OK, so perhaps it is unfair tar Liberals with this post, as it is really a lot further left than that. But it is their branch of the family tree, so they should have to deal with it. And a great many libs are infected with BDS, they just don't tip at windmills as hard as these folks...

On to the show.... (Hat Tip: Countercolumn)

Poor Joe Klein. He had the cajones to post a blog entry on how to spot a left-wing extremist.



His observations seem pretty much on the mark:

A left-wing extremist exhibits many, but not necessarily all, of the following attributes:
--believes the United States is a fundamentally negative force in the world.
--believes that American imperialism is the primary cause of Islamic radicalism.
--believes that the decision to go to war in Iraq was not an individual case of monumental stupidity, but a consequence of America’s fundamental imperialistic nature.
--tends to blame America for the failures of others—i.e. the failure of our NATO allies to fulfill their responsibilities in Afghanistan.
--doesn’t believe that capitalism, carefully regulated and progressively taxed, is the best liberal idea in human history.
--believes American society is fundamentally unfair (as opposed to having unfair aspects that need improvement).
--believes that eternal problems like crime and poverty are the primarily the fault of society.
--believes that America isn’t really a democracy.
--believes that corporations are fundamentally evil.
--believes in a corporate conspiracy that controls the world.
--is intolerant of good ideas when they come from conservative sources.
--dismissively mocks people of faith, especially those who are opposed to abortion and gay marriage.
--regularly uses harsh, vulgar, intolerant language to attack moderates or conservatives.

Unfortunately, most of his readers reacted in the comments as if he were Jimmy Stewart talking to his invisible friend Harvey. Fun examples off the top include "Who are you talking about? What people fill that definition? Honestly? Who?" and the more erudite "What the F*CK are you talking about? Go back to being an irrelevant print journalist and quit trying to muddy up the blogosphere with your lies!"

These folks are obviously in the first level of self-delusion, in not being able to recognize reality when presented with "inconvenient truths" as it were.

I mean, obviously they have discovered the internet since they are leaving comments on a blog. But just as obviously they have not ventured into the deep-end of the blogosphere to realize that what Klein posits is indeed true. I mean all one really has to do is visit Daily Kos and Democratic Underground to see such extremism on display.

Perhaps they missed last week's Huffington Post fiasco where left-wing extremists showed up in such force that HP decided thet freedom of speech no longer applied and removed vile comments.

"This kind of sick, twisted thinking is everywhere in the “progressive” blogosphere...And it’s even sicker than it appears at first glance, because many of these freaks want to see Cheney dead so that he can’t become president if someone assassinates President Bush."

Now, Klein's commenters are more in some form of denial that delusion, but there isn't much of a difference.

But if they want to find find some real committed lefties, who fit Klein's list to a 'T', they can be readily found. And these guys really are delusional. (Hat Tip: Once again...Countercolumn)

Bush, Cronies and Soldiers Are War Criminals

An immoral, doltish President leads his people in criminal military adventurism and climate change policy obstruction

It has been awhile since I have written of Bush's war and climate criminality. But President Putin of Russia of all people recently spoke most truthfully of America's diminished respect in the world due to the militant, fundamental obstinacy of its leadership. Putin blasted the U.S. for the "almost uncontained" use of force in the world, noting that "one state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way... This is very dangerous, nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide behind international law."

[…]

Since the start of the new millennia America has endured a stolen election tantamount to a conservative coup. After suffering a crushing blow from a handful of criminals, the neo-conservatives manipulated legitimate fears to set off on a Christian jihad of vengeance and oil resource thievery. Rather than going after the bad guys that attacked the U.S., they cooked up false evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction they intended to share with their terrorist pals, and launched an illegal "preemptive" war of aggression. Along the way they found time to torture, spy on American citizens and set up secret prisons.

[…]

Soldiers fighting in Iraq are complicit and are following unlawful orders, carrying out war crimes in an unjust war of aggression. At least fifty thousand innocent Iraqis have been murdered by the unlawful waging of war by American troops. Having been an enlisted soldier in the U.S. army, I know that soldiers are obligated to determine for themselves whether they have been given an illegal order. And while a handful have refused to serve, most have blindly followed orders as tyrant's legions have done for centuries.

Attacking, occupying and now policing a civil war in Iraq is an illegal, immoral order and it is the duty of every soldier to refuse to carry it out. By failing to refuse to follow illegal orders, soldiers are just as much at fault for the illegal Iraq war as Bush, Cheney and Rice. And any return to international law based rules of war will require that all that have committed war crimes are tried and sentenced if found guilty. America is not so exceptional that when it stumbles, that all responsible should not be held fully accountable.

This guy is clearly loony tunes, if not terribly original. But if you like that, you should meet his sycophantic readers.

At 7:58 AM, Tim Kelley said...
sweet jesus, its about TIME someone spoke english regarding america.
that was a remarkable and excellent email
thank you very much for the time and effort put into it.
now lets get them impeached! and bring the criminals HOME, so we can start to clean up our reputation in the eyes of the world.

Tim Kelley

-----
At 8:31 AM, Emily Dale said...
I would add to this meaningful article the fact that military training destroys individuality in most soldiers/sailors/marines, and for those "macho" types, enhances their propensity for cruelty and bloodthirstiness. The Pentagon is also responsible for the ills perpetrated among peoples here and where their presence appears abroad. Bush the Younger is not intelligent enough to fully grasp the implications of his actions (he is said to be obsessed with a propensity for failure, given his previous history and thereby continues to pursue failing projects), but Cheyney and Rove are cold calculating murderers and opportunists whose intellect is warped in the very worst ways. They and their ilk are dangerous to mankind and should be incarcerated where they can do no further harm to this country, mankind and the planet.

Read the whole comments section, its a hoot!. Though it is a real shame to see so many people off their meds at one time.

So to come full circle and answer Joe Klein's self-deluded commenters. Yes Virginia, there are left-wing extremists. They are all around...you just have to open your eyes.