Crossing the Line

When politicians use imagery tinged with violent and military connotations - like "campaign" or "targeted" or "behind enemy lines" (when speaking of opposing politicians who have won in "our" territory) is it any wonder if some take it too far? 

Remember when a late-night comedy show portrayed a picture of the president with a gunsight superimposed and the caption "snipers wanted"?  Or when a prominent actor called for the death of a prominent congressman - and his whole family?  Then we have this map of targets "behind enemy lines" with its ominous bulls-eye target symbols.  Enemies, note; not opponents. 

Rather incendiary.  No wonder the media jumped right on it. 

Oh, wait.  No, they didn't.  The cross-haired president was Chimpy W. Bushhitler, the congressman was Henry Hyde, and the map to the left was originally on the DNC website in 2004. 

So, never mind. 

What is really serious is Sarah Palin putting up this map:

Now that's really ominous.  "It's time to take a stand" is much more serious than "targeting strategy", for what is a "stand" but the place where the hunter hides waiting for Bambi to come near.  And the engineering symbols for geometrical positioning or location are far more ominous than any old bulls-eyes.  They have been likened to rifle scopes, although the hairlines on a scope do not actually extend beyond the circle of the lens.  However, those in a lather are unlikely ever to have seen an engineering drawing (or a rifle scope, for that matter). 

Cf. Wikipedia GD&T Engineering Symbols

h/t Verumserum

Now, if only we could figure out the political leanings of someone whose list of favorite books included "Mein Kampf" and "The Communist Manifesto." 

The killer's YouTube video titled "My Final Thoughts: Jared Lee Loughner!" tells us that: "If B.C.E. years are unable to start then A.D.E years are unable to begin. B.C.E. years are unable to start. Thus, A.D.E years are unable to begin."  Well, that's politics, I suppose.