Threats Against Obama Spiked Early

By GottaLaff

This article confirms both our earlier reporting of an increase in threats to President Obama, and then more recently, how they are now about the same as they have been for the past two administrations. Neither is very reassuring:

The threats have leveled off in recent months, officials said, and Mr. Obama now receives about the same as his two most recent predecessors. But several officials said they took no solace that the volume of reports had receded because it was the nature of the threats that concern them and because the factors behind the increase remain — Mr. Obama’s race prime among them. [...]

A review of dozens of court records and police reports by The New York Times uncovered an array of cases, most of which did not gain public attention even as they rang alarm bells at some of the highest levels of the government. Some involved suspects with a history of violence or mental illness and easy access to guns and explosives, while others involved men whose menacing talk was ultimately deemed to be just that by the authorities.

And about those menacing messages that some scoff at, but we at TPC take very seriously:

While cases involving heated political rhetoric are seldom prosecuted, they are often investigated by the authorities, including the case of a Republican candidate for governor in Idaho who made a hunting-season joke about “Obama tags.” “We’d buy some of those,” he said. [...]

“We don’t have the luxury of saying, ‘That’s just a political statement,’ ” said Edwin Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service. “We don’t know someone’s intent until we go out and ask them about it.”

Tea Partiers, this is for you:

While the big increase in threats against Mr. Obama took place in the first four months of his presidency, officials say the depressed economy has contributed to an increase in antigovernment sentiment, which particularly alarmed federal officials over the summer.

We should all keep our eyes open, and of course, hope for the best, including that the Secret Service is more vigilant than ever.

H/t: snoopy4eva2

Number of threats against Obama same as previous administrations

By GottaLaff

There has been some back and forth about whether or not the number of threats against President Obama has gone up drastically as compared to those against past presidents.

I've mentioned I've heard that, despite one of my previous posts stating otherwise, things are about the same as they were previously. It sure doesn't seem that way, but I've seen at least two articles in the past few months that have stated the same thing.

Some of you have asked me to find a link to back that up, and until now, I had difficulty remembering where I'd read that, and Googling got me nowhere.

Finally, I ran across this in my morning L.A. Times:

[Secret Service Director] Mark Sullivan said that the number of threats against the nation's first black president was now "at the same level it was" during the two previous administrations.

Now whether or not that is true, or just a way to calm us all down while not admitting things are worse, who knows? But at least I found a source for those who requested one.

The Duh Award Headline Of The Day

White House Intruders Want Money for Their Tale

Keep 'em off Larry King and send them to the cooler for a few months with no access to hair dye.

VIDEO- CNN: Secret Service Visited Pastor Who Prays For Obama's Death

By GottaLaff



Yes, this is the same vile being whose audio-spew I posted here. I am relieved to report that the Secret Service is, indeed, all over this:

CNN analyst Mike Brooks reports that the Secret Service has interviewed Anderson, who told TPMmuckraker yesterday: "To be honest with you, I have prayed for Obama to die. I'm not the only one, I'm just the only one with the spine to say it."

Now, once and for all, can all you Commie liberal fanatics admit how biased Janet Napolitano's DHS report was? Right wing extremists? Pfft. Get real.

Barack Obama faces 30 death threats a day, 400% more than Bush

By GottaLaff

See, wingnuts, this is why you shouldn't be stirring things up so much. Oh wait. That's exactly why you're stirring things up so much:

Since Mr Obama took office, the rate of threats against the president has increased 400 per cent from the 3,000 a year or so under President George W. Bush, according to Ronald Kessler, author of In the President's Secret Service. [...]

Although most threats are not credible, each one has to be investigated meticulously. [...]

Instead of bringing in more agents - instantly identifiable because of their bulky suits, worn over bullet-proof jackets, and earpieces - the Secret Service directed agents to work longer hours to cover the extra load and to miss firearms training, physical fitness sessions and tests.

"We have half the number of agents we need, but requests for more agents have fallen on deaf ears at headquarters," a Secret Service agent told Kessler. "Headquarters' mentality has always been, 'You can complete the mission with what you have. You're a U.S.S.S. agent'." [...]

The Secret Service has increasingly cut corners after it was absorbed by the new Homeland Security Department under Mr Bush. Kessler said that when Mr Biden threw the first pitch at the first Baltimore Orioles game of the 2009 season, the Secret Service did not screen any of the more than 40,000 fans, stunning his agents and the local Secret Service field office.

The Secret Service is stretched, and they're cutting corners. This comes at a time when we have a president who needs them more than ever.

Great.

Cheney's Secret Service Protection Extended

By GottaLaff

Well, of course the Nation of Dick needs protection. A lot of people are a-gunnin' for him:

Former Vice President Dick Cheney's Secret Service protection "has been extended for at least another six months," the New York Daily News reports.

"Normally, ex-veeps only get six months of protection at taxpayer expense. But Cheney asked for an extension, and President Obama -- whom Cheney has excoriated in several interviews since leaving office -- recently signed off."

"If the Obama administration hadn't gone along with Cheney's request, he would have been forced to hire his own security agents -- or go without. Cheney's friends have said he has become more concerned about his privacy and personal safety in recent years."

Really?? He's "concerned"? Why would that be? Think... think....

Tell ya what: Instead of listing all the zillions of reasons, read Jane Mayer's book, The Dark Side. It saves me time, and it provides a public service along with a real education.

Obama Extends Cheney's Secret Service Protection

Why would anyone even bother to try? I mean, he's had like 6 heart attacks already, and with the Dark Side in his pocket...

There appears no end in sight for when Dick Cheney, a rare former vice president with Secret Service protection, will lose his security detail. Whispers has learned that the political battler's Secret Service protection has been extended, though there were no details on the length.

We don't know why President Obama OK'd the extension, which must be approved by the commander in chief because former veeps typically don't get any Secret Service security after leaving office. But indications are that the threats against Cheney, who's working on his biography at his homes in Virginia and Maryland, haven't lessened since his term expired.

I'm honestly surprised.