Unfortunately our educational system thinks filling out ovals with a number two pencil is the same as critical thinking and dialectical reasoning, so it is not surprising this subtlety would go right over some people’s heads.

What we are discussing here is the relationship between (A) distortions by the media and (B) hate crimes. Correlation does not imply causation. There may indeed be a cause and effect relationship, but it is not a simple question, and there are no simple answers.

Obviously though, if the arsonist is claiming he was influenced by FOX news there is a correlation. Some people may deny FOX caused the crime, but no one can deny there is a correlation.

Anyone with any knowledge and half a brain would have seen the uselessness of fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. They will be back in total power just as soon as the major american force is out of the country. The taliban might be hated, but they are feared and Afghanis co-operate with them in order to stay alive. Much as white people in America often stayed silent as the KKK did its lynching and murdering. Libya is still a work in progress and Egypt doesn’t look to great even now.

A lot of us have a right to be scared of certain groups. My fear is that the zionists will be rewarded for destroying a whole nation. What group/nation will be next?

But free speech is just that, free speech and the instant we stop protecting it we fall into the same slippery slope that we have with torture. Look where that led us, now Hollywood is rewriting History just as bestselling authors and Hollywood did with Reconstruction. We are going to be stuck with a falsehood that could allow decision makers can get away with murder in the future. So we are stuck in this case taking the bad with the good.

This, after the Americans took out Saddam, helped save Libya from disaster, have given aid to Egypt for 40 years, and fought the hated Taliban in Afghanistan.

That kind of thinking is scary!

The bit about FOX News instigating his act of vandalism does not surprise me in the least, though.

While I agree with you that Islam is a truly beautiful religion, your rant about ZOG kind of destroys any credibility you were trying to build.

But nice try!

But does not deserve 20 years.

Give him couple of years and let him attend friday prayer service in that mosque for few months so that he could see the beauty of Islam and taste the sweetness of faith.

USA is occupied by Zionist. Fox news is their mouth piece. If you love USA address this problem .

I still think suing for libel or slander ought to be an option. Fox News makes false and defamatory statements on a regular basis, but they’ve been getting a free pass because they target large groups or politically prominent individuals. I don’t see why they (or anyone else) should be excused from paying the price for defaming people falsely just because they defame them en masse instead of individually.

“Gorgias,”

The fact that you chose the name of a notorious Sophist for your screenname speaks volumes. If you would reread the post, you would see that “Linn … expressed no remorse when he admitted trying to burn down the third-largest mosque in the United States.” Why would he try a “ploy” to evade responsibility for an act he clearly still considers right and good? It strikes me more as a case of “Fox said it, I believe it, and that’s that.”

I wonder if the people who’re saying FOX NEWS shares a portion of the blame would say the same thing if it was CNBC or CNN?..I would certainly hope so..Fair is fair

No one is blowing FOX News’ role out of proportion so drop the hyperbolic commentary.

The issue is that this arsonist linked his activities to the influence of right wing media and the endless harping about the threat of Islam.

What part about that do you not understand?

ALF – Animal Liberation Front

ELF – Environment Liberation Front.

That was in response to the people who showed up saying that they should not be punished for burning others property and that they did not hurt anyone – apparently becuse they agreed with them. If they support people whose ideology they agree with to burn property they should be consistent and support people whose ideology they find repulsive be able to burn property as well.

Of course, that is a completely indefensible stupid position, but that is basically my point. Defending anyone burning property for political beliefs is stupid and indensible.

ALF? ELF?

Of course, i suspect that all of the ALF/ELF apologists are rightly horrified by what this guy did – after all, this guy is simply a terrorist.

On a completely different note, how will Fox News try to spin this – i suspect they will go with ingoring until the story becomes overwhelming and then they will go with “liberal plant” and “blame the victim” by claiming that the Mosque really was connected to terrorism by some really dubious means and doubling down on the anti-Moslem rhetoric.

How soon until Fox News manages to get itself listed on the hate group list?

Faux Noise Network is known to brainwash the weak minded zombies who view its benighted program. Rendering them to act out their dark desires. Such as the case (locally speaking) with a Gilbert, AZ woman, who ran over her husband with her vehicle, because he did not vote for Romney. This, after sulking over Faux Noise Network election night. Despite Faux’s consistent misinformation towards the weak and gullible., I hate to say it, but they are protected under the First Amendment Rights.

Not that it really matters in the long run. Linn deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison, and FOX News needs to be held accountable, if not legally, at least in the court of public opinion, for generally poisoning this country’s political discourse.

Something tells me was wasn’t drinking Duvel…