Posted in Terrorism Rhetoric on Mar 17th, 2009
American Idol star Carrie Underwood is donating a portion of the proceeds from her new single to the Humane Society of the United States, and getting accused of supporting “animal rights terrorists.” One of my favorite lines so far: “Carrie Underwood may think she is supporting puppies and kittens, but she needs to understand [...]
Posted in Opposition on Mar 12th, 2009
Center for Consumer Freedom Supports TerrorismThe Center for Consumer Freedom, a corporate front group formed by Philip Morris, is warning Dupont Circle businesses that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals may bring “violence” to the Washington, D.C. neighborhood.
CCF’s press release and letter warns neighbors of the “potential for harassment, violence, and mass pet killings” [...]
Posted in Opposition on Jan 26th, 2009
Rick Berman has no shortage of enemies. He and his various front groups have been the hired guns for a laundry list of nasty corporations, smearing anyone for a buck (including Mothers Against Drunk Driving or, as Stephen Colbert calls them, “O-mamma bin Laden”). I’ve written here about one of his groups, the Center for [...]
Posted in Terrorism Rhetoric on Jan 21st, 2009
Will Obama do anything to oppose the Green Scare, and eco-terrorist scare-mongering?One of the most common questions I’m asked at speaking events and in media interviews is, “Will all of this–the Green Scare, labeling activists as “eco-terrorists,” domestic spying, and more–get better with Obama?”
And my answer is always a resounding “maybe, but probably not.” [...]
Posted in Media, Opposition, Terrorism Rhetoric on Dec 15th, 2008
Last week the Center for Consumer Freedom, an industry front group, took out a full-page ad in The New York Times accusing the Humane Society of the United States of supporting “terrorism.” Their crime? A speech at a “holiday gala” for a group called the Humane League. If you’re not following, well, you’re not the [...]
Posted in Opposition on Dec 12th, 2008
As you all are playing “Six Degrees of Consumer Freedom” and investigating CCF’s ties to terrorist organizations (keep posting your entries!), I wanted to follow up on that New York Times ad.
A few things stuck out as being really odd. Of all the images that could have been used for the ad, they chose activists [...]
Posted in Media, Opposition, Terrorism Rhetoric on Dec 11th, 2008
A full-page ad in today’s The New York Times accuses the Humane Society of “helping an animal rights terrorism group.”
The ad was bought by the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), a front group that represents the fast food, meat and dairy industries. You might remember CCF from when they attacked Mothers Against Drunk Driving [...]
Posted in Opposition, Terrorism Rhetoric on May 1st, 2008
The danger of all this “terrorism” rhetoric is how politically malleable it is: industry groups can mold it into “eco-terrorism,” KFC can hammer it into “corporate terrorism” to smear Peta, and on and on and on. The word can be melted and reformed into a weapon against the latest enemy of the hour.
The flipside [...]
Posted in Opposition, Terrorism Rhetoric on Aug 15th, 2007
The genius of the Red Scare, and now the Green Scare, is that once you have completely demonized an entire group of people (either labeling them “communists” or “eco-terrorists”) you can slowly extend that scare-mongering in ever-wider circles. So first you brand someone who vandalizes an SUV as a “terrorist” (an absurdity in its own [...]
The War on Terrorism has come home. Corporations and politicians are labeling activists "eco-terrorists" and national security threats. Think red-baiting, with a green twist. Here you'll find original reporting and analysis of the Green Scare, and history repeating itself.