Why would someone ever want to assasinate Obama? Here's why:

[Pab Sungenis]

Take a look at this. It was from a webpage linked to here at DU for the story on the thwarted attack on Obama and a bunch of black high school kids. I've zoomed in on the pertinent portions.



Yep. On a page headlined "Assassination Plot Against Obama Disrupted," we have a big ad box, with larger text than anything else on the page, asking "CAN HE BE STOPPED?" next to a picture of Barack Obama.

The ad is from right-wing "news" organization NewsMax.com, and carried by Google.

Normally, I'd brush off this kind of thing as simple political rhetoric, but when you have McCain and Palin inciting their crowds to just short of violence (including looking the other way when someone shouts "HE'S A NIGGER" at one of their rallies), this kind of thing has ominous overtones.

Especially so when you look at the company that actually owns WHEC-TV: Hubbard Broadcasting.

Hubbard has long dabbled in right wing propaganda. The Hubbard company ran ANC ("The All News Channel") as a prototype of Fox News from 1991 until 2004, when the trustees of the company's founder's estate finally shut it down. It had never run a profit in its 13 years, existing solely as a platform for its owner's radical right wing views.

Hubbard's KTSP was one of Rush Limbaugh's first affiliates after he took his show national, and is also home to a ton of right-wing local talkers and batshit insane Sean Hannity.

The Hubbard company is also notoriously anti-union, and has been in a dispute with the union representing employees at its Albany, NY, TV station for over a year.

So does it surprise me that a good deal of this page is taken up by an incendiary ad for Newsmax, asking if Obama "can be stopped?" Not in the least.

Do we honestly think the people at Newsmax would cry if someone DID "stop" Obama, probably with a bullet? Not in the least.

You have powerful people with deep pockets and radical agendas out there, who are growing more and more desperate. They're using their clout to encourage the worst elements out there to help their guy win by any means necessary.

So, if someone does manage to attack Obama, don't ask "why." You'll know why. People like WHEC-TV and Newsmax are why.

[tblue37]

1. k&r

[Dennis Donovan]

2. Recommended!

WHEC - that's fucking Rochester, NY!:grr:

[Pab Sungenis]

9. Remember, it's not where the station is located

it's who owns the station.

[Dennis Donovan]

11. It's sad because Rochester has a reputation as a progressive town...

I'm familiar with WNYT and their anti-union activities. They're blocked from my TV.

[jhrobbins]

19. And that is another issue with the Bush administration and Michael

Powell. I wonder if he is rethinking his position (not the FCC thing-I know he's gone) like his Dad.

[TheWraith]

25. Actually, that's a Google ad. The station probably has no control over it...

...Any more than DU can stop the "Yes on 8" ads that show up here sometimes via Google. Google simply flags the page content as political, and supplies a political ad.

[seemslikeadream]

3. k&r

[glitch]

4. They are so scared they are risking their "plausible deniability"

That's what happens when you base every life decision on your emotions and you really only have one: FEAR.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. Bra-vo! Pab, Well done! BTW, how is your campaign going? n/t

[Pab Sungenis]

7. Doesn't really start until January.

Just planning now.

[ColbertWatcher]

10. Okay, please keep us posted. n/t

[nichomachus]

6. Just read the LTTEs in your daily paper

The anti-Obama people are crapping in their pants. The wingnuts have them whipped into a frenzy of fear. The really scary thing is that these people are truly afraid that he's going to turn the country into a "Muslim socialist homosexual fascist state where all your money will be confiscated and either given to foreigners who won't work or will be used to teach your kids sex in kindergarten." (Please ignore the contradictions, because they do.)

This is the propaganda that's being fed to these people -- and they're believing it. So, it stands to reason that some idiot will visualize himself as the savior of white America and try to act on the fear.

[BanzaiBonnie]

22. I tried to reassure my brother that Obama is okay

He will be a fine president. Probably pretty moderate in some ways.

My brother cried out, "I don't WANT socialism" I asked him where he got the idea that Obama was a socialist. He couldn't answer me.

So I answered him. You're listening to all those radio guys who are telling a bunch of nonsense to make you afraid. He agreed, he's afraid.


Oh well, I don't know what else to say to him. I love my brother.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

30. Tell him...

To cowboy up, use his brain and seek out the facts. And that he won't get the facts from those yahoos that scream at him from his car radio.

