A Terrorist's Reading List

.....apparently includes Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, and Sean Hannity. Gee- who would have ever imagined that preaching hate would inspire hateful acts?

Before 9/11, the only successful major terrorist attack carried out on American soil was not the work of al Qaeda or even radical Muslims. When right-wing white separatist Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, his motive was taking revenge for the recent incidents at Waco and Ruby Ridge and and protesting the (in his mind) overreaching size and power of the federal government. At the time, Bill Clinton fought back tears as he railed against "purveyors of hate and division" on U.S. airwaves who "leave the impression, by their very words, that violence is acceptable."

Increased vigilance on the part of the Clinton Administration and the Justice Department prevented any further terrorist attacks on American soil for the rest of Clinton's tenure. The Republican administration and a successful terrorist attack on American soil by foreigners that followed helped to further quell some of the impulses for much domestic terrorism. But growing evidence of the Bush Administration's impotence in achieving conservative goals and a Democratic resurgence have frustrated some right-wing extremists and culture warriors; our domestic terrorism drought may be coming to an end.

The first major sign of this (the first one that I noticed, anyway) was a little more than a year ago, when some Liberty University students were arrested with pipe bombs they were planning to use against people who were protesting Jerry Falwell's funeral. Luckily that plot was thwarted by authorities. That was in Virginia. Over the weekend, this issue hit a little closer to home for Mississippians. Like next door. On Sunday evening, a gunman burst into the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville during the presentation of a children's musical. He killed two people and wounded six others with a shotgun before he was subdued by several church members. Why did he target this particular church? Because of their liberal beliefs.

From The Knoxville News Sentinel:

Adkisson targeted the church, [Knoxville Police Department Officer Steve] Still wrote in the document obtained by WBIR-TV, Channel 10, "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid of media outlets."

Adkisson told Still that "he could not get to the leaders of the liberal movement that he would then target those that had voted them in to office."

Adkisson told officers he left [his] house unlocked for them because "he expected to be killed during the assault."

Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

You should read the whole article. Apparently he aimed not at the children onstage but at the adults in the pews. Which means he at least has more principles than Tim McVeigh, who callously referred to the 19 children he killed in Oklahoma City as "collateral damage".

I really hope I'm wrong, but I'm concerned this is going to get worse before it gets better. Our thoughts and prayers at Cottonmouth are with all the victims and their families in Knoxville and anyone else who happens to find themselves in the crosshairs of an extremist. Be careful out there.