May 18, 2011, Move along folks
Nothing to see here... just a bunch of elderly Midwestern folks getting mace in the face because they had the audacity to protest J.P. Morgan Chase and its foreclosure policies (in Columbus, OH). It wasn't just Glenn Beck who called an organizer of a protest based on withholding of mortgage payments an "economic terrorist"-- the authorities would characterize any activity threatening the bottom lines of our beloved financial institutions (and the bonuses of their beloved executives) to be, well, terrorism. Naturally, this is why right-wing groups likely to threaten people, be they members of minority groups, gays, or even politicians, tend to be less of a counter-terrorism priority for our national law enforcement apparatus, than, say, environmental activists or others who might threaten property and profit of corporate America. Got to have our priorities straight.
As these nice folks in Columbus who were just trying to keep their homes got maced amidst an impressive police phalanx (I guess the tasers were out of commission), we might want to juxtapose the fact that, say, those responsible for the Bush-era crimes of torture are above-the-law (because we have to "look forward and not back"), whereas, someone like Thomas Drake, as profiled in this comprehensive and brilliant New Yorker piece by Jane Mayer, bears the full weight of the state upon him as the Obama Administration continues to ramp up its war against whistleblowers, especially those who dare expose corruption in the dark heart of the nation's "black ops" and security apparatus.
Or of course, the fact that in prior financial debacles (such as the S&L crisis of the late 1980's and early 90's) thousands of fraud perpetrators went to jail, whereas in the current financial crisis, in scale to the economy, as well as in raw dollar terms, orders of magnitude greater in terms of fraud and criminality... not a single person faces criminal liability.
But you troublemakers-- especially you with the walker-- you watch your ass! Is it just me... or does something seem really wrong about the whole thing?