They hadn't bought guns but... Ugh. Props, indeed.

UPDATE Bloomberg reran their transition story, mentioning that there was an assassination attempt on FDR in the 1932 transition period -- that got Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak instead. So I'm sure people are alive to that history.

UPDATE More from AP. They remind me of Ohio's meth freak neighbors who got evicted and thrown and jail, or whatever.

[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.

The story is fantastical. It reminds me of the story of the supposed terrorist ring in Miami that wanted to blow up the Sears Tower, but couldn't have done it if they wanted to (i.e. wants vs. means).

Kudos to the ATF for catching these low-lifes.

There are a lot of real threats, some fantastical and some very serious. That's why chasing bogus claims of "kill him" is so bad. All threats are treated seriously so propagating BS tales takes resources away from the real threats.

I hope we can focus on these more real threats instead of politically motivated McCain hit pieces.

So stop with the crap.

These stories are ridiculous.

I'm not sure what you're getting at. Be very careful how you respond.

That's a worm. Whether these guys had the means to carry out their plan or not (and I don't think they did), and whether the media is sensationalizing this, that doesn't change their horrible intentions.

Again, the world wouldn't end if what happened? If you're saying what I think you are, you're being insensitive at the very least.

There are things to criticize about this story, what no one should do is somehow make light of their intentions or the possible results of such a plan. And, I really hope that's not what you were trying to do.

similar to this against all the candidates. Don't they usually try to keep them quiet, so as not to encourage all the other crazies?

Are they going to go after the guy who put up a hanging effigy of Palin? (which the ever-fabulous Heidi Li comments on here).

At the heart of the story is plan that they were wanting to kill a plethora of innocents at a predominately black college. It sounds like going after Obama was an unrealistic afterthought. I'm a bit confused by the reaction, here. The planned assassination was only part of the plan, and not even the most realistic part of it, in fact.

The reaction to this should be one of horror and/or disgust. I guess since Obama was added in, there, everyone just focuses on that part of it? To me, the main part of the story is the murderous rampage planned against a bunch of innocents folks based on nothing other than their color, but, somehow, that seems all to be missed by some, here.

I guess I was expecting what I would thought would be a natural human reaction. Instead, we get one guy totally ignoring the main part of the story, and then trying to rationalize and explain away what would (or wouldn't) happen if this plan was carried through, as if anyone should have even been considering that in the first place since the guys were caught.

Really, WTF?

based on a media-generated story?

There's more heartache and tragedy in normal people's lives everyday.

Don't even go there.

"They were planning"?

They were foiled. Goody. Happens all the time.

Are they going to go after the guy who put up a hanging effigy of Palin?

Unbelievable.

a predominately black high school in a city in the Nashville district.

That they were stopped form pulling off THAT bit of bigoted mayhem pleases me enormously.

What's wrong with being happy that dozens of families DON'T have to face the tragedy these idjits had planned???

We can admit that we’re killers … but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes! Knowing that we’re not going to kill today! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0
1 John 4:18

An old saying: golf doesn't build character, it reveals it. Same goes for commenting.

This country kills its own for reasons large and small. May we all escape the dark, bitter plots of stupid people.

++++

Lee Harvey Oswald was dregs. James Earl Ray was dregs. Sirhan Sirhan (though not American) was dregs.

The Columbine killers were dregs. The guys who carried out last weekend's dragging death were dregs. Timothy McVeigh was dregs.

Like, the football quarterback goes on a rampage?

Being "dregs" does not make one ineffectual in perpetrating horrendous crimes.

they were trying to acquire more in the break in (I guess I don't know weapons well enough to know how many are needed for a killing spree).

Or am I missing some anti-gun snark...

For a start:

Agents seized a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun and three pistols from the men when they were arrested.

One of the idiots, from his myspace page:

were meant to stop the sale of the "inherently dangerous" Saturday Night Special. Easily concealed cheap handguns usually in .32 or smaller calibers. Affordable in the post-WWII era even if you were black.

Yeah, one maker sold substandard parts. That wasn't what made NYC and DC and Chicago politicos anti-handgun. It was not then, is not now, and never will be about consumer safety. It was about guns in the hands of somebody other than the duly constituted authorities (aka poor people, aka brown people).

Or, as Roy Innes famously said:
"To make inexpensive guns impossible to get is to say that you're putting a money test on getting a gun. It's racism in its worst form."

Take a look at the rifle that wannabe has in his grip.
Trust me -- it's not deer, table game or bear he bought that to shoot. Thing like that's not cheap, or easily concealed -- which appears to be, sadly, the point of his having acquired it.