WHERE HAS THE MEDIA BEEN? HOW CAMPUS CENSORSHIP NEVER WENT AWAY: “Most people are familiar with the supposed heyday of political correctness of the 1980s and ’90s, but there is a popular misconception that speech codes and censorship were defeated in the courts of law and public opinion by the mid-’90s,” my fellow Insta-co-blogger Greg Lukianoff writes at Ricochet. “In reality, the threats to campus speech never went away. Before examining what has changed to alarm the public—rightfully—about the state of open discourse in higher education, it’s important to note what hasn’t changed.”

The media was fine with political correctness and censorship when it mostly being used against the right. But sooner or later, all revolutions eventually devour their own; which is why the MSM woke themselves somewhat from their slumber last year. Or as Kevin Williamson noted when lefty Jonathan Chait issued his widely-disseminated cri de coeur on the dangers political correctness in New York magazine last year, “Chait’s recent critique of political correctness insists that the phenomenon has undergone a resurgence. It hasn’t; contrary to Chait’s characterization, it never went away. The difference is that it is now being used as a cudgel against white liberals such as Jonathan Chait, who had previously enjoyed a measure of immunity.”

(Oh and speaking of Chait, perhaps to make up for an argument that last year that advanced the right, he’s now turned to eliminationist rhetoric to try to mend fences: “New York Magazine’s Chait ‘Votes’ For Oregon Militia Members To Be ‘Killed.’”)

YOU STAY CLASSY, CNN:

Washington (CNN) Ted Cruz obtained new ammunition Tuesday to shoot at his favorite bogeyman, the mainstream media, after The Washington Post depicted his two young daughters as monkey-like characters doing the bidding of their father.

Beyond the “monkey-like characters” weasel words, nice eliminationist rhetoric there. This from the network where in January 2011, in the immediate wake of the shooting of Democrat Gabrielle Giffords, Republican-appointed Federal Judge John Roll and 17 others, anchor John King “issued a prompt on-air apology minutes after a guest on his program used the term ‘crosshairs’ during a segment: ‘We’re trying to get away from using that kind of language.'”

Feel free to start anytime, fellas.

JOHN HINDERAKER: The Times Goes Gaga Over Guns. “The Times pretends to be concerned about violence, specifically homicide. Weirdly, however, the editorial fails even to mention the fact that the homicide rate in the U.S. has been steadily falling for some years, to the point where it is at a historic low, only around half what it was in the early 1990s–you remember, the golden age of the Clinton administration.”

Plus: “You can find a lot more sanity at just about any gun range than you can in the New York Times editorial board room.” Yes.

UPDATE: Jonah Goldberg on the NYT:

Similarly, while very, very, very few people outside the Times’ offices — and media nerds like me — could care less about what is essentially a P.R. gimmick, the Times thinks this is a Very Big Deal. For the staid grey lady this amounts to shouting “Unleash the Kraken!” It shows you how desperate and frustrated the editors — and liberals generally — are with the fact that this country doesn’t agree with them on guns. It also shows that the “national conversation” most Americans want has more to do with Islamist terrorism and less to do with the alleged “gun show loophole.” This alone doesn’t make The Times’ views or their arguments illegitimate or invalid. But it does illustrate how unpersuasive they are to much of the public.

The same can be said for the disgustingly hypocritical new fad of calling Wayne LaPierre a “terrorist.” This from the same crowd who insisted Sarah Palin had blood on her hands because of some cross-hairs on a congressional district map and that Michelle Bachmann should be put in the dock for her “eliminationist rhetoric.” I have no problem with criticizing LaPierre, but the double standard is just so appalling. I mean, seriously, to Hell with these people.

What’s true for lawyers is also true for newspapers: When you’re shouting and pounding the table, it’s probably because you’re losing the argument.

Yes, but it’s also meant to get us talking about guns, instead of Obama’s failure at protecting the country from terrorism.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Profs Write Openly Racist Manifesto Against Campus Concealed Carry.

Related: College ‘Safe Space’ Boos an Asian Woman For Declaring ‘Black People Can Be Racist.’

Plus:

I got an email about my USA Today column from an angry lefty with the usual “Republicans are a bunch of dying old white people who’ll be gone soon” eliminationist rhetoric. I was tempted to send him this article on the GOP’s takeover of state governments. But I’ll repeat a question I asked earlier: In light of these campus scandals, will we see more, or less, human, financial, and reputational capital flowing to higher education in the future?

CHUCK TODD PLAYS BRUTAL VIDEO OF HILLARY CLINTON’S BIGGEST FLIP-FLOPS FOR HER.

