And the violence and calls for violence from the lunatic followers of scum like Brian Mahoney and Randall Terry, just as I predicted, begins.
A man arrested in Buncombe County Friday was charged with threatening the husband of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman at the center of the right-to-die case gripping the country.
Richard Alan Meywes was arrested in Fairview by the FBI and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI said in a prepared statement.
Meywes is accused of sending an e-mail putting a $250,000 bounty “on the head of Michael Schiavo” and another $50,000 to eliminate a judge who denied a request to intervene in the Schiavo case, the FBI said. The FBI did not immediately identify the judge.
“The e-mail also made reference to the recent death of a judge in Atlanta and the death of (a) judge’s family members in Illinois,” the FBI said.
Meywes faces federal charges of murder for hire and transmission of interstate threatening communications.
Sane Republicans better start to come to grips with what we have created.
Ron Phelps
sane People better start to come to grips with what we have created.
because standing on the other side .. I am just as responsible as you. I fell for the crap, the division. the me vs you.
what a mess
Sav
“Sane Republicans better start to come to grips with what we have created.”
Why should Republicans be held responsible for some guy’s threatening e-mail?
I’ll be glad when this is over so you can go on to other subjects.
Steve4Clark
“Why should Republicans be held responsible for some guy’s threatening e-mail? ”
Because you struck a deal with the devil. You told these morons that if they voted for Bush, he’d be their God King.
Yeah, it was all a lie. Most of us knew that. They did not, however…
But now I think they do for certain. If Jeb Bush doesn’t break the law and save Terri Schiavo the death threats will be for him next. If GW Bush doesn’t do something, who knows what will happen.
They got burned following ’84. They were promised this time for sure. They’ll remember this.
I’m sorry if you didn’t see this coming, for it was inevitable. It’s what so many of us who abandoned the party years ago warned of. But no, you wanted to have your majority in Congress and the ends justified the means.
You reap what you sow.
Sav
This well reasoned response brought to you by Steve4Clark.
Or maybe it’s Howard Dean with extra time on his hands.
CaseyL
More news:
***************************************
Hours after a judge ordered that Terri Schiavo wasn’t to be removed from her hospice, a team of Florida law enforcement agents were en route to seize her and have her feeding tube reinserted – but they stopped short when local police told them they would enforce the judge’s order, The Miami Herald has learned.
Agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told police in Pinellas Park, the small town where Schiavo lies at Hospice Woodside, that they were on the way to take her to a hospital to resume her feeding.
For a brief period, local police, who have officers around the hospice to keep protesters out, prepared for what sources called a showdown.
In the end, the state agents and the Department of Children and Families backed down, apparently concerned about the crowds gathered at the hospice.
****************************************
The crowds are so bad, and security so tight, that other patients’ families have to run a gantlet to get in. One woman literally couldn’t get in to see her grandfather one last time before he died because of the delay.
tom scott
I am a sane republican and I feel no more responsible for that man’s action than any democrat would feel responsible for the actions of John Hinckley. As a conservative I do not subscribe to the collective guilt sham. Anyone who does is, in my estimation, an idiot.
Mr. Ortiz
As a conservative I do not subscribe to the collective guilt sham.
How about the one about personal responsibility? This isn’t about one man threatening violence, it’s about an entire political party exploiting religion for short-term gain then hiding in undisclosed locations when the shit hits the fan. Where is G.W. right now? A week ago, Terry Schiavo was more important than vacation to him. That’s NEVER happened before. Next time we see him he’ll talking about “healing our great nation”, having conveniently missed the part where HIS actions incited the violence we need to heal from. So where do you fit into this? You voted for the bastard, not me.
This isn’t a call for collective guilt, it’s a wake-up call. Open your damn eyes.
Ross Bagley
Congratulations for standing up for what you believe in. It seems that many of my more “mentally flexible” acquaintances seem quite happy to follow whatever Bush says on this topic, no matter what they said about living wills, constitutional limitations, or states’ rights the day before.
Personally, I find myself unable to understand the thought processes of most of the people fighting to keep Terri’s body alive. The family, I understand, is simply in denial. What’s everyone else’s excuse? Are they actually convinced by the family’s figmentary accounts? Does it somehow tie into the biblical prohibition against suicide? And they’re so convinced of these wisps, these figments of imagination, that they’re willing to dismiss the evidence of innumerable impartial experts? (*)
Experts, mind you, who were hired by her husband 15 years ago, someone who loved her and was desperate for any sign, any hint that she might recover. I’ll leave the question of his current emotions to him and the mother of his children, but 15 years ago, he hadn’t been through a grief process and at that time, I personally believe he would have given anything for her recovery.
If the people fighting to keep Terri’s body alive were themselves basically dead, with no mental function, with no chance of recovery, wouldn’t they want their family and loved ones to move on? And in that state, who would they trust to make that decision? Mom? Dad? Or their spouse. I’ve already told my fiance what to do if I’m ever in that state, and when we’re married, she’ll be the one responsible for making the decision and fighting the good fight to carry through my wishes.
