Congressman says he's 'tired of playing defense' against conspiracy theories and domestic extremism

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

A congressman who has been fighting conspiracy theories and disinformation believes that the Jan. 6 insurrection was a turning point, and that a critical mass of law enforcement and military institutions are now “playing offense” against right-wing extremism.

“The experience that we all had in the Congress ... on Jan. 6 — that strengthened my determination, our determination,” said Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J. “I'm tired of playing defense. I'm tired of waiting for the next threat. We are now playing offense. We're going to go after these people. We're going to deal with this problem. I'm confident of that.

Yahoo News reported last week that an internal report by the Department of Homeland Security said right-wing extremists were responsible for the majority of fatal domestic terrorist attacks last year. Top DHS officials and FBI Director Christopher Wray said last year that the biggest domestic terror threat came from right-wing extremists.

After the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, police and military institutions are “taking seriously the threat posed not just by a handful of crazy-sounding individuals out there, but organized groups like the Proud Boys and the boogaloo bois and the Oath Keepers,” Malinowski said in an interview on “The Long Game,” a Yahoo News podcast.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/congressman-says-hes-tired-of-playing-defense-against-conspiracy-theories-and-domestic-extremism-200529744.html

[jxla]

1. Rep. Tom Malinowski's pre-Congressional career

https://en.wikipedia.org/Tom_Malinowskiwiki/

Malinowski received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1987 and a Master of Philosophy from St Antony's College, Oxford, in 1991, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.[1][5]


Government service
Malinowski began his government career as a special assistant for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1988. After attending Oxford, Malinowski worked for the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, Austria, and later as a research assistant for the Ford Foundation in 1993.[5] From 1994 to 1998, Malinowski was a speechwriter for secretaries of state Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright, as well as a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the Department of State.[6] From 1998 to 2001, Malinowski served as senior director on the National Security Council at the White House, where he oversaw the drafting of President Bill Clinton's foreign policy speeches and strategic communications efforts around the world.[5][6]

Human Rights Watch
From 2001 to 2013, Malinowski was a lobbyist for Human Rights Watch.[5][6][7] In this position, he advocated for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[8] Malinowski also opposed the United States supplying Israel with cluster munitions because of their misuse in Lebanon and asked then-Senator Hillary Clinton to not support Israel's construction of a wall in the occupied West Bank.[9][10]

Assistant Secretary of State
Malinowski was seen by some[11][12] as a likely nominee for Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor but his previous registration as a lobbyist while at Human Rights Watch necessitated a waiver from the President. On July 8, 2013, during President Obama's second term, Malinowski was nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.[13][14] Malinowski testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 24, 2013,[15] and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 2, 2014.[16][17][18] According to columnist Jennifer Rubin, Malinowski was praised in 2014 by leaders from both parties for his defense of human rights and his work toward ending torture.[19]

While working in the State Department, Malinowski spearheaded efforts to assist persecuted religious minorities targeted by ISIS in Iraq.[20][21] He also oversaw efforts to sanction North Korean officials for human rights abuses and increase the flow of uncensored information into the country.[22][23] He led State Department efforts to defend the LGBT community around the world and oversaw the appointment of the first Special Envoy for LGBT rights.[24][25] Malinowski backed the United Nations' efforts to investigate possible war crimes committed during the Sri Lankan Civil War.[26] He also worked on reducing civilian casualties from U.S. military operations in the Middle East[27] and assisted with sanctioning Russian officials under the Magnitsky Act for human rights abuses.[28]

[Hekate]

2. KnR. It has not been about "a few crazies" for a long, long time