Troy Newman

The Christian Defense Coalition, Faith and Action and Pro-Life Nation, which is a division of Operation Rescue and led by Troy Newman, is planning to “encircle” the Supreme Court in order to pray that the justices rule the health care reform law unconstitutional. The prayer rally, dubbed “Justice at the Court,” is set to be held on March 25, the day before oral arguments in the health care case begin.

Supreme Court officials expect the Obamacare case to be the biggest one at the Court since Bush v. Gore in 2000.

If the President's health care legislation is declared unconstitutional, it would end taxpayer subsidized abortions and unjust and immoral mandates forcing religious institutions to cover abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization in their health coverage for employees.

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition and one of the organizers of "Justice at the Court", states;

"We are calling people from all America to come to Supreme Court and 'encircle it with prayer' from March 25-28 as we cry out to God for justice, human rights and religious freedom.

"Sadly, the President's Health Care legislation crushes religious freedom and liberty with unjust mandates on faith institutions and forces taxpayers to pay for abortions.

"We will be praying that Obamacare is declared unconstitutional so Congress can put forward health care legislation that will respect religious freedom, protect human life and honor the principles of our Constitution.

"When Roe v. Wade was decided, the Christian community was detached and uninvolved. We want to make sure that is not the case this time as we challenge people of faith to publicly pray and speak out with boldness and passion."

Pavone’s Tangled Web May Have Led To His Downfall After Bishop Patrick Zurek of the Archdiocese of Amarillo, Texas, recalled Frank Pavone of Priests for Life over financial concerns, many of Pavone’s allies lashed out at Zurek. The Center For Bio-Ethical Reform said it would picket Roman Catholic churches in Amarillo for “hindering efforts to protect the safety of unborn children” and Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said Pavone’s suspension was “outrageous,” slamming Zurek for “casting a shadow where none should be.”

Pavone and his friends defended his financial management, but it appears that the group hit a significant financial shortfall. It appears that much of the problem involves one of Pavone’s many spinoff groups, Gospel of Life Ministries. Other Pavone-affiliated groups besides Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries include the National Pro-Life Religious Council, Rachel’s Vineyard and Faith And Action.

According to Religion News Service, Priests for Life faces a serious budget shortfall, partly as a result of its decision to loan “some $879,000 to Gospel of Life Ministries,” which lost its “tax-exempt status because it failed to file any forms for three consecutive years”:

A leading Catholic anti-abortion group whose leader is under scrutiny for failing to disclose financial details reported a $1.4 million deficit in 2010 despite collecting tens of millions of dollars in donations during recent years.

The budget shortfall at Priests For Life and a bishop’s recent decision to sharply curtail its national director’s activities raise serious questions about the group’s long-term viability.

…

Earlier this month, Bishop Patrick Zurek ordered Pavone to return to Amarillo, Texas, where the priest is officially based, saying Pavone had failed to answer questions about Priests For Life’s finances. The group’s financial troubles appear to partly result from the economic downturn that has hurt many nonprofits.

But an audit for 2010 released this week by PFL shows the problems also stem from debatable management decisions, such as spending nearly all of its reserve funds.

…

The audit shows that Priests for Life’s income, which is based largely on donations from individuals, went from $9.3 million in 2007 to $10.8 million in 2008 and $12 million in 2009.

In 2010, income dropped to $10.7 million while expenses stayed the same, resulting in a $1.4 million deficit.

Still, Pavone and PFL’s loaned some $879,000 to Gospel of Life Ministries, an offshoot of PFL that Pavone established in 2006 at the headquarters of Priests for Life in Staten Island, N.Y.

Gospel of Life Ministries was intended to unite evangelical and Catholic anti-abortion activists and to be financially self-sustaining. Instead, it relied on funds channeled from PFL to subsidize two cable television programs.

The IRS has revoked Gospel of Life’s tax-exempt status because it failed to file any forms for three consecutive years, according to GuideStar, an online database that tracks nonprofits.

…

Earlier this month, Zurek told the rest of the bishops in the United States that he was recalling Pavone to Amarillo and restricting his ministry until the priest complied with demands to disclose financial records and ended his “incorrigible defiance of my legitimate authority as his bishop.”

Zurek portrayed Pavone, who spends almost all his time traveling for PFL, as driven by personal ambition. Pavone has appealed Zurek’s ruling to the Vatican and said he will look for another diocese to call home.

Last month we noted that Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition and other radical anti-choice activists held a protest outside Speaker John Boehner's office to demand the defunding of Planned Parenthood in which used white sheets to link the organization to Planned Parenthood.

In response to the Religious Right campaign against Planned Parenthood, the organization released videos of featuring celebrities announcing that they stood by the group and its mission.

Scarlett Johansson was among those who shot such a video ... and now Mahoney and Troy Newman of Operation Rescue have released their own "parody" video showing Johansson clad in a Klan robe:

Ms. Johansson recently did a national television video supporting Planned Parenthood.

Sadly, Scarlett Johansson did not mention that Planned Parenthood was founded by Margaret Sanger, a racist who supported the Ku Klux Klan, spoke at their rallies and encouraged the elimination of African-Americans.

"Defund Klanned Parenthood" is a national campaign encouraging members of Congress to stop giving billions of tax dollars to an extremist organization founded on racist principles.

Here is the video:

After The New York Times reported that the new health care reform law will cover “voluntary advance care planning” as a reimbursable Medicare service, the Obama Administration immediately feared pushback from right-wing opponents of reform. Anti-reform politicians and activists jumped on a widely-discredited and disputed article by former New York Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey, who predicted that the reform bill will lead to government control over end-of-life decisions.

Republicans pounced on the false claim, as Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) declared that the country “should not have a government run plan to decide when to pull the plug on grandma” and House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) warned that the “provision may start us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia.” Most famously, Sarah Palin wrote on Facebook that her “baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide” if he is “worthy of health care.” The New York Times said that “Ms. McCaughey has been the hammer to Ms. Palin’s nail” as the two “have driven some of the most disturbing, and distorted, claims about the proposals.”

Not only is the service voluntary, but Medscape Medical News reports that since January 1, 2009, “Medicare has been paying for [end-of-life care plans] in a limited fashion — and with little if any protest,” and the American Academy Family of Physicians and American College of Physicians applauded the move as a way to “tailor care” for each patient.

Conservatives though are already decrying the decision as the return of the death panels. Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel condemned what he called “a super death panel” that will put “pressure on the elderly to end their lives prematurely” by targeting senior citizens:

When you have the government mandating this end-of-life counseling, they're conscripting doctors to do end-of-life counseling on a massive scale. It will be the equivalent of a super death panel. Elderly patients will get confused and will end up signing documents without having a clue what they're signing, and they will sign away care they might really want.

Spokesmen from other Religious Right groups, including the American Life League, Concerned Women For America, and Operation Rescue, also denounced the purported "death panels":

"Nothing good can come of this," said Judie Brown, the president of American Life League. "This will affect everybody's parents and grandparents and preborn babies, and it will not affect anybody for the good."

Congress must step up to cancel the regulation, Brown added. "If not, a death certificate is written for an awful lot of elderly people."

"Those of us who voted in common-sense representatives to take control of the House will be expecting to see reversals of regulations like these that run roughshod over the will of the American people," said Dr. Janice Crouse, director of the Beverly LaHaye Institute at Concerned Women for America.

…

Operation Rescue President Troy Newman called the Obama approach "Darwinist," and predicted it would lead to rationing of health care.

"When you have a fixed amount of money that is allocated to health care, it's only logical that some bureaucrat will regulate it and decide who will get treatment," Newman told WND. "That treatment will be based on some humanist, egalitarian principle that these bureaucrats always seem to hold. Their principles are Darwinist, survival of the fittest.

"My grandmother is 94 years old," Newman continued. "Suppose she breaks her hip. Are they really going to authorize that expense over a 16-year-old who has urgent needs? It was Obama who said maybe Grandma should take a pill rather than get this expensive treatment."

