Another Example of How Fear, Anger, Hatred = Violence

UPDATE: Why "many of America's poorest citizens have a deep emotional attachment to a party that serves the interests of its richest." Read BBC News, Why do people vote against their own interests?

Fear, anger, and hatred is a great campaign strategy. And the Naive-ocrats are too stupid to call the bluff -- give the public what it claims it wants until they don't want it anymore.


UPDATE V: A whole book on how Fear, Anger, Hatred + Radical Right-Wing Media = Violence. Read "The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right," which discusses the connections between conservative media messaging and hate crime. The author has a checklist of "the mobilizing passions," which include:

1. A sense of overwhelming crisis beyond the reach of any traditional solutions.

2. The primacy of the group, toward which one has duties superior to every right, both universal and personal, and the subordination of the individual to it.

3. The belief that the group one belongs to is victimized, which justifies any action without legal or moral limits against the group's enemies, both internal and external.

4. Dread of the group's decline under the corrosive effect of individualistic liberalism, class conflict, and alien influences.

5. The need for closer integration of a purer community, by consent if possible, or by exclusionary violence if necessary.

6. The need for authority by natural leaders (always male), culminating in a national chief who alone is capable of incarnating the group's destiny.

7. The superiority of the leader's instincts over abstract and universal reason.

8. The beauty of violence and the efficacy of will, when they are devoted to the group's success.

9. The right of the "chosen people" to dominate others without restraint from any human or divine law, "right" being decided solely by the group's prowess in a Darwinian struggle.

UPDATE IV: And yet another interesting editorial from The New York Times, The Obama Haters' Silent Enablers.


UPDATE III: Two more interesting editorials from The New York Times, The Way We Are and Hate in a Cocoon of Silence.


UPDATE II: For an argument, with examples, that "right-wing extremism is being systematically fed by the conservative media and political establishment . . . [going] out of their way to provide a platform for conspiracy theories and apocalyptic rhetoric, just as they did the last time a Democrat held the White House," read The New York Times, The Big Hate.

BTW, the writer's opinion is worth considering even if you might disagree with him, he won the Nobel Prize for Economics last year, and is also a Princeton economist and a New York Times columnist.

Does anyone know how many Nobel Prize winners work for Hedgehog News (which falsely uses the name FOXNews)?


UPDATE: From the Washington Post:

Read Feeding the Lone Wolves, and enjoy:

Is it more Republi-Con inspired violence? Probably not so much this time.

But if you need another example of how fear, anger, and hatred can warp judgment, read The New York Times, Museum Gunman a Longtime Foe of Government.

Those that prey on fear, anger, hatred for their own success should know that all too often it leads to violence.

Fear, Anger, and Hatred = Violence, Again

UPDATE: "Racism is stupidity’s recourse. There are plenty of stupid people in the world. . .

[In the past, it was the persecution of blacks. And today Jews] seemed to have forgotten that not being a race but a religion had scarcely saved Jews from racist persecution.

Hatred of Muslims in Europe and the United States is a growing political industry. It’s odious, dangerous and racist. . .

The settings change, the vile stupidity does not."

Read The New York Times, The Racist Scourge.


UPDATE V: "Evil's larger narrative, and why we must guard against it." Read The New York Times, A Madman and His Manifesto, which notes the "alternative is war under the banner of heaven, as both Breivik and his hated Islamists advocate."


UPDATE IV: Despite his denials, our shameful pastor was just one of many who preach their Islamophobic ideology of fear, anger, and hatred and initially tried to blame Muslims for the massacre:

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Of course, he is now trying to back track, and claim he prophesied the identity of the real killer, a professed Christian 'crusader', and in a very nuanced argument offered only for Christians states that the killer was not really a Christian.


UPDATE III: "Breivik is no loner. His violence was brewed in a specific European environment that shares characteristics with the specific American environment of Loughner: relative economic decline, a jobless recovery, middle-class anxiety and high levels of immigration serving as the backdrop for racist Islamophobia and use of the spurious specter of a 'Muslim takeover' as a wedge political issue to channel frustrations rightward. . . [and] to enlist [Christendom] in apocalyptical warfare against an 'infidel' enemy supposedly threatening the territory, morals and culture of an imagined community of devout believers." Read The New York Times, Breivik and His Enablers.


UPDATE II: "How many people can assert [civilization-threatening jihad] before small numbers of the disaffected take them literally? If all that were true, wouldn't a lot of people respond violently? Overheated, hyperbolic rhetoric must come naturally once you've immersed yourself in the hard core anti-jihadist blogosphere. Regulars there lose the conviction that words have precise meanings, and the belief that arguing with integrity requires staying within their bounds. Shortcuts are so much easier, hence the frequent descents into ad hominem, the constant reliance on hyperbole, and the crutch of playing on the civilizational anxieties of the audience, in an effort to shake them into awareness." Read The Atlantic, Anders Behring Breivik and the 'Anti-Jihadist' Blogosphere.

Our shameful pastor and his ilk should repudiate their Islamophobic ideology of fear, anger, and hatred.


UPDATE: "Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian man who apparently justified last week’s mass murder of helpless teenage campers with a 1,500-page 'compendium' calling for a right-wing revolution against Europe’s ruling class. . .

His compendium quotes repeatedly from conservative writers on both sides of the Atlantic, and it’s filled with attacks on familiar right-wing targets: Secularism and political correctness; the European Union and the sexual revolution; radical Islam and the academic left. . .

Conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic have an obligation to acknowledge that Anders Behring Breivik is a distinctively right-wing kind of monster. "

Read The New York Times, A Right-Wing Monster.

For years our Resident Pastor-to-the-Dictators (AKA Pastor Truthiness (formerly known as Pastor Poppins)) has waged a campaign of fear, anger and hatred by hosting professional purveyors of hate.

He is one of many "anti-Muslim bloggers and right-wing activists" that influence people to violence. Read The New York Times, Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.

And "their response to the attacks is nonetheless revealing, in that they are now demanding the kind of nuanced analysis of the Norway shootings that they’ve always failed to offer when implicating jihadism or all Muslims for terror attacks." Read the Washington Post, In response to Norway attacks, right-wing bloggers suddenly demand nuance.

I find it no coincidence that this incident was done on Friday, just before the Pastor's show.

The formula is old: Republi-con fear, anger, hatred = violence. But the Republi-CONs have no shame or concern for the violence they may incite.

Yet Another Example of How Fear, Anger, Hatred = Violence

UPDATE IV: "A college student who did volunteer work in Afghanistan was charged Wednesday with slashing a taxi driver's neck and face after the driver said he's Muslim. " Read the Washington Post, Man held without bail in NYC cab driver stabbing.


