"Why, one wonders, would Michelle Malkin read a DHS report on fringe, far-right extremism that could lead to violence or Oklahoma-style domestic terrorism and think ... they're talking about her?"

Well, as the righties were so fond of telling us during the Bush administration, "If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about."

Let us hope this includes surveillence on M. Bachman who continues with her seditious comments in Congress;and Chuck Norris who is expostulating revolution for greed and power.

OK. Let's get down to the brass tacks here and name the democrats in congress who are opposing the assault weapons ban and who are keeping the gun show loopholes in place (giving the extremists a very long rope).

DHS is not talking about those who enjoy the Wall Street Journal editorial page. Rather, officials are concerned about extremists...

Oh...so they mean the people who write the Wall Street Journal editorial page.

There is plenty of reason to be concerned, as just from the April 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City forward, the American RightWing has initiated more than 60 terrorist plots inside the U.S.:

* Plots to bomb government buildings, banks, gasoline refineries, utility companies, medical clinics, synagogues, mosques, and bridges

* Plots to assassinate police officers, government officials, judges, politicians, civil rights figures, and others

* Plots to rob banks, armored cars, and firearms dealers

* Plots to accumulate illegal machine guns, missiles, explosives, not to mention chemical and biological weapons

This kind of thing always seem to flare up when the economy gets bad and people start getting scared. This time Obama in the White House freaks a certain group out even more than they might normally be and the GOP or at least many of the members, are either outright or tacitly egging them on. The nutter left supposedly has it hippy's and communists the nutter right has it's KKK/Neo Nazi.

And lest many have forgotten - Timothy McVeigh wasn't Muslim and was trained by the US Army.

Report limitations

I read the report. It's rough operational definition of right wing extremist groups is here:

"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."

This is essentially describing Fox programming. Moreover, the DHS report specifically cites "internet chatter" as the means for dissemination of hate speech. It does not address RNC/Republican congressional messaging, television and radio commentators and traditional media using and amplifying right wing talking points and "guests" who have been exposed as having clear conflicts of interest (Pentagon retired generals propagandists). This, in my view, is a major omission.

The PDF has a creation date of 2007.

What concerns me is that the very "authorities" being notified of this threat are composed of many of the same ones being targetted for "observation". Many of the law enforcement agencies are recruiting returning military personnel and are led by very narrow-minded, authoritarian people "...that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups)." These are the ones who target and harrass peaceful demonstrators, and are willing to cage them in "free speech zones". Will they be willing to treat suspected domestic terrorists in the same way, when many of them might be their friends and members of their local hate-groups?

It is very interesting to watch the unfolding of the transformation of our society from one motivated by fear and hatred to one motivated by love and understanding.

I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation
peace,
st john

"Why, one wonders, would Michelle Malkin read a DHS report on fringe, far-right extremism that could lead to violence or Oklahoma-style domestic terrorism and think ... they're talking about her?"

Maybe because of a guilty mind?

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

Remember the guy in TN who shot up the church because he was after "Liberals" - nothing in the above descriptions of right wing groups mentions targeting people based upon thier political beliefs

The PDF has a creation date of 2007.

Posted by: andrew on April 14, 2009 at 1:29 PM

Where are you getting that from? The filename is hsa-rightwing-extremism-09-04-07.pdf, but I assume the date format is yy-mm-dd.

Oops, forgot to close my blockquote tag.

Anyway, I can understand why the rightwingers would be anxious. If something like this came out in 2005 referring to environmental groups, we would have complained about it.

In the end, what matters isnt a piece of paper - it's the actions. If the Obama DHS starts clandestinely surveilling every rightwing group, then that's wrong. I dont think that's going to happen, so no big deal.

I do find it amusing that the right wing is now going to have to look in the face all of the surveillance and detention abuses of the Bush administration. Hopefully a left-right consensus on the issue will get Obama to finally reverse the Bush-era abuses.

Domestic terror gives me the DTs

There is grave danger here.
Both to ordinary citizens and our President.

I request, as both a citizen and a taxpayer, that all law enforcement parties work tirelessly against the threat of domestic terrorism. And I implore my government to use all Patriot Act tools at their disposal to keep us safe. Including, the use of preemptive strikes to undercut these home grown insurgents who threaten the soul of my country.

Yeeeehawwwww!

Praise the lord and pass the amunition Cletus!

Les go kill up some nigras ans messicans!

From the comments section of Fox News story on Tea Parties:

You know when I was kid, some people here in Arizona called themselves "survivalists" and after the major US cities was blown up the Russians, they have the guns and resources to enforce their will on the rest of the population.

Suddenly it's become obvious that we are not going to be blown up, so they are looking for some other idea to justify their lifestyle and spread the word so others join them.

Everytime I meet one of these people, I just want to take a shower afterwards.

Southern Poverty Law Center has reported on the pair of Klansmen who were captured plotting to kill President Obama and a number of others, as well as US soldiers posting hate messages of various kinds on their blogs, relating to how they plan to use their training. Meanwhile, I had to listen to Limbaugh on the way home spouting off on how the DHS report infringed on his right to rebel - or be a dumbass - something along those lines. Distraction by distortion.

...how the DHS report infringed on [Limbaugh's] right to rebel... -Foreigner

I wonder if that's one of the 'rights' that Justice Thomas thinks is too much. ;)

I guess the Bush II administration let those right-wing terrorists fester under its watch while going after Osama? (and they didn't do a good job of that either.)

When groups like the Campaign for Liberty, Ron Paul supporters, returning veterans or people "mention the Constitution a lot" or who "believe state power trumps federal power" are in reports like this, what the aforementioned supposed to think? "Why are we seen threats?" "Where did this come from anyway? All of a sudden Obama is in charge and not the threat is from the right?" "Have we now politicized domestic terrorist groups based on which party is in power in the White House?"

Now that the left controls the DHS, the wacky paranoia about terrorism (remember your duct tape and plastic tarps?) will now be aimed at a Klu Klux Klan that has more FBI informants than actual members, anyone wearing a Ron Paul T-shirt and the peaceful secessionsts of the Second Vermont Republic, many of home are hardcore lefists. If this is what the empire truly fears, then its betrays own decay.

In reality, most acts of terrorism, DON'T involve a lot of people. The deadly ones anyway. The Sterling Hall bombing of the UW-Madison campus was the work of four persons. McVeigh didn't have a lot of accomplices either nor do loners who shoot up abortion clincs. Chasing after groups who have never advocated violence or bloodshed of any sort (and one's definition of "revolution" often depends on one's side of the political spectrum) does more to make the country unsafe than any terrorist could imagine. Why? Because it takes the focus off them.

When Quaker anti war protesters under the Rumsfeld DoD were listed as potential terrorists, then every one is suspect. Except Kermit the Frog of course, and his merry band of Muppetsters. Miss Piggy, however, must have her countertops inspected by The Queen of Crazy.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=1&q=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10454316/&ei=D9zkSa7vLI_otQO9qdisCQ&usg=AFQjCNEym8W8lr2Gv4CxgOMUUiO4XfbmVA

"Why, one wonders, would Michelle Malkin read a DHS report on fringe, far-right extremism that could lead to violence or Oklahoma-style domestic terrorism and think ... they're talking about her?"

It's because of the looseness of the definitions employed. A dangerous person could be someone who objects to illegal immigration. Possibly the writers of the DHS memo had more precise definitions in mind, but what they wrote is too loose.

Michelle and company seem to forget the rightwing nutzoid in Maine who was killed by his wife and when the police investigated, they discovered the makings of a dirty bomb.

Or the guy who killed three cops in Pittsburgh.

Or the guy in Tennessee shooting up a Unitarian Church when children were performing on stage.

Open the PDF, look at its properties.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_7hB9Qdyx_HU/SeO-NMLXlAI/AAAAAAAAAEg/D0D_0Yv2uhs/s512/metadata.png

Created: 1/23/07
Modified: 4/7/09

Could mean anything, of course.

The Soviet Union and Saddam Hussein are gone and Al Qaeda is more under pressure now than under Bush and even Netanyahu in Israel says he's ready for peace talks with Palestinians, so it appears all the war mongers have to start looking for weapon sales somewhere else.

With all our guns being taken over the border to Mexican drug gangs it makes some sense that the Assault Rifle Ban should be allowed to end...right? I suspect there might be some support for renewing it before this year is out.

Also, it would appear DHS will have to beef up anti-gun efforts along our border with Mexico.

Repubs might joke about setting up machine guns to shoot anybody coming across the border illegally, but in fact they seem to be selling those guns to anybody headed South. Do ya think they realize those guns might come back North?

Some guns just aren't intended for home safety, sport hunting, target practice or law enforcement.

The right wing extremists have made America into a big Dallas, November 21, 1963. They know what they are doing.

McVeigh didn't have a lot of accomplices either nor do loners who shoot up abortion clinics.

Actually, McVeigh had pretty strong ties to a specific militia group and Eric Rudolph was sheltered underground by various "pro-life" people after he killed two people. They absolutely had outside support and help for their crimes.

Watching the groups isn't useful because the group itself will plan and execute something. Watching them is useful to see if any of the individual members seem like they're doing anything other than talking big.

Here's a quote from the Washington Post report:

The FBI report said that from October 2001 through May 2008 "a minuscule" number of veterans, 203 out of 23,000, had joined groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, the National Socialist Movement, the Creativity Movement, the National Alliance and some skinhead groups.

If 203 out of a 23K sampling joined, wouldn't that mean that there are around 20,000 who joined groups, considering that there have been more than 2 million cycled through Iraq & Afghanistan?

Just wondering... That would be a significant number of extremists right here in America.

Obviously, criminalizing conservative beliefs would be insane, as would considering a conservative suspect based on nothing but his or her ideology.

Neither of those things is obvious to me.

The powerplayers in the Beltway are playing a
game of "Let's you and him fight." How long will
it be until the grassroots of both parties figure
out that they're being played for chumps by their
own government?

 Remember the outrage from the left when the same
DHS was profiling and collecting information on
left-wing groups and anti-war protestors? The
right-wingers sneared right on cue from the
Beltway powerplayers. Now, the left-wingers wear
a smug snear on their own faces....on cue from
the exact same players in the Beltway.

 Do you think the DHS has suddenly cleared and
deleted their files on left-wingers and focused
solely on Veterans, conservatives and
libertarians??

 We're all being played for the chumps that we are.

...meanwhile, if you compare the U.S. Title Code to the U.S. Constitution...