Exactly like Terri’s husband has been doing.
I’ve got no end of respect for someone who’s willing to go through financial hardship, endure years of strife with those who don’t understand, and now to deal with credible threats against his life. All for a principle, for doing what’s right no matter what. It would be so much easier if he just let the parents have their way. Why doesn’t he? Because he’s a better man than that.
Props to you for being on the side of morality and principles.
Regards,
Ross
(*) All three questions are real. If anyone reading this has an answer, I’d love to better understand what the other side is thinking here.
q
John,
Your posts have become HYSTERICAL. Perhaps time for a vacation? It’s becoming difficult to differentiate between your posts and those of Andrew Sullivan. Not good. :(
More thoughtfulness, and less emotion, please.
A few of the usual idiots on TV spew nonsense, and it becomes a proxy for the entire Republican party?
Get a grip.
Tom
When they are capable of summoning the president from his vacation in Crawford (heretofore unachieved by any other event, including the tsunami), they’re more than just a few nuts on TV. They run the place.
Steve4Clark
I think it’s interesting… A few here are claiming that these idiots don’t speak for the Republican party.
That may very well be true.
But these same few claim Michael Moore speaks for the Democrats.
Apparently their ideology has blinded them.
Jay
Steve, give me a break. Democrats openly EMBRACED Michael Moore. I don’t see Randall Terry showing up at official GOP events.
CaseyL
But Jeb Bush does, doesn’t he? I mean: Governor of Florida, President’s brother, potential 2008 GOP Presidential candidate… he’s considered part of the GOP, isn’t he?
He’s the one who called out the state troopers. Not Randall Terry, not Michael Moore. Jeb Bush.
jcricket
John – I’m really glad to see you blogging on this issue. The escalation of violence, especially against the judiciary, members of congress, or anyone who disagrees with the narrow-minded beliefs of a few on the far right* is truly disturbing. I am especially disturbed by people like Tom Delay, who should know better, slandering Michael Schiavo on the congressional floor by calling him a murderer. Not to mention the elevation of the claims of quacks and charlatans by Jeb Bush. The continually escalating smear campaign against Michael Schiavo by nearly everyone on the far right shows us just how little the lives of real people mean to the GOP when they believe potential political “hay” can be made.
The whole “anything can be evidence” and “anyone can be an expert” trend is absolutely insane – just look at the results on the recent Mercury emissions report from the EPA.
However, I wanted to mention that this trend has a longer history than just the past 4 or 8 years. I believe it started (in modern times) with the escalation of abortion protests from “peaceful” civil disobedience to picketing outside of doctors homes, then “wanted” posters with the names of the kids of doctors on them, then shooting the doctors and clinic workers. Right-wing talk radio is also part and parcel of the escalation. For example, I was listening to Michael Medved yesterday and when a caller said he wanted someone to assasinate Michael Schiavo, Medved barely mustered a “Hey, you don’t really mean that” in reply. I’m sure Michael Savage is out there saying far worse.
Instead of attempting to ratchet down this growing trend inside the GOP, your leaders allowed it to fester, believing they “needed” the votes. Instead of ratcheting down their own rhetoric, they were busy demanding that everyone on the left condemn Move On for a single entry in an online contest (that was already removed and condemned). I even see some of the comments here echoing that sentiment (“I’m not responsible for the nut-jobs out there”). As much as I know you’re not a Democrat, I think you’d agree that the left is NOT equally responsible for the current state of affairs (especially not within your own party).
You guys got us into this mess, and I hope more people recognize it, like you, and take back your party to get us out of it. I literally fear for the sanctity of this country if the GOP continues to lurch rightward towards theocracy.
* Before anyone condems me, I know that the far left has its share of wackos too (the arsonists in the ELF, or the people who picket outside of the the CEOs of companies that perform medical experiments with animals).
jcricket
John – I’m really glad to see you blogging on this issue. The escalation of violence, especially against the judiciary, members of congress, or anyone who disagrees with the narrow-minded beliefs of a few on the far right* is truly disturbing. I am especially disturbed by people like Tom Delay, who should know better, slandering Michael Schiavo on the congressional floor by calling him a murderer. Not to mention the elevation of the claims of quacks and charlatans by Jeb Bush. The continually escalating smear campaign against Michael Schiavo by nearly everyone on the far right shows us just how little the lives of real people mean to the GOP when they believe potential political “hay” can be made.
The whole “anything can be evidence” and “anyone can be an expert” trend is absolutely insane – just look at the results on the recent Mercury emissions report from the EPA.
However, I wanted to mention that this trend has a longer history than just the past 4 or 8 years. I believe it started (in modern times) with the escalation of abortion protests from “peaceful” civil disobedience to picketing outside of doctors homes, then “wanted” posters with the names of the kids of doctors on them, then shooting the doctors and clinic workers. Right-wing talk radio is also part and parcel of the escalation. For example, I was listening to Michael Medved yesterday and when a caller said he wanted someone to assasinate Michael Schiavo, Medved barely mustered a “Hey, you don’t really mean that” in reply. I’m sure Michael Savage is out there saying far worse.
Instead of attempting to ratchet down this growing trend inside the GOP, your leaders allowed it to fester, believing they “needed” the votes. Instead of ratcheting down their own rhetoric, they were busy demanding that everyone on the left condemn Move On for a single entry in an online contest (that was already removed and condemned). I even see some of the comments here echoing that sentiment (“I’m not responsible for the nut-jobs out there”). As much as I know you’re not a Democrat, I think you’d agree that the left is NOT equally responsible for the current state of affairs (especially not within your own party).
You guys got us into this mess, and I hope more people recognize it, like you, and take back your party to get us out of it. I literally fear for the sanctity of this country if the GOP continues to lurch rightward towards theocracy.
* Before anyone condems me, I know that the far left has its share of wackos too (the arsonists in the ELF, or the people who picket outside of the the CEOs of companies that perform medical experiments with animals).
B.R.
I think John’s being a bit hyperbolic when he says that “Sane Republicans better start to come to grips with what we have created.” Iit’s not fair blame the GOP as a whole for these wingnuts (and this is coming from a Democrat- John’s managed to out-shrill me ;-)).
HOWEVER, I think certain elements of the Republican Party, notably Karl Rove (who’s admittedly a bogey-man for the left), bear some responsibility for actively pandering to this sort of extremism. Take a look at this Rick Perlstein article in The Village Voice:
The e-mailed meeting summary reveals NSC Near East and North African Affairs director Elliott Abrams sitting down with the Apostolic Congress and massaging their theological concerns. Claiming to be “the Christian Voice in the Nation’s Capital,” the members vociferously oppose the idea of a Palestinian state. They fear an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza might enable just that, and they object on the grounds that all of Old Testament Israel belongs to the Jews. Until Israel is intact and Solomon’s temple rebuilt, they believe, Christ won’t come back to earth.
Abrams attempted to assuage their concerns by stating that “the Gaza Strip had no significant Biblical influence such as Joseph’s tomb or Rachel’s tomb and therefore is a piece of land that can be sacrificed for the cause of peace.”
I mean, this is just batshit wacko. I almost feel sorry for Abrams for having to waste his time talking to these fruitcakes, but hey, he’s probably paid pretty well…
Mr.Murder
Jay- Michael Moore showed up at the RNC convention also.
There goes your argument.
Mr.Murder
The Department of Energy has more dealings with foreign policy than any other entitiy in the Government under the auspices of the DCI.
They camoflague such movement with vertically coordinated appearances by the Stae Dep’t.
Of note is their ability to procure, coordinate, establish field work, amd define terms in the area of nuke proliferation and energy policy.
Much of their wonderful terms advancement is wrapped in flowery religious speak , and energy market private sector priorities.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Bread and circus distraction- DeLay was buying votes on the floor of Congress using funds laundered from energy companies domestically and abroad…
fauxreal
from Jay:
Steve, give me a break. Democrats openly EMBRACED Michael Moore. I don’t see Randall Terry showing up at official GOP events.
No, Jeb only tries to void the law by sending his troops, but backed down when the local police said they would not abrogate their duty.
But no doubt the religious right is angry, too, because Bush is ignoring their pet causes..he wouldn’t even show his face at an anti-choice rally in front of the White House.
Jay, are you unaware that the Rev. Moon sponsored Bush’s 1st inaugural prayer breakfast? (a man who calls himself the messiah and says that Stalin and Hitler have told him, from beyond the grave, that, yes, he’s the messiah?) Read Kevin Phillips (conservative turned independent) for his take on the deal with the devil the right has made with certain religious extremists.
Or what about the “Hitler covenant” as model for “christian” conservatives? Just what does that mean, when these guys’ models are all based upon dictators (from Hitler to Pol Pot?)
Republican politicians make the pilgrimage to Bob Jones U. every election…Jones had some choice words about “biblical” norms for legislation now that Bush has a second term..rather than enlightenment-based rule of law and Constitutional precepts. Jones, of course, is still concerned about preserving the blood of the precious white race from the “tribe of dan.”
If you are not outraged by Congress ignoring the rule of law to pander to the American equivalent of islamic fascism, then you don’t seem to understand the roots of the Republican Party.
If you study history, the parallels to an emerging fascist movement are eerie right now.
It’s like the Democrats are the Weimar’s who can’t stand up for democracy, the country club republicans are like the Junker aristocracy who thought they could control the Nazis, and the politicized religious right seem mighty close to, in not in full embrace of, fascism.
Here are some useful links to understand fascism
Umberto Eco’s famous essay.
Religion and Fascism from an historical perspective from one of the leading scholars (British) on the subject.
There were plenty of people trying to warn Germans of the danger of the Nazis, too, when they threatened more than fought…but that came, too.
The religious right extremists in this country now are not like Michael Moore.
They are like the SDS. Religious right extremists have already bombed legal clinics for women’s reproductive services, killed doctors, published hit lists..
So, yes, if you voted Republican, you should speak out against the extremists in your party and encourage your sane legislators to neuter the rabid right.