The (Right)WingNuts are still going on, and on, and on [and on], about the 6 Arabs who where taken off a plane for "suspicious behaviour", Pajamas Media has a copy of the police report (7.45Mb pdf document), here it is in a nutshell.

Suspicious act #1: Buying a one-way ticket and not having any luggage, yup, that's absolutely damningly suspicious; nobody in their right mind ever buys a one-way ticket to anywhere in America, and every passenger on every plane always has luggage.

But if that damning behaviour wasn't enough

Suspicious act #2: They prayed and spoke the name of their god, the fools, the fools, the fools, did they learn nothing from the elderly Jewish guy who got kicked off a plane for praying?

But if that damning behaviour wasn't enough

Suspicious act #3: They mentioned Saddam Hussein and cursed American involvement in Iraq; Arab (or even Arabic looking people) ought to know better shouldn't they? Having a dissenting opinion concerning American foreign policy should be criminal if you look like that - just ask any of the biggies.

But if that damning behaviour wasn't enough

Suspicious act #4: Sitting in their assigned seats, words fail me, they were traveling together, but didn't have seats together, a clear sign of nefarious activity if I ever heard it. These people were doomed from the get go, if they had sat together it would have been suspicious, and if they had tried to sit together after boarding that would have been suspicious - we've already been down that road once, all they needed was a cell phone and a bad joke for that one 'eh?

- and if all that wasn't enough to make god fearing, Apple pie eating, flag waving, patriots suspicious

Suspicious act #5: they asked for seat belt extensions even though they, according to some opinions, didn't need them, worse still, they mentioned the Koran, did you know that seat belt extensions could possibly be used as weapons? It's true (maybe the Koran is weapon like as well, who knows?), I heard it on the Sean Hannity show this very afternoon, seat belt extensions as weapons. Of course airplane pillows could possibly be used as weapons, the belts used to hold up our pants could possibly be used as weapons, steel toe boots could possibly be used as weapons, a good old fashioned bic pen could possibly be used as a weapon, and I bet the arms of my glasses frames (never mind the lenses) could possibly be used as weapons - you see where I'm going with this don't you?

- and if all of that wasn't enough, possibly the most behaviour of all

Suspicious act #6: One of the men was seen tearing up a piece of paper and putting it in the garbage can. How could someone possibly see an Arab (or even an Arabic looking person) tearing up a piece of paper and putting it in the trash as anything but the lead up to a diabolical act of proportions never before seen north of the equator? In the garbage can? In Minneapolis? My god, what was this man thinking?

And what, you may ask, was the conclusion reached by those who have pitched their tents on the far right bank of the mainstream when it turned out that there was nothing amiss and the men released; it's obvious of course.

They are part of a Muslim extremist conspiracy to make suspicious acts like not sitting together, criticizing American foreign policy, praying in public, and tearing up paper and putting it in a garbage can in Minneapolis, common place enough that real terrorists could use these tactics to their advantage.

Franklin Roosevelt said, in his first inaugural address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

It seems a lot of folks have forgotten those wise words.

Yoda also had something to say about fear as well, "Fear is the path to the dark side… fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

In some, possibly many, the fear is great, time will tell if they, as a nation, can overcome it, or continue to justify the nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes, and not end up in a place that is even worse because of it.

(Cross posted from Stageleft:.Life on the left side)