DHS Report: Rightwing Extremism

[Schmedlap]

The timing of my firearms purchases has largely coincided with proposed legislation to make those purchases more difficult or illegal. But the rationale in my mind has often been, "well, if I'm gonna buy this thing, I'd better buy it now, before it gets more difficult or gets illegal." I know lots of Soldiers who bought firearms soon after deployments because that was when they had the most money saved up. I know others who bought them after ETS because they no longer got to shoot at work, so they bought their own.

As for radicalizing, I don't get the connection. You either hold radical views or get persuaded into them. I don't see how that comes about by imposing background checks or a 3-day wait period or a ban on rifles with bayonet lugs.

That this was deliberate seems pretty obvious. You can't leak a memo bashing the right wing because it will be recognized as not a leak. So you leak two memos - one bashing each side - but not one that upsets your natural allies. And if there's a bit of a backlash, so what? You've now got official-looking documents in circulation that give estimates perceived as credible that anyone opposing gun control legislation may turn into Tim McVeigh. I already foresee the news coverage... "but getting beyond the leaks and controversy, these are very disturbing intelligence assessments about possible radicalization of gun rights proponents..." Mission accomplished. Now the gun control proponents are the voice of reason, passing legislation despite the "dangers" of the radical kooks who oppose them. We need to get these people into Iraq and Afghanistan to work beside our IO folks.

[ODB]

not to post. Been thinking about this off and on most of the day. Honestly I just find them both just flat out laughable. My only point of contention is with the Veterans.

1. Yes, common sense tells me anyone looking for military type training/capabilities are going to try to recruit Veterans.

2. Would this not be on all sides of the coin? Wouldn't any group wanting to conduct violient acts want their knowledge?

My issue is in effect that just about any DHS/I&O report would have this in it, yet it does not, why? Why were the Veterans only lumped into recruiting targets for Right Wing Extremists?

Overall, can we please stop grouping people, why must everyone be labeled, be fit into some neat little category, and if they don't we create one.

Lastly, the damage control in the media has been comical, heard today that these reports were actually done under the previous administration. So, explain the blurb about the Pittsburgh incident that took place 11 days ago.

[jmm99]

from Bourbon
It was certainly a trigger for Tim McVeigh.

love of the 2nd Amendment was not one of them.

Amen, Schmedlap.

[jmm99]

The subject of rightwing extremism is today's hot topic across the cable spectrum - secession seems another. So, I was treated to one of the nuttier interviews I've seen in a long time - so nutty that I had to look for the video and the transcript to make sure that I got it right.

So, we have Countdown, Keith Olbermann and Janeane Garofalo:

OLBERMANN: ... On a more serious note, we're now joined by actor, activist Janeane Garofalo. Good to see you.

JANEANE GAROFALO: ... And you know, you can tell these type of right wingers anything and they'll believe it, except the truth. You tell them the truth and they become -- it's like showing Frankenstein's monster fire. They become confused, and angry and highly volatile. That guy, causing them feelings they don't know, because their limbic brain, we've discussed this before, the limbic brain inside a right-winger or Republican or conservative or your average white power activist, the limbic brain is much larger in their head space than in a reasonable person, and it's pushing against the frontal lobe. So their synapses are misfiring.

Now this got me thinking about the glories of eugenics, applied phrenology - and the picture of mobile DHS vans with MRIs and CATs to detect and register all those with enlarged limbic brains.

Much more in the interview.

--------------------------
A brief tour of the limbic brain is here. The controversy about its functions are here and here.

[Uboat509]

You have got to love it when pseudointellectuals try to spout science that they don't really understand and it's even better when they try to throw a cheesy partisan spin on it.

SFC W

[jmm99]

at both ends of the spectrum, as Ted (Jedburgh) and Watcher predicted a few posts ago.

Since I don't think JG is a "clear and present danger", or that she will be running DHS any time soon, I wasn't specially concerned with her scientific analysis. But, I thought it illustrated two larger problems.

One is broad-brushing - tossing your perceived opponents into one disparaged basket. E.g., all Sunnis (or all Shia) are bad folks because ____________. From thence, sectarian violence becomes justified.

The other is that broad-brushing becomes even more effective when it can be supported by science (or theology). So, eugenics and phrenology became accepted by many in the US as tools to shape society, etc. - which illustrate that even a center-oriented nation can go off half-cocked.

