...or, once again, the Houston Chronicle editorial board just doesn't get it, choosing to lump the few nuts in with a bunch of good people...
When an internal Department of Homeland Security report on the threat of right-wing extremism was leaked to the public two months ago, it created a political tempest.
The nine-page document included assertions that domestic hate groups were using the economic downturn and the election of the nation’s first black president to expand their base. The report also said hate groups were attempting to recruit disgruntled veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts to take advantage of their military skills.
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The recent cases of a right-to-life extremist accused of killing an abortion doctor in Kansas and an elderly white supremacist accused in the fatal shooting of a Holocaust museum guard in Washington, D.C., match warnings in the report. It concluded individuals with white supremacist views, acting as so-called lone wolves, pose the most significant domestic terrorism threat because they are difficult for law enforcement to detect before they commit crimes.
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Right-wing extremism is not a liberal figment of the imagination. As the DHS report and recent incidents make clear, it is a growing threat and a valid concern for federal law enforcement officials.
Ahem. Where does one even begin with this? No one was saying that "right-wing extremism" was a figment of the imagination. And maybe some sections of that report WERE validated, but that doesn't change the fact that some sections of that report were way the hell out of line. I seem to recall that "single-issue groups" were targeted in that report as well...can you say National Rifle Association? As for "right-wing extremism" being conflated with anti-Semitism...well, more often than not as of late it's those on the LEFT who want the Jews to be hung out to dry, as evidenced by the new administration's increased alienation of and seemingly veiled threats to the Israelis. Why don't the Chronsters say anything about that?
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