"Rage on the Right"

[Jeffersons Ghost]

New SPLC Report: "Patriot" Groups, Militias Surge in Number in Past Year

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The number of extremist groups in the United States exploded in 2009 as militias and other groups steeped in wild, antigovernment conspiracy theories exploited populist anger across the country and infiltrated the mainstream, according to a report issued today by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

Antigovernment "Patriot" groups - militias and other extremist organizations that see the federal government as their enemy - came roaring back to life over the past year after more than a decade out of the limelight.

The SPLC documented a 244 percent increase in the number of active Patriot groups in 2009. Their numbers grew from 149 groups in 2008 to 512 groups in 2009, an astonishing addition of 363 new groups in a single year. Militias - the paramilitary arm of the Patriot movement - were a major part of the increase, growing from 42 militias in 2008 to 127 in 2009.

The report, "Rage on the Right," is the cover story in the Spring 2010 issue of the SPLC's quarterly investigative journal Intelligence Report.

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-report-number-of-patriot-groups-militias-surges-by-244-in-past-year

[Goldstein1984]

1. I'm sorry, but...

Warrantless searches...
Torture...
Suspension of due process...
Secrecy...
Claiming the right to execute U.S. citizens because they pose a threat, rather than having committed a crime...
Wars of empire...
Support of military coups...
Militarization of police tactics...
Humiliating treatment at airports...

I think our government is the enemy, too.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

4. Our politicians are certainly the enemy. They've violated the public trust repeatedly.

And they have violated the Constitution they swore to uphold.

[Goldstein1984]

5. I was recently told that I hate my country...

Actually, I love it enough to feel shame for what it is doing and hate for what it is becoming.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

6. Protest and boycott are sure signs of patriotism. America needs more of both

[Goldstein1984]

8. $$$$ is the only thing that really counts anymore

A general boycott of nonessential goods would have an incredible impact on an economy based 70% on consumption. The U.S. stock market was crash if there was a 10% drop in overall consumption, and world markets would follow. But the real impact would be the message sent to the ruling class--we can organize; we can act; we can destroy the status quo that serves you so well.

Imagine if American sheep suddenly started acting like wolves.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

9. Money doesn't count in everyone's book... the top 2% of wealth-holders already act like wolves

[Goldstein1984]

13. Wolves or locusts

A lot of wealth is tied up in things that will lose value rapidly if the economy crashes further. The stock market reflects the health of the ruling class, not the health of the working class. Real estate. An expensive car isn't very useful if you can't safely drive it outside the gated community.

Insurgency doesn't require insurgents to win any battles. Insurgency works by disrupting the system, by forcing orthodoxy to waste resources on protracted struggles where they are denied victory. The rich can be dragged down by bringing the status quo down. Their wealth is based on Power, and Power can be taken away.

Yes, we'll hurt ourselves in the process. But we have to be willing to take a punch to get close enough to deliver one. The wealthy have far more to loose than the working class.

My family is basically boycotting Christmas this year. We're spending 10% of what we spent in 2008 (this is our second austerity plan year). It started out as a sacrifice, but who can spend the least and stick to needs instead of wants has become a game and a source of pride. Christmas has evolved into a non-celebration of consumerism. What can one family do? What does one vote do?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

7. exercising your right to free speech is another sign of love for America,,,

Constructive criticism is helpful for a democratic republic,

[Goldstein1984]

10. The definition of treason will soon include dissent.

You may have read about an actor on the terror watch list because he promoted a movie critical of the natural gas industry.

When truth becomes an enemy of the state, speaking the truth becomes a crime.

There is a storm of tyranny approaching.

I'm going to be very interested in how revolt plays out in Alaska. We're more of a colony than a state. There's a lot of "Alaskan" hiding under a thin veneer of "American" up here. Lots of veterans, lots of firearms, lots of isolation, lots of independent thinking...

[Jeffersons Ghost]

11. that tyranny is a lot farther away than the ultra-rich think it is...

They'll soon find out where the REAL power lies.

[Goldstein1984]

14. I hope that's true

We've decided to make our permanent home on some acreage in Alaska because my family believes it's true, and because we believe that isolation, climate and culture will limit the social upheaval we believe is coming in the Lower 48.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

16. you're probably right. As times get harder, crime will run rampant

[Goldstein1984]

18. And that will be an excuse for further development of the police state

We're rapidly approaching the realm of "thought crime," where discussing and planning constitute conspiracy, which is a very slippery slope.

Read "Three Felonies A Day"

[Jeffersons Ghost]

19. Rampant increases in right wing militias also leads to those type measures

[Goldstein1984]

21. Alaska may be different, but...

my liberal friends here are also stockpiling food and ammunition and talking about an impending breaking point.

[dkf]

2. Isn't this the tea party?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

3. the T&A party the "T" stands for Totalitarian and "A" stands for Agency

[guruoo]

12. k&r nt

[Anakin Skywalker]

15. But it's not like these groups are racist or anything.....

:sarcasm:

[bushisanidiot]

17. Tea Party racists.

nut cases. all of them.

[11 Bravo]

20. Can you imagine what they would be like if they WEREN'T getting every fucking thing they want?

[Raine]

22. Yeah they get EVERYTHING they want

I don't know what they have to be so mad about. The left is the one that's being royally screwed. :mad: