By Douglas V. Gibbs
After being taken out of context by liberal television personality Rachel Maddow, conservative talk radio host Joyce Kaufman was blamed for inciting violence when Ellisa Martinez allegedly made an Email threat that read: "i'm [sic] planning something big around a government building here in Broward County, maybe a post office, maybe even a school, I'm going to walk in and teach all the government hacks working there what the 2nd amendment is all about . . . we'll end this year of 2010 in a blaze of glory for sure."
Ms. Martinez has been arrested two weeks after the threats, not in Florida where the threats that caused all of Broward County's schools to close were made, but in Los Angeles, California.
Kaufman's misrepresented comment was made during a political rally over the summer for Congressman-elect Allen West. The portion of the out of context comment played on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow show said, "if ballots don't work, bullets will."
Joyce Kaufman indicates the blame she received was because of the way the comment was portrayed in the media. She said the arrest of Martinez is a first step towards vindication.
"My only desire is that the truth be told," said Kaufman to a Florida CBS affiliate in an interview. "For days my name was dragged through the mud. People accused me of inciting violence in Broward County Schools. These were kids who were affected. They were locked down for 5 hours. Parents were left standing outside and they were pretty angry with me and I think what we're about to find out is this had not much to do with me."
Martinez' motivations for making the threats are unknown.
Kaufman said of Martinez' arrest, "I don't believe someone acts alone and then manages to get from the west coast of Florida all the way to LA while she's under -- there's an arrest warrant issued for her. How does that happen?"
The writer of the Email wrote that they were "especially exited (sic) to hear you encourage us to exercise our second amendment gun rights." The email referenced Kaufman's alleged plan to "organize people with guns in the hills of Kentucky."
In the final section of the email, the writer referenced former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin by saying, "what does Sarah say, don't retreat, reload! let's make headlines girl!"
Kaufman responded to critics questioning her comments during the political rally. She said the comment was taken out of context and is reference to a remark made by Thomas Jefferson.
"I stand by the fact that I have made plenty of speeches and never has any violence been the result of any of my speeches," she said. "Sometimes I get noisy. My intentions are honorable I have never desired anything but the absolute normalcy of the American political system."
One possibility may be that this was a planned attack against the conservative talk show host by liberals. It also reminds us that there are wacko individuals out there, but they are individuals able to make their decisions on a personal level - Kaufman's comment about ballots and bullets, whether taken out of context or not, did not force Martinez to make the threats. That decision was Martinez's alone.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Radio Host Responds To School Threat Arrest - CBS 4
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