Well, we are talking about Randall Terry. That guy wouldn't know subtle if it came up and (very subtly) punched him in the nose.

Besides, nobody sounds good singing through a bullhorn. Even Josh Groban would come out sounding awful.

I just think things like this make pro-lifers look looney. Its one thing to stand outside a clinic and offer help to moms going in, its another thing to dress in a costume and parade around shrieking and singing. What good does it accomplish? Is anyone gonna look at Randall Terry and say "Hey yeah! I'm with that guy!" No one is gonna change their views on anything with this approach.

Sure would be nice if those 850 rabbis who denounced Kagan in the strongest possible terms would actually show up and hold a rally on the Capitol steps. That would probably bring her down.

http://www.thejidf.org/2010/06/850-orthodox-rabbis-slam-obamas-choice.html

You know the part of this blog post that says, "Continue reading "Randall Terry serenades Elena Kagan?""

The answer is no.

Randall Terry is certainly a unique act. I agree with Sydney that he sometimes comes off as rather looney, but then I'm just jealous of anyone who can sing ;-)

I'm with you Jill.

This gripe of Randall's does highlight a more serious note for reflection. Last week at the NRL Convention Terry Sciavo's brother Bobby gave a talk along with their friend Brother Paul O'Donnel. At the end of the talk Brother Paul spoke to the issue of growing territoriality and lack of cooperation between different ministries within the pro-life movement.

His exhortation was to share resources and be more mutually supportive of one another's efforts-something I'm going to blog on for tomorrow. So, it really doesn't do well to begin complaining that others aren't out supporting our particular activity. Coordinating in advance is a better way to go.

That said, as Brother Paul was speaking, I couldn't help but think of how Jill has been so very generous in suggesting that I begin blogging, and then mentoring me this past half-year, as well as promoting my blog in a very generous Christmas Eve post. Also, the mods here were wonderful in the beginning in helping me get off the launch pad, especially Bethany, Carla, Chris and Bobby.

I've also thought of the generous and invaluable advice I have received from other mentors in the pro-life movement, especially the post-abortive moms: Nicole Peck, Carla Stream, Margaret Sciarino, Georgette Forney.

Without a doubt these folks are walking examples of the generosity and cooperativity Brother Paul enjoined on us in Pittsburgh.

Randall's work doesn't beckon me, but perhaps we need a few like him who are about as subtle as a craniotomy or partial birth abortion. We never know the lives we touch, or how we touch them. He has suffered a great deal at the hands of 'Justice' for the sake of the Gospel of Life, more than most of us. We mustn't forget that before we attempt to judge him.

You notice the media doesn't show all the inappropriate and profoundly foolish pro abortion folks. And hey if they don't show them they must not exist. Remember the goofy cheerleaders who showed up to counter protest the very sober display of aborted babies.

Hippie - Thanks for the link! I absolutely love: “It is clear from Ms. Kagan's record on issues such as abortion-on-demand, partial-birth-abortion, the radical homosexual and lesbian agenda, the 'supremacy' of the anti-family panoply over religious liberties of biblical adherents, et. al., that she will function as a flame-throwing radical, hastening society's already steep decline into Sodom and Gomorrah,”

Great to know someone else out there "gets it".

Gerard - Well said brother, you nailed it. I couldn't agree more.

Hasn't this guy been arrested like 40 times?

He needs to get a life.

Yes, he needs a life, like 40-50 million of them. This tactic may not appeal to some, but it worked for the anti-smoking movement. When I had my first jobs out of college, people smoked everywhere, at their desks, in the bathroom, lobby, offices, carrying their cigarettes around and lighting up indiscriminately. We never thought the no-smoking thing would catch on. But it did.

I agree with Gerard, too. What we need are not merely tactics, but long term strategies.

Gerard, thanks for the kind nod. :)

Hasn't this guy been arrested like 40 times?

He needs to get a life.

Posted by: Ashley Herzog at July 2, 2010 8:29 AM

False premise of the day.

Plenty of anti-war protesters have been arrested, too. So what?

If all the people who stood up for what they believed in had instead just "got a life", we, India, etc. would still be under British rule. Don't be dopey. There is a reason we have a right to protest. People who sit down and shut up end up slaves because in their minds they already are.

So, true, Hippie. Love living in America, where we have the right to protest. Becoming apathetic never helped any righteous cause.

I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. -Elie Wiesel

Great quote Carla!

