The Government's Use of Anger

Folks, I'm as angry about what the Obama administration is doing as the next person. I'm currently working on a series this. However, we need to be extremely careful on how we express that anger. Yelling is fine, heated arguments are fine. They are to be expected. It is how our nation started, its how it has always been run.

However, some people have pushed beyond that line by brandishing firearms when showing their anger. Others have been pushing for an open revolt. Now, before any progressives read what I'm writing here as "proof" that the conservatives and "Angry Americans" are a true threat to National security, please be aware that there have been more violent attacks on Conservative protesters then attacks on Progressives. Indeed, I'm pressed to recall a single proven attack on a Progressive made by a Conservative. However, the media lap dogs ignore this and have instead focused on those extremely rare Conservatives who are unable to restrain their rage in an appropriate fashion.

We need to gain control folks. We need to be aware that just as others are held to a higher standard of conduct (Peace Officers for example), so are we in the eyes of the media and the government. Is it fair? Of course not! But if we are not careful, the socialists in power will use every possible example, no matter how exaggerated it is, to squash our freedom of speech, and perhaps even do more.

Why am I bringing this up? I do so because of an article posted by the AP today.

Below is the text. Before you read, I ask you to consider the implications of what certain government organizations are saying. Please do not misunderstand this posting. I am not calling for us to stop our protests. We need to continue with them. We need to make the rest of America understand what is happening. We must not stop! However, we do need to be aware of what the government is doing - collecting excuses to remove our freedoms.


WASHINGTON (AP) - Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends.

The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration.

Bart McEntire, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told SPLC researchers that this is the most growth he's seen in more than a decade.

"All it's lacking is a spark," McEntire said in the report.

It's reminiscent of what was seen in the 1990s—right-wing militias, people ideologically against paying taxes and so-called "sovereign citizens" are popping up in large numbers, according to the report to be released Wednesday. The SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights group that, among other activities, investigates hate groups.

Last October, someone from the Ohio Militia posted a recruiting video on YouTube, billed as a "wake-up call" for America. It's been viewed more than 60,000 times.

"Things are bad, things are real bad, and it's going to be a lot worse," said the man on the video, who did not give his name. "Our country is in peril."

The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages viewers to buy one.

While anti-government sentiment has been on the rise over the last two years, there aren't as many threats and violent acts at this point as there were in the 1990s, according to the report. That movement bore the likes of Timothy McVeigh, who in 1995 blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City and killed 168 people.

But McEntire fears it's only a matter of time. (emphasis mine)

These militias are concentrated in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and the Deep South, according to Mark Potok, an SPLC staff director who co-wrote the report. Recruiting videos and other outreach on the Internet are on the rise, he said, and researchers from his center found at least 50 new groups in the last few months.

The militia movement of the 1990s gained traction with growing concerns about gun control, environmental laws and anything perceived as liberal government meddling.

The spark for that movement came in 1992 with an FBI standoff with white separatist Randall Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Weaver's wife and son were killed by an FBI sniper. And in 1993, a 52-day standoff between federal agents and the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas, resulted in nearly 80 deaths. These events rallied more people who became convinced that the government would murder its own citizens to promote its liberal agenda.

Now officials are seeing a new generation of activists, according to the report. The law center spotlights Edward Koernke, a Michigan man who hosts an Internet radio show about militias. His father, Mark, was a major figure in the 1990s militia movement and served six years in prison for charges including assaulting police.

Last year, officials warned about an increase in activity from militias in a five-year threat projection by the Homeland Security Department.

"White supremacists and militias are more violent and thus more likely to conduct mass-casualty attacks on the scale of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing," the threat projection said.

A series of domestic terrorism incidents over the past year have not been directly tied to organized militias, but the rhetoric behind some of the crimes are similar with that of the militia movement. For instance, the man charged with the April killings of three Pittsburgh police officers posted some of his views online. Richard Andrew Poplawski wrote that U.S. troops could be used against American citizens, and he thinks a gun ban could be coming.

The FBI's assistant director for counterterrorism, Michael Heimbach, said that law enforcement officials need to identify people who go beyond hateful rhetoric and decide to commit violent acts and crimes. Heimbach said one of the bigger challenges is identifying the lone-wolf offenders.

One alleged example of a lone-wolf offender is the 88-year-old man charged in the June shooting death of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. (emphasis mine)


Notice how the AP threw that last blurb on there? Remember how the media played him as a Conservative Christian? It turns out that the facts are quite different. He was not a Conservative, and most assuredly not a Christian. This has been pointed out by many Conservative bloggers and Conservative news agencies. They have backed this up with solid facts. However as we all know, the mainstream media either did not acknowledge the truth when it came out, or simply refused to report on it. Indeed, as we can see, they maintain that he is a "conservative terrorist."

We are treading on dangerous ground. We must go into this battle of philosophies with that knowledge firmly entrenched in our minds, and react accordingly.

Philip Damon
The Troubled Patriot