SPLC intel report casts wide net for ‘extremists’

Even tax protesters are classified as 'radical right', possibly 'coalescing' with hate groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Obviously leftwing groups like the SPLC have a paranoid approach to Main Street. All the tea party protests were non-violent except for the occasion when a leftwing union activist allegedly physically injured a tea party participant.A politically-skewed activist organization has warned law enforcement officials nationwide of the threat posed by the so-called “Patriot movement.” The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)'s Fall, 2009, issue of the “Intelligence Report”  expands those designated as extremists, with alarmist language artificially combining a disparate group. The report said, “Militiamen, white supremacists, anti-Semites, nativists, tax protesters and a range of other activists of the radical right are cross-pollinating and may even be coalescing.” On the SPLC website, one report claims, "anti-government rhetoric spills into the Mainstream," listing conservative celebrities like Sean Hannity and Red State's Erick Erickson as purveyors of "white-hot antigovernment rhetoric." Where did SPLC get the data for that assumption? None other than the leftwingers at Media Matters, where bloggers dismiss every major study on media bias and claim the media favors the right.

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Napolitano faces Thomas More Center lawsuit, accusations of ‘lying’

 DHS secretary Janet Napolitano (US gov. photo].The “rightwing extremism” report issued by the Dept. of Homeland Security has sparked a lawsuit against secretary Janet Napolitano. The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest firm based in Ann Arbor (Mich.) announced that on Thursday, April 16th, it filed a federal lawsuit against Napolitano. The lawsuit claims that her Department’s “Rightwing Extremism Policy,” as reflected in the recently publicized Intelligence Assessment, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” violates the civil liberties of combat veterans as well as American citizens by targeting them for disfavored treatment on account of their political beliefs.

I expected this as soon as I read the report, a document that is a flagrant insult to the US Constitution. Shortly after the report was made public, I wrote, “If you read the whole report, there is implied hatred for anyone considered “rightwing.” And if you consider the phrasing in some passages, there is possible conflict with free assembly/expression rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center stated, “Janet Napolitano is lying to the American people when she says the Report is not based on ideology or political beliefs. In fact, her report would have the admiration of the Gestapo and any current or past dictator in the way it targets political opponents. This incompetently written intelligence assessment, which directs law enforcement officials across the country to target and report on American citizens who have the political beliefs mentioned in the report, will be used as a tool to stifle political opposition and opinions. It will give a pretext for opponents of those Americans to report them to police as rightwing extremists and terrorists. You can imagine what happens then.”

The report cited single issues such as opposition to abortion, to lax restrictions on immigration and to one world government among others as grounds for determining whether a person is a “rightwing extremist.” In essence, at least half of US voters would probably qualify as extremists under the conditions established by the report.

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Rightwing extremism report spurs no apology from Obama or administration

Updated on Friday, April 17, 2009 at 10:11AM by Kay B. Day, Editor

The Dept. of Homeland Security report on rightwing extremism, despite an outpouring of criticism from the public, has elicited no apology from President Barack Obama or members of his administration. ‘Big Sis’, aka DHS secretary Janet Napolitano, did say if she could rewrite the report, she’d rewrite this footnote: “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.” She did apologize to veterans for slurs like this, among others: “Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to rightwing extremists.”

If you read the whole report, there is implied hatred for anyone considered “rightwing.” And if you consider the phrasing in some passages, there is possible conflict with free assembly/expression rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

According to Napolitano’s report, almost every conservative could be deemed a “right-wing extremist” based on the single issue passage alone. How will this report impact law enforcement? Your privacy? Your security?

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