old fashioned "boycott"? Find out who the companies are that sponsor this program and show them the power of the black dollar. Finally I'm asking BAW.com to help lead the way thru available media as well as good old fashion word of mouth to get this individual removed from the airwaves IMMEDIATELY so that he never again has a platform to spew his racist propaganda. Come on y'all let's get on it!!!

By: M 9/30/2005 8:12:00 PM
I am outraged at Bennett's comment and I am even more bothered by the fact that representatives of the White House did not have more to say. While I was listening to Mason's show, it was both hurtful and scary to hear a Black Woman say that she actually agrees with the comments. What type of world do we live in? Some of our own people are siding with those who indeed have a deeply inbedded hate for us Black People.


By: p 9/30/2005 7:52:15 PM

Mr Stupid, the way to reduce crime is by sending all of you back to Europe where the crime originated. We all know that most of you are criminals from Europe such as Aldof Hitler. Your people taught the black people the crime and is affecting you all. However, you have to live with the crime,because crime is not an Africa people way of life.

By: j 9/30/2005 7:29:23 PM

Hey Bill, I have a better idea! Let's abort all people like yourself and reduce ignorance 100% or here is another thought, let's abort all white male babies and reduce "white collar" crime 99%! Dim-witted, isn't it?


By: t 9/30/2005 7:26:48 PM

I agreed that we have all been lulled into a sense of complacency. We ask why the President did not send aid quicker to our brothers and sisters in New Orleans, when the question should be when are we going to start taking care of our own? We generate $750 billion in income and manufacture nothing. We always look to the "master" to help us. When will we realize that we are the only ones who care about us. We must rid ourselves of the "Willie Lynch" syndrome by unlearning the the traits of envy, jealousy, and greed while replacing them with knowledge of self, humility, and service to our people. The disconnect between our "leaders" and the commo man must be closed. In order for us to come together as one we must not let politics, religion, or perceived status separate us. To the white man we are all "N's" regardless of how much money or education you have.

By: T 9/30/2005 6:44:52 PM

Clearly he doesn't watch: American Justice, City Confidential, Dateline, 20/20, 48 Hours, 48 Hours Mysteries etc. All of those shows would make you think that all rich white people are greedy, cocaine addicted, child molesting murderers. They rarely show black crime and they never run out of material. Why are we always the scapegoat for everything? Let's abort white male babies to stop serial killers - asian and white female babies for prostitution. What would happen to a black person if they said that publicly?


By: v 9/30/2005 5:21:28 PM

WOULD ALSO DECREASE THE NUMBER OF BLACK REPUBLICANS. THERE ARE QUITE A FEW BLACKS ALREADY BEING ABORTED YEARLY. IT'S TOUGH OUT HERE.


By: H 9/30/2005 4:17:26 PM

When the right wingers start to spin it, Bennett wasn't even being asked about black folks. He just came out of his a$$ with that statement. To me that says it's something he's been thinking about. Maybe, he should be thinking, if we spent half as much money, building up our cities and helping our poor folks as we do bombing Iraqi cities and killing there folks, maybe THAT might decrease the crime rate.

More at the site.

[Peace Patriot]

71. Bush slaughters 100,000 innocent people in a couple of weeks (toll of...

the bombing and invasion, according to the British doctors' report), and he remains emperor of the 'free world.' Black guy steals a CD player or gets caught with marijuana in his pocket, and his prosecution and imprisonment adds to the crime stats.

So, if you're talking about REAL crime--as opposed to who gets prosecuted and imprisoned--abortion policy would not affect the "crime rate" (the REAL "crime rate")--unless you denied abortion to super-rich Republican women. Then we would see an escalation in unjust war, torture, massive looting of the federal coffers, treason, global piracy, and destruction of the planet--that is, crime on a scale that the world has never seen before.

Republican women breed master criminals. Democratic women breed petty criminals. And even the occasional real criminal who is black or Democratic (say, a real murderer or armed thief, genuinely convicted) hardly registers, in the realm of REAL crime stats, compared to the Republican scale of death and destruction.

So, I would say, let rich Republican women freely abort, and we might see an improvement in the world on the matters of peace and justice.

