By David Paul Brown
Posted: 01/27/2011 01:00:00 AM PST
Concerning the Tucson shooting, the bomb found in Spokane, Wash., at
the Martin Luther King parade, and the many incidents of, or threats
of, violence since President Obama has been in office, Anne Landman of
Center for Media and Democracy writes the following: "By all accounts,
the U.S. is a pretty violent society. At 14.24 deaths per every
100,000 people, the rate of firearm deaths in the U.S. far outstrips
that of our economic counterparts. By comparison, the rate of firearm
deaths in Europe is just 2.17 per 100,000 people. Video games, rap
music, sports, religious tales, movies and TV shows offer a steady
stream of messages that violence is a legitimate response to a
problem.
"Add to this mix political candidates, legislators and
"celebriticians" like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin using
violent rhetoric and gun metaphors, throw in conservatives' constant
portrayal of government as a threat, the difficulties Americans have
accessing mental health services and free and wide access to guns, and
it's not a big leap to conclude we have a social tinderbox on our
hands."
As I said two columns ago, some on the left "jumped on the bandwagon"
too soon, saying certain people were directly responsible for the
tragedy in Tucson.
I doubt you can ever prove anyone, who is clearly insane, was prompted
by anyone or anything to do violence. However, to deny there's an
atmosphere, a daily drumbeat of hate for liberals, President Obama and
the government generally,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
Acai Berry EXPOSED: West Islip
West Islip Warning: Health Reporter Discovers The Shocking Truth!West
Islip: Mom Makes $6,795/Month!
Unemployed Mom Turned $34 Into $6,795/Mo At Home. Read How She Did
It.Driving in West Islip?
Your auto insurer hates this. Obey 1 trick & get extremely cheap
ratesAds by Yabuka
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
is either very naive or disingenuous.
***
David Brock, an ex-neoconservative who years ago was hired as a
"hatchet man" for the right, had a "Road to Damascus" event several
years ago that resulted in his seeing the error of his ways. He's now
the CEO of "Media Matters," an organization that daily fact-checks the
lies coming from the right wing.
On TV's "Hardball" Brock told host Chris Matthews, "Beck burned Nancy
Pelosi in effigy on his set. He tried to poison her with a chalice.
Weeks later, somebody tried to firebomb Nancy Pelosi's house. That
guy's mother went on television and said he gets his ideas from Fox
News."
It's recorded - Gregory Giusti says to Pelosi after the health care vote:
"You have a target on your back and I can accomplish what I want with
one bullet. Now he's tried, convicted, and in the sentencing phase his
cousin writes in for leniency, it's on our website - that he was
slowly drawn into Glenn Beck's world."
For the second Beck connection Brock explains:
"A liberal foundation in San Francisco was targeted by a gunman, Byron
Williams, in June. The shooter gave jailhouse interviews, and we
published them, and he says Glenn Beck is this schoolteacher on
television and points to specific episodes of the Glenn Beck show that
inspired him to do it.
On July 18, 2010, Byron Williams was stopped by the California Highway
Patrol and engaged in a shootout with law enforcement. He later said
he was on his way to murder individuals at the Tides Foundation and
ACLU. Williams' mother, Janice, explained her son 'Was upset with the
way Congress was railroading through all these left-wing agenda
items.'"
The third Beck connection is Charles Wilson, who was sentenced to a
year and a day in prison for threatening Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) with
violence in phone calls to her office after she voted for Obama's
health care bill. Politico reported Wilson called Murray's office
several times saying that she "had a target on her back," and "I want
to [expletive] kill you," according to court documents.
The day President Obama signed the health care bill the caller told
Murray, "I hope somebody kills you, and I hope somebody kills the
president. Not only do I say, 'Kill the bill but kill the [expletive]
senator.'"
Wilson admitted to the FBI that he regularly called Murray and fellow
Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. He also stated he was registered to
carry a concealed weapon.
"I do pack and I will not blink ... when I'm confronted. It's not a
threat, it's a guarantee. Now that you've passed your health care
bill, let the violence begin."
A relative of Wilson's said in publicly available documents filed in
federal court that Wilson's "fears were grown and fostered by Mr.
Beck's persuasive personality" and that Wilson's actions occurred
because he "was under the spell that Glenn Beck cast."
It is clarion clear that the right isn't just saying that government
is overly bureaucratic and needs to be truncated, or that perhaps a
department needs to be eliminated where there's a redundancy.
I would bet conservatives and progressives can agree on that.
But the radical right is preaching that the government is the enemy.
Hate groups are on the rise and pushing agendas like killing ATF
agents. Remember Ruby Ridge? Hence, we witness incidents like a plane
crashing into the IRS building in Texas.
More:
http://www.paradisepost.com/opinion/ci_17208341
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment