Saw this on RAWSTORY this morning and remembered, vaguely, when that report came out and, even though I am highly suspicious of the DHS, they warned
of a spike in homegrown "rightwing extremism" fueled in part by "antigovernment" sentiments, which in retrospect appears to have been a chilling omen for the tragic Arizona shooting Saturday.
The report (PDF), which was coordinated with the FBI and titled, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," warned of a rise in violence spurred by the economic downturn and the election of the nation's first African-American president.
The article, of course, links this to the current shooting, which is clearly a part of an ongoing pattern of persons listening to rightwing radio, being fueled by this particular style of pro-violence propaganda with numerous references to targeting, locking and loading and issuing of lists with crosshairs on them (The Anti-Abortionists have done this for years): all of this is designed and intended to incite or influence or cause some individual with a tenuous grasp on reality but a good grasp on a gun to finally let go of the bloodlust the propaganda generates and to realize their fantasy.
Conservatives slammed the report and Newty-boy thought the auithor should be fired.
In the report, the DHS defined "rightwing" in part as groups and individuals "that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely." (Emphasis ours.)
At the time, conservatives slammed the report as a political attack.
"The person who drafted the outrageous homeland security memo smearing veterans and conservatives should be fired," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) remarked.
The rightwing is clearly protecting this process.
if they truly aren't then their vociferous denunciations are very long overdue.
Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, The Savage Weener, Malkin, Laura - a big parade of rightwing propaganda-spewing media entities, are really directly responsible for a conspiracy to use the media to specifically incite this sort of violence.
They have a lot of lawyers to protect them from the natural consequences of this sort of culpability.
Perhaps the time is HERE for real leaders to stand up and denounce the vitriol as Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik did last night, pointing a big finger at the environment caused by talk radio hatefests.
"It may be free speech, but it does not come without consequences"
Remember Hal Turner?
Harold Charles "Hal" Turner is an American white nationalist and white supremacist from North Bergen, New Jersey. In August 2010, he was convicted for making threats against three federal judges with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to Turner's arrest, his program, The Hal Turner Show, was a webcast from his home once a week.
These people CAN be held accountable.
At this point, the longer the right doesn't come out and distance themselves from these calls for violence, the more we should assume they are condoning them.
And Democrats on The Palin Death Page™ need round-the-clock protection.
There will be more incidents until this constant incitement to violence is somehow curbed.
Bank on it.