In 2008, NBC waited until Obama was securely in place as the Democrat nominee before beginning their search and destroy mission on Hillary. That culminated in Keith Olbermann’s violent eliminationist rhetoric in late April of that year, demanding “Somebody who can take her into a room and only he comes out.”

If not Hillary, which Democrat has NBC’s corporate backing this time around?

Related: “Every GOP candidate better have their contingency plan ready for when Hillary isn’t the nominee. We weren’t in 08 and it screwed us.”

GENDER IN ACADEMIA: Chronicle of Higher Education:

In addition to women’s superiority in judgment, their trustworthiness, reliability, fairness, working and playing well with others, relative freedom from distracting sexual impulses, and lower levels of prejudice, bigotry, and violence, they live longer, have lower mortality at all ages, are more resistant to most categories of disease, and are much less likely to suffer brain disorders that lead to disruptive and even destructive behavior. And, of course, they can produce new life from their own bodies, to which men add only the tiniest biological contribution — and one that soon could be done without. . . . To call being male a syndrome is not an arbitrary judgment.

The eliminationist rhetoric just gets more and more open.

TO REDUCE SCHOOL SHOOTINGS, HOW ABOUT PRESS CONTROL?

Whenever there is a school shooting, liberals try to capitalize by pushing for more gun control. But a recent story here in Minnesota reinforces a point that we have made before: would-be “shooters” are usually copycats who admire the fame that prior mass murderers have achieved. If we really want to cut down on school shootings, in particular, the most effective measure would be to prohibit news media from reporting on them; or, perhaps, bar them from reporting the name of the shooter.

Considering all of their tut-tutting about civility, eliminationist rhetoric and talk of banning gun-related words from public discourse in early 2011, I’m sure the MSM will eagerly go along, right?

WEEKEND FICTION REVIEW: Politico Says Media Is Rough on Hillary.

To be fair, they were in 2008 at times, including MSNBC employing plenty of eliminationist rhetoric, when the MSM was pushing her to hand the Democratic nomination to Obama.

And as Glenn noted earlier today when Tina Brown suggested yesterday that Hillary retire from retail politics all together, “The real message is to the Democrats: You’d better have a Hillary alternative ready!”

JAMES TARANTO: Other People’s Children: The NRA accuses Obama of hypocrisy. He proceeds to prove their point. “If the president wants his critics to refrain from even indirectly referring to his daughters, he ought to stop exploiting ordinary people’s children in this manner.”

People keep saying the NRA’s PR effort is inept. But it’s Obama who’s adopted the NRA’s signature anti-school-shooting program, not the other way around. . . .

UPDATE: Flashback: In 1999, Obama wouldn’t support tougher prosecution for school shooters.

Meanwhile, more eliminationist rhetoric: Bob Schieffer likens NRA to Nazis.

And Josh Marshall calls the NRA a “disease.”

BUT, I THINK, NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT YOU’D SEE HERE, NOW: Gun Restrictions Have Always Bred Defiance, Black Markets. Especially with all the eliminationist rhetoric coming from the left lately.

RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS POST ASSASSINATION HIT LIST. “In fact, the newsletter conveniently provides the names, addresses and phone numbers of the assassination targets.”

UPDATE: Reader Warren Bonesteel writes: “The ‘narrative’ is about making it socially acceptable to start killing Republicans and conservatives. This type of ‘narrative’ is always a precursor to such events, historically speaking.” We do seem to be hearing a lot of eliminationist rhetoric lately.

I KNOW I HAVEN’T: Don’t get too excited about Professor Loomis. “Professor Loomis’ vivid tweets are not actionable threats. That is to say, they aren’t ‘true threats’ outside the protection of the First Amendment.”

That’s right. They’re just hate-filled “eliminationist rhetoric” of the sort that lefties are always accusing people on the right of, but seem to engage in rather a lot themselves. Not a firing offense, but certainly worthy of widespread mockery.

Related thoughts from Joshua Trevino: “One could hardly defend Loomis and his record on the merits. Nevertheless, one can note that this might not be, well, justice. My only interactions with the man revealed him to be offensive and somewhat dim: he loathes Texas, is a rather pedestrian academic-left radical, and seems to have problems moderating his tone online. These are bad things. (And, reversing the ideological direction, it is not wholly unlike myself.) But they are not the whole man: and they don’t rise to the level, in my book, of wanting to render him bereft and ruined. . . .He earned his opprobrium, but not his destruction.”

UPDATE: Badger Pundit writes: “Nice post on Loomis. Especially classy after the Crooked Timber profs accused you of being the ‘witch hunt’ ringleader. The Crooked Timber profs aren’t exactly open to explaining what the heck is the ACADEMIC FREEDOM interest they’re defending (as Loomis’s tweets were part of his private life, i.e., not related to his academic field.)”

Ringleader? I never even mentioned his name, and I came to the story after lots of other people. But I’m used to bogus charges from the Crooked Timber gang. Which is why I hadn’t seen that, since I no longer read them.

But hey, if you want to argue that “head on a stick” isn’t any sort of eliminationist rhetoric, well, duly noted. (But if it was just a metaphor, what about the subsequent reference to settling for imprisonment for life? Is that some colorful metaphor that I’ve somehow missed?) Anyway, I’m sure that if someone makes a similar statement about Barack Obama, the Crooked Timber folks will rush to defend the colorful metaphor involved. Though certainly Sarah Palin was pilloried for metaphors that were far less colorful.

UPDATE: Free speech academics rally around academic who wanted to shut down NRA free speech. “I don’t think Loomis should be fired, but that doesn’t mean he should be free from criticism. And he certainly is not a hero of anything. He’s just a guy who wanted to deprive others of the rights he claims for himself.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: More here: “Again, we see no attempt to silence; in fact, the ‘right-wing witch hunt’ arose from little more than (metaphorically) holding up a megaphone to Loomis’ existing speech.”

Plus, how Crooked Timber sanitized Loomis. “It turns out, by the way, that Crooked Timber also misled by omission. Everyone knows that the expression ‘head on a stick’ is a metaphor, and that is how Crooked Timber defended Loomis. But see here for some of his truly vile comments. Crooked Timber quoted none of these.””

MORE HATE SPEECH: Texas Dem. party official apologizes for threatening NRA, Twitterers don’t accept.

When will President Obama denounce this hate-filled eliminationist rhetoric from his supporters? Never, is my guess.

CHRIS MATTHEWS IN POST-DEBATE MELTDOWN: “We have our knives out! We go after the people and the facts! What was [Obama] doing tonight — he went in there disarmed!”

Funny, I can remember less than two years ago, when Matthews was agreeing with his guests that eliminationist rhetoric and weaponry-related metaphors were racist and should be stricken from the airwaves.

UPDATE: “i can’t believe i’m saying this, but Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter,” says…Bill Maher?!

OHIO: Obama and Romney Neck in Neck in OH Poll… WITH D+10 SAMPLE.

Plus this from Stacy McCain:

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus just held an impromptu press gaggle and said, “We’re going to outspend the DNC 10-to-1 for the next six weeks.” Asked about polls showing Romney-Ryan trailing in Ohio, Priebus said “we’re within a field goal and we’re going to crush [the Democrats] on the ground.”

Oh noes! Eliminationist rhetoric from the RNC chairman! Somebody send smelling salts to Paul Krugman.

THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEKEND, if you were out, you know, having a life or something:

The Secret Service Hooker Scandal. More worrisome thoughts on that, here.

The Tea Party in 2012: Unglamorous, but effective.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Obama Owns the GSA Scandals.

Woman Seeking Man Who Knocked Her Up In The Bathroom At Megadeth/Motorhead Show On Craigslist.

Eliminationist rhetoric: Sen. Orrin Hatch “doggone offended” by “radical libertarians,” threatens to punch them (us) in the mouth.

Financial-News Shenanigans At The Department Of Labor.

Democrat staffer ‘paid to keep quiet after being sexually harassed by party official.’

Farrakhan Condemns Interracial Sex.

Stay-at-home-moms: Hey, Remember Rielle Hunter? “With all the talk about stay-at-home moms right now, this story seems relevant. After all, Rielle Hunter stayed at home — well, a series of secretly rented mansions — and took care of her baby while the father was out there paying the bills.”

The Diplomad Is Back.

Washington Examiner: Obama Goes Negative To Sidestep His Sorry Record. “‘[I]f you don’t have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.’ That is what Barack Obama said when he accepted his party’s presidential nomination in 2008. Four years later, it reads like a prophetic description of his re-election campaign.”

David Axelrod endorses Mitt Romney. Well, not intentionally, but . . .

The Nation explains the real Hillary Rosen scandal. And they’ve got a point.

INSTAVISION: I talk with Robert Zubrin about his new book, Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism. Bob’s written a number of influential books, but I think this one is really going to make a splash. I like the way he calls out the greens on their “eliminationist rhetoric.” (Bumped).

INSTAVISION: I talk with Robert Zubrin about his new book, Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism. Bob’s written a number of influential books, but I think this one is really going to make a splash. I like the way he calls out the greens on their “eliminationist rhetoric.”

THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WEEKEND:

I take exception to Mayor Bloomberg’s latest anti-gun effort.

Rampant hypermasculinity as I share cleaning tips involving Barkeeper’s Friend and the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

Warren Buffett acts like he has something to hide.

