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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Late Night Open Thread: Good Choices, Bad Choices, Ugly Choices

Late Night Open Thread: Good Choices, Bad Choices, Ugly Choices

by Anne Laurie|  April 17, 20131:51 am| 132 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, War on Terror aka GSAVE®, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

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Good: Dave Weigel reports on the website BostonMarathonConspiracy.com— “a mostly blank page with one message“:

PLEASE KEEP THE VICTIMS OF THIS EVENT AND THEIR FAMILIES IN YOUR THOUGHTS.THANK YOU.

The domain buyer, Jaimie Muehlhausen, lives in California and was nice enough to pass on an email that he’d been sending to friends explaining the purchase. (He owns the page through April 15, 2014.)

… I didn’t put my name on the site or any contact info, but it’s not too hard to figure out who owns a domain name if you know where to look. Since that time this afternoon, I have been encouraged by the number of emails from people literally all over the world who took the time to dig into domain records, figure out that I owned the domain, and send me a message of thanks for making sure the irrational assholes don’t win this one. I’m sure the conspiracy idiots will find another domain to use, but this one is the most obvious name and it’s now unavailable for their bullshit.

Since I woke up this morning, I have received another large number of emails, some from reporters, but most from people with a quick, simple message of thanks. I didn’t do it to be thanked. I just did it because it seemed like the right thing to do.

BAD: The Infowars jagoffs now sufffering a severe case of public butthurt because nobody appreciates their work, as reported by WaPo:

NEW YORK — Fox has pulled from websites a recent episode of “Family Guy” that depicts mass deaths at the Boston Marathon, and has no immediate plans to air it again…

In the episode, protagonist Peter Griffin is asked by sports announcer Bob Costas about his performance at the marathon. A flashback shows Peter mowing down runners with his car…

Later, Peter befriends a terrorist who, unbeknownst to him, is plotting to blow up a bridge. When Peter dials a cellphone the friend has given him, explosions and screams are heard. On some websites, an edited clip has been circulating that fuses the two scenes, making it seem — incorrectly — as if the explosion was at the marathon. Some commenters have implied that the show “predicted” the bombings.

“Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane took to Twitter on Tuesday to vent anger over the edited clip and offer condolences to victims of Monday’s bombings at the marathon.

“The edited ‘Family Guy’ clip currently circulating is abhorrent,” MacFarlane tweeted…

When Seth ‘We Saw Your Boobs’ MacFarlane finds an idea “abhorrent”…

UGLY: Comments by GOP Congresspersons, as reported by Dave Weigel:

… “Whenever we have an attack like this it’s difficult not to think that it’s somehow involved in Islamic extremism,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, until recently a top member of the Homeland Security committee and still a prime mover on security bills. “I don’t have evidence to back that up. That’s just based on previous attacks.”

Collins, more than some senators, was willing to tease out the hypothetical. “It’s a very important question, whether it’s a plot that originated overseas or whether it’s a lone wolf,” she said. “The question is: What do we do once we do capture the individual? How’s he treated? If he’s an American, obviously, then the constitutional protections pertain. If he is a foreign national, in my view, then he should be held by a military tribunal and he should not be read his Miranda rights as [the Christmas Day Bomber] was.”…

Note the acceptable choices: either “a plot that originated overseas” or “a lone wolf”. Because in RepublicanWorld, there are no domestic terrorist groups, just lone gunmen.

… “On 9/11, we were forever disabused of the notion that attacks like the one that rocked Boston yesterday only happen on the field of battle, or in distant countries,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell in his morning floor speech. “With the passage of time, however, and the vigilant efforts of our military, intelligence, and law enforcement professionals, I think it’s safe to say that, for many, the complacency that prevailed prior to Sept. 11 has returned.”

Security hawks have some ideas about arresting that “complacency.” New York Rep. Peter King, one of the first members of Congress to speak to national media after the bombings in Boston, told MSNBC that it was “foolhardy” to make cuts to the Department of Homeland Security’s budget. “I do think we need more cameras,” he said. “We have to stay ahead of the terrorists and I do know in New York, the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative, which is based on cameras, the outstanding work that results from that.”…

Both Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, cohorts in the “Gang of Eight” working out an immigration bill, suggested that their bill might look even more necessary if—as we know, we don’t know—the culprit in Boston was a foreign national.

“It may be an argument for the kind of things we’re talking about,” McCain said. “Exit–entry visas, e-verify. In fact, I think it should accelerate [the bill].”

McCain, accidentally and by long distance, was debating Iowa Rep. Steve King. He’d suggested to National Review that the Boston attacks should move Congress from debating immigration to debating security. “We need to take a look at the visa-waiver program and wonder what we’re doing,” he’d said. “If we can’t background-check people that are coming from Saudi Arabia, how do we think we are going to background check the 11 to 20 million people that are here from who knows where?”…

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Reader Interactions

132Comments

  1. 1.

    Hill Dweller

    April 17, 2013 at 2:06 am

    I’m still not sure why anyone takes McCain, McConnell, Collins or King seriously. They’ve all looked clueless for the last decade, at least.

  2. 2.

    Yutsano

    April 17, 2013 at 2:09 am

    @Hill Dweller: Because they’re Republicans silly. That automatically gives them seriousness and gravitas. Plus did you know John Sidney McCain III was a POW? That’s like credibility for days.

  3. 3.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 17, 2013 at 2:11 am

    Anyone remember the TV show The Lone Gunmen? There was an episode of it that conspiracy nuts jump all over because it “predicted” the 9/11/2001 attacks.

  4. 4.

    Hill Dweller

    April 17, 2013 at 2:14 am

    @Yutsano: Granted, but even the Village has to notice the debacles, otherwise known as military tribunals, in Guantanamo.

    Sen. Collins, who isn’t the brightest bulb, looks even dumber after making her suggestions, which I didn’t think possible.

  5. 5.

    Roger Moore

    April 17, 2013 at 2:17 am

    I don’t have evidence to back that up. That’s just based on ignoring previous attacks by white guys.

    FTFY, Senator Collins.

  6. 6.

    Morzer

    April 17, 2013 at 2:21 am

    @Hill Dweller:

    Collins is just trying to sell the GOP line about evil Muslims to distract attention from the strong possibility that the bomber was white, male and conservacrazy. If Al Qaeda had done this, they’d be on every channel claiming credit. This looks much more like the work of some isolated, cowardly crackpot who just wanted to kill some liberals to get his jollies.

  7. 7.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 17, 2013 at 2:27 am

    Susan, if you don’t have evidence to back it up, do not disgrace your office by making such statements.

    Stupid bint.

  8. 8.

    Redshift

    April 17, 2013 at 2:30 am

    @Hill Dweller:

    Granted, but even the Village has to notice the debacles, otherwise known as military tribunals, in Guantanamo.

    You would think so, but they continue to not notice much. Bad things are all too easy to dismiss when they happen to people you can convince yourself might deserve them.

  9. 9.

    amk

    April 17, 2013 at 2:36 am

    Term limits for stupid congress critters. At least then, we can get new stupid.

  10. 10.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 17, 2013 at 2:37 am

    @amk: Term Limits have been in absolute disaster in California. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

  11. 11.

    Hill Dweller

    April 17, 2013 at 2:38 am

    @Morzer: Even if it isn’t a right wing crazy this time, there is something nasty brewing in that world. The intelligence agencies have been screaming about it for years(even before President Obama was elected).

    People like Alex Jones are whipping up the crazy for money, but they will not be able to put the toothpaste back in the tube before it goes sideways.

    The media won’t say it, but some in the Republican party have ties to the sovereign citizen/patriot groups.

  12. 12.

    Benny

    April 17, 2013 at 2:38 am

    ” Because in RepublicanWorld, there are no domestic terrorist groups, just lone gunmen.”

    … unless you’re talking about Lee Harvey Oswald.

  13. 13.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 17, 2013 at 2:41 am

    @Hill Dweller:

    People like Alex Jones are whipping up the crazy for money, but they will not be able to put the toothpaste back in the tube before it goes sideways.

    Art Bell started out pushing militia conspiracy garbage, and then, after Oklahoma City, he suddenly veered into paranormal stuff.

  14. 14.

    GregB

    April 17, 2013 at 2:42 am

    Has the NRA offered to put bombmakers in every marathon yet?

  15. 15.

    Spaghetti Lee

    April 17, 2013 at 2:48 am

    Lemme try again (First one got spamfiltered…)

    Alex Jones and his fans are really underrated as sources of crazy bullshit. I love the irony of a group whose whole shtick is that the government/media are lying to you and distorting information…putting out a lying, distorted video to ‘prove’ their point.

  16. 16.

    Spaghetti Lee

    April 17, 2013 at 2:50 am

    @GregB:

    I actually haven’t heard much “If people were armed fart fart fart” from the gun nut crowd. Maybe they’re just barely smart enough to realize that saying someone could have shot a remote detonator would be too hilarious to gain traction.

    Also, there were thousands and thousands of people there. Someone probably was armed. (I don’t know the state of MA’s concealed carry/open carry laws, though) Thankfully, whoever it was realized that opening fire at whatever/whoever looks suspicious when a bomb suddenly goes off is not a good idea.

  17. 17.

    Irish Steel

    April 17, 2013 at 2:51 am

    @Roger Moore: Yes. Exactly.

  18. 18.

    Hill Dweller

    April 17, 2013 at 2:57 am

    @Spaghetti Lee: The NRA have been a public embarrassment since Sandy Hook, but the cowards in the Senate will still do their bidding later today during the vote on background checks.

    Also too, Boehner’s boys don’t want to go on record as being for or against background checks. The best way to prevent that is never letting legislation out of the senate.

  19. 19.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 17, 2013 at 3:02 am

    @Hill Dweller: Rachel Maddow had an interesting bit this evening about AZ Senator Jeff Flake vowing to filibuster the background checks bill in the Senate, and then showing up for the dedication of a conference room in the Capitol to one of Gabrielle Giffords’ aides who was killed in the assassination attempt on her.

  20. 20.

    David Koch

    April 17, 2013 at 3:09 am

    listening to randi rhodes today, and a Paultard called in emphatically arguing that Sandy Hook was a hoax cuz they won’t show us the photos.

  21. 21.

    28 Percent

    April 17, 2013 at 3:31 am

    Bombs in Boston on tax day, made out of pressure cookers and planted not at a financial center but at a sporting event with an international draw, and these guys can’t smell the whiff of wonder bread coming off of that? Hopefully this one will be easier to catch than Eric Rudolph was.

  22. 22.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 17, 2013 at 3:32 am

    @David Koch: He just wanted some photos he could put on his refrigerator, I’m sure.

  23. 23.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 17, 2013 at 4:04 am

    @28 Percent:

    these guys can’t smell the whiff of wonder bread coming off of that?

    They swear it’s pita bread. Can’t be wonder bread, no way. It’s pita. Has to be.

  24. 24.

    MikeJ

    April 17, 2013 at 4:11 am

    @28 Percent:

    Hopefully this one will be easier to catch than Eric Rudolph was.

    I hope this time they drag in all the people who are surely helping.

  25. 25.

    balconesfault

    April 17, 2013 at 4:12 am

    @28 Percent: As I noted immediately afterwards – the Boston Marathon probably has a higher percentage of champions who are Muslim than any other sporting event in America.

  26. 26.

    AA+ Bonds

    April 17, 2013 at 4:15 am

    You know, I think it will be worth it to look back on everyone who speculated wrongly in public arenas on who the bomber was based on their own prejudices, and take a little pride in being able to hold my tongue and keyboard.

