Chumming

Boaters who want to attract sharks have this practice, called chum, of throwing scoopfuls of blood and fish guts into the water. Sharks smell the blood, and swarm. Now, most intelligent boaters, the ones who know what they're doing, know when to stop chumming. If too much blood goes into shark infested waters, a frenzy could occur, which is bad for everyone, including the guy hold a dripping bucket of fish guts over the water.

This is what I see on the Right right now. Demagogues and pundits are throwing hateful, bile-filled misinformation out into the culture, and the disaffected, potentially violent, and racist members of our society are swarming.

Let's hope they're smart enough to know when to stop. Before someone gets bit.

Red States

This recent grassroots swing to the radical right is toxic. We're seeing it getting people hurt and killed already, and anyone who dares to touch will be stained by it. The Tea Party movement seems like a phenomenon right now, but in a decade, its followers will be seen as the evil twin of the hippies.