Progressive Democrat Issue 178

Some major developments this week involving domestic terrorism.

I have been talking for some time about how right wing media and right wing extremist Republicans are inciting intolerance and violence in America. It was the Delaware Pogrom that first got me thinking about the consequence of right wing hate speech. But now there is the Knoxville shooter, someone who went after the Unitarian church because of their tolerance towards gays. It seems he was influenced by right wing media. As long as the right wing exremists advocate violence and intolerance we will see hate crimes continute to rise in America. And let's be clear on something here: incidents like the Delaware Pogrom and the Knoxville shooting ARE domestic terrorism by the right wing incited by right wing media.

One big irony about the Knoxville shooter is that supposedly what set him off was his inability to find a job and the threat of his food stamps being cut off. Seems like he should like liberals since job programs and food stamps are liberal programs.

Speaking of domestic terrorism, it seems the Anthrax case has taken a turn for the absurd. It seems Bruce E. Ivins, the very scientist who was being used by the government to analyze the anthrax laden powder suddenly became a suspect in the anthrax terror plot. Did one of the government's top scientists (on the research team at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID)) turn to terrorism in 2001? Was the attempt to frame another scientist engineered by Ivins? Once that other scientist was cleared, did the government look at Ivins because he was the guy who produced evidence against him?

Bruce Ivins committed suicide this week. This leabs many unanswered questions. Let me just point out that even tyhe suicide was strange. Reportedly he killed himself with Tylenol with Codeine. It is not easy to overdose on Tylenol with Codeine. In fact, the codeine probably was incidental. Tylenol itself will destroy your liver rapidly if you take a large overdose. Is this what he did? If so, he would have died slowly and in agony. I don't see him choosing that way out. Is something not being mentioned here? Some allege a cover up. Ivins was one of those who gave "evidence" that ABC news used to try and link the anthrax attacks with Iraq in the lead up to war. Was this Ivins' intention? Was he helping us get into a war with Iraq? Glen Greenwald has an extensive analysis of this angle at Salon.com, which is worth reading. If you read nothing else, read this. Another side to this story is that the description of Ivins does not necessarily fit what you would expect for a domestic terrorist. Although "he was always such a quiet man" does raise eyebrows, Ivins doesn't sound like a Timothy McVeigh or Unibomber type. In fact I knew someone from my graduate school days, a fellow biologist, who had been suspected of being one of the Oklahoma City bombers. HE was creepy, fanatical and dangerous, so no one was surprised that his name came up as a suspect. Ivins doesn't sound like that kind of guy. But you never know. And we may never know the whole story.

I leave you with a video of Rachel Maddow slamming Pat Buchanan on MSNBC:



Here is this week's newsletter:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ELECTION FRAUD: Florida and Georgia

MOST CORRUPT POLITICIAN IN AMERICA INDICTED

ERIC CANTOR: McCain's VP?

ARIZONA FOCUS

ALASKA FOCUS

OREGON FOCUS

MISSISSIPPI FOCUS

MINNESOTA FOCUS

FLORIDA FOCUS

MICHIGAN FOCUS


VIRGINIA FOCUS

NORTH CAROLINA FOCUS

GEORGIA FOCUS

OHIO FOCUS

PENNSYLVANIA FOCUS

WASHINGTON FOCUS

NEW YORK STATE FOCUS

CALIFORNIA FOCUS

NEW JERSEY FOCUS

WISCONSIN FOCUS

IOWA FOCUS

ILLINOIS FOCUS

TEXAS FOCUS