[Fuzz]

8. C'mon. Liberals have been doing this kind of thing forever.

They are just being fair and balanced you know.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[RachkgTN]

12. Tennessean who Loves Obama!

I am proudly a Tennessean. Except for today. I saw the news of the two kids from Tennessee who the ATF arrested because of a plot to assassinate Senator Obama. I am sure fellow DU readers are smart enough to know this already- but all Tennesseans, not even all Southerners are that pitiful, closed minded, or ignorant. While I am a proud Tennessean, I am also a VERY proud Obama supporter. So, as a Tennessean I just want everyone to know-especially my fellow Democrats- that there are MANY Tennesseans who proudly support Barack Obama, and-like the rest of you- are completely DISGUSTED and sorrowed by the idiocy of others. OBAMA/BIDEN 08!!!!!!

[manray11]

13. Time to kill the messenger

When I think of Fox and their ilk, it appears to me that we might consider killing the messenger(s) as they incite these true crimes of race baiting and terrorism...

[rosesaylavee]

17. Not to worry - we know!

One of my favorite human beings - one of my heroes is one of your favorite sons - the Honorable Al Gore. Tennessee is a beautiful state of compassionate people. Some of my ancestors came thru Tennessee as I am sure many here can say too.

You are no more connected to this ugliness than any one of us here. These two boys own their behavior and characters.

:hug:

Welcome to DU!

[Lars39]

23. Welcome to DU, RachkgTN !

I used to live in west TN when I was younger. There are strong Democrats there! :hi:

[Blue Diadem]

32. Welcome to DU RachkgTN!

:hi: Glad to have you aboard here.

I think every state has their own bigoted crazies. I'm ashamed to say my state has quite a few. They may not end up in the news but if you've seen the videos of the M/P rallies here, you can hear and see them in action.

[drm604]

34. Welcome, and don't worry, we know.

Just like someone else here has already said, one of my heroes, Al Gore, is from Tennessee. I'm in Pennsylvania so I know that any state consists of a mix of people of many different ideologies.

I would never judge someone based solely on where they live. That's something freepers do. You won't see it happening much here.

[Oldtimeralso]

35. WELCOME TO DU

Do not despair RachkgTN. It is only half as bad as you feel because one of the boys was from Arkansas.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. And here is the Free Republic's take on the event:

Note:

1) the keywords FreeRepublic.com is using.
2) the title of their sleazy video.
3) the fact that they are using it to raise funds.
4) that they put it up on the assassination plot article.
5) that it all has gotten such a big response from the freepers: over 500 articles in just a couple of hours.



freeper responses here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7628986#7630481

[Scriptor Ignotus]

16. "antichrist" is one of the top search words

on FR. It's in their keyword cloud on the main page. Check it out. I'm not even mad about it, I just feel bad for them.

[Shallah Kali]

15. Article: McCain-Palin & the Lucificer effect: PsyOps against Obama

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dawn-teo/mccain-palin-and-the-luci_b_136572.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/24/16911/421/528/641193

In The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, famous psychologist and researcher Philip Zimbardo discusses his lifelong research into the psyche of good people who engage in evil acts. He warns first about the dangers of psychological constructions that imbue people with "otherness" and then issues even stronger warnings about the dangers of psychological constructions that transform "others" into "the enemy."

The process begins with creating stereotyped conceptions of the other, dehumanized perceptions of the other, the other as worthless, the other as all-powerful, the other as demonic, the other as an abstract monster, the other as a fundamental threat to our cherished values and beliefs. With public fear notched up and the enemy threat imminent, reasonable people act irrationally, independent people act in mindless conformity, and peaceful people act as warriors.

When Sarah Palin says, in her stump speech, "Obama does not see America the way you see America," she is separating Obama from what social psychologists call the "ingroup." Both Palin and McCain suggest that Obama does not share the goals of ordinary Americans, that he and his associates are somehow anti-American, that he is a socialist, and that he pals around with terrorists.

Through this rhetoric they aim to separate Obama from patriotic Americans --- to make Obama the other, to make him one of them, to characterize him with the property of otherness. Then, Sarah Palin escalates the rhetoric by adding, "He sees America as so imperfect that he pals around with terrorists," effectively transforming the other into the enemy.

[fourvahl]

18. Ten fold

What will the books say in ten years? It's unfortunate that the man who has one of the highest influence over the right wing has been more like the pied piper leading the rats.

