bhallg2k
09-30-2005, 07:43 PM
They're comin' outta the woodwork, I tell you. Tholiak and Makor01 rejoice!
White House criticizes Bennett for comments
AP, September 30, 2005
WASHINGTON - The White House on Friday criticized former Education Secretary William Bennett for remarks linking the crime rate and the abortion of black babies.
??The president believes the comments were not appropriate,? White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Bennett, on his radio show, ??Morning in America,? was answering a caller??s question when he took issue with the hypothesis put forth in a recent book that one reason crime is down is that abortion is up.
??But 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,? said Bennett, author of ??The Book of Virtues.?
He went on to call that ??an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.?
Democrats demand apology
On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats demanded that Bennett apologize for the remarks.
Responding later to criticism, Bennett said his comments had been mischaracterized and that his point was that the idea of supporting abortion to reduce crime was ??morally reprehensible.?
On his show Thursday, Bennett, who opposes abortion, said he was ??pointing out that abortion should not be opposed for economic reasons any more than racism ... should be supported or opposed for economic reasons. Immoral policies are wrong because they are wrong, not because of an economic calculation.?
Reid, D-Nev., said he was ??appalled by Mr. Bennett??s remarks? and called on him ??to issue an immediate apology not only to African Americans but to the nation.?
Rep. Raum Emanuel, D-Ill., said in a statement, ??At the very time our country yearns for national unity in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, these comments reflect a spirit of hate and division.?
###
This is someone who has served under Reagan as both Secretary of Education (gee, I wonder why urban schools suck) and Chairman of the National Endowment for Humanities ('cause, yanno, racism is a great value) and as "drug czar" under Bush I (thanks for the mandatory minimums, asshole). What a great guy.
To be fair though, he was right. Abort every black baby in America and crime would indeed drop. The trouble is if you abort every white baby crime would also drop. Same goes for Latinos, Asians, Natives and even Pacific Islanders and any other ethnic group. Less population equals less crime. Duh.
But he singled out black folks. So this prick must've been just wantin' to say he didn't want any more Negroes populating this great land.
Anybody wanna bet this bastion of goodness gets a cabinet post under W now?
White House criticizes Bennett for comments
AP, September 30, 2005
WASHINGTON - The White House on Friday criticized former Education Secretary William Bennett for remarks linking the crime rate and the abortion of black babies.
??The president believes the comments were not appropriate,? White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Bennett, on his radio show, ??Morning in America,? was answering a caller??s question when he took issue with the hypothesis put forth in a recent book that one reason crime is down is that abortion is up.
??But 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,? said Bennett, author of ??The Book of Virtues.?
He went on to call that ??an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.?
Democrats demand apology
On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats demanded that Bennett apologize for the remarks.
Responding later to criticism, Bennett said his comments had been mischaracterized and that his point was that the idea of supporting abortion to reduce crime was ??morally reprehensible.?
On his show Thursday, Bennett, who opposes abortion, said he was ??pointing out that abortion should not be opposed for economic reasons any more than racism ... should be supported or opposed for economic reasons. Immoral policies are wrong because they are wrong, not because of an economic calculation.?
Reid, D-Nev., said he was ??appalled by Mr. Bennett??s remarks? and called on him ??to issue an immediate apology not only to African Americans but to the nation.?
Rep. Raum Emanuel, D-Ill., said in a statement, ??At the very time our country yearns for national unity in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, these comments reflect a spirit of hate and division.?
###
This is someone who has served under Reagan as both Secretary of Education (gee, I wonder why urban schools suck) and Chairman of the National Endowment for Humanities ('cause, yanno, racism is a great value) and as "drug czar" under Bush I (thanks for the mandatory minimums, asshole). What a great guy.
To be fair though, he was right. Abort every black baby in America and crime would indeed drop. The trouble is if you abort every white baby crime would also drop. Same goes for Latinos, Asians, Natives and even Pacific Islanders and any other ethnic group. Less population equals less crime. Duh.
But he singled out black folks. So this prick must've been just wantin' to say he didn't want any more Negroes populating this great land.
Anybody wanna bet this bastion of goodness gets a cabinet post under W now?