UPDATE III: For more on how Hedgehog News encourages violence, read the Washington Post, Glenn Beck and the Oakland shooter.


UPDATE II: Hedgehog News employs the masters of fear, anger, and hatred. Read Media Matters, Beck's incendiary angst is dangerously close to having a body count.


UPDATE: Even some party members understand that while fear, anger, and hatred is a great campaign strategy, it won't be much of a governing philosophy. Read the Washington Post, GOP leaders let demagogues set tone, lawmaker says.

The article profiles a veteran GOP House member who was defeated in South Carolina's primary last month and who was "jeered for saying that Beck, a Fox News Channel host, is a divisive fearmonger." He thinks:

"Too many Republican leaders are acquiescing to a poisonous 'demagoguery' that threatens the party's long-term credibility",

"[T]he rhetoric also distracts from the real problems that politicians should be trying to resolve, such as budget deficits and energy security", and

"[R]acism is a part of the vitriol directed at President Barack Obama.

And he's not the only party member that is concerned. Bush's former chief speechwriter from 2001 until June 2006, thinks that the Republi-con party lacks "a responsible, governing agenda" and their campaign strategy of fear, anger, and hatred "rides a massive wave toward a rocky shore. " Read also the Washington Post, For the GOP, a risky wave to ride or turn back.

As I said before, fear, anger and hatred is a vicious cycle of self-fulfilling prophecy -- as Republi-con destroy America, they blame others for their actions.

And for yet another example, read The New York Times, Arkansas Suspects Had Rage Toward Government.

Fear, Anger, Hatred + Talk Radio & FOX News = Violence

Two deputies were shot on Saturday in Fort Walton Beach. (I actually saw a bit of the response. I was driving to a local soccer tournament when a patrol car came around the corner with lights flashing and siren blaring, nearly out of control. It was about 1 p.m. and he was likely responding to the shooting.) The wife of the man who shot the deputies said that "her husband believed that the US Government was conspiring against him. She said he had been severely disturbed that Barack Obama had been elected President."

The local paper, the Northwest Florida Daily News, wrote an article titled 'None of it makes sense'. But the shooting does make sense, and you can thank your local Republi-cons.

The Republi-cons have a great election strategy, FEAR, ANGER and HATRED, although as Bush showed, it has proven to be a less than successful governing strategy. It has proven to lead to violence.

This is one example.

And only one county over a man shot five Chilean students, killing two. A neighbor of the shooter recalls him (the shooter) asking "if I was ready for the revolution to begin and if I had any immigrants in my house to get them out." Thanks again Republi-cons.

The local affiliate for the Republi-con fear, anger and hatred, NewTalk 1260 WFTW, with the regulars promoters of the same: Rusty, Sheepish, and Stupid (respectively Rush, Hannity, and Savage).

The area votes overwhelmingly Republi-con.

There has also been an Obama sign war brewing in the county, before the last election someone burned Obama signs, and since the local paper thinks it newsworthy to report on every anti-Obama sign.

Of course the influence of talk radio reaches beyond NW FL. In Pittsburgh, a man shot three police officers. He "had been upset about losing his job and feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns." Another right-wing media myth perpetuated by talk radio with help from FOXNews, and the NRA.

Another example, in Tennessee a man went on a fatal shotgun rampage in a church "prompted by a hatred of liberalism and Democratic leaders who have hamstrung the nation's war on terror."

As the Rwandan Genocide showed, the news media can incite and fuel violence.

So thanks to the Republi-cons, it all makes sense. The equation is Fear, Anger, Hatred + Talk Radio & FOXNews = Violence.

Fear, Anger, and Hatred

Without fear, anger and hatred, where would the Republi-cons be.

At a rally in Lakeville, Minnesota McCain found himself struggling to control the fear, anger and hatred some of his rabid supports have been promoting. His running mate Sarah Palin stepped up her own attacks against Obama, often inspiring outbursts complete with cries of "terrorist" and "off with his head." Even an older woman said that that Obama could not be trusted because he is an 'Arab.'

In Northwest Florida, one of the finer members (presumably) of the Republi-con party, "decided to illustrate [to his seventh grade civils class] the concept of 'change' by writing 'Come Help A N----r Get Elected' on the white board in front of his class.

Then there are the officially sanctioned comparisons to OBL.

I'm sure Sheeepish Haaannity considers them all 'Great American.'

But consider what John Lewis said this weekend:

"As one who was a victim of violence and hate during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, I am deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign. What I am seeing today reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse.

During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who only desired to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed one Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.

As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Governor Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better."

It is true, we can do better. Thankfully, even McCain finds the attacks over the top. McCain responded to the lady in Lakeville, saying "No, ma'am, he's a decent family man, a citizen, who I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. And that's what this campaign is all about."

But the Republi-cons don't think that is the way to win an election, so it will fear, anger, and hatred, from now until the election. McCain won't win many independents with that strategy.

The FIrst Thing We Do, We Kill All the 'Other' Guys

UPDATE IV: Fear, Anger, Hatred + Radical Right-Wing Media = Delegitimize Then Kill the President. Read The New York Times, Where Did ‘We’ Go?


UPDATE III: Watch who you threaten. Read the Washington Post, Blogger's Case Could Test the Limits of Political Speech.


UPDATE II: Should Hitler and Nazism be used as a metaphor? Read the Washington Post, At the Town Halls, Trivializing Evil.


UPDATE: Will all the Republi-con pandering to fear, anger and hatred backfire? Read the Washington Post, A Price to Pay for the Town Hall Rage.

Some call it the return of Karl Rove:



But the truth is he never left, Republi-con DNA is Rovian by nature.

More on how Republi-con Fear, Anger, Hatred = Violence, a Virginia Republi-con candidate's fierce call to resist President Obama's political agenda -- with bullets, if necessary :

"We have a chance to fight this battle at the ballot box before we have to resort to the bullet box," Crabill said. "But that's the beauty of our Second Amendment right. I am glad for all of us who enjoy the use of firearms for hunting. But make no mistake. That was not the intent of the Founding Fathers. Our Second Amendment right was to guard against tyranny."

Republi-cons are awash in grievance, self-pity, resentment, and anger. Does that sort of leadership style appeal to anyone, or does it just make them seem like poor losers?

Maybe they need to read Christian Mommies, The Poor Loser Ailment Seven Tips to Cure Unsportsmanlike Attitudes in Kids.

Destroying America With Fear, Anger and Hatred

UPDATE II: Fear, anger and hatred = Republi-con votes. But fear, anger and hatred also = Republi-con donations.

Don't take my word for it, see the PowerPoint presentation from the RNC Financial Leadership Meeting, page 29.

