“The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in “rightwing extremist activity,” saying the economic recession, the election of America’s first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias.

A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines ‘rightwing extremism in the United States’ as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.

The nine-page document was sent to police and sheriff’s departments across the United States on April 7 under the headline, ‘Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.’”

The rightwing has responded as if the Department of Homeland Security had attacked mom, apple pie and our brave warriors. The usual suspects in talk radio and Fox News are accusing the Obama administration of besmirching the good name of our military personnel.

The nine-page document was not an attack on our soldiers who are conducting themselves with courage and honor in the senseless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The report clearly states that the return of a “few” disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of the white power movement. The vast majority of our veterans will return to their home towns and lead productive lives. We all know veterans in our neighborhood, workplace and places of worship who are pillars in the community.

But there are a few malcontents who might join white power militias, and use their military training to wreak havoc. The Dept. of Homeland Security is right to warn police departments throughout the country to beware of this small group of racist veterans.

The report wasn’t an attack on the military, talk radio or conservatism, it was a warning that racist groups always thrive in hard economic times.

The detailed statement wasn’t an attack on talk radio, but I won’t pull any punches in attacking talk radio. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mike Savage, Billy Cunningham, Mark Levine and the rest of the reactionary shock jocks pose more of a danger to this country than al Qaeda.

When al Qaeda releases a video Americans don’t take their vile rhetoric seriously, but when Limbaugh demonizes Obama, ostracizes homosexuals and eviscerates feminists, his legions of dittoheads are ready to burn down Planned Parenthood offices and to beat up on gays and lesbians.

Talk radio is a cancer that is infecting our airwaves, a cancer that needs to be excised. I believe in freedom of speech, but some radio stations syndicate only the rightwing nut jobs. For every intelligent and reasonable voice like Alan Colmes, there are a hundred Limbaugh wannabes. There needs to be a fair and balanced approach, we must demand that radio stations put more liberal voices on the air.

When more liberals are on the air we will see a precipitous drop in rightwing extremist activity. Peace and sanity will prevail and the Department of Homeland security won’t have to issue any warnings about extremist rightwing activity.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Right-Wing Terrorist Threat

Right-Wing Media media freak-out: claim Obama DHS targeting conservatives
in report on right-wing extremists

———————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Blame It On The Immigrant! Southern Poverty Law Center: It was a stunning revelation: Illegal immigrants hold 5 million bad mortgages in the United States. Conservative commentators pounced on the statistic last October. Many of them were already blaming immigrants for the subprime mortgage mess. Now they had numerical proof, and from no less an authority than the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Just one problem: It wasn’t true. Although HUD immediately debunked the bogus factoid, it nevertheless spread rapidly on popular blogs, syndicated radio shows and major cable networks. This wasn’t the first time that immigrant bashers with virtual megaphones ignored the facts in spreading misinformation about the ongoing financial crisis. Unless media outlets of all stripes tighten their fact-checking standards, it won’t be the last. As the nation’s housing crisis worsened last fall, right-wing radio hosts, bloggers and columnists became increasingly strident in blaming it on the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, a federal law aimed at spurring FDIC-insured banks to lend money to people living in lower-income communities. They claimed the CRA forced lenders to make risky loans to non-whites including illegal immigrants, causing the mortgage meltdown. Never mind that there was ample credible evidence that, like the HUD statistic, this wasn’t true either. The CRA falsehood easily jumped from the far-right fringe to more mainstream, presumably more credible conservative media outlets, illustrating how sloppy fact-checking or no fact-checking at all have become increasingly common in the midst of fierce competition among speed-obsessed media. [ READ MORE ]