Many people have asked me what I think of Sarah Palin's recent use of the term "Blood Libel" to describe the media's attempts to link her to Jared Loughner.  

Here's my take in three sentences: 

A Christian Zionist channels the history of Jewish suffering to describe her own travails.

Jewish Zionists get mad that she's stepping on their turf. 

Only in America. 

Richard Spencer and Jared Taylor are both to be commended for setting us straight about the non-relation between Arizona killer Jared Loughner and American Renaissance. Despite a damning report from Homeland Security linking Loughner to this publication, no evidence showing such a connection could be produced. Moreover the description of the AR “organization,” (it is actually a newsletter whose editorial board holds annual conferences) as anti-Semitic was denied almost as soon as the report was issued. Leftist, predominantly Jewish groups such as ADL and the SPLC came to Jared Taylor’s defense against the rumor that he was running a neo-Nazi hate group.

Homeland Security went wrong, when it described Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman whom Loughner shot as “the first Jewish female elected to such a high-position in the US government.” Although the report was correct that the social liberal and pro-immigrationist Giffords held views that were the “opposite” of those of AR, the congresswoman, notes Jared Taylor, has come after multiple Jewish, female predecessors in Congress. These others, not surprisingly, have been even more liberal than Rep. Giffords.

Despite the empty charges brought against AR, a publication to which Loughner did not subscribe, the war against the newsletter continues to be waged, thanks to the neoconservative camp. FOX went into high gear at 8:00 AM Sunday morning, reporting that an extremist organization that hates Jews, Blacks and Israel was somehow involved in Loughner’s crimes. The young woman who made this assertion claims never to have heard of American Renaissance, but assured her listeners that she and her fellow-investigative reporters were doing “research.” From her remarks it seemed that she and FOX were about to reveal something big about a rightwing-extremist “hate group.”

On Sunday, I noted the disturbing fact that Gabrielle Giffords was subscribed to Jared Loughner's YouTube page and suggested that there might--might--be a back story. Well, Mother Jones now reports that Loughner's mother is Jewish and that he and Giffords may have attended the same synagogue.  

There seems to have also been a Giffords-Loughner encounter at a political rally. According to Mother Jones, Loughner's friend, Bryce Tierney, "recalls Loughner complaining about a Giffords event he attended during that period."

Loughner "might have gone to some other rallies," [Tierney] says—but Tierney notes it was a significant moment for Loughner: "He told me that she opened up the floor for questions and he asked a question. The question was, 'What is government if words have no meaning?'"

"He said, 'Can you believe it, they wouldn't answer my question.' Ever since that, he thought she was fake, he had something against her."

Let's be clear: I don't think Loughner's "motive" was anything more than an irrational fixation of a man sinking into Schizophrenia. But it seems that Loughner's real-world connection to Giffords via his synagogue would be of more interest to the media than the theory that Sarah Palin Did It.     

Hat tip: Kevin MacDonald

It is fairly obvious that this Loughner fellow has a mental illness. His attack has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the fact that our laws make involuntary treatment for the mentally ill nearly impossible.

It is important to emphasize that as a result of this attack, we have lost the very conservative Republican anti-immigration chief judge of the District of Arizona, John Roll, opening up the opportunity for Obama to replace him with a pro-immigration Hispanic. No politically motivated assassin in his (otherwise) right mind who is "connected" with AmRen would ever have done such a counter-productive thing.

From a political perspective, Loughner's targeting was, in a word, insane.

As a number of commenters have pointed out, the AmRen link to Loughner is so flimsy that FOX News has backed off. Even Mark Potok seems unwilling to press forward with it. Jared Taylor's response to the whole ordeal can be read here.

But there's no doubt that these vague insinuations that Loughner's act was "right wing" will continue.

It is almost certain that James Loughner suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, a disorder that usually sets in during early adulthood. The media, and many normal Americans I've encountered, are eager to speculate wildly about how FOX News celebrities or intellectual heretics--or "hate speech" of some kind or another--induced a man to commit mass murder. They seem unwilling to accept the fact that some people have unalterable mental conditions that destroy their lives and others'.            

Pay a visit to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords YouTube page ... pretty standard fare ... she has some 200 subscribers. 

Scroll down to the channels she (or her webmaster) has subscribed to, and you find two: Missouri representative Ike Skelton and "Classitup10."

"Classitup10" is the screen name of Jared Lee Loughner.  

Now, there is a very simple explanation to this: Loughner sent a request for Giffords to subscribe, and she (or her webmaster) did so without thinking. There's also the possibility that a 4chan type hacked into Giffords YouTube account and subscribed as some kind of sick joke. 

There's also the possibility that this case has a terrible back story. 

Was it not just a matter of time?   

DHS Memo suggests that shooter may be linked to racist organization

FOXNews.com

By Jennifer Griffin

January 9, 2011

According to a law enforcement memo based on information provided by DHS and obtained by Fox News, Jared Loughner, the alleged shooter of Congressman Gabrielle Giffords, may have been influenced by a pro-white racist organization that publishes an anti-immigration newsletter.

No direct connection, but strong suspicion is being direceted at American Renaissance, an organization that Loughner mentioned in some of his internet postings and federal law enforcement officials are investigating Loughner's possible links to the organization. The organization is a monthly publication that promotes a variety of white racial positions.

"The group's ideology is anti government, anti immigration, anti ZOG (Zionist Occupational Government), anti Semitic," according to the memo which goes on to point out that Congressman Giffords is the first Jewish female elected to high office in Arizona. A recent posting on American Renaissance's website on January 7 begins with an article entitled: "Exit poll: Whites are Different." The site goes on to list anti-immigration articles. Investigators are also pursuing Loughner's alleged anti-Semitism.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken command of the investigation.

According to the memo, Federal Judge John Roll's wife told law enforcement that he was not supposed to be at the rally but was called an hour beforehand and decided to attend at the last minute. Roll reportedly ruled on a controversial 32 million dollar civil rights lawsuit in February 2010 that elicited death threats for him and his family resulting in added security detail being assigned to him as a result.

Further, the suspect's mother works for the Pime County Board of Supervisors. The suspect reportedly has at least one arrest, but no criminal record, according to this internal memo based on information as of 6 pm Saturday night. Jared Loughner tried to enlist in the US Army in Dec 2008, according to Pentagon officials and Army records. He was rejected but the Army would not give the reason due to privacy laws. Loughner was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia in 2007.

In the broadcast of this story, FOX’s James Rosen reports that there’s no record of Loughner ever subscribing to American Renaissance or attending an AmRen conference, and he cites Jared Taylor’s condemnation of the murders. One can be sure, however, that much damage has been done.

The connection between Loughner and AmRen is obviously frivolous. But let’s take a step back and ask seriously why the Department of Homeland Security and FOX News would be interested in linking Jared Taylor to the attempted murder of a Congresswoman—and moreover, why government and the media so often think in this way.