A Blog Version Of The Inside Of My Head. The place where politics, film, the media, music, pop culture, and random topics collide in an orgy of neo-philisophical randomness that would make your mother scream.
This morning on Fox And Friends, the three stooges of morning television took after the failed NYC bomb plot with predictable fervor. They teased the Napolitano segment with a paranoid tirade from Peter Johnson Jr about how terror is everywhere and we all have to be afraid and that The Dept. Of Homeland Security isn't protecting America - you know, typical Fox"News" stuff.
When Napolitano finally got on, she did her best to let the facts be known and that the police and Homeland Security are handling this carefully and as a real threat. The main problem that the Fox crew had - she wasn't forceful enough with the word terrorism.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Sunday morning that the administration is "certainly considering" that the car bomb found in New York's Times Square could be an act of terror.
"Luckily, no one is hurt, and now the full attention of city, state and federal law enforcement will be turned to bringing the guilty party to justice in this act of terrorism," New York Gov. David Paterson said in a statement.
When asked about Paterson's characterization of the incident, in which a T-shirt vendor noticed smoke coming from the back of an SUV and notified police, Napolitano said forensic evidence plus video footage from the area was being analyzed.
"We're certainly considering it now that it could be an act of terrorism or was intended to be an act of terrorism," Napolitano said on "Fox News Sunday."
Napolitano said they were "not ruling anything out."
Reports are coming in that the person that made the bomb didn't know what he was doing and the wingnuts at Free Republic are already starting to spin this as someone trying to frame the Tea Baggers.
Law enforcement officials offered a more detailed description of the makeup of the failed car bomb found in Times Square on Saturday night, and said they were reviewing surveillance footage that showed a white man who appeared to be in his 40s walking away from the area as he looked over his shoulder and removed a layer of clothing.
Raymond W. Kelly, the police commissioner, said the materials found in the Nissan Pathfinder — gasoline, propane, firecrackers and simple alarm clocks — also included eight bags of a granular substance, later determined to be nonexplosive grade of fertilizer, inside a 55-inch-tall metal gun locker.
Aside from the non-explosive grade fertilizer, the trigger mechanism was an old-style clock and the ignition system was 20-30 M88 firecrackers.
And while the NYC police say that the fire produced from the gas and the vehicle alone would have produced a fireball enough to kill someone, this bomb wasn't going to do the type of damage the designer had hoped for.
Michelle Malkin concludes her internet shrieking with a not-too-thinly-veiled accusation that the bomber is some left-wing anarchist.
You see where this is all going, right?
Much in the same way that conservative refused to call Joseph Stack a terrorist after he flew his plane into the IRS building in Austin, Texas, I'm thinking that once all the info is in, you won't hear the words "terrorist" because the suspect the police are looking for is white. And we all know that you have to be non-white and between the ages of 18 and 29 to be considered a terrorist.
The rabid, mouth-breathing followers of Ed Morrissey of HotAir and the reactionary, drooling, prattle-heads that are the collective commenting populous at Michelle Malkin's blog are, once again, calling for death of a person in government.
On December 19th, 2009 at 12:09 pm, southdakotaboy said:
What needs to be done is the people of Nebraska need to meet Nelson at his home in Nebraska at Christmas time. They need to bring rocks, torches, and signs. They then need to tell him that if he votes to break the next fillabuster for any reason he won’t have a home to come back to and that if he does come back they will use the rope to decorate a tree with him.
We need to get blunt with these traitors. They need to be put if free of their lives to remind them that they work for us or we reserve not only the right to vote them out but the right to kill them.
Anyone here know how to build a missile? We need to wipe out this congress and start over.
UltimateBob on December 19, 2009 at 11:46 AM
[…]
Praying the angel of death would come for Senator Bryd and perhaps a few other Senators. Praying for a massive spirit of choas and confusion to reign over the Senate. God sent a snow storm to try slowing this down, God bring the next wave to stop this. This bill is evil as are the people voting for it.
Godis2good on December 19, 2009 at 11:31 AM
[…]
After their trial for Treason, there will be plenty of room for RINOS, whether they are proud of not, on the Gallows.
Mussolini’s fate was piano wire.
blaque jacques on December 19, 2009 at 12:49 PM
And this from the people who used the term "Bush Derangement Syndrome".
Conservatives are actually validating the claims they were being labeled as - domestic terrorists. They are proving the DHS report on the potential of escalated Right-Wing extremism is on the rise.