It appears that those waskly Republi-cons rely on two types of donors: dumb and dumber. Really, don't take my word, read the PowerPoint presentation, which describes dumb donors, those small donors who are "visceral," "reactionary" and motivated by "fear," and the dumber voters, those large donors who are "calculated," "ego-driven" and motivated by "access."

And what do these dumb and dumber donors get, tchotchkes.

Look it up, so you know what you are worth to those Republi-cons.


UPDATE: Rantings of paranoid, conspiracy theorist, talk show hosts can kill. Read True/Slant, Does Austin Plane Crash Pilot’s Rambling Suicide Note Sound Like An Alex Jones Manifesto? and the Washington Post, Joseph Stack's familiar anti-government tune.

Of course, this is nothing new. Read The Daily Beast, Wingnut Rage Boils Over.

BTW, my original post was made before the the plane attack:

Does ridicule and assaults on patriotism or character as vehicles to marginalize 'others' undermine democracy? Read the Washington Post, How the conservative media harm democracy.

Fear, anger and hatred is a vicious cycle of self-fulfilling prophecy -- as Republi-con destroy America, they blame others for their actions.

And China laughs.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

UPDATE: Regarding thimerosal in vaccines, see the FDA Thimerosal in Vaccines Questions and Answers.

Tammy recommends Thimerosal in Childhood Vaccines, Neurodevelopment Disorders, and Heart Disease in the United States.

But see also WHO Position of the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety regarding concerns raised by paper about the safety of thiomersal-containing vaccines.

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line.

Topics:

The NoBullU New Year's Resolution and why you don't disagree with me


Follow-up to fact-free fantasies: don't be duped;


Local and regional: Happy Centennial!, non-Christians not welcome in AL, and local Taj Mahal, or poisoned well politics?: first the ECUA admin building and Perdido Key fire station and community center, and now a new sports complex -- can't the kids just play in the streets;


National and international: I'm waiting, where's the balanced budget, time to call the Republi-CON bluff, first day, first broken promise -- no $100 billion budget cut -- then broken promises two three and four -- the Republi-con health care repeal bill does conform to the pledge to include the statutory basis, identify spending cuts to pay for the $230 billion cost, and Republi-cons say no amendments,
the reason -- health care industry bottomline, time to call the Republi-CON bluff on health care, China déjà vu, but what can ya do?, in the Navy, it's not like not used to be, but maybe that's a good thing, Marriage 101, Happy 400th Birthday to the King James Bible, what Obama can learn from the Republi-CON Reagan myth and Republi-CON fear, anger, hatred = violence yet again;
an example of the fear, anger, hatred industry


Fun stuff: first Pluto, now Ophiuchus, why are they messin with the heavans;

and

Donate to a good cause: help the friends of a former instructor at the Naval EOD school at Eglin Air Force Base, Gunnery Sgt. John Hayes, who was detachment company gunnery sergeant from June 2007 to June 2010 and taught several courses and was recently wounded in Afghanistan.

I'll discuss anything, but expect a no mercy take down if you are a party hack pandering to fear, anger and hatred, because the truth sure makes it hard out there for the party pimps.

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth and some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

No Future in Fear Anger and Hatred

The lesson for the GOP in this election should be that there is no future in fear, anger, and hatred. It proved an effective election strategy for a short time, but fear, anger, and hatred made a poor governing philosophy. If you want confirmation from a Republican, read Boot's Blasts, Why the GOP Lost, where he writes:

"What President Bush represented to a majority of people is a sneering, arrogant, chip-on-his-shoulder, my-way-or-the-highway face of this era’s conservatism; in fact, that also became the face of the United States around the world. And it was that face that voters rejected on Tuesday.

President Reagan was just the opposite: a cheery disposition, a funny laugh and chuckle - and a pleasant demeanor all while trying to convince - not browbeat or threaten - others to change their minds.

If we, as conservatives, are to come back to power we will have to project a totally different face and persona.

The Republican Party will have to become a party of “smart” people who can reach out to the suburbs (where we were completely wiped out) and to educated people. And at the same time we need to keep our base of committed conservatives, too.

In fact, we have to get rid of this exuberant disdain for well-educated people and for education itself. G.W. Bush and Sarah Palin have reveled in their dislike for education, for well-educated people and for reading and for acquiring knowledge.

It used to be in this country that everyone worshiped education and wished to have a great education but somewhere along the way many on the Right have transposed their hatred (well-deserved, by the way) for the Leftism taught in our colleges and universities into hatred of the actual education itself. And that is a tragic mistake. Because only reading the Bible and nothing else isn’t enough to solve this nation’s multitude of problems. In fact, we need to ask God to help us all learn more and know how to learn more in order to keep up with the ongoing and exponentially expanding base of knowledge on all topics.

So we are going to need to change the face of the conservatism; less anger, more brains.

And we need to move on from the Bush Era. Please, no talk of Jebbie in 2012!

Let us first settle on the direction we need to move - and then find new candidates who can sell that message.

For those of you who think the country is doomed, you are wrong. Any time you believe that a majority of your fellow citizens are idiots, you don’t get the majesty of our nation. Obama’s election means something to these people. It is good that they have their chance to run our country. If they do well, we all do well. And if they can’t get a handle on our problems - and if we re-make ourselves into a smart party - then we can and will come back to power.

But first we have to earn our way back."

We will see if the GOP learns anything from this election.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line.

Topics:

The NoBullU New Year's Resolution;


Follow-up to fact-free fantasies, don't be duped: God Mocks Pastor Truthiness

I called, he's a fraud (who pimps of fear anger and hatred), he denies the missile nonsense, and claims God talks through an oil well,

and of course, the birther delusions, it is clear that he hasn't even read the Congressional Research Service that would agree that Obama is a "natural born citizen," (the Congressional Research Service is a part of the Library of Congress, providing professional, objective and non-partisan public policy research to members of Congress and their staffers. The writer of the memorandum is a qualified constitutional attorney who has summarized the historical and legal material with references, showing, by contrast, how shoddy the birther arguments are) (this memorandum explains why even Republi-CON Congressmen/women refuse to join the Birthers), and he hasn't talked to Barbara Nelson, who "specifically remembers his birth" because she spoke with the obstetrician who delivered him shortly after his birth,

and slander by innuendo, one example -- Michelle Obama did not surrender her license to practice law, another example -- denying the theory of evolution,

and now he continues the devil's dirty work supporting Middle East dictators;

and predicting apocalypse (why are people addicted to such 'predictions?', bold predictions: always enticing, but often wrong);


Local and regional: is it déjà tanker all over again and remember days gone by, watch this 1964 Pensacola tourism film;


National and international: I'm waiting, where's the balanced budget, don't hold you breath because the Republi-CONs Con the Tea Party, there'll be no $100 billion budget cut, budget battles continue, budgets from Reagan to Obama, always lookin for the anti-Obama angle, and showing how dumb they are, Republi-CON fear, anger, hatred whatever the subject, the Republi-CON Reagan Myth, which ad was your favorite?, health care lawsuit score: US 3 - VA 1 and FL 1, the reason for repeal -- the health care industry bottomline, time to call the Republi-CON bluff on health care, you go to war based on the myths you want, and 'The Great Stagnation' and our broken political system


Fun stuff: America's Funniest Grandmother and Mission Impossible, Squirrel Edition, Escapa

and

Donate to a good cause: help the friends of a former instructor at the Naval EOD school at Eglin Air Force Base, Gunnery Sgt. John Hayes, who was detachment company gunnery sergeant from June 2007 to June 2010 and taught several courses and was recently wounded in Afghanistan.

