Post-Independence Day Post

Yesterday -- Independence Day -- I posted something about how we all need to stand up, speak out, and re-claim our country. Today I ran across the following that makes taking such action even more imperative.

A new study funded by the Department of Homeland Security characterizes Americans who are “suspicious of centralized federal authority,” and “reverent of individual liberty” as “extreme right-wing” terrorists.

Entitled Hot Spots of Terrorism and Other Crimes in the United States, 1970-2008 (PDF), the study was produced by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland. The organization was launched with the aid of DHS funding to the tune of $12 million dollars.

While largely omitting Islamic terrorism ... the study focuses on Americans who hold beliefs shared by the vast majority of conservatives and libertarians and puts them in the context of radical extremism.

The report takes its definitions from a 2011 study entitled Profiles of Perpetrators of Terrorism, produced by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, in which the following characteristics are used to identify terrorists.

- Americans who believe their “way of life” is under attack;

- Americans who are “fiercely nationalistic (as opposed to universal and international in orientation)”;

- People who consider themselves “anti-global” (presumably those who are wary of the loss of American sovereignty);

- Americans who are “suspicious of centralized federal authority”;

- Americans who are “reverent of individual liberty”;

- People who “believe in conspiracy theories that involve grave threat to national sovereignty and/or personal liberty.”

I don't know about you, but I'm a solid 5 out of 6 on the above checklist (I have my doubts about a vast left-wing conspiracy, although I wouldn't put it past them).

The rush to denounce legitimate political beliefs as thought crimes, or even mundane behaviors, by insinuating they are shared by terrorists, has accelerated in recent months.

Under the FBI’s Communities Against Terrorism program, the bulk purchase of food is labeled as a potential indication of terrorist activity, as is using cash to pay for a cup of coffee, and showing an interest in web privacy when using the Internet in a public place.

That last paragraph is particularly frightening. I have on occasion bought food in bulk. I always pay in cash for small purchases (typically $20 or less), and I take steps to ensure my privacy and security when using public-access Internet connections.

So to summarize, because I love America, prefer limited government, believe in liberty, and pay with cash, the our MY government thinks I might be a terrorist.

Yet another example of why I love my country but fear its government...

Dangerous Right-Wing Extremist Terrorist