All of that violent, rightwing extremism you’ve been reading about in the papers has finally broken through the noise band at DHS:
The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in “rightwing extremist activity,” saying the economic recession, the election of America’s first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias.
A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines “rightwing extremism in the United States” as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.
“It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration,” the warning says.
It’s wonderful to know that the federal bureaucracy is finally on the case after ignoring such rightwing extremist groups as ELF, Mecha, ACORN, ANSWER and, um…
It’ll come to me.
Me? I wish they would do something about the space aliens.
I guess the Tea Parties have got them all in a dither. Imagine! Taxpayers complaining about taxes and how they are misused.
How unDemocratic.
Silliness is not the tag I would have filed this under.
“… all enemies, foreign and domestic …”
“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
Militia Defined in US Code –
Sec. 311. Militia: composition and classes
-STATUTE-
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are –
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.
The Dept of Homeland Security’s definition of rightwing extremists would include all the signers of the US Constitution.
I am reminded of a rumor/sea story/joke in the fleet, back in the late 70’s up until late 80’s, which was that 1 in 10 missiles in the boomer fleet were pre-targeted not to Moscow or Kiev, but to Salt Lake City.
The reasoning given was if the balloon went up only the Mormons were in a position of following an American leader with a devotion unlike anything known in politics, they were isolated so could ride out an attack on the major cities, and were utterly incapable of corrupting.
J. Edgar Hoover’s preference for hiring Mormons due to their incorruptable nature was cited as supporting evidence, something he apparently did while between fittings for lacy undergarments.
Anybody else hear that rumor?
Anybody else suspect it started from a similar bit of mental masturbation put to paper by somebody who really should have first studied the parable of the blind men and the elephant?
– Max
Having just put the NRA logo on my car, I guess I’m now on the watch list. My muzzleloader could be a real threat.
Brockkl: I’m jealous! As new members of the NRA, my husband and I don’t feel safe putting our NRA stickers on our cars. Living in the liberal wasteland that is CT – we believe our cars would not survive the experience unscathed.
Interesting that this never came up when Bush was in office. What about the leftwing extremist activities like fire-bombing SUVs. Heck, the comments section at DKOS should have kept DHS busy for years to come.
Hopeandchange…indeed.
Additionally, why specifically mention “disgruntled veterans”…where did that bit of disrespect come from?
“but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority”
Wait a minute, where’d my copy of the Constitution go…?
Kat-Man/
It went to Gore’s never-never land of “no controlling legal authority.”
Like old bar-tenders will tell you: “The names and faces may change–but the stories are always the same.”
That Government attracts men seeking increased power is a fact of life from time immemorial. ALL Governments eventually –if they stick around long enough–evolve to centralized statist ones heavily overlain with authoritarian (at the very least–if one is lucky) to totalitarian overtones.
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“I wish they would do something about the space aliens.”
Lex, that comment reminded me of just how TOTALLY DISINGENUOUS the left is. This AM on “Morning Joe” Andrea Mitchell and Pat Buchanan were debating immigration reform. Pat used the term “illegal alien.” which, as Andrea HAS to know (as she reported on the State Dept beat for many years) is an official term of art codified in int. law/treaties with a specific legal meaning. Yet she chided Buchanan saying: (paraphrasing here)
“Pat, you know the only aliens that exist come from outer space–those are NOT aliens, they are illegal IMMIGRANTS.” ( condescendingly patting his hand as she did so) And with extra chutzpah she added: “You of all people should know better.” (Unbelievable!)
In fact, Mitchell repeated the point twice so as to make no mistake for the listening audience. Once again, yet another example in which the left attempts to marginalize the right and make it’s spokesmen appear as “extreme” right-wing “kooks” etc., banking on the general ignorance of the American public.
The word “alien” is used to describe non-citizens in the United States > 1800 times in the U.S. Code. It’s use in American law dates from the founding of our country and even pre-dates it. It comes from British law and I don’t know how far back in that it goes.
“Immigrant” describes people who come here to live permanently. It does not properly describe people who come here on a temporary basis to work or study and then go back to where they came from.
It is not illegal to be a person. It is, however, illegal to be an alien in this country without legal permission to be here.
Finally; I took my Scout Troop to the U.S. Customs facility at O’Hare Airport for a talk on what they do and how they do it. One thing they talked about was how they tell fake IDs from real ones. As an example we were shown IDs used by non-citizens issued to them by the Federal Government to show that the bearer has permission from the Feds to be in the U.S. Some were real, some were fake, but all of them said across the top in big bold letters, “Resident Alien”.
RonF/
Don’t confuse everyone with mere facts, you naive fool, when the left has “truth” (as they believe it to be) on their side! What we are involved with here is what the French call a “dialogue of the deaf.” Except only one side has wax in it’s ears…
I wonder if the Indiana Senate is now suspect.
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/04/09/indiana-senate-passes-sr42-claiming-sovereignty-under-the-10th-amendment/
What about the governor of Texas?
Byron … oh, goodness, what about the governor [Perry] of Texas. He wants to preserve our freedoms, so we can have house guns to preserve our lives, and hunting guns to fill our larders. And the effete liberals seem to think steaks and venison grow in freezer cases, partridges and doves too.
An armed society is a more civil society, as the aphorism goes. It certainly works down here.
Marianne
I recall when the Michigan Militia were the topic of every newspaper front page, a threat to the very foundations of our Republic, and either a bunch of drunks in the woods with deer rifles or the elite paramilitary force that could overthrow the nation, we weren’t sure which so we made both claims.
Which, coming as it did during the build-up to the Brady Bill being passed, wasn’t unexpected.
If you’d told me 20 years ago that the federal government could tell me what kind of light bulbs I could buy, I’d have called you a hysterical shill for the conspiracy theorists who think our Republic is being turned into a socialistic or at least federalist state.
So, here we are.
– Max
Lex,
Knowing your feelings about “Battlestar Galactica”, perhaps they’ll put the Xylons on their list. Next they’ll add the Borg, the Klingons and the Romulans.
An entire national organization of right-wing extremists that will be on the list, composed of boys age 8 to 18: The Boy Scouts of America!
If it weren’t all so scary, it would be silly.
On second thought, I believe my wife is right: they’ll have 49% of the population in the U.S. on the list before it’s over!
Let’s begin a pool on how long it will take for BO to start his “civilian security force”.
It’s already here – See my post above…
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
English humorist & science fiction novelist (1952 – 2001)