{"id":260845,"date":"2010-02-01T08:41:49","date_gmt":"2010-02-01T13:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rhrealitycheck.org\/blog\/2010\/02\/01\/the-science-orgasm-and-trial-scott-roeder"},"modified":"2010-02-01T12:19:24","modified_gmt":"2010-02-01T17:19:24","slug":"the-science-of-orgasm-and-the-trial-of-scott-roeder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/260845","title":{"rendered":"The Science of Orgasm and the Trial of Scott Roeder"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"1pxplayer\">\n      <script language=\"JavaScript\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rhrealitycheck.org\/sites\/all\/modules\/podcast\/1pixelout\/audio-player.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n      <object type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" data=\"http:\/\/www.rhrealitycheck.org\/sites\/all\/modules\/podcast\/1pixelout\/player.swf\" id=\"audioplayer1\" height=\"24\" width=\"290\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.rhrealitycheck.org\/sites\/all\/modules\/podcast\/1pixelout\/player.swf\"><param name=\"FlashVars\" value=\"playerID=1&amp;soundFile=http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/RealityCasts\/RH_realitycast_121.mp3\"><param name=\"quality\" value=\"high\"><param name=\"menu\" value=\"false\"><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\"><\/object>\n      <\/div>\n<div class=\"podcast-download\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/RealityCasts\/RH_realitycast_121.mp3\" title=\"Download\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rhrealitycheck.org\/sites\/all\/modules\/podcast\/podcast-dl-small.gif\" alt=\"Download\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>  Scott Roeder found guilty of murdering Dr. Tiller.  Oprah&#8217;s confrontation with the Palins is kind of weak. Also: the science of orgasms. <\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<strong>Subscribe to RealityCast:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/phobos.apple.com\/WebObjects\/MZStore.woa\/wa\/viewPodcast?id=263499022\">RealityCast iTunes subscription<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/RealityCast\">RealityCast RSS feed<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<strong>Links in this episode:<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rhrealitycheck.org\/blog\/2010\/01\/18\/video-stopp-unintended-teen-pregnancy\">STOPP program in South Carolina <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.feministing.com\/archives\/019749.html\">Dr. George Tiller on why he became an abortion provider <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gq.com\/news-politics\/big-issues\/201002\/abortion-debate-george-tiller-scott-roeder?currentPage=1\">GQ article on Scott Roeder <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rhrealitycheck.org\/blog\/2010\/01\/25\/what-does-football-have-do-with-abortion-again\">Tim Tebow\/Sarah Palin advocating choice <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/mediamatters.org\/mmtv\/201001200013\">Glenn Beck claims women are psycho <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nOn this episode of Reality Cast, we&#8217;ll learn more about the<br \/>\nscience of orgasms.\u00a0 Also, Scott<br \/>\nRoeder&#8217;s trial in the murder of Dr. George Tiller begins, and Oprah Winfrey<br \/>\ndrops the ball in questioning Bristol Palin.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nRH Reality Check posted a video looking into the success of<br \/>\nthe STOPP program that helped reduce the teen pregnancy rate in a South<br \/>\nCarolina high school.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>stopp<br \/>\n\t*<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nIt seems like common sense that you have to validate<br \/>\npeople&#8217;s lives and experiences in order to communicate with them, but somehow,<br \/>\nthat message is implemented less often than it should be.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n********\n<\/p>\n<p>\nScott Roeder&#8217;s trial for the murder of Dr. George Tiller of<br \/>\nKansas started on Friday.\u00a0<br \/>\nUnfortunately, that was also the 37<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of Roe v.<br \/>\nWade, which hardly seems like a coincidence and has many people worried that<br \/>\nthe judge in this case is disinclined to treat anti-choice terrorism like a<br \/>\nreal crime.\u00a0 We&#8217;ll see, I<br \/>\nguess.\u00a0 Before I get into analysis<br \/>\nof the situation in the here and now, though, I thought I&#8217;d play some samples<br \/>\nfrom recently released videos where Dr. Tiller explains why he became an abortion<br \/>\nprovider.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>tiller<br \/>\n\t1 *<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nAfter that experience, the older Dr. Tiller apparently<br \/>\nperformed abortion quietly and illegally.