I'll discuss anything, but expect a no mercy take down if you are a party hack pandering to fear, anger and hatred, because the truth sure makes it hard out there for the party pimps.

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth and some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

Republi-CON Fear, Anger, Hatred = Violence Yet Again?

UPDATE XI: Allegations of blood libel v. a call for unity, could Palin’s video statement and Obama’s address been more different? Read The New York Times, Study in Contrasts.


UPDATE X: Are high-capacity magazines to blame? Read the Washington Post, Arizona shootings underscore the dangers of high-capacity magazines.


UPDATE IX: Republi-CONs often misstate an opponents arguments before responding. Regarding the debate on the toxic political environment, read the Washington Post, Questions for Charles Krauthammer and others on the right, which notes:

"[W]hat some on the left object to is the rhetoric from the right that tacitly or overtly seeks to deligitimize the political opposition's democratically-obtained hold on power, and flirts with the idea that non-democratic means are an acceptable way of countering or undoing it.

In his original column decrying the current "climate of hate," for instance, Krugman didn't focus on Palin's crosshairs or the right's use of standard-issue war metaphors. Rather, he argued against the right's genuine "eliminationist rhetoric," their "suggestions that those on the other side of a debate must be removed from that debate by whatever means necessary."

This is one of a number of common Republi-CON debate fallacies.


UPDATE VIII: Palin responds. Methinks the lady doth protest too much. Read the Washington Post, The foolishness of the 'blood libel' charge.

And her response does not befit a serious presidential candidate. Compare her response to Al Sharpton's: In MLK's honor, let's strive for dialogue that's passionate but not poisonous.


UPDATE VII: Comedian Jon Stewart, who hosted the Rally to Restore Sanity last year, doesn't blame "the toxic political environment" for the shootings:

"We live in a complex ecosystem of influences and motivations and I wouldn't blame our political rhetoric any more than I would blame heavy metal music for Columbine," Stewart said on "The Daily Show" Monday night. "Boy, would it be nice to draw a straight line from this horror to something tangible, because then we could convince ourselves that if we just stopped this, then the horrors will end."

"You cannot outsmart crazy," Stewart said. "You don't know what a troubled mind will get caught on."

Stewart said he doesn't know "if there is a way to make sense" of the shootings.

Nevertheless, he did stress a need to tone down political "ramblings."

"It would be really nice if the ramblings of crazy people didn't resemble how we talk to each other on TV," he said. "Let's at least make troubled individuals easier to spot."

Watch his "moving monologue":

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Arizona Shootings Reaction
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> The Daily Show on Facebook

UPDATE VI: For a brief history of the violent rhetoric and imagery common in politics today, read the Washington Post, The Tucson tragedy: freedom from violent rhetoric and imagery.


UPDATE V: Is Palin the one now caught in crosshairs?


UPDATE IV: Regarding Palin's claim that the crosshairs map showed surveyor's symbol not gun sights, read the Washington Post, Gunsights or Surveyor Symbols?


UPDATE III: "Some people who study right-wing militia groups and those who align themselves with the so-called Patriot movement said Mr. Loughner’s comments on subjects like the American currency and the Constitution, which he posted online in various video clips, were strikingly similar in language and tone to the voices of the Internet’s more paranoid, extremist corners." Read The New York Times, Suspect’s Odd Behavior Caused Growing Alarm.

Then read the Washington Post, After 'armed and dangerous' messages, who bears responsibility for violence? and The New York Times, Climate of Hate.


UPDATE II: BTW, Palin now says ""we never ever, ever intended it to be gun sights. It was simply cross hairs like you'd see on maps [like a] surveyor's symbol."

More of her Republi-CON revisionist history.


UPDATE: Are you surprised at the shooting, "the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths, about tearing down the government, the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country . . . the rhetoric about hatred, about mistrust of government, about paranoia of how government operates." Is right-wing media to blame? Read the Washington Post, After Giffords tragedy, fingers point to the media model of confrontation.

The formula is old: Republi-con fear, anger, hatred = violence.

"During the fall campaign, Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate, posted a controversial map on her Facebook page depicting spots where Democrats were running for re-election; those Democrats were noted by crosshairs symbols like those seen through the scope of a gun. [Ariz. Democrat Gabrielle Giffords] was among those on Ms. Palin’s map. "

The result, read the Washington Post on this developing story, Ariz. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition after Tucson shooting; eight others injured.

The Republi-CONs have no shame or concern for the violence they may incite.

Pandering to Fear, Anger, and Hatred

Republi-cons have pandered to fear, anger, and hatred for years. I had hoped for better from McCain, what with all the references to honor, but McCain is just another Republi-con. See Washington Post, Rage in the Town of Bethlehem.

Fear, Anger, and Hatred, a great election strategy for the Republi-cons, just not a very effective governing philosophy.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line.

Topics:

Local Business Shout-Out: Holy Smoke LLC, 11532 Old Ganey Road, Stockton, Alabama, "Planning a loved ones final arrangements can be a challenging responsibility, one you want to do with care and consideration. Allow Holy Smoke to help you create a tribute to your outdoorsperson like no other."


Follow-up: for long-time listeners who remember this oldie but goodie, "a $1,000 five day vacation to a South Carribean island with private bungalo and food, fun, and surf provided could put their name on the list and be considered for selection by the Goodin Travel Agency"


Fact-free fantasies: my so-called 'obsession' with the shrieking hatemonger of right-wing rhetoric and partisan hackery, pandering to fear, anger and hatred,

don't be duped by the Birthers, including our very own Pastor Dred Scott (you may remember the infamous Dred Scott decision of 1857, which asserted that African Americans were "beings of an inferior order" who "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." That ruling declared that African Americans could never be U.S. citizens and therefore could never be President), and

Church support for slavery and opposition to civil rights (4 major American Churches split over the issue of slavery, forming northern and southern factions, including:

The Methodist Church: In 1861, the North Carolina Christian Advocate wrote of "the demon spirit of abolitionism" and how Southern Methodists had "tested it fully, and found it to be heartless, inhuman and Christless." Although the two factions reunited in 1939 as the Methodist Church, they retained racial segregation.

