Bad News

Two articles from Saturday have raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

First, is the incident of three police officers being shot in Pittsburgh. The piece of information headlined at Drudgereport added that he, the gunman, "feared the Obama administration was posed to ban guns. "

I wrote here, that I was beginning to feel that the Left was beginning to weave a narrative to demonize conservatives and anyone not supporting Obama. Robert Reich's freightening mischaracterazation was this:

Make no mistake: Angry right-wing populism lurks just below the surface of the terrible American economy, ready to be launched not only at Obama but also at liberals, intellectuals, gays, blacks, Jews, the mainstream media, coastal elites, crypto socialists, and any other potential target of paranoid opportunity.

This story just broke on Saturday night. If someone doesn't write an op-ed linking these killings to a demonization this coming week, I'll be surprised. If you see one, let me know. Not on this blog, but privately I have expressed some concern to friends that a mass shooting or domestic terrorist event commited by a crazed anti-government type will lead to a broad demonization of the non-Left in the U.S.

Second, is this one at the WSJ:

I must be naive. I really thought the administration would welcome the return of bank bailout money. Some $340 million in TARP cash flowed back this week from four small banks in Louisiana, New York, Indiana and California. This isn't much when we routinely talk in trillions, but clearly that money has not been wasted or otherwise sunk down Wall Street's black hole. So why no cheering as the cash comes back?

My answer: The government wants to control the banks, just as it now controls GM and Chrysler, and will surely control the health industry in the not-too-distant future. Keeping them TARP-stuffed is the key to control. And for this intensely political president, mere influence is not enough. The White House wants to tell 'em what to do. Control. Direct. Command.

That's right. The government is not allowing banks to pay back the TARP money. The firm grip that Obama and his Congress have on Wall Street is not going to be relinquished.

The author, who is English goes on:

After 35 years in America, I never thought I would see this. I still can't quite believe we will sit by as this crisis is used to hand control of our economy over to government. But here we are, on the brink. Clearly, I have been naive.