\u00a0<br \/>\nWhen he died in a plane crash and Dr. George Tiller took over his<br \/>\npractice, he performed legal ones because his father did.\u00a0 And apparently anti-choice nuts<br \/>\nradicalized him, made him see the serious misogyny in their viewpoint.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nI wanted to play that, because I think what the Roeder<br \/>\ndefense team may attempt to do is erase the victim of this crime, his humanity,<br \/>\nthe fact that he had a family, the fact that he worked out of compassion for<br \/>\nwomen and horror at what can happen if women don&#8217;t have access to safe abortion.<br \/>\nDevin Friedman wrote a long and<br \/>\ninteresting piece in GQ about the case, and while I think Friedman has a couple<br \/>\nof unforgiveable moments of pandering to violent misogynists, overall the piece<br \/>\nexposes the vast gulf between the pro-choicers out there fighting for freedom<br \/>\nand really for life, and anti-choicers who are battling their own weird<br \/>\ndemons.\u00a0 Rachel Maddow had Friedman<br \/>\non her show to talk about what it was like to talk to Scott Roeder, who is open<br \/>\nabout murdering Dr. Tiller.\u00a0 You<br \/>\nreally get an ideal of how much the anti-choice movement really is populated<br \/>\nwith nutty folks that have a hostile attitude towards reality.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>tiller<br \/>\n\t2 *<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nHowever, none of this should be taken to mean that Roeder is<br \/>\ncrazy or that he could use the insanity defense.\u00a0 Friedman discusses this later on the segment.\u00a0 There&#8217;s a big difference between people<br \/>\nwho are basically sane but have a lot of nutty, self-serving beliefs that they<br \/>\ncultivate in order to justify their seething hatred of the world and of life and<br \/>\nof reality, and people who are literally insane.\u00a0 What we should take away from this is that the people who<br \/>\nengage in right wing misinformation campaigns and propaganda share the<br \/>\nblame.\u00a0 When mainstream journalists<br \/>\nlike Bill O&#8217;Reilly and Glenn Beck are willing to stretch the truth in order to<br \/>\nserve up a steady stream of hate, it&#8217;s not surprising that this encourages<br \/>\ntheir followers to get further and further into nutty territory with the<br \/>\nfluoride conspiracy theories.\u00a0 And<br \/>\nwhen one of life&#8217;s losers like Roeder who is full of hate is encouraged to lash<br \/>\nout against an abortion provider like Dr. Tiller, this sort of thing is<br \/>\ninevitable.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nWhat really comes across as fascinating about this is that<br \/>\nRoeder was open about how much premeditation went into his plan to kill Dr.<br \/>\nTiller.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>tiller<br \/>\n\t3 *<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nWhat really jumped out at me, and I wish Friedman had taken<br \/>\nmore time to point this out, is how much Roeder comes across as a coward in<br \/>\nthis piece.\u00a0 He planned obsessively<br \/>\non how to get away with this, and when he finally did it, he ran.\u00a0 Not really the man standing up for his<br \/>\nso-called convictions that he&#8217;d like to imagine he is, but really more a<br \/>\nsniveling coward who lashes out with hatred and hopes to escape<br \/>\nresponsibility.\u00a0 Since Friedman<br \/>\ncontrasted the murderer and his victim in the piece, I wish he&#8217;d noted this cowardice,<br \/>\nsince he is in awe, as most of us are, of how brave Dr. Tiller was to practice<br \/>\neven in midst of this constant threat of violence that finally took his<br \/>\nlife.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nFriedman seems pretty sure that Roeder will be paying for<br \/>\nhis crime.\u00a0 The pro-choice community<br \/>\nis worried that the judge&#8217;s willingness to allow a voluntary manslaughter<br \/>\ndefense will mean Roeder gets off with a slap on the wrist, but the extent of<br \/>\nthe premeditation really means this crime can&#8217;t qualify, since the manslaughter<br \/>\nlaw requires you to be reacting in a very rushed way, not premeditating for a<br \/>\ndecade.\u00a0 So that&#8217;s good news, let&#8217;s<br \/>\nhope Friedman&#8217;s right.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n********\n<\/p>\n<p>\ninsert interview\n<\/p>\n<p>\n********\n<\/p>\n<p>\nTo no one&#8217;s great surprise, Sarah Palin continues to use<br \/>\nactivity in and around her and her daughter&#8217;s reproductive tracts in order to<br \/>\nkeep herself on TV and in magazines.