Journalist knocks ‘terror’ labels

An independent journalist told a campus crowd Wednesday night that the FBI ranks animal and environmental activist extremists as the No. 1 domestic terrorist threat in the nation, though most of these groups have never harmed anyone.

More than 50 people gathered to hear the UT alumnus and award-winning journalist Will Potter compare this Green Scare to the wave of fear in the 1940s stirred up by the Red Scare, when hundreds of people were falsely accused of supporting Communism… The reporter finished by asking students to hear his message and “just get pissed.”

“It’s scary to learn about this and see the FBI harassment,” Potter said. “At the same time, that fear can be turned into a positive anger. We need to reach out to everyday people who are just as fed up as everyone else with this war on terrorism.”

Daily Texan invites comments here.

A super soaker filed with cat urine would do nicely, give them what they want.

bbz123 on February 28, 2008 at 5:22 PM

Load what ya got, I guess.

You keep a lot of cat pee handy, do you?

If I put up a sign on my property that says I’m a researcher, is that entrapment?

Not if you dispose of the sign before the cops arrive with the wet-vac and the sponge. :-)

The City of SC might hang it’s collective head in shame, but I for one will accept no opprobrium for these vivious actions.

One thing about living in Santa ClaraCruz I never could stomach was all the damn vampires.

— The Lost Boys

Musician killed outside neighbor’s home

A well-known Dallas musician who beat up his girlfriend and then tried to kick in his neighbor’s door in a drunken rage was killed Sept. 3 after being shot in the head by the neighbor, who thought he was a burglar.

Carter Albrecht, 34, was a guitarist and keyboardist best known for his work with Dallas rock band Sorta, as well as Edie Brickell & New Bohemians.

After hitting his girlfriend several times in the face, Mr. Albrecht followed her as she fled her apartment, but she was able to duck inside again and lock the door, she told police. Mr. Albrecht went to the back of a neighbor’s home, kicking and banging on the door.

The neighbor yelled at him to stop, but he didn’t, so the neighbor shot once at the top of the door. The bullet struck Mr. Albrecht in the head, and he died at the scene. Police declined to file charges against the neighbor.

Just like the one of the Texas Tourism slogans used to say; “Texas; it’s like a whole other country”

cjs1943 on February 28, 2008 at 4:21 PM

Depends. In Michigan it’s ok. Here in WV, it’s called baiting and you could get a fine. It would be worth it though.

This is not a story about eco-terrorism. It’s about animal rights terrorism.

thuja on February 28, 2008 at 4:15 PM

You say tomaytos, I say tomatos….terrorism is terrorism, and self-destructive, delusional Liberalism is self-destructive, delusional Liberalism….no matter what the immediate subject is.

It is self-destructive, uncivilized, and outright insane to give either “ecology” or “animals” preference over human life and human welfare. PERIOD.

You have a point. I need to think more, but there still strikes me that this is a difference between trying to intimidate a population through murder like the muslims and animal rights activists do and property damage.

Trying to break down someone’s door is more than “property damage”, that’s a terrorist home invasion.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not permissive about eco-sabotage. In the end, it does seem to me that political terrorism and sabotage ultimately stem from people taking rudeness to the ultimate extreme.

It’s not rudeness, it’s anarchy.

A good friend of mine lived in Santa Cruz (you could see the boardwalk from his living room window) and we referred to those people as ‘trolls’ and for good reason!

Liberty or Death on February 28, 2008 at 5:44 PM

A good friend of mine started “Troll Busters” in Santa Cruz and the under-overpass dwellers still freak out if you yell “Troll Busters!” up there.

Baseball *bat* I meant to say.

Geministorm on February 28, 2008 at 4:22 PM

Ha, I have an ex-pitcher friend and the baseball can be as dangerous as a bullet, in the right hands.

Your pup looks like a pit or pit mix. I have two 80 pounders. They are the sweetest but unfortunately don’t get along well with unwelcome protesters.

Santa Cruz has an interesting dichotomy of extreme leftists and hard-core right-wingers. At least that was the case 10 years ago. All are pretty much militant. It’s sad considering how nice it could be there.

That is a perfect description for them yes.

I live about 40 min south of Santa Cruz. They cleaned up the downtown area and the boardwalk but there are some scary people who live there for sure.

TroubledMonkey on February 28, 2008 at 5:31 PM

A good friend of mine lived in Santa Cruz (you could see the boardwalk from his living room window) and we referred to those people as ‘trolls’ and for good reason!

And as for sabotage versus terrorism, if someone blows up an abortion clinic and no one is there, it’s still terrorism. Same thing if someone burns down a ski resort. It’s political violence designed to intimidate.

see-dubya on February 28, 2008 at 4:27 PM

You have a point. I need to think more, but there still strikes me that this is a difference between trying to intimidate a population through murder like the muslims and animal rights activists do and property damage.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not permissive about eco-sabotage. In the end, it does seem to me that political terrorism and sabotage ultimately stem from people taking rudeness to the ultimate extreme. And some people are always looking for ways to be more extreme. Thus, for example, when the City of Berkeley is permissive about Code Pink tactics the City ups the ante. It should surprise no one when ultimately some Code Pinko kills someone. For this reason, crimes done as political acts should be punished more harshly–not less harshly.

A super soaker filed with cat urine would do nicely, give them what they want.

bbz123 on February 28, 2008 at 5:22 PM

You don’t want to give them an orgasm.