Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on April 21, 2009

By Vicki McClure Davidson * Frugal Café Blog Zone

Lt. Col. Oliver North on 1987 Time magazine cover, during Iran-Contra investigation

Excellent essay below about the Department of Homeland Security’s “conservative extremist” report, by the still-controversial retired Lt. Col. Oliver North.

Love him or hate him, North dissects and critiques the biased flaws in this insidious document and what it means to all Americans, especially our brave, selfless military. This report, if implemented, will rob so many citizens of their constitutional rights.

North’s overall assessment of the Homeland Security report, spearheaded by our “favorite” liberal mollycoddler of dangerous illegal immigrants and Middle Eastern terrorists, Janet “Czarina” Napolitano (who this week in a CNN interview, verbally revised the established law concerning illegal border crossing… my euphemism for “flat out lied”):

“According to this DHS “Assessment,” the most dangerous threat we face here at home isn’t from radical imams preaching violence in U.S. mosques and madrassas, Islamists recruiting in our prisons, Somali terrorists enticing young immigrants to become suicide bombers, or Hamas, Hezbollah, or al-Qaida operatives plotting mass murder. No, according to DHS, the real threat comes from what our government labels “rightwing extremist ideology.”

No matter who you voted for, no matter your ideologies or religion or race, you need to read it. Let freedom ring!

*****

Source: Townhall.com

I Am an Extremist
by Oliver North

WASHINGTON — According to the U.S. government, I am an extremist. I am a Christian and meet regularly with other Christians to study God’s word. My faith convinces me the prophecies in the Holy Bible are true. I believe in the sanctity of human life, oppose abortion, and want to preserve marriage as the union of a man and a woman. I am a veteran with skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. I own several firearms, and I frequently shoot them, buy ammunition, and consider efforts to infringe on my Second Amendment rights to be wrong and unconstitutional. I fervently support the sovereignty of the United States, and I am deeply concerned about our economy, increasingly higher taxes, illegal immigration, soaring unemployment, and actions by our government that will bury my children beneath a mountain of debt.

Apparently, all this makes me a “rightwing extremist.” At least, that’s what it says in the April 7 “Assessment” issued by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security. The nine-page report, titled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” is full of warnings about American citizens who share any part of my background or subscribe to the beliefs above. It is one of the most alarming documents produced by our government that I ever have read.

Evidently, neither you nor I ever was supposed to read this “Assessment.” At the bottom of the cover page is a warning that it is “not to be released to the public, the media, or other personnel who do not have a valid need-to-know.” We’re Americans. We have a need to know what’s going on in our government, especially in an administration that promised to be “transparent.” A full copy of the report is posted at FreedomAlliance.org.

The “Assessment” purports to alert law enforcement officials that “rightwing extremists”—the term is used more than 35 times—are intent on exploiting Americans who have strongly held beliefs on everything from Christian faith to rising unemployment, U.S. sovereignty and the Second Amendment. It vilifies those of us in these categories by references to neo-Nazis, racists, militias, white supremacists and other “hate groups.” Notably, the report includes a warning that right-wing extremism “may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.”

Though the report proffers a passing reference to the First Amendment, it is replete with bias against conservative thought, writing and communications. On Page 3, law enforcement authorities are warned, “Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the economy, the perceived (emphasis added) loss of U.S. jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and home foreclosures.”

That is a frightening acknowledgment that political speech is being monitored in America. It is also wrong. It’s not “perception.” It is fact. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the manufacturing and construction sectors have lost 161,000 jobs and 126,000 jobs, respectively, last month alone.

In its “Key Findings,” the DHS manuscript boldly charges that “rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues” and offers this warning: “The possible passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.”

Under the heading “Disgruntled Military Veterans,” the report alleges:
“Rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists—including lone wolves or small terrorist cells—to carry out violence.” These unsubstantiated claims are followed by reminders that Timothy McVeigh, who bombed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, was a military veteran. Omitted is any reference to the fact that McVeigh was simply one of more than 40 million veterans of the U.S. armed forces.

Thirteen lines after this egregious, unconscionable slander against those of us who are military combat veterans, DHS makes the stunning charge that “lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent rightwing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.”

According to this DHS “Assessment,” the most dangerous threat we face here at home isn’t from radical imams preaching violence in U.S. mosques and madrassas, Islamists recruiting in our prisons, Somali terrorists enticing young immigrants to become suicide bombers, or Hamas, Hezbollah or al-Qaida operatives plotting mass murder. No, according to DHS, the real threat comes from what our government labels “rightwing extremist ideology.”

Mr. Obama should disavow this report publicly and fire the officials responsible for issuing it. Those who prepare his remarks for the occasion should insert in the teleprompter former Sen. Barry Goldwater’s words on the subject: “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.”

*****

Please consider visiting:
FireNapolitano.com: We the people… protecting our civil liberties, do hereby demand the firing of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano

*****

I just stumbled upon this video on YouTube… gutsy, patriotic move on Michael Savage’s part, suing the Department of Homeland Security for its heinous anti-conservative document.

Michael Savage Files Lawsuit Against Dept. of Homeland Security Demanding Names on List

*****

Super-cool blog posts and articles against DHS and Janet Napolitano:
Michelle Malkin: Janet Napolitano screws up again and
Janet Napolitano said what? and Pssst, Janet: Bomb threat against police for detaining illegal alien criminals
Tennyson Hayes, GaltsList.com: Right-Wing Extremists
Unequal Time: DHS chief Napolitano says border jumping “not a crime” and Stop blaming Bush for DHS hit job
John T. Simpson, Big Hollywood: Know Right-Wing Extremists By Their Bumper Stickers
Moonage Political Webdream: Janet Napolitano and the law – immigration
Hot Air: Shouldn’t a DHS Secretary know that illegal immigration is a crime?
NewsBusters: Blogger Targets Malkin, Coulter with Sexist Sleaze
This Ain’t Hell, But You Can See It From Here: Want to know where Napolitano got the fuzzy law on immigration?
Scott’s Slant on Politics: If Man Cannot Govern Himself, How Can He Govern Others?
Pamela Gellar, Atlas Shrugs: Shocking New Report! Obama’s Real Terrorists: Targeting Patriots and the Right
HotMES, Politics Just Got a Lot Dirtier: Um, John, that happened like a week ago, buddy.

Categories: Bless Our Troops, Business & Economy, Conservatism, Freedom of Speech, Government, Illegal Immigration, Knowledge, Law & Constitution, National Security, Social and Political Climate
Tags: America, anti-conservative, bias, citizens, Col. North, Col. Oliver North, conservatives, Constitution, constitutional rights, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, extemism, extremist, freedom, Internet, Islam, Janet Napolitano, lawsuit, Michael Savage, military, Obama, Oliver North, right-wing, rightwing, target, terrorist, troops, video, White House