Posted on 01/19/2013 5:32:14 PM PST by Bratch
In 2008, the Anchorage Daily News ran this deck bellow the headline: “NO MORE GUNS: Alaska State Defense Force stripped of many powers.”
Irony knows no bounds when it comes to the Tea Party.
In 2008, Tea Party Queen and Shoot ‘Em Up and Hang ‘Em Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) disarmed brigade members of the Alaska State Defense Force (think volunteer militia) at the recommendation of the state military officials, based on a report by an investigator with the Washington National Guard.
(I)n a major decision proving unpopular with at least some of the force’s roughly 280 members, the state is taking away the brigade’s guns.
Yes, Sarah Palin, as executive of the state, took away their guns. And no, conservatives, you can’t have it both ways. Clearly they gave Sarah Palin the report and she took executive action on it (also known as “tyranny” when a Democrat does it).
“The report does not say Westall was a bad commander,” Campbell said. “The report says the state defense force, it’s a voluntary organization, it’s part time, it’s dedicated volunteers serving their state, but they don’t have the intensity of training, the skill sets the National Guard has.”
As a result, Campbell recommended to Gov. Sarah Palin that brigade members should no longer be armed.
The state also read a report on said militia, and yet the state was not accused of hating Republicans. Do not try this on a national level.
A report ordered by George W. Bush’s Department of Homeland Security warned of right wing domestic terrorism, writing that “the economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and recruitment.” This caused massive right wing hysteria by the usual suspects. Michelle Malkin quickly donned her Republican Poutrage, and the Drudge and Breitbart followed with their angry misunderstandings of reality.
The report was unveiled in April of 2009, during the beginning of the Obama administration, and so naturally Republicans screamed and hollered about how it hurt their feelings to have a federal agency report the facts until the agency decided not to distribute the report to law enforcement. (No such whining when the same agency released a report on left wing terrorism.) This was before the Obama administration figured out that catering to crazy only enables it.
Sarah Palin has a reputation as a great gun freedom fighter of the Right (in spite of her struggles with actually shooting a gun on her reality TV show). The fact that she directed her administration to disarm the militia in 2008 and yet we heard nothing of this during the 2008 election suggests that disarming the militia is equated with “liberty” and “loving the second amendment” when a Republican does it.
When a Republican is in charge, the cult salivates at the use of dictatorial power. It’s a form of security for them, resulting in what psychologists describe as an urge to be dominated and controlled, stemming from their deeply shameful suspicion that they can’t control themselves.1
We must remember Sarah Palin’s affectionate relationship with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is sending out his civilian armed posse to patrol for “illegal immigrants” and to “protect” the schools. It’s a wonder Palin didn’t explain to him that in her own state, they found that “administering a part-time civilian force brings a high liability risk to the state.” Yes, really.
Why is that? Because they are not trained as well as the professionals. Go figure. This conclusion comes dangerously close to suggesting that education matters, gravity exists, there is such a thing as expertise and that not everyone should be armed with a gun. But outside of their own actual records, Republican exceptionalism demands that we attribute equal weight to non-exerts and arm chair wannabes, lest we be called “elitists”.
All you need to do in order to represent second amendment “freedom” is pose with guns and put cross hairs on your opponents. You can disarm the militia in your state without DESTROYING THE CONSTITUTION so long as you have an “R” after your name. Also, posing while leaning on the flag in short shorts helps (warning: do not try this as a Democrat or you will be branded a hater of the troops and an enemy of freedom).
If you have a “D” after your name, don’t you dare even mention enforcing the existing gun safety laws, or else the Tea Party (read: Civil War Resentment Party) will denounce you as a “dictator” and threaten to throw you in jail for violating their imaginary Constitution. You know, the one they would have written if only they had won that awful war of “Northern Aggression”.
Remember patriots, image is everything. Substance zero.
Update: This is for the Palin fans. The question is, what would the right’s reaction have been if this same scenario had happened under President Obama. With a title reading “NO MORE GUNS” they would have gone insane. They’ve already jumped the “tyrant Hitler” shark over 23 executive actions that do little more than direct gun safety commissions and enforce existing laws. Only two address limiting the availability of a category of gun or a magazine capacity. If Obama ordered Arpaio’s posse to be disarmed because they were a “liability”, would the right be defending that as they are Palin’s actions?
1. Note: These are real psychological theories on authoritarianism that are worth a look if you want to understand the consistent hypocrisy of the right. The conservative base can be seen as suffering from a desire to submit to an authoritarian who represents “traditional values”. The underlying theory is that the authoritarian personality has a weak ego unable to manage their id impulses. Alfred Adler proposed an alternative theory that power-over seekers are compensating for a feeling of inferiority, which might explain why Republican leaders are able to manipulate their base by stoking resentment of “liberal elitists”. Professor Bob Altemeyer expands on this theory in his book “The Authoritarians”. John W. Dean’s book, “Conservatives Without a Conscience” discusses the psychology of obedience to authority. For more on how the Republican fear that they can’t control themselves causes them to seek policies that impose rigid moral control, read “Red State Blue State”.
