More to the point: I certainly agree that it's wrong for anyone on either side to engage in vandalism or property damage, and of course violence, in order to further their personal political agenda. As you said, nobody deserves to feel unsafe at their place of employment. No argument there. There is, however, a huge difference between breaking into a lab to steal bunnies and grabbing a gun and, with full intention, shooting someone you disagree with. The original post is about the difference between left and right in both the violence level and the rhetoric. Again: how is a bombing timed so as to be sure of no loss of life but maximum property damage followed by overwhelming (and correct!) condemnation by even the most liberal news sources the same as a premeditated political murder followed by a collective shoulder shrug from conservative sources?

“To assert that crazy killers are only right-wing extremists is simply dishonest.”

I'm sure there are plenty of lefty crazy killers; they just don't seem to kill for political purposes. If there's an example I'm missing, by all means hit me with it.

I went to grad school with some folks who now are at research universities in California, testing various drugs on animals. One's had his car set on fire, another one had his lab broken into and all of the animals released out into the community. Just because no one has been killed yet doesn't justify it. What would happen if one of those animals hopped up on something decided to go on a rampage and kill anyone it encountered? I've said before that terrorism is terrorism, regardless of what side of the political aisle it comes from. No one should have to put up with it. Not from the left, not from the right, not from anywhere. To assert that crazy killers are only right-wing extremists is simply dishonest.

I'm curious, since you brought up your job, do you do research in a place that has ecoterrorists bothering you, or are you just trying to implicate that you must be smarter than I am due to your status as a research scientist?

That it is kind of “cute”, huh? I was talking about the other eco groups that toss pipe bombs into houses. But hey, they haven't killed anyone, yet, so for now I suppose research scientists (myself included) should just learn to ignore them, right?

Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly – I wonder if any in this group are college grads or have advanced degrees.

AR – I mentioned Larison in the past. If you want a paleocon intellectual go to his site:
http://www.amconmag.com/larison/
John Schwenker is also blogging at AmCon, and this Liebrul enjoys reading both daily:
http://www.amconmag.com/schwenkler/
While I am a fan of the ACLU, I enjoy reading a reasoable thought from the other side. The Beck's and Savages are just stupid clowns playing bad populist noise…

Let's try Micheal Moore, Keith Olbermann, Glenn Greenwald, Chris Matthews, Markos “Daily Kos” Moulitsas, Rachael Maddow, and Paul Krugman.

Krugman? I understand that it must really be annoying for conservatives to have a Clark & Nobel prize winner take them to the woodshed on a regular basis, but you are just going to have to get over it…

BTW if Chris Matthew is on the left, I am Santa Claus.

Well, they're on in three minutes…gotta warm up the tube.

Per this post, I don't know anyone in their right mind who believes hate is monopolized on one end of the spectrum. We've had this discussion before. And you know what? It doesn't matter what side of the political aisle it comes from. Hate, rage, bigotry, whatever you want to call it, is what it is. It isn't some sort of stupid political football game to play by saying “Look how innocent our side is and how evil their side is”. If I am ever facing down the barrel of a gun, the last thing I'm going to be concerned about is what the person's party affiliation is.

The next time any of my colleagues in California have to do any kind of scientific research on animals Anastasia, I will be sure to point them in your direction to ask for advice. Those eco groups aren't hateful…no they are just “gently mocking” scientists by tossing pipe bombs in their house. Perhaps you can write a letter to those groups “formally censoring them” and ask them to be nicer.

Dana Milbank, reporting and Obama is Berlin tour, quoted Obama out of context, in a way that made him appear arrogant:

“This is the moment . . . that the world is waiting for,” adding: “I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions.”

The actual quote was laced with considerable humility:

“It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign — that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It's about America. I have just become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions”

Apparently it is true that Olbermann did not intend to invite Milbank back, after he repeat refused to correct the out of context quote. As it turns out, Milbank had excepted an offer from CNN, and hence naturally, he no longer appears on MSNBC.

I can't believe you are trying to characterize this as in any way equivalent to Republican legislators groveling to Limbaugh or O'Reilly for expressing the opinion that the commentators had crossed the line.

I'll say this much for the lefties……..they never get tired of saying the same thing…..over and over again.

When did Limbaugh first say his “I hope Obama (policies) fail?…….mid-January?

For the 5 months since that, all the left can say is “the Republican Party is fast becoming extinct” or some derivation of that theme. And everything that has happened in the world since to them is now supposedly a reaffirmation of that conclusion. They're actually not even original since sds has been saying that for over a year now.

But, if that was happening, wouldn't the voter ID and Dem/Rep preference polls change by more than their perpetual one, two, three-point fluctuations over the same last 5 months?

If that was happening, why are Rep candidates in NY, NJ and VA polling even, if not better, than Dem candidates?

Why is Obama moderating his campaign positions now more rightward than leftward in the face of all of this crumbling opposition?

Now, we get treated to another cover version of the same song……..unless Republicans behave like Dems say they ought to, all the millions of NeoNazi/Truther/anti-abortion/Bush-hating/atheistic-religiouszealots will come out of the woodwork and reek havoc on the world.

Ok, let's see where this left-wing prediction of doom goes in the next five months.

Democratic politicians do not go to left-leaning journalists, hat in hand, to beg forgiveness for criticizing them.

That is a very valid point. I do not consider Rush a 'leader' in the party, not necessarily because he has never held elective office, and not because he is in the end just a clown prince, but simply because at this moment in time, there is NO National Republican leader that even 50% of the party would rally around.

BTW, speaking of his role as a clown prince, while Republicans do elect actors to office, we do not elect comedians.