No matter how the media tries to spin this, this is Terrorism

[JCMach1]

An unstable person latches onto anti-government ideology and decides to act...

How is this any different from Faisal Shahzad (the Times-Square would-be bomber) or the Fort Hood killer, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan...?

Terrorism: home-grown, right-wing, anti-government terrorism.

[woo me with science]

1. A lot of people here refused to call Hasan's shooting "terrorism."

They said he was just sick.

[readmoreoften]

11. Yeah. What was Hasan's political ideology again? Oh yeah...

"stop picking on me?" "fuck the army? "I can't take it anymore?" "Fuck all y'all, I'm outta here?" None of those are terrorist motivations anymore than the kid at Virginia Tech. This and the IRS attacker are terrorist attacks. There's a difference and its pretty obvious.

[woo me with science]

22. That is patently untrue.

Go back and read the news from then. He had expressed VERY strong political opinions and in fact had been in trouble at work for expressing them to his patients.

[readmoreoften]

24. Being in the military and being disillusioned is not terrorism. Sorry.

I'm in Texas near Ft. Hood I know people who were under Hassan's care. The man snapped. Hassan's no more of a "terrorist" than people who frag. Every instance of someone with a political opinion snapping isn't terrorism--especially in a military situation. Hassan's intention was not to spread political terror. This kid's intention was to spread political terror. Stack's intention was to spread political terror. Hassan is generally thought of as a despicable asshole who couldn't cope. Calling him a "terrorist" stretches the word into something even more meaningless than it already is.

[woo me with science]

29. You are entitled to your own opinions.

You are not entitled to your own facts.

[emilyg]

26. You are incorrect. Do some reading.

[GSLevel9]

2. well...

when John Lennon was assassinated, was it terrorism or a tragedy spawned by a sick person?

We'll see... as this ass-clowns background comes to light, if he's a RW'er I'll certainly be surprised and humbled.

[applegrove]

3. Right you are. It forces scared congresscritters to have protection around

them all the time. The costs are incredible. Just like the costs the US pays to be safe from airplane terrorists. Everyone in the USA is a little more scared and a little more poor than they were yesterday.

[MrModerate]

4. The continuum from homicidal nut job to "professional" terrorist . . .

Doesn't seem to have a bright dividing line. However, equating a figure like the 1970s Carlos with this mass murderer seems unhelpful.

[JCMach1]

7. In today's media, the other nutjobs listed above are counted as Terrorists

By that definition, so is this nutjob.

Just noting the major differences in the way the media is reporting this... They are experiencing the typical EPIC FAIL at the moment.

[MrModerate]

13. As in: "Oh, you're lazy, a tad slow, and your profession has no standards whatsoever?"

" . . . you must be 'the media.'"

[JCMach1]

18. and 'of course' reality is what they say it is...

or something like that...

[Kievan Rus]

5. Absolutely. It's terrorism, just like when McVeigh bombed the federal building in Oklahoma in 1995

Both were domestic terrorist attacks committed by antigovernment right-wing nuts. Violence with a political motive in both cases.

The media won't call this terrorism, though. Rest assured, if a Jihadist would have done it, the M$M would be mentioning terrorism over and over again.

[GSLevel9]

8. respectfully... you can't draw a single parallel.

that's just sensationalism. McVeigh had direct and clear logic for an attack and that drivel reflected controversy and political debate of the day.

[Odin2005]

6. Domestic RW terrorism.

[dkf]

9. I'm thinking he was a paranoid schizophrenic.

If so he didn't need much to hate the Government.

[brewens]

10. Republicans keep us safe, my ass! They spawn terrorists like

this guy and McVeigh. Their incompetence leaves us wide open to 9/11. They murder thousands of our guys overseas to make Bush and Cheneys people rich. Real freakin' safe alright!

[RegieRocker]

12. The word Terrorism is a label for non government groups

trying to do harm to a government or it's population and should stay that way. He is a violent radical extremist. Unless you want to give up all your rights as a citizen. This was not an act of intimidating a population. (Population as in the whole population just in case you don't understand)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism

In November 2004, a United Nations Secretary General report described terrorism as any act "intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act".

[JCMach1]

16. seems he may have been trying to compell the government...

He certainly will frighten people from participating in the process. How many people will have in the back of their mind that they might be shot at a town meeting?

[RegieRocker]

19. So you think the Republican Town Hall meetings will not have

attendees?

[David__77]

14. And it is a gigantic, powerful blow to the Republican house.

My sympathy to the victims and their families and loved ones.

If Democrats and, more importantly, progressives in general respond correctly, it will cast a shadow of doom on the Republican-led house for the next two years. Do not underestimate the possibilities. And do not say "now is not the time for politics." Unless you savor defeat.

[kelly1mm]

21. Wow! Never let a crisis go to waste I guess. nt

[emilyg]

28. Tonight I'm not

thinking win/defeat.

[David__77]

30. The best way to prevent future similar tragedies...

...is to seize and exercise political power AGAINST the right-wing extremists who laid the conditions for this crime.

[Blue_In_AK]

15. I think this is a mentally fragile individual

who may have been manipulated by people within his close inner circle to commit this terrible act. It's possible that he thought of it all by himself after listening to right-wing media figures such as Beck and Palin, but it seems more likely that he hangs out with people who reinforce those ideas and may have even encouraged him. If someone wanted either Rep. Giffords or the judge dead (or anyone else within that group of people), it would work to their benefit to have a crazy person do it for them.

I wonder who is the "person of interest" they're looking for and what is his relationship to the shooter.

[JCMach1]

17. Exactly, on the accomplice thing...

[woo me with science]

23. Yes, the "person of interest"

may turn out to be a big part of this story.

The shooter sounds psychotic to me.

[wtmusic]

20. Under U.S. law, that would be correct.

"(2) the term “terrorism” means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents;"

http://terrorism.about.com/od/whatisterroris1/ss/DefineTerrorism_5.htm

[Imagevision]

25. Like Sirhan Sirhan todays shooter just had problems... Does AZ. have the death penalty?

[Rex]

27. Yes, but I'm sure if he is found out to be a Freeper, all mention

will be dropped so the M$M can focus on the next Dem scandal.