Far-Right Groups Causing Most Recent Violence

The reality of right- wing violence is getting harder to ignore, but the Trump regime is trying:

At a time when President Trump and other top U.S. officials have claimed — with little evidence — that leftist groups were fomenting violence, federal prosecutors have charged various supporters of a right-wing movement called the “boogaloo bois,” with crimes related to plotting to firebomb a U.S. Forest Service facility, preparing to use explosives at a peaceful demonstration and killing a security officer at a federal courthouse. [snip]

“The numbers are overwhelming: Most of the violence is coming from the extreme right wing,” said Clint Watts, a former FBI agent who studies extremist political activity for the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a think tank in Philadelphia. [snip]

The flurry of boogaloo-related prosecutions underscores the growing threat posed by far-right extremists, say experts on such movements. Some question why Trump and other top U.S. officials appear more focused on antifa groups, a loose collection of leftists whose members have been responsible for few documented crimes during the recent unrest, instead of the boogaloo and other heavily armed groups on the right.

“That question has no legitimate answer, to be honest,” said John Farmer, a former New Jersey attorney general and director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, who has studied the boogaloo extremists and others. “There’s been no sense of urgency. I think it’s political neglect.”  (our emphasis)

It's more than "political neglect." It's political complicity.  The penis- compensating halfwits in these groups serve several purposes of the Trump regime: by infiltrating and fomenting violence in largely peaceful anti- racism protests, which can then be blamed on "antifa" or the Black Lives Matter movement, leading to more draconian crackdowns;  and by intimidating those same protesters from exercising their First Amendment rights.

“These types of groups, they just take advantage of the moment, and they spew some messaging, and it just gains traction,” said Jared Maples, director of homeland security and preparedness for New Jersey. “The people who are doing this are taking advantage of people’s fears. … One of the biggest things we can do is call it out.”

Call it out, then root them out.

(Photo:  Over- ammoed boog of the far- right Washington State Three Percent group, who apparently grew up immersing himself in "Red Dawn" rather than history and civics.)

The Right's Obsession With A Civil War

Chris Hayes covers the curious, but extremely dangerous, obsession of the Trumpist right (many safely ensconced in studios) with a second civil war (via Media Matters):



They seem all too serious, so it would behoove us to take their threats seriously and not be blindsided if these anti- democratic, anti- American right- wing authoritarians put their fantasies into action.

Monday Reading

We have some suggestions this morning that we think you'll find interesting. As always, the full articles are well- worth going to at the links.

David Nakamura and Ashley Parker look at Putin puppet Donald "Rump" Trump's trip to Asia as proof that, with Rump's withdrawal from the Trans- Pacific Partnership in particular, the U.S. is now "America alone":

But on the 295th day of his presidency — during a trip to the region where the trade pact was most vital — a competing narrative emerged. Trump’s “America first” slogan has, in many ways, begun to translate into something more akin to “America alone.” 

As the president’s motorcade wove up a mountain road Saturday to a regional summit in the Vietnamese city of Danang, news broke that the 11 nations that had once looked to U.S. leadership to seal the deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership had moved on without the United States and announced a tentative agreement among themselves. 

It marked a stunning turnabout that foreign-policy analysts warned could further erode U.S. standing at a time when China is embarked on a major economic expansion and further undermine global confidence in the United States’ ability to organize the world around its own liberal values.

Liberal values? From someone who wants us to believe Putin's version of election meddling versus the entire U.S. intelligence community? This trip was a complete bust in all aspects, from Rump getting his fragile ego massaged while getting played in the most transparent and laughable ways, to getting sidelined with no trade deals, to the aforementioned backstabbing of the American intelligence community, to his playing footsie with violent Philippine human rights abuser Duterte. Well done, "f*cking moron."

