Media Beatup Successful

Well, looking at the comments on this CNN report it seems that the media have managed to succeed in their agenda.

Timothy McVeigh returned from the gulf war, fell in with right-wing ideology and killed 168 patriotic Americans. Are all soldiers a threat? Of course not, but if we have another terrorist attack on US soil, it’s probably going to come from there.

Why do I say that this comment is the result of a media beatup?

Please welcome Daniel Andreas San Diego (shown at right in photos via FBI.gov) to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted Terrorists list – notably, the only domestic terrorist on that list.  San Diego is wanted by the FBI for “his alleged involvement in the bombing of two office buildings in the San Francisco, California, area.”  Apparently, San Diego is suspected of being involved with two explosions at the Chiron Corporation in Emeryville – a corporation which the FBI says has had business ties to Huntingdon Life Sciences.  If you’ve read the report on left-wing extremism, that company is a top priority for left-wing extremists.

But the fun doesn’t stop there.

How much damage have these groups caused?  According to the FBI’s press release:

Animal rights and environmental extremism pose a significant domestic terror threat. To date, extremists have been responsible for more than 1,800 criminal acts and more than $110 million in damages. Currently, we are investigating approximately 170 such extremist incidents across the country.

So let’s sum this up:  When the media talks about Timothy McVeigh, they’re citing one horrific act of a madman as an example of the evil right-wing extremists.  But they pass over one hundred seventy left-wing extremist incidents by failing to cite a single one of these examples.

That’s right. The media are focusing on the risks outlined in a report on right wing extremists. That report ” focuses on standard beliefs as evidence of extremism” to quote Patterico.

At the same time, the media completely ignored a report that outlined left wing extremisim. Unlike the right wing version, it actually names actual groups and actual threats.

But clearly at least one member of the public now thinks that “it’s probably going to come from” the right, because that’s all the evidence he’s been presented with is saying, even thought the actual evidence says exactly the opposite.