They (the media) have been trying to trot out stories of conservative icons, to justify their attack on the RKBA. They are telling the low information folks that their efforts are not unusual or unconstitutional as conservatives have done similar things. I was in an office the other day, and I heard a snippet from a CNN talking puppet that Reagan had said or done something similar.
Looks like she had her reasons....
Alaska militia leader Schaeffer Cox sentenced to 26 years in prison
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/09/16426977-alaska-militia-leader-schaeffer-cox-sentenced-to-26-years-in-prison?lite
“Pallin’ Around with Terrorists”: Palin’s Link to Militia Leader Charged With Conspiracy to Commit Murder
The surreptitious meeting between Fulton, Cox and Palin’s associates took place a scant six months before Palin was selected by John McCain to serve as his running mate on the GOP ticket. Cox, a supporter of Palin’s, was then a Republican candidate for the Alaska House of Representatives, District 7.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-dunn/pallin-around-with-terror_b_1564430.html
Oh, heck, no. In fact this was about the time the requirement to obtain a permit to carry concealed weapons was eliminated. Bears don't wait for your background check to go through.
"Politicus" as in "Spartacus," eh? Yessir, I know my Commies. As the fellow said in The Mikado, "I've got a little list. . . I've got a little list. . ."
They thought they had us, but it was just Sarah clearing house again.
Did she actually disarm them of their own weapons, or refuse to fund civilians with state provided arms/money?
Daily KOS and DU are all over this and found some false named websites the they obviously set up for propaganda purposes. The O_btards minions are organized techies, but some really vial liars.
I am not familiar with the event, but suspect it had to do with the leadership of the organization and private motives of some of them.
I know that Palin is pro gun and pro private property. The rest of this is Dem Smoke. We haven’t seen anything yet.
Obozo is a LIAR, snd he serves the father of lies.
Be especially wary of leftists who cite research about “authoritarianism”. The concept of authoritarianism was touted much back in the early 50s into the early 60s and if you look at the description of the concept, it was basically a collection of perceived stereotypical attributes of someone different from the researcher. It received little support in actual studies—the evidence was modest, rare, and blown beyond its reality—and gradually the concept faded from legitimate research. To see it trotted out now, and to see it used in the old way, to trash human beings by creating a hateful stereotype of them, is beneath contempt.
Conservatives, close cousins to libertarians, are certainly not attracted to authoritarians—quite the contrary. However, a liberal who seeks to be cared for and protected by a big powerful government daddy, now that is a psychological phenomenon of considerable note.
If anyone’s interested, This guy alaskaldw
New Member (I was the one who filed the complaint to then Gov Sarah Palin to get rid of BG Tom Westall.) on Militaty.com explains it all.
http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1120002010001/m/9910050482001/p/2
One more thing....
“In 2009, a decision was made by then BG Thomas H. Katkus, Acting Commissioner/TAG, Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs, State of Alaska, to diminish and to disarm the Alaska State Defense Force. BG Deborah McManus, CO AK ARNG, stated to the assembled members of the ASDF that they would be a “reserve of last resort with little likelihood of being called to State Active Duty” again.
http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1120002010001/m/9910050482001
Gee, not EVERYTHING that goes on in Alaska was due to Palin, lol!
The main thing is to post this out to other places to fight back the smears.
Why do you feel that she'd run in '16 when she declined to do so in '12? That the kids are older? She could certainly have prevented a bunch of crap for us proles had she won this year rather than four years from now.
You are quite right! As a Marine I never had a weapon issued to me after Boot Camp and ITR. Not until we were told we were going to Danang, Viet Nam and marched to the armory were we issued a M16, Helmet and two 20 round Magazines. I had to return everything I was issued when I left Viet Nam. Never saw a rifle again until I needed to qualify at the range.
I don’t think that private militia guy is related to the state militia.
My only point, is that the ASDF is still used as a aux force. They should still be able to defend themselves, especially over the vast area in Alaska. With their own friggin gun and ammo.
really? too bad
OK, if misunderstood what you meant. You just reinforced my previous thought about her.
Thanks
Were you here when the Romney/Rove/Democrat coalition threatened her life, destroyed Cain, Newt, etc. and did everything but burn her house down? They actually burned her church down with women and children inside, hired a gossip novelist to move in NEXT DOOR to her, spent millions making a movie to defame her, made up stories that she slept with a black NBA player, her baby was not hers, poured over tens of thousands of her e-mails, etc. Do you want links?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