------

You can often tell what the Bushite fascists are up to, by assuming the opposite of what they say. It's a good rule of thumb. So (as Bennett inadvertently reveals), they're thinking about demographics and how abortion and birth control affect the supply of slave labor and cannon fodder. I've certainly suspected them of it--because I don't for one second believe that ANY of their polices has ANY true moral basis whatsoever. They are the most immoral people we have ever been ruled by, or perhaps that any country has ever been ruled by. Their policies ALWAYS have the purposes of greed, looting, enslavement, and violent control over others.

So, I had, of course, suspected them of ulterior motives in their anti-abortion policy--for instance, I suspected that they were cynically using it to play into the worst instincts of some men (those likely to vote for Bush) who oppose civil rights for women, hate women (especially liberated women) and want to violently control them. I picked this up from the disgusting way that Rush Limbaugh, Gordon Liddy and other such rightwing commentators talk about female politicians--it has a tone of witchburning about it--of pure hatred. (--and to me--when I was tuning into those guys (when they were the only thing on my car radio), it seemed all-of-a-piece with Bush the First and his willingness to play to race hatred, in the "Willie Horton" ad, back then; a Bush evil that has come upon us, full blown, in their abandonment of the poor blacks in New Orleans, and the utterly disgusting reaction to it by the foaming-at-the-mouth crowd).

Now we have Bennett talking about abortion, blacks and demographics. Read between the lines. They have no interest in reducing crime (or they would all commit suicide). In fact, they rather like petty crime, and positively encouraged it in Iraq. (Remember Rumsfeld's remarks equating looting with freedom?) It gives them an excuse to imprison and torture people, and to create a climate of fear and violent "dog eat dog" behavior. They prosper in that atmosphere.

Bennett's remark had nothing to do with crime or his or their desire to reduce it. It instead revealed a trend of thought within the inner circles of the Bush cabal and its far rightwing "think tank" crowd, connecting control over women's bodies and reproduction with the supply of poor Americans who can be enslaved to $6/hr jobs and thus can easily be recruited to the front lines of the oil war.

I heard there were military recruiters in the Superdome. What a perfect expression of their real motives! Message to young blacks: You are shit. You are worthless. Society hates you, and doesn't care if you starve to death and die in your own excrement. You want out of this? Join the Army and kill ragheads for us.

I imagine there are rightwing Republican judges all over the country, giving young blacks who have been caught stealing something or possessing something, the "alternative" of becoming a soldier for oil.

That's what their anti-abortion policy is all about. Birth control will be next. And divorce. It's the trend of all their policies--to revert back to the era when women had no choices; when women were "baby machines" and were subject to men, and had little or no control over their property or their fate. These people are very similar to the dragons of the Catholic Church, who also, in my opinion, think in terms of demographics, and who know that control over women's sexuality is the key to their power. Their yammer about "souls" is false and hypocritical. What they want is financial DONORS, and the political power of numbers, and lots of fresh, brainwashable minds. (I don't think these are the motives of everyone in the Catholic Church--I'm talking about the ruling men.)

And I don't suppose that I am the first one to point out how closely all this resembles fundamentalist Islam. The Bush Cartel, the Catholic hierarchy and Osama bin Laden, all in bed together on controlling female sexuality and depriving women of civil rights and equal status.

Pretty sick, all of it. As the song said, "When will we ever learn?"*

(Note: There is one group within the Catholic Church whose position against abortion I respect, and that is the Catholic Workers, who also and EQUALLY oppose capital punishment and war. And they really mean it. I don't agree with their position on abortion--given this very unjust society in which rape occurs, and in which women and children suffer poverty and abandonment by all--but they are not hypocrites about it. They also devote their lives to serving the poor, in soup kitchens on Skid Row, and a million other ways, and live communally and are themselves poor. And spend time in jail for pouring blood on nuclear missiles. And have been doing all this while the rest of us buried our heads in the sand, throughout the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, to this very day--starting from way back in the 1920s. A very radical group--reminiscent of Saint Francis--who actually LIVE their radical belief in the preciousness of every living soul.)

----------

*("Where have all the flowers gone?")

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

--Pete Seeger

[delhurgo]

72. The mistake Bennett made was in referring

to a specific race when saying that abortion cuts crime rates. Abortion should always be a choice and should never be targeted towards one group or race.

