It's our police state now! Supporters of Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin ID'ed as terrorists by Federally funded law enforcement organization
I really hate to keep following this issue, but it's not going to die by itself.
Some of our blogger friends have become--not to put too fine a point on it--somewhat unhinged by the idea of nefarious sleeper cells of gun-owning, bible-toting, constitution-quoting social conservatives organizing to oppose the current administration.
Words like un-American, treason and sedition are getting thrown around in some places with great abandon, by people who are in turn feeling so threatened by Glenn Beck/Chuck Norris groupies that they're beginning to think that somebody ought to be doing something about these nuts...
Well, apparently somebody is.
From PrisonPlanet:
You can view an image of the leaked MIAC report here.
It includes a superficial intelligence analysis [and I use the term exceptionally loosely, given the poor quality of the report] of the militia movement in the US, and includes these handy tips for spotting potentially dangerous people [note; all the grammatical errors, weird capitalization, and improperly used commas were in the original]:
There is also this note at the end:
I will be writing to Mr Middleton and Mr Hug, since I figure that with my car displaying a Libertarian bumper sticker I should just save the State of Missouri the f**king problem of identifying me as a dangerous radical who plans to go on a rampage and blow up Federal buildings with day care facilities.
Let's get this straight: we have developed a police state in which Federally funded and cooperating law enforcement agencies are issuing strategic alerts to beware of people based on the presidential candidate they support or the fact that their f**king bumper stickers may criticize the government!
Heads up, folks. I don't give a rat's ass who created this police/surveillance state that is designed to make suspects out of millions of American citizens, but it's President Obama's watch now.
So what are you going to demand he do about it?
If you can't answer that, then shut the hell up about the abuses of the past eight years of trashing the Constitution, because you've just taken part ownership of the Bush/Cheney family business.
[h/t Boston Tea Party]
Some of our blogger friends have become--not to put too fine a point on it--somewhat unhinged by the idea of nefarious sleeper cells of gun-owning, bible-toting, constitution-quoting social conservatives organizing to oppose the current administration.
Words like un-American, treason and sedition are getting thrown around in some places with great abandon, by people who are in turn feeling so threatened by Glenn Beck/Chuck Norris groupies that they're beginning to think that somebody ought to be doing something about these nuts...
Well, apparently somebody is.
From PrisonPlanet:
Alex Jones has received a secret report distributed by the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) entitled “The Modern Militia Movement” and dated February 20, 2009. A footer on the document indicates it is “unclassified” but “law enforcement sensitive,” in other words not for public consumption. A copy of the report was sent to Jones by an anonymous Missouri police officer.
The MIAC report specifically describes supporters of presidential candidates Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, and Bob Barr as “militia” influenced terrorists and instructs the Missouri police to be on the lookout for supporters displaying bumper stickers and other paraphernalia associated with the Constitutional, Campaign for Liberty, and Libertarian parties.
“Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) provides a public safety partnership consisting of local, state and federal agencies, as well as the public sector and private entities that will collect, evaluate, analyze, and disseminate information and intelligence to the agencies tasked with Homeland Security responsibilities in a timely, effective, and secure manner,” explains the MIAC website. “MIAC is the mechanism to collect incident reports of suspicious activities to be evaluated and analyzed in an effort to identify potential trends or patterns of terrorist or criminal operations within the state of Missouri. MIAC will also function as a vehicle for two-way communication between federal, state and local law enforcement community within our region.”
MIAC is part of the federal “fusion” effort now underway around the country. “As of February 2009, there were 58 fusion centers around the country. The Department has deployed 31 officers as of December 2008 and plans to have 70 professionals deployed by the end of 2009. The Department has provided more than $254 million from FY 2004-2007 to state and local governments to support the centers,” explains the Department of Homeland Security on its website. Missouri is mentioned as a participant in this federal “intelligence” effort.
You can view an image of the leaked MIAC report here.
It includes a superficial intelligence analysis [and I use the term exceptionally loosely, given the poor quality of the report] of the militia movement in the US, and includes these handy tips for spotting potentially dangerous people [note; all the grammatical errors, weird capitalization, and improperly used commas were in the original]:
Political paraphernalia: Militia members most commonly associate with 3rd party political groups. It is not uncommon for militia members to display Constitutional Party, Campaign for Liberty, or Libertarian material. These members are usually supporters of former Presidential Candidate: Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, and Bob Barr.
Anti-government propaganda: Militia members commonly display picture, cartoons, bumper stickers that contain anti-government rhetoric. Most of this material will depict the FRS, IRS, FBI, ATF, CIA, UN, Law Enforcement and "The New World Order" in a derogatory manner. Additionally, Racial, anti-immigration, and anti-abortion, material may be displayed by militia members.
