The bomb attacks at the finish line of Monday’s Boston Marathon were a “heinous and cowardly act” that the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.
“Any time bombs are used to target civilians, it is an act of terrorism,” Obama said, adding that it remained unclear who perpetrated the attack. It was the first time the president used the word “terror” to refer to the deadly bombs.
“What we don’t yet know…is who carried out this attack or why, whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual,” the president continued, adding “the American people refused to be terrorized because what the world saw yesterday in the aftermath of the explosions were stories of heroism and kindness and generosity and love.”
On Monday, as details of the attack were emerging, Obama delivered a brief statement that avoided the use of the word “terror.”
Thank goodness we have CNN’s Kevin Liptak to suss these complicated issues out for us, because when most of us see bombs going off in crowds of civilians, we just aren’t sure what is going on until the Preznit says the “t” word. That’s what a first class education will do for you- give you those kinds of insights.
When Pee Wee Herman and Fred Willard were caught wanking in public, at least they weren’t trying to get all of us to watch. The same can not be said for Liptak and CNN.
gogol's wife
Great last paragraph.
Fred Fnord
You don’t understand… until we hear the word ‘terrorism’ from an official, it’s not okay to blindly panic, sell out all our civil rights, and line up firmly behind a Republican.
Keith
Shorter CNN: “Thank GOD we don’t have to cover the Jody Arias trial today!”
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
A hater is gonna hate. Shamnesty! Also, too.
Turgidson
Memo to CNN and like-minded media tools: The election is over. Romney can’t use this insightful analysis to grandstand about the tragedy by accusing the president of being a terrorist-coddling surrender monkey for failing to use the right nomenclature.
Gin & Tonic
You know who else failed to call it terror? The FBI’s Special Agent in Charge, who said it’s a criminal investigation.
No telling how far this conspiracy reaches.
Xecky Gilchrist
So is the “didn’t say ‘terror'” brouhaha some sort of thing about how Obama is coddling his fellow Muslims, or what?
Or is it just baseless right-wing pants-pissing along the lines of everything Obama does or doesn’t do is the worst thing ever?
sonofsamantha
Thanks cnn for giving the clowns around here something else to write about besides CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI CHAINED CPI
Certified Mutant Enemy
Last night, Obama failed to mention the sun rises in the east. Where’s the outrage?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Turgidson: They’re not smart enough to realize they’re parroting a stale and empty talking point. It matters because it matters.
Somebody said yesterday that Erin Burnett wondered aloud if it should be called terror if it’s done by a domestic group/individual. Which underlines both the stupidity of the media and the propaganda of the right.
johnny aquitard
USA today says the bombs were metal pressure cookers filled with gunpowder, ball bearings and nails, described as ‘rudimentary’.
Wasn’t the Atlanta bomb like that? And the Spokane MLK parade one too?
It’s really got the imprimature of the violent right. No wonder they usual water-carriers are busy tying to make this he-didn’t-say-terror bullshit into a huge failing on Obama’s part. They’re trying really hard to redirect people’s anger.
Tod Westlake
As should be obvious to us all, this is all about the fact that the State Department didn’t use the word “terror” in relation to Benghazi, which in turn means IT WAS A HUGE COVERUP!!!11!!!
But CNN has now taken up the cause of right-wing wanking, so all is right in wingnutland.
The Ancient Randonneur
Give the guy a break. He’s just setting up some clips to make an audition tape for a Fox News gig.
Violet
Needs to be repeated over and over. We are not afraid.
Howlin Wolfe
I noticed yesterday on NPR’s “All Things Considered” after the preznit’s press conference that was first thing mentioned by the show’s hosts, Audie Cornish and Robert Siegal. Just disgusting. “You notice he didn’t say terrorism” or some such juvenile thing. I was so flabbergasted, driving along in my car listening to these assholes, anybody looking at me would have thought I was totally crazy. I may be, but not that way.
I try to grasp what these idiots think that means “He didn’t say ‘terror’!!” Well, what if he had? What then? Time to shit your pants? Hide under your bed like a coward? I don’t know. But they seem to think it’s REALLY significant, like EVERYBODY has the same idea of what “terrorism” and “terrorist” means.
I think its practical effect, though, is to give credence to the right wing attitude of ruthless suppression of dissent, by-any-means-necessary tactics including torture and war, and marginalization of social justice issues. The MSM enables fascism this way.
SatanicPanic
Brian Beutler at TPM had it right- our stupid media just wants to get out in front for the inevitable right wing phony controversy. Unfortunately for them, they’re fighting the last war. The controversy this time will be something even dumber.
dexwood
Fortunately for the fear mongers, Rudy Ghouliani is offering his expertise and keeping the media whores happy as he cries terror, terror, terror.
c u n d gulag
Oh, goody!
President Obama in his presser today, officially called this “an act of terror.”
Now, our righties can lower their tit alert-level, from “IN AN UPROAR!!!”, to, “Talk amongst yourselves.”
schrodinger's cat
Did I just imagine two posts by DougJ? Where have they disappeared.
Ben Franklin
@Violet:
“the American people refused to be terrorized”
Needs to be repeated over and over. We are not afraid.
It should be shouted from the rooftops that we aren’t afraid, but I suspect many will
be so afraid that they will sit still or even applaud any reduction in civil liberties, so that we may all feel safe.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Just saw this headline at NYT
If the definition of “terrorism” is, off the top of my head, violence with a political motivation and agenda, this would come as news to George Tiller’s family, among others
Gin & Tonic
@schrodinger’s cat: I think he realized he’d bigfooted Cole and took it/them back.
Ben Franklin
I am going to be listening closely to any similarities in bomb materials, or construction.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/04/15/2535339/two-critically-injured-in-e-oregon.html
sonofsamantha
What I want to know is why wasn’t Obama keeping us safe. When are the impeachment proceedings going to start.
Cassidy
That poor boy. Makes me want to cry.
James E. Powell
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
They’re not smart enough to realize they’re parroting a stale and empty talking point. It matters because it matters.
But maybe it’s not stale with the audience that to which they are appealing. Several stale things still have currency with the right-wing horde.
shortstop
While I of course scoff at the media’s obsession over whether Obama used the T word in his initial statement, I’m not laughing at the media’s own obvious resistance to calling it terrorism. This lede from the AP’s Jimmy Golen just blew my mind:
SatanicPanic
@Violet: I’m kind of afraid. I’m not going to change my behavior or anything, but yeah, a little scared.
jl
@c u n d gulag: But was Obama too calm when he used the word? That is the next big issue.
And now that it is an official ‘act of terror’, will we need to be on the lookout for vigilantes who decide to fight this next chapter of the GWoT by beating up some some hapless random Muslim, white conservative gun nut, New Black Panther, animal rights, loner or mentally distrubed ‘terrorist’?
I read that the guy who played Lumpy in Leave It to Beaver died earlier this week. Good time for continuous Leave It to Beaver reruns on cable until some actual newsy fact type stuff is available for broadcast.
jrg
He didn’t throw darts at a map to decide what country to invade, either. So what?
What the fuck is wrong with our media?
Cassidy
@Ben Franklin: Don’t waste your time. Gunpowder bombs are easy to make and the materials are available. Organized militias tend to have access to higher grades of “boom” and people who know how to make them. They consider themselves “soldiers” and train as such.
Yutsano
@sonofsamantha: Oh frak off Durf.
Splitting Image
I think they should arrest Ted Nugent for questioning. The guy did say that he would be either dead or in jail by round about now. Damned suspicious if you ask me.
Yutsano
@Splitting Image: Ted is both late and too much of a coward to keep his promises. Y U NO DED TED??
Mike E
@Gin & Tonic: No backsies!
Redshirt
Wait, so I should be calm or panicked right now? Tell me what to think MSM!!!
Valdivia
A lot of people have mentioned this but for me this just has so many echoes of the Atlanta bombing. Sigh.
Any news on the guns bill? Are the republican idiots preventing a vote?
markmac
The wingnuts are all aflutter for this to be labeled terrorism. Unless, of course, this follows recent trends and it turns out it was some right wing dick(s). Then it’ll be a gigantic–ABOUT FACE!!! by our “liberal” media.
Suffern ACE
I guess the use of the word “Terrorism” or not is for those worried that the the government might send units responsible for investigating insurance fraud or counterfeiting to look into the crime.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Valdivia: Susan Collins has come out for, Saxby Chambliss against, which surprises me since he’s retiring, but shouldn’t cause he’s a major douchebag; McCain has said he’s leaning toward it, Lindsey Smithers against. The general sense from blog posts that don’t name name is that Toomey and Mancin are having trouble getting to 60.