"And the muttering grew to a grumbling;
And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling;
And out of the houses the rats came tumbling."

[TahitiNut]

27. The "Lucifer Effect" is the basic template for military indoctrination in wartime.

In order to 'convert' (desensitize) normal human beings into "trained killers" it's necessary to dehumanize the 'enemy' in their eyes. What's particularly dangerous is the coincident objectification of 'civilians' ... the pervasively demeaning treatment of those not 'elevated' by virtue of their membership in the military. Indeed, the 'meritocracy' of the professional/career military is virtually 100% derived from the degree to which the individual subscribes to such dehumanization of others.

This is the core pragmatic rationale I have for arguing for Universal National Service. Unfortunately, those not exposed to this schism (and the indoctrination) are the LEAST likely to appreciate the problem ... and the necessity of the 'solution.'

[MonteLukast]

20. Our most inspiring leaders have a nasty pattern...

... of being assassinated.

It's not just assassination Americans fear. It's the fact that those of us who are the most capable of getting what is necessary done tend to be eliminated pretty quickly.
Some in our society don't want America to be enlightened, that much. Some in our society don't want brains and curiosity to be socially rewarded, that much. Some want a populace of scared, cowering, frightful people that much... because scared people are a lot easier to control.

Is this another reason why our social mores tend to steer all of us away from becoming inspiring figures?-- because subconsciously, we all know that those kinds of people tend not to live very long, and we figure it's better to be a live schlub than a dead luminary?

[file83]

21. I saw that ad somewhere on the internet too - The first thing that popped into my head

was that they were suggesting he must me stopped. That it is in red letters has undertones of blood. Plus, the questions is phrased, "Can he be..." which sounds more like a challenge than a question, as in, "Can you jump over that hurdle?"

It's disgusting.

[onehandle]

24. Newsmax and their shady owners would supply the bullets.

Believe it.

[bjobotts]

26. Thjese people were cultivated by Rush,Savae,Colter.McCain rallies them.

There are sick people everywhere and the republicans have been cultivating them for the past 15yrs like they should be shocked now that the sickest have come out to do what McCain/Palin are rallying them to do...stop "America's enemies that don't see America they way they do". I accuse McCain/Palin of sedition and inciting violence...they don't talk policies just attack and smear and it backfires except for the sickest among us...that 23% who still love Bush, the low information deranged people we call McCain supporters.

Her's how you tell these a-holes. They say something about policy and you correct them and they jump to another subjuect over and over until they come to a subject you can't correct them on and then use that one to claim they were right on everything. There is no republican talking point that isn't easily debunked yet these "supporters" don't care and sooner or later you realize they are not so much McCain supporters as just Obama haters, they were just looking for someone to blame and hate.

[DeeDeeNY]

28. This kind of stuff is why I have trouble sleeping at night

[LiberalLovinLug]

29. Never click on a NewsMax.com ad

I did it once over a year ago because I did not know what it was. It was on RawStory. I have seen them on DU a lot as well. They are usually set up to look like polls you can take, so you click because you want to support your Democratic candidate. On their site is a whole lot of bullshit smearing of Obama (and Hillary when I was looking at it). They throw in a few moderately critical stories about Republicans, but mostly stories praising Republicans, trying to fool you into thinking they are 'fair and balanced'. But just going through their archives you soon get the overall direction of their site.

Don't click on any NewsMax ad because every click they make money, and gain credibility with a higher page count. Believe me you are not missing much.

So a question to the mods. Do you have no control whether one will appear on DU? Because I have seen lots of them. Can you request you NOT get those particular ones or is it automatically distributed to all sites? If it is not possible, and I know you need the revenue, then forget it. Just asking.

Now if you cannot or chose not to stop them, is it against some agreement with Google if you chose to inform your readers about them and urge them NOT to cater to NewsMax ads that appear on this site. And put that either permanently stuck somewhere on the front page in small letters. Or at least run the warning occasionally as a temporary story?

[DissedByBush]

31. Lies and tin foil don't help

1) If you know how Google Ads works, you know this is a coincidence. It ends up looking bad, but it was a case of water vapor randomly forming in the sky, creating a cloud that one might perceive as looking like a bunny.

2) The word in the crowd was not "He's a ni**er." I read over at Kos that it was confirmed as "REDISTRIBUTOR." I saw the video there. The Kos poster is correct.

[childslibrarian]

33. I do think they realize

That if they do this, there will be riots and this country will go down.