Patterico's Pontifications

3/2/2007

Leftist Commenter Poses As Right-Winger to Leave Hate-Speech Comments

Filed under: Buffoons,General — Patterico @ 6:54 am



Yesterday someone calling themselves “Republican Patriot” left a comment on my site saying:

I would like to see someone assasinate Obama and Hillary. We will all die if either of those two become president. The time may come when patriots are force to take action.

I appended a note to the comment reading as follows:

Now this is an interesting case. It seems to me like a fairly transparent attempt by a lefty to plant hate speech on my site, under the guise of being a righty. If it’s not, then it borders on a threat of assassination. The Secret Service may be interested.

So the commenter is either a) being deceitful or b) a possibly dangerous person. Either way, I see no privacy interest in the IP address.

The IP is from UCLA. Interestingly, it has been used on this blog three times before, always to make lefty points. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, as I obviously don’t know if this is a fixed IP address that is unique to one computer, or one that is shared by many people.

There is one way to find out for sure.

After all, perhaps this is a real threat of assassination. In that case, UCLA would certainly want to investigate. If not them, the Secret Service might be interested. Surely one of those entities could find out whether this threat came from an identifiable person.

What do you folks think I should do?

I am inclined to let it go. Within thirteen minutes, a commenter from the same IP calling himself “westlox” left this comment:

I would like to see bad things happend to Clinton but anyone who advocates the assasination of an American politician is not a patriot. Assassination is an afront to democracy. (once she is a non-politician then she is fair game)

You are not a patriot but a fascist.

And sixteen minutes later, commenter “coronet” used the same IP address in this comment:

Are you forced to give Goldstein props because if you don’t he will slap you with is dick?

So I’m thinking it’s not really a serious threat. It’s just another attempt by a lefty to manufacture “hate speech from the right.”

Your thoughts?

90 Responses to “Leftist Commenter Poses As Right-Winger to Leave Hate-Speech Comments”

  1. he/She uses the handle “Republican Patriot”

    utterly lacking in imagination … It’s Hollywood’s image of what patroit who happens to be a Republican would sound like.

    quasimodo (edc74e)

  2. Another cranial-rectal inversion victim…

    mojo (8096f2)

  3. LGF had a similar problem recently. Someone was posting really vile comments on Digg and signing off as Charles Johnson:

    “Over at Digg.com, the malicious lefties are resorting to a new technique: impersonating me, to leave defamatory comments. Here’s the profile of one user doing it (and there are others who have begun using photos of me as their icons): digg / charlesjohnson / news / dugg.”

    Ken (769c23)

  4. There’s some social science evidence that people sequentially inflicting and receiving pain are unable to accurately reciprocate because they consistently will underestimate the pain they deliver and overestimate the pain they receive. I think this phenomenon is connected to the inability of internet monitors to set the outer bounds of permissible partisanship. It’s a depressing prospect for people who want a vital, engaged public square.

    And that’s before you even take into account the harm to civil discourse done by people who are borderline mentally ill or sociopaths, and aren’t readily identifiable as such in the relatively anonymous text-based environment of the internet.

    lincoln republican (065555)

  5. I believe the Secret Service (properly) takes all such threats seriously, and UCLA (a publicly funded institution) should be made aware as well.

    I think you should drop a dime on the jerk…

    LagunaDave (afe857)

  6. Patterico, here’s something else for your consideration:

    What is your liability if, in fact, someone at UCLA does something stupid regarding Hilary, Cheney, Bush, or Obama?

    What is your liability if someone reports you as hosting/allowing comments to the effect of calling for the assassination of a public figure? (Notice how Charles Johnson is often held responsible for the content of the comments appearing on his blog.) Rest assured NO ONE on the Left will make the Huffington arguments that you’re not responsible for what a loony minority sez….

    Lurking Observer (ea88e8)

  7. call the Secret Service, and hand over every iota you have on that poster…

    To do any less would be to neglect your duty to a member of the former First Family, right? I mean, how would you feel if this nut turned out to be genuine?

    None of your regulars will think less of you for doing it…

    And it might even make Levi and LA mad, which is golden…

    Scott Jacobs (a1de9d)

  8. I have to agree with other posters. Call the Secret Service. Yes it’s probably some kid making noise, but you can’t be sure. Besides, the agents will happily explain to the original poster why making threats is a bad thing while simultaneously scaring the absolute solid bodily waste material out of him.

    Ned Brickley (ccea66)

  9. It is almost certainly some dimwitted troll’s idea of being clever, and nothing more. But definitely tell UCLA. The posts have got to be against numerous policies.

    Bradley J. Fikes (1c6fc4)

  10. I hate to say it, but you probably should report it. Not to UCLA, but to Secret Service. Let them decide if it’s worth pursuing. Of course, it’s just some idiot trying to stir up trouble, but why take the chance, and why suffer the liability should some loon take the next step and start violence.

    If they kick up a fuss, just tell them that, as a patriot yourself, you are force (sic) to take action.

    carlitos (b38ae1)

  11. Bitch-slap the poster and alert the Secret Service. You can bet your bottom dollar that if a conservative posted something nasty on Daily Kos- they’d alert the UN!

    John425 (eae6ea)

  12. John, I think most of us try to refrain from using “it’s what they would do” as justification, since it’s had to name any single act they would NOT commit if they though it would improve their agenda…

    I know I try to not use the actions of the morally bankrupt to justify my actions…

    Scott Jacobs (a1de9d)

  13. This person is so loony, there is some danger he’ll assassinate himself to make a point. And plant evidence.

    Anonymous (0b2493)

  14. There is a time honored axiom among Air Force fast mover types. “Honor the Threat”. There were times when I was stationed in Korea, flying up along the DMZ when the North Koreans would light up our threat detection gear with false missile launch indications. Happened every time we flew up there. It would have been easy to think, “Ah, it’s just the commies trying to jerk my chain again,” but every time we got a launch indication, we’d initiate evasive maneuvers just as if it were a real SAM launch.

    This serves two purposes. First, it was good training for us. You react in war the same way you react in training, and we didn’t want to be developing any bad habits by ignoring launch indications. Second, we knew the commies were watching, and if everyone reacts properly, they know they wouldn’t be able to sneak in a real launch some day like they would if we started getting lazy.

    My advice is to Honor the Threat. Call the FBI, call the Secret Service, and let THEM determine if the threat is valid. It doesn’t hurt to be cautious, you may thwart a real threat, and maybe it will remind moonbats that actions have consequences.

    Bugz (22f877)

  15. Put me in the report it camp.

    vnjagvet (d3d48a)

  16. Tell the Secret Service and UCLA. Such comments need to be looked into.

    viktor (4ea07e)

  17. Keep in mind, this may not be just some bored student. This could be faculty or staff. I know some universities have strict policies against any threats of violence by any member of their community. The university may want to know if their resources are being used for this and if one of their own thinks this is acceptable behavior.

    rachel (71729f)

  18. Report it, and report your suspicions that it’s meant more as an attack on the blog than a real threat. Let the Secret Service make that call. It’s their responsibility.

    Dan S (44073f)

  19. I ran into this problem once during a grass-roots political project. We had a guy tell us over the phone that “somebody should kill Bill Clinton,” or words to that effect. You think the guy’s just engaged in hyperbole, but we notified the Secret Service, and they didn’t think it was a joke.

    The funny thing is, we were phoning consumers on behalf of a corporation, which failed to purge the guy from its activist list. A few years later we were doing a similar project and called him again. He cooperated again, and then told the operator, “If you send the Secret Service back to see me, I’ll switch” to Brand X.

    They take this stuff seriously and they follow up. You should report it.

    km (910b19)

  20. Report it. If some right-wing loon is threatening to pull an Oswald, it’s your duty to report it to the proper authorities.

    On the other hand, if it’s merely some left wing crank smoke bombing you from a UCLA IP address, then it’s a non-issue. But that’s for the authorities to decide, not you. Don’t take the risk of ignoring it.

    DubiousD (35d7c5)

  21. Doesn’t look like a serious threat. Moreso just like a nut trying to stir the pudding. Report it if you feel like it, just be sure to let them know its probably a stupid prank. And technically I don’t view that as a death threat.

    G (722480)

  22. No way for you to tell … but upstairs in the Student Union at UCLA is a bank of computers that are available for anyone to use. No log on required. My guess is the IP goes back to one of those types of computers — no way to tell who actually posted.
    But it wouldn’t be a bad thing to get the Secret Service doing something about this type of thing.

    MOG (c949f7)

  23. Lurking Observer,

    What is your liability if someone reports you as hosting/allowing comments to the effect of calling for the assassination of a public figure?

    None. Blog owners are not legally responsible for comments left by others.