[Schmedlap]

The subject of rightwing extremism is today's hot topic across the cable spectrum - secession seems another. So, I was treated to one of the nuttier interviews I've seen in a long time - so nutty that I had to look for the video and the transcript to make sure that I got it right.

So, we have Countdown, Keith Olbermann and Janeane Garofalo:

The first few times that I saw the spectacle that is Keith Olbermann, I thought that I was watching an MSNBC version of the Colbert Report. The guy is so far over the top that he is a caricature of himself. Sometimes I wonder if he is just going to eventually yell into the TV camera, "you idiots! You took me seriously all these years? Are you that crazy?" He holds forth with prose that is so exacting and deliberate in its grammar and rhetoric, delivered with such a serious demeanor and such flawless diction, that I often think he's simply trying too hard to carry on with a farce. Underneath the grammar, the stern face and square head, the prose - what he's actually saying is utterly foolish; sometimes fantasy, sometimes conspiracy, almost always inflammatory garbage. He can't possibly be serious unless he is insane. Given the effort that goes into the delivery of what is essentially nonsense, I have to believe that he is an actor who is never out of character.

OLBERMANN: ... On a more serious note, we're now joined by actor, activist Janeane Garofalo.

Classic.

[jmm99]

When Olbermann started out, he was from a sports background. He managed to have at least one sports segment and a funny animal story (one of my weaknesses, together with Meg Ryan comedies). The rest of the stories were pretty much centric (well, center-left and more akin to the old NBC).

That was then; this is now.

Impelled I suppose by the ratings quest, KO strove to become a re-incarnated Ed Morrow. And, of course, the on-going feud with BillO, who sometimes manages to impersonate a more moderate form of Father Coughlin.

Hey, the FNC-MSNBC lineups from 7-10 (Shep Smith excepted) is better than WWE. I love being infuriated - good for circulation.

[jkm_101_fso]

That this was deliberate seems pretty obvious. You can't leak a memo bashing the right wing because it will be recognized as not a leak. So you leak two memos - one bashing each side - but not one that upsets your natural allies. And if there's a bit of a backlash, so what? You've now got official-looking documents in circulation that give estimates perceived as credible that anyone opposing gun control legislation may turn into Tim McVeigh. I already foresee the news coverage... "but getting beyond the leaks and controversy, these are very disturbing intelligence assessments about possible radicalization of gun rights proponents..." Mission accomplished. Now the gun control proponents are the voice of reason, passing legislation despite the "dangers" of the radical kooks who oppose them. We need to get these people into Iraq and Afghanistan to work beside our IO folks.

Pretty much what I was thinking; and it came out the day of those tea parties, right? Interesting timing there...maybe to remind everyone that saw the tea parties on TV "these are the people in the DHS report we (FEDs) were talking about". I really hope not. I would hate for this to have been a political stunt.

I sometimes fear that partisanship will destroy this country.

[bourbon]

The Militia movement that emerged in the 1990’s was decentralized, diverse, and for the most part localized. While it would be wrong to use broad brush strokes in describing it, two key central themes emerge: 1.) a visceral opposition to gun control, and 2.) a deep seated mistrust of the Federal government which is viewed as invasive and attacking personal liberties and freedoms.

This movement’s emergence cannot be described without acknowledging three specific events: Ruby Ridge in 1992, Waco 1993, and the signing of The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act later in 1993 followed by provisions in the Violent Crime Control Act of 1994. This gun control legislation was a significant departure from traditional gun rights and ownership practices, which exacerbated fears of a threatening Federal government.

Further, in the tragic events of Waco and Ruby Ridge the issue of gun rights and ownership were absolutely central. I believe the government’s actions preceding and following the Ruby and Waco cases, in addition to behavior on the Left and the Right; fed a reinforcing feedback loop of paranoia between the Government, media, the “Far Right-Wing”, and the rest of the country. Tim McVeigh incidentally was never found to be a member of a militia organization; however, it is clear this culture of paranoia and fear was significant in his radicalization.

I do not foresee future Presidential administrations, Republican or Democrat, abandoning the increased powers accumulated under the previous administrations eight years in office. It is possible with the Democrats in power that we will some new gun control legislation; though I think some Dems have realized that gun control is a political loser. I believe the forces may be brewing for something similar to what I described above; and as I said before, I do not think it is inaccurate or out of line to surmise that a small number of micro-actors will radicalize in this climate. This is an issue that deserves our attention; and should not be sensationalized ala Garofalo, or dismissed out of hand.

[davidbfpo]

Law enforcement intelligence for a variety of reasons will report on the threat from the extremes; which may include single issue groups which are neither 'right' or 'left'.

Who set the requirements for the DHS report, research and more? If those requirements were changed - when aware of the political arena - such reports would disappear.

What intent and capability do these groups have?

The extreme 'left' and 'right' are reported upon as they are traditional LE targets and traditionally vulnerable to infiltration and informants. The newer groups, like Climate Change are not so easy. Particularly as public opinion shifts around on the issue(s) and what level of activity is seen as legitimate.

Finally I've not read the DHS reports themselves, just some of the reporting and a document on Virginia's threat assessment, which appeared on another website.

davidbfpo

[jmm99]

The Michigan Militia of Norman Olson, wiki here and 1998 archived website here, was more a figment of Mr Olson's imagination than anything real. As posted above, there was a 1996 arrest of some Battle Creek militia who were playing with things they weren't supposed to have - that was the last Michigan incident I know of.

The present Michigan Militia (several small groups) has a harmless rhetoric - and expresses a view on the DHS report that can be found here.

Perhaps, the Militia Babes are more of a threat - you may judge.

While I'll stick with the half-dozen local gun clubs (e.g., Ottawa - decent ranges), I'll also not lose any sleep over the present Michigan Militia.

Websites like Stormfront are another kettle of fish. While a lot said there is rhetoric, the sheer volume of posts suggests that there may be some who walk that walk beyond the talk.

Stormfront activists are not primarily motivated by 1.) a visceral opposition to gun control, and 2.) a deep seated mistrust of the Federal government which is viewed as invasive and attacking personal liberties and freedoms.

Many, very law abiding citizens, who happen to own guns, are influenced by those two considerations; but not by Stormfront.

Old lawyer proverb runs: If the law is on your side, argue the law. If the facts are on your side, argue the facts. If neither is on your side, call your opponent a schmuck. In this case, seems that some in DHS would like to substitute "fascist" for "schmuck".

[goesh]

Ruby Ridge, Tim McVeigh, Gordon Kahl and the Posse Commatatus, all of these events did not inspire much collective action on the part of adherents to said philosophies and politics. Guns and taxes are fertile ground for strong rhetoric but in good times, they lose their punch as motivators. The ideology of some of the Leftist groups, i.e. ELF, seems more enduring and consistent as a motivator. There have been gun-grab scenarios floating around for as long as I can remember with no real mob action.

[bourbon]

New Border Fear: Violence by a Rogue Militia, by Jesse McKinley and Malia Wollan. The New York Times, June 26, 2009.

The three people arrested in the crime include the leader of Minutemen American Defense, a Washington State-based offshoot of the Minutemen movement, in which citizens roam the border looking for people crossing into the country illegally. Former members describe the group’s leader, Shawna Forde, 41, as having anti-immigrant sentiments that are extreme, at times frightening, even to people accustomed to hard-line views on border policing.

The authorities say that the three suspects were after money and drugs that they intended to use to finance vigilantism, and that members of the group may have been involved in at least one other home invasion, in California.

Woman held in 2 slayings an outcast, activists say: But Shawna Forde had high-level contacts in Minuteman movement despite extreme views, by Tim Steller. Arizona Daily Star, June 28, 2009.

In 2007, Forde applied to join Simcox's group, Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, and was allowed in on a probationary basis, said group Vice President Al Garza and founder Simcox, who left the group this year to run for the U.S. Senate. The group vetted her through interviews and a background check, members said.

"Within a few weeks, she was so assertive, wanting to take charge and wanting to be a spokesperson," Simcox said.

"She lasted less than six months. After that, she went and tried other groups," he said. "She thrust herself into the movement where no one else wanted her."

"It's a hodgepodge of folks"

The world she entered is a set of individuals and groups, many using the word "Minuteman" in their name, many harboring hostilities with each other. They share an interest in stopping illegal immigration.

A bad article by the NYT imo, the Star article has more detail. The Times headline seems sensationalistic at this point, we'll see where this goes.