TPMMuckraker
Racism: June 2009

Accused Far-Right Killer Has Bizarre, Troubled Past

Zachary Roth | June 16, 2009, 5:18PM

So this morning, the story of Shawna Forde -- the alleged ringleader in the recent murder of a nine-year-old girl and her father near the US-Mexico border -- appeared to be pretty run-of-the-mill stuff: it looked like your standard plot to start a "revolution against the US government" by recruiting members of the Aryan Nations to a vigilante anti-immigrant border-patrol group, in order to rob Mexican drug cartels, then use that money to free kidnap victims in Syria.

Dog bites man, we figured.

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Topics: Racism, Right-wing extremism

Right-wing extremism

More Far-Right Violence? Anti-Immigrant Suspects In Arizona Killing Have Ties To White Supremacists

Zachary Roth | June 16, 2009, 12:48PM

The recent murders of a Kansas doctor who performed late-term abortions and of a guard at the National Holocaust Museum have stoked fears of a rise in right-wing extremist violence -- just as that much-maligned DHS report predicted. And now it looks like we've got another one to add to the list...

According to local law enforcement, three people posing as police officers forced their way into the home of Raul Flores in Arivaca, Arizona, about 10 miles from the Mexican border, on May 30. They shot and killed Flores and his nine-year-old daughter, and wounded Flores' wife. The three, Shawna Forde, Jason Bush, and Albert Gaxiola, were arrested and charged last Thursday and Friday.

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Topics: Racism, Right-wing extremism

Right-wing extremism

SHOCKER: Buchanan Prefers "The Old Bigotry" To Affirmative Action

Zachary Roth | June 12, 2009, 1:55PM

OK, we know it's not exactly breaking news that Pat Buchanan holds some views that are borderline racist, to put it mildly. But this one is just too blatant to pass up.

In his latest column for Human Events -- a forum he often uses to air opinions that wouldn't fly during his regular gigs as a commentator on MSNBC -- Buchanan writes that he "prefers the old bigotry" to the Ivy League affirmative action policies that may have benefited Sonia Sotomayor, because "at least it was honest."

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Topics: Media, Racism, Right-wing extremism

Racism

Latest Right-Wing Meme: Von Brunn's A Lefty

Zachary Roth | June 11, 2009, 4:19PM

It's hardly been 24 hours since James Von Brunn allegedly walked into the Holocaust Museum and shot museum guard Stephen Johns. But already conservatives from Rush Limbaugh to Red State have started advancing their latest up-is-down meme: Von Brunn -- a white supremacist consumed by hatred of Jews and blacks, who has called for President Obama to release his birth certificate -- isn't really a right-winger -- in fact, he's a lefty.

Let's count off the examples:

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Topics: Media, Racism, Right-wing extremism

Racism

Von Brunn Promoted Work Of Legendary Anti-Semite

Zachary Roth | June 10, 2009, 4:05PM

It looks like James Von Brunn tried to use Wikipedia to promote the work of Willis Carto, the right-wing Holocaust denier and founder of the Liberty Lobby.

Just last month, a Wikipedia user James Von Brunn asked the site's adminstrators:

How do I get user: James W. von Brunn on Wikipedia website. Also I have a letter from Professor Revilo Oliver pertaining to Willis Carto that I want to attach. ???????"

According to his Wikipedia page, Carto has been accused by some observers of doing more than just about anyone to keep anti-Semitism alive as a political movement in the US during the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Late Update: The Southern Poverty Law Center, which says it added Van Brunn's website as a hate site last year, adds:

In the 1980s or early 1990s, von Brunn was employed by Noontide Press, a part of the Holocaust denying Institute of Historical Review, which was then run by Willis Carto, one of America's most prominent anti-Semites.

So Von Brunn's ties to Carto appear to go far deeper.

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Topics: Holocaust Museum shooting, James von Brunn, Racism, Right-wing extremism

Financial Crisis

Lawsuit: Wells Fargo Targeted Blacks For Subprime Loans

Zachary Roth | June 9, 2009, 5:08PM

In the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, the unsavory and sometimes illegal business practices of the mortgage lenders at the vanguard of the subprime trend have slowly been coming to light. But new claims in a lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo by the city of Baltimore -- and reported in the last week by the Baltimore Sun and New York Times -- are pretty shocking nonetheless.

The suit accuses Wells Fargo of using a range of deceptive practices to push high-interest, subprime loans onto African-Americans in Baltimore and the Maryland suburbs, leading hundreds into foreclosure. The claims come largely from two former Wells Fargo loan officers, who submitted signed affidavits filed last week.