The Sanity Inspector
The always-on news cycle is increasingly ill-suited even for sensational disasters like this. It’s a waste of time to keep having guest experts on air, ad-libbing their stock lectures and war stories, in between police briefings.
Valdivia
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
so 60 to get a vote? or 60 votes? because they can vote against it after letting pass a filibuster no?
Cacti
So, have any of the FPers or commentariat said that this is no different than Dr0nez yet?
I saw it last night at DU(mb), and figured it was just a matter of time before one of the BJ emo progs went there.
celticdragonchick
@Certified Mutant Enemy:
He also did not tell me that water is wet and granite is hard.
Outrage!
Suffern ACE
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Egad. There was Ft. Hood, there was Luke Helder, there was the Belway Sniper, there was the Austin suicide attack. What were these?
Mike E
@The Sanity Inspector: Tho I did appreciate ESPN’s coverage, with eyewitness accounts and human interest stories. Not too much speculatin’, tho they did let out that erroneous ’12 fatalities’ blurb by the Post (I fell for that one too). Solid overall effort.
Mnemosyne
@johnny aquitard:
Yep. Looking more and more like white dudez all the time. There’s a reason the right wing wurlitzer has been strangely quiet about the whole thing.
Hungry Joe
A lot of this stuff is driven by the need — or rather, the assumed need — for instant, 24/7 reporting. There’s no time to sit around a table for a while and figure out how to present the facts that are currently confirmed, which is what used to happen in newsrooms. Now every cable channel feels it’s got to be out there first, and all the time, with whatever.* I trace it back to Chris Wallace’s breakthrough moment: At the 1980 GOP convention he was the first to report that Bush was Reagan’s choice for VP. He beat the other two networks by something like 40 seconds and two minutes. This was considered a career-making scoop, and I remember thinking, What the hell difference does a minute or two make? Bush is going to be VP (or not) for four years. And it’s been downhill ever since.
* Of course, it doesn’t help that so many of the people doing the reporting/commenting these days are idiots.
Mnemosyne
@Cacti:
There have been a couple so far, but not too much. I think they’re disappointed that it was (probable) domestic terrorism and not something they can point to as blowback from Af/Pak and/or Iraq.
Cacti
@Mnemosyne:
Or that the Murdoch-owned NY Post was screaming “Saudi national” within the hour.
James E. Powell
@Redshirt:
Wait, so I should be calm or panicked right now? Tell me what to think MSM!!!
Well, until you get the official word, you know what to do: go shopping!
Shortstop
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Loving “Lindsey Smithers.” I referred to him as McCain’s fluffer the other night and slightly offended my mom. Frankly, I’m a little disappointed in her for knowing what it means.
Turgidson
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I was surprised Huckleberry Graham even voted to let the debate begin, considering that every waking moment of his life from now until spring 2014 is devoted to acting crazy enough to head off a teabagger challenge (which is depressing considering how crazy he is to begin with).
It’d be nice if the red state Dems who are afraid to vote the will of 80+% of even their gun nut-rich states because the NRA will eat their brains or something would at least line up to end a filibuster before voting against. But they probably won’t. I mean geez, Heitkamp was just fucking elected. Does she really think a 5-year old vote to allow an extremely popular bill a chance for an upperdown! vote will cost her reelection in 2018? Pathetic.
Roger Moore
@Suffern ACE:
You left out the anthrax mailings.
Shoved down the memory hole.
FlipYrWhig
@Mnemosyne: I feel like there was a spate of stories about Aryan Nations-esque people being found with “bomb-making supplies” recently, but I wasn’t paying attention to any patterns, locations, etc.
Gravenstone
@Cacti: There were several posters making that argument when the news was first breaking. Doubt we’ll see a FPer go there, unless it is to mock the sentiment.
Roger Moore
@Turgidson:
I think they actually want some debate on this one, if only so they can state their opposition on CSPAN and get it into the Congressional Record.
kc
CNN should be shamed out of existence. It’s useless.
batgirl
@Roger Moore: I’d also include the Sikh temple shooting as an act of terror.
Cacti
@batgirl:
And the Knoxville Unitarian Church shooting.
And the Assassination of George Tiller in the doorway of the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita.
And the multiple incidents of arson and vandalism against Islamic worship centers across the country.
Calouste
Pressure cookers heh? They caught the Spokane guy by tracing the large amounts of fishing leads that were part of the bomb. People usually don’t buy large amounts (as in pounds) of fishing leads. Let’s see if this terrorist is a bit smarter and bought the pressure cookers at two different flea markets rather than just go to Sears and pick two of them off the shelf. If he did the last, they’ll probably catch him within the next two weeks.
Tom Q
@Hungry Joe: To be fair, Hungry Joe, Wallace’s reporting that tidbit came at the end of a long evening of coverage when ALL excited speculation had been that Reagan was going to put Jerry Ford on the ticket in a sort of co-president deal. So Wallace more than got the story first — he got the story that contradicted a whole day’s narrative.
Petorado
It’s an act of terror when a foreigner does it to us. It’s an exercise of Constitutionally-protected 2nd Amendment freedoms if we do it to ourselves.
Turgidson
@Petorado:
fixt.
skjellyfetti
FIXED
Anna in PDX
I just do not get this, the terminology used in a speech like the one he gave yesterday is such a complete nontroversy. Who cares if he used the word terrorism or not. He said it was heinous, isn’t that enough? Do we need to send all these stupid media jerks a dictionary?
I also was trying to follow news on it yesterday and went to CNN like Cole did and also went “Oh hell no” and decided to quickly go to another source before my blood pressure went up.
The more important issue for me is that I want to know who did it, not which terms of art the politicians are using to talk about it.
Anna in PDX
@skjellyfetti: Apparently drone use has gone drastically down for the past 3 years? Why aren’t you guys focusing on that? FFS
fuckwit
@johnny aquitard: The police and press deliberatetly did NOT reveal the details of the Spokane bomb, for a long time, trying to avoid copycats. I guess they eventually did reveal the info.
Yep, the MO on this points to Ayran Nations, teabagging, anti-abortion, gun-nut militia types.
I love how the media quotes that I saw, DELIBERATELY removed Obama’s reference to “foreign or domestic” in his account of terrorism.
I’ll bet this was white people that did this. And it’s the kind of IED that anyone can cook up in their basement (along with their meth).
For some reason, the thing that infuriates me most is that they were trying to destroy runners’ legs, to cripple them. That’s a level of cruelty that goes beyond just political violence, it’s almost personal.
Who knows, maybe it was some asshole who had done poorly in the marathon last year, or had gotten rejected for the Olympics, or some shit, and had a grudge against runners, and this wasn’t political at all. But I doubt it. To me, it smells like wingnuts.
Roger Moore
@Anna in PDX:
And targeting has gotten a lot better, which is probably related. My impression is that what’s happened is that we’ve worked hard at target ID, which has resulted in a substantial decrease in (though not, unfortunately, a complete end to) attacks on innocent civilians without a corresponding drop in attacks against actual enemies. But DRONEZZZZ!
Hungry Joe
@Tom Q:
Man, your memory is a lot better than mine. And even though you’re right, I find myself trying hard not to believe it; I guess I’m just having trouble associating “To be fair” and “(Chris) Wallace.”
Gustopher
If memory serves, both Pee Wee Herman and Fred Willard were in adult theaters — venues that are all but explicitly designed for this sort of thing. Not really all that public.
Kevin Liptak, on the other hand, was on national TV, pretending to be a reporter/journalist thing.
sm*t cl*de
the American people refused to be terrorized
IIRC there is this thing called ‘fear’ that you’re supposed to fear, hence the need for the official reminders about ‘terror’.
gmann
@Ronnie Pudding:
Wanking? Is that like “Suing the Oatmeal”. . . Thanks Ronnie
Jebediah
@Yutsano:
Seems like the kind of thing that ought to be on a tshirt.
In a just world, every TV appearance by The Motor City Moron (misfortune be upon him) would include questions about draft dodging, pants-shitting, and kid raping.
Just Some Fuckhead
What is the latest on Bostonghazi?
g
What’s up with the magic word thing? Is it this year’s version of the flag pin – if a politician doesn’t say it or wear it, then he hates America?
Lurking Canadian
This is so stupid. They don’t know anything about who did it or why. Certainly looks like terrorism, probably of the wingnut variety, but it might also be some nut who hears messages from Xenu, the Angel Gabriel and Jodi Foster who told him that he had to blow up the marathon to protect the Earth from the Skrulls.