Topic: NewsBusters
Bryan Ballas devotes a Jan. 31 NewsBusters post to ranting that somebody defended Planned Parenthood -- after all, right-wing dogma dictates that nobody is allowed to. In the process, he repeats a few false right-wing anti-abortion canards in the process.
Ballas seems pretty happy that Planned Parenthood has been the target of violence since the anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress' videos were made public. He complains that the Yahoo Health article he's attacking points out that "In October the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that the organization had seen four incidences of arson in 74 days.” Ballas then huffs: "Note there’s no 'alleged' arson."
We suspect that, like the MRC's CNSNews.com, Ballas took anti-abortion activist Jill Stanek's claim to be a victim of vandalism at face value -- CNS' Barbara Hollingsworth uncritically repeats Stanek's claim that "An unknown vandal had thrown a plastic Target bag containing a chunk of cinder block through her front window." If the MRC is going to be fair on the subject (which, of course, it's not), shouldn't it have described Stanek's claims to be "alleged" just as Ballas demands any claim of vandalism and arson made by Planned Parenthood be described?
Ballas continues his whine-fest, complaining further that the Yahoo Health article describes the CMP videos to be "heavily edited," adding: "Of course, she conveniently neglects to produce proof that the unedited version absolves the abortion giant of offering to sell baby parts." Of course, as we've noted, there's plenty of evidence that those videos were, in fact, "heavily edited" to the point that they don't show what CMP claims they do.Why didn't Ballas bother to look for it?
Because he's too busy ranting to care about the facts, that's why. He goes on to respond to the grand jury indictment of CMP officials for apparent crimes in conducting their anti-Planned Parenthood jihad by asserting that "Lauren Reeder, the assistant district attorney and prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s criminal family law division, is a Planned Parenthood board member." Ballas didn't mention -- or couldn't be bothered to find out -- that, as the Washington Post's Eugene Volokh reported, Reeder is one of 300 prosecutors in the Harris County Harris County District Attorney’s office, she disclosed her involvement with Planned Parenthood before the investigation, and was not involved in it.
Finally, upset that the Yahoo Health harticle lamented that Planned Parenthood is being damaged by the dishonest CMP videos, Ballas goes off on one last rant:
Everyone should take a moment of silence for the “damaged” reputation of Planned Parenthood, a corporation that literally makes money off the blood of children. An organization founded by Margaret Sanger, an unrepentant racist who advocated the forced sterilization of minorities she considered inferior. Its loss of face will be mourned by all.
Oh, this again. As we've documented, nobody who has actually studied Sanger with any degree of honesty believes she was an "unrepentant racist," and she did not "advocate the forced sterilization of minorities she considered inferior."
But, again, Ballas is too busy ranting to be bothered with little things like facts.
