Via the inestimable James Wolcott, we have this evaluation by Driftglass on the local event du jour (my intrusive emphasis):
I for one would be genuinely delighted if tonight's heartfelt pleas from Keith Olbermann for everyone to beat their verbal spears into pruning hooks blossomed into an actual movement, but the sad truth is that he could have said exactly the same thing about almost exactly the same people following the Oklahoma City bombing back in the Conservative rage-drunk, Hate-Radio-fueled militia-movements/ black helicopter/ Clinton-is-a-depraved-murderer/ government-workers-are-parasites 1990s.
Rachel Maddow could and did say almost exactly the same thing about almost exactly the same people following the assassination of Dr. George Tiller.
The sad truth is that Hate is the Right's Ring of Power. They're never going to give it up, because they know the minute they do -- the minute they're no longer allowed to pretend that Liberals are evil, freedom-hating fifth-columnist monsters who are dragging America into a Marxist abyss on the secret orders of our Kenyan Usurper Overlord -- their whole ideology would implode...
...they would never win another election...
...and tens of thousands of powerful, well-remunerated insiders from Rush Limbaugh to David Gregory who depend on that hate for their daily bread would suddenly have to go out and find honest work.
There's more in this post, including comments on the (entirely predictable) reaction from the right and center, all nicely phrased. Something to consider as we navigate these weedy ways.
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Well, Candy, I think you're responsible, by bringing this up, of doing the very thing you're trying to condemn. You're making and implying a direct connection between Sarah Palin and what happened. You're picking out a particular incident. Well, I think the way to get away from it is for you not to be talking about it.
Yes, Lamar. The best way to deal with problems is to not talk about them. I bet Thanksgiving dinner is really fun at your house as everyone sits around, not talking, stewing in their juices, and no one wonders why Mom is passed out, or who the trollop from the campaign really is. But of course, I'm only guessing.
I still think we should repeal the Senate. Lamar Alexander makes it even easier for me to sustain that belief.
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And the misinformation begins:
And in the meanwhile, the Matt Bais, David Brooks, and Cokie Roberts are all searching frantically for their liberals do it too evidence. Good luck with that, say those of us who remember (perhaps dimly) two dead Kennedys and Martin Luther King.
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We want to trot out one of Sarah Palin's greatest hits on the violent imagery charts -- the sociopathic bitch can't even talk about basketball without employing it. "To the teams that desire making it this far next year: Gear up! In the battle, set your sights on next season's targets! From the shot across the bow - the first second's tip-off - your leaders will be in the enemy's crosshairs, so you must execute strong defensive tactics. You won't win only playing defense, so get on offense! The crossfire is intense, so penetrate through enemy territory by bombing through the press, and use your strong weapons - your Big Guns - to drive to the hole. Shoot with accuracy; aim high and remember it takes blood, sweat and tears to win. ... Focus on the goal and fight for it. If the gate is closed, go over the fence. If the fence is too high, pole vault in. If that doesn't work, parachute in. If the other side tries to push back, your attitude should be "go for it." Get in their faces and argue with them. (Sound familiar?!) Every possession is a battle; you'll only win the war if you've picked your battles wisely. No matter how tough it gets, never retreat, instead RELOAD!"
Everyone knows that you reload and aim a surveyor's transit, and then unleash a salvo with it.
Uh huh. Sure. And I have a bridge-to-nowhere to sell you.
So why was the website scrubbed and the crosshairs taken off of Giffords' district after yesterday's violence? And that brings up another point. If your first instinct when you hear about a tragedy is to scrub your website of violent imagery and rhetoric directed at the person who was on the receiving end of an assassination attempt you are part of a pretty ugly enterprise and might should rethink your positions. And shut your fetid maw.
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No, "both sides" DON'T do it.
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Rich white guy probably won't go to prison
Tom DeLay is back in court today for the "sentencing phase" of his trial. Although DeLay "faces up to life in prison on the money laundering charge and up to 20 years on the conspiracy charge," he is also "white" and "eligible for probation." And apparently many Experts believe he will receive probation. Haha, oh fuck. It would be simply beguiling if Tom DeLay spent even a week in prison, but God hates us so of course this won't happen. So yeah, just to recap: Tom DeLay is a corrupt public servant who laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars, and now he will probably have to volunteer at his local Humane Society. Meanwhile, some black guy somewhere is spending twenty years behind bars for not calling a police officer "sir." [AP]
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Horrible monsters
TAX EXEMPT Westboro Baptist Church: 'Thank god for the shooter'
Charming. READ MORE »
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Britain's Sarah Palin, her lover, and his wife
Andrea Minichiello Williams
Christian Concern
Dear Mrs. Williams,
It's not a surprise your organization, Christian Concern, is one of Nadine Dorries's most ardent supporters. As a Member of Parliament, she's fought hard for Christian values and is known as the House of Commons' fiercest advocate for compelled childbirth.
But Mrs. Dorries is in trouble now. After her lover's wife publicly insulted her by calling her a "marriage wrecker," Mrs. Dorries responded in the only way a true Christian could--that is by writing a blog post announcing that the wife is an alcoholic. Of course, the left is now viciously attacking her for "wronging" a "victim" a second time.
Mrs. Dorries, who's often referred to as being "Britain's Sarah Palin," needs your help, and you should provide it in the same way Palin's supporters help her--that is by repeating Dorries's charges about her lover's wife. Ferociously attack the wife as an alcoholic. Get on all the chat shows and call her a drunk who doesn't deserve to be married to Mrs. Dorries's hot slab of man meat.
I think it's what Jesus and a million Sarah supporters would do.
Heterosexually yours in a chaste and biblically appropriate kind of way,
Gen. JC Christian, patriot
p.s. I should make it clear that I refer to Mrs. Dorries as "Mrs" because she was formerly married. She is not married now, only her lover is. She left her husband during Christmas a few years ago after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She explained it by saying that he and she were at "entirely different stages in our life."
Has she been introduced to Newt Gingrich?
It is no surprise to me that someone started shooting at Democrats like Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords when the Republicans openly advocated the use of "Second Amendment Remedies" in their campaigns and referred to member of Congress as "domestic enemies". This is a thinly veiled message that should Republicans lose the election at the ballot box they should start killing members of Congress.
Hate speech might have had a short term political gain for Republicans in 2010 but there is a long term price to pay. In my view those who would inflame people to violence bear some of the responsibility for the results. The Republicans have to realize that when you call out for domestic terrorism you get domestic terrorism.
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A blogger in the UK monitored sarah palin's facebook page in the aftermath of yesterday's tragedy.
They weren't surprised to see the monitors scrub any comments critical of the half-term governor, or of Palin's ealier web posting of the cross-hairs on Giffords' district.
What was distressing, however (tho maybe not so surprising) was that a comment comparing the 9 year old victim of yesterday's shooting to Hitler was left intact, all day long.
A commenter posted the following at 18:12:
"it's ok Christina Taylor Green was probably going to end up a left wing bleeding heart liberal anyway. Hey, as 'they' say, what would you do if you had the chance to kill Hitler as a kid? Exactly."
Even worse, further negative comments about Palin were immediately scrubbed within a minute, but this comment was still left live on the Facebook page.
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In April of 1968, Robert Kennedy gave a speech in Cleveland deploring violence in American society. Two months later, he was gunned down and killed. Listen to this eloquent and powerful speech and determine for yourself whether RFK's words ring as true today as they did forty-three years ago..
Mindless Menace of Violence...Forty Years Later: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he9oRe7aB8c&feature=player_embedded
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