…

"Having just returned from the funeral of a dear lady – widow of a Navy man, both buried at Arlington National Cemetery – I couldn't be more repulsed by the idea of government-controlled death panels that will make end-of-life decisions for the most vulnerable of our citizens," Crouse added.

Conservative columnist Cal Thomas uses Charles Dickens to blast the move, and claims that it redeems Sarah Palin:

Sarah Palin deserves an apology. When she said that the new health-care law would lead to "death panels" deciding who gets life-saving treatment and who does not, she was roundly denounced and ridiculed.

…

Do you see where this leads? First the prohibition against abortion is removed and "doctors" now perform them. Then the assault on the infirm and elderly begins. Once the definition of human life changes, all human lives become potentially expendable if they don't measure up to constantly "evolving" government standards.

It will all be dressed up with the best possible motives behind it and sold to the public as the ultimate benefit. The killings, uh, terminations, will take place out of sight so as not to disturb the masses who might have a few embers of a past morality still burning in their souls. People will sign documents testifying to their desire to die, and the government will see it as a means of "reducing the surplus population," to quote Charles Dickens.

I guess today's postings are going to consist mostly of just highlighting the absurdly over-the-top right-wing reactions to the House's passage of health care reform yesterday ... like this one from Operation Rescue's Troy Newman:

Even though I was only three years old I'll never forget watching TV with my mother as Neil Armstrong put the first footprints on the moon. It was a day to remember, a day that proudly changed our nation.

There are moments in history when you just know that the events of the day have permanently changed life as we knew it, sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worst.

I will never forget watching the East Germans stream through the gaps of the falling Berlin Wall. The world was a different, freer, safer place after that day.

I'll never forget watching the 1989 World Series at Candlestick Park as the earth shook San Francisco to pieces.

I'll never forget sitting in Simi Valley on a Sunday afternoon with my new in-laws watching televised confirmation hearings as Clarence Thomas was being grilled like T-bone steak.

I will never forget watching the liberation of Kuwait on CNN in the middle of the night.

Of course, none of us will ever forget the morning of September 11, 2001. I watched in horror as the second plane hit the twin towers.

In the same way, I will never forget Sunday, March 21, 2010, as Rep. Bart Stupak looked me in the eye via CSPAN, and told me he would change his health care reform vote from no to yes. Mr. Stupak said he reached a deal with President Obama to protect unborn human life. But we all knew he had caved to the political pressure and was trying in vain to salvage his party standing, his political career, and whatever normalcy he could restore to his life.

...

I will never forget this day! It is a day that will go down in infamy as did the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Less than 20 years after the cold war ended against, a communist-styled president sits in Ronald Regan's office and rules with a tyrannical iron fist with the help of his Congressional counterparts. Our once-free nation has slid down the path of totalitarianism faster than if we could have been conquered by the Soviets in 1980.

March 21 did indeed change life as we knew it ... I won't forget the events of this day and while they heralded a change for the worst, I vow to be part of the revolution to unravel this mess.

It looks like the battle between Randall Terry and Troy Newman over who owns the rights to the name "Operation Rescue" just might be a battle over a worthless commodity as Newman is warning that the organization is about to go out of business: 

Operation Rescue has told its supporters it is facing a "major financial crisis" and is very close to shutting down unless emergency help arrives soon.

Troy Newman, the anti-abortion group's president, blamed the economic downturn for its money woes in a desperate plea e-mailed Monday night to donors. But the Wichita-based organization has also been under attack from both fringe anti-abortion militants and abortion rights supporters since the May 31 shooting death of Dr. George Tiller.

"We're now so broke (as the saying goes), we can't even pay attention," Newman wrote.

Newman told The Associated Press in an interview after the mailing that the group has only four paid employees left, compared to nine a year ago. The group typically has an annual budget of $600,000, but donations this year have been down 30 to 40 percent. Newman, who earns $60,000 annually, said he hasn't been paid in two months.

...