    It’s as though people have lost the healthy fear that they might be irresponsible by being wrong, and replaced it with a creeping fear that they might be not be the first to be right.

    If you think I’m talking about you, you’re almost certainly right, about that part at least.

    That’s part of the wisdom of that old Mark Twain quote about keeping your mouth shut and being thought a fool . . .

  27. 27.

    Calouste

    April 17, 2013 at 4:44 am

    Only a few more hours until they can Tramp The Dirt Down.

  28. 28.

    Nicole

    April 17, 2013 at 4:49 am

    I thought “We Saw Your Boobs” was hilarious. Do I have to turn in my feminist card?

  29. 29.

    David Koch

    April 17, 2013 at 4:55 am

    @Nicole:

    Do I have to turn in my feminist card?

    not if you let us see your b00bs

  30. 30.

    JGabriel

    April 17, 2013 at 5:20 am

    Slate via Anne Laurie @ Top:

    “Whenever we have an attack like this it’s difficult not to think that it’s somehow involved in Islamic extremism,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins …

    Really? Because, Sen. Collins, the first thing that always comes to my mind is right-wing, self-identified Conservative, extremists.

  31. 31.

    JGabriel

    April 17, 2013 at 5:31 am

    @Hill Dweller:

    I’m still not sure why anyone takes McCain, McConnell, Collins or King seriously. They’ve all looked clueless for the last decade, at least.

    Because they keep getting elected by a plurality/majority of their voters. Which means they power.

  32. 32.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 5:32 am

    I thought it was a great idea so I posted it on my FB page and people thought I bought it.

  33. 33.

    JGabriel

    April 17, 2013 at 5:39 am

    Morzer:

    If Al Qaeda had done this, they’d be on every channel claiming credit.

    Actually, after 9/11, Al Qaeda did not immediately take credit. It was months afterward that bin Laden, kinda sorta, admitted that Al Qaeda might have had something to do with it.

    So, the fact that no one has taken credit yet is the only thing that keeps me from completely discounting the idea that Al Qaeda is involved.

    I still think it’s nearly a lock that an anti-tax Conservative has done this, but I can’t completely dismiss alternative speculation yet.

  34. 34.

    mai naem

    April 17, 2013 at 5:44 am

    I’ve been switching off most coverage. I was listening to Smerconish’s show yesterday AM after they’d said there were only 2 bombs not many. He had some supposed expert on who started with how it seemed like it was a furrin terrorist because there were five bombs in total.He then went onto saying that he was surprised the Boston bomb squad is one of the best in the country and they missed the bomb originally. I didn’t listen to more but this was supposed to be an expert. People don’t know crap. Susan Collins’ reelection is in 2014 so she’s got to earn her wingnut creds. I hope its domestic because if it’s foreign, its going to mean that we’re going to have to do something internationally to prove America’s manliness

  35. 35.

    Amir Khalid

    April 17, 2013 at 5:52 am

    @The prophet Nostradumbass:
    Yes, I remember. The Lone Gunmen was a comedy spin-off from The X-Files that ran as a mid-season replacement in early 2001. Its main characters were three friends of Mulder and Scully who published a conspiracy-theory newspaper. The pilot episode had the guys thwarting a terrorist attempt to fly a 747 into the WTC towers. The show lasted only half a season on the Fox Network, though not for want of quality. It must have been impossible to sell afterwards, with an unairable pilot and only 11 episodes.

  36. 36.

    JGabriel

    April 17, 2013 at 5:55 am

    @Benny:

    ”Because in RepublicanWorld, there are no domestic terrorist groups, just lone gunmen.”

    … unless you’re talking about Lee Harvey Oswald.

    Or the Weathermen, or other far left/anarchist groups advocating violence more than 40 years ago.

  37. 37.

    JGabriel

    April 17, 2013 at 5:59 am

    @GregB:

    Has the NRA offered to put bombmakers in every marathon yet?

    If it weren’t for bomb control laws, someone could have prevented this by bombing the unknown bomber before he even planted his bombs under the stands.

  38. 38.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 6:00 am

    @mai naem: Chris Hayes, Rachel and Lawrence have been good. Lawrence is from the neighborhood where the little boy that died lived. He did a very nice piece on the family and the neighborhood.

  39. 39.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    April 17, 2013 at 6:02 am

    @raven:
    I noticed that, tucked away in the basement floor of the science building at Smith, there’s an exhibit case with a great picture of Joe, and a few posters of his last work. A nice remembrance.

  40. 40.

    geg6

    April 17, 2013 at 6:07 am

    What? McCain didn’t sing bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran?

    Because, surely, Iran is behind it all. Right?

    And what about Kim Jong Un? Maybe he has secret ninja bombers imbedded all over the country. He’s part of the Axis of Evil, after all. And maybe they’re not telling us, but maybe those bombs were dirty bombs! Since NK missile delivery systems aren’t quit ready for prime time, maybe he decided that those nukes of his shouldn’t go completely to waste, right?

    Jesus fuck, these people are too fucking stupid to live.

  41. 41.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 6:08 am

    @Comrade Scrutinizer:Thanks, I saw that this morning and was hoping I’d see you again here. I’m in touch with his family quite a bit (ok, on Facebook!) Have you read any of the blog posts that his daughter has been writing since she was forced to move to Australia?

    eta Is it the picture with “What is Life?” on the blackboard.

  42. 42.

    Schlemizel

    April 17, 2013 at 6:11 am

    @Nicole:

    Not necessarily but you do have to turn in your humor card B-{D

  43. 43.

    weaselone

    April 17, 2013 at 6:17 am

    If he is a foreign national, in my view, then he should be held by a military tribunal and he should not be read his Miranda rights

    So does this just pertain to terror suspects, or will we be holding military tribunals for foreign nationals accused of traffic violations as well? And naturally, if we get to pick and choose when our laws and Constitution applies to foreign visitors, other nations can do so as well, right? If the EU nations decide to set up a separate legal system for visiting US businessmen and politicians Collins would have no problem with it.

