Saturday, January 15, 2011

Stupid Leftist Profs Unite! (Redux)

I originally posted the following in May of 2010. Given the mythology of "rising right-wing violence" endemic in the press of late, I thought it was wothwhile reposting it. I will note the FBI domestic terrorist list hasn't changed since last May. Sadly. - IMW

You have nothing to lose but your dignity and any sense of common human decency you may have possessed!

The failed Times Square bombing prompted a leading light of academia to opine:


Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, professor, Washington and Lee University

I think the politics of this incident will turn heavily on who is found to be responsible. If, as seems unlikely, the bomb is linked to South Asian or Middle Eastern terrorists, questions will again arise as to whether the Department of Homeland Security is doing all it can do to keep us safe. If, as I believe is much more likely, the bomb was placed by a right-wing lunatic, it seems to me that questions need to be raised as to whether the right-wing media bear some responsibility for stoking the delusions of such people through their relentless and often unfounded attacks on the Obama administration and the federal government.


We need to consider whether it isn’t time to return to responsible, ethical journalism.


After I read this I kept repeating to myself, "Please don't let this have been a Political Science prof!" I can breathe easier as this particular moron is a professor of Law.

Make no mistake, Professor Stoltzfus Jost is a moron. His prejudice against "right-wingers" has caused him to believe, apparently, that domestic terror, when it occurs, is likely to issue from the right side of the political spectrum. Is this prejudice justified?

Well, let's see. Looking at the FBI's list of most wanted domestic terror fugitives we get this group. Let us see where they fall on the old left-right scale.

ELIZABETH ANNA DUKE

Elizabeth Anna Duke is wanted for her alleged involvement in a series of criminal activities during the late 1970's and early 1980's. She was allegedly a member of the radical group known as the May 19th Communist Organization which advocated communism and the violent overthrow of the United States Government.

Verdict: Leftist

JOANNE DEBORAH CHESIMARD
Joanne Chesimard is wanted for escaping from prison in Clinton, New Jersey, while serving a life sentence for murder. On May 2, 1973, Chesimard, who was part of a revolutionary activist organization known as the Black Liberation Army, and two accomplices were stopped for a motor vehicle violation on the New Jersey Turnpike by two troopers with the New Jersey State Police. At the time, Chesimard was wanted for her involvement in several felonies, including bank robbery.

Verdict: Leftist

REBECCA J. RUBIN

On January 19, 2006, a federal grand jury in Eugene, Oregon, indicted Rebecca J. Rubin on multiple charges related to her alleged role in a domestic terrorism cell. Rubin was charged with two conspiracy violations related to seventeen incidents and two counts of arson. These crimes occurred in Oregon and date back to 1997. Many of the crimes she is accused of participating in were claimed to be committed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) or the Animal Liberation Front (ALF).

Verdict: Leftist

NORBERTO GONZALEZ-CLAUDIO

Norberto Gonzalez-Claudio is allegedly a member of a clandestine Puerto Rican terrorist group which has claimed responsibility for armed robberies and terrorist bombings.


Verdict: I couldn't tell from this, so I looked him up. Apparently, he was a part of a violent "Puerto Rico Liberation" movement called "The Macheteros." Therefore, Leftist.

LEO FREDERICK BURT

Leo Frederick Burt is wanted for allegedly participating in the bombing of Sterling Hall, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin, on August 24, 1970.

Verdict: Once again this isn't entirely clear immediately. (One can guess given the time period and the target, but it is always better to get the facts.) Given what one can read here, the answer is clear: Leftist.

JOSEPH MAHMOUD DIBEE

On January 19, 2006, a federal grand jury in Eugene, Oregon, indicted Joseph Mahmoud Dibee on multiple charges related to his alleged role in a domestic terrorism cell. Dibee was charged with two conspiracy violations related to seventeen incidents and one count of arson. These crimes occurred in Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, and Wyoming, and date back to 1996. Many of the crimes he is accused of participating in were claimed to be committed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) or the Animal Liberation Front (ALF).

Verdict: Leftist

JOSEPHINE SUNSHINE OVERAKER

On January 19, 2006, a federal grand jury in Eugene, Oregon, indicted Josephine Sunshine Overaker on multiple charges related to her alleged role in a domestic terrorism cell. Overaker was charged with two conspiracy violations related to seventeen incidents, five counts of arson, one count of attempted arson, and one count of destruction of an energy facility. These crimes occurred in Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, and Wyoming, and date back to 1996. Many of the crimes she is accused of participating in were claimed to be committed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) or the Animal Liberation Front (ALF).

Verdict: Leftist

JUSTIN FRANCHI SOLONDZ

Justin Franchi Solondz is wanted on multiple charges related to his alleged role in a domestic terrorism cell. On May 21, 2001, the University of Washington, Center for Urban Horticulture, in Seattle, Washington, was destroyed by fire during the early morning hours. At the same time, in Clatskanie, Oregon, several buildings and vehicles were also destroyed by fire. Fire investigators determined that both fires were the result of arson by use of timed improvised incendiary devices. Shortly thereafter, a communication was released stating that both fires were committed by members of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). The combined loss from these two arsons totaled over five million dollars.

On October 15, 2001, an arson and attempted animal release took place at the Litchfield Wild Horse and Burro Corral in Susanville, California. Investigators found multiple improvised incendiary devices at the crime scene. This arson was claimed to have been committed by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). The damages from this arson were estimated to be eighty five thousand dollars.

Verdict: Leftist

RONALD STANLEY BRIDGEFORTH

Ronald Stanley Bridgeforth is wanted for his alleged involvement in attacks on law enforcement officials in California, including the August 29, 1971, attack on San Francisco's Ingleside Police Station in which a Police Sergeant was shot and killed. Law enforcement investigation determined that this act of violence was committed by members of an extremist group known as the Black Liberation Army (BLA). The BLA had undertaken a series of attacks on police targets consisting of shootings, bombings, and attempted bombings beginning in the late 1960s and continuing through the 1970s. These attacks resulted in the deaths of several police officers around the nation.

Verdict: Leftist

So, there are nine people listed on the FBI's Most Wanted for domestic terrorism list and all of them originate on the political left. Given this fact, it is hard to take the pronouncements of Professor Stoltzfus Jost as anything other than gibberish uttered without the slightest reference to reality; in other words, he's a moron, literally and etymologically.

Really, the good professor's stupidity is so bad it even lacks the possibility of a mitigating circumstance. After all, the locale of the attempted bombing, Times Square, does not necessarily lend itself to the idea of it as a tempting target for the radical right. In fact, were it to have been the target of a domestic terrorist, it would have made much more sense for it to have been the work of someone who held anti-corporate/anti-capitalist ideas, and thus be leftist.

As events unfolded, of course, the terrorists turn out to be internationally based (and include at least one registered Democrat.) One wonders just how "unlikely" the good professor feels this outcome was.

I have no doubt the professor will never think this result should force him to confront reality and the stupidity of his own prejudices.

After all, he's a law prof.

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