    Morally? You make the call!

    Pablo (cb50c5)

  24. Count me in the “notify the Secret Service” column. You never know.

    Even if it’s just an obnoxious ####, the best way to discourage him/her/it is to not blow it off. They’ll never learn that actions have consequences unless the actually feel the hot breath of consequence on their neck.

    larry (336e87)

  25. Forget it. Some jerk left grafitti on your wall. The disadvantage to open comments.

    nk (db0112)

  26. Report it. It’s negligent not to. Most probably someone pulling your chain, but a visit from the Secret Service might help him/her to mature really fast.

    Jim Armstrong (2028c7)

  27. Probably nothing, but you never know when some crazy will have a corner of his mind start bragging about what another corner intends to do. Report it to the Secret Service (who may look into it) and to UCLA (who will ignore it.)

    htom (412a17)

  28. I think you should report it to the feds.

    It makes no difference if the poster is a Republican, a Democrat, a liberal, a conservative, or any combination thereof.

    jim (6482d8)

  29. You aren’t trained to evaluate this kind of threat, especially not via looking at prose. And while it could eventually be your job or the job of somebody like you to prosecute such a person, it’s really a jury’s job to convict.

    I know of two such cases. The first was a loon. We tend to offer loons a pass; our sympathy would not willingly multiply their misery. But this one was dangerous, and ended up doing time. He didn’t make too much sense, but to the extent he could form an intent, he really did intend to kill the president. The second was an airhead female who affected (more precisely, she rolled around in, like “a chihuahua in Great Dane waste”) an intemperate internet style; the interview she and her parents had with the Secret Service was enough to make a more thoughtful, MUCH more thoughtful poster out of her.

    You need to make the calls.

    Simon Kenton (b72aee)

  30. “Keep in mind, this may not be just some bored student. This could be faculty or staff. I know some universities have strict policies against any threats of violence by any member of their community. ”

    Rememeber the looney Arizona U adjunct prof last year who harrassing Jeff and you ? I’d notify the UCLA IT people. They can figure out where the IP is. Let them decide if they have a crank in the faculty or just a dumb student trying to be a wiseguy.

    Mike K (6d4fc3)

  31. Report it – to both UCLA and the Secret Service.

    What they decide to do with the info is up to them. Of course it’s almost certainly a stupid kid or a stupid liberal (or both).

    But better safe than sorry.

    Professor Blather (c65bfa)

  32. Besides … you never know what reporting it might turn up.

    Imagine the hilarity that would ensue if this faux-Republican’s identity were discovered … and it turned out to be a relatively well-known leftist blogger or commenter.

    At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me.

    Professor Blather (c65bfa)

  33. Republican Patriot and westlox both share the same misspelling of “assassinate.”

    Paul Dubuc (10f294)

  34. Yet another request to drop the dime. So what if your analysis is PROBABLY right? If you’re right 90% of the time then 10% of the time there would be a real threat out there.

    Arthur (58e240)

  35. Count me in the “report it” camp.

    Worst case, a jokester gets a needed real life lesson on how NOT to make a further a** his/herself… best case is a real threat thwarted.

    Darleen (543cb7)

  36. Best to report.

    Skul (6be780)

  37. I say report it.

    It is like a case of alleged harrassment (albiet more serious). HR needs to be called.

    It should be reported so that UCLA has the opportunity to decide what to do.

    Clavius (575339)

  38. just call the secret service and let them worry about it. it’s worth a tiny grin knowing they’ll ream republican patriot a new asshole, and when the word percolates out through his community, other blogs will be spared this unpleasantness.

    assistant devil's advocate (f698aa)

  39. Call the Secret Service.

    The first comment is blatant and unambiguous. Go back and re-read it.

    This is a clear and serious violation of a serious law.

    Subsequent posts don’t change the facts, and may be used to masquerade the vile intent in the first comment.

    Paul A'Barge (9b5373)

  40. Gee the comments are like nothing compared with what you can read on almost any leftie site in the nation!

    Now over there is where threats against Bush/Cheney et all are bantered about as if they were asking for the salt shaker to be passed.

    I’m calling assclowns on them. The last one almost sounded like a digg at a prof, one that evidently displayes his member and beats his students with as well. NOW that is a credible threat! 🙂

    TC (b48fdd)

  41. Report it.

    I had an unhinged commenter several years ago. Clearly unhinged, clearly not serious. I reported it anyway.

    I mentioned to the Secret Service person who followed up that I didn’t think it was serious, but it would be irresponsible not to make them aware of it – to which the agent agreed in full.

    Russ (ed7a39)

  42. Bill Lockyer’s comment about Ken Lay was closer to a threat and solicitation to commit rape than this moonbat’s fantasies.

    nk (db0112)

  43. I don’t know why you and other bloggers put up with this kind of posters. If you do nothing else, erase the post. Don’t worry about people complaining that you are “unfair.” It’s YOUR blog.

    You know well that others will use quotes from your comments section to launch attacks on you. Don’t give them the opportunity.

    Bill Millan (78dc90)

  44. I say tell UCLA. If someone used my IP address to post stuff like this, I would want to know.

    DRJ (8b9d41)

  45. Ann Coulter:
    ” I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I — so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards.”

    Nothing on Walter Reed. Nothing on the fired prosecutors. Nothing on your failing war, Bush’s fuck-ups on N. Korean nukes or the bullhsit on Iran.
    Nothing.

    AF (back temporarily) (400cbc)

  46. I think you should both notify the Secret Service and UCLA. Advocating the assassination of declared candidates for the presidency is probably illegal…that would be for the Justice Department to figure out. Also, I am certain that a university such as UCLA would be very displeased to discover that their students, or perhaps faculty members, are using university computers to advocate such a thing, or to pretend to do so.

    Soooo…I say sic ’em!

    Charlie Eklund (9cd016)

  47. Greenwald

    So Ann Coulter appeared as a featured speaker today at the Conservative Political Action Conference — the preeminent conservative event of the year — and called John Edwards a “faggot.” Her speech was followed by an enthusiastic round of applause from the upstanding attendees.
    Last year at the same event, she warned Arab “ragheads” about violence that would be done to them and called for Supreme Court justices to be murdered — and received standing ovations. Everyone knows what a rancid hate-monger she is, yet (or rather: “therefore”) she continues to be be invited to the highest-level “conservative” events, be drooled on with admiration by presidential candidates like Mitt Romney, and have little right-wing warriors wait in line around the corner to get her signature on their copies of the books she wrote.
    But that’s all fine. There are much more important topics to discuss — like the anonymous commenters at Huffington Post and the bad words said by the bloggers hired for low-level positions by the Edwards campaign. Those are matters of the gravest importance meriting the most solemn condemnation and righteous outrage from all decent people. Those HuffPost commenters have uttered terrible thoughts, and that shows the anger, venom and hatred on the left, among liberals. It is cause for great alarm — and for headlines.
    But the single most prestigious political event for conservatives of the year is a place where conservatives go to hear Democrats called faggots, Arabs called ragheads, and Supreme Court justices labeled as deserving of murder — not by anonymous, unidentifiable blog commenters, but by one of their most popular featured speakers.

    The level of bullshit on this site of yours Pat,
    it’s mind-boggling.

    gone again

    AF (back temporarily) (400cbc)

  48. Transference. Many on the left were so sure that righties were behind many of the ‘failed assination attempt upon Cheney’ remorse comments left at Huffpo, because… well that’s what they do.

    bains (dd1157)

  49. Yet another vote for “Report it”. Secret Service and UCLA both, I’d say. While it’s not a direct death threat, per se, the comment (if taken seriously) indicates that the commenter has a vested interest in future violence, possibly to the point of inciting future violence or actually taking up arms him/herself.

    Rick Wilcox (71646f)

  50. Drop the dimes (both SS and UCLA) and let the pros sort it out.

    Tully (e4a26d)

  51. Cover your ass and report it. THEN let it go.

    Mr. Snitch (b1865a)

  52. Patterico: Are you under any special legal obligations to report this guy that another blogger wouldn’t be since you are an officer of the court?

    kaf (091ac3)

  53. Anybody else notice this bit from “westlox”‘s comment?

    (once she is a non-politician then she is fair game)

    Report it posthaste.

    dorkafork (1ba63e)

  54. Nothing on how lame Lost has been this year. Nothing on the price of apples. Nothing on the Daytona 500 fiasco, the Police reuniting for the money, the continuing media blackout on Dolph Lundgren.

    Nothing.

    Jim Treacher (15574e)

  55. Be fair about it, notify the UN Commission on Human Rights, and Amnesty International. Maybe Greenpeace, as well. They are less likely than UCLA, and certainly the Secret Service, to overreact or abuse the rights of free expression of the progressive troll, or fascist lunatic, as the case may be.

    Alain (51cfcc)

  56. In view of recent study that showed left-ideological sites at 40:1 ratio of obscenities and profanities vs. others –and most others’ foul-mouthed rants were from commenters, not bloggers themselves– it’s about 97.5% probable that some far-left extremist has taken to misrepresenting himself for purposes of slander and threats.

    Amanda Marcotte wouldn’t have the imagination. Moulitas stabs only in the back– he wouldn’t have the nerve. But whoever this insect is, squash him now. Once he’s emboldened, who knows… he might threaten you with Hate Speech for non-response. If his name is Ibrahim or Mohammed, the Religion of RIP might prove (how you say) “problemmatic”.

    John Blake (17e0eb)

  57. I wouldn’t waste the dime on UCLA. To the event that institution would take notice of this kind of speech, they’d support it.

    As others have observed, he may be a faculty or staff member — in my opinion that is much more likely than he being a student.

    Do call the Secret Service. Unfortunately that weevil won’t get sent to Guantanamo — that only happens in their fantasies. The real folks in Gitmo actually did something, not squander the subsidy that indulgent parents and a clueless public waste on ’em.

    Kevin R.C. 'Hognose' O'Brien (88bf29)

  58. The lefties have been having conniptions since someone submitted a link to Fark about lib blogs being 18 times more foul mouthed then conservatives.
    I spent some time rubbing their nose in it.
    It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if they felt the need to salt some conservative blogs to lower the ratio.

    papertiger (8174b2)

  59. Nothing on Switzerland invading Liechtenstein.
    Nothing on France wetting their pants.
    And you call yourself a blogger.

    papertiger (8174b2)

  60. AF,

    The level of bullshit on this site of yours Pat,
    it’s mind-boggling.

    If you’d quit posting it, it wouldn’t be here.

    Heal thyself, moonbat!

    Pablo (08e1e8)

  61. Hopefully the comments will stay up this time.

    DRJ (0c4ef8)

  62. Report it to UCLA.

    AND, tell them you are reporting it to the CIA.

    And do it.

    Also, consider blocking IPs (if you have that ability).

    Daniel (958077)

  63. Rest assured NO ONE on the Left will make the Huffington arguments that you’re not responsible for what a loony minority sez…

    I’m just here to prove you wrong.

    Aquagirl (0be2f6)

  64. Hate speech is not as creepy as this moonbat who crashed a Michelle Malkin event and sidled up to her under false pretenses. He is the guy who tried to attack George Allen last fall. I would be very careful around a nutcase like this. At least the UCLA nutcase is at the other end of a wire.

    Mike K (416363)

  65. This practice is not new and not exclusive to this site.

    But it is only one of several strategies I’ve noticed on several blogs mostly starting during the ramp up to the last election.

    jpm100 (851d24)

  66. Laugh it off and forget about it.

    Brian (3f528a)

  67. My take on idiots like this:

    He couldn’t find his waste evacuation unit if his head was buried in it. And it is.

    M. Simon (81d608)

  68. My thoughts are

    1) report the IP to USSS
    2) these posters are presumably students at UCLA? They have the writing skills of 5th graders.

    We’re raising a nation of idiots.

    Barry in CO (f397dc)

  69. Speaking of Digg. I saw this over there in the “unban Prisonplanet.com” comment thread.

    “Kevin Rose is such an emo-faggot. I hope somebody kills that neo-conservative cock sucker.”

    and then…

    “Well, for one thing I don’t live in the United States. Secondly, I stand by my statement that someone needs to kill Kevin Rose.

    If laws do exist preventing me from saying I believe Kevin Rose should be killed they’re obviously not very well enforced. A bunch of neo-conservative faggots like Kevin are saying they think Saddam Hussein should be killed and nothing is happening to them.

    As long as Kevin Rose oppresses freedom of speech I will continue to say that he should be killed.”

    The usersname is “TheMadbomber”. Interesting choice in name.

    http://www.digg.com/politics/Digg_bans_PrisonPlanet_com

    If not to be serious, these kind of comments are as stupid as mentioning bomb as a joke at the airport. But, don’t let those comments give you an impression of possbile unrational behavior……

    The comments, in consideration here, should be reported IMO.

    DWB (104311)

  70. Call both the school and the Secret Service as well as the FBI. The Secret Service will likely look into it. The FBI would likely be involved as well. And I’d only notify the school that these threats are coming from their network.
    If your right, and this is a lefty idjit posing, they need to learn there are consequences to such stunts.
    If your wrong and it is some loon who thinks he’s a “Patriot” they need to find if they are capable of committing this crime(s) or just inciting against a candidate they despise.
    Also, if your wrong(outside chance, to be sure), and this fool actually attempts to kill either of the candidates (fools though they be) you will have the knowledge of “I could have possibly prevented this” to deal with.

    JP

    JP (80bf2d)

  71. I’ve noticed this phenomena of sock puppet pseudo righties for a long time. The most vile racist stuff on conservative blogs is from these leftist morons. Swing by Steve Sailor sometime when he does a post on race and check it out. It’s so stereotypical it can’t be real. I wouldn’t waste the SS time with reporting. Just ban the IP if you can.

    Gerald Hibbs (4bb95a)

  72. At a bare minimum I think you should contact UCLA.

    The Ace (ea76c3)

  73. The level of bullshit on this site of yours Pat,
    it’s mind-boggling.

    gone again

    Comment by AF

    Huh?
    Um, what did that have to do with the topic?

    By the way, it’s nice to note that you accept uncritically the idea Coulter was treated to a round of applause after the speech as Greenwald claims.

    The Ace (ea76c3)

  74. Report it to the Secret Service.

    Bostonian (d94f26)

  75. It’s unfortunate but not atypical that liberals masquerade under alternate identities when attacking their opponents. Besides the fundamental that their policies and beliefs require fraudulent activity to prop them up, lacking any scientific or rational foundation, they live lives that force them to wear a persona, hiding their real identity.

    This is the case with every elected liberal. Hillary can’t expose her true political views (extremist collectivist/marxist) nor her sexual identity. She’s wasted a life through a marriage of political convenience to another Democrat who couldn’t publically expose his real sexual preference (for daily romps in the trailer trash bin).

    Obama has to hide both his religion and his extreme upper class upbringing. His claiming his father was a Kenyan goatherder is like describing Rockefeller as a gas station attendant.

    Dean’s always had difficulties hiding his long-term clinical personality problems. Projection and other anti-personality disorders are dominant on the left, but Dean’s got a special case.

    Gore is unfortunately one of the least polished charlatans, the curse of an introverted upbringing. Like Edwards, he can’t hide his need to surround himself with excess wealth as an attempt at self-validation for a worthless self-perception, but can’t manage to competently pull off the scam. Buying energy credits from yourself doesn’t reduce carbon consumption, Al.

    Every liberal knows he or she is a misfit and damns conservatives for knowing it. Our not giving a damn as long as they leave us alone fails to provide them the validation for an otherwise useless, worthless life.

    redherkey (9f5961)

  76. Pat, the first thought that came to my mind was: Deb Frisch. A comment, in itself, may be stupid, but it isn’t harmful. But we’ve got at least anecdotal evidence that sometimes such things get out of hand, and the statements in that comment are bordering on Frischeness.

    You should at the very least dump that IP into the automatic moderation queue.

    Dana (556f76)

  77. By the way, it’s nice to note that you accept uncritically the idea Coulter was treated to a round of applause after the speech as Greenwald claims.

    Are you saying the applause was added to the audio and video afterwards?

    Jim Treacher (15574e)

  78. Had a situation where the Lyndon LaRouche troops had set up a card-table on the sidewalk to solicit funds for the world of make-believe. Hanging from the side of the table was a poster with a pix of GW, and a comment that it was too bad that he had not been hunting with the VP, or words to that effect.
    Well, as anyone who has encountered these guys knows, they are a royal pain, and you can’t reason with them.
    So, I first called the Secret Service to inform them that they were using a threat on the life of the President as a fund-raiser, then I called the local PD to inform them that they were blocking the sidewalk.
    The SS did not display any real interest, but took all of the info. The PD dispatched a car to the scene, and the LaRouchies have never been back. In fact, they used to be at the local Post Office too, and their non-presence there has not been missed.
    Call the Secret Service, and call UCLA!

    Another Drew (8018ee)

  79. It’s not for you to make those kinds of judgements; even if you are certain it’s a prank you should notify the secret service as a matter of course.

    lakerg (f52702)

  80. Yet another example of some lefty trying to turn the right grassroots into astroturf – but not smart enough to realize you can check out the IP.

    Sock puppetry from the left – no one is surprised.

    OTOH – Bill Maher is disappointed that Cheney wasn’t killed in Afghanistan (Drudge), add the movie about presidential assassinations and you get the idea that assassination threats and fantasies are staple fare from the left.

    Kathy (c02b80)

  81. Drop the dime.

    Make the fool learn that there are consequences for actions.

    Brad (643eea)

  82. “And it might even make Levi and LA mad, which is golden…”

    -Scott Jacobs

    The fact that you equate me with Liberal Avenger (for disagreeing with you) demonstrates your intellectual limitations.

    Leviticus (35fbde)

  83. This seems like a no-brainer to me. I see nothing but gain in reporting with no appreciable cost:

    – If this post represents a legitimate threat you win by helping the authorities remove a dangerous person from circulation.

    – If this post represents a hollow threat (either really from the right or, more likely, someone from the left using a right-sock puppet), heat from the authorities will serve to discourage similar bone-headed actions.

    – The only people I can see faulting you for ratting out a commenter are those who might be inclined to make similar stupid comments.

    People, free speech is great, but there are both legal and moral limits. Threats have always been specific legal exclusions from free speech protections, especially threats against public political figures. Allow the sunlight of full disclosure to disinfect the mold from which the original comment sprung.

    submandave (47859a)

  84. Levi…

    You’re both anti-america jack-holes… Why wouldn’t I equate you two?

    Scott Jacobs (a1de9d)

  85. “Anti-America”… what an idiot.

    You think that you get to decide who loves America and who doesn’t?

    You think that because my views differ from yours I love America less than you?

    Whatever.

    I’ll offer you a deal, though: I won’t whip your ass in our next argument if you’ll find it in your heart to give me the “Real American Award” and name me an Honorary Patriot in the Scott Jacobs Club.

    Leviticus (43095b)

  86. /cricket

    Leviticus (35fbde)

  87. Well, lets see…

    It’s not because your opinions differ that I believe you love this country less than I do…

    It’s the reasoning you have, the blind ideological fanaticism you possess, your simple-minded inability to see that which is before you…

    Remind me… Did you publicly denounce those who wished for Cheney to die? Did you openly speak out against those who fervently wish the attack had succeeded? If so, show me links.

    Do you accept that the left engages in (to at least an equal degree) forms of hate speech dirrected not only at Republican/Conservative figures, but towards minorities?

    Did you stand up when you saw people gleefully calling for the rape and murder of Michelle Malkin when she was headed to Iraq?

    If you don’t answer yes to all three (links would be nice), then I appologize for having misjudged you.

    I don’t believe that I have, however. Feel free to PROVE me wrong. Calling me names and claiming I’m wrong doesn’t cut it today.

    Scott (90eabe)

  88. “Remind me… Did you publicly denounce those who wished for Cheney to die? Did you openly speak out against those who fervently wish the attack had succeeded?”

    -Scott

    You mean, did I dignify their stupidity with a response? No… did you?

    “Do you accept that the left engages in (to at least an equal degree) forms of hate speech dirrected not only at Republican/Conservative figures, but towards minorities?”

    -Scott

    Uh… YES. How long have you been posting on this site? I’m *constantly* berrating both sides of the political spectrum.

    “Did you stand up when you saw people gleefully calling for the rape and murder of Michelle Malkin when she was headed to Iraq?”

    -Scott

    Did I even SEE people “gleefully calling for the rape and murder of Michelle Malkin when she was headed to Iraq?” This is the only blog I frequent, and the commenters here tend to be fairly rational individuals.

    “If you don’t answer yes to all three (links would be nice), then I appologize for having misjudged you.”

    -Scott

    That’s a little confusing: if I DIDN’T call for Cheny to die, DON’T acknowledge Democratic hate speech, and DIDN’T denounce calls for Malkin’s death, I’m unamerican?

    Well… I just can’t accept those standards. You sicken me, you Cheney-hating, terrorist-loving, rape-legitimizing FREAK.

    Leviticus (35fbde)

  89. Seriously, Patterico: disown this clown. You know as well I how stupid it is for him to call me unamerican without knowing the slightest thing about me.

    [Scott, I agree with Levi. Your comment calling him unAmerican was out of bounds. He’s a reasonable enough lefty, I think. — P]

    Leviticus (35fbde)

  90. Is this a wordpress blog? or some other software?

    Mold Remover (edea20)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.1279 secs.