The Beltway Outsider

Via Crooks and Liars:

Yesterday we had another act of violence by a right-wing extremist intent on attacking and harming the government, inflamed by far-right conspiracy theories about 9/11 and other supposed instances of government “tyranny”

Mr. Neiwert, I see you are quick to jump the gun, but not so quick to issue an apology. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Pentagon shooter was a mental case who could not be trusted to function in society without a custodian.

Bedell, who went by Patrick, had vigorously objected to the government’s role in the 1991 Persian Gulf War since high school, telling relatives that the United States was trying to enrich itself and oil companies, said his brother, 33-year-old Jeffrey Bedell.

But, in about 2002, after the breakup of a long-term relationship with a girlfriend, his skepticism began to turn to deep-rooted suspicion. And soon it became paranoia, his brother said.

Patrick would point skyward, convinced that “they” were watching him. He believed songs he heard on the radio were meant as warnings. Deeply concerned, the Bedell family and close friends tried to seek medical help for him, but Patrick refused, convinced that he was privy to information that warranted his mind-set.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Neiwert and his friends will gladly use any national tragedy to paint those who don’t think like them (liberals) as extremist threats to society. I just wish he would stick to the real right-wing wackos (there’s enough of ‘em) and not use crazy mental cases who go postal.

From The Associated Press:

Resentment of the U.S. government and suspicions over the 9/11 attacks have surfaced in writings by the Californian identified as the gunman who shot two Pentagon police officers before he was mortally wounded in a hail of return fire.

John Patrick Bedell, 36, of Hollister, Calif., was identified as the shooter. Officials said they’d found no immediate connection to terrorism but had not ruled it out.

Signs emerged that Bedell harbored ill feelings toward the government and the armed forces, and had questioned the circumstances behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In an Internet posting, a user by the name JPatrickBedell wrote that he was “determined to see that justice is served” in the death of Marine Col. James Sabow, who was found dead in the backyard of his California home in 1991. The death was ruled a suicide but the case has long been the source of theories of a cover up.

The user named JPatrickBedell wrote the Sabow case was “a step toward establishing the truth of events such as the September 11 demolitions.”

That same posting railed against the government’s enforcement of marijuana laws and included links to the author’s 2006 court case inOrange County, Calif., for cultivating marijuana and resisting a police officer. Court records available online show the date of birth on the case mentioned by the user JPatrickBedell matches that of the John Patrick Bedell suspected in the shooting.

There has been a public relations campaign lately promoting the idea of “right-wing extremism” foisted upon us by the likes of the Southern Poverty Law Center and David Niewert. I wonder how they will classify a liberal from California who grew pot, resisted authority, harbored 9/11 conspiracy theories, and tried to murder two police officers at the Pentagon a “right-winger”? I’m sure they will try, stay tuned.

By the way, what motivates the SPLC to create these crazy claims tying innocent folks to terror and extremism? Well, there is an old saying… Follow the money!

From NBC-4:

The investigation of a D.C. police detective (AKA an “Only One”) accused of pulling his gun during a December snowball fight is complete, and it looks like the detective will go back to work.

Watch the video below for the original incident. Take note of the attitude this public servant displays when the public demands his identification so a complaint can be made. He feels he should be able to anonymously threaten unarmed citizens with his handgun because his Hummer got a little snow on it, but you and I are kept defenseless against the criminal element in the same city.

And I do have one question for Chief Lanier: When are you going to charge Detective Baylor with reckless endangerment, brandishing, impeding traffic, etc? Or is “professional courtesy” being extended here?