Nothing to See Here …

You whip these nutjobs up into a frenzy with lies about communism and death panels and this is the sort of shit you get. I remember the exact same atmosphere during the Clinton presidency. The right-wing has never had a problem motivating its fringe extremists for its own political purposes. During the 90’s it was the militia movement, with paranoid fears of black helicopters and anger over the Branch Davidian siege in Waco. And we know how that all ended.

I hope the FBI hauls a bunch of these retards in.

@Serolf Divad: I hope the FBI hauls a bunch of these retards in.

Yeah, that fat f*&k talking about window smashing is a veteran of the militia movement, so Clinton didn’t share too much of his playbook with Hopey. Or Hopey has other plans…I’m thinking Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, Men In Black (the original).

It’s obvious we’re not dealing with adults here, but then again I doubt they ever really were. Judging by the mindsets, I think we now know where the bullies we knew in school ended up.

@Serolf Divad:
I think its that taken to the next level because now we really DO have the first black president.
I didnt mean to sound dismissive of these sacks of shit yesterday. in fact I have been saying for a long while, pretty much ever since Obama was elected, that these nut jobs are a threat and should be taken seriously. I have a pretty good feeling for them because I have some in my family.
at least I am honest about it.
I hear things, oh man, do I hear things. mostly its man talk BS but they are dangerous. but we need to remember we have a real justice department now.
and a real attorney general who will not hesitate to do what is needed.

I think we might, at this point, reconsider how harsh we were on the administration for retaining the right to snoop on us. and them.
personally, let them snoop. I have nothing to hide, they are not interested in me and I want those people snooped on.

Coward Russ Carnahan Pushes Bogus Tea Party Lie to Media– Claims Prayer Service With Coffin Was a Violent Threat
by Jim Hoft

Link

@Capt Howdy: but we need to remember we have a real justice department now.
and a real attorney general who will not hesitate to do what is needed.

As Greenwald and Scott Horton have tirelessly documented, the politicization of the justice department continues under the Obama/Holder regime. I have no doubt that they will, rightly, go after the teabag terrorists, but how anyone could say “we have a real justice department now” with a straight face is beyond comprehension.

And this has been bothering me so much all morning, I just can’t avoid making note:

I think we might, at this point, reconsider how harsh we were on the administration for retaining the right to snoop on us. and them.
personally, let them snoop. I have nothing to hide, they are not interested in me and I want those people snooped on.

We are — or at least I am — not harsh on this or even the previous administration for “retaining” the right to snoop. Snooping has always been a right of the government, if it follows the law in doing so. It’s the illegal, due-process-free snooping that is wrong and deserves condemnation and prosecution (by a “real” justice department) no matter whose team is doing it. I can’t tell you how heart-breaking that statement is to me.

@Pedonator:
well
if it makes you feel better I was half joking. but only half.
like I said. I really do know how dangerous these people are. something that I think many people do not really get because reading about it is not the same as hearing from the horses mouth.
it would not break my heart for Holder to use some tactics Bush popularized to make sure these people do not have the opportunity to really harm anyone. if this shit is happening anyway it may as well work for us for a change.
you say you have no doubt they would go after domestic terrorists. I dont think you could say that about the last administration. I think we can be happy about that at least. I just dont see Holder as a huge threat to individual rights.

@Capt Howdy: There are many dangerous people of all kinds, all over the world. I really don’t understand how you might be ok with this administration doing the things we complained so loudly about for eight years, just because they do them to a different flavor of terrorist or suspected terrorist.

The point is, we are supposed to be a nation of laws, not men. Teabag terrorists are entitled to the same due process, not to mention presumption of innocence until found guilty in a court, as anyone else.

How do you feel about this administration’s attempt to extrajudicially murder a US citizen on Yemeni soil? Would you say it’s ok to apply that same kind of “justice” in these cases?

I guess if you don’t read about all of the continuing politically-motivated shenanigans at Justice, you can preserve your image of Holder, and by extension, this entire administration, as no huge threat to human rights. Or do you read all about it and just dismiss it? Either way, this is very depressing to me.

@Capt Howdy: Without going the Full Greenwald, I have to agree with Pedo. Obama was elected to clean up that shit, not extend it.