Our friend P.E.C. drew our attention to a great long- read article in The Atlantic by Kurt Anderson, "How America Lost Its Mind." From the magical thinking and love of conspiracy theories, to the related abandonment of empirical and critical thinking ("post- truth" and "alternate facts") by vast numbers of Americans (not sparing the left, by the way), Anderson examines the past 50 years and identifies when the right became unhinged and why:

One reason, I think, is religion. The GOP is now quite explicitly Christian. The party is the American coalition of white Christians, papering over doctrinal and class differences—and now led, weirdly, by one of the least religious presidents ever. If more and more of a political party’s members hold more and more extreme and extravagantly supernatural beliefs, doesn’t it make sense that the party will be more and more open to make-believe in its politics? [snip] 

Religion aside, America simply has many more fervid conspiracists on the right, as research about belief in particular conspiracies confirms again and again. Only the American right has had a large and organized faction based on paranoid conspiracism for the past six decades. [snip] The right has had three generations to steep in this, its taboo vapors wafting more and more into the main chambers of conservatism, becoming familiar, seeming less outlandish. Do you believe that “a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an authoritarian world government”? Yes, say 34 percent of Republican voters, according to Public Policy Polling.

Anderson also scores the rise of the post- Fairness Doctrine right- wing media conglomerates and the advent of the internet that enabled "full Fantasyland" in politics.  It's a really comprehensive dive into what took us to where we are today, and also offers Anderson's thoughts about what can be done at this point.

Finally, we always like to recommend the link round- up pulled together by fellow blogger Infidel 753 for its wide- ranging and eclectic mix of topics. Check it out.

The Extremist Republican Platform

To the very limited extent it has any "ideas" beyond "Lock her up!", the platform of the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid/ Shooter's Party Party of Trump is supposed to define those "ideas" and set an agenda for the next 4 years.  Steven Rosenfeld thas sifted through the steaming garbage heap that is the party's 2016 platform, and he's found "50 Shockingly Extreme Right- Wing Proposals...", but we'd like to share just a few from the fever swamps:

... Loosen gun controls nationwide: "We  support  firearm  reciprocity  legislation  to  recognize the right of law-abiding Americans to carry firearms to protect themselves and their families in all 50 states. We support constitutional carry statutes and salute the states that have passed them. We oppose ill-conceived laws that would restrict magazine capacity or ban the sale of the most popular and common modern rifle."

... Pass an anti-choice constitutional amendment: "We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth."

... End federal funding for Planned Parenthood: "We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood, so long as they provide or refer for elective abortions or sell fetal body parts rather than provide healthcare."

... Oppose stem cell scientific research: "We oppose embryonic stem cell research. We oppose federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. We support adult stem cell research and urge the restoration of the national placental stem cell bank created by President George H.W. Bush but abolished by his Democrat successor, President Bill Clinton. We oppose federal funding for harvesting embryos and call for a ban on human cloning."

... Allow states to shut down abortion Clinics: "We condemn the Supreme Court’s activist decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt striking down commonsense Texas laws providing for basic health and safety standards in abortion clinics."

... Bible study in public schools: "A good understanding of the Bible being indispensable for the development of an educated citizenry, we encourage state legislatures to offer the Bible in a literature curriculum as an elective in America’s high schools."

There's so much more frankly frightening nonsense about the usual right- wing hobgoblins (ignore global climate change, gut environmental regulations, repeal Obamacare, build a wall, support "clean" coal mining and fracking, etc., etc.) that we urge you to look at the list and see just how insane these people are.  It's not the Party of Lincoln.  It's not even the Party of Reagan.  It's the Party of Trump in all its bug- eyed, frothing, Nazi- saluting horror.  Chew on that if you will.

BONUS:  Here's your typical Party of Trump delegate.  She seems nice.

Monday Morning Read - Where Republicans Have Been Headed For Decades

(Gavin Coates, Earthypublications.com)

Paul Krugman traces the devolution of the Republican/ New Confederate/ Stupid/ Shooter's Party and its knuckle- dragging base from Dumbya to Palin to Trumpism (a.k.a., American fascism):

Almost six months have passed since Donald Trump overtook Jeb Bush inpolls of Republican voters. At the time, most pundits dismissed the Trump phenomenon as a blip, predicting that voters would soon return to more conventional candidates. Instead, however, his lead just kept widening. Even more striking, the triumvirate of trash-talk — Mr. Trump, Ben Carson, and Ted Cruz — now commands the support of roughly 60 percent of the primary electorate.

But how can this be happening? After all, the antiestablishment candidates now dominating the field, aside from being deeply ignorant about policy, have a habit of making false claims, then refusing to acknowledge error. Why don’t Republican voters seem to care?

Well, part of the answer has to be that the party taught them not to care. Bluster and belligerence as substitutes for analysis, disdain for any kind of measured response, dismissal of inconvenient facts reported by the “liberal media” didn’t suddenly arrive on the Republican scene last summer. On the contrary, they have long been key elements of the party brand. So how are voters supposed to know where to draw the line?

Krugman also gives the god- awful American media a significant role in this devolution of right- wing politics.  With their focusing on the trivial, the "who would you rather have a beer with" inanities, the eliding of right- wing lies, the failure to come to grips with the evermore extreme drift of the Republican Party, the American media can share a great deal of discredit for what we're seeing today in the ascendance of the brutish on the right.

Get To Know Tough Talkin' Radio Putz Steve Deace

Just so you know a little more about who the "thought leaders" and "movers and shakers" are in far right- wing hate radio circles, there's a long, must-read profile in the New York Times Magazine on Iowa hate radio nutbag and self- styled "Alpha male," the pasty, pudgy Steve "Douchebag" Deace.   (Rhetorical question: Why do so many of these dipwits look like a one- off Rush Limpballs?)  Here's just a snippet from the profile that reveals, in less than 40 words, why the nationally- syndicated Douchebag might not be quite the hero tough guy he'd like to project:

Rejected by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Deace went to Michigan State University, flunked out, partied hard, bet excessively on sports and, indebted, fled a threatening bookie back to his grandmother’s house in Des Moines. (our emphasis)

"Hide me, grammy! The mean bookie's going to break my legs!"  "Oh dear, get in the root cellar, Stevie!"

There's some Republican courage, responsibility and accountability for you!

Douchebag has endorsed that other tough- talkin' guy,  the man- with- no- discernible- chin, Sen. "Tailgunner Ted" Cruz.  "Alpha males" have to stick together, you know.

(h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian TCIITM)

(Photo:  A face made for radio - Steve "Douchebag" Deace.  Yeah, he looks tough as nails.)

Here Come The Vandals (UPDATED)

After weeks of incitement by Republicans, the violent knuckle dragging vandals of the right are on the loose.

In Coachella, California:

A person of interest has been detained in the investigation of a suspected arson fire at a Southern California mosque, authorities said.

Riverside County sheriff's officials said late Friday that the person was being questioned but declined to provide further details. No arrests were announced.

Earlier the department released a statement calling the blaze "an intentional act" and saying it would use all available resources to investigate.

Flames were reported just after noon Friday at the Islamic Center of Palm Springs. The fire was contained to the small building's front lobby, and no one was injured.

People at the mosque described hearing a "loud boom" and seeing flames, said Reymundo Nour, the mosque's acting imam, who was not on the site at the time. He said the mosque had been "firebombed."

In St. Louis, Missouri:

Glass windows and a door at a Planned Parenthood facility in St. Louis, Missouri have been busted out in an apparent act of vandalism, St. Louis Public Radio reports.

The windows and doors were shattered with rocks in what appears to be a targeted attack on the women’s health facility on Saturday morning, Mary Kogut, head of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, to the radio station.  [snip]

The vandalism caused “thousands of dollars” worth of damage, she said.

Kogut told SLPR that a suspect was in custody.

In Florida:

A Muslim woman was nearly shot Thursday as she left a Florida mosque, and another woman was nearly run off the road.

Someone fired at least one gunshot at the woman as she drove away from the mosque in east Tampa, near Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, reported WTSP-TV.

She was not injured, and police have not identified or arrested a suspect.

Another Muslim woman reported a man threw rocks and other items at her and tried to run her off the road as she drove away from a mosque in New Tampa.

Then there are these drooling, heavily armed peabrains:

They are known as "Three Percenters," followers of a movement that has rallied against gun control efforts nationwide, patrolled the U.S. border with Mexico and recently begun confronting Muslim Americans.

Followers describe themselves as armed "patriots." But some of their leaders have been blamed for threats and vandalism against lawmakers, police and Muslims. One prominent member from Phoenix prompted an FBI alert in November after posting an expletive-filled Facebook video saying he was headed to upstate New York with guns to challenge a Muslim group. A Three Percenter in suburban Dallas led a mosque protest by armed, masked men that same month.  [snip]

"We will interfere with every move they (Muslims) make towards taking over our country," Dallas protest organizer David Wright said in response to questions the Associated Press sent to his personal Facebook page. "We are ready to fight back if they come at us violently."

These Three Percenter clowns are more apt to accidentally shoot holes in the pavement than they are to stop imaginary Mooslim hordes from "taking over."  But unfortunately, they like to strut around with their penis compensators near places where they can terrorize innocent people, including women and children.  If they have so much time on their hands, why don't they enlist and volunteer to parachute into ISIS territory?  After all, they have a lot in common with them.

UPDATE:  Here's a list of the anti-Muslim attacks since Paris;  and here is a multi-decades long list of anti-abortion violence.  Brought to you by "real Amurricans!"

Starbucks' "War On Christmas"? - A Latte Nonsense

The ever- aggrieved dimbulbs are at it again.  This time, it's Starbucks' choice of a plain red Christmas holiday season coffee cup, rather than one adorned by snowflakes, reindeer and other relevant symbols of... Jesus? Here's Petula Dvorak:

The devout went wild. One after another, folks declared on Facebook and other social media that they’ve had their last nonfat vanilla latte.

One pastor urged caffeinators who didn’t want to boycott Starbucks to tell baristas that their names are “Merry Christmas” when they order their drinks, forcing them to write it (probably “Mary Krysmus”) on their cups.  [snip]

This? This is what Christmas is all about?

I’m willing to concede that there is a war on Christmas. The real Christmas.

If Christmas is about honoring the birth of an impoverished child to a homeless couple who must eventually flee a tyrant to keep their baby safe, then, yes, there is a war on Christmas.

If Christmas is about peace, joy, generosity, thankfulness and goodwill among people, then yes, there is a war on Christmas.

But this Starbucks frenzy is a faux war on a faux Christmas.

In a country where 15 million children sometimes don’t have enough to eat, how could any real Christian conclude that the color of coffee cups deserves their outrage? Only in honor of the faux Christmas.

In a nation where 22 percent of our children live in poverty, why would any churchgoer care about a local shopping mall’s decision to go with “glacier” themed decorations this winter instead of red/green/Santa/trees? Only in honor of the faux Christmas.

Across the globe, children are walking hundreds of miles to escape unspeakable violence, and red cups are supposed to command our attention and advocacy? Only in honor of the faux Christmas.

Mocha ado over nothing?  A latte nonsense?  Sure, but to the "God and guns" culture warriors on the right, everything that can be perceived as an insult to their cherished beliefs will be (Starbucks also earned the wrath of gun fondlers when they asked patrons to not come strapped when they come in to order -  the horror!).

These are the same people who call themselves pro-life, as long as we're talking about prenatal life;  once you're out of the womb, you're on your own, Jack!

These are the same people who don't believe affordable health care is everyone's right.

These are the same people who want to deport 11 million men, women and children in this country because of the language they speak and the shade of their skin.

But, take the reindeer and snowflakes off the Starbucks cups?  It's war!

Jesus would weep.

UPDATE:  Given the faux nature of this "war," who better to volunteer for action than the faux candidate, the very devout Donald "Rump" Trump.

Right-Wingers Try To Construct False Narrative In Charleston Murders

As we noted yesterday, there's a concerted effort by right-wingers to shift the focus of the Charleston, SC, murders from the (white supremacist) killer targeting blacks to it being a crime against Christians (or, most disgustingly laughable, "religious liberty").  Certainly, that would fit more easily into their base-inflaming, false narrative of a "war on Christianity" (you know, because same-sex marriage!).  Unfortunately, the killer didn't get their talking points:

(CNN) - Dylann Roof admits he did it, two law enforcement officials said -- shooting and killing nine people he'd sat with for Bible study at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina.

But why? To start a race war, Roof told investigators, according to one of the officials.  (our emphasis)

The false right-wing narrative, promoted by the usual suspects (Fox "News", various Republican presidential clowns), is an attempt to distract people from a fact the right doesn't want you to know, as Ryan Cooper notes:

Since 9/11, right-wing terrorists have killed more than five times as many people as Islamist ones. Yet a short study warning to keep a watchful attitude towards the former is met with enraged hostility. It reveals both the small actual danger of Islamist terrorism, and the utterly ridiculous and hypocritical way in which anti-terrorism resources are allocated.

Still, if conservatives are confident in their ideas, and do not subscribe to the paranoid delusions of the sovereign citizen, white supremacist, or neo-Nazi movements, they should not feel threatened by close investigations of such people. But I'm not holding my breath.  (our emphasis)

We're not holding our breath, either.

There are monstrously evil people in the world willing to put their evil thoughts into action, and they're being aided and abetted by these banal people we see and hear every day in the media and the halls of Congress.  We believe that's called "accessories after the fact."

BONUS:  Ana Marie Cox on why Republicans don't want to talk about racial hatred.

BONUS II:  Craven Republican Jeb! Bush still mystified as to the killer's motive.  Ass crack. 

BONUS III:  Now the dimmest of the bulbs chimes in.

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon

(click to enlarge)

If you have any symptoms of the above described diseases -- gunfluenza, climate denial fever and so on -- you're likely a Republican….or a low information voter…or both.  You need to be quarantined for 10 days, which would get us past the mid-term elections.

Wonder Why Right-Wing Nuts Are Shooting People?

We offer Exhibits A and B.

Here's grifting crackpot Glenn "Boo Hoo" Beck, further descending into madness and stoking the gun-fondlers:

On his radio broadcast today [Friday], Glenn Beck warned that too many crises are piling up all at the same time which will cause the press to finally turn on President Obama. That, in turn, will cause Obama to finally snap and start rounding up conservatives and putting them into camps.  (our emphasis)

 Then there's fellow madman Alex "A Ton of Bricks Short of a Load" Jones on his hate-radio show:

Conspiracy nut Alex Jones has been opining that the Obama administration has been hot on the heels of the Tea Party movement and will use tanks, drones and everything else to mount an attack on them. After the Las Vegas shooting, Jones said he was convinced that Harry Reid and others planted a false flag operation against him and other gun nuts because - freedom.  (our emphasis)

You can guess where we'd like to plant a flag - false or otherwise - in both Beck and Jones, right? We sense both Beck and Jones are engaging in a little paranoid would-be self-inoculation from the prospect of their being shut down by the Obama Administration (ah, we can only dream) for their seditionist rantings.

These are only two of the most prominent lunatics spouting crackpot conspiracies that feed the paranoia contributing to the acts of violence we've been experiencing.  (The Las Vegas domestic terrorists "liked" Alex Jones, among other cretins, on their Facebook page.)  Unfortunately, for every Beck or Jones, there are dozens of others broadcasting toxic messages to their low-information, paranoid audiences.

In these instances, there's a clinical level of paranoia.  If they were only expressing their delusions to the voices in their heads, it would be of no consequence to the rest of us.  But, they're not, and that is of consequence to the rest of us.

Far-Right "Values" In Europe -- And Here

Anne Applebaum writes in today's once great Washington Post Bezos Bugle about the convergence of far-right "values," expressed in recent European Parliament elections, with those of Russian homophobe/ autocrat/ czar Vladimir "Vlad the Invader" Putin:

Indeed, on the same day that Ukrainians voted for “European values” — and almost exactly a quarter-century after the Poles voted for “European values” — another landmark, landslide election propelled an unusually virulent group of anti-Europeans into prominence. Millions of French citizens voted the National Front, an anti-European party with anti-Semitic roots, to the top of France’s European parliamentary election list. A few days earlier, millions of British voters opted for the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), another anti-European organization composed of a charismatic leader, Nigel Farage, and a strange coalition of cranks, cheats and open racists. Dutch, Danish, Italian, Austrian and Hungarian voters sent similarly inclined candidates to the European Parliament, so much so that they may be able to form a full-fledged far-right voting bloc. 

Not only do the leaders of these two parties reject “European values,” they also have gone out of their way to declare their solidarity with a man who symbolizes everything that Poles and Ukrainians have been trying to escape. During a trip to Moscow, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front, declared her admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “patriotism.” UKIP’s Farage has also named Putin as the world leader he “most admires.” Le Pen and Farage aren’t alone in admiring the Russian “model” — corruption, media manipulation, disregard for borders and the rule of law, all included. What Ukraine is desperate to escape, in other words, Europe’s far right is now desperate to become.

