Posted on 04/15/2009 4:30:18 AM PDT by jmc813
Here we go again.
The latest cause for hyperventilation in the right-wing blogosphere is a report from the Department of Homeland Security on the need for vigilance against extreme right-wing groups like Posse Comitatus, militias, “Patriot” groups, and neo-Nazis like the Christian Identity weirdos. Some bloggers, prompted by World Net Daily, are reading this as an attempt to “smear half of the country or more as kooks for criticizing the government’s handling of the economy.”
That’s ludicrous. First, this DHS assessment was begun more than a year ago, before Barack Obama was even nominated. It has absolutely nothing to do with “tea parties,” and it was not done at the behest of the Obama administration.
Second, I’m seeing it brought up repeatedly that the report contains a reference to veterans, mentioning that some of these groups are seeking to recruit them. This is nothing more than a fact, and the report even says that only a tiny number of veterans would join such groups — but that their talents could bring a great deal of capability to the extremists. Has everyone simply forgotten that Timothy McVeigh was a veteran?
The DHS report is not intended to target anyone but the most extreme elements of the far right, and it’s depressing to see so many bloggers jumping to totally unwarranted conclusions.
AJ Strata has a good take on this: The Threat Of Far Right Extremism - Updated!
UPDATE at 4/14/09 1:10:03 pm:
Here’s a link to download the PDF file, from Wikileaks. Read it for yourself, instead of trusting the distorted claims being made.
Charles is uncomfortable with a lot of conservatives.
Who cares what this loser says?
As you and others have pointed out, while the research for the report may have been started a year ago, the decisions on how to write up that research and what spin to put on it were entirely made by the Obama administration.
Until 911 I had rarely flown an American flag outside my house.
Since 912 the flag has been there (lit at night)...always.
When I saw the reference to the Gadsden flag in this stuff (I’m a potential terrorist?) , and to support the Tea Party protests, I went out and bought a rattlesnake flag, which is now proudly flying outside my house (I also did not know that the first recorded evidence of that symbol relates to the US Marines, one of whom is my daughter. That makes me even more inclined to fly that flag!).
I actually enjoy watching him sink like a stone. He does nothing but rip on Christians, Fox News and Robert Spencer.
Oh, and if he sees this thread he will whine incessantly about the mean things being said about him (his thin skin is bordering on legendary) His blog sucks, and his traffic just proves it. I say good riddance.
“This inflammatory Department of Homeland Security report calls mainstream conservatives right-wing extremists, militia members, and tars and feathers returning veterans while warning everybody to be on the lookout for these people on the eve of these tea parties.” - Rush Limbaugh April 14, 2009
More here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2229085/posts
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Oh, I’m sure DHS will be issuing its report on self-proclaimed bank terrorists like Bruce Marks of NACA and criminal rackeeters harassing private citizens in their homes to “exploit the economic downturn” any day now. ~ Michelle Malkin
Excerpted from:
Confirmed: The Obama DHS hit job on conservatives is real
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/04/14/confirme-the-obama-dhs-hit-job-on-conservatives-is-real/ By Michelle Malkin • April 14, 2009 12:01 AM
Yesterday, Roger Hedgecock and the Liberty Papers posted an unclassified DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis report titled:
Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.
The “report” (PDF file here) was one of the most embarrassingly shoddy pieces of propaganda I’d ever read out of DHS. I couldn’t believe it was real.
I spent the day chasing down DHS spokespeople, who have been tied up preparing for a very important homeland security event later today: The First Lady is coming to visit their Washington office. Priorities, you know.
Well, the press office got back to me and verified that the document is indeed for real.
They were very defensive preemptively so in asserting that it was not a politicized document and that DHS had done reports on “leftwing extremism” in the past. I have covered DHS for many years and am quite familiar with past assessments they and the FBI have done on animal rights terrorists and environmental terrorists. But those past reports have always been very specific in identifying the exact groups, causes, and targets of domestic terrorism, i.e., the ALF, ELF, and Stop Huntingdon wackos who have engaged in physical harassment, arson, vandalism, and worse against pharmaceutical companies, farms, labs, and university researchers.
By contrast, the piece of crap report issued on April 7 is a sweeping indictment of conservatives. And the intent is clear.
As the two spokespeople I talked with on the phone today made clear: They both pinpointed the recent “economic downturn” and the “general state of the economy” for stoking “rightwing extremism.” One of the spokespeople said he was told that the report has been in the works for a year. My b.s. detector went off the chart, and yours will, too, if you read through the entire report which asserts with no evidence that an unquantified “resurgence in rightwing extremist recruitment and radicalizations activity” is due to home foreclosures, job losses, and…the historical presidential election.
In Obama land, there are no coincidences. It is no coincidence that this report echoes Tea Party-bashing left-wing blogs (check this one out comparing the Tea Party movement to the Weather Underground!) and demonizes the very Americans who will be protesting in the thousands on Wednesday for the nationwide Tax Day Tea Party.
From the report, p.2:
Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
From the report. p. 3:
(U//LES) Rightwing extremists are harnessing this historical election as a recruitment tool. Many rightwing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms ownership and use. Rightwing extremists are increasingly galvanized by these concerns and leverage them as drivers for recruitment. From the 2008 election timeframe to the present, rightwing extremists have capitalized on related racial and political prejudices in expanded propaganda campaigns, thereby reaching out to a wider audience of potential sympathizers.
(U) Exploiting Economic Downturn
(U//FOUO) Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the economy, the perceived loss of U.S. jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and home foreclosures. Anti-Semitic extremists attribute these losses to a deliberate conspiracy conducted by a cabal of Jewish “financial elites.” These “accusatory” tactics are employed to draw new recruits into rightwing extremist groups and further radicalize those already subscribing to extremist beliefs. DHS/I&A assesses this trend is likely to accelerate if the economy is perceived to worsen.
From the report, p. 5:
(U//FOUO) Over the past five years, various rightwing extremists, including militias and white supremacists, have adopted the immigration issue as a call to action, rallying point, and recruiting tool. Debates over appropriate immigration levels and enforcement policy generally fall within the realm of protected political speech under the First Amendment, but in some cases, anti-immigration or strident pro-enforcement fervor has been directed against specific groups and has the potential to turn violent.
And echoing the anti-military bigotry last seen in that disgusting Penn State University training video, there’s this on p. 7:
(U) Disgruntled Military Veterans
(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremistsincluding lone wolves or small terrorist cellsto carry out violence. The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today.
There’s no hackneyed left-wing stereotype of conservatives left behind in this DHS intelligence and analysis assessment. I asked both DHS spokespeople to tell me who, specifically, the report was accusing of “rightwing extremist chatter” and which “antigovernment” groups are being monitored as “extremists.” They say they’ll get back to me.
In the meantime, be aware of this from the report, p. 8:
(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A will be working with its state and local partners over the next several months to ascertain with greater regional specificity the rise in rightwing extremist activity in the United States, with a particular emphasis on the political, economic, and social factors that drive rightwing extremist radicalization.
Better make a few last-minute signs for the Tea Party. Obama’s DHS is watching:
Honk if you’re a radicalized rightwing extremist!
Guilty of rightwing extremist chatter
Anti-government, pro-freedom: Sue me
***
Previous: Missouri retracts report linking militias, 3rd party candidates.
Yeah, I used to read his site alot but he lost me with his brilliant political analysis of the election. McCain lost because of the Creationists according to LGF. There were a few other things on his site I thought were ridiculous so I just stopped going there. Whatever, the internet is a big place & he’s just a small part of it. He seems to have let his “success” go to his head.
Thanks jmc813. I probably got bumped with a dozen threads on the DHS report yesterday! Here’s a few I pinged:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228948/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228584/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2227953/posts
So, what the heck happened to LGF? Used to be a great blog.
I removed LGF from my recommended reading list a couple months ago. I am ashamed I still check on it via bookmark. I think I’ll take the plunge and remove it now.
I recommend jihad watch
I did it I removed LGF from bookmark list. See if I can keep away. This is the last straw.
LGF used to be to the right, but I do believe they have surrendered to the left. I no longer frequent their site although I did during the second Bush election. They have jumped the shark for sure.
Johnson was/is a 9/11 conservative. He was a lib douche before 9/11 — he’s just showing his true colors again.
Oh gee, the day before national tea parties, which the admin knows is sponsored by anti-Obama types, the DHS issues a warning about RIGHT-WING!!!! terror groups. What could the Obama admin possibly have in mind? Why they certainly aren’t trying to lump average conservatives in with nutty, para-military, far-righters, are they says Charles Johnson. Hey, Chuck pull your head out of your you know what.
‘Good catch DBROW.”
Thanks, but...Kudos should go to An Old Man, not me.
But yeah, this is one of the things that makes FR great. Ten thousand volunteer researchers, among other things.
I don’t recall he ever said he is a conservative. I used to hang out there on LGF all the time, for his take on the WoT, which was very good and supportive of the US.
Frankly I want to see the DHS report on Left Wing Extremism. Why is always on the Right, doesn’t the Left have Extremists also like say Former Weatherman Bill Ayers??????????
GREAT points- it refers to the cop-killer in Pittsburgh. That was in APRIL of 2009.
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