Operation Rescue's fundraising letter hinted at a secret project it hoped to launch in the next 30 days that would be a "new phase in the pro-life fight." But while the group's fundraising efforts are often tied to some new anti-abortion activity, its latest letter had an unprecedented tone of desperation.

"Seriously. We struggle to pay every bill," Newman wrote supporters. "I had to borrow money just to send you this letter, in hopes that you will come to our rescue so that we can continue to rescue babies."

We have written several times in the past about the confusing in-fighting among anti-choice activist over the rights to the name "Operation Rescue."

After Randall Terry shut down the original Operation Rescue in the late 1980's in an effort to evade various restraining orders, debt, and monetary judgments against the organization, it was reborn as a smaller group headed by Flip Benham and called Operation Save America.

Eventually another member of the original OR created a group called Operation Rescue West that was headquartered in California, though it eventually moved itself to Wichita, Kansas to focus on protesting Dr. George Tiller and now goes by the name Operation Rescue and is headed by Troy Newman.

Benham has protested Newman's use of the name "Operation Rescue" and Terry has sued Newman over it, which in turn has set off feuding among activists as they chose sides in the fight while all three men (Terry, Benham, and Newman) battle over who truly owns the right to the name "Operation Rescue."

That was as much as we've been able to figure out about this fight, but it looks like there are some developments in the works, as in the last two days we have seen Terry allies suddenly lash out at Newman.

First, it was announced that Newman had been booted from Women Against the Killing and Exploitation of Unprotected Persons' [W.A.K.E.U.P] advisory board "because of his continued unethical and divisive behavior" pertaining to his on-going fight against Terry.

The following day, a former ally on Newman's named George Offerman announced that he was starting a new website to fight Newman's lies against Terry:

"In my 27 years in the movement, I have seen extensive infighting and accusations from one pro-lifer to another. It sickens me. There needs to be more unity in the pro-life movement, and the constant bickering and backbiting is actually causing problems with the intended goal of ending legalized child-killing. In that light, I intend to also focus on other attacks against pro-lifers by fellow pro-lifers.

"In the past, I was a large supporter of Troy Newman, and I encouraged many friends and family to give to Mr. Newman. This resulted in well over $10,000 in contributions to Mr. Newman's work.

"Nearly 2 years ago, Mr. Newman made allegations against Mr. Terry that I believed, and have since learned to be false. When I approached Mr. Newman to discuss these falsehoods, he became more and more belligerent over time.

"I then decided to launch this site to fight these false allegations made by people like Troy Newman against Randall Terry.

This seemed so sudden and out-of-the-blue that we didn't really know what to make of it, but now it looks like it was part of an effort by Terry to do preemptive spinning and damage control ahead of an anticipated article about the trademark fight from the Los Angeles Times:

Background: Mr. Randall Terry has been attacked repeatedly on line and in the press for some of his recent statements and actions, including activities and Notre Dame and his comments about the shooting of George Tiller. The Los Angeles Times is doing a story on Mr. Terry and his fiercest critics and adversaries in the pro-life movement.

Mr. Randall Terry states:

"I have been doing interviews with journalists for over 25 years. When an LA Times reporter contacts me and says, 'I want to do a story about the trademark dispute,' and then proceeds to repeat slanderous allegations -- with the possibility of printing false allegations -- I smell a big dead rat. The Washington Post recently did a feature story on me -- and while certainly not favorable, and at points a little demeaning -- the Post had the integrity to not stoop to printing false allegations against me made by my pro-life adversaries. Let's see what The Los Angeles times is made of."

Mr. George Offerman states:

"I've been in the mental health field since 1987, I've been a licensed clinical social worker since 1995, and worked with a myriad of pathologies including both Axis I and Axis II diagnoses. I was contacted by the journalist from the Los Angeles Times, ostensibly to talk about my knowledge of the parties involved in a trademark dispute. I attempted to discuss the possible pathologies involved with those falsely attacking Randall. I left the phone call with the concern that this would be a hatchet job on Randall. I will reserve judgment until the piece runs, but I want my friends in the pro-life movement to know with absolute certainty: if the article is untrue or inaccurate... you'll be hearing from me!"

