{"id":68353,"date":"2018-10-25T07:00:48","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=68353"},"modified":"2018-10-24T21:09:16","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T02:09:16","slug":"the-reichstag-fizzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=68353","title":{"rendered":"The Reichstag Fizzle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew McCarthy\u00a0 on the media’s treatment of the “pipe bomb” story:<\/a><\/p>\n

There is plenty of media commentary at the moment about incivility, in the form of incendiary rhetoric and actions. This is entirely appropriate. But I\u2019m at a loss to understand how the climate is improved by spicing up reports with thinly veiled suggestions that President Trump may have triggered a series of potentially murderous attacks on political opponents. When Bernie Sanders supporter James Hodgkinson opened fire on the Republicans he targeted and nearly killed Representative Steve Scalise, I don\u2019t recall much\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0speculation about whether he could have been set him off by Democrats urging their supporters to get aggressive \u2014 \u201cget in their face\u201d; \u201cif they bring a knife, we bring a gun\u201d \u2014 when dealing with political adversaries.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Every one of these episodes is like a mini Reichstag fire, a Gliwice incident;\u00a0 every Democrat from Maxine Waters to Kathy Griffin to the New York Times<\/a> can openly fantasize about killing the President and attacking Republicans – but let Trump talk smack about reporters and suddenly we’re on civility patrol.<\/p>\n

As we often observe after terrorist attacks, everyone needs to take a deep breath until facts begin to emerge. The investigators are doing their jobs. Chances are we will know soon enough who is actually responsible for the pipe bombs. Then we probably won\u2019t need speculation about motive and incitement . . . though there will be no shortage of it, anyway.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As Andrew McCarthy points out, there\u00a0 is\u00a0<\/em>no evidence yet as to who did it – which doesn’t excuse the media’s double standard in covering the story.\u00a0 At any rate, my speculation is of no more (or less) value than what you’re seeing on the news right now.<\/p>\n

So I’ll speculate:<\/p>\n