What a hateful piece. It will not be a surprise if Sarah Palin becomes the next president of the United States.

What a disgraceful piece of writing this is.

The author is a professor of journalism, which makes it no surprise that the media in the US are such left wing subversives, if they are trained by people in the deplorable state of mind of this author.

The article is a great example of spin, the misinformation technique you indulge in when you wish to allege that you are not lying.

What "hate" in this piece?

Why "disgraceful" to point out

We reap what we sow?

Leo Lane, would you have any objection to setting out the reasons for your condemnation of this article?

I am interested to know what the opposing arguments are. I can't tell from your post and I think it's important that opposition to any article is clearly expressed so that those of us who aren't as informed can make up our minds.

Thank you in anticipation.

Shintaro, I very much enjoy your posts - I think you are witty and clever and your haiku always express an important point. Thank you.

Leo Lane,

Where is the misinformation in this article?

Why is it a disgraceful to expose a pattern of violent political rhetoric emanating from certain interests within the U.S.?

Many thanks to you

Jennifer, you are always

A rose among thorns :)

I too, found nothing disgraceful about this article at all.
In fact I found it painfully informative and extremely interesting.

The so called Tea Party seems like an offshoot group from the old Ku Klux Klan!

From all I have read about Sarah Palin and her particular brand of politics, nothing would surprise me at all about that woman.

At least the American people saw through the militant Palin when asked to vote for her.
Democracy and common sense prevailed again.

The media is made up of "Left-wing subversives"?.

As exemplified by such well-known communists as Rupert Murdoch for example?

Was Sarah Palin the only one to refer to “cross-hairs” or “targeting” –NO

Democrat figures , including Obama has said similar
http://radiopatriot.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/if-they-bring-a-knife-to-the-fight-we-bring-a-gun-obama-6142008/

(incidentally, I think Obama is a thoroughly nice guy; a top guy!)

So why are many always eager to attack Sarah?

Remember when her email was hacked –it was yippee good fun.
But, when someone hacked the climate scientists email . The same persons were calling for persecutions.

Shintaro in his inimitable fashion muses:
“We reap what we sow?”

But there are some among us who reap without sowing, and they are not the lilies of the field.
But lily livered individuals who belong to the tea party’s arch rival – the chardonnay party.
And they have good reason to fear that should people of the Sarah’s ilk get the upper hand there might be no more free rides , or drinks.

On another thread in another universe far far away.
Some of the same cast and crew were using the word “hate” a lot.
Well, hate is very much in evidence here –a smouldering deep hate.

All I can think is , if she can get this lot hating her –she must be doing something …right.

Jennifer, on this occasion, I can do nothing but agree with you, but don't hold your breath waiting for a reasoned reply.

A good article, sums up the American political climate very well.

David

Hi Folks...as they say in those Horror Movies.. "I'm ba----ack" :)

Ok.. slap slap.. serious now.

This article is without question one of the most ideological and prejudiced I've seen for a longggggg time. There are so many things wrong and unbalanced and outright bigoted about it that it defies the imagination.

PRIMARY THESIS of the article is that the RIGHT wing is doing all the 'hate' speech and that this is what results in such things as the Arizona shooting.
Nowwww...IF you were all good little vegemites and had done your moral duty of watching Glennn Beck today especially (you can still catch him-same show at 6.00pm 2night on Fox) you will see 'from their own mouths' the utter hatred of the Left in living color.

The classic example of late is Francis Fox Piven (on vid) calling on workers as follows: "Where are the unruly MOBS"... she also made comparisons with the overt violence in Greece, suggesting by implication it should also happen in the USA.. she spoke about the need to establish an ANGRY IDENTITY... well.. it seems to have worked..and worked well...

*Union protesters overwhelm security at bank meeting*

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/19/union-protest-mortgage-bankers-summit_n_811003.html

Becks team of researchers uncovered NUMEROUS examples of clear hate speech.. but the worst was from the man Brasch names "Fuller"

James Eric Fuller, 63, who was shot in the knee, had told The Post on Friday, the day before his arrest, that top Republican figures should be tortured -- and their ears severed.

"There would be torture and then an ear necklace, with [Minnesota US Rep.] Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin's ears toward the end, because they're small, female ears, and then Limbaugh, Hannity

Yep...*tone*....it's very important. But much more for the LEFT than the right.

Dear Al,

No doubt there are dubious references to violence in the politics of left and right.
But how can you deny the "tone" of much that is associated with Palin, Beck and the Tea Party movement.
The "ordinary folk" tend to identify with the metaphorical associations employed by those who pull the psychological strings.
Beck has been busy preparing his audience for "end times"...ie, something bad is coming. He's been inching the dial of foreboding up for a while now.
Even without the Tucson tragedy, something was always going to give. Let's hope this at least serves to get America looking at the direction its political rhetoric is taking.
Here's an article outlining fairly graphically the mindset of some tea Party followers - something that has apparently been encouraged by their mentors.
http://bluewavenews.com/blog/2011/01/09/tea-party-rhetoric-nothing-better-than-a-dead-liberal/

Funny how they say

"Disgraceful" and "bigoted"

But they don't show how

Dear much missed Poirot :) hug hug.

The tone of Beck,Limbaugh,O'rielly,Hannity and Fox in general is this:

*STOP BANKRUPTING THE COUNTRY* It sure as heck is not about being violent.

But the left ? it IS actually about violence.

EXAMPLE 1 Francis Fox Piven asks "Where are the unruly mobs like in Greece.. where are the blockades?" and ..."lo".... this happens:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/19/union-protest-mortgage-bankers-summit_n_811003.html
Here is the more realistic version from Fox
http://nation.foxnews.com/justice/2011/01/19/union-agitators-overwhelm-security-and-barge-banking-meeting

Notice how Huffpost 'under'states the reality with a tame image ?

TODAY.. Jewish congressman accuses Republicans of acting like HITLER and persuing a holocaust!

Um....you were saying ? *tone*

but wait..there's more!

http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/focus-u-s-a/jewish-democrats-republican-majority-controlled-by-nazi-reenactors-and-their-friends-1.322166

I'm incredulous at this (that article)

//Two prominent Jewish Democratic congressmen stepped up their attacks against the Republican candidates on Friday for their “inadequate moral position”.//

MORAL position ? oh my..words fail me....check THIS out

//*beeeep* involvement in porn, by this argument, is the result of an atavistic hatred of Christian authority: they are trying to weaken the dominant culture in America by moral subversion.//

Google THAT my dear.. see what comes up..and go to the ORIGINAL source please. Pssst...it's here 'Triple-Exthnics'

"Who" wrote it.. "for" whom...in "What"?

Finally more 'sweet democrats' raising the tone level.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36365.html "Like Nazi Germany"
Look closely at the 'background' of each of these people.. compare their words to the ones in 'Triple Exthnics'

That is no more than a political rant.

579...can you pick an error in any of it ?

It's good to have you back, Boaz.

It is unfortunate, though, that you still haven't found a use for that other eye.

>>...you will see 'from their own mouths' the utter hatred of the Left in living color<<

And your prime example? A left-wing extremist from the sixties, quite clearly unbalanced. I'm not sure about you, but I don't see that in the same category as supposedly responsible members of the legislature, exhorting their followers from a podium.

If you - and Beck - need to dig up an example as unconvincing as Frances Fox Piven, then it is clear you are bereft of any real defence.

Incidentally, your other "example" - Mr Fuller - has been arrested and will be charged over his public outburst. Would you support the same response for the politicians? Or do they have your - and Beck's - "special protection".

You can deny it for the sake of your allegiance to right-wing thinking, Boaz. But deep in that heart of yours you know it was wrong, and will continue to be wrong.

"Jesse Kelly, Giffords’ opponent in 2010, took Palin’s words [“don’t retreat, instead- RELOAD!”] literally, and held a fundraiser where donors could shoot an M-16."

Read that again, slowly, Boaz. That was Ms Gifford's direct Congressional opponent. Does that not strike you as just a little irresponsible?

Be honest with yourself. You - and Beck - will always be able to find examples of left-wing bigotry and nastiness. But I doubt you will find it demonstrated with the same level of violence that your official representatives of the Tea Party have shown.

That is the issue here. It's a matter of balance, and of reasonableness.

Try it sometime. You might just like it.

Hi Pericles... it's good to be back too. (until my next trip to Siberia)

You ask:

Would you support the same response for the politicians? Or do they have your - and Beck's - "special protection".

Well... you might find this interesting "Ballots or bullets" :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB7g3y597fs

Let me put it this way. When Obama and cohorts are seeking to bring 13,000,000 illegal immigrant/Hispanics (aka "Democrat Voters) into legality... it may well be the time for a real, dinky dye, pedal to the metal, ballots or bullets revolution. The same one which gave them independance originally and for which the 2nd amendment was written.

As Beck himself pointed out.. the level of rhetoric by even the founding fathers and those surrounding them was 'extreme' to put it mildly.

Personally I'm fine with Democratic senators calling GOP's nazis.. it just shows their desperation. I'm simply making the point that for the President to call for a more 'civil' discourse is hypocrisy and unachievable, and is code for "Let US mouth off as loud as we like but YOUUUUU mob can't"

Ah.. Let em go at it and may the best man be the last man standing.

Have a peek at Becks involvement in Wilmington Ohio.. a much more positive message and outcome...

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/ohio-media-praises-becks-wilmington-visit/

Dear Al,

You seem to be giving credence to the notion of armed insurrection - which is the point that many of us have been making - in that Beck and Palin seem to consistently promote the idea of a threat and a need for revolution, spiritually but with the ever-present suggestion of physical violence.

Apparently Wilmington has been in the news because of hard economic times and a determination to "do it on their own" without government handouts. Beck, unsurprisingly, has adopted their cause and grafted it onto his agenda as representative of the "American Way". (wonder how many Hispanics there are in Wilmington?)
Here's a little more info on how the good folk of Wilmington shun government handouts.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201012070007

Here is an extensive list which displays Beck's manipulative style.
His prognostications of future violence emanating from the "left" serve his agenda well and act as a device to inflate the fear of his audience.
The constant references to violence, either as something to fear or as a solution to that fear, is palpably evident in Beck's rhetoric.
That Beck and Palin would deny their roles in inciting discomfort and fear among their followers without awareness of the likelihood of it brimming over into physical violence is extraordinary.
http://mediamatters.org/research/201010110015

"MORAL position ? oh..words fail me....check THIS out

//*beeeep* involvement in porn, by this argument, is the result of an atavistic hatred of Christian authority: they are trying to weaken the dominant culture in America by moral subversion.//

Google THAT.. see what comes up..and go to the ORIGINAL source please. Pssst...it's here 'Triple-Exthnics'"
-Al

Trying to paint the Jews as evil 'coz they've got their fingers in the porn pie? Nice try, but the only folk you're going to sway with that argument are the other two (2) people in this country who consider porn evil, and those who already consider Judaism evil (sadly, there are probably more anti-Semites than there are prudes). If you want to paint the Jews as evil, you'll have to do better than porn. I suggest that you accuse them of poisoning wells, or sacrificing children to perform blood magic.

"Ah.. Let em go at it and may the best man be the last man standing."
-Al

As ill as it makes me feel, I can't help but agree with Al here. I believe in the absolute right to free speech - speech unfettered by any form of censorship, by libel laws, by discrimination laws, by sedition laws, by offensive language laws, by blasphemy laws, indeed by any law. At the end of the day, words don't hurt people - only actions hurt people. There is a vast difference 'twixt making a seditious speech and actually taking up arms in rebellion. Nobody is forced to believe what they hear; they certainly aren't forced to act on it. If a speech from some lefty/righty twat/twat encourages some nutter/nutter to take up a Molitov/rifle and bomb/shoot police/civilians at a G20 summit/political rally; but encourages sensible folk like me and you to shake our heads and think 'what a twat', is it really fair to hold the twat's words responsible for the actions of the nutter? Of course not, 'coz those exact same words didn't provoke acts of violence from all the sensible folk. The blame rests with the nutter. QED.

Cheers,
The Other (and Much Cooler) Al