  44. 44.

    Hobbes

    April 17, 2013 at 6:18 am

    @Amir Khalid: They dropped a bridge on the three main characters from The Lone Gunmen in an episode of the X Files.
    I guess they thought more people would watch it than if they died on their own show.
    :(

  45. 45.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 6:18 am

    COLUMBUS, Ga. —

    Investigators say a Columbus teen who shot his parents was angry they told him to do his chores when he wanted to look up a bible verse for a friend who wanted to be “saved.”

    A judge Monday ordered the 15-year-old boy to be held without bond in a Youth Detention Center until a formal hearing.

    The Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus reports (http://bit.ly/10Yp60I) 45-year-old Kristi Lynn was shot in her right wrist and 40-year-old Randal Stanley Askevich was shot in his right hip Friday. Police say the teen took a gun from his parents’ nightstand and was holding them at gunpoint when officers arrived.

    The teen is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of possessing a firearm while under the age of 18.

  46. 46.

    Baud

    April 17, 2013 at 6:23 am

    @raven:

    two counts of possessing a firearm while under the age of 18.

    That’s a crime in Georgia? I’m impressed.

  47. 47.

    Hobbes

    April 17, 2013 at 6:24 am

    @raven: Was the verse Exodus 20:12?

  48. 48.

    Debbie(aussie)

    April 17, 2013 at 6:25 am

    @weaselone:
    Visiting the US could get very problematic if one was to break the law in some way, as it can happen :)

  49. 49.

    geg6

    April 17, 2013 at 6:25 am

    @raven:

    But I thought guns made you magically safe! And so does being axsaved Christian! Jeebus probably would have shot Mary and Joseph inthe same situation, I’m sure.

  50. 50.

    Schlemizel

    April 17, 2013 at 6:25 am

    @mai naem:

    I agree that there will be howls for revenge if the bomber turns out to be a Muslim. If it is an Eric Rudolph or Timmy McVey type then the whole thing is a false flag op done by Obama to cover up . . . well something pretty horrible I am sure.

    The last fall-back position is lone nut. They will cling to that despite the help Eric and Timmy got, the encouragement and protection. While only a few goopers will publicly agree the rest will wink and nod

  51. 51.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 6:26 am

    @Hobbes: Maybe it was Highway 61.

  52. 52.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 6:27 am

    @Schlemizel: My pal Pat Lang has the the lone wolf post up.

  53. 53.

    Schlemizel

    April 17, 2013 at 6:28 am

    @raven:

    I laughed out loud when I read that

    Sorry, I am bad and I should feel bad

  54. 54.

    Debbie(aussie)

    April 17, 2013 at 6:29 am

    @Baud:
    Do you think there is any chance the parents might be charged for having a deadly weapon available to someone under the age of 18. (Would that be law anywhere in the US?)

  55. 55.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 6:29 am

    @Schlemizel: About what? It’s hilarious.

  56. 56.

    Amir Khalid

    April 17, 2013 at 6:30 am

    @Hobbes:
    I still miss Byers, Langley, and Frohike. The Lone Gunmen was funny as heck and had real potential. Fox should have let it continue.

  57. 57.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 6:31 am

    @Debbie(aussie): UPDATE!

    The parents of the boy accused of shooting them in anger over their telling him to finish a household chore Friday were not able to attend their son’s Muscogee Juvenile Court hearing Monday because they were in the hospital, their pastor said today.

    Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/04/15/2465255/police-teen-shot-parents-because.html#storylink=cpy

  58. 58.

    NotMax

    April 17, 2013 at 6:32 am

    Collins’ rampant stupidity and fatuous pattern scrying is self-evident. One step (and only one step) away from idiotically concluding that as there were no explosions at the marathon before same sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts…, Q.E.D.

    Two steps away from slaughtering some animal and reading its entrails on the floor of the Senate.

  59. 59.

    Baud

    April 17, 2013 at 6:33 am

    @Debbie(aussie):

    I’ve never heard of such a law, but maybe it is in one of the more gun-restrictive states.

  60. 60.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 6:34 am

    @NotMax: Oh yea, you want stupid. Raise:

    Ingraham finished out the segment with just such speculation. “It is interesting that at this moment, we are considering legalizing or giving regularized status to millions of people,” she said. “Pretty much none of them have gone through any rigorous background checks.”

    “I just think there are all sorts of security implications,” Ingraham continued, “aside from the other arguments on immigration, national security implications that we don’t talk with enough frankness and certitude here. We can’t stop every attack, but my goodness, if we had borders that were shut down, and we actually had a proper screening process, maybe we could stop some of them.”

  61. 61.

    Schlemizel

    April 17, 2013 at 6:37 am

    @raven:

    Oh I agree but that poor dumb kid and his damaged family. That part is not funny. The ‘feel bad’ part is a meme that seemed to fit my laughing at anothers tragedy.

    Too bad the family didn’t have a gun to protect themselves with

  62. 62.

    Amir Khalid

    April 17, 2013 at 6:46 am

    @Hobbes:
    Also, The Lone Gunmen couldn’t be killed off on their own show, which had been cancelled after its half-season run. The X-Files used the characters a few more times, and gave them a heroic death in one of its own last episodes.

  63. 63.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    April 17, 2013 at 6:52 am

    @raven: No, it’s a b&w of him sitting at a desk, Einstein poster over his shoulder, with a typical “I cannot abide fools” look on his face. I’ll try to get a snap.

  64. 64.

    Baud

    April 17, 2013 at 7:02 am

    @raven:

    If you don’t have a green card, you can’t commit mass atrocities.

    How can you commit mass atrocities if you don’t have a green card.

  65. 65.

    Patricia Kayden

    April 17, 2013 at 7:03 am

    ““Whenever we have an attack like this it’s difficult not to think that it’s somehow involved in Islamic extremism,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins. “I don’t have evidence to back that up. That’s just based on previous attacks.”

    Is Ms. Collins not aware of domestic terrorists?

  66. 66.

    ellennelle

    April 17, 2013 at 7:05 am

    let them rant. all the better for hoisting on their own petards.

    from all the evidence so far, this job looks oh so local. why would al qaeda care about the boston marathon? super bowl, maybe; world series, sure, but the marathon?

    patriot’s day, only in MA, tax day, not to mention the 100th anniversary of the US income tax – not to mention having intimate understanding of the race for maximum placement and timing. symbols are just not international, but local/US.

    and susan collins, of all people, should know this.

  67. 67.

    MikeJ

    April 17, 2013 at 7:06 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    I still miss Byers, Langley, and Frohike. The Lone Gunmen was funny as heck and had real potential. Fox should have let it continue.

    If they found a time machine and wound up on the firefly class cargo ship Serenity everyone could be happy.

  68. 68.

    Patricia Kayden

    April 17, 2013 at 7:17 am

    @raven: So every single immigrant is a potential terrorist? Got it.

  69. 69.

    TheMightyTrowel

    April 17, 2013 at 7:20 am

    Good news from the southern hemisphere to brighten up your mornings: New Zealand has just legalised gay marriage.

  70. 70.

    Randy P

    April 17, 2013 at 7:26 am

    @Hobbes: I thought those guys were recurring characters. Seems to me Mulder would go to them for intelligence sometimes, and the joke was that they were wild-eyed conspiracy theorists who were RIGHT about the conspiracies. And had intel which he, in the FBI, did not.

  71. 71.

    Keith G

    April 17, 2013 at 7:30 am

    Gosh, Ms. Collins gives me cramps.

    Whenever we have an attack like this it’s difficult not to think that it’s somehow involved in Islamic extremism,

    But isn’t she statistically correct?

    Given relevant stories in the news over the last few decades, there are essentially two choices: Extreme reactionary conservative (and/or militia) types or Islamic extremists.

    I would imagine that large numbers of people have thought that an Islamic connection was among the extremely likely possibilities. That is the way we process data.

    I still do not like Collins, but I can not fault her for making an obvious connection even though obvious connections can be quite wrong.

  72. 72.

    Ramalama

    April 17, 2013 at 7:33 am

    There are researchers who train bees to sniff out bombs. I don’t know how it would work in an urban setting, sending out bees before a major event to detect for bombs, but hey maybe plant more flowers on Beacon and Boylston Streets etc next year? And then an emergency epi-pen stationed near every fire hydrant in case someone allergic gets stung?

  73. 73.

    Anton Sirius

    April 17, 2013 at 7:35 am

    @JGabriel:

    If it weren’t for bomb control laws, someone could have prevented this by bombing the unknown bomber before he even planted his bombs under the stands.

    So he says, he says, I like the cut of your jib, baby, and I says, IT’S THE ONLY JIB I’VE GOT

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyJVaIrn0bw

  74. 74.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 7:36 am

    @Comrade Scrutinizer: Here’s the one I’m talking about.

  75. 75.

    Kay

    April 17, 2013 at 7:41 am

    @Schlemizel:

    He’s 15 and he’s already been through a drug court. Drug courts are diversionary programs for kids ( and adults) with addiction issues.
    They’re great, I wish there were more of them, but if he’s been through one by 15 they never should have allowed access to a gun.
    Someone needs to do some gun grabbing before he’s released back to his parents.

  76. 76.

    Tyro

    April 17, 2013 at 7:51 am

    Collins is incredibly, incredibly dumb. She maintains a veneer of respectability because she was in the senate at the same time as Olympia Snowe, and the public tended to mix them up or treat them as interchangeable.

  77. 77.

    jibeaux

    April 17, 2013 at 7:51 am

    I don’t understand Maine at all. It feels like a fairly lefty, mind your own business place that won’t elect a fucking Democrat to save its life.

  78. 78.

    Sean

    April 17, 2013 at 8:02 am

    @28 Percent:

    these guys can’t smell the whiff of wonder bread coming off of that?

    No, they can smell it, but it certainly is verboten from discussion.

  79. 79.

    Redshirt

    April 17, 2013 at 8:03 am

    @jibeaux: We’re INDEPENDENT!

    Seriously, the state was one of the most Republican from 1850 to 1992 (along with Vermont – the only two states never to vote for FDR, for example). Then it switched with everyone else, but there’s a strong lingering tradition of “Rockerfeller Republicans”.

    Take heart though – Collins is the last of them. King, while nominally “Independent”, is a solid Dem vote.

    Collins will probably win again though, sadly. The illusion of “Moderate Centrist” persists and there’s no one on the horizon with enough clout to boot her. The best we could hope for is a primary from the Right – which is possible. Maine is also the home of a vibrant Paulite community. Which in fact is now in charge of the state Republican Party.

  80. 80.

    Cassidy

    April 17, 2013 at 8:08 am

    @AA+ Bonds: Blog scold is blog scolding and your condescension concern is noted.

  81. 81.

    gnomedad

    April 17, 2013 at 8:10 am

    “Whenever we have an attack like this it’s difficult not to think that it’s somehow involved in Islamic extremism,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins

    So, for some people, is tying your shoelaces. Your difficulties are not evidence of anything.

  82. 82.

    Ash Can

    April 17, 2013 at 8:10 am

    @Keith G: If she had made the “obvious” connection, she would have given domestic right-wing terrorism equal weight in her remarks.

