This is my first post at FDL, so I thought I’d provide something in the way of an introduction. I started Instaputz about a year and a half ago because I got sick and tired of Glenn Reynolds’ endless right wing distortions and smears on progressives while posing as a “non-partisan” or “libertarian” — with the likes of Howard Kurtz gleefully perpetuating the lie. Later, I started covering the wingnut performance art blogging of the entire Pajamas crew and did a stint of guest blogging over at Unclaimed Territory.
As you may have guessed, I have a morbid fascination with just how crazy the crazies have become. The conservative movement is so sickly and corrupt that moderate/center positions are now considered “left” or “liberal” by the corporate media and punditry. It’s hawkish realism vs. bombing Iran as soon as possible. It’s reducing the deficit vs. deficits don’t matter. It’s being proactive about climate change vs. global warming is fake. It’s the rule of law vs. torturing anyone the President calls a terrorist. And of course, it’s non-stop straw men (socialized medicine!), false dilemmas (surrender or victory!) and bad faith arguments (No one thinks Reagan was a racist!) from these weirdos.
I’m probably kidding myself, but maybe by shining a little light on their absurdities, the corporate press and chattering class will eventually realize that these nutbars are off their collective rockers.
It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
Great to be here.
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Woohoo!
zed?
Good goin smgumby!
Yes! I love the smell of a Zed in the morning almost as much as… …never mind. Off to read the post!
Blue Texan! I follow Instputz from time to time and really do enjoy your work. Thank you for not making me read those cretins all by myself!!!
Yes, Smgumby. I can’t help myself. It’s like not being able to turn away from a hideous and bloody car wreck.
and glad you are getting yourself dirty here at the lake of fire and dogs
you dirty dog you
welcome blue texan, welcome
Blue Texan,
I follow Right Wing Radio in Boston and have been loath to name names and write about the incredible things being broadcast every day for hours on end.
Perhaps, if there is a forum to collect the absurdities, I will be less reluctant. The “libertarians” of Boston radio are working full time to support Republican candidates, hour after hour.
One of our most disgusting radio personalities has a promo going in which he says that Mitt Romney is the Republican JFK.
Byron Dorgan gavels in the Senate.
All done.
Blue Texan @ 6
more than a decade ago i used to sometimes listen to rush limbaugh (in a know-your-enemy kind of way)… but i just can’t do it anymore, even npr news usually gets me wanting to scream in less than 5 minutes.
so, i am very, very grateful that you don’t let the right wing bloggers off the hook for the nonsense they write. many thanks!
Welcome!
I’m so excited to have you here, BT.
Your service regarding the Knob from Knoxville has been exemplary.
Welcome to the Lake, Blue Texan!
eCAHNomics @ 9
I would think there are demcorats standing in line to gavel…for the legacy of it and all
Boston1775 @ 8
Boston 1775- I occasionally get hear the rants of these stations too. It is not the Libertarian aspect that bothers me but the disgusting racism, attacks on civility, and calls for violence against minorities.
austin in the house, Movin’ on up.
it’s a great fit, congrats.
eCAHNomics @ 9
Paul Kane of washingtonpost.com in phone interview with C-Span now about the Senate pro forma sessions.
Hiya, Instaputz. Greetings from Palmer, Alaska. My daddy was from Texas.
I’ve enjoyed your comments about Glenn Reynolds and Hugh Hewitt, usually picking them up as quotes at some other blog. Welcome to fdl!
it’s a dirty, thankless job. i’m glad you’re willing to do it. i couldn’t stand the foul odor myself.
Well, the best part is there’s no shortage of material.
Blue Texan @ 19
short material
BT, are you ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas?
Welcome aboard.
Jane,
How did your C-Span foray go?
And welcome Blue Texan! A few minutes standing outside of myhouse and you will be really blue, damn cold here this morning.
Blue Texan, thank you for your work. May your stomach always remain strong and your gag reflex weak!
Thank you also for joining us at the Lake on this holiday morning.
I hope you will forgive an OTish inquiry:
might anyone here know if Jane will be on CSPAN at 7:30 PDT this AM?
Richmond @ 14
I and others have brought attention to the calls for violence against minorities. Letters to the FCC asking for an investigation, letters to the District Attorney asking why an afternoon devoted to talk of sniper shots against crimaliens is allowed, letters to Senators and Congressmen.
The FCC has been taken over by the Bush administration as well. Thus, advocating sniper shots at crimaliens is allowed.
So on WJ, Jonah Gold berg accused those who called the South racist of not being politically correct. Who’s accurate-Goldber or those who think the South is racist?
Welcome to the lake Blue Texan, should change name to Iron Gut – it would take one for me to listen to the nutters.
eCAHNomics @ 25
B.
Don’t know where else to blog this, but FDL’s Jane Hamsher was on that channel that doesnt have any commercials and takes phone ins.
She was a wonder to watch and listen to.
Followed by the one referred to, I believe, as the “doughy pantload.”
Was that supposed to make it Fair and balanced?
Welcome!
Jane, what a pleasure to wake up to your smiling face on CSpan – thanks for representing us so well.
BT, are you ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas?
Not really. I’m a newly-minted Texan. But Chimpy’s approval rating is, I believe, in the low 40s in Texas, so plenty of Texans are.
They don’t like losers here.
Austin!
Wonderful piece of heaven.
Warm weather, beautiful trees, smart people, Town lake, Gryllus texensis chirping.
I love to read real Texans.
virgotex @ 15
ATX for the win.
Blue Texan @ 31
Do bear in mind that Commander Guy was born yankee.
Ghostman
Boston1775 @ 24
And, it seems as if the push by the FCC to narrow the ownership base for the media coming up in December is likely to go through as well unless Congress does something serious. Supposedly the FCC is now “seeking public opinion” on the matter, but I doubt that they will honestly address what criticism they no doubt will receive.
Blue Texan @ 31
I’m not sure it’s that low outside Travis County. There are significantly fewer GW stickers on windshields and bumpers, but I believe the majority will still vote for whatever Republican runs in ‘08. As to the original question, as a Texan, a am embarrassed, but am even more ashamed that he’s from the United States and speaks/acts in my name and yours.
Yep, it is. When it went below 50% for the first time (statewide) it was a news item in the Statesman.
Still very much a Republican state, and will be for a while.
Great to have you in our little ghetto.
Welcome!!!
I was referring to Natalie (Dixie Chick) Maines’ slam on Bush lest anyone think my question is unfair.
Bye Torii Hunter, we’ll miss you!
BT — I am so thrilled to have you aboard. Jane is right, the Knob from Knoxville work is some great stuff. *g*
I’m probably kidding myself, but maybe by shining a little light on their absurdities, the corporate press and chattering class will eventually realize that these nutbars are off their collective rockers.
yea you’re kidding yourself. the corporate media and chattering class are on-board and part and parcel of the cult of republicanism. There’s not much to do about the inane blovinators they may wish to give their megaphone to, but the most important thing Americans can to end the destruction of America is to BREAK UP BIG MEDIA.
Ghostman @ 34
As a person from CT I take issue with that. Chimpy was born in a bubble and the Bush family lived in an enclave that has very little to do with 99.99% of the rest of CT. And Lowell Weicker kicked Uncle Prescotts ass all over the state. Chimpy’s more hothouse variety repuglican than yankee or texan IMHO.
Welcome. Tough day to debut here when everyone is gushing (and rightly so) about Jane’s 2 mug performance on C-SPAN this a.m. It’s great to have somebody doing what you do. I look at Malkin’s blog and FOXNews.com almost everyday just to see what they’re spewing. While Malkin is, of course, over the top, I’m always fascinated at the way Fox prioritizes stories on its website.
Anyway, I think too many of us avoid the righty-looney outlets totally at our own peril. We really need to know what they’re saying when they’re saying it. It’ll be great to have you keeping us up to date. Besides, those people are, unwittingly, usually good for a few laughs.
Welcome. Or as one of my neighbors’ thing on their door says, Wilkom. Is that supposed to be faux-Amish or something? I don’t get it.
I’m probably kidding myself, but maybe by shining a little light on their absurdities, the corporate press and chattering class will eventually realize that these nutbars are off their collective rockers.
Oh, you’re kidding yourself, all right, but go ahead. Anything else is really hard work.
Beerfart Liberal @ 43
It requires a will of steel to watch Wingnuttia. I am still recovering from watching about five minutes of Hannity.
eCAHNomics @ 25
Technically, the South is region, so it cannot be racist — in that sense, the Doughy Pantload is correct.
But there are many racists in the South, and White Southern cultural identity is often little more than a fig leaf covering racist hatred. By defending this cultural state of mind, the DP loses 10 points for red herring dissembling.
But there is racism in all regions of America — the Doughy Pantload itself is an example of one of the more venal types of effete wingnut racism. Plus, there is no question that the GOP Southern Strategy is a thinly veiled appeal to the ugliest racism in this country.