There is also this note at the end:
Comments regarding this alert may be made to Brandon.middleton@mshp.dps.mo.gov
Comments on previous MIAC strategic alerts or ideas for research on future strategic products should be made to Greg.hug@mshp.dps.mo.gov
I will be writing to Mr Middleton and Mr Hug, since I figure that with my car displaying a Libertarian bumper sticker I should just save the State of Missouri the f**king problem of identifying me as a dangerous radical who plans to go on a rampage and blow up Federal buildings with day care facilities.
Let's get this straight: we have developed a police state in which Federally funded and cooperating law enforcement agencies are issuing strategic alerts to beware of people based on the presidential candidate they support or the fact that their f**king bumper stickers may criticize the government!
Heads up, folks. I don't give a rat's ass who created this police/surveillance state that is designed to make suspects out of millions of American citizens, but it's President Obama's watch now.
So what are you going to demand he do about it?
If you can't answer that, then shut the hell up about the abuses of the past eight years of trashing the Constitution, because you've just taken part ownership of the Bush/Cheney family business.
[h/t Boston Tea Party]
Comments
I'm going to email them and inform them that they have lost my tourism dollars, and I've officially changed my favorite style of BBQ to Carolina. I'll have to see the Gateway Arch from Kansas.
How is this not illegal profiling?
It might be illegal profiling if the report said what Alex Jones, Jim Davidson, and now the usually careful and reliable Steve Newton, say it says.
However, the report doesn't say what Alex Jones, Jim Davidson, and now the usually reliable Steve Newton, say it says.
The report doesn't say that CP/LP/CFL/Paul/Baldwin/Barr supporters are "militia-influenced terrorists" or any other such blather. It says the reverse -- that the militia bubbas tend to be CP/LP/CFL/Paul/Baldwin/Barr supporters.
Saying that most starting NBA point guards are tall people is not the same as saying that most tall people are starting NBA point guards.
Is the report as written a bad thing? Yes.
Is the existence of MIAC -- apparently one of those pointless fumblefuck government operations that churns out periodic bullshit like the report in question in order to justify a budget renewals and keep its pointless fumblefucking mandate intact -- a bad thing? Yes.
However, lying about what the MIAC report said doesn't make MIAC, or the MIAC report, look any worse than it actually is. It only makes those doing the lying look worse than they actually are.
Wouldn't disagree with Jones' insanity, but...
I went to the MIAC website; the document is consistent in tone with their "open source" documents, including the one from 2008 that gives law enforcement officers "tips" to discerning suspicious behavior, which include keeping too much cash at home and having books about terrorism and Islam in your house.
But I went to the Prison Planet website... Oh my. Just a little nutty. You know them better than me, however, so if you think they're credible I'll wait and see how this pans out.
Wonderful.
Before you despair, read the follow-up post.
FTR, we always knew about Tyler. Just ask Mayor Baker and Rago. ;-)
Saying that most starting NBA point guards are tall people is not the same as saying that most tall people are starting NBA point guards."
While you are technically correct that it is akin to that fallacy, there are some rather chilling differences in the details.
1) Scale: the ratio of tall people to starting NBA point guards is probably something like half a million to one; the ratio of CP/LP/CFL/Paul/Baldwin/Barr supporters to people that MIAC and Missouri law enforcement types might conclude are "militia-influenced terrorists" is probably more like 100 to 1.
2) Difficulty: the NBA doesn't a database of detailed info about every tall person from which to do their recruiting; the government does, in the form of voter registration records and campaign contribution reports (which they can easily cross reference with any other government maintained database).
3) Past History: the NBA isn't known for stalking tall people to see if they can play basketball; but there is an extensive history of individual officers and even entire police departments using profiling.
http://dsp.delaware.gov/Intelligence.shtml
"The Delaware Information Analysis Center (DIAC) has completed one year of service while serving as a component of the Criminal Intelligence and Homeland Security Section. This center was initiated in direct response to an immediate need to share, analyze, integrate, and disseminate information/intelligence among the many agencies protecting the citizens of Delaware against threats from numerous sources. The federal government has officially recognized this effort and labeled this type of enterprise a "fusion center." The concept of DIAC goes beyond the belief that law enforcement is the sole protector of the public. DIAC operates under an "all crimes, all hazards" approach to increasing homeland security..."
Miscreant
You're correct that there are differences in the details, and you're correct about what some of those differences are.
That's the kind of discussion that's warranted. What I objected to was starting from the claim that the MIAC report said things it didn't say.