At The "Islamic Radicalization" Hearings

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim ever elected to Congress, got quite choked up during today's ridiculous "Islamic radicalization" hearings hosted by Rep. Peter King (R-NY), who himself has a history of backing terrorist groups. I've been watching the hearings live on CNN and only Hollywood could come up with a more McCarthyesque scenario.

SPOKANE: Bomb Found On Martin Luther King Day Parade Route

Your Daily Minute Of Crazy

Rep. Michele "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann says that Bill Clinton "celebrated" the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City because he attended a ceremony marking its 15th anniversary.

They said that Bill Clinton gave a speech yesterday — the former president — at the Center for American Progress, John Podesta’s group. He gave a speech, and he called me out in his speech, and he was talking about the anniversary — Now, only Democrats would do this. The anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing by Tim McVeigh. I mean, we don’t celebrate these things. This is not what we celebrate. So he was at this celebration, supposedly.

Think Progress points out that Clinton never mentioned Bachmann in his speech. Yet the teabaggers ate up her outrageous lies.

On Christian Terrorism

Alternet today features a lengthy essay on the rise of Christian terrorism seen recently via the murders of abortion providers and the resurgence of heavily armed Christian militias.

Christian terrorism has returned to America with a vengeance. And it is not just [Dr. Tiller's murderer] Roeder. When members of the Hutaree militia in Michigan and Ohio recently were arrested with plans to kill a random policeman and then plant Improvised Explosive Devices in the area where the funeral would be held to kill hundreds more, this was a terrorist plot of the sort that would impress Shi’ite militia and al Qaeda activists in Iraq. The Southern Poverty Law Center, founded by Morris Dees, which has closely watched the rise of right-wing extremism in this country for many decades, declares that threats and incidents of right-wing violence have risen 200% in this past year—unfortunately coinciding with the tenure of the first African-American president in US history. When Chip Berlet, one of this country’s best monitors of right-wing extremism, warned in a perceptive essay last week on RD that the hostile right-wing political climate in this country has created the groundwork for a demonic new form of violence and terrorism, I fear that he is correct.

Read the entire scary piece.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jimmy)

Oklahoma Teabaggers To Form Militia To Defend Against The Federal Government

Oklahoma teabaggers are working with politicians to form a state recognized volunteer militia to defend themselves against the federal government. Just in case, you know, somebody tries to make them obey the tyrannical health care reform bill.

Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty. Tea party movement leaders say they've discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force. They say the unit would not resemble militia groups that have been raided for allegedly plotting attacks on law enforcement officers. "Is it scary? It sure is," said tea party leader Al Gerhart of Oklahoma City, who heads an umbrella group of tea party factions called the Oklahoma Constitutional Alliance. "But when do the states stop rolling over for the federal government?"

Critics point out that the National Guard already exists as a state-level military force. Completely related to this whack story, the 15th anniversary of the bombing of Oklahoma City's federal building is this Monday.