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The Right Hook, a weekly segment which covers the machinations of the right wing, from the Republican Party to the Tea Party Patriots, and beyond. By Chris Bennett

Last week, Juan Williams created a media firestorm by declaring his fear of Muslims on Bill O’Reilly’s show The Factor. Williams said that when he gets on a plane and sees people in “Muslim garb,” he gets nervous and scared. NPR, the organization formerly known as National Public Radio, fired Williams. Williams experienced unemployment for half a day or so before Fox News signed him up for a $2 Million dollar contract. Since the firing, Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint have called for a complete defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This would pull the plug on programming from Sesame Street to The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, and would hurt Pacifica which is funded in small part by CPB. If Palin and DeMint get their way, the only news you’ll ever hear will be corporate-filtered propaganda. Although, given NPR’s corporate underwriting and pro-corporate slant, truly independent media is already a near-extinct species. According to Timothy Karr of Free Press, the U.S. has one of the lowest levels of government funding for media in the developed world.

Joe Miller, the Tea Party Senate candidate from Alaska has broken his vow of silence regarding his past and personal background. According to Associated Press, on Sunday Miller acknowledged that while he was employed at the Fairbanks North Star Borough, he misused government computers. Jim Whitaker, a former mayor of Fairbanks, said Miller was nearly fired for using government computers to engage in “proxy voting” in an effort to oust GOP chairman Randy Ruedrich. With just a few days to go until the elections, Miller is trying to spruce up his campaign which keeps getting bogged down in ethical snafus—like last week’s arrest of a persistent journalist by Miller’s private security guards– on public property.

And, another Tea Partier, another ethical controversy. This time, it’s Rand Paul, the Kentucky GOP Senate candidate. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that Rand Paul supporters assaulted MoveOn.org activist Lauren Valle when she attempted to approach Paul outside his debate. Ms. Valle was attempting to give Paul an “employee of the month” award from Republicorp, a fake company symbolizing the business interests behind political speech. A male Rand Paul supporter wrestled Ms. Valle to the ground and held her while another man pushed his foot down onto her shoulder. Ms. Valle, a known activist, stated that the men who tackled her had identified her about 20 minutes prior to the attack, saying they might have to perform “crowd control.” The man who assaulted Valle is Tim Profitt, newly named Curbstomper, a Rand Paul supporter and volunteer. Just yesterday morning, Paul’s campaign touted Profitt’s endorsement in a full-page ad in the Lexington Herald-Leader. Watch the video on YouTube for yourself for a glimpse into Tea Party thuggery in full form.

And, finally, Sharron Angle: the Republican Senate candidate and Tea Party favorite from Nevada has earned a reputation for ducking the media in her tight race with Harry Reid. On Monday, Angle confronted that issue by stating that she intended to talk with reporters after an event inside a Microsoft Licensing office in Reno. But, after the event, Angle’s staff led a gaggle of reporters to believe that she would exit the Microsoft office by the front door. Instead, two different women came out the front door while Angle made her getaway through the side door. I wonder why is Angle is so afraid of press scrutiny?

The Right Hook– Reality Based News and Views.