MLK Jr. said, "A time comes when silence is betrayal."

Randall Terry makes pro lifers look crazy and does not help our cause: to help moms CHOOSE LIFE for their babies!

How can we convince "on the fencers" that we are a peaceful group of people who just want to help these (mostly) scared moms if Randall Terry does stuff like this to make us look bad?

The Lord uses all kinds of people to "help our cause".

I don't think Randall Terry is on any young women's mind when she is faced with a crisis pregnancy and scared to death. They aren't thinking, "If only that Randall guy didn't protest all the time, I might chose life". What they are thinking is, "How in the world am I going to face this? How am I going to be pregnant, finish school, deal with family, raise a child, etc. etc. ".

What Randall does is hopefully cause the sleeping America to wake up and see what is really happening.

Liz,

I don't doubt what you say about Randall looking a bit crazy, but I also think that people notice the March in DC every year, ~400,000 this past January.

God Bless

I have known Randy from the pro life movement for over 20 years. He was out there speaking for the babies and moms way before most people were saying or doing anything about abortion.

He helped bring the abortion issue to the forefront also spent time in jail making abortion an issue when most people were silent.

I may not personally agree with all he does, but that is between him and God ..remember, people thought John the Baptist was crazy too.

Randy has never been violent and as far as I know he always speaks the truth..maybe not in ways we all agree with, but it is still the truth and he has changed plenty of hearts. Maybe not in the way some of you want, but it takes all kinds to reach all kinds

Thanks Nadal for your comments...

Randall Terry is a dangerous fanatic and scoundrel. He is more interested in his own power than"saving babies".
People like him are frightening,and it's appalling to know that this awful man has actually tried to run for official office.
If this Hitler-like creep got the power he wants, he would turn America into a theocratic tyranny no better than Iran,Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan under the Taliban.He himself has said so in no uncertain terms.
And he is one of the leaders of the religious right-the American Taliban. Whether you're consiervative or liberal,pro or anti abortion,you should never have anything to do with him.
He's bad news for America.

How is he like Hitler? I am confused. How is he evil? Please explain.

Just google him for the awful and frightening things Terry has said. He wants to turn America into a theocracy. He wants to have doctors who perform abortions executed.
He wants power in America,and is a crazed fanatic.
Terry is a dominionist,and wants to make America into a country ruled by literal interpretation of the Bible,and does not want religious freedom for Americans.
In the kind of America he envisions,not only will abortion be illegal, but any one who has sex outside of marriage or commits adultery or blasphemy,or who does anything contrary to his idea of Biblical law will be executed.
And he actually wants to see children who disobey their parents executed,too.
If this isn't evil,I don't know what evil is.
He would turn A America into a theocracy as repressive as Saudi Arabia,Iran or Afghanistan under the Taliban.

Wow! I will have to google him.

Jill wrote:

"Randall, I wish you well, but I wish you'd stop disparaging other pro-lifers for not pursuing your strategy. For one thing, I can't sing ..."

Don't worry, Jill. From what I heard on the video above, neither can Randall, LOL.

Ok I read a a bunch of quotes and info on him and didn't find ANYTHING to support a position of him being a Hitler/Taliban wanna be. Yes, he is a radical. But, his message is NOT one that can be compared to Nazism or Terrorism.

Read these quotes

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/randall_terry.html

Please give more evidence of him being an evil dictator.

Robert,
Why are frightened by religion?

oops. Correction.

Robert,
Why are *atheists* frightened by religion?

I'm not an atheist. Atheists aren't frightened of religion per se,but of religion getting power in a country.
That's exactly what Randall Terry wants in America. He's been quioted as saying that when he and his ilk get power in America,that they're going to go after those who perform asbortions and execute them,among others.
He is a dangerous fanatic and a totally unscrupulous and power hungry maniac.Don't ever trust him or believe anything he says.Don't ever have anything to do with him other than to condemn him and his associates.
Conservatives like to say that separtion of church and state is not mentioned in the constitution. So what? Without it a nationis doomed to theocracy.
There's nothing wrong with being a Christian, but but America is a "Christian nation" only in the sense that the majority of people here happen to be Christians.
But there are also millions of people here who are Jews,Muslims,Hindus,Buddhists, and many other faiths,as well as atheists and agnostics.
What about THEIR rights? There are more atheists in America now than there were people at the time of America's founding.
I and other like-minded people in America have no problem with people being Christian. What we do have a problem with is self-righteous Christians who demand that the government make laws based on THEIR religious beliefs.
That's not what America was meant to be.

Say what you want about the religious right wanting this country to be a Christian nation, but they are NOTHING like the Taliban and Hitler.

Robert Berger,

I thought you were an atheist (agnostic?) No? So basically you admit to being afraid of one religion getting power in the U.S.A.

Separation of church and state as it was meant historically is fine. God made us to live in communion with others, not in a vacuum, so our beliefs are going to influence every aspect of our lives. Sorry to disappoint you, but this country was not built on the principal that a man should be separated from his religious beliefs and I don't think you would force that on Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc.. I don't see their religious freedoms being restricted in my area of the country.

There's no chance that Randall Terry is going to take over the pro-life movement and miraculously become President of the Theocracy of the USA. That's the fear you all seem to be feeding on, but it's irrational.

So, what have our Dem politicians done this week to reduce the need for abortion among the poor? Is poverty sill a good excuse for legal abortion in your opinion?

No,the far right conservatives aren't actually Nazis,but they and Terry do have somewhat Nazi-like attitudes.
I know there's not much chance of Randall Terry becoming president, but he and his associates are closely tied with some right-wing politicians who want power in America. And they do frighten me.
People like Jim De Mint and Michelle Bachmann, who could quite possibly rubn and be elected in the wake of the enormous(and entirely undeserved )backlash against Obama.
Let's face it; if far right politicians got their way they would definitely try and possibly succeed in making abortion illegal again in the USA.
This would be catastrophic for many people,and there would be no way to enforce the law anyway.
I guarantee you that if this does happen many women will die or be seriously harmed.
And yes, pro-choice democrats definitely do want to reduce the number of abortions as much as possible, and I'm absolutely with them.
Being pro-choice doesn't mean that you like abortion and want them to happen,and it certainly doesn't mean that you want the number of abortions to increase. It just means that you have the sense to realize that making them illegal is the wrong way to deal with this terrible problem. It doesn't work.It never has and never will. It's extremely dangerous and highly counterproductive.
The reason why Democratic politicians haven't been able to reduce the need for abortions is
because of the stupidity and intransigence of republican politicians who demand that abortion be made illegal while consistently voting to gut or eliminate programs to help the poor.
Just look at Europe(the wealthier countries such as Germany,the Netherlands and Scandinavia at least). Here you find the world's lowest abortion rates. That's because there is so much less poverty there and a secure safety net for people.
Conservatives rail at these countries for their high tax rates and call it socialism.
But the high taxes are extremely beneficia to these societes.
No,things are hardly perfect here, and these countries certainly have serious problems of their own, but on the whole,people are much more secure than many in America.
The much poorer countries of Eastern Europe,which used to be Soviet sattelites,have much higher abortion rates.
America will never be able to deal with the abortion problem until it is able to reduce poverty as much as possible.
But conservative politicians and citizens here
will only make things much worse if they get all the power.
I'm don't condemn any one merely for being a Christian. I'm just opposed to their agenda for America.

No,the far right conservatives aren't actually Nazis,but they and Terry do have somewhat Nazi-like attitudes.
I know there's not much chance of Randall Terry becoming president, but he and his associates are closely tied with some right-wing politicians who want power in America. And they do frighten me.
People like Jim De Mint and Michelle Bachmann, who could quite possibly rubn and be elected in the wake of the enormous(and entirely undeserved )backlash against Obama.
Let's face it; if far right politicians got their way they would definitely try and possibly succeed in making abortion illegal again in the USA.
This would be catastrophic for many people,and there would be no way to enforce the law anyway.
I guarantee you that if this does happen many women will die or be seriously harmed.
And yes, pro-choice democrats definitely do want to reduce the number of abortions as much as possible, and I'm absolutely with them.
Being pro-choice doesn't mean that you like abortion and want them to happen,and it certainly doesn't mean that you want the number of abortions to increase. It just means that you have the sense to realize that making them illegal is the wrong way to deal with this terrible problem. It doesn't work.It never has and never will. It's extremely dangerous and highly counterproductive.
The reason why Democratic politicians haven't been able to reduce the need for abortions is
because of the stupidity and intransigence of republican politicians who demand that abortion be made illegal while consistently voting to gut or eliminate programs to help the poor.
Just look at Europe(the wealthier countries such as Germany,the Netherlands and Scandinavia at least). Here you find the world's lowest abortion rates. That's because there is so much less poverty there and a secure safety net for people.
Conservatives rail at these countries for their high tax rates and call it socialism.
But the high taxes are extremely beneficia to these societes.
No,things are hardly perfect here, and these countries certainly have serious problems of their own, but on the whole,people are much more secure than many in America.
The much poorer countries of Eastern Europe,which used to be Soviet sattelites,have much higher abortion rates.
America will never be able to deal with the abortion problem until it is able to reduce poverty as much as possible.
But conservative politicians and citizens here
will only make things much worse if they get all the power.
I'm don't condemn any one merely for being a Christian. I'm just opposed to their agenda for America.

Here you find the world's lowest abortion rates. That's because there is so much less poverty there and a secure safety net for people.

You also find more restrictive abortion laws than in the US.

They may be more restrictive, but conditions in society here are such that women are far less likely to seek and obtain abortions.
America needs to become more like Europe in this respect. Just making abortion illegal will never work. You can't stop abortion by making it illegal.This has never worked,and never will.
And please don't give me all those specious,unfair and disingenuous comparisons with murder.Abortion is NOT murder. Especially not when a fetus is the size of a raisin.
Murder is the malicious killing of a born person.Abortion is not an act of malice,but desperation.And if it's murder,why don't anti-choicers advocate prosecuting women who have them for murder,and only doctors or others who perform them? This makes about as much sense as prosecuting the hit men and not those who hire them.
And I don't like calling abortion doctors hit men.Unfair comparison.
Calling abortion murder is stupid.And comparing it with slavery is just plain offensive.
The REAL slavery is when women cannot obtain safe,legal ones,and are reduced to baby-making machines.
When the Civil War ended, so did slavery. But abortion has always existed and always will. You can't stop it. To try to is absolutely futile.

They may be more restrictive, but conditions in society here are such that women are far less likely to seek and obtain abortions.
America needs to become more like Europe in this respect. Just making abortion illegal will never work. You can't stop abortion by making it illegal.This has never worked,and never will.
And please don't give me all those specious,unfair and disingenuous comparisons with murder.Abortion is NOT murder. Especially not when a fetus is the size of a raisin.
Murder is the malicious killing of a born person.Abortion is not an act of malice,but desperation.And if it's murder,why don't anti-choicers advocate prosecuting women who have them for murder,and only doctors or others who perform them? This makes about as much sense as prosecuting the hit men and not those who hire them.
And I don't like calling abortion doctors hit men.Unfair comparison.
Calling abortion murder is stupid.And comparing it with slavery is just plain offensive.
The REAL slavery is when women cannot obtain safe,legal ones,and are reduced to baby-making machines.
When the Civil War ended, so did slavery. But abortion has always existed and always will. You can't stop it. To try to is absolutely futile.

They may be more restrictive, but conditions in society here are such that women are far less likely to seek and obtain abortions.

Do you have any data to back up your assertion that it is societal "conditions" and not mandated counseling or other legal restrictions to abortion on demand that account for the lower abortion rate? Would you support the US adopting laws similar to those in Germany?

"The REAL slavery is when women cannot obtain safe,legal ones,and are reduced to baby-making machines.:

Robert,
Way to accuse pro-choicers and prop-lifers of denigrating women - as only a pro-abort can. You will never understand the strength it takes for a woman to nurture a baby in her womb and raise her to adulthood.

As for slavery, it did not end with the Civil War, forced labor and imprisonment were endured by black Americans at least through World War II. Unfortunately slavery exists around the world today, but I don't make excuses for it. Neither should you create excuses for poor women to abort.

I agree with you Janet! It always annoys me as a woman who had an unplanned pregnancy when pro-choicers, especially MEN sneer at women having the ability to produce babies as if its something gross or insignificant. Its a lot of hard work Robert. Not that you'd know. Being a mom is HARD. But there is nothing I am more proud of than my title of "mommy".

I am just appalled that no one other than Randall is screaming
"bloody murder" and I mean "bloody murder" about Elena Kagan !
It's like business as usual ! What the ......is going on ?.... CBS
reported she is a practicing lesbian, she committed fraud on
the partial birth abortion issue when she was in the Clinton
White House and there is a movement to disbar her because
of her lies, she is anti military......it goes on and on and no
pro life organizations are calling for a filibuster !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our country is doomed.....the days are counted before we
all go down........