The "Lone Madman"

[Content Note: Anti-choice terrorism; disablism; misogynist apologism.]

When news first broke about Robert Dear killing three people at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs last year, there was an effort, as is there always, to cast him first as a "gentle" man and then, when that failed, to cast him as a "lone madman."

In the days following his arrest, I wrote:

The coverage of the man, since the earliest moments when his name was released, has been troubling. Despite the fact that he made it clear what his motive was, by muttering about "baby parts," the media has played the most appalling game of Occam's Big Paisley Tie ever, treating his motive like a fucking mystery.

Early reports on who Robert Dear is looked more like dating profiles than they did profiles of a domestic terrorist. The New York Times reported that acquaintances described him as "a gentle itinerant loner who occasionally unleashed violent acts toward neighbors and women he knew."

...Soon we learned that Dear had been reported for at least one incident of domestic violence, and that he was known to abuse animals. Less and less "gentle," it seemed.

Dear was also married three times, and his second wife has described him as someone who "erupts into fury in a matter of seconds," saying she "lived in fear and dread of his emotional and physical abuse."

Further, it has now emerged that Dear was "charged with rape in South Carolina more than 20 years ago." After harassing and stalking a married woman who was not interested in his advances, he went to her house and then beat and sexually assaulted her at knifepoint.

Not so much a "gentle loner," then.

The next day, we learned Dear had a history of anti-choice interference, including having "put glue in the locks of a Planned Parenthood location in Charleston."

He was not gentle, and he was not a loner. And he was explicitly motivated by anti-choice ideology.

Now, as a hearing to determine whether he is competent to stand trial approaches, the AP reports that Dear "told police he admired Paul Hill, a former minister who was executed in 2003 for the 1994 shootings of abortion provider Dr. John Bayard Britton and his bodyguard, a retired U.S. Air Force officer named James Herman Barrett, outside the Ladies Center in Pensacola, Florida."

Dear often talked about Hill, including once when he drove past a North Carolina abortion clinic and again when he learned that Colorado Springs had a clinic, his girlfriend told police. Dear's comments after the gunbattle even seemed to echo Hill, who spoke of being rewarded in heaven for his actions.

During an interview in which he repeatedly recited Bible passages, Dear told police he dreamed he would be "met by all the aborted fetuses at the gates of heaven and they would thank him for what he did because his actions saved lives of other unborn fetuses," the documents say. "He was happy with what he had done because his actions ... ensured that no more abortions would be conducted at the Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs," which has since reopened.

Before the shooting, Dear frequently posted messages online about his anti-abortion views, he told police. In 2009, he emailed his son a link to a website that has the stated purpose of "honoring heroes who stood up for the unborn," with links to information about Hill and others who had targeted abortion clinics.

Robert Dear was a not a loner, in any sense of the word. He saw himself as part a movement. He saw that he could be a hero of that movement.

This heinous act of anti-choice terrorism didn't emerge from a vacuum. Dear is the precise opposite of a "lone madman." He is a calculating killer who was inspired by, and hoped to inspire, people who share his ideology.

This flagrant, shameless, decades-long campaign of intimidation, harassment, and threats and acts of violence against healthcare providers who offer abortion services to pregnant people (or are even presumed to offer abortion services), and the spaces in which they offer them, in defense of an inherently violent ideology, is a comprehensive terrorist movement which, from just 1977 to 2011, included multiple assassinations, multiple attempted assassinations, and over 200 arsons and bombings.

Robert Dear could only be said to be "acting alone" if one ignores this vast terrorist network and its unifying ideology, which is so central to public life in the US that it's a centerpiece of the platform of one of the nation's two major political parties.

This didn't happen in a void, and it will happen again and again, until we stop pretending that acts of anti-choice terrorism are disconnected acts committed by lone madmen.

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Blog Note + Links

Welp, due to colossal corporate incompetence and an aggressive disregard for even the most rudimentary customer service, I will be offline again today. I'm so sorry for the interruption. Let me assure you that I would rather, by a factor of eleventy trazillion, be writing content for y'all today than dealing with the bullshit that's keeping me away.

In the meantime, here are some links of interest for discussion:

[Content Note: Anti-choice terrorism] Robert Dear, who perpetrated the act of anti-choice terrorism on the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood facility on Nov. 27, appeared in court yesterday and dramatically announced that he is guilty: "'I am guilty there will be no trial. I am a warrior for the babies,' he said in an outburst in El Paso County Court overheard by CBS4 reporter Rick Sallinger. Soon afterwards he stated 'You'll never know the amount of blood I saw in that place.'" Without a trace of fucking irony. Also: Bullshit. He's a liar as well as a murderer.

[CN: Terrorism; death; video may autoplay at link] "The man at the center of last week's massacre in San Bernardino, Calif., began discussing jihad and martyrdom with his [then] soon-to-be wife even before she came to America last year. He also may have plotted an attack as far back as 2012 with a neighbor who had purchased the two assault rifles used in the shooting, according to senior American officials. The neighbor, Enrique Marquez, has spoken at length with federal authorities in recent days about his relationship with the gunman, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and their planning. Mr. Marquez has checked himself into a mental health facility and federal authorities are still trying to assess his credibility and corroborate his account. It is not clear why the 2012 plot did not go forward."

[CN: Guns; video may autoplay at link] This sounds like a terrific idea: "Gun rights groups say they will conduct a mock mass shooting this weekend at the University of Texas campus as they try to end gun-free zones. The Open Carry Walk and Crisis Performance Event will involve actors 'shot' by perpetrators armed with cardboard weapons, said Matthew Short, a spokesman for the gun rights groups Come and Take It Texas and DontComply.com. 'It's a fake mass shooting, and we'll use fake blood,' he said. He said gun noises will be blared from bullhorns. Other people will then play the role of rescuers, also armed with cardboard weapons."

[CN: Racism] Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia continues to be flagrantly racist: "Near the end of oral argument in a high-profile affirmative-action case Wednesday, conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia suggested that black students benefit from a 'slower track' at less prestigious schools and are thus harmed by affirmative action." This fucking guy.

"Scientific Evidence Doesn't Support Global Warming, Sen. Ted Cruz Says." Sounds about right.

And finally! "The Fluffiest Cats in the World." A+

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Pollution] Fucking hell: "On Tuesday morning, as China's smog-choked capital declared its first ever air pollution red alert, the school, normally buzzing with over-energetic 10-year-olds, was almost silent. A pungent mist hung over the outdoor basketball courts and running track. ...Across Beijing, thousands of other schools and nurseries were in a similar state of almost total shutdown after the city's authorities announced a three-day state of emergency because of the pollution. Building sites and factories were forced to close; millions of cars were ordered off the roads; and teams of environmental inspectors fanned out across the surrounding region to ensure that coal-fired power stations and steel mills were not secretly churning out even more filth into the already putrid atmosphere. ...At 7am, when the red alert—the first in Chinese history—officially came into force, a thick gloom hung over Beijing. Pollution levels were already nearly 15 times higher than the World Health Organisation deems safe." The linked story notes that there are loads of people who have to live and work in Beijing because they can't find livable wages in their hometowns. Having grown up in a steel town in a highly polluted area of the US, I feel so desperately for the people who give their health to support themselves, their families, and their national economy.

[CN: Islamophobia] For fuck's sake: "A severed pig's head tossed outside a Philadelphia mosque has upset residents of multiple faiths and prompted federal and city investigations. Pigs are considered unclean in Islamic culture and pork is not eaten by most practicing Muslims. Mayor-elect Jim Kenney quickly condemned the 'bigotry that desecrated' the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society building Sunday night. 'The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection has a long history of coming together in the face of challenge,' Kenney said. 'We cannot allow hate to divide us now, in the face of unprecedented difficulties. I ask all Philadelphians to join me in rejecting this despicable act and supporting our Muslim neighbors.' ...Marwan Kreidie, head of the Arab American Development Corp., told [Philly.com] that the FBI was investigating the pig's head incident. Kreidie said anti-Muslim sentiment is 'worse now' than after the Sept. 11 terror attacks."

Today, the Supreme Court will take up the issue of voting rights, specifically what "one person, one vote" means in the context of drawing voting districts, in Evenwel v. Abbott. At SCOTUSblog, Lyle Denniston has a primer and analysis of the arguments.

[CN: Misogynist violence; racism] Newly elected Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau "has promised an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women in an appeal to First Nations chiefs. The public inquiry will be 'top priority' of the Liberal government, the newly elected leader said. He called for a 'total renewal' of the relationship between Canada and First Nations peoples. Mr Trudeau promised increased funding for programming and a review of laws on indigenous peoples. Calls for an inquiry have grown since a review found 1,181 indigenous women had been murdered or gone missing since 1980. 'We have made this inquiry a priority for our government because those touched by this national tragedy have waited long enough,' he said at an assembly of First Nations chiefs in Gatineau, Quebec. 'The victims deserve justice; their families an opportunity to heal and to be heard.'"

[CN: Anti-choice terrorism] Robert Dear, the man who killed three people at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood facility on November 27, "asked at least one person in a nearby shopping center for directions to the facility before opening fire, law enforcement sources confirm to CBS News, offering the clearest suggestion yet that he was targeting the reproductive health organization." The clearest evidence aside from saying "no more baby parts" to police upon his arrest and having targeted a Planned Parenthood facility before, for crying out loud.

Meanwhile: "Planned Parenthood opened a new health facility last week in the Los Angeles area, just days after a shooting rampage at a Colorado clinic killed three people. 'Our doors are open today, in Colorado and across the country, and nothing will deter us from providing high-quality health care to our patients,' Celinda Vazquez, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles vice president of public affairs, said in a statement. The West Hollywood facility will offer a range of services, including gynecological and breast examinations, STD testing, cancer screenings, birth control, and abortion care. The clinic will begin dispensing two powerful anti-HIV drugs aimed at lowering the rate of infections." The bravest people.

[CN: Sexual violence; rape jokes] James Deen says he is "shocked" by rape allegations made by a number of former partners and/or colleagues. He also says none of them are true. And then he adds that the woman are probably motivated by vengeance and greed. And also defends making rape jokes. Riiiiiiight.

[CN: Christian Supremacy] Ted Cruz continues to be a lying liar: "During a town hall event in South Carolina on Monday, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz made the bold claim that he will defend religious liberty because 'what kind of country are we living in where…we're threatening teenage girls with going to jail if they say the name of Jesus?' Cruz made the remark after telling the story of Angela Hildenbrand, a high school valedictorian who he claims was 'threatened with jail if she exercised her right to pray during her graduation speech.' At the South Carolina event and at other campaign events in the past, Cruz has discussed her story as an example of the government's war on Christianity. ...But Hildenbrand was not actually threatened with jail for praying. In fact, every part of Cruz's statement in South Carolina is incorrect, Greg Lipper, an attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church & State, who worked on the case, told ThinkProgress."

[CN: Islamophobia] Donald Trump's gross anti-Muslim plan is too extreme even for dark lord Dick Cheney: "I think this whole notion that somehow we can just say no more Muslims, just ban a whole religion, goes against everything we stand for and believe in. I mean, religious freedom has been a very important part of our history and where we came from." And then he said a bunch of shit about how the refugee crisis has been created by a "US vacuum" in the Middle East that made me want to punch walls.

One woman in politics said something complimentary about another woman in politics, but that first woman didn't show up at another event for the second woman, and OMG WHAT CAN IT ALL MEAN? Let me consult my LADYRULEZ DECODER RING!

All right then! "A new study suggests dinosaurs might have evolved more rapidly than we'd thought, emerging less than 5 million years after so-called 'pre-dinosaurs' hit the scene. That shaves about 10 million years off the previous evolutionary timeline." Something something evolution is just a theory fart.

And finally! Deer + fake reindeer = win. It's basic math.

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Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood Shooting: Wednesday Update

[Content Note: Anti-choice terrorism; abuse; sexual assault. Linked material may not be safe.]

For background, please see previous posts from Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Yesterday, the New York Times published a long and widely shared article about Robert Dear's background: "For Robert Dear, Religion and Rage Before Planned Parenthood Attack." There is no acknowledgment of their previous reporting in which they drew a picture of a "gentle loner" who only "occasionally unleashed violent acts toward neighbors and women he knew."

Now, they report: "But in court documents and interviews with people who knew Mr. Dear well, a picture emerges of an angry and occasionally violent man who seemed deeply disturbed and deeply contradictory: He was a man of religious conviction who sinned openly, a man who craved both extreme solitude and near-constant female company, a man who successfully wooed women but, some of them say, also abused them."

That Dear both "craved extreme solitude" and "near-constant female company" (an interesting, ahem, way to describe a man who was arrested for rape and voyeurism) is not a contradiction. Men who abuse female partners often want to isolate themselves and the women they abuse from outsiders, who might object to their abuse and intervene to stop it.

That's a basic and well-documented dynamic of domestic violence, and it should not be reported as a "contradiction." Unless, of course, one's intent is simply to draw a portrait of a man whose behavior is incomprehensible, thus underwriting narratives that he is "crazy."

There could hardly be a better way to avoid addressing conformity with cultural misogyny and substitute in its place the suggestion of inexplicable instability than reporting a history of violence toward women, alongside details about anti-government paranoia and internet ranting about pot, without ever connecting the dots between domestic misogynist violence and anti-choice terrorism.

The common denominators of which are a seething hostility toward women's agency, autonomy, consent, and safety.

That's not evidence of mental illness or contradictions. That's evidence of consistent fealty to patriarchal narratives about male ownership of women's lives and bodies.

In the article, we further find out that this was not even Dear's first act against Planned Parenthood:

A number of people who knew Mr. Dear said he was a staunch abortion opponent. [Barbara Micheau], 60, said in a brief interview Tuesday that late in her marriage to Mr. Dear, he told her that he had put glue in the locks of a Planned Parenthood location in Charleston.

"He was very proud of himself that he'd gone over and jammed up their locks with glue so that they couldn't get in," she said.

So Dear has a history of anti-choice interference, was arrested for both rape and being a "peeping Tom" (a situation which likely would have escalated to rape had he not been caught), has multiple ex-wives who report vicious domestic violence, and somehow the word "misogyny" never appears in the entire article, and the headline announces "Religion and Rage Before Planned Parenthood Attack."

Sure. Religion and rage. It's technically accurate. But it seems rather more important that he was a violent misogynist, whose religion was a convenient justification for his violent misogyny, and whose rage was directed at primarily at women.

This is not a matter of semantics. To fail to call violent misogyny by its name is to abet it.

Just two months ago, in a piece entitled "The Media Is Failing Women," I wrote:

Just a series of unconnected events, each of which happens in a vacuum! So we're meant to believe.

That similar failure is no coincidence. It's all violence done against (primarily) women, targeting women who are exercising sexual and reproductive agency, who want control over our own bodies, who insist on deciding for ourselves who we fuck and whether we birth (their) babies.

Violent, entitled men who subscribe to narratives of a profoundly toxic masculinity are waging a terrorist campaign against women's autonomy, agency, and consent. They are killing us (and other men in the process) in order to terrorize us into yielding our independence.

And the media is complicit in their terrorism, because it flatly refuses to call these acts what they are. The media is failing women by refusing to connect the dots.

Lots of people are rightly angry that the media refuses to call Dear's actions anti-choice terrorism. We should all be equally angry that the media refuses to connect that to the larger issue of violent misogyny.

The only people for whom that concealment is a favor are violent misogynists.

As ever, please keep comments safe with appropriate content notes, and please refrain from posting images in the thread.

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Quote of the Day

[Content Note: Anti-choice terrorism; victim-blaming.]

"These facts and overall mission of the abortion industry would easily send anyone over the hill who wasn't rational. ...Violence is never the answer, but we must start pointing out who is the real culprit. The true instigator of this violence and all violence at any Planned Parenthood facility is Planned Parenthood themselves. Violence begets violence. So Planned Parenthood: YOU STOP THE VIOLENCE INSIDE YOUR WALLS."—Adams County Colorado Republican state representative JoAnn Windholz, just fucking going there and full-tilt blaming Planned Parenthood staff and patients for the deadly act of anti-choice terrorism carried out by Robert Dear.

I don't even have words, besides these: FUCK OFF.

And these: "Let's Get This Straight." True then; true now.

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Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood Shooting: Tuesday Update

[Content Note: Anti-choice terrorism; abuse; description of rape. Linked material may not be safe.]

Aphra is otherwise occupied this morning, so I'm taking over her beat, at her request. For background, please see her posts from Friday, from Saturday, from Sunday, and from Monday.

Yesterday, as Aphra noted in her last update, Robert Dear was arraigned and is being held on a first degree homicide charge, with additional charges expected next week.

The coverage of the man, since the earliest moments when his name was released, has been troubling. Despite the fact that he made it clear what his motive was, by muttering about "baby parts," the media has played the most appalling game of Occam's Big Paisley Tie ever, treating his motive like a fucking mystery.

Early reports on who Robert Dear is looked more like dating profiles than they did profiles of a domestic terrorist. The New York Times reported that acquaintances described him as "a gentle itinerant loner who occasionally unleashed violent acts toward neighbors and women he knew."

A white man who kills three people, including a police officer, and injures a dozen more, including three more police officers, gets taken into custody alive. Unlike, say, a 12-year-old black boy with a toy gun. And instead of being described as a "thug" or a "demon," he is described, incredibly, as a gentle loner who only occasionally hurt people.

Soon we learned that Dear had been reported for at least one incident of domestic violence, and that he was known to abuse animals. Less and less "gentle," it seemed.

Dear was also married three times, and his second wife has described him as someone who "erupts into fury in a matter of seconds," saying she "lived in fear and dread of his emotional and physical abuse."

Further, it has now emerged that Dear was "charged with rape in South Carolina more than 20 years ago." After harassing and stalking a married woman who was not interested in his advances, he went to her house and then beat and sexually assaulted her at knifepoint.

Not so much a "gentle loner," then.

Over and over, men who commit very public acts of misogynist violence are described, often by male neighbors who had little interaction with them, as "gentle" or "quiet" or some variation thereof. Responsible media would not race to report these descriptions. Instead, they would know by now that the real portrait of a man who commits misogynist violence can only be drawn by the women with whom they had intimate relationships—and/or the women they have previously assaulted.

Of course, that requires the media to acknowledge that acts of misogynist violence are, in fact, acts of misogynist violence in the first place.

* * *

In other news, Paul Markovsky, the widower of Jennifer Markovsky, who was one of Dear's victims, has asked for privacy "as we try to begin the grief and healing process." Something to consider if you see further media reports on Markovsky being shared.

As ever, please keep comments safe with appropriate content notes, and please refrain from posting images in the thread.

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Quote of the Day

[Content Note: Anti-choice terrorism.]

"With heads high and heavy hearts, Planned Parenthood staff provide care—no matter what."—Planned Parenthood, in a tweet today, vowing to continue providing care to the people who need it, despite the risk they know they are taking. Blub.

In related news, Senator Barbara Boxer has called on Speaker Paul Ryan to disband the "Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives" & stop the Republican Congressional caucus' attack on Planned Parenthood. GOOD.

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note for next seven paragraphs: Anti-choice terrorism; disablism; transphobia] To put it politely, the Republican candidates have not covered themselves in glory in their responses to the Planned Parenthood shooting in Colorado Springs. The only candidate who has even remotely conceded that inflammatory rhetoric might have played a role in creating the context in which this act of anti-choice terrorism happened is Dr. Ben Carson, and even then he had to be prompted by Meet the Press host Chuck Todd and gave an answer that invoked the old "both sides are just as bad" chestnut: "I think any hateful rhetoric directed at anyone from any source is too much. It's something that we need to get away from. We have to stop allowing ourselves to be pushed into different corners and then throwing hateful barbs at each other, you know." Weak sauce. But compared to the rest of them...

Ohio Governor John Kasich offered his prayers and said "senseless violence has brought tragedy to Colorado Springs." This violence was not "senseless." It makes a perfect, horrific sense within a culture of hostility to reproductive choice in which abortion providers are routinely called mass murderers even by presidential candidates.

Jeb Bush's statement came from the same garbage playbook: "There is no acceptable explanation for this violence, and I will continue to pray for those who have been impacted."

Donald Trump simply went for rank disablism, calling Robert Dear a "maniac" and "a sick person," while also claiming we don't know "the purpose" of his violent act. Yep, it's a real mystery lost to the sands of time.

Carly Fiorina, who has insistently been telling the lie that Planned Parenthood harvests fetal parts for profit, the very thing Robert Dear referenced upon his surrender, is shamelessly unapologetic, continuing the repeat the lie and further asserting: "What I would say to anyone who tries to link this terrible tragedy to anyone who opposes abortion, or opposes the sale of body parts, is this is typical left-wing tactics." Fiorina's got a bad case of projection where her accountability should be. Asshole.

Mike Huckabee just went for it, equating the deadly shooting to abortion: "There is no excuse for killing other people whether it's happening inside the Planned Parenthood headquarters, inside their clinics where many millions of babies die, or whether it's people attacking Planned Parenthood." My contempt for this shitlord and every piece of filth he disgorges from his toxic maw cannot be measured on a scale fathomable by human intellect. Fucker.

And Senator Ted Cruz is disseminating the ridiculous lie that Robert Dear is a "transgendered [sic] leftist activist," a falsehood based entirely on the fact that Dear's voter registration form was erroneously marked "female." Because an opportunity to demonize trans people while exploiting a heinous act of anti-choice terrorism is basically Ted Cruz's happiest fucking day. Shitlord.

What a truly reprehensible lot.

* * *

President Obama is at the COP21 climate change conference in Paris, along with leaders from 146 other nations, and he says: "Climate change could define the contours of this century more than any other (challenge). I came here personally to say the United States not only recognises the problem but is committed to do something about it." Well, some of us are! He also said "the UN climate conference in Paris could be a 'turning point' in global efforts to limit future temperature rises." I hope so!

[CN: Police brutality; racism; video may autoplay at link] "Jury selection was set to begin Monday in the first high-stakes trial for Baltimore police officers involved in the April arrest of Freddie Gray... The jury selection process for Officer William Porter is crucial because it could determine whether it is possible to select impartial juries in the city for each of six officers charged in connection with Gray's death. Lawyers for the officers have said it's not possible; Judge Barry Williams decided to try. Porter is charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and assault in the death of Gray." Translation: Lawyers for the officers wanted a whiter jury pool.

[CN: Rape] I believe Stoya.

[CN: Misogyny] Um. "When Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters Dec. 18, audiences will be introduced to two new leads: Rey and Finn, played by newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, respectively. J.J. Abrams, who directed the movie, explained on Good Morning America Monday why he decided to make a woman one of the protagonists in the seventh installment in the franchise. ...'Star Wars was always a boys' thing and a movie that dads take their sons to, and though that's still very much the case, I was really hoping this could be a movie that mothers could take their daughters to as well.'" The fuck?! First of all, fuck off for implying no little girls got taken by their parents to see the original trilogy, and subsequent trilogy, and second of all, fuck off for disappearing all the female Star Wars fans who aren't mothers taking daughters or daughters being taken by mothers.

[CN: Transphobia; ciscentrism] Good grief: Eddie Redmayne, a cis man who is playing a transgender woman in the upcoming film The Danish Girl, "bravely" shares how ignorant he was about being transgender when he took on the role. "I fell into all the clichés of ignorance. I didn't realize that gender and sexuality weren't related. I confused the terms transvestitism and transgender. But what's lovely is, the second you understand the difference, you see how gigantic it is and how important it is that we educate ourselves." How lovely!

[CN: Terrorism] All right then: "In the fight against the Islamic State, the American government is being offered help from an unlikely source: the Mafia." Sure.

Zoinks! "It's official: Adele's 25 album sold 3.38 million copies in its first week in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music. That's the largest single sales week for an album since Nielsen began tracking point-of-sale music purchases in 1991. 25 is the first album to sell more than 3 million copies in a week in Nielsen history, and only the second to surpass 2 million sold in a single frame."

Welp: "The world's first anti-ageing drug will be tested on humans next year in trials which could result in people being able to live healthily well into their 120s. ...Although it might seem like science fiction, researchers have already proven that the diabetes drug metformin extends the life of animals, and the Food and Drug Administration in the US has now given the go-ahead for a trial to see if the same effects can be replicated in humans. ...Scientists think the best candidate for an anti-ageing drug is metformin, the world's most widely used diabetes drug which costs just 10 cents a day. ...The new clinical trial called Targeting Aging with Metformin, or TAME, is scheduled to begin in the US next winter. Scientists from a range of institutions are currently raising funds and recruiting 3,000 70 to 80-year-olds who have, or are at risk of, cancer, heart disease and dementia."

I love this: "Japan Railways Build Turtle Tunnels." Yes! A+

And finally! "Heroic brothers free a bald eagle from a trap and take the best selfie of all time." OMG. Perfection.

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Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood Shooting: Monday Update

[Content Note: This post includes descriptions of anti-agency rhetoric and violence, gun violence, and misogynistic framing. Linked material may not be safe.]

For background, please see posts from Friday, from Saturday, and from Sunday.

According to NBC News' report from this morning (CN: video autoplays at link) Robert Lewis Dear will be arraigned today. The Washington Post reports that his arraignment is set for 1:30 PM Mountain Time. The DA has up to ten days to file charges. Presumably that will include evidence from the crime scene that police are still investigating. Police have also investigated the recreational vehicle-type trailer that he was living in, deploying a bomb robot during the course of that investigation. Prosecutors may seek the death penalty. Joshua Tolini, a Colorado Springs attorney speaking to the Colorado Springs Gazette, noted that the number of victims, the death of a law enforcement officer, and the fact that Dear laid an ambush were factors that might play a role in prosecutors seeking capital punishment.

The City of Colorado Springs has a Crisis Center set up for those affected; you can read its official statement describing services available.

Slain police officer Garrett Swasey came to Colorado from Massachusetts originally because of his serious pursuit of figure skating. His childhood friend and sometime training partner, Olympian Nancy Kerrigan, paid tribute to Swasey after learning of his death.

Civilian victims Ke'Arre Stewart and Jennifer Markovsky both had military ties, according to a profile in the Military Times. Stewart was an army veteran who had served on active duty in Iraq and Markovsky had moved to Colorado Springs because her husband was stationed there for his military service.

It is thought by his surviving relatives that Stewart's military experience may have played a role in his reaction to being shot: he made his way back into the building and warned others about the gunman. I don't yet know how crucial his actions were to the survival of others, but even a few seconds warning in a situation like this can make a tremendous difference.

Amburh Butler, who is referred to by the Canadian Press as a friend and family spokesperson, has set up a GoFundMe Account for Stewart's family here, to assist at least in part with covering his funeral expenses and transporting his remains back to his native Texas. A YouFund Account for a college fund for the children of Officer Swasey is here. The Colorado Springs Gazette reported that another YouFund account will support Jennifer Markovsky's family, including her widower, Paul.

Some good news is that at least five wounded victims, including two police officers, have been released from hospital. Three law enforcement officers remain in Penrose Hospital and a continuing to receive treatment.

Vicki Cowart, spokesperson for the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, has vowed it will re-open its doors. They will have a lot of work to do; in addition to damage from gunfire, the building was rammed by a BearCat armored vehicle as part of police efforts to distract Dear and rescue his hostages. If you wish, you can donate directly to Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains here.

There is also less good news.

Apparently, some reporters think that pro-choice advocates are just now using the term "terror" to describe anti-agency violence. For anyone laboring under that illusion, allow me to introduce you to Shakesville's "anti-choice terrorism" tag. It goes back years, and not everything is even covered in that tag. I'm glad people are finally listening, but feminists have been talking about the inherent violence of the "pro-life" movement for a very, very long time. As Liss wrote back in 2011:

And, I know I'm just an exhaustingly tedious feminist hysteric and all, but I actually find the anti-choice position inherently violent, no matter how politely it is stated. If anyone else suggested that I should be forced to submit my body against my will to nine months of potential discomfort and pain, followed by an act that might include the skin and muscle between my vagina and anus being torn open, I don't think we'd mince words about whether they were using violent rhetoric. But because we can couch it in the bullshit terminology of "a pro-life position," that's supposed to be evidence of civility.

In other garbage news related to this tragedy, the Daily Mail (to which I will not link) has a headline claiming that Dear was once a "happily married father" and suggests his behavior only became problematic after he divorced in 2000. Happily married, I guess, except for the part where his then-wife called the police and made a DV report about him in 1997. Neat trick of blaming a woman for his decline, and yet another variation on the if-only-he-had-the-love-of-a-woman crap we have heard about other violent misogynist mass killers before. Why is it so hard to imagine that maybe part of his divorce was his ALREADY problematic behavior? And Dear reportedly lived with a woman in Colorado; he was not a "loner."

And I'm not going to cover the garbage responses from GOP candidates here, because Liss will cover that later, but I will note that, for all their distancing and claiming that of course they don't support anti-choice violence, here is Ted Cruz's campaign tweeting just days ago about what a swell guy Operation Rescue's Troy Newman is. You know, the same Troy Newman who argued that the murderer of an abortion provider should be allowed to claim "justifiable homicide." Ted Cruz, you are a terrible person.

Update #1: According to the Twitter account of USA Today reporter Trevor Hughes, the Mayor of Colorado Springs, John Suthers, said today that open carry laws have little effect on overall violence. He also urged respect for the rights of gun owners, and for the First Amendment right to free speech. And we definitely need better spying information-sharing on people with mental illness. Among the rights that the mayor did not apparently mention: women's right to their own bodily autonomy.

Update #2: A "suspicious person" may have made threats against survivors in a Colorado Springs hospital, which is on lockdown.

Update #3: Robert Lewis Dear has appeared before a judge, wearing what ABC news described as a "suicide prevention" garment. His defense attorney, Daniel King, is a public defender who also defended Aurora shooter James Holmes. Dear is being held ona first degree homicide charge. Further formal charges will come next week. There is also some possibility that federal charges might be laid:

Still, U.S. Attorney John Walsh said investigators have been in touch with lawyers from the Justice Department's Civil Rights and National Security divisions, suggesting officials could pursue federal charges in addition to state homicide ones. One possible avenue is the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which makes it a crime to injure or intimidate clinic patients and employees.

Reporter Lance Benzel Tweeted that DA Dan May and 2 other assistant DAs will prosecute; such large team is unusual in his experience.

Judge Stephen J. Sletta has sealed court documents for the case. Although this means that evidence gathered during the case is not officially available, CBS news is citing unnamed sources that say Dear brought "all the guns he owned" to the site, and that authorities are trying to determine if the guns were legally obtained or not.

ABC news is reporting that Dear made remarks about President Obama during his detention that were serious enough the Secret Service is now investigating Dear.

As ever, please keep comments safe with appropriate content notes, and please refrain from posting images in the thread.

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Planned Parenthood Shooting in Colorado Springs: Sunday Update and Discussion Thread

[CN: This post includes descriptions of gun violence, disableism, domestic violence, anti-agency rhetoric, stalking, interpersonal violence, and cruelty to animals. Linked material may not be safe.]

As of 3 PM ET (11 AM Colorado time), here is what I can glean about the Planned Parenthood shooting on Friday. Please feel free to leave image-free, properly content-noted updates in comments. (For background, please see Friday's post here, and also Saturday's post here.)

Officer Garrett Swasey was remembered at his church this morning. His widow Rachel Swasey has issued a statement on behalf of the Swasey family memorializing her husband and asking for privacy so she and their two children may mourn. (The linked statement also includes a link to an education fund for the children, for those who wish to contribute.

The other two deceased victims have yet to be named, although the governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper, says they were a man and a woman. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, autopsies are scheduled for the two civilian victims on Monday. Their identities will be released after that. (ETA: Their identities have been released; see updates below.) (The linked article also contains information about a Community Crisis Recovery Centre opening in Colorado Springs today in order to assist those directly affected by Friday's events.)

There were two vigils for the victims Saturday, one at the University of Colorado CS chapel, and another vigil at All Soul's Unitarian Universalist Church. The Reverend Nori rost clearly spoke of the perpetrator as a "terrorist," and most speakers urged the need to protect reproductive rights and address gun control. When an unnamed mourner objected to the political nature of these statements, Nori responded:

“the announcement for the vigil said it was to come together to grieve our losses and to stand with Planned Parenthood.

“This was a devastating loss for them, and we wanted to show our support. The announcement was very clear.”

Attorney General Lynch has also released a statement:

This unconscionable attack was not only a crime against the Colorado Springs community, but a crime against women receiving healthcare services at Planned Parenthood, law enforcement seeking to protect and serve, and other innocent people. It was also an assault on the rule of law, and an attack on all Americans' right to safety and security. Justice Department attorneys, the FBI, and the ATF are on the scene to offer assistance and review the situation.

“We stand ready to offer any and all assistance to the District Attorney and state and local law enforcement as they move forward with their investigation. And in the days ahead, our thoughts and prayers will be with the victims of this horrific attack – including Officer Garrett Swasey, who gave his life in order to keep others safe. We wish a speedy recovery for those who were injured, and peace and strength for the loved ones of the fallen.”

As for the suspect Robert Lewis Dear, Eyewitness accounts confirm he made anti-abortion statements, apparently including "no more baby parts." Yet infuriatingly few media sources are willing to label his motivations as anti-choice, and of course no one is spinning faster than the GOP. I'm not going to link to disgusting comments made by Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee about this. To sum: garbage.

And the more details of Dear's life roll in, the more the picture of an abusive asshole with no respect for boundaries, heavily into anti-government rhetoric, becomes clear. One of his former neighbors describes Dear advising that he put a metal roof on his house to foil government spying. Other neighbors believe he abused his dog. He handed out anti-Obama pamphlets to a Colorado neighbor. Neighbors near his North Carolina shack say they kept their kids inside when he came to stay. He made unwanted sexual advances to a female neighbor, spied on her, and was the subject of a restraining order. His ex-wife reported him in a DV incident. As he rode his trail bike in the area, he would try to provoke local dogs with a stick. His own dogs were neglected and aggressive. He was so scary that most spoke on a condition of anonymity. Another former neighbor in North Carolina described Dear repeatedly following him after the neighbor had reported him for animal cruelty, as part of a "scare campaign." Police records from South Carolina include accounts of Dear threatening a neighbor with bodily harm and allegedly shooting a pellet gun at said neighbor's dog.

Not all information is negative. According to his ex-wife, Dear held a degree in public administration, was artistically inclined, and made a living by selling prints of arts with Southern themes: scenes of Savannah, the Augusta Master's, and the like. She describes him as a good father. As for his religious convictions, Dear's former wife says he was raised Baptist, had read the Bible thoroughly and said he believed in it, but was not a regular churchgoer. (He was, she says, generally "conservative." The New York Times has done some investigation into his online life . He sought out sexual partners on a BDSM message board and smoking companions on marijuana-related message boards; on the latter he wrote in December 2005: “AIDS, hurricanes, we are in the end times. Accept the LORD JESUS while you can." (To me that suggests a definite apocalyptic bent to his religious outlook, at least as it stood in 2005.)

The fact that Dear's ex-wife has some positive things to say about him and a few of his Colorado neighbors found him unremarkable, while others found him scary and intimidating, should not surprise anyone who has close-up experience with an abusive person. They are human beings, capable of immense charm in many cases, and of good persuasive power in others. At one time, at least, it sounds as if Dear managed to get some reasonable economic success, persuading artists to let him buy the rights to their works and then selling prints. Yet he also demonstrated aggression and threat at other times. That fits the pattern of being something other than a one-dimensional monster. Despite the attempts to define Dear as a Lone Wolf and "crazy," without any relation to politics, what we know of his political and religious statements is that they are extreme versions of the anti-government, apocalyptic rhetoric that are quite common on right wing talk shows, blogs, and the like. Increasingly, they are given further credibility as they are echoed by various GOP party figures, including many of the 2016 Republican presidential candidates. Combine that with his very clear personal patterns of ignoring boundaries, of intimidation and physical threats, his domestic violence , stalking, and sexual harassment, then throw easily available weapons into the mix, and his actions in Colorado Springs seem all too predictable in general, even if his specific target was unknowable.

Update #1: The identity of one of the civilian victims has been released. He was Ke'Arre M. Stewart. He leaves behind a wife and children. According to his sister, he was outside the building trying to get cell service, and was shot outside. He still managed to make his way inside the building and warn others before calling 911, according to her account. He was an army veteran who had served in Iraq. A GoFundMePage has been set up to help assist his family with funeral expenses, including taking his remains back to his native Texas. I note this is not connected to any official family statement, unlike the page for Officer Swasey's family, so I can't guarantee it. If anyone can find verifying information for this link, I would be very grateful.

Update #2: The identity of the second civilian victim has also been released. Jennifer Markovsky was at Planned Parenthood supporting a friend. She graduated from high school in Hawa'ii, where she leaves family members, including her father. She also leaves behind a husband and two children. I have no information about financial assistance for her family at this time.

Update #3: The website The Heavy has explored more of Dear's online life. His postings at Cannabis.com are persistently religious; his religious views also overlap with his anti-government views:

Dear first posted about religion on October 3, 2005, when he replied to a thread titled, “Jesus was a fraud.” He wrote, “u wont like hell , jesus is the only hope. satan has blinded u little demon.” On October 7, he wrote, “turn to Jesus or burn in hell. Wake up sinners u cant save yourself u will die an worms shall eat your flesh, now your soul is going somewhere.” He also posted several times in the next few weeks different variations of “Every knee shall bow an tongue confess Jesus is lord in this world or the next.” Dear wrote that “herb” was created by God, so man’s laws against the drug are against God.

Other posts reveal his explicitly anti-feminist views:

He also ranted against women, posting, “god made the woman out of the mans side sorry but womans lib cant change it.

Update # 4: The media discussion of this event is quite amazing. Not in a good way. As Liss points out:

The suspect talked about "politics and abortions," but motive "remains unclear." I'm going to go out on a limb and say "politics and abortion," maybe even the "politics OF abortion," were motivating factors. You read it here first.

As ever, please take care to keep the comments a safe space.

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Colorado Springs Updated Post: What We Know So Far

[CN: gun violence, anti-agency rhetoric and terrorism, deaths. Linked material cannot be guaranteed to be safe.]

I’m opening this second thread to discuss Friday’s terroristic incident at Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs. As of 6:30 AM ET, 3 people have died from gunfire wounds. Two are still-unnamed civilians. The third is University of Colorado CS police officer Garrett Swasey. According to the New York Times story on Swasey, he was 44, a married father of two, and a volunteer pastor at his church. Nine others were also hospitalized.

The Denver ABC affiliate has some coverage that is fairly informative. Major points:

*The first reports came in at 11:38 AM local time (1:38 PM ET) of a shooting at Planned Parenthood, not a nearby bank as early reports suggested. Some people did shelter at the bank and other local businesses.

*The gunfire continued for several hours. Police evacuated some people from sections of the PP building while the situation was active.

*Planned Parenthood announced that all of its staff was safe.

*The suspect was reportedly using a long gun. He also brought “items” into the Planned Parenthood, which were being investigated as possible explosives. The ATF, the FBI, and the CBI all have a presence at the crime scene as well as local police.

*The suspect is in custody. His name is reported to be Robert Lewis Dear.

I’ve seen Dear described as 57 or 59. He is white. The police announcement says he is from North Carolina. The website The Heavy reports about Dear that he was originally from South Carolina, and has an arrest record there and in North Carolina. Most are traffic- related, but he has also been charged with animal cruelty, eavesdropping, and peeping Tom offenses. None of the last three resulted in convictions.

Little else has been revealed about him, including why he targeted this particular Planned Parenthood. I will note that it was the subject of a large anti-agency protest in August. We know this shit doesn’t happen in a void, and the vicious and false attacks on Planned Parenthood sparked by the heavily edited “Center For Medical Progress” videos have resulted in actual violence already. (Media Matters had a discussion of anti-Planned Parenthood arsons back in October.)

It is also worth noting that Colorado Springs is something of a centre for right-wing Christianity. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family is headquartered there, as is New Life Church (the organization founded by now-disgraced Ted Haggard) and Biblica, one of the biggest Bible publishers, among others, according to this 2013 PBS story. Colorado also has an open carry law that makes it easy to carry weapons in public, a factor that, as Mother Jones explored, may have contributed to the mass shootings in Colorado Springs on October 31. It may also be relevant to yesterday’s events.

Hillary Clinton Tweeted her support for PP while the situation was ongoing. She was the first presidential candidate to do so. Five hours later, Bernie Sanders followed her lead. As of 7 AM ET, no other candidates have responded to the attacks via Twitter. ETA: as of 12.40 ET, both Martin O'Malley and Ted Cruz have tweeted about this. O'Malley, like Clinton and Sanders, used a variation on "I Stand with PP." Cruz indicated that he was praying for the loved ones of the deceased, the injured, and for the "brave first responders who got the situation under control." So if you were a patient or staff who wasn't physically injured, Cruz has no prayers for you. He seems nice.

Please feel free to post updates below. As always, this is to be a safe space, which in this case also means an image-free thread. The content note for the post applies throughout the thread; please CN with additional notes as necessary for your post. I will post updates as I can.

Update 1: President Obama has released a statement:

The last thing Americans should have to do, over the holidays or any day, is comfort the families of people killed by gun violence — people who woke up in the morning and bid their loved ones goodbye with no idea it would be for the last time.

And yet, two days after Thanksgiving, that's what we are forced to do again.

We don't yet know what this particular gunman's so-called motive was for shooting twelve people, or for terrorizing an entire community, when he opened fire with an assault weapon and took hostages at a Planned Parenthood center in Colorado. What we do know is that he killed a cop in the line of duty, along with two of the citizens that police officer was trying to protect. We know that law enforcement saved lives, as so many of them do every day, all across America. And we know that more Americans and their families had fear forced upon them

This is not normal. We can't let it become normal. If we truly care about this — if we 're going to offer up our thoughts and prayers again, for God knows how many times, with a truly clean conscience — then we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them. Period. Enough is enough.

May God bless Officer Garrett Swasey and the Americans he tried to save — and may He grant the rest of us the courage to do the same thing.

I am grateful that the president has released a statement and that he has (correctly) connected this massacre to gun violence. I am beyond angry that I live in a country where he cannot even hint at a link between this incident and the right's violent anti-agency rhetoric and lies about Planned Parenthood.

Update 2: According to the Twitter feed of reporter Tom Roeder, the mayor of Colorado Springs is calling the shooter a "misdirected Idealog"[sic] which is the closest anyone official has come to saying, thus far, that virulent right wing ideology is very likely a motivating factor.

Update 3: The Daily Beast has more on Dear's criminal record. [CN: linked story contains descriptions of cruelty to an animal, sexualized intimidation and intimate partner violence.] There are about a million reasons to shift away from talking about mass shooters as "mentally ill," and towards "abusive assholes." But one of the most important is that they so often have a history of being violent with their partners, neighbors, and others within their orbit that they target for sexual or other harassment. Yet our cultural predispose many USians to downplay or disbelieve such reports, instead of (a)taking survivors and their safety seriously and (b) also viewing these reports as crucial warnings about the violent men within our midst. What a toxic mess at the individual and systemic levels.

Update 4: Buzz Feed News is reporting [CN: descriptions of domestic and other interpersonal violence and cruelty towards animals at link) that Dear had recently been handing out anti-Obama pamphlets to a neighbor in Hartsel, CO, where he had most recently resided.

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Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood Shooting: News and Discussion Thread

[Content note: discussions of gun violence, anti-agency terrorism, and intimate partner violence. Linked off-site material may not be safe spaces.]

Multiple news sources are describing a shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs. Here is CNN's coverage (Video may auto-play at link.) I am also following Stephen Hobbs, a local reporter, on Twitter. The local Police Twitter is also informative. There are others reporting from the police scanner, but the police have asked people not to do so, as it compromises responder safety.

As far as I can tell, the situation began some hours ago, and as of 6:20 PM ET is still an active situation. {ETA: As of 8 PM ET a suspect is in custody and, according to the mayor "the situation is resolved." More updates in comments.} A gunman entered Planned Parenthood and apparently initiated a hostage situation. Multiple people have been taken to hospital; the last number I saw was 9. People in the area are still sheltering in place and the most recent police presser said the situation was not yet stabilized. The Mayor has asked that people trying to let their loved ones know they are safe, please do NOT use 911 but use 211 instead.

Although there is speculation that the shooter has anti-agency views, please note that the police have had no discussions with him. Many things are possible, such as a DV-type situation (which is not incompatible with the former, of course), or a bank robbery, as there is reportedly a bank nearby. What we do know is that this is absolutely terrifying and concerning. Please feel free to use the discussion thread as a safe space to discuss this and to post updates. Please do NOT post images, and do be careful and responsible in relaying reports and information.

Much love to you, Shakers.

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