But don't tell them that, because that would be fear-mongering.
One can't but hear, again, the conservative Right's shried and cry when the DHS report detailing "Right-Wing Extremism" was released.
Granted I'm a bit late to the subject on this one, but there was something about this whole scene that left a rather foul taste in my mouth.
Was it the very real fact that the conservative media that, in my opinion, is quite complicit in this murder, would gloss over the very real fact that it was the Right-Wing Extremism that they shouted did not exist was what lead to this man's death?
Was it that conservative pundits and bloggers would attempt to show their "Christian" side by claiming they are "praying" for Tiller's family and thereby distancing themselves from the rhetoric that they had dispensed en masse prior to Tiller's death?
No. These were simply predictable. They were bound to happen.
I'm still not entirely certain what this strange feeling is, but I'm quit certain that it has to do with the conservative's alleged "culture of life" stance.
They see life in such stark "black and white" terms that they lack the ability to detect those subtle nuances of thought, deed, and speech. They speak of actions, like those of Dr. Tiller, with this moral arrogance without understanding the very real fact that women aren't dragged into an abortion clinic and forced to end their unborn child's life. As hard as it may be for some of us to understand this fact, there are reasons that abortion is around. You may not wish to accept that, but there are things just as foul that have been done in the name of conservative political gain.
The ultimate folly within the conservative line of thinking is that they feel that if they pretend to "feel sorry" for their deeds, their words, their very thoughts, that they will continue to rule over this supposes "moral high-ground" they claim to hold for America.
The first thing that I noticed had happened in the wake of Tiller's murder was the statement by Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue:
George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder.
Although Terry's statement attempts to balance itself between being a staunch advocate for the unborn and adherance to Judeo-Christian "ethic", the part that really sticks out is his fear, albeit an irrational one, that the Obama administration is going to keep his organization from "acting" - as if he is equating Operation Rescues protests with Dr. Tiller's murder. In point of fact, the Obama adminstration is more concerned with very real aspect that a murder of this type could occur again. No one is attempting to take away a person's or group's guranateed right to assemblage and speech.
His own organization is now attempting to distance themselves from him.
Likewise, on Hot Air, Allahpundit attempts to distance himself - and the entire commenting populous of that blog - from their continual and willfully-ignorant assumptions that since the DHS report on Right-Wing Extremism didn't meet their particular lingustic standards that it was not only irrelevant, but dangerous in it's own right.
Ed Morrissey was one of the loudest and most ill-informed voices there:
They have no threat information. In fact, the report can’t even say definitively whether “extremists” are gaining “new recruits”. In order to find that, they’d have to identify the actual groups, note the recruiting patterns, and determine whether in fact they’re gaining recruits or losing members. Bottom line: DHS has no actual data. They’re pulling threats out of their collective arse and publishing them without any supporting research whatsoever.
Ed's seizure-inducing prattling seems to suggest that since the DHS couldn't name a specific "cell" of extremists - in this case, a lone-nut who's motivations were likely stoked through "conservative ideology" - then they had no right to even mention that anti-abortion vigilantism is a very real issue.
Michelle Malkin is more up-front regarding what she hopes will transpire. She seems to be able to summon what little "Christian good-will" it takes to "denounce" the killing and even goes so far as to "show compassion" for Tiller's family by equating anyone that discusses this topic with the Westboro Baptist Church:
Tiller’s family is grieving. Those who have jumped to score political points before Tiller is even buried are no better than the Phelps family thugs of the “Westboro Baptist Church” who respect no bounds of civility.
But, the mask begins to slip within the next few paragraphs:
Unfortunately, it’s too much to ask the cable news networks and hyper-partisan snipers on the Internet to have the decency to restrain themselves.
Prepare for a wall-to-wall onslaught of gleeful finger-pointing on the Left and heated responses on the Right.
Prepare for whitewashed hagiographies of Tiller’s career as an abortionist.
Prepare for DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s defenders to gloat about vindication.
Malkin no doubt knows that her near-salivatory rhetoric in regards to the DHS report was not only wrong, but pushed the bounds of ignorance to profoundly new levels. And now, all of a sudden, she's concerned with Tiller's family? Please.
When one reads Malkin's words, what you are reading is a plea for any and everyone not to remember how they lambasted Janet Napolitano and the DHS for the report. Malkin no doubt ran to her computer upon hearing this news, trying to formulate a strategy that would remove herself and her words from any and all speculation. She did this with the knowledge that she, and all that agreed with her, were wrong.
Now that there is time for them to reflect on this honestly, and all the other instances of Right-Wing extremism since the initial DHS report was released, will they attempt to see Tiller's murder for what it truly is? Will they be able to realize that fringe-conservative rhetoric - in regards to abortion, homosexuality, race, and whole host of issues - has ceased to be simply just "rhetoric" in the minds of some. Dr. Tiller's killer is a prime example of such.
Malkin initially stated that "The Obama DHS hit job on conservatives is real", and now - as she see's her words crumble before her eyes - she is essentially begging that no one bring up the very real fact that she, and many like her - were wrong. They can't stand the very real fact that those they were aligning themselves with, showing not only their ignorant ways but their complete lack of rational though, are extremists that are willing to murder in the name of the God that they now are saying demands us all to hold our tongues.
But what of that distance between "conservativism" and extremism? Is itbeginningtoshrink?
Example after example of people making "threats" and those acting on their impulses, whether they have a military background or not, continue to pile up, even in that face of conservative detractors claiming that these things simply aren't happening.
In the example of Dr. Tiller, Bill O'Reilly - likely the one person within the conservative media that has used his platform to inflame many against Dr. Tiller - is the one that has more blood on his hands than anyone.
The segment that I thought was over-the-top, even by O'Reilly's low standards, was his blatant and unapologetic exploitation of a woman that had a late-term abortion done by Dr. Tiller.
What actually made this woman decide to have a late-term abortion? I know of no woman that has been "forced' to end the life of her unborn child. Do you?
To claim that anyone is "pro-abortion" is to muddy the issue until the subject is so diluted with misinformation and blatant lies that it becomes difficult to have a coherent dialogue with someone of "conservative" mindset.
No one is "pro-abortion". This is simply right-wing spin so as to prevent people from understanding that it is a "choice" that is ultimately up to the woman and should not be decided by the state or federal government. But, that is another issue entirely.
This shrinking distance between the words of the "conservative" movement and those that take it upon themselve to act in the name of "conservativism" is seen perfectly in the shootings at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, as the killer left his "manifesto" and there was little question as to where he got his "information" from:
Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.
Was Dr. Tiller's killer a Christian or not? Certainly their have been crimes equally as distrubing, and worse, carried out "in the name of Jesus". But what we are seeing now are acts of violence carried out in the name of "insert name of best selling conervative author" - acts of violence aimed at "preseving America's image".
The line between conservative ideology and violence is not just shrinking, it is disappearing.
A contentious "Rightwing Extremism" report that warned of military veterans as possible recruits for terrorist attacks against the U.S. was not authorized, has been withdrawn and is being rewritten, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Capitol Hill lawmakers.
"The wheels came off the wagon because the vetting process was not followed," Ms. Napolitano told the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday.
"The report is no longer out there," she said. "An employee sent it out without authorization."
The report was shared with state and local law enforcement officials nationwide via the department's internal Web site on April 7, angering Republican lawmakers and military veterans who said it unfairly stereotyped veterans.
Napolitano just lost the initiative. The report, which is still completely relevant and accurate, is apparently going to be re-written and redistributed.
The issue at hand was the far-right having to face the very real facts that extremism from their end of the political spectrum is very real. There have been several documented cases of it as recent as the past few months. Also, some within the fringe arena of Right-wing ideology didn't like the fact that they were, in essence, looking into a mirror and seeing that their words could in fact be the catalyst from which violent actions are born.
The Right is now going to think that they control the DHS. Janet needs to step it up and get her priorities in line.
A man was arrested for making threats via Twitter about the Tea-Baggery in Oklahoma City.
An Oklahoma City man who announced on Twitter that he would turn an April 15 tax protest into a bloodbath was hit with a federal charge of making interstate threats last week, in what appears to be first criminal prosecution to stem from posts on the microblogging site.
Daniel Knight Hayden, 52, was arrested by FBI agents who identified him as the Twitter user CitizenQuasar. In a series of tweets beginning April 11, CitizenQuasar vowed to start a “war” against the government on the steps of the Oklahoma City Capitol building, the site of that city’s version of the national “Tea Party” protests promoted by the conservative-leaning Fox News.
“START THE KILLING NOW! I am willing to be the FIRST DEATH!,” read a tweet at 8:01 PM that day. “After I am killed on the Capitol Steps, like a REAL man, the rest of you will REMEMBER ME!!!,” he added five minutes later. Then: “Send the cops around. I will cut their heads off the heads and throw the[m] on the State Capitol steps.”
Hayden’s MySpace page is a breathtaking gallery of right wing memes about the “New World Order,” gun control as Nazi fascism, and Barack Obama’s covert use of television hypnosis, among many others.
Michelle Malkin had recently posted a letter from serveral Republican Senators requesting data on "right-wing extremism". I think that Daniel Hayden is pretty good "data-point" to start with.
Also interesting to note that Malkin equated "extremism" with "conservativism" and even attempted to joke that you "might be a radicalized rightwing extremist" is you attended one of the tea-bagging parties. Turns out that she was correct about the later.
On Fox"News", Hannity & James Dobson pounced on the report. And blogs such as Hot Air and Townhall are beside themselves that this report was even considered.
Hate to break it to you guys, but your batting average is pretty low this season. You might want to take a step back and evaluate the situation before you react.
Ever since the release of the DHS report on Right-Wing extremism, conservatives are beside themselves that Janet Napolitano's department is actually doing what it is supposed to be doing.
Most, like Michelle Malkin, are pushing the notion that ANYONE with conservative beliefs are going to be targeted:
....the piece of crap report issued on April 7 is a sweeping indictment of conservatives. And the intent is clear. As the two spokespeople I talked with on the phone today made clear: They both pinpointed the recent “economic downturn” and the “general state of the economy” for stoking “rightwing extremism.” One of the spokespeople said he was told that the report has been in the works for a year. My b.s. detector went off the chart, and yours will, too, if you read through the entire report — which asserts with no evidence that an unquantified “resurgence in rightwing extremist recruitment and radicalizations activity” is due to home foreclosures, job losses, and…the historical presidential election.
Interesting that Malkin didn't cite her source, only that she "spoke" with someone.
So, I have a question for Malkin: Are you saying that mainstream conservatives are now right-wing extremists?
Because, you know, the report -- which in fact is perfectly accurate in every jot and tittle -- couldn't be more clear. It carefully delineates that the subject of its report is "rightwing extremists," "domestic rightwing terrorist and extremist groups," "terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks," "white supremacists," and similar very real threats described in similar language.
Nothing about conservatives. The word never appears in the report.
Because, you know, we always thought there was a difference between right-wing extremists and mainstream conservatives too. My new book, The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right, does explain that the distance between them has in fact shrunk considerably, thanks to the help of people like Malkin.
And now she's evidently intent on shrinking it further
Once again, I'm reminded of Ann Coulter's latest book about "liberal victimhood". Sad, isn't it.
Media Matters has a video compilation of some of the loudest and most paranoid voices from the Right.
Interesting that Dobson would say that these people don't exist.
The recent murder of 3 police officers in Pittsburg - by a man that thought the government was going to take his guns away - in Pennsylvania and the church shooting in Knoxville don't seem to gel with the good doctors "facts".
Something that Malkin, Dobbs, Hannity, and others may have conveniently forgotten there has already been an asessment on Left-wing extremism done by the DHS.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has been chosen as the new head of Homeland Security:
Arizona Demcratic Gov. Janet Napolitano has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Barack Obama, Democratic officials said. Napolitano is a border governor who will now be responsible for immigration policy and border security, which are part of Homeland Security’s myriad functions.
Napolitano brings law and order experience from her stint as the Grand Canyon State’s first female attorney general. One of the nation’s most prominent female elected officials, she made frequent appearances on behalf of Barack Obama during the campaign. She was reelected to a second four-year term in 2006.
While Gov. Napolitano is going to get hits from the Right simply because she didn't build a border fence herself with razor wire, electronic surveilance, and lazers, it's the people in Arizona that seem more upset about what she has left them.
She was considered to be, in some circles, the person that could end John McCain's Senate career. But now, her state is going to fall under Republican rule, and that has some people less than pleased.
However, one thing that Gov. Napolitano will hopefully bring to the DHS is something that it lacked since it's inception, credibility.
Essentially, the DHS is more security "theatre" than actual security.
The main complaint coming from conservatives really doesn't hold much water, as illegal immigration seemed the last thing on the minds of existing DHS employees.