The country's Presbyterian Church also split into two.

The Baptist Church: The Southern Baptists are the largest and most reactionary christian denomination in the USA. They split away from the Baptists in 1845 over slavery, because they thought that slavery was okay. After the civil war, some Southern Baptists founded the Ku Klux Klan. In the 1960s, the Southern Baptists supported segregation laws and opposed the black civil rights movement. In 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention issued an apology to all African-Americans and asked for their forgiveness.)

Local and regional: park bait and switch, the GOB network at work in Podunkville-cola, the sad case of the Avalon Middle School principal, and the sadder case of Warren Williams;


National and international: I'm waiting, where's the balanced budget, don't hold you breath because the Republi-CONs Con the Tea Party, there'll be no $100 billion budget cut, and let's admit the obvious, the Republi-CONs are not serious about deficits, and who's responsible for the debt

The debt ceiling deal farce

The civil war continues: Republi-CON establishment v. Republi-CON rage

The Republi-CON's economic no recovery plan: destroy jobs and pay workers less

Republi-CON Jeff Miller, R-Hypocrite-ville

Obama the One Term President, hell hath no fury like a liberal chumped again

The Republi-CON stimulus myth

Let's play the Republi-CON game of 'spot the contradiction', can you explain the Republi-CON contradiction as regards the economy, the debt ceiling, or deficits, or national security, or health care costs, or or even jobs

The myth of expansionary austerity

Beware federal pensioners, your day of reckoning is coming

The Great Stagnation' and our broken political system;


Fear, anger, and hatred = violence, again


150 years later

Congressional government reform hypocrisy

More Republi-CON family values hypocrisy

Name that Florida Republi-CON,

Beware the so-called fair tax


The myth of voter fraud

Who is your favorite 2012 GOP candidate, or do you have a favorite not-yet-a-candidate?, or none of the above,

President Sexpot?

More premarital sex and another shotgun wedding for the Palin clan


The health care industry bottomline, the reason Republi-CON want to repeal the new health care law

Believe it or not: DUI/DWI at the demolition derby

CSI dog poop,

Who you callin a Neanderthal

Giving new meaning to navel gazing,

Another Republi-CON myth buster, no the government isn't banning incandescent light bulbs

and

Big brother is watching you,


Fun stuff: No kidding, an 'amazing' ad campaign featuring vaginal puppeteering

Doo Wop test

Twelve things that a motorcycle can teach, do I look fat responses before the divorce, random thoughts, questions a dog might ask God, did you ever wonder . . ., the liquid nitrogen burger, paraprosdokians, the Y Generation, Husband Day Care, and cute little cats in 'It Could Be Worse';

and

Donate to a good cause: read "the story of a 9-year-old girl who teaches us adults about maturity truly renews our faith in humanity" at The New York Times, Rachel’s Last Fund-Raiser.

I'll discuss anything, but expect a no mercy take down if you are a shrieking hatemonger of right-wing rhetoric and partisan hackery, pandering to fear, anger and hatred, because the truth sure makes it hard out there for the party pimps.

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth and some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

Republi-Cons Have No Shame, Judge Edition

UPDATE: Read The Huffington Post, Blinded by the Hate: The Real Problem With Judge Cebull's Email, which states:

"Earlier this week a Great Falls Tribune reporter found something startling in his inbox: a shockingly racist and misogynistic email forwarded from the most powerful federal judge in Montana, which 'joked' that the president of the United States was the product of his mother having sex with a dog. The story soon became national news, with groups like ours calling on Judge Richard Cebull to resign. . .

Attempting to explain his email forward, Judge Cebull told the reporter, John S. Adams,

The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan. I didn't send it as racist, although that's what it is. Is sent it out because it's anti-Obama.

Judge Cebull is hardly alone in using the old 'I'm not racist, but...' line. In fact, his email was the result of an entire movement built on 'I'm not racist, but...' logic that equates disagreement with and dislike of the president with broad-based, racially charged smears. These smears, tacitly embraced by the GOP establishment, are more than personal shots at the president -- they're attacks on the millions of Americans who make up our growing and changing country.

Mainstream conservatives have genuine objections to President Obama's priorities and policies. But since he started running for president, a parallel movement has sprung up trying to paint Obama as an outsider and an imposter -- in unmistakably racially charged terms. Too often, the two movements have intersected.

The effort to paint Obama as a threatening foreigner sprung up around the right-wing fringe in the run-up to the 2008 election with the typically muddled conspiracy theory that painted him as both a secret Muslim and a member of an America-hating church. They soon coalesced in the birther movement, which even today is championed by a strong coalition of state legislators and a certain bombastic Arizona sheriff.

But the birther movement, the 'secret Muslim' meme and the idea that the president of the United States somehow hates his own country are no longer confined to the less visible right-wing fringe. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, until recently a frontrunner in the GOP presidential race, continually hammers on the president's otherness, most notably criticizing his 'Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior.' Rick Santorum flatly claims that Obama does not have the Christian faith that he professes, and eagerly courted the endorsement of birther leader Sheriff Joe Arpaio. And before they dropped out, Rick Perry and Herman Cain couldn't resist flirting with birtherism. . .

When a federal judge has seen so much racially-charged propaganda against the president of the United States that he can claim not to know the difference between genuine disagreement and offensive personal smears, something in our discourse has gone terribly awry."

I posted the following comment:

"The hatred to which you refer to has been percolating on talk radio for years.

In April 2009 I received an email from the owner of a talk radio station titled 'Obama's Momma In Nude Porn Pictures? - not a joke'. I replied to the sender that I thought something like that was 'below even 'Republi-con' (my radio term for Republican hypocrites) low standards for newsworthiness. But I guess there is no shame for the sake of the party.'

In May 2009 the same person sent me the email the Judge received, it even had the same title 'A mother's love'. My reply was that the sender needed 'to get counseling. I am serious, your hatred for Democrats has warped your judgment.'

That talk radio station allows the pastor of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church two hours each Friday afternoon to promote what are now mainstream Republican ideas. The birther conspiracies, the 'secret Muslim' meme and 'Obama hates American' are regular topics on the show, with guests who parrot the ideas.

The talk-radio campaign of fear, anger and hatred has been fermenting since the last election. Rush Limbaugh's 'slut' comment is only the tip of the iceberg."

In April and May 2009 you may remember that I noted that there were no limits to shameless Republi-con hatred, as evidenced by emails circulated within Republi-CON circles.

