A couple of weeks ago, a Bush-hating, Communist manifesto quoting mental case flew a plane into an IRS office in Texas. Despite those obviously left-wing views, many in the media immediately labeled Joe Stack a Right-wing extremist and tried to connect him to the Tea Party movement, despite an utter lack of evidence that he had ever been involved with any Tea Party group.

The same sort of stuff is happening again this week, after a mentally unstable individual with a history of extreme Bush-hatred (both 41 & 43), drug use, 9/11 Trutherism, and a record as a registered Democrat voter attacked the Pentagon. The media verdict? Right-wing extremism strikes again!

Take this headline from the Christian Science Monitor.

John Patrick Bedell: Did right-wing extremism lead to shooting?

Authorities have identified John Patrick Bedell as the gunman in the Pentagon shooting. He appears to have been a right-wing extremist with virulent antigovernment feelings.

Now I expect such irresponsibility from left-wing blog sites, but from a supposedly responsible publication like the CSM, it is positiovely irresponsible. After all, the article itself cites noting to connect Bedell with any group whatsoever, much less any "right-wing" group -- but that doesn't stop the reporter from writing about the SPLC's recent report on right-wing extremist groups.

Now I'd call this sort of conduct on the Left and among the MSM (but I repeat myself) "McCarthyism" but for the fact that Joe McCarthy did at least have a grain of truth in his charges about Communist efforts to infiltrate and undermine the US government. Today's perps have nothing to support their claims other than their own biases -- but since their position is conventional wisdom among their side of the spectrum, it doesn't matter to them if they have evidence. After all, why look for evidence for what you already know to be true?