Saturday, April 18, 2009

I am a rightwing extremist

This week a Department Of Homeland Security internal memo - intended for law enforcement only - leaked to the public. The contents have caused quite the firestorm for Janet Napolitano, prompting her to apologize to veterans for the broad smears the memo paints of them. If you have not read the memo, I encourage you to do so here: http://www.freedomalliance.org/images/stories/extremismreport.pdf. It's a quick 10 minute or so read, and it speaks volumes about how the government perceives those who disagree with their vision. It essentially reads like a liberal-progressive manifesto. For example, from page 2:

"Rightwing extremeism 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 anti-government, 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."

I'm certainly glad it specified the definition was broad. To put it in context, if you do not believe in abortion Janet Napolitano now puts you in the same category as neo-nazis and Timothy McVeigh. How about the nineteen states (including Colorado) that have passed or are debating bills enforcing a state's sovereignty? Are they now considered right wing extremist states?

Under this definition, who isn't a right wing extremist? Well, it sounds like if you shut up, nod your head in agreement to everything the Ministry of Truth - I mean, NBC - puts on the air and give up all your rights to free speech, assembly, and arms (you know, the stuff we're granted by that pesky thing called the Constitution) then you may not make the list. But, look at the bright side...at least with DOHS monitoring internet chatter, you know that someone, at least, is reading your blog!

What are your thoughts?

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