But otherwise he is correct. Babies born to single women (of any race) are more likely to grow up to be criminals. Just common sense tells you then that more abortion equals less crime. But statistics prove it too: crime rates have dropped in relation to when Roe v Wade became law in the 1970s. A new book out, "Freakonomics", proves this.

[Mr_Spock]

126. So, "...he is correct. Babies born to single women ... likely criminals"??

It's disheartening to me to see anybody on this board put a postitive spin on Bill Bennetts comments. So, it's just unfortunate that he used the term "black babies"? I can't throw out the extreme bigotry of that statement just to find a positive spin for abortion rights. That's over the top for me...

[Kerri_S]

73. It's a fact - if we took all the right-wing hatemongers...

who are saying this kind of thing off the radio airwaves, the rate of idiocy in this country would decline.

Mr. Bennett *should* apologize for such infammatory and racist comments.

[gauguin57]

75. I feel like all the Republicans have suddenly been given truth serum.

They're all acting out their deepest, whitest, most elitist fantasies.

"Hey, folks ... on the surface, we have to act like we're compassionate and care about the least of our brothers. But GUESS WHAT? We're now all going to speak from our subconscious, and we're gonna say and do any damn thing we want. And if it's offensive, tough t*tty!"

Rethugs all showing their true colors -- and lucky for us, they're all doing it at the same time. If the Democrats can't capitalize on this wild ride of Republican eff-ups, they we don't DESERVE the congress or the White House!

[zara]

76. Was genocide as a final solution one of the virtues in his book?

With a small print disclaimer, of course.

[peacetalksforall]

77. Always remember who it was that was with the Bush family that

famous night in 2000 and who it was that came out in the middle of the night and said WAIT - Gore may not have won after all. We have more news. And then they called it for the marionette. Bennett, the same guy who was sitting next to Poppy when he cried on the news that Junior had won.

It was Mister Gambler - Moralality Preaching Author - African American Fetus Theorist. The same tv guest expert extraordinaire on all things moral. The pompous one who knows everything.

[classysassy]

78. The republican killer B's

1.Bush 2.Bennett 3.Barr 4.Brownie,just another in a long line of republican killer b's.(bigots,bastards,bunglers,blamers,bushwackers,bloodthirsty bums,blueeyed devils.)

[Guaranteed]

81. Wow. He somehow totally ignores the racist premise of his point.

He doesn't even get it.

[Barkley]

87. So this is what a "national dialogue" on race looks like - hmm-nt

[IndianaGreen]

89. If we aborted all the fundamentalist babies...

it would raise the average IQ of the US population to the stratosphere!

[Mugsy]

90. Someone PLEASE tell Bennett the uproar has NOTHING to do with abortion.

Would someone PLEASE tell this idiot: "You still doesn't seem to get it, the uproar over your comments has NOTHING to do with abortion!"

No one believes he was advocating "abortion" (black or otherwise). The problem is his typical Republican equating of Black = Crime.

Note, he never went back and qualified his statement with something like "Blacks are disproportionately poor, ergo...". No, he never did that because it doesn't even occur to him, because to him, people of African origin are genetically pre-dispostioned to crime.

He's a pig!

[Albert Cirrus]

91. Spin spin spin

The repugnicans are already spinning this and saying Bennett was taken out of context, but that would be true if he said:

"You’d have to be a complete jackass and a bigoted racist prick to say, ‘I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down’, but of course I’m kidding, right? Oh crap, I hope nobody takes that out of context."

But he wasn't taken out of context and I think the conservatives should come out of the closet and say that they're racist.

[Greylyn58]

92. What a pompous jackass

Bill Bennett is, to borrow a quote from Elton John: "A Vile, Rude Pig!!!"

[GoreDean2008]

93. Bill Bennett: Total Scumbag

Somebody's gotta teach ABCs of the morality to this son of a bitch. I am wondering what kind of low-life scums Bill Bennett's parents were because when you see a kid you see the kid's parents. I am pretty sure Bill Bennett's parents were shitty scums lowlier than drugging drunkards and most-exposed downtown prostitutes. Bill Bennett deserves no authoritative voice and this is a good chance to completely strip off his remaining dignity. I am very angry at all his hypocritical moral facade that he put on his face over a decade.

From now on, I don't want to hear morality lessons from any conservatives. Liberals have to teach conservatives true morality.