Even a federal judge has been affected by the relentless Republi-CON campaign of fear, anger and hatred.

Read the Washington Post, A federal judge’s e-mail spreads racist venom about Obama.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line.

Topics:

The NoBullU New Year's Resolution;


Follow-up to fact-free fantasies: TBD;


Local and regional: BREAKING NEWS, unconstitutional, but still enforceable, if at first Boeing doesn't succeed . . . change the rules, more state Republi-CON fiscal conservative hypocrisy, Republi-CONs, and their mutually beneficial relationship with Louisiana corporate overlords, and remember days gone by, watch this 1964 Pensacola tourism film;


National and international: I'm waiting, where's the balanced budget, don't hold you breath because the Republi-CONs Con the Tea Party, there'll be no $100 billion budget cut, but the budget battles continue, free speech, is it all or nothing?, union busting, part of the Republi-CON war on the middle class, budget gamesmanship and tough decisions, the Republi-CON Double Dip Recession, not a new ice cream, but it'll make you scream, and they're off and running, reports are that former speaker of the House Gingrich will become the first major Republican candidate to enter the 2012 Presidential race, America's obsession with sex, but not violence, a former car thief and arsonist, who is he now?, Hedgehog News protects its investment in Republi-CONs, a Facebook revolution?, new score in the health care lawsuit: US 3 - VA 1 and FL , the reason for repeal -- the health care industry bottomline, Republi-CON fear, anger, hatred whatever the subject, time flies, we just finished the runt month, no class like this at my school, and 'The Great Stagnation' and our broken political system;


Fun stuff: test your power of observation; what Dads do when Moms are not home, America's Funniest Grandmother and Mission Impossible, Squirrel Edition, Escapa;

and

Donate to a good cause: help the friends of a former instructor at the Naval EOD school at Eglin Air Force Base, Gunnery Sgt. John Hayes, who was detachment company gunnery sergeant from June 2007 to June 2010 and taught several courses and was recently wounded in Afghanistan.

I'll discuss anything, but expect a no mercy take down if you are a party hack pandering to fear, anger and hatred, because the truth sure makes it hard out there for the party pimps.

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth and some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line.

Topics:

The NoBullU New Year's Resolution


Follow-up to fact-free fantasies: today's morning show host spewing hate, are they real Christians and don't be duped by the Birthers;


Local and regional: 49 out of 50, but not Florida, new mayor, same old podunk town (his first priorities, hire a city administrator and think about doing other stuff); local premiere of a movie filmed locally by a local guy, and an interview with that local -- director-screenwriter Brett Haley, local Taj Mahal, or poisoned well politics?: now its the ECUA admin building and Perdido Key fire station and community center, and build it and make' em pay $3.75, maybe they need money for a lawyer;


National and international: I'm waiting, where's the balanced budget, time to call the Republi-CON bluff, first day, first broken promise -- no $100 billion budget cut -- then broken promises two three and four -- the Republi-con healthcare repeal bill does conform to the pledge to include the statutory basis, identify spending cuts to pay for the $230 billion cost, and Republi-cons say no amendments, Republi-CON health care hypocrisy, cont., in the Navy, it's not like not used to be, but amybe that's a good thing, 150 years later and five myths about why the South seceded, Marriage 101, Happy 400th Birthday to the King James Bible, what Obama can learn from the Republi-CON Reagan myth and Republi-CON fear, anger, hatred = violence yet again;


Fun stuff: 100 Great Movie Lines;

and

Donate to a good cause: help the friends of a former instructor at the Naval EOD school at Eglin Air Force Base, Gunnery Sgt. John Hayes, who was detachment company gunnery sergeant from June 2007 to June 2010 and taught several courses and was recently wounded in Afghanistan.

I'll discuss anything, but expect a no mercy take down if you are a party hack pandering to fear, anger and hatred, because the truth sure makes it hard out there for the party pimps.

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth and some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

Republi-CON Fear, Anger, Hatred Whatever the Subject

"The corpulent critic giggled and concluded: 'Yes, every square inch of my glorious, naked body oozes with the truth.'" Actually what oozes from his mouth, whatever the subject, the Republi-con campaign strategy -- fear, anger, and hatred. Read the Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh binges on anti-Michelle Obama vitriol.

The 2016 Election: Showcasing Republi-CON (Satan's) Fear, Anger, and Hatred

UPDATE V:  "'I will gladly accept the mantle of anger.'

Thus did Donald Trump react this week to South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who in her Republican response to the State of the Union address bravely called on Americans to resist the temptation 'to follow the siren call of the angriest voices.'

And nobody wears the mantle of anger as well as Trump. The rest of the Republican presidential contenders, acolytes in anger all, seem happy to help him on with the cloak, to hem the sleeves and let out the waist until the fury fits perfectly.

Republicans like to blame Trump for hijacking the party, but equally to blame are the others in the race for letting it happen — and continuing to do so, now just two weeks from the Iowa caucuses. Thursday night’s debate was another depressing development: Any of four men on the stage — Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie or John Kasich — could have been a viable alternative to the fear and demagoguery offered by Trump and Ted Cruz. Instead, they cluttered the stage and quarreled among themselves, offering little beyond faint echoes of Trump’s rage. . .

The GOP race is typically described as a struggle between the outsiders and the establishment. Really it’s a battle between the demagogic (Cruz and Trump) and the selfish (Rubio, Bush, Christie, Kasich). The latter candidates, blinded by certainty in their own magnificence, refuse to clear the field so that one of them can take on the demagogues. (Ben Carson, the other man on the stage, appeared to have wandered, bewildered, into the debate.)

The polling shows the dilemma: Trump averages about a third of the GOP vote, Cruz a fifth. The four others together are about a quarter – enough to give voters a viable alternative to Trump and Cruz, if only they could put country before self.

Worse, they seem content to echo and imitate Trump. Haley, in the audience for Thursday’s debate in South Carolina, got little support for her noble call this week for tolerance. . .

So if Trump’s other rivals are only going to ape his paranoia and rage, why would voters accept an imitation if they can have the original?"

Read the Washington Post, Trump’s rivals help him hijack the GOP.  

UPDATE IV:  "It’s still very possible that Donald Trump won’t win the GOP nomination. His GOP rivals — particularly Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio — will obviously fight him to the bitter end. If a clear establishment alternative — such as Rubio — emerges, senior Republicans will unite behind him, particularly if Trump continues to roll along.

But last night’s GOP debate suggests that in one important way, Republicans have already surrendered to Trump: they have mostly given up on trying to resist the terms of the debate as he has set them, and have mostly accepted that the battle will be fought on his turf."

Read the Washington Post, Republicans have surrendered to Donald Trump.

