The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has documented extremist groups in the United States for decades, yesterday released its annual report on the number of active hate groups in the country. Calling the figures "alarming," Morris Dees, founder of the Montgomery, Ala.-based organization, says it has documented a 244 percent increase in just the past year.

" I'm deeply worried about what this means for our country," Dees said in an e-mail, adding that militias, paramilitary groups associated with the "Patriot" movement makes up a major part of the increase. "Like other extremists, 'Patriot' groups have been fueled by anger over immigration, the troubled economy and an array of initiatives by President Obama," he wrote.

"There are already signs of a resurgence of radical-right violence like the kind we witnessed in the 1990s. Right-wing extremists have murdered six law enforcement officers since Obama's inauguration. Racist skinheads and others have been arrested in alleged plots to assassinate the president. Most recently, a number of individuals with antigovernment, survivalist or racist views have been arrested in a series of bomb cases. And, tragically, a man furious with the government crashed his plane into an IRS building."

Read Rage on the Right.

Previous Comments

ID

156499

Comment

Speaking of hate. Why all the hatin'?

Author

jbreland

Date

2010-03-03T13:02:21-06:00

ID

156501

Comment

"why all the hatin"..... Let's see: Sean Hannity; Glenn Beck; Bill O Reilly; Ann Coulter; Laura Ingram; Concerned Women for America; Focus on the Family; 700 Club; Michael Savage, Mark Levine; Mike McConnell; American Family Radio and now the total distillation with this group into the "Tea Party" movement..........two or three more I can't recall right now.....expounding on hate & fear is the oldest trick in the book..low hangin fruit for this ilk. Ok deep breath....

Author

atlntaexile

Date

2010-03-03T14:29:53-06:00

ID

156502

Comment

jbreland, I'm not clear on where the "hate" is in the story. (There seems to be plenty of hate in the comments, if that's what you're getting after, but that could be said of roughly 93% of all blog comments on the Internet.) To me it's a clear false equivalency to equate "patriot" hate groups, skinheads and "militias" with folks on a TV station's story comments who complained about white girls winning a step competition. But maybe I'm missing something in your comment.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2010-03-03T14:36:14-06:00

ID

156504

Comment

I only saw hate in the comments of the story too.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2010-03-03T16:17:52-06:00

ID

156505

Comment

The disastrous attempts at brevity... Found the link comical. Saw this story about the non-definitive term "Hate Group" and thought at the same time, "speaking of hate, why all these haters hatin' on a non-traditional step team?" However, I was not equating the two. As for ATLien's comment, I'm not sure where to go. We could start a fun little list of controversial conservative commentators and then go from there. See where it leads. I just Googled "controversial conservative commentators." Will report back soon.

Author

jbreland

Date

2010-03-03T16:49:14-06:00

ID

156506

Comment

jbreland...great idea....and to continue... ...Michael Medved....

Author

atlntaexile

Date

2010-03-03T16:53:13-06:00

ID

156507

Comment

I concur with the list presented by atlntaexile. To it, I would add the entire Fox News team and their viewers. The top dog of hate and bigotry is missing from the list, that honor goes to the true leader of the GOP party, Rush Limbaugh. No way can we forget ole Oxy-Rushba the grand po-pa of bias and ignorance. And to top things off, lets add anyone that has ever spent any time in the C-Street house in DC. Their latest escapades have them linked with an effort to legalize the killing of gays in Uganda. This group has been masquerading as a church for years in order to side step tax laws. They have given religion such a bad name that legit preachers are now challenging their tax exempt status. Sadly, for everyone of these nationally mentioned personalities, there are countless followers. A small percentage are going to be unable to cope with life. Like the recent Austin airplane killer some will snap and kill innocent people in the process of ending their own cowardly lived lives. My only solace in this time of desperation is that many on the right stereotypically believe that everyone on the left is an unarmed, gun hating, pacifist. I guess the photo in the story could be seen as a sign firmly planted on a two way street.

Author

Jeffery R

Date

2010-03-03T16:57:28-06:00

ID

156508

Comment

Ezra Levant....don't stop now

Author

jbreland

Date

2010-03-03T17:01:16-06:00

ID

156509

Comment

Whatever happened to the Black Panthers? I always thought they were pretty cool. Anybody want to restart them? I'm white though; will y'all let me in? I'd like to do it just to watch conservatives' heads explode, and go "See!!! We told you!!!"

Author

DrumminD21311

Date

2010-03-03T17:09:09-06:00

ID

156510

Comment

The Black Panthers version 2.0 made a name for themselves on election day last year. If memory serves, it was in Philly.

Author

bill_jackson

Date

2010-03-03T17:50:57-06:00