The article in question has not yet been published, but when it is, we'll certainly have to read it just to see what all the fuss is about.

It seems that ever since Sonia Sotomayor's nomination, every facet of the right-wing movement has tried to make their mark on the nominee. Everyone from the Judicial Confirmation Network to the Family Research Council have made their views known. However, for a single issue organization opposing abortion rights, this nomination might have made them feel like they would be on the sidelines, since Judge Sotomayor has an almost non-existent record on abortion.

But that hasn't stopped Operation Rescue from pulling out all the stops. And then some. 

Today, in a press release, Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, brings new meaning to the term "grasping at thin air." The release, titled "Senators Considering Sotomayor Should Take Notice of Delays in Florida Born-Alive Baby Killing Case", outlines the criminal prosecution of an abortion clinic worker from Florida.

The criminal trial of Belkis Gonzalez, who was charged with two felony counts related to the death of a baby born alive during a botched abortion in Hialeah, Florida, in 2006, has been delayed. Just two days before the scheduled July 9th trial date, a new prosecutor, Gail Levine, was assigned to the case, prompting Judge John Thornton to reschedule the trial to begin on October 9, 2009 at 9:00 AM.

Not once does the release mention Sotomayor, until the final paragraph in which Newman goes above and beyond in trying to tie together the prosecution of a Florida man and Judge Sotomayor:

"This is what happens when prosecutors and even judges allow their personal feelings about abortion to interfere with justice. This case should be a lesson to Senators who are considering the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor has shown a similar inclination to allow her personal beliefs to trump the rule of law. That kind of partiality only leads to injustice."

In no way is Sotomayor linked to tthe prosecution of Gonzalez nor does the headline in any way accurately reflect the content of the press release. But that hasn't stopped Newman and Operation Rescue from trying to brand Sotomayor in a way that fits their organization's agenda.

Bob Pawson, national coordinator for Pro-Life Educators and Students (PLEAS), has announced that he's added a few familiar faces to his "prayer and picket" planned for the National Education Association's annual conference in San Diego on July 2nd.

Earlier this month, I wrote about Pawson's personal vendetta against the NEA, a group who is hardly an outspoken abortion advocacy group (they dedicate three sentences of their 462-page charter to reproductive rights).

Now, he's gained some support from, among others, the recently jailed Rev. Walter B. Hoye, president of Issues4Life Foundation. Along with Hoye, Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, and Rev. Patrick Mahoney of Christian Defense Coalition have pledged their support:

Bob Pawson of Pro-Life Educators and Students (PLEAS), announces, "Our growing team of pro-life coordinators now includes Jeff White from Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, Rev. Patrick Mahoney of Christian Defense Coalition, and Troy Newman of Operation Rescue, for the July 2 prayer-and-picket demonstration during the NEA teacher union convention at the San Diego Convention Center and NEA-State-Affiliate offices across America.

"These esteemed pro-life leaders are promoting and recruiting for our peaceful, prayerful demonstrations regarding the NEA leadership's pro-abortion track record. They are speaking at the Rally for Life at New Beginnings Church in Norco, CA, this Tuesday evening alongside Rev. Walter B. Hoye II, president of Issues4Life Foundation."

While Pawson didn't re-affirm his belief that abortion caused the current economic crisis, he did downplay the size of the protests at state-level NEA offices. He also advised parents to bring their children, because hey, they make for good marketing:

"Gather together your family members and a few pro-life friends and just go to your state's NEA-affiliate offices with pro-life posters. Pray and picket for an hour. Children are especially effective messengers highlighting the hypocrisy of teacher-union leaders supporting abortion," said Pawson.

"The number of locations nationwide is more important than the number of picketers at any location. We don't necessarily need hundreds of picketers at each state's NEA-HQ. A dozen or two would be sufficient -- multiplied by many sites across 50 states. Pro-Lifers far from state capitals can picket their county or town's local NEA-affiliate listed in telephone book white pages."