Not mentioned unfortunately, but not unexpectedly (this is the Bezos Bugle, after all), is the crush the American far-right has for Putin.  As authoritarians at heart, they admire the "strong man," as they perceive the strutting Putin to be.  In fact, the vertically-challenged Putin is acting out, as has every over-compensating tyrant with a personal and national inferiority complex.  The chronically paranoid, phobic right in Europe and America naturally see him as kindred in spirit, someone who has the "will" to turn back the tide of change that they fear so much.

Today's Read - "High Plains Moochers"

Please read Paul Krugman's op/ed today because it goes deeper into the American right's perversion of the idea of "freedom," as exemplified by the High Plains Moocher Cliven "Hoof" Bundy episode.  Here's Krugman's seminal observation (to whet your appetite to read more):

 "... the Bundy fiasco was a byproduct of the dumbing down that seems ever more central to the way America’s right operates."

Hiding In Plain Sight

The post-mortems on the "Cliven Bundy, Right-Wing American Hero" saga continue (see here and here, for examples from two generally blind squirrels).

Here's what was there in plain sight in aptly-named Bunkerville, Nevada, for all those who chose to see, courtesy of Esquire's Caty Enders (h/t Mock Paper Scissors):

Soon enough, a handful of junior politicians and the Bundy family are ushered on stage with a full compliment of assault-weaponed militia and a man with binoculars. 

The crowd, fresh off their victory at the Battle of Bunkerville, gives Bundy a standing ovation. But he doesn’t seem pleased. He reproaches the crowd for failing to follow the word of God – to the letter – which he says is being delivered through him. They failed, for example, to follow his instructions to tear down the toll booths at Lake Mead and disarm the Park Service. 

"The message I gave to you all was a revelation that I received. And yet not one of you can seem to even quote it.”  (our emphasis)

Prophet Bundy sez God wants you to take down toll booths and disarm Park rangers.  Yeah, he sounds rational.

Sagebrush Moochers

In recent days, a small storm of violence has erupted in Nevada over a renegade rancher's refusal to pay some $1 million he owes in public land grazing fees to American taxpayers.  A Federal court has ordered the Bureau of Land Management to round up millionaire rancher Cliven "Cliven Hoof" Bundy's cattle until the fees are paid.   After BLM agents enforced the court order, the wingnut tom-toms were sounded, and as many as 1,500 assorted right-wing militia, "sovereign citizen," and other AK-47 toting radicals descended on little Bunkerville, NV in an act of lawlessness.  Poor Cliven Hoof:  denied a freebie by the Gummint he despises.

It's ironic that many of the radicals would be the first to call for military intervention by the U.S. almost anywhere in the world (and particularly in the Middle East), but don't want to pay taxes that go in large part to support the men and women of the armed forces when they're in harm's way and after they return home and require care.  Same story with medical research, etc.  They don't want to pay taxes that they owe as part of their U.S. citizenship responsibilities, and they don't mind shifting the burden to you and me while yelling about their "patriotism."

Wingnut Terrorist Arrested in Texas

Since the Oklahoma City bombing in April, 1995, cases of homegrown right-wing violence have been on the rise.  So-called "sovereign citizens" groups,"patriot" groups, and other far-right organizations have been revitalized, particularly with the election (and re-election) of a black Democratic President, and progress on the immigration reform, health care reform, and marriage equality fronts.

Thursday, Federal agents arrested the latest of these loons in Texas after a months-long investigation.  Robert Talbot was charged with plotting to blow up Government buildings, robbing banks, and killing police officers, in addition to possessing explosive materials.  Talbot operates a Facebook page for the "American Insurgent Movement," according to reports, which contains a collection of rants against the Government, "libruls," etc., and which provides a link to tea bagger organizations and websites.  If convicted, Talbot faces up to 20 years in Federal prison (where he'd likely join a chapter of the Aryan Brotherhood).

Republicans Try To Intimidate Tennessee Workers

Workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are voting today on whether to unionize, and there's a lot of intimidation taking place (but it's not coming from the company):

Republicans like to say that they want to get government off the back of business. Evidently that maxim fails to apply when a business isn’t anti-union enough. [snip] 

But the lead anti-union crusader has been U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the former mayor of Chattanooga. In addition to lambasting the UAW, Corker has said – in contradiction to the company’s public announcements – that Volkswagen will reward workers with a new product to build if they decide not to unionize. "I've had conversations today and based on those am assured that should the workers vote against the UAW, Volkswagen will announce in the coming weeks that it will manufacture its new mid-size SUV here in Chattanooga," said Corker. As Reuters reported, labor law experts believe Corker’s statement could very well be an illegal attempt to intimidate workers. 

All in all, this is a lot of GOP meddling with a private business. "In my 20 years on the hill, I've never seen such a massive intrusion into the affairs of a private company," said Tennessee Democratic state Rep. Craig Fitzhugh. Indeed, usually it's Republicans decrying any attempt by government to regulate the unionization process. So what on Earth is going on? 

Well, a plant unionized by the UAW in Tennessee could potentially deal a blow to the right-wing narrative that anti-union companies in so-called “right to work” states are better for economic growth and job creation by providing a real-time counterpoint. If unions make inroads into foreign-owned auto plants in the South, the right-wing effort to claim that unions are something that ails business will be undermined.  (our emphasis)

That would be "moderate" Republican Sen. Bob "Bob" Corker.  If a company engaged in the same effort to influence the election as Corker, it would be a violation of labor law.  If there is a legal avenue available to hold Corker to account for his outrageous interference in a union election, by all means let's get that underway.  Because if Corker can get away with this, other extremist Republicans will try to intimidate workers and companies in the same manner.

Obviously, what this also demonstrates is that many European companies are far more enlightened than their American counterparts (although the UAW has reasonably good working relations with Detroit automakers), and certainly more enlightened that the reactionary Republicans holding sway in statehouses and Congress.  Good on Volkswagen.

BONUS:  Michael Tomasky adds more:

[University of Washington labor historian Michael] Honey says he believes that Corker and other pols “are probably violating the Wagner Act.” That 1935 law set the basic conditions under which a union election can take place, later amended in 1947’s Taft-Hartley. It’s not completely clear whether local politicians, rather than management, can be found guilty of violating the labor law in such a way that a new election must be ordered. But I devoutly hope that if the workers vote no, Obama’s National Labor Relations Board orders a new election.

UPDATE:  Looks like the intimidation worked. Now it's up to the National Labor Relations Board to certify the results;  let's hope they order a new election, given the Republican-led intimidation.

Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

As we noted yesterday, whether it's Coca-Cola or anything else, wingnuts on the right will foam at the mouth over ads that show harmony, diversity, or tolerance.  They're on the wrong side of history and they seem to know it.

(cartoon: Rob Rogers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, via Gocomics.com)

Our Un-Democratic Democracy

In a must-read, E.J. Dionne talks about the breakdown of American democracy in today's once great Washington Post Kaplan Daily:

[T]he political far right is, among other things, a big business. The NRA’s chief concern is not sane public policy. Its imperative is to maintain market share within a segment of our country that views the federal government as a conspiracy against its liberties and President Obama as an alien force imposed upon them by voters who aren’t part of “the real America.” Within this market niche, background checks are but a first step toward gun confiscation.

In a well-functioning democracy, the vast majority of politicians — conservative, moderate and liberal — would dismiss such views as just plain kooky. But here is the problem: A substantial portion of the Republican Party’s core electorate is now influenced both by hatred of Obama and by the views of the ultra-right. Strange conspiracy theories are admitted to the mainstream conversation through the GOP’s back door — and amplified by another fight for market share among talk radio hosts and Fox News commentators.

The outsize influence of the National Rifle Rampage Association is one of the examples Dionne uses to demonstrate how the far right has an institutional head-lock on American democracy (think also deficit doltishness, Senate filibuster and gerrymandering).  Where some might see "checks and balances," we see gridlock that frustrates the will of the American people time and time again.

Right-Wing Nuttery - Bombs for Cocaine

Via Crooks and Liars, here's the story of a heavily armed right-wing nut who traded homemade bombs for cocaine because FREEDUMB!


Americans need to realize that there are many, many more of these gun-happy clowns in militias, white supremacist groups, and other right-wing associations, and "lone wolves," who are real and present dangers in our midst. It doesn't help that the local media, in this case, never identified the "right-wing manifesto" by which the dimbulb was guided. Nice work, Jimmy Olson!