UPDATE III:  "President Obama suggested Tuesday that the United States may not, in fact, be on the verge of total collapse. The Republican presidential candidates responded in Thursday’s GOP debate by painting an even more dismal and dangerous picture than they had in the past. The president is a traitor. The military is a shell of a fighting force. The economy is a shambles. Average families are in grave danger. If Democrats win, the country is lost.

With only a few weeks left before the first primary contests, the GOP race has devolved into a competition for who can squeeze the most political advantage out of voter fear, no matter how over-the-top they sound and no matter how much damage they do by darkening the national mood. Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) 'won' the latest round of this increasingly disgusting show, with Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) coming in second. But being the most effective at exaggerating the dangers the country faces and preying on voter anger is not an achievement; it is a moral failure."

Read the Washington Post, The dismal, dark, traitor-filled world Republican candidates inhabit, where you can read "the world according to" Republi-CONs. 

UPDATE II:  Now Republi-CONs are worried that party members are "follow[ing] the siren call of the angriest voices."

This after years of the same message:  "Be afraid. That fear and the anger from the GOP establishment’s apparent complacency are the reasons behind the strength of Trump, Cruz and others. Platitudes from Nikki Haley and others won’t stop that fear as long as they keep feeding it."

Read the Washington Post, Nikki Haley shows how the GOP establishment has fueled Trump’s rise. 

UPDATE:  "Cruz’s speeches are marked by what you might call pagan brutalism. There is not a hint of compassion, gentleness and mercy. Instead, his speeches are marked by a long list of enemies, and vows to crush, shred, destroy, bomb them. When he is speaking in a church the contrast between the setting and the emotional tone he sets is jarring.

Cruz lays down an atmosphere of apocalyptic fear. America is heading off 'the cliff to oblivion.'. .

As the Republican strategist Curt Anderson observed in Politico, there’s no variation in Cruz’s rhetorical tone. As is the wont of inauthentic speakers, everything is described as a maximum existential threat.

The fact is this apocalyptic diagnosis is ridiculous. The Obama administration has done things people like me strongly disagree with. But America is in better economic shape than any other major nation on earth. Crime is down. Abortion rates are down. Fourteen million new jobs have been created in five years. . .

But Cruz manufactures an atmosphere of menace in which there is no room for compassion, for moderation, for anything but dismantling and counterattack. And that is what he offers. Cruz’s programmatic agenda, to the extent that it exists in his speeches, is to destroy things: destroy the I.R.S., crush the 'jackals' of the E.P.A., end funding for Planned Parenthood, reverse Obama’s executive orders, make the desert glow in Syria, destroy the Iran nuclear accord. . .

Cruz exploits and exaggerates that fear. . .

The best conservatism balances support for free markets with a Judeo-Christian spirit of charity, compassion and solidarity. Cruz replaces this spirit with Spartan belligerence. He sows bitterness, influences his followers to lose all sense of proportion and teaches them to answer hate with hate. This Trump-Cruz conservatism looks more like tribal, blood and soil European conservatism than the pluralistic American kind.

Evangelicals and other conservatives have had their best influence on American politics when they have proceeded in a spirit of personalism — when they have answered hostility with service and emphasized the infinite dignity of each person. They have won elections as happy and hopeful warriors. Ted Cruz’s brutal, fear-driven, apocalypse-based approach is the antithesis of that."

Read The New York Times, The Brutalism of Ted Cruz.

Read also the Washington Post, David Brooks’s choice words on Cruz — ‘satanic’, ‘pagan’ — draw fire and a little brimstone, in which Brooks notes that other candidates are "'adopting some of the dark and satanic tones that Cruz has . . if you watch a Cruz speech, it’s like, we have got this enemy, we have got that enemy, we’re going to stomp on this person, we’re going to crush that person, we’re going to destroy that person.  It is an ugly world in Ted Cruz’s world. And it’s combative. And it’s angry, and it’s apocalyptic.'"

From the Washington Post, White Americans are boiling mad:

Trump's Sycophant Gingrich's Big CON: Political Hatred and Violence is the Other Party's Fault

UPDATE IV:  "Wednesday’s shooting at a congressional baseball practice was a ghastly example of the political polarization that is ripping this country apart. Political scientists have shown that Congress is more divided than at any time since the end of Reconstruction. I am struck not simply by the depth of partisanship these days, but increasingly also by its nature. People on the other side of the divide are not just wrong and to be argued with. They are immoral and must be muzzled or punished.

This is not about policy. . .

Partisanship today is more about identity. Scholars Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris have argued that, in the past few decades, people began to define themselves politically less by traditional economic issues than by identity — gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation. I would add to this mix social class, something rarely spoken of in the United States but a powerful determinant of how we see ourselves. Last year’s election had a lot to do with social class, with non-college-educated rural voters reacting against a professional, urban elite.

The dangerous aspect of this new form of politics is that identity does not lend itself easily to compromise. When the core divide was economic, you could split the difference. If one side wanted to spend $100 billion and the other wanted to spend zero, there was a number in between. The same is true with tax cuts and welfare policy. But if the core issues are about identity, culture and religion (think of abortion, gay rights, Confederate monuments, immigration, official languages), then compromise seems immoral. American politics is becoming more like Middle Eastern politics, where there is no middle ground between being Sunni or Shiite. . .

Today, everything becomes fodder for partisanship. Consider the now-famous production of the Public Theater’s 'Julius Caesar' in Central Park, in which Caesar resembles President Trump. Conservatives have pilloried the play, raising outrage among people who have never seen it, saying that it glorifies the assassination of a president, and seeking to defund the production. Since I tweeted a line praising the production, I’ve received a barrage of attacks, many of them quite nasty. In 2012, a production of the same play had an Obama-like Caesar being murdered nightly, and no one seemed to have complained.

In fact, the central message of 'Julius Caesar' is that the assassination was a disaster, leading to civil war, anarchy and the fall of the Roman Republic. The assassins are defeated and humiliated and, racked with guilt, die horrible deaths. If that weren’t clear enough, the Public Theater play’s director, Oskar Eustis, has explained the message he intended to convey: 'Julius Caesar can be read as a warning parable to those who try to fight for democracy by undemocratic means.'

Political theater is as old as human civilization. A sophisticated play by Shakespeare — that actually presents Caesar (Trump) in a mixed, somewhat favorable light — is something to be discussed, not censored, and certainly not to be blamed for the actions of a single deranged shooter, as some on the right have suggested."

Read the Washington Post, The country is frighteningly polarized. This is why.

UPDATE III:  "Extreme partisanship may not be the direct cause of violence. But political violence acts like lightning, illuminating and freezing the whole political landscape for a moment. And what we see is a ready recourse to violence — punches at rallies, assaults, death threats, violent protests and intimidation. The system seems unbalanced — easily veering off course with every provocation.