Reuters Staff Call Rubio Story Fiasco, Disgrace. But nobody gets fired or anything.

Hawaii wants to track all Web visits.

No SOTU Bounce For Obama.

Pipeline Politics Derail More Than Jobs.

How The CDC is Overstating Sexual Violence. Hey, here’s an idea: Try addressing actual diseases instead of taking a political focus on behavior.

Wisconsin: Walker’s Reforms Saving Taxpayers Millions.

Elizabeth Warren: Worth 8 Figures, But Not Part Of The 1%.

Dylan Ratigan Hosts “30 Million Jobs Tour” From Glamorous Miami Beach 5-Star-Resort. Rise up, workers and peasants!

Obama’s “eliminationist rhetoric” leads to death threats.

Huge Crowds Turn Out For Iraq War Vets’ Parade in St. Louis.

Twitter’s New Censorship Plan Stirs Global Furor.

College Presidents Alarmed Over Obama’s Cost-Control Plan.

Dude, where’s my global warming?

MORE ON THE NEW CIVILITY: Obama fanatic threatens to kill Arpaio.

A “fanatical supporter” of President Barack Obama is the prime suspect in an investigation into an Internet death threat against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Adam Eugene Cox, 33, was arrested in Tennessee Friday on an unrelated warrant for assault.

Working with MCSO, deputies in Knoxville, Tenn., served a search warrant and seized evidence from Cox’s home on Friday after an investigation into the death threat came to light in October.

In that threat, Cox stated Arpaio and his family would be killed, according to MCSO. His postings read, in part: “I plan to kill Arpaio first. He will be filled with a thousand bullet holes before the year is out. I promise you this. He won’t [expletive] with Obama. He will be buried 10 feet under and his whole family will be murdered along with him.”

Well, given the President’s extremist, eliminationist rhetoric, this sort of thing was bound to happen, I suppose.

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): ‘Time to kill the wealthy,’ says fan of Occupy Wall Street. “And now, the same people who insisted that a U.S. map with crosshairs symbols on it somehow caused an act of horrible violence — by someone who never even saw that map — will insist that the Occupy Wall Street geniuses bear no responsibility for the actions of this lunatic. That the inflammatory ‘eat the rich’ rhetoric we hear day and night from our moral, ethical, and intellectual superiors on the left has absolutely no influence on anything bad their followers do. Either political speech causes violence or it doesn’t, lefties.”

Personally, I blame the extremist eliminationist rhetoric emanating from the White House.

LEFTY RADIO TALKER: “I’m A Bloodthirsty Liberal.”

Huh. It’s so hard to keep up with fads these days — it seemed like just yesterday, eliminationist rhetoric was quite a bad thing.

PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNION UPDATE: Photos: WI protesters call Gov. Walker a dictator, put crosshairs on his face. Someone tell Paul Krugman and the “civility police!”

The very first comment: “These people are the ones teaching the children? Nice. This really makes me want to forgo my own retirement in order to finance theirs. Fire them all.”

UPDATE: James Taranto on the “Civility Swindle.” Say, will some White House reporter ask President Obama if he condemns the violent eliminationist rhetoric of the Wisconsin public-employee unions?

ANOTHER UPDATE: A reader emails: “What do you think would happen if a student in a public school called the principal a dictator and put crosshairs on his face? Given the prevailing zero-tolerance (aka zero-thought) policies, the best the student could hope for would be a lengthy suspension. These people really have no clue.”

SO MUCH FOR THE NEW CIVILITY: Chris Matthews Issues ‘Call to Arms’ Against ‘Unpatriotic’ Bush and Rumsfeld. Eliminationist rhetoric! Someone alert Paul Krugman!

OH, THAT’S RICH: Person Tweeting Death-Wish for Palin Now Wants Privacy.

There are two principles at issue. First, there is no expectation of privacy as to death wishes. Second, there is no expectation of privacy on Twitter.

Sorry lady, you’ll have to live with the consequences of your Tweet, because even if YouTube takes down the video, we all have screen shots.

Have you noticed how these people are all about the airbrushing? Plus, from the comments: “Twitter seems to be very effective, in a raw Darwinian sort of way, at identifying the true morons, doesn’t it?”

Related: Palin Getting Death Threats At Unprecedented Levels. I blame Paul Krugman. When will he apologize for his eliminationist rhetoric?

UPDATE: Reader Paul Stinchfield writes: “The Dutch libertarian Pim Fortuyn was assassinated by a Green Party member. The murder was the direct result of an intense campaign of lies by the European Left to demonize Fortuyn as some sort of neo-Nazi who institute a fascist state and a campaign of ethnic cleansing.” Yes, you’d think Europeanists like Krugman would be paying attention.