That said, immigrant bashing Populism is Nativist AND Racist, and is an anathema to everything Progressives hold dear — which is why the Rahm Emanuel DINOs are a blight on the Democratic Party.
Progressive Populism, si — Nativist Populist Racism, no.
mui @ 44
If I had to choose between five minutes of Hannity and two minutes of waterboarding, it’d be a tough decision…
Media Matters does remarkable work.
It documents what they say, in context, and headlines the absurdities.
I’m thinking it might be valuable to do the same with our local people. Is this what your post is about?
Christy Hardin Smith @ 40
Oh geebus, knoxville. I’d like to hear other people’s impressions of the political climate there. I, I, I . . . never mind.
Ed*ard Teller @ 47
Spare me. This sort of talk is what the right wing does to suggest that waterboardng is no big deal.
Howdy Stranger,
Now let me get this straight. You travel into the badlands, observe the bad guys and then report their skullduggery back here to us? Well let me say, you’re one brave soul Blue Texan. Do ya hide out on rocky ledges like the “Lone Ranger” when you’re reconoiterring?
Welcome to the lake BT. Nice to know about Instaputz too. Thanks
Ghostman @ 34
Yeah I always think of him and his brush clearing photo-op bullshit as “Fake Texan” myself.
Welcome, Blue Texan! Always nice to hear a new voice.
bluejeansntshirt @ 51
Good to talk to you on CSPAN today.
Jane – any idea when you will replay today?
Welcome to the Lake!
One of the funniest things, was when Senator Inhofe said “global warming was made up to increase the Weather Channel’s ratings”. Hard to argue with “logic” like that.
Over one billion dollars in research, and that is the best he can come up with.
Boston1775 @ 48
Maybe we (you/someone) should start a site called Radio Matters – with not only some of the offensive “recordings” and lists of advertisers but discussions. Since the anti-Palestinian advocacy group (headed by a local book store owner) were able to stop the local Boston NPR affiliate from airing BBC reports of Mid-East suffering a few years back, NPR more generally has become a largely pro-Bush (and centrist) advocacy forum.
Richmond @ 50
I think waterboarding has entered popular lingua as a kind of expression to denote extreme pain, psychological and otherwise. Congratulations goes to the Chimperer for enhancing the X-files kind of popular fear of government, and hence the morbid jokes.
bluejeansntshirt @ 51
Is this the famous bluejeansntshirt of Washington Journal call-in fame?
Jane Hamsher @ 53
Hi Jane, Still all aflutter after my c-span debut. Your smile on my muted teevee helped with my nervousness but I missed your response and am awaiting a replay. Thanks for remembering me. You were tremendous and I look forward to more appearances in the future.
Yeah, a 2 mug performance indeed.
So glad for your presence. Welcome. I myself am also an Austin “weird.”. I occ. make the mistake of tuning to Rush. Someone had suggested that listening was a way to check in on things just to hear his topics. Now, only makes me sick with his lies and cruel attempts at humor.
So, I am wondering if you have any ideas/suggestions for getting Air America back to Austin. There was a newspaper piece that asked for ideas; I hate it that Air America has been lost/replaced. Thanks
egregious @ 58
Yeah, nervous, not enough coffee and the flu.
I dread the replay. Yikes!
Glad to have you here, Blue Texan. Hope you’ve got a Texas-sized light, ’cause there’s lots of absurdities that need some.
mui @ 58
the very reason “waterboarding” gets even the slightest bit of acceptance is the very term
we don’t make a nice term for “the chinese water torture” and we don’t make a nice term for “hanging you by your toes” or “pulling your fingernails out one at a time” or “drilling into the root of your teeth with a dull bit”
we as progressives need to stop using the term “waterboarding” and start using the term:
“drowing till near dead or near death and reviving to drown again”
that works
Welcome!
Welcome BT, we need all the help we can get exposing the insanity of the criminally stupid lunatic fringe! It’s a constant battle but these extremists right wingnuts need be educated in the basic fundamentals of honesty, common sense, and right human relations. And that my friend is what America is all about!
bluejeansntshirt @ 60
Here ya go:
perris @ 64
I think progressives need to observe how language is being used in vox populi and analyze rather than condemn right off hand.
What did I start? Waterboarding IS torture. Hannity ISN’T torture. But mindlessly watching Hannity or Glenn Beck, or many other stars from wingnuttia again and again leads to acceptance of torture by their vapid, hypnotized viewers. Part of why I hate listening to those people. Couldn’t bear to watch.
egregious @ 66
I’m here lurking most every day and try to keep out of the way of the big dogs. I consider you one of the bigger dogs and sit here in NY in awe of what comes across this monitor. Can’t really put into words what the lake and all you pups have meant to me.
Thanks for helping this lil pup understand what’s been going on everyday. I’m out here cheering you guys on. Keep it up.
Peace, bluejeansntshirt
Ed*ard Teller @ 69
Yup!
Howie Klein has this nice little diagram on republican corruption. I wish it could be blown up into a poster.
Yes they are idiots- yes lots of people listen to em- but it isn’t clear what can be done to get the audience to see the stupidity…They won’t listen to anyone they think is “left” and that includes anyone with a brain. Tough audience.
bluejeansntshirt @ 70
Hey, *you* were brave enough to make a call-in on national television! Way to go!
Ed*ard Teller @ 69
Unfortunately, not keeping track of the propaganda is what enables that propaganda to continue without so much as a pause to reflect.
If we want to hold the Press responsible for keeping track of the government responsibly, I think we have to assist them with keeping track of irresponsible propaganda machines. If not us, then who?
mui @ 71
Face miles of piles of trials with smiles for it riles them believe that we perceive the tangled webs they weave.
Welcome BT and thanks for keeping an eye on the wingers.
so when does the youtube or the politics tv go up with jane on it?
perris @ 77
Yes. That would be great.
rwcole @ 73
I bet their numbers are actually small. But they are a vocal well financed & quite well disciplined group (fundie church goers among others). The other group that really is bothering me are the sports-jock shows (often Fox). Savage etc often have shows on these same stations, and the call-in show hosts are often espousing right-wing political vitriol. The right wing also has penetrated big league sports in a serious way through the well organize cultist Christian groups (the Colorado Rockies is an example). Even the Red Sox last year had some of this at play. (Did any of this come out in the playoffs? No of course not.
Like MSM, when sports and other entertainment forms (see my critique of Bee Movie as political propaganda last post if you want) are espousing a right wing agenda in a major way it makes this whole “righting of the ship of state” process for us all the more difficult. (Why do we have to sing God Bless America at the 7th inning stretch? Why the fly overs? WHy all the military stuff in the pre-game and half-time shows? It is all more of the same.
mui @ 72
They should make it interactive, with sounds, like the one on Don Young I helped create for the Alaska Democratic Party last spring.
Anyone have a link for making reservations in Austin for Yearlykos? Trying to do a search on dailykos, but doesn’t work for me.
Richmond @ 57
Richmond, Media Matters follows Rush regularly. The problem is that local stations follow Rush’s formula but are not held accountable for their words.
A Radio Matters forum which collected the talking points of the right wing radio crowd across the country might be significant. It would require a regular forum which would accept input from all points of the compass.
Repub Sen Corker of Tenn. I think let down the kool-aid drinkers when he had this to say about Shrub:
“I was in the White House a number of times to talk about the issue, and I may rankle some in the room saying this, but I was very underwhelmed with what discussions took place at the White House,” Corker said.
A few minutes later during a question and answer session a man in the audience asked him to clarify his statement.
“I was concerned about your statement that you were underwhelmed with what was going on in the White House. Did you mean with him or with his staff?”
In response, Corker said, “Let me say this. George Bush is a very compassionate person. He’s a very good person. And a lot of people don’t see that in him, and there’s many people in this room who might disagree with that…. I just felt a little bit underwhelmed by our discussions, the complexity of them, the depth of them.”
No Deep Thinking Allowed
To counter right wing claims- we need VERY visible people flatly contradicting a few (NOT ALL) of the cherished myths….
For example- lowering tax rates DOES NOT raise tax revenues ala Laffer–if dem prez candidates were to contradict five gooper myths DAILY citing evidence—the knuckledraggers might at least be forced to THINK about the shit they believe.
LHP is upstairs.
Tax cuts hurt the deficit
War in Iraq is about which sect runs the country- we have no dog in that fight. It has nothing to do with decreasing terrorism.
When govt. regulatory agencies refuse to regulate- bad things happen- people DIE- they get killed in mines- killed by prescription drugs- etc.
Those are three attacks on wing nut myths that could be succesful if repeated daily for a year.
TexMex @ 32
Me, too. Nice to read you, BT. Thanks for your work. I turned off all commercial radio years ago, but now even NPR lets a little s**t slip in. You’re right about Texas, however. Starting with Bushalholic’s first claim that he had the majority of the Mexican American support (the miniscule % that voted, anyway). I know Texans, and he is no Texan (to paraphrase a real Texan). Keep up your good work; I’ll tune in to your Instputz!
PS It’s cold in San Antonio this a.m.
I was afraid that there was nothing and no one good in Texas since Molly left us. Seemed like the few who got heard were of the radical red variety. ‘Tis good to hear from you. Congratulations and good luck.
Hello and welcome,BT!
re Netroots Nation in Austin next year, what recomendations do you have for good breakfast food and good music near the convention hall?
Jane Hamsher @ 52
GhostmanYeah I always think of him and his brush clearing photo-op bullshit as “Fake Texan” myself.
bullshit it was, Jane, and sadly, it’s probably one of the few semi-worthwhile things he’s actually ever done, if only for a few short photo ops. I’ve got plenty of invasive cedar he could come chop if he really wants to help some more
Blue Texan, you are a great addition to FDL.
Texas Monthly is also very conservative and big supporter of George W Bush
I love austin but it is filled with wingnuts
good luck
I really enjoyed your stint at UT, and look forward to your posts here.
Balrog @ 21
the creep is NOT from Texas!! he moved here and Pretends to be from here. We are many things here
in texas – but bush ain’t one of us!!
Great to see you here! I’m a daily reader of your regular gig. Only wish there were twice as many posts, and what earthly reason would I have to flatter you disingenuously?
re Netroots Nation in Austin next year, what recomendations do you have for good breakfast food and good music near the convention hall?
I’m not sure where the convention is, but when I get more details, and we get closer, I’ll do you up a whole Austin tips post. Probably more than 1.
I accidentally clicked on WJ just in time to see Jane. She was also shining the light on the wingnuts. The ones that attacked her, she turned their comments with a smile and demolished their “points.” I tried to get through, but never could. Actually, most of the people who called, even on the rethug line, seemed rather sympathetic to Jane’s point of view.
Are we bound by history to impeach this President and vice President? Do we owe it to the generations to come to focus on nothing else till this criminal administration is brought to justice?
Is Impeachment Our Obligation?
http://willyloman.wordpress.co…..bligation/
willyloman @ 98
sorry!
it will take a few mess-ups to get knowing how to quote and post correctly
There are lots of food places around the convention area. Alot of Mexican food, of course, but other selections as well. A lot of choices on both sides of the Town Lake that is at the foot of the downtown area.
Blue Texan @ 37
At least for a few more months.
tw3k @ 76
moody and bluesy!
The righties have done this sort of thing before, getting out of control of their radical ‘fringe’
44 Years After JFK’s Death, New Assassination Plot Revealed
Just Three Weeks Before Dallas, Feds Uncovered Plot to Kill JFK in Chicago, Says Ex-Secret Service Agent
The presidential motorcade through Dallas a few moments before
John F Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, was shot.
(Library Of Congress/ Getty Images)
By CHUCK GOUDIE, WLS-TV
Nov. 22, 2007
A former Secret Service agent has told WLS-TV there was a plot to kill President Kennedy in Chicago three weeks before he was assassinated in Dallas.
Kennedy was murdered on Nov. 22, 1963. Today is the 44th anniversary of JFK’s assassination.
Lee Harvey Oswald would never have had the chance to kill Kennedy in Dallas, had an assassination plot in Chicago succeeded three weeks earlier, a plot that has been mentioned over the years.
Kennedy was due to arrive in Chicago the morning of Nov. 2 to attend the Army-Air Force football game at Soldier Field and ride in a parade. Newspapers had even printed JFK’s detailed travel plan from O’Hare airport to the Loop.
Although police were preparing to line the motorcade route, Secret Service officials in Chicago were deeply troubled about the visit because of two secret threats.
Right-wing radical and Kennedy denouncer Thomas Vallee had arranged to be off work for JFK’s visit; Vallee, an expert marksman, was arrested with an M1 rifle, a handgun and 3,000 rounds of ammo. But then there was the phone call to federal agents from a motel manager concerning what she’d seen in a room rented by two Cuban nationals.
“Had seen lying on the bed several automatic rifles with telescopic sights, with an outline of the route that President Kennedy was supposed to take in Chicago that would bring him past that building,” said former Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden.
Bolden, 72, of Chicago, was a young agent in 1963. After a few years as an Illinois state trooper, Bolden joined he Secret Service and was invited by Kennedy onto the prestigious White House detail. He was the first black agent assigned to protect a president.
Bolden recalled how agents bungled surveillance of those two suspected Cuban hit men. They disappeared and were never identified.
“No one was sent to the room to fingerprint it or get an ID. The case was lost and that was the end of it,” Bolden said.
On Nov. 2, the president was about to leave the White House for Chicago and Bolden says a Cuban murder squad here was unaccounted for.
“The morning of the game, the special agent in charge of the Chicago office called the White House and recommended the president cancel his trip to Chicago,” Bolden said.
News reports stated that Kennedy didn’t show because he was ill or because of a diplomatic crisis. Official investigations of JFK never determined why the president canceled Chicago Nov. 2. But in his first interview in 44 years, Bolden said JFK stayed away because of an imminent threat.
Bolden said the president didn’t come to Chicago because he was basically waved off by the Secret Service, and it wasn’t because he had a cold.
Information about Vallee, his similarity in appearance and background to Oswald and details of the Cuban hit squad in Chicago were never given to federal agents in Dallas.
Bolden said the information was not known to have been passed on to Dallas.
In a book that Bolden wrote with his wife, due out in the spring, he will cite another contributing factor in the JFK murder: on-duty drunkenness by Secret Service agents.
“I told the chief of the Secret Service this, that if anything happens, an emergency situation develops with President Kennedy, that their reflexes are going to be in a condition that they won’t be in a condition to respond, and Dallas, Texas, proved I was right,” he said. “The president’s life was in grave danger because of the inefficiency of security around him, too many weaknesses.”
“When that bullet struck the head of the president, it struck me too because I saw it coming,” Bolden said.
When the Warren Commission began investigating JFK’s assassination, Bolden says, he attempted to inform members about the Chicago plot and misconduct by his fellow agents.
During that time Bolden was arrested and prosecuted for soliciting a bribe from a counterfeiter and served a six-year sentence. He says it was a setup to silence him. The main witness has since recanted, and Bolden hopes now to clear his name.
A spokesman for the Secret Service in Washington said that officials “would not have any comment whatsoever about Mr. Bolden’s statements.”
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/s…..amp;page=1
Did a radical right-wing group deliberately conspire to assassinate the president of the United States?
Why did it take 44 years for this news to come to light?
here is another recent example of reicht-wing insanity:
Sharpton, Olbermann, reporter targets of white powder conDavid Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Friday November 23, 2007
The FBI recently contacted the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, the New York Daily News, and several other groups to let them know they might be receiving letters containing a suspicious but harmless white powder.
The FBI itself had received the first of the letters at its Albany office on Monday and were easily able to identify the sender as an inmate in a New York prison because he included his inmate number in the return address. FBI officials then warned other potential recipients as a precautionary measure.
According to the Daily News, the list included “MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann, Fox 5 reporter Mary Garofalo, CBS’ ‘60 Minutes,’ the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper, the Post Star newspaper in Glens Falls, the New York State Bar Association, Brooklyn state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, the Prisoners Rights Project of the Legal Aid Society in Albany and the Center for Law and Justice Inc. in Albany.”
However, there was no explanation as to why the jailed robber selected those particular targets or how the powder-packed letters were able to slip past prison authorities.
One year ago, as RAW STORY reported, Olbermann was sent “fake anthrax” by a California man, who was said to be an acolyte of conservative pundits such as Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin. A Fox News-owned tabloid, The New York Post, later mocked the “caustic commentator” for insisting on being checked out by a hospital after being ‘dosed’ with what a NYPD HazMat unit had already concluded was a “harmless soap powder.” In 2001, the Post was sent an anthrax-filled letter by an unknown person, still at large, who had targeted two Democratic senators, and ending up infecting at least 22 people, killing five.
Sharpton, who often receives threats and racist communications, was described as “extremely concerned” by a spokesperson. “It’s a reminder, a sad reminder, that civil rights, you’re always going to be facing threats and even in this day and age you always need to be on your guard,” a representative of his group told the Associated Press.
The inmate, Keith Lettley, describes himself on a prison pen pal website as “mature, grounded, open-minded, self motivated, focused, loving, caring, aggressive when need be, concerned, fair and supportive. … My hobbies are designing clothes, studying law, welding, playing sports, reading, writing, lisenting to all types of music, lifting weights and enjoying life.”
This video is from The Associated Press, broadcast on November 21.
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/….._1123.html