  83. 83.

    Suffern ACE

    April 17, 2013 at 8:11 am

    The Miranda rights are a magic spell that heap boons upon all who hear them. I can understand why no foreigner should ever hear them.

  84. 84.

    Rick Massimo

    April 17, 2013 at 8:13 am

    @Keith G: But she’s not some citizen spouting off in a bar. She’s a US senator who will have no small role in determining what we’re going to do about this. And she’s admitting that while she doesn’t know anything, and there’s an entire branch of possibilities that she’s totally not considering, she’s sticking with the Mooslims.

    It may be an argument for the kind of things we’re talking about,” McCain said. “Exit–entry visas, e-verify. In fact, I think it should accelerate [the bill].”

    He then went on to denounce anyone who would use a tragedy to score political points, I’m sure.

  85. 85.

    Cassidy

    April 17, 2013 at 8:16 am

    @Keith G:

    But isn’t she statistically correct?

    No. Statistically speaking, terrorism in the US has domestic origins.

  86. 86.

    Anya

    April 17, 2013 at 8:20 am

    @Keith G: First, Collins is a senator not an anonymous blog commenter. She should know the weight of her words. Second, did she not hear about the Oklahoma City Bombing or the Olympic Bomber Eric Rudolph? An ” attack like this” has more similarity with those two previous attacks than 9/11.

  87. 87.

    Svensker

    April 17, 2013 at 8:24 am

    @Suffern ACE:

    The Miranda rights are a magic spell that heap boons upon all who hear them. I can understand why no foreigner should ever hear them.

    My wingnut family members are always sneering at LIE-bruls because we don’t understand that the Gubmint doesn’t “give” us rights, they are God-given. But apparently God only gives those rights to white Christians who live in the U.S.n Everyone else gets tortured.

  88. 88.

    Kay

    April 17, 2013 at 8:27 am

    @Suffern ACE:

    The Miranda rights are a magic spell that heap boons upon all who hear them.

    I love that she’s supposed to be the moderate. Purely political hackery. I guess she’s a “moderate” because she waited more than 24 hours to throw some red meat to the base.

  89. 89.

    Suffern ACE

    April 17, 2013 at 8:27 am

    I also agree with Peter King. Homeland Security is well known for its efficiency and gold star administration and is one of the government agencies where the diligent congressional oversight has yielded tremendous benefits for us all. There is no reason why it should have its budget cut.

  90. 90.

    beltane

    April 17, 2013 at 8:34 am

    @Patricia Kayden: To us they might be domestic terrorists, to her they are known as “my base”.

    Back in 1995 there was still a bright line between RW terrorists and the more mainstream elements of the Republican party. That line has been growing blurrier and blurrier ever since, and was erased almost completely with the introduction of the Tea Party.

    All I can say to the party of Susan Collins is “You built this.”

  91. 91.

    The Other Bob

    April 17, 2013 at 8:34 am

    @The prophet Nostradumbass:

    Similarly, so did a Tom Clancy novel.

  92. 92.

    Cassidy

    April 17, 2013 at 8:35 am

    @Suffern ACE: The problem with having its budget cut is that they’re already *underfunded and understaffed for their given mission(s). Regardless of what you think of them, cutting their budget means people losing jobs.

    *Short anecdote, I was half way through the Federal Air Marshal hiring process when myself and the other candidates received a brief email saying there was no money to continue, thanked us for our time, and encouraged us to apply for the next notice whenever it comes out. At our point in the process we had already conducted the interviews and all we had left were the medical and psychological screenings, receiving and accepting the hiring letter, and getting a FLETC date, so it’s not like effort hadn’t been invested in the hiring.

  93. 93.

    NonyNony

    April 17, 2013 at 8:36 am

    @Svensker:

    But apparently God only gives those rights to white Christians who live in the U.S.n Everyone else gets tortured.

    This is actually a truism of American conservatives – that “God given” rights are reserved for US citizens and that God apparently doesn’t think that non US-citizens are worthy of rights like trial by jury or facing your accuser in court.

    Interestingly, it’s usually the “godless liberals” who think that human rights are universal rather than ending at national boundaries.

  94. 94.

    beltane

    April 17, 2013 at 8:39 am

    @Svensker: That’s so funny. Back in the good old days when rights were “God given”, only the male half of 2% of the population had any rights whatsoever, the rest being serfs or other low status people who had the right to work and shut up.

    Rights are given by no one, especially not invisible men. They are fought for and earned and maintained through the means of a democratically elected government. God is notoriously stingy about handing out rights.

  95. 95.

    Cassidy

    April 17, 2013 at 8:42 am

    These fuckers are terrified it will end up being on of them. When they catch the fucker(s) who did it, we can only hope they have a personal library full of Rush, Beck, Hannity, etc.

  96. 96.

    Keith G

    April 17, 2013 at 8:43 am

    @Ash Can: I cannot read her mind, therefore I cannot know her motives. She serves on committee thats spends a whole lot of time talking about the terrorists we are trying to kill in Afghanistan Pakistan and Yemen. Given that frame of reference, I’m not surprised that is what she said. Notice she didn’t talking about probabilities of the attack itself. She was being rather meta and just talking about how she was processing the information she was learning.

  97. 97.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 17, 2013 at 8:45 am

    @Keith G: My guess is that if one adds up the number incidents caused by right tight wing nutter and the number caused by Islamist nutters, the right wingers will have many more. Enough more so that one’s thought should not go to Islamic terrorism as a first guess. Also, as a Senator – especially one with pretensions to reasonableness – one shouldn’t spout off half-cocked.

  98. 98.

    weaselone

    April 17, 2013 at 8:48 am

    @beltane:

    I thought the Tea Party was composed of people zipping around on their government subsidized rascals demanding that the government keep its hands off their Medicare. As much as a dislike the movement, I don’t think it’s fair to accuse them of mainstreaming right-wing terrorist groups.

  99. 99.

    Skepticat

    April 17, 2013 at 8:50 am

    @Keith G: Not only am I not a mathematician, I don’t even play one on the ‘net, but I think we can argue with those statistics. I just sent an e-mail to “my” Senator Collins telling her that I’m upset and embarrassed by her premature, uninformed, inflammatory comments. I didn’t take time to do a very full list, but I suggested to her that she pay more attention to a few of those vaunted previous attacks we’ve seen, by Eric Rudolph, Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, Theodore Kaczynski, Bruce Edwards Ivins, Jim David Adkisson, Scott Roeder, James W. Von Brunn, Andrew Joseph Stack III, Jared Lee Loughner, James von Brunn, Lee Boyd Malvo, Adam Lanza, and their ilk.

    There are no obvious connections yet. We don’t know, no one knows, and until there are some facts, I’d like to hear fewer hateful stereotypes thrown around recklessly.

  100. 100.

    Brendan in NC

    April 17, 2013 at 8:50 am

    @Patricia Kayden: Oh she’s aware all right – she’s aware that the domestic terrorists usually come from her wing of the asylum.

    Keith G @ 71 – I can fault her – the simplest answer to the question of whodunit – right now – is “We don’t know, and shouldn’t speculate.”

    But since the Tea Partiers in Maine have essentially said they’re going to primary any one who seems moderate, she’s pulling a Lindsay Graham.

  101. 101.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 8:53 am

    I’m pissed, not only have they not caught the bomber yet but his thread is seven hours old!!!

  102. 102.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 17, 2013 at 8:53 am

    @Svensker: @NonyNony:

    This is actually a truism of American conservatives – that “God given” rights are reserved for US citizens and that God apparently doesn’t think that non US-citizens are worthy of rights like trial by jury or facing your accuser in court.

    This is, I think, the worst form of American Exceptionalism. Especially as it only really applies, in their minds, to people like them. Also, it’s funny because those particular Amendments don’t apply to citizens only; they apply to “persons.”

  103. 103.

    Cassidy

    April 17, 2013 at 8:55 am

    @raven: Feast or famine.

  104. 104.

    Chris

    April 17, 2013 at 8:56 am

    @Randy P:

    @Hobbes: I thought those guys were recurring characters. Seems to me Mulder would go to them for intelligence sometimes, and the joke was that they were wild-eyed conspiracy theorists who were RIGHT about the conspiracies. And had intel which he, in the FBI, did not.

    Except it was only partially right at best – didn’t the MIB guy from Area 51 laugh at them for the number of red herring stories he’d planted that they swallowed hook line and sinker?

  105. 105.

    Keith G

    April 17, 2013 at 8:56 am

    @Cassidy: And yet in the last few years, there have been a handful of high-profile Islamic terrorism cases/events/arrests in the news. therefore it might not be that difficult to think that any given terrorist activity have an Islamic extremist connection.

  106. 106.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    April 17, 2013 at 8:56 am

    After all that, I think it’s OK if we speculate on which home grown groups did this. At least we’re not jackass congresscritters.

  107. 107.

    Chris

    April 17, 2013 at 8:57 am

    @Keith G:

    I still do not like Collins, but I can not fault her for making an obvious connection even though obvious connections can be quite wrong.

    Oklahoma City should’ve taught us all a few things about obvious connections. Namely, the latter half of your sentence.

  108. 108.

    Svensker

    April 17, 2013 at 8:58 am

    @beltane:

    Rights are given by no one, especially not invisible men. They are fought for and earned and maintained through the means of a democratically elected government. God is notoriously stingy about handing out rights.

    My sense is that what the Founders were saying — and which always seemed true to me — is that humans have rights, as humans, which no other human or government should deny to them. It was framed as “endowed by their Creator” but you don’t have to believe in God to accept the idea. Governments are supposed to protect those natural rights, not suppress them.

    So I would disagree with you philosophically, but not practically.

  109. 109.

    beltane

    April 17, 2013 at 8:59 am

    @weaselone: I’m sorry, but when you have a Senate candidate brandishing the slogan “2nd Amendment remedies” and people showing up at rallies either armed or carrying signs saying “We come unarmed this time”, I thinks it’s safe to say the extremism has been mainstreamed. All of the “hoverround Republicans” I’ve spoken with are highly sympathetic to the goals of the more violent members of their movement. Just because most of them are too lazy to get off their couches and act on their beliefs does not mean they are basically good people.

    Evil can lurk in the heart of fat, white Medicare recipients. Really, it can.

  110. 110.

    Chris

    April 17, 2013 at 9:00 am

    @The Other Bob:

    Unlike The Lone Gunmen, that one was actually trumpeted far and wide at the time of the attacks, with the author praised as a visionary for his prescience.

  111. 111.

    raven

    April 17, 2013 at 9:00 am

    @Cassidy: Just thought I’d throw that out there!

  112. 112.

    WereBear

    April 17, 2013 at 9:01 am

    @weaselone: My take on Beltane’s comment was that the screaming emails and conspiracy theories that wring money from the Tea Partiers have unpleasant side effects of stirring up the homicidal lunatics among them.

  113. 113.

    Keith G

    April 17, 2013 at 9:03 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Well, wouldn’t that shut down the whole Senate?

  114. 114.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 17, 2013 at 9:07 am

    @Svensker: Given that TJ, et al., were involved in an armed rebellion at the time the “endowed by their Creator” line was written and tthat a significant number of them were Deists, I am betting that they would agree with your take on this. I have always taken the “endowed by” phrase to mean that these rights were not granted by any government and therefore could not properly be taken away by any government. I have never seen it as a claim that a deity is the source of rights. After all, couldn’t the “Creator” simply be nature?

  115. 115.

    beltane

    April 17, 2013 at 9:07 am

    @Keith G: The media is hardly a neutral, unbiased entity. The fact that they choose to devote considerable time and energy in covering acts of terror committed by Muslims while ignoring or sugar coating or excusing those committed by domestic terrorists just tells you where their priorities are-nothing more.

    The only thing in Susan Collins’ favor here is that she has a reputation for being not-too-bright. In this case, she is certainly living up to this reputation.

  116. 116.

    MikeJ

    April 17, 2013 at 9:07 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    My guess is that if one adds up the number incidents caused by right tight wing nutter and the number caused by Islamist nutters,

    Islamist nutters are right wing nutters.

  117. 117.

    beltane

    April 17, 2013 at 9:09 am

    @WereBear: Thank you. Words matter, and the Republican party chose to keep itself relevant by using the most hideous language possible.

  118. 118.

    Ramalama

    April 17, 2013 at 9:09 am

    @jibeaux: In the 80s one of my many jobs was telephone polling (about social issues I think). The phone numbers were randomly selected by a computer but targeted a specific geographical area.

    The most interesting calls were the ones I made to Maine households. I talked with many people who were gracious and curious Mainers who were slightly unaware of which bracket their income fit into. More than 5 people I spoke to said, “I honestly don’t know how much money I make in a year” and then relented when I asked “over one hundred twenty five thousand?”

    “Yes, I suppose that would be accurate.”

    All of the well-to-do Mainers I spoke with strongly believed that abortion rights should not be struck down due to their belief in keeping the government out of one’s private affairs. I don’t recall if we asked about gay anything. It was the 80s and just as AIDS was mowing everyone in certain circles down.

  119. 119.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 17, 2013 at 9:10 am

    @Keith G:

    Well, wouldn’t that shut down the whole Senate?

    It might. If she wants to be seen as reasonable and serious, she should act like it. If she wants to be considered in the same breath as Sessions and Burr, then, by all means, let her continue speaking without thinking.

  120. 120.

    Suffern ACE

    April 17, 2013 at 9:16 am

    @MikeJ: Yep. Although I hear they’re big on expanded government run old age pensions and collective bargaining in the workplace.

  121. 121.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 17, 2013 at 9:17 am

    @MikeJ: A fair point.

  122. 122.

    beltane

    April 17, 2013 at 9:18 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: This is an interesting discussion, and it is true that I disagree somewhat with the philosophy of the Founders as being highly impractical. While the achievement of certain universal rights should be the ultimate goal of humanity, to say that these rights are an inherent and unalienable part of the human condition is just ridiculous.

  123. 123.

    Cassidy

    April 17, 2013 at 9:21 am

    @Keith G: Meh, you’re parsing time frames to prove a non-existant point. There is no rhyme, reason, or pattern to terrorism. If we go back far enough, terrorism was primarily conducted by Europeans. If we pick the right time frame, the majority of terrorism was conducted by leftist leaning groups.

    That being said, terrorism in the US has largely been domestic and political in nature across the spectrum of ideology. Yes, in recent history, international terrorism has happenned, but not enough to be considered a trend even if you include the failed attempts.

  124. 124.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 17, 2013 at 9:31 am

    @beltane:

    While the achievement of certain universal rights should be the ultimate goal of humanity, to say that these rights are an inherent and unalienable part of the human condition is just ridiculous.

    Society is flawed. One can measure the flaws in a particular social framework by seeing how well the framework supports and guarantees basic human rights. Once once finds a problem, one can work to fix it. To me, this notion is at once a rational product of the Enlightenment and a utopian vision.

  125. 125.

    artem1s

    April 17, 2013 at 9:50 am

    @amk:

    Term limits have ruined Ohio too. And it is a violation of my right to petition the government and vote for qualified candidates. Just because the 1% wants to buy elected officials is no reason I should have to give up having a well trained, experienced representative who has to consider long term effects of the decisions s/he makes. If glibertarians don’t want their elected official to hold office for more than a few years, then they can find sane candidates to run against incumbents, fund their campaigns and vote for them. Term limits have forced both parties to run candidates so far down the bench it’s embarrassing how unqualified their are. And its done nothing to help third party candidates because the Koch brothers can now buy the littlest city council seat for the crazy of their choice just to get a single piece of local legislation passed. Term limits make sure that there is no proven, experienced candidate available to run against the grifters.

  126. 126.

    ellie

    April 17, 2013 at 10:01 am

    @Amir Khalid: The three characters from that show later died in an episode of The X Files.

  127. 127.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 17, 2013 at 10:09 am

    @ellie: Do you really know that? The truth is out there.

  128. 128.

    Randy P

    April 17, 2013 at 10:15 am

    On topic: IT people at work say that 125 (!) Boston Marathon bombing-related domains were registered in the first day after the attack, and there’s a wave of malware, phishing, fake charities using Marathon-related keywords.

    This comes from cisecurity.org, Center for Internet Security

  129. 129.

    Morzer

    April 17, 2013 at 10:24 am

    @JGabriel:

    I think at this point al Qaeda would want to take the credit, just to show they are still in business and for recruitment purposes. I don’t think they have an incentive to hold off. I strongly suspect that it’s a local wingnut, based on the timing of the bombs, which, to me, argues a degree of local knowledge.

  130. 130.

    Maude

    April 17, 2013 at 11:08 am

    @Cassidy:
    Collins is a racist.

  131. 131.

    shortstop

    April 17, 2013 at 11:56 am

    @Baud: Too funny.

    @Keith G: She went with one of the two obvious possibilities you name while steadfastly ignoring the other one. She made a conscious choice to do that.

  132. 132.

    JustRuss

    April 17, 2013 at 7:42 pm

    @MikeJ:

    If they found a time machine and wound up on the firefly class cargo ship Serenity everyone could be happy.

    I would so watch that show!

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