At what price complacency.

[Madhatterat60]

(this is cross posted...and I apologize...but I feel very strongly...and very frightened...by these events.)

On one VERY VERY ugly November night in human history, a group representing a small (some estimates say only 25%) political party organized against a “common enemy” and shattered glass throughout
Germany and Austria.  At the time, local police merely stood by and
fire departments were on hand to see that the fire did not spread to
non-Jewish stores.

In the early hours of the morning on Monday (3/22/2010) just after the House
health care vote, someone smashed the glass front door and windows of
the Tucson office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)

That night now has its infamous name of KRISTALNACHT, the night of broken
crystal.  It is a stain on the human soul that will never be removed as
long as decent, honest people are willing to recognize that even fringe
groups need to be watched very, very carefully.

 On Friday night or Saturday (3/20/2010) morning, a brick bearing
unspecified "anti-Obama and anti-health care messages" was thrown
through a floor-to-ceiling window at the Sedgwick County Democratic
Party headquarters in Wichita, Kansas

It is still not apparent who is behind such incidents.  I’d love to believe that somehow, someway, full and complete investigations are
taking place.  I have very little hope that is really happening.

Friday, (33/19/2010) a brick was thrown through the window of Louise Slaughter’s (D-NY) District Office in Niagra Falls, NY.

Eventually, one on the extreme edge of the fringe stepped forward, claiming to be
the motivator behind such incidents.  His name is Mike Vanderboegh, the
former leader of an Alabama survivalist group and head of the Alabama
Militia.

After the passage of the bill Sunday night (3/22/2010), a "fist-sized" rock was thrown at a
window at the Hamilton County Democratic Party in Cincinnati, in the
district of Rep. Steve Driehaus.

Mike had this to say on his blog:

“We can break their windows,” he said. “Break them NOW. And if we do a
proper job, if we break the windows of hundreds, thousands, of Democrat
party headquarters across this country, we might just wake up enough of
them to make defending ourselves at the muzzle of a rifle unnecessary.”

Late Saturday or early Sunday (3/22/2010), a brick was thrown through the windows of the Democratic Party Headquarters in Rochester, NY.

As you may well imagine, this is not the first problem that Mike has had
with the Federal Government.  As a founding member of the Alabama
Militia and radical survivalist, Mike has a continuous, running battle
with almost every Federal agency….except one. You understand, of
course, that Mike relies on SSI….that’s right, FEDERALLY FUNDED social
security disability…as his ONLY source of income.  I guess one person’s
social progra3m is another person’s bread and butter.

So here we have Mike, a leader of the Alabama Militia, a paramilitary group
expounding the liberty and freedom of America.  As you might imagine,
Mike is vehemently opposed to most things Federal and to President
Obama specifically.  While his blog was published AFTER the Saturday
attacks, it sadly rears the incredibly ugly specter of that chilling
night in Germany.  He calls for his followers to go and break out the
windows of all “Democrat” headquarters.

We in Idaho are champion defenders of the right of freedom of expression.  In fact, we allow
almost anyone to say and publish almost anything.  While there are some
who wish to limit the publishings of a racist, radical movement in the
northern part of the state, we silently agree with the recent court
ruling that allows their twisted ideas air time – or at least will not
prohibit the printing and distribution of their hate.

We’re glad to sit idly by, perhaps shrouded in our blissful ignorance, while their
hate work marches on.  We assure ourselves that, when all is said and
done, these crack pots make up a very, very small percentage of the
population and surely do not speak for all citizens.  We’re content to
read about them in the paper, now and then, and tsk tsk when reports of
their antics surface on the news occasionally.  

But at what point to such antics cross the line from minor public annoyance to criminal with truly dangerous implications?

When does such advocacy cross the line into conspiracy?

And what price to we pay for our comfortable complacency?

[cynthia Hunter]

This will be my last post on this site for some time. It is a shame that people would resort to such actions.Our country allows us to vote people in and out of office.
What is also just as distrubing is the picture of a man who was a known racist-murderer to represent this site.

[Westerly_2]

Just goes to show what I missed not attending the GB chalk-board tutorials , complet w/ foam-flecked lips and red eyes. Silly of me - I dropped that course years ago.

[Madhatterat60]

What is also just as distrubing is the picture of a man who was a known racist-murderer to represent this site.

Huh? Did I miss the bus? AGAIN??