\u00a0<br \/>\nPalin mother and daughter got on the cover of In Touch cuddling their<br \/>\nmost recent offspring with a headline about how they&#8217;re glad they chose<br \/>\nlife.\u00a0 As I wrote at RH Reality<br \/>\nCheck, this undermines their claims to be anti-choice, since obviously, if they<br \/>\ndon&#8217;t get to make choices, they don&#8217;t get to be celebrated for them.\u00a0 Sadly, these finer distinctions seem to<br \/>\nbe lost on the anti-choice touring Palin baby circus.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nBut that&#8217;s to be expected.\u00a0 What was unexpected was that the producers of the Oprah<br \/>\nWinfrey show would let the Palins come on to spout their weirdness on the<br \/>\nanniversary of Roe v. Wade, which is especially tasteless sexism considering<br \/>\nthat most of Oprah&#8217;s audience is female.\u00a0<br \/>\nAnd the interview was bizarre from the get-go.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n* palin 1 *\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nOprah sounds like she&#8217;s talking to a crazy person who just<br \/>\naccosted her on the street, and who she&#8217;s trying to escape without being rude<br \/>\nor causing a scene.\u00a0 Things only<br \/>\nget worse from here, however, because as you know the Palin baby circus is all<br \/>\nabout the sex and how evil it is.\u00a0<br \/>\nI fail to see why Oprah&#8217;s people think giving air time to anti-sex<br \/>\nsentiments is such a good idea.\u00a0<br \/>\nI&#8217;ve read Oprah magazine, while waiting for doctor&#8217;s appointments.\u00a0 I know how much money they make off sex<br \/>\ntips, and you&#8217;d think they wouldn&#8217;t want to undermine that message.\u00a0 And I suppose that Oprah does in fact<br \/>\ntry to challenge the message that Bristol Palin is a repentant fornicator who<br \/>\nis going to stop fornicating.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>palin<br \/>\n\t2 *<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nA fair question, but kind of a shallow one.\u00a0 Obviously, the narrative the Palins are<br \/>\ntrying to establish is that sex is naughty, but Bristol got her baby<br \/>\npunishment, and that somehow wiped the slate clean.\u00a0 It should only be your business if you have sex or not, but<br \/>\nthis whole charade is less about Bristol&#8217;s personal business and more about<br \/>\nsending the message that sex is bad and should be avoided.\u00a0 Oprah tips her hand a little and<br \/>\nimplies that Bristol&#8217;s statements probably have little to do with her actual<br \/>\nsex life, which I&#8217;m pretty sure is the case.\u00a0 She&#8217;d be doing the abstinence tour even if she was juggling<br \/>\n5 lovers behind the scenes.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nSo the real question isn&#8217;t, &quot;What are you doing with your<br \/>\nown body, Bristol?&quot;, but, &quot;Why are you out there\u00a0 promoting the idea that sex is bad?\u00a0 Why exactly is it bad?&quot;\u00a0 That would have avoided this extremely<br \/>\nsilly exchange.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>palin<br \/>\n\t3 *<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nBut why?\u00a0 Why<br \/>\nshould it be a goal for women not to have sex?\u00a0 What is so bad about sex?\u00a0\u00a0 Or what is so bad about women that they can&#8217;t have<br \/>\nsex?\u00a0 Why can&#8217;t Oprah ask a real<br \/>\nquestion?\u00a0 I suppose she&#8217;s afraid<br \/>\nthe Palins won&#8217;t come on her show anymore, but then that means they won&#8217;t say<br \/>\nweird things about Oprah&#8217;s hair.\u00a0<br \/>\nEveryone wins under that scenario, except Sarah Palin.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n********\n<\/p>\n<p>\nAnd now for the Wisdom of Wingnuts, just bring out the hate<br \/>\nedition.\u00a0 Remember the days when I<br \/>\nhad to troll YouTube for outrageous misogyny on occasion?\u00a0 You know, because more mainstream<br \/>\npundits and hosts hadn&#8217;t really gone off that week?\u00a0\u00a0 Me too.\u00a0<br \/>\nBut now we have a steady drumbeat from Glenn Beck.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>beck *<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nYeah, he really really hates women.\u00a0 And then wonders why the women in his<br \/>\nlife are angry.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scott Roeder found guilty of murdering Dr. Tiller. Oprah&#8217;s confrontation with the Palins is kind of weak. Also: the science of orgasms. &nbsp; Subscribe to RealityCast: RealityCast iTunes subscription RealityCast RSS feed Links in this episode: STOPP program in South Carolina Dr. George Tiller on why he became an abortion provider GQ article on Scott [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-260845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260845\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}