[cyr330]

95. NO, NO, NO, NOT an APOLOGY

Apologies are what pussified Democrats ALWAYS ask for. Democrats should call for his head at the very least--they should DEMAND that he resign. Of course that will never happen any more than he will apologize, but at least they can retain some integrity.

[wanpete]

97. according to bennett, he deserves the apology because his comments

were "mischaracterized". Can you get any more pompous or arrogant? What a racist pig! :grr:

[Goldensilence]

98. i wish someone would teach these people...

ok let me level this out.....real simply... please have a seat this won't take long....no really maybe make you a drink? I know you look like the guy who'll pass on a good beer...that's ok....whiskey? No...still to classless...ok scotch. Make yourself at home..... ok ready for this revelation? ok here if goes...


POVERTY = CRIME!

[PurpleChez]

102. Being Rethuglican means never having to say you're sorry.

They never apologize. Hell, Bennett's probably in line for the medal of honor now. Right after Brownie gets his.

[femrap]

103. Geez, if all ya wanna do is lower the crime rate, abort all

boy babies....aren't they 96% of the prison population?

[savemefromdumbya]

106. a disgrace

is he a closet white supremist?

PS. Notice how the white trash/supremist sign of W is similar to Bush'd W sign?

[truthout]

107. The Bennett conversation from his show... on tape

Here is the compete tape of the conversation of what was said on his show.
http://www.bennettmornings.com/pg/jsp/charts/streamingAudioMaster.jsp?dispid=303&headerDest=/site/preview?pid=31025

This link: http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/1/abramsky-s.html is basically what he was referring to if anyone wants to actually read it.

I listened to it and it's a completely different context than what sonicx put up. Sonicx cut out whole parts that flipped the meaning of what was said. It's strange that no one on this thread has actually posted the whole conversation just so you know for sure of what was said.

I guess the truth is the first casualty on this forum. <sigh>

[sonicx]

109. we already know what he said

it's in the article's link. you are only allowed to post 4-5 paragraphs.

the website that first broke this news (media matters) already posted the full comments with the audio. the comments are awful, don't you agree?

[regnaD kciN]

110. By the same standard...

...it seems to me that you could abort every Republican baby, and the corporate crime rate would go way down.

Not to mention that the average IQ would go way, way up... :evilgrin:

[BoogDoc7]

114. Argue using the whole quote...

For intellectual honesty, should probably start using the whole quote:

CALLER: I noticed the national media, you know, they talk a lot about the loss of revenue, or the inability of the government to fund Social Security, and I was curious, and I've read articles in recent months here, that the abortions that have happened since Roe v. Wade, the lost revenue from the people who have been aborted in the last 30-something years, could fund Social Security as we know it today. And the media just doesn't -- never touches this at all.

BENNETT: Assuming they're all productive citizens?

CALLER: Assuming that they are. Even if only a portion of them were, it would be an enormous amount of revenue.

BENNETT: Maybe, maybe, but we don't know what the costs would be, too. I think as -- abortion disproportionately occur among single women? No.

CALLER: I don't know the exact statistics, but quite a bit are, yeah.

BENNETT: All right, well, I mean, I just don't know. I would not argue for the pro-life position based on this, because you don't know. I mean, it cuts both -- you know, one of the arguments in this book Freakonomics that they make is that the declining crime rate, you know, they deal with this hypothesis, that one of the reasons crime is down is that abortion is up. Well --

CALLER: Well, I don't think that statistic is accurate.

BENNETT: Well, I don't think it is either, I don't think it is either, because first of all, there is just too much that you don't know. But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

115. If you use the whole quote, it's twice as bad!

He says " . . .and your crime rate will go down. . . .. but your crime rate would go down". He states his central thesis twice!

According to Bennet - fewer blacks = less crime. Therefore, blacks are criminals. This is his core belief.

[AngryOldDem]

118. It's called backtracking after stepping in it deep

The fact that he *did* verbalize the idea is in and of itself reprehensible.

[bostonbabs]

123. I have contacted everyone I could

.....it's the first time I was asked for :" your real name".........they must get a lot of hate mail. I think we should keep up the pressure.....America needs to speak more and be heard more.......boycott is a very powerful tool and it scares the $$$$ guys.

[PegDAC]

125. It's the first time

I was ever REQUIRED to give a phone number. :wtf:

I was seriously tempted to put something like 800-YOU-TWIT. :evilgrin: