Posted on 09/30/2005 4:47:39 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch
Friday, Sept. 30, 2005 12:07 a.m. EDT Bill Bennett Responds to Critics over Black Abortion
Former Reagan administration education secretary Bill Bennett blasted his critics Thursday night, including Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, of whom Bennett said: ""I'll not take instruction from Teddy Kennedy. A young woman likely drowned because of his negligence."
Bennett is on the hot seat for remarks uttered Wednesday during his radio show, "Morning in America," where he was arguing against some of the more extreme justifications for abortion, calling them "ridiculous and morally reprehensible."
Offering an example, Bennett said:
"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.”
By Thursday afternoon, prominent Democrats had seized upon the comment.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said last year that the Supreme Court's lone black member was "an embarrassment to the court," is demanding that Bennett "issue an immediate apology not only to African Americans but to the nation.”
Left wing Democrat Ted Kennedy, whose brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, ordered the illegal wiretapping of Martin Luther King, called Bennett a "racist."
And Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, who suggested last year that most blacks hold menial jobs, called Bennett's comments "hateful" and "inflammatory" - and called on him to apologize.
Responding to his critics, Bennett told the Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes":
"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."
Neither Kennedy nor Dean nor Reid has ever condemned Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, who rose to the rank of Grand Cyclops in the Ku Klux Klan based on his ability to recruit new members.
In an autobiography released earlier this year, Byrd said the Klan was a "fraternal group" made up of "upstanding' people" - a characterization which drew no protest from Reid, Kennedy and Dean.
My Post was in response to an item Petronski submitted from Bennett, and was a response to Bennett's comments and other comments in the discussion, NOT ANYTHING Petronski said.
I apologize for the implication my post made by referencing Petronski, and wanted to make it clear that the reference to Petronski had nothing to do with Petronski.
LOL. Kinda thorough with the clarification, eh?
Thanks. Be well. ;O)
Still waiting for an apology from Charlie "Bush is bull connor" Rangel and Al "Tawana Brawley, White interloper" Sharpton.
Odds are you're correct.
Oops, I thought I was in the casino with Bill.
The figure that has been posted numerous times on the FR is Black males = ~~6% of the USA population but account for ~~50% of crimes. Now, I have no idea as to what type of crimes comprise that number.
I cannot speak to the accuracy of those numbers but I think any sane person would say it is NOT 6% of all crimes but a number significantly higher than their percentage in the population.
The sad truth is that the majority of abortions are performed on black females. There is a new theory out there that the national crime rate is down because of all of the black abortions performed 20 years ago. Have you heard that one? Check out orneryamerican.com. If only marginally true, that would irritate the RATs even more.
Actually two very sinister things are happening here.
1. The left attacks people who make assertions which are undeniably true, which are supported by irrefutable evidence and which they themselves have in the past implied to be true. The left is saying, if some people are offended by an assertion, it is immaterial if the assertion is factually true. It is truly dishonest, disgusting and demagogic, particularly when not one of them would ever actually assert the opposite to be the case. Harry Reid would never assert that Black’s have an equal or lower crime rate than whites.
On a deeper level this is directly related to Rather’s ‘False but Accurate’.
In “Left Think” any assertion or document is “True” if it supports their world view/ideology, conversely no matter how well documented or well reasoned or well sourced an assertion or document is, if it contradicts our world view/ideology it is false.
Essentially When the normal person, the normal intellectual the normal political commentator claims that something is true, they mean something entirely different from when a leftist says something is true.
From the leftist perspective false accusations of rape are ok; because they raise the community’s awareness of the problem of sexual assault.
2. The deliberate and blatant misquoting or manipulation of peoples remarks.
It is not just the quoting out of context, it is the intentional editing out of the context a remark appears in.
John Ashcroft said; “ Some people say Bill Clinton was a good President, but I disagree.” Becomes > John Ashcroft admits Bill Clinton was a good President.
or, If you were to say- Just because someone is evil does not mean everything they believe is false, Hitler believed the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Is reported as you saying Hitler was right about many things.
I think it is just a matter of time before we get
“I do not believe it would be wise to withdraw immediately from Iraq”
becomes
“….. it would be wise to withdraw immediately from Iraq”
I don't think Blacks or Whites are genetically pre-disposed to crime any more than I think you were pre-disposed to putting your foot in your mouth. It takes training to become a complete crook, just like it takes training to know when to write something that shows one's disposition. If you had listened, or even read, Bennett's statement on this, and not just the "snippets" given in the MSM, then you would know damned good and well what he said, and exactly what he meant when saying it.I cannot understand people running into the closet when the dims come calling, I'm not an apoligist for Bill Bennett, nor do I think he has a racist bone in his body. I suggest you read his books and listen to what he says, maybe you won't be so quick to pull the trigger on him. I hope he keeps letting it all hang out, as I think we need it as a country!
'Fixing' all male babies at birth would go a lot further and is a simpler operation.
Bill Bennet was making the opposite point ... that IF you want to go the 'ends justify the means' approach, there are lots of ways to accomplish a social objective.
He may as well have said abort all babies of low income parents, or all male babies of low income parents ... etc etc.
It makes me angry that he is being attacked for these statements. It is pro-'choice' people who bring up the "abortion has lowered the crime rate" argument in discussions about abortion. I have been in hundreds of abortion discussions and pro-'choice' people never fail to make this point ... as if the ends justify the means.
Bill Bennet was making an offensive claim in order to highlight the offensive defense of abortion many pro-'choice' people make.
I saw the Hannity and Colmes. I saw the replay of his remarks. I saw his "explanation".
His statement was REASONABLY interpretable as being that being black predisposed you to crime.
He should have realised that, and made it clear through an apology that he did not mean that.
If you to pick the single characteristic of an infant that was most likely to predict a life of crime, what would it be? If you made a list of characteristics in order of predictive capability, how far down would "skin color" be?
If he had used the example of "aborting babies of poor people" he would have been insensitive but accurate.
I think he was sensitive to his remarks and I think he was accurate to boot! Problem is, folks such as yourself refuse to keep things in the context of the conversation and look for any excuse, flimsy or not, to throw the proverbial brickbats. I've said things that later I have regretted saying, as I'm sure we all have, but this ain't one of 'em, and Bennett owes no-one an apology. In fact, he is owed an apology from Reid, Jackson, Kennedy, et.al.! What better enemies can he ask for; a thief, a hustler, and a killer...wow...I'm believin' everything those angels are tellin' me-NOT !!!
OK Howard, Mr. Bennett will apologize, but only to the hotel staff.
;-)
FINALLY someone said this!
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
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