The NY Times is finishing some reporting on an earlier story out of Little Rock. Two police officers were killed while making a routine traffic stop. An AK-47 assault rifle was reportedly the murder weapon.
...from the NY Times piece.
The Arkansas State Police on Friday identified the pair — killed Thursday during an exchange of gunfire with the police — as Jerry R. Kane Jr., 45, of Forest, Ohio, and his son Joseph T. Kane, believed to be 16.
Mr. Kane was a part of the fringe element of the right-wing party who espoused individual rights and despised government impedement in any part of his life. Well, I said fringe, but in light of a certain primary in the South, maybe they really have broken through to the national stage.
On an Internet radio show, Mr. Kane expressed outrage about his New Mexico arrest. "I ran into a Nazi checkpoint in the middle of New Mexico where they were demanding papers or jail," he said. "That was the option. Either produce your papers or go to jail. So I entered into commerce with them under threat, duress and coercion, and spent 47 hours in there."
So a right-winger who believes he can throw around the word Nazi-checkpoint.
An aside...when I was at university, my friends and I debated vigorously and oftentimes to a point of yelling. But...BUT. We also had a standing rule that whomever said "Nazi" or "Hitler" first AUTOMATICALLY lost the argument. Done and done. Game over. You cannot bring up a man who murdered 7 million people. Why do I hear Newt Gingrich still allowed in polite circles?
Sadly, this is just one of many cases that we all have documented here:
-Tennessee church shooting kills two by man who wanted to kill "liberals" He also had Bernie Goldberg's book in his car with notations.
-Three Pittsbrugh police murdered by an ex Marine who was quoted by friends as thinking "Obama will take away our guns."
-Dr. Tiller is murdered in his own church. Bill O'Reilly had called him a "baby killer" 26 times over the previous four years.
There are many more cases of directly linked right-wing violence up to murder..and so so many more of assault, menacing and outright coddling by a national news operation.
I cannot accuse a network or national political party of murder. But, I CAN accuse them of creating the political space where these things can remain in the ether. And on the fringe, as long as it's being held up as a meme...then you will have unstable criminals who act out in its name.
I wish peace to the friends and families of Brandon Paudert and Bill Evans can reconcile their deaths. One day long from now I hope they may reconcile their deaths.