I’m definitely a Fourther on that one. It’s not like we’re lacking Constitutional tools to do it right.

@Pedonator:
look I dont disagree with some of what you say. and I would like to talk more about it but I cant.
I actually have to work at work today.

@Capt Howdy: Also bear in mind that you and I grew up at the tail end of Hoover’s reign. And, silly us, thought all that ended a generation ago.

@nojo:
I dont disagree with you. but after coming out of the health care debate when every motive and conviction was questioned I just cant work up the energy today. without knowing what they are doing or why they are doing it I believe they are people, Holder and Obama, who are trying to do what they need to do to protect us with no other hidden agenda.

I am sorry I joked about it.

@ManchuCandidate: It’s obvious we’re not dealing with adults here, but then again I doubt they ever really were.

Yeah, but then they’re children with guns, cars and money. Nothing scary about that at all, of course.

@nojo:
it never ended. Hoover ended but the building is still named after him.
its a dangerous world. getting more dangerous by the day.

@IanJ:
and a media propaganda arm and a political party.

@Capt Howdy: I believe they are people, Holder and Obama, who are trying to do what they need to do to protect us with no other hidden agenda.

That’s certainly a legitimate stance. One counter-argument (raised very early) is that no president gives away the powers accumulated by his predecessors, whatever their provenance.

I, unfortunately, have to distrust Barry’s motives — that politically he doesn’t want to rock the boat on “national security”. But if you prefer to accept his motives at face value, then I’ll just have to distrust his judgment.

@nojo:
well ok, I rarely trust anyones motives OR judgement. but I honestly think we would need to see the raw intel they are seeing to make an informed judgment on the actions they are taking. which is of course circular since we never will.
and I agree about keeping accumulated power.
and now I really do have to do SOME work or they wont pay me.

@Pedonator:

I’m opposed to “going all Bush” on the teabaggers as well, but there’s a part of me that would be amused if the same yoyos that cheered for domestic surveillance, profiling, indefinite detention and the lot suddenly ended up on the other end of the stick. However, it’s the dark little corner of the mind that thinks that burning down the office is an appropriate response to having one’s desk moved (ala Office Space) – in other words, the part that’s *not* acted out by normal adult members of society.

Uh, yeah. This is what we’ve been up to and what we continue.

someone just sent me a link to this post at TPM which seems to fit into this conversation.

Let’s Bring Back Tar And Feathering — And Maybe More

In the post, titled “Put the Fear of Something Into Them,” Pajamas’ Denver Editor Stephen Green riffed on the recent threats and attacks on Democrats and concluded:

“If this abominable, unconstitutional, usurperous, injurious, unsustainable and ruinous new health care law has a mere ten legislatures afraid for their safety, then this country might already be too far gone to save itself.”

“This country has a fine tradition of tarring & feathering, and one I’ve come to the reluctant conclusion needs to come back,” he wrote in response to a reader named Geekesque. “If the US Government considers that terrorism, consider the source.”

Asked by another reader how far Green’s “condoning of violence against us ‘Nazi’ liberals” goes, Green responded:

“That depends entirely on how much violence is done to our liberties by your idiotic policies. Right now, tar & feathers still seem extreme. Tomorrow? It’s in your hands.”

@Capt Howdy: the raw intel they are seeing

And that was another early argument, of course. But like you say, it’s circular — and when cases of the previous administration’s Trust Us claims come to light, the facts rarely if ever substantiate the allegations.

There was an article a few years back about the FBI’s Cole investigation, which was handled properly, with AQ ops being justly targeted. But internal turf-fighting (some with the CIA, I think) and communications snafus led to failure — and, in time, 9/11.

That was a failure of bureaucracy, not intelligence. The Constitutional tools, wielded properly, actually work quite well.

@al2o3cr: I admit the irony would be delicious, pro-torture teabaggers put on the waterboard and all, but as you say, it still wouldn’t be right or something I could endorse.

@JNOV: Thanks — that program is one of the few bright lights in the MSM.

@nojo, Capt Howdy: As for Obama’s motives, we can only guess. But the appointment of Rahm was an early signal that he would be more concerned about party politics than progressive policy.

@Capt Howdy:

Some guy got canned over at Feature DURING OT on Tangled for a low shot count last week. Mr. ‘Catt has been working unpaid golden time to be sure he can do extra inventory out of pure economic downturn terror (don’t tell the union).

I wish he would go work someplace else

@Capt Howdy: “If the US Government considers that terrorism, consider the source.”

Just because another terrorist calls you a terrorist, that doesn’t mean you’re not a terrorist.

@Pedonator: But the appointment of Rahm was an early signal that he would be more concerned about party politics than progressive policy.

Now we’re getting into the weeds, but hiring an enforcer as Chief of Staff wasn’t in itself a bad idea. It’s all the other appointments that gave everyone pause.

@Tommmcatt Loves The Giant Floating Head:
I am hearing this a lot from the coast. bad and getting worse.
all I can say is praise jebus for the game industry. I am so happy to be here. its really not like that at all here but the truth is I have been BAD lately.
I pretty much made making the lives of the PUMAs miserable my full time job in the runup to the health care bill passing. gotta do some work

fortunately I love my work.

@nojo: Yeah, many of the other appointments were just as bad. And I agree it’s not a bad idea to have an enforcer as Chief of Staff; the question is, what is it that’s being enforced?

Seems like party loyalty to me, above all else. Commitment to progressive ideals, well, is that even on the list?

@Pedonator: @Capt Howdy:

See, but now this shit is getting them on the tee-vee, allowing them to bring up their hit count on their sites- look for more of all this incitement. Look for Pam Geller to issue a fatwah on Nancy Pelosi’s oldest son, while simultaneously claiming he never actually met his mother . Look for Malkin to demand internment of all legislators involved with the bill, as well as their families, staffers, and anyone who read it without immediately screaming about dead grandmothers. Look for Jonah Goldberg too roll over in his typing bed, fart twice, and go on a rambling diatribe about how the Constitution demands the castration of anyone belonging to an opposition party, due to the fact that the words “castration” and “constitution” both start with a “C”.

Business as usual, of course, from Rush, but only because he’s been mainlining crazy for years now anyway. And Michael “Savage” Weiner will demand the deaths of faggots, because why not, it’s Thursday. Also too that way nobody will notice how big a fag he is.

Police Concerned About Parliamentarian’s Safety
By John Stanton
Roll Call Staff
March 25, 2010, 12:09 a.m.

Tea party protesters are reportedly planning a protest at the home of Senate Parliamentarian Alan Frumin later this week, prompting Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer to work with local law enforcement officials to ensure Frumin’s safety.
-end-

@Prommie:
ok
inviting another flameing:
I dont think they should be allowed to do this. if they want to protest at his office or in some public place, fine.
they should not be ALLOWED to harass the man and his family and all of this neighbors at his home.

tucking my tail between my legs and going to work.

@Pedonator: what is it that’s being enforced?

Whatever the Boss wants.

That’s why I didn’t shriek when Rahm was hired, and why I’m not shrieking now that he be fired for Offenses to Progressivism. Much more than a Senate-confirmed appointment, Rahm serves at the pleasure of the President. If Rahm is actively undermining the public option, it’s because Barry wants him to.

@nojo:
I HAVE TO STOP
absolutely right. Barry made a deal with the insurance companies.
leave Harry and Louise out of it and I wont hit you with a public option.

@Capt Howdy: I am and have always been against protests at homes, and worked on a case to protect an abortion provider from such, one time. Like, got an injunction.

@Capt Howdy: I am seriously in favor of even larger counter-demonstrations, comprised of Teamsters and Longshoreman and IBEW, preferably.

@Prommie:
I salute you

@Capt Howdy: I’m not going to argue with that. I don’t know what the law is, probably varies from place to place, but a demonstration at a private residence would at least qualify as a public disturbance…?

@Tommmcatt Loves The Giant Floating Head: That is pretty much the level of discourse we’ve been treated to since the 2008 election.

@nojo: Yes, I think we’re arriving at the same point: the policy being implemented is the policy Barry wants. Which doesn’t speak well of him.

@Capt Howdy: In case you’re wondering, there is a Stinque conspiracy to prevent you from working today.

@Pedonator:
its working