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At this point it's little consolation, but Department of Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano turned out to be more prescient about domestic extremism than many of her critics.

In April, she got an earful from conservative bloggers and radio pundits after DHS issued a nine-page report, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," which warned of the potential for violence from rightwing fringe groups.

In part, the critics' distemper was connected to language which they said unfairly singled out returning veterans and conservatives. Here's what the report said:

"Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to rightwing extremists. DHS/I&A (Office of Intelligence and Analysis) is concerned that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to boost their violent capabilities."

Napolitano soon backtracked from that particular paragraph and sought to defuse the mini-controversy by making the larger point that department's job is to monitor the risks of domestic violent extremism.

"We don't have the luxury of focusing our efforts on one group; we must protect the country from terrorism whether foreign or homegrown and regardless of the ideology that motivates its violence," she said.

But in the last month, the nation has been rocked by two instances of violence committed by suspects linked to the sorts of extremist movements to which the report pointed.

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