The capacity for human evil is always there. But stable societies construct restraints. Some of those restraints are institutional — balancing interest against interest, power against power. In America, such institutions are strong, even under considerable current strain. Yet human beings are also restrained by norms — unenforced and unenforceable standards of civility and respect. We rely on character in countless ways to keep people from destroying themselves and each other. And here all the demonization and decapitation fantasies — all the talk of revolution and warfare against our fellow citizens — have taken a toll.

This type of language isn’t new, of course. But the Trump era has unleashed it with a kind of fury. The routine violation of norms has taken on the nature of an arms race. Each transgression justifies and requires a response. Both sides cultivate a merciless certainty. And, in some cases, they have made anger into an industry — using it to run up the number of listeners, viewers and hits. The trashing of norms has been not only normalized but monetized. This type of hashtag animus is not merely change but decay. The damage is clear. If words can inspire, then they can also incite or debase. We are on a descending path of enmity.

In our politics, dehumanization is far along. This is true against outsiders and political opponents. And it is true against those who govern us. We have often dehumanized the leaders who result from our free choices — men and women, on the whole, of public spirit, with a talent for friendship and persuasion. And this should be a reminder to opponents of President Trump as well. His violation of norms is a reason for criticism and opposition; it is not a justification for demonization. As offense and response spin faster and faster, someone must get off this carousel.

The success of our politics, the quality of our culture and the order of our society are very much at stake.

Read the Washington Post, America is riding a carousel of hate.

Although I don't agree on equivalency, criticism and opposition is perfectly American and appropriate, fear, anger and hatred must be renounced and condemned.

UPDATE II:  "Plenty bad before Trump’s campaign and presidency, it has gotten markedly worse. This is what happens when the president and his surrogates portray opponents as immoral, subhuman and criminal, when they hack away at the courts, the press and other pillars of a free society — and when they promote conspiracy theories suggesting American justice is tainted. . .

Revolting in a different way is the speed with which a few on the right have tried to use the shooting to delegitimize the justifiable and widespread anger that Trump has generated. Rush Limbaugh called the gunman “a mainstream Democrat voter.” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said of the shooting: 'I do want to put some of this at the feet of Barack Obama.' Sean Hannity of Fox News, broadcasting from the scene of the shooting, alleged a 'record level of vicious left-wing hate,' claiming this is the 'biggest issue we have to face as a country.' . .

The president himself is stoking fear and fury. Seven months after the election, he is still attacking Hillary Clinton as a criminal. He is frightening allies, attacking the courts, discrediting the intelligence community and the 'fake news media' and suggesting there’s a major conspiracy against him in the justice system.

This recklessness causes enormous fear, which generates the 'ferocity' Ivanka Trump perceives. President Trump could calm the anger — if he could calm himself."

Read the Washington Post, Ivanka Trump has noticed a new ‘level of viciousness.’ Its sources are clear.

UPDATE: Other Republi-CON sycophants are joining the blame game.

Read the Washington Post, Rep. Steve King is right. ‘America has been divided,’ and he helped divide it.

And in case you are new or forgot, read also about the longtime Republi-CON campaign strategy of fear, anger and hatred.

You must read the Washington Post, Newt Gingrich’s hypocritical comments on the Alexandria shooting, which I quote in full:

"Newt Gingrich, a peripatetic soul who apparently treks from one TV studio to another with sound bites in hand, the other day came up with the cause of the baseball field shooting that left the House majority whip and four others wounded: 'an increasing hostility on the left' toward the apparently angelic President Trump. He clearly has the president confused with the Dalai Lama.

It ought to be apparent that one man with one rifle does not make a political movement. The shooter was deranged, consumed by hate, and while our times are tense and polluted by excessive partisanship, the list of political assassinations is long — Lincoln, McKinley, John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Harvey Milk and Huey Long, to name some of the more prominent. Just as an infinite number of monkeys dancing on an infinite number of typewriters will produce 'Hamlet,' so will a nation of 350 million people and even more guns produce the occasional massacre.

Gingrich was not content to stick to the facts. In his depiction, the shooter represented something called 'the left.' Just a couple of weeks ago, Kathy Griffin held that title. On Fox News, her single (astoundingly) tasteless depiction of the decapitated Trump made her into the face of the Trump opposition. Sean Hannity carried on about her as if she was an actual elected political leader. For Griffin, this was not a bad day’s work: She brought Hannity down to her level.

Now Gingrich has gone further. Appearing on Fox and commenting on the shooting, he said, 'You’ve had a series of things that send signals that tell people it’s okay to hate Trump,' he said. 'And now we’re supposed to rise above it?' He added, 'Maybe this is a moment when everybody takes a step back, but there is no evidence of it.'

But this is the very same Trump who campaigned as a bully in the schoolyard. He ridiculed Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio; he slandered Ted Cruz by linking his father to the Kennedy assassination. He called Hillary Clinton 'crooked Hillary.' He egged on his followers to attack political demonstrators, he encouraged hatred of immigrants and he called Mexicans 'rapists.' Finally, he mocked a disabled journalist.

Through all this, Gingrich contained his desire to speak out in condemnation. He, in fact, supported Trump, becoming an unofficial adviser. He did not get the reward he must have thought behooved him — secretary of state or something – but his wife is going to be the ambassador to the Vatican. Just recently, Gingrich added one side of his mouth to the conspiracy theory that Seth Rich, a Democratic National Committee staffer, was murdered last year to keep him from telling what he knew about how WikiLeaks got thousands of hacked Democratic Party emails.

'Nobody’s investigating that, and what does that tell you about what’s going on?' Gingrich said on Fox. 'Because it turns out, it wasn’t the Russians. It was this young guy who, I suspect, was disgusted by the corruption of the Democratic National Committee. He’s been killed, and apparently nothing serious has been done to investigative his murder. So I’d like to see how [Robert S.] Mueller [III] is going to define what his assignment is.'

In a flash, we got an insight into Gingrich’s jaundiced mind. In fact, from the day he first entered Congress, to the day he was forced to resign as House speaker, no one has been more bitterly partisan than Gingrich. He has been on one specious crusade after another — remember the adulterous Gingrich on Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky? — and now, suddenly, he poses as the voice of reason. Gingrich has accomplished much in his career, but his real triumph is to give hypocrisy a bad name." 

Read also the Washington Post, The bogus claim that a map of crosshairs by Sarah Palin’s PAC incited Rep. Gabby Giffords’s shooting, which noted that although no link to the shooting was found, "Sarah Palin’s political action committee circulated a map of targeted electoral districts that put Ms. Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs."