The Pot Is Boiling Over: Signs of Life From the MSM
Yesterday, The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve wondered:
"How many more murderous rampages by enraged rightists--whether executed or merely in the planning stage--are we going to have to endure before the traditional media is willing to acknowledge and address the obvious? How many people are going to die, and how highly placed will the victims have to be, before someone connects the dots and starts calling out the ever more violent, hateful and apocalyptic rhetoric of the likes of Coulter, Malkin, O'Reilly, Hannity and Savage as bearing some responsibility for creating this climate of insanity? "
I'm not certain if we're beginning to see the MSM arouse from its recession-induced navel gazing, but I did find some hopeful signs that at least some quarters are becoming atuned to the ugly reality that is the temperament of current American politics. First, there's this AP story that notes the correspondence between the Holocaust Museum shooting and the upswing in activity among fanatic right wing extremist groups. Second, another AP piece shows that at least the folks in Connecticut are getting serious about bloggers who are inciting violence: apparently Hal Turner has a history of telling folks who read his blog who should live and who should die. Interestingly, he apparently wanted CT Catholics to do the CT legislators in.
I'm wondering if these two pieces are indications that long overdue attention to the dangerous extreme right will finally be pulled out of the deep, dark recesses of the MSM's consciousness, or OTOH they're just temporary blips on the radar. I haven't enough clairvoyance to be able to say for sure, but here's what I'm going to do nonetheless: I'm finally going to make use of RSS technology to follow the CT story to its conclusion. I have no faith in today's media to be able to stay focused on critical issues like these and provide the kind of coverage that shines the bright light of scrutiny needed to keep these very dangerous atavists at bay. Like NCSteve, I hope to be proven wrong.
Turner threatened a diarist at Kos, as well.
I don't know how he's going to defend this:
While filing a lawsuit is quaint and the "decent" way to handle things, we at TRN believe that being decent to a group of tyrannical scumbags is the wrong approach. It's too soft.
Thankfully, the Founding Fathers gave us the tools necessary to resolve tyranny: The Second Amendment.
TRN advocates Catholics in Connecticut take up arms and put down this tyranny by force. To that end, THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT ON "THE HAL TURNER SHOW" we will be releasing the home addresses of the Senator and Assemblyman who introduced Bill 1098 as well as the home address of Thomas K. Jones from the OSE.
After all, if they are so proud of what they're doing, they shouldn;t mind if everyone knows where they live.
It is our intent to foment direct action against these individuals personally. These beastly government officials should be made an example of as a warning to others in government: Obey the Constitution or die.
If any state attorney, police department or court thinks they're going to get uppity with us about this; I suspect we have enough bullets to put them down too.
particularly the bolded portions, as protected speech.
June 12, 2009 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would bold the part where he provides the addresses of the legislators as well. About the only thing he doesn't do is load the guns for his posse.
June 12, 2009 2:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Doesn't this breaks the law already? This looks like harassment and even a physical threat.
Maybe the problem is that law enforcement isn't giving this kind of thing any scrutiny whatsoever. Or is it another case where law lags technology? (Still, blogs have been around for awhile, haven't they?)
June 12, 2009 3:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe we need thousands of people to go stand out in front of Hal Turner's home and merely hold signs that state, Hal does not represent me.
June 12, 2009 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
The problem is, at least in large part, that law enforcement tends also to be authoritarian, and to believe the NRA's Second Amendment lie.
Where I am the cops supported Bush-Cheney all the way -- even while he was cutting funds for police. Why? Because affirmative action busted up the tradition of nepotism: "My dad was a cop, I'm a cop, and my son will be a cop."
And you thought it was about law and order?
June 12, 2009 5:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Technically, you could make out a case for sedition, rather than just "inciting violence." (Assuming sedition is still on the books in Connecticut, that is.)
My concern is that what we're really seeing is a lot of avoidance of the real issue, in the MSM rather than addressing it. Shep Smith is the perfect example, decrying the heat of the fury without naming names on a show immediately followed by Beck in full on gonzo crazy mode.
I saw Gene Robinson and Krugman's columns today calling out Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck and O'Reilly but I'm scared that the fact that they did it will be taken as license to deem the topic duly addressed and move on with business as usual.
Guess it doesn't matter, however, now that it turns out that the guys doing the crimes are actually leftists.
June 12, 2009 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wasn't surprised by either Krugman or Robinson since their paid for their opinions. What got my attention was the AP reporting of fact covering some of the same territory without editorializing. If we get more of that, then the pundits beyond Krugman and Robinson will have to (keep) talk(ing) about it. As I said, I'm encouraged to see the embers of conciousness, and perhaps some conscience will develop from it, but I'm not holding my breath.
June 12, 2009 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
their paid = they're paid (in real English)
June 12, 2009 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
"There," "their" and "they're
have been my bane since about third grade. Moving to keyboards only made it worse.
June 12, 2009 8:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's fun to direct our attentions to FOX, but there is more then a little complicity with the rest of the MSM. Sure, they are not 24/7 like FOX, but they interivew the same extremists and leave their misprepresentations to stand alone, unchellenged when they are clearly inaccurate. They give voices to people of no importance. Cheney's daughter has something to say on national television? Who cares? Where has she been the past ten years? She was not speaking then, why give her a podium now?
June 12, 2009 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why? Because there is soap to sell.
Lots and lots of soap flakes.
To flakes who love to stand on soap boxes.
And shadow box.
And so forth.
And so on.
June 12, 2009 7:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
With gun sales at historical levels (levels so high that certain ammo is scarce), excreable extremist foxnews, senators (McCain, Bachmann, ...) & guvnahs (Palin) publicly pondering the manchurian-ness of our current president, birther nonsense, socialist / communist / facist / anarchist / OneWorldGubmint / too black / not really black hysteria, guvnahs / GOOPers / TV actors mulling over secession, the minority whip making Putin/Russia/Obama comparisons, "kill him" shouts by GOP rally attendees, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc .... its not surprising where we find ourselves today. These nutters (faux, malkin, pantload, Bill Rush OHannity, ....) that foment this crazyness have a vested economic interest in stoking the crazy fire. Plus the NRA and gunshop owners love it for the econ bennies too. I believe its going to get worser.
June 12, 2009 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I fervently believe that one of these rigt wing nutcases is going to go on a mass killng spree that is so bad, that Fox, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Beck, Murdoch and the others will be sued so badly, that Murdoch will be forced to change the format over at FN's and, hopefully but Limbaugh & Co. out of business, or force them totone down the rhetoric.
It's going to happen, mark my words, and all of them will act act innocent
June 12, 2009 5:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
It already happened: in OK City. That didn't shut the far-right lunatic fringe up. Instead they blamed "lefties," and confabulated conspirabunk which "proved" the gum'mint did it.
And fools on the left swallowed the anti-gum'mint horseshit when it was repackaged and thrown at 9/11.
June 12, 2009 5:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
You point out that there is some hope out there. Yes, cable news, and not must my left wing pals, are going after these right wing groups.
How many will have to die before more of a focus upon the internal terrorists? I do not know.
June 12, 2009 7:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Schmedely , navel gazing? grow a conscience? Hahaha
You are funny but your humor also makes good points and so thank you for this good post. I just hope the blip on your radar is validated and not some UFO.
June 12, 2009 9:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just wait. The shit might soon hit the fan in a very big way. Congress right now is struggling with a growing Chinese reluctance to finance our debt. If that can't be contained... well lets just say you ain't seen nothing yet. Anything and everything Obama might need or want to do, which costs more than a dollar, would be placed on an indefinite hold. Legislation would come to a standstill. And prices for everything would go through the roof.
Just north of 70% of our current projected budget deficit is from spending of the prior administration with the remainder being spending that Obama needs to get us out of this mess. If that money isn't available (worst case) or if the cost of it is too high (still bad) we'll remain in recession for far longer than anyone has projected. Even if we could tax our way out of this, politically it can't be done because corporations and the wealthy either have or control all the money and they won't go for it. They'll just keep their money and let everyone else fall into financial ruin. Or Obama could declare a national emergency and nationalize the entire banking system.
Right now China has accrued so much wealth they could actually afford to write off their U.S debt holdings and potentially be better off in the long run. OTOH if they decided to take a chance on the U.S. economy you can be sure that the strings attached to any deal would drive down middle class wages to the point where the U.S. middle class would all but disappear.
June 13, 2009 5:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
...Continued
It's not much of a stretch to grasp the kind of reaction that would produce. When people have nothing to lose all hell breaks loose.
June 13, 2009 5:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'll give you a report on what's happening in China when I return from there in about a month (haven't left yet).
...getting back to Schmedley's premise..."some quarters are becoming atuned to the ugly reality that is the temperament of current American politics",
This is nothing new. But now economic constraints have brought the tensions to a fever pitch. These destructive forces are the same that brought forth Hitler and the Nazi atrocity 75 years ago. By God's grace, we will not let it happen here.
We must hold public persons accountable for their words and actions, without jeopardizing the first amendment. That's a narrow, and perilous, path to walk in a free society. But this is America. We have a Constitution to guide us through it. We can start by taking a serious strategic look at:
Amendment IX: Existence of other rights for other people, which states: "The enumeration of the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
The "other (rights) retained by the people" would include, we submit, the right to not be assaulted by a violent mob.
Beneath the public outworking of these volatile conflicts, however, down in the grassroots of the American struggle for identity. is a weed bed of ill-bred discontent and hate. I have written a novel, Glass half-Full that depicts some elements of this depraved movement. I would submit the book as, perhaps, a small part of what we are contending with here.
June 13, 2009 1:19 PM | Reply | Permalink