XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, rec.arts.tv, alt.atheism   
   From: c1862ddd82@nnada.ne   
      
   Soon they will be shooting rightists.   
      
      
      
   In its 2024 annual "Best States" worst states to live in.   
      
   The report is based on eight categories — health care, education, economy,   
   infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and   
   natural environment — through a stringing together of thousands of government   
   and publicly available data-sources by U.S. News’ team.   
      
   Overall, the Magnolia State ranks 48th out of 50. . Mississippi is ranked   
   worst in the nation in terms of economy and health care. It ranks 48th in   
   infrastructure and 45th in fiscal stability.   
      
   The state’s highest ranking is its natural environment, placing it 20th, and   
   is 25th for crime and corrections. The state ranks 35th for both education   
   and opportunity.   
      
   For affordability, a subcategory of opportunity, Mississippi placed second in   
   the nation, beaten only by Arkansas. Mississippi ranked last, though, in the   
   economic opportunity category, another subcategory of opportunity.   
      
   Mississippi also ranked 48th last year. Since last year’s report, Mississippi   
   has improved most in crime and corrections, jumping up nine places; improved   
   six places in education and five places in its fiscal security. Mississippi   
   fell four places in the natural environment category, from 16th place last   
   year.   
      
   Changes in other categories proved minor, either improving or declining by   
   just one place.   
      
   The only states ranking lower than Mississippi overall were New Mexico at   
   49th place and Louisiana, which placed in dead last for another year.   
      
   Utah, again, topped U.S. News’ ranking. Shithole Florida was the only   
   southern state to breach the top 10.   
      
      
   After the Sept. 10, 2025, assassination of conservative political activist   
   Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump claimed that radical leftist groups   
   foment political violence in the U. S. , and "they should be put in jail. "   
      
   "The radical left causes tremendous violence, " he said, asserting that "they   
   seem to do it in a bigger way" than groups on the right.   
      
   WATCH: Extremism scholar analyzes influence of rhetoric on political violence   
      
   Top presidential adviser Stephen Miller also weighed in after Kirk's killing,   
   saying that left-wing political organizations constitute "a vast domestic   
   terror movement. "   
      
   "We are going to use every resource we have ... throughout this government to   
   identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks and make America safe   
   again, " Miller said.   
      
   But policymakers and the public need reliable evidence and actual data to   
   understand the reality of politically motivated violence. From our research   
   on extremism, it's clear that the president's and Miller's assertions about   
   political violence from the left are not based on actual facts.   
      
   Based on our own research and a review of related work, we can confidently   
   say that most domestic terrorists in the U. S. are politically on the right,   
   and right-wing attacks account for the vast majority of fatalities from   
   domestic terrorism.   
      
   Trump aide Stephen Miller says the administration will go after "a vast   
   domestic terror movement" on the left.   
   Political violence rising   
      
   The understanding of political violence is complicated by differences in   
   definitions and the recent Department of Justice removal of an important   
   government-sponsored study of domestic terrorists.   
      
   Political violence in the U. S. has risen in recent months and takes forms   
   that go unrecognized. During the 2024 election cycle, nearly half of all   
   states reported threats against election workers, including social media   
   death threats, intimidation and doxing.   
      
   WATCH: Trump conspiracies inspire threats against judges, jurors and election   
   workers   
      
   Kirk's assassination illustrates the growing threat. The man charged with the   
   murder, Tyler Robinson, allegedly planned the attack in writing and online.   
      
   This follows other politically motivated killings, including the June   
   assassination of Democratic Minnesota state Rep. and former House Speaker   
   Melissa Hortman and her husband.   
      
   These incidents reflect a normalization of political violence. Threats and   
   violence are increasingly treated as acceptable for achieving political   
   goals, posing serious risks to democracy and society.   
   Defining 'political violence'   
      
   This article relies on some of our research on extremism, other academic   
   research, federal reports, academic datasets and other monitoring to assess   
   what is known about political violence.   
      
   Support for political violence in the U. S. is spreading from extremist   
   fringes into the mainstream, making violent actions seem normal. Threats can   
   move from online rhetoric to actual violence, posing serious risks to   
   democratic practices.   
      
   But different agencies and researchers use different definitions of political   
   violence, making comparisons difficult.   
      
   The FBI and Department of Homeland Security define domestic violent extremism   
   as threats involving actual violence. They do not investigate people in the   
   U. S. for constitutionally protected speech, activism or ideological beliefs.   
      
   Domestic violent extremism is defined by the FBI and Department of Homeland   
   Security as violence or credible threats of violence intended to influence   
   government policy or intimidate civilians for political or ideological   
   purposes. This general framing, which includes diverse activities under a   
   single category, guides investigations and prosecutions.   
      
   Datasets compiled by academic researchers use narrower and more operational   
   definitions. The Global Terrorism Database counts incidents that involve   
   intentional violence with political, social or religious motivation.   
      
   These differences mean that the same incident may or may not appear in a   
   dataset, depending on the rules applied.   
      
   The FBI and Department of Homeland Security emphasize that these distinctions   
   are not merely academic. Labeling an event "terrorism" rather than a "hate   
   crime" can change who is responsible for investigating an incident and how   
   many resources they have to investigate it.   
      
   For example, a politically motivated shooting might be coded as terrorism in   
   federal reporting, cataloged as political violence by the Armed Conflict   
   Location and Event Data Project, and prosecuted as homicide or a hate crime   
   at the state level.   
   Patterns in incidents and fatalities   
      
   Despite differences in definitions, several consistent patterns emerge from   
   available evidence.   
      
   Politically motivated violence is a small fraction of total violent crime,   
   but its impact is magnified by symbolic targets, timing and media coverage.   
      
   In the first half of 2025, 35% of violent events tracked by University of   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)