it seems when the left was protesting and raising hell it was all good but now protest is terrorism?
so i am clear if i disagree with the administration i am a terrorist?
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U.S. military teaches 'protesters' are 'low-level terrorists'
Become 'dangerous citizen' by 'repeating the very phrases Founding Fathers used'
Just weeks after a scandal erupted over a Department of Homeland Security report that described as "right-wing extremists" those who oppose abortion and support secure national borders, another report is revealing that the Department of Defense is teaching that protesters are "low-level terrorists."
The newest action to define those who disagree with positions adopted by the government or administration of the United States was revealed by blogger Dennis Loo at Salon.com.
He cited a complaint filed by the northern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union demanding that the Department of Defense change its instructions and those who have been given the training be told of the modifications by "sending out corrective materials."
According to the ACLU letter, the DoD's "Annual Level 1 Antiterrorism (AT) Awareness Training for 2009" tells department personnel "that certain First Amendment-protected activity may amount to 'low-level terrorism.'"
Specifically the training "Knowledge Check 1" asks, "Which of the following is an example of low-level terrorism activity?"
The multiple choices are: Attacking the Pentagon, IEDs, Hate crimes against racial groups and Protests.
The correct answer in the training course is "Protests."
According to Loo, the use of the term apparently is routine.
"I have just learned of a scholarly conference paper presented earlier this year that underscores the fact that the DoD training's use of 'low-level terrorism' is hardly an anomaly. 'Low level terrorism' is a term regularly being used by state security agencies," he wrote.
He cited a document at the February convention in New York titled "Labeling 'Low Level Terrorism': The Out-Definition of Social Movements."
Wrote a participant in the Salon forum page, "One of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our Founding Fathers used in their struggle for independence."
Said another, "Yep, when regular legally protected political protest is becoming classified by the powers-that-be, we know we have turned another corner into darkness. Perhaps this is the era the Great UN-enlightenment."
Blogger Jim Bovard added, "I still believe that we have not yet seen the tip of the iceberg of federal efforts to classify political protests or opposition to the government as terrorism."
Blogger Josh Richman at at the Costra Costa Times said, "I guess I'm surprised not only that the government hasn't yet learned its lesson about equating the exercise of our cherished constitutional rights with terrorism, but also that it's so incredibly obvious in doing so."
"Teaching employees that dissent on issues of public concern is something to be feared, rather than encouraged, is a dangerously counterproductive use of scarce security resources, making us less safe as a democracy," the ACLU letter to the Pentagon said.
"DOD employees cannot accomplish their mission of protecting our nation and its values unless they understand that those values encompass the right to criticize our government through protest activities. It is imperative that they are taught the difference between political, religious or social activism and terrorism."
"Peaceful protest is not terrorist activity, it is protected by the First Amendment and is one of the cornerstones of our democratic society," the ACLU said. "The fact that the views espoused may be unpopular or may be critical of the government is hardly a reason to treat engaging in dissent as a suspect activity."
The earlier DHS report was "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." WND has posted the report online for readers to see.
It also has prompted, as WND has reported, a lawsuit by Thomas More Law Center.
Law Center President Richard Thompson said the promise by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to "reword" it truly is "scary because we know they are still going to maintain some kind of targeting for various people that she's never apologized to or never retracted [her accusations]."
The report linked returning veterans with the possibility of terrorism and when it was released and created such a furor for Napolitano she has given several explanations for it, including that she would have reworded the report and that it was issued by a rogue employee.
She later apologized to veterans for having linked them to terror.
But Thompson noted that the report also targeted as "potential terrorists" Americans who:
* Oppose abortion
* Oppose same-sex marriage
* Oppose restrictions on firearms
* Oppose lax immigration laws
* Oppose the policies of President Obama regarding immigration, citizenship, and the expansion of social programs
* Oppose continuation of free trade agreements
* Are suspect of foreign regimes
* Fear Communist regimes
* Oppose a "one world" government
* Bemoan the decline of U.S. stature in the world
* Are upset with loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs to China and India, and more
And Thompson told WND no apology has been offered to the members of any of those classes of citizens.
Thompson said as part of his preparation for the lawsuit, his organization has uncovered "additional information" that "creates even more concern that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is unconstitutionally targeting Americans merely because of their conservative beliefs."
Thompson said that information will be released in due course.
"This report was the tip of the iceberg," Thompson said at the time. "Conservative Americans should be very outraged."
The Thomas More Law Center filed its lawsuit against Napolitano and the DHS on behalf of nationally syndicated conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage, Gregg Cunningham of the pro-life organization Center for Bio-Ethical Reform Inc. and Iraqi War Marine veteran Kevin Murray.
It alleges the federal agency violated the First and Fifth Amendment constitutional rights of these three plaintiffs by targeting them for disfavored treatment and chilling their free speech, expressive association, and equal protection rights. The lawsuit further claims that DHS encourages law enforcement officers throughout the nation to target and report citizens to federal officials as suspicious rightwing extremists and potential terrorists because of their political beliefs.
Comments (9)
Also, a stuck caps-lock key is undeniably a hallmark of a low-level terrorist.
YEA THAT'S RIGHT PROTEST IS AMERICAN AS APPLE PIE.UNTIL A SOCIALIST REGIME TAKES OVER!!!!!!!!
ok let me see...
* Oppose abortion
will late term abortion do?
Seriously if your too stupid to know you do not want the kid by 6 months you are a dumb ass.
Check!
* Oppose same-sex marriage
live together all you want but stop hijacking the word Haa Haa i said "Jacking" LOL.
Check!
* Oppose restrictions on firearms
Check! not only do i oppose them i encourage flagrant violation of any law that violates the second amendment!
* Oppose lax immigration laws
Lax immigration laws = assisting the invasion of the country = Treason.
Check!
* Oppose the policies of President Obama regarding immigration, citizenship, and the expansion of social programs
Obama has no policies except Treason.
I love how resisting out and out Treason makes Americans Terrorists.
How Dare we oppose him. he is obama the great.
would calling him a dumb ass be considered opposing him?
tripple check!!
* Oppose continuation of free trade agreements
Free Trade Agreements hurt americans so um ya i oppose.
Check!
* Are suspect of foreign regimes
like Iran?
Check!
* Fear Communist regimes
like North Korea? like Obamas? CHECK!
* Oppose a "one world" government
how do i put this gentely stick one world government up your ass!
CHECK!!!
* Bemoan the decline of U.S. stature in the world
Check!
* Are upset with loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs to China and India, and more
Check!
And the top reason you may be a Terrorist?
considering Janet Napolitano a Raging Wart on the Sphincter of humanity!
Check Mate!!
it is painfully obvious that Janet Napolitano is a traitor and a turn coat.
I have bad news for
Janet "The Skank" Napolitano
you have just Described 99% of Americans.
So Bring it on!!!!!!
what i find Even more amusing is this...
Janet "The Skank" Napolitano issues this report to the same military she just got finished implicating as terrorists. she said us military coming home from Defending this country are potential Terrorists.
I just Realized something really Scary!
Why would the us government be Teaching the military about the us population?? they are not allowed to deploy Troops domestically!
Is the Government trying to turn the military on the people perhaps?
Yep, pretty soon, we'll have to argue for the 3rd amendment.
Anyone remember what that is?
They should have just went on and said "anyone protesting against Obama or the liberal left is a terrorist"..we wouldn't want to have the liberal democrats be scared of Obama would we?
If they are getting ready to impose martial law upon us...some poor uninformed souls wearing our flag on their uniform will end up getting hurt or killed and they won't even know why.
Democracy:
A government of the masses.
Authority derived through mass meeting or any other form of "direct" expression.
Results in mobocracy.
Attitude toward property is comunistic-negating property rights.
Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate. whether it be based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences.
Results in demagogism license, agitation, discontent, anarchy.
Democracy is the "direct" rule of the people and has been repeatedly tried without success.
A certain Professor Alexander Fraser Tytler, nearly two centuries ago, had this to say about Democracy: " A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of Government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess out of public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that Democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy, always to be followed by a Dictatorship."
A democracy is majority rule and is destructive of liberty because there is no law to prevent the majority from trampling on individual rights. Whatever the majority says goes! A lynch mob is an example of pure democracy in action. There is only one dissenting vote, and that is cast by the person at the end of the rope.
Republic:
Authority is derived through the election by the people of public officials best fitted to represent them.
Attitude toward property is respect for laws and individual rights, and a sensible economic procedure.
Attitude toward law is the administration of justice in accord with fixed principles and established evidence, with a strict regard to consequences.
A greater number of citizens and extent of territory may be brought within its compass.
Avoids the dangerous extreme of either tyranny or mobocracy. Results in statesmanship, liberty, reason, justice, contentment, and progress.
Is the "standard form" of government throughout the world.
A republic is a form of government under a constitution which provides for the election of:
an executive and
a legislative body, who working together in a representative capacity, have all the power of appointment, all power of legislation all power to raise revenue and appropriate expenditures, and are required to create
a judiciary to pass upon the justice and legality of their governmental acts and to recognize
certain inherent individual rights.
Take away any one or more of those four elements and you are drifting into autocracy. Add one or more to those four elements and you are drifting into democracy.
Our Constitutional fathers, familiar with the strength and weakness of both autocracy and democracy, with fixed principles definitely in mind, defined a representative republican form of government. They "made a very marked distinction between a republic and a democracy and said repeatedly and emphatically that they had founded a republic."
A republic is a government of law under a Constitution. The Constitution holds the government in check and prevents the majority (acting through their government) from violating the rights of the individual. Under this system of government a lynch mob is illegal. The suspected criminal cannot be denied his right to a fair trial even if a majority of the citizenry demands otherwise.
Difference between Democracy and Republic, in brief:
Democracy:
a: government by the people; especially : rule of the majority.
b: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.
Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether it be based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences
Republic
a: a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government.
b: a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law.
Democracy and Republic are often taken as one of the same thing, but there is a fundamental difference. Whilst in both cases the government is elected by the people, in Democracy the majority rules according to their whims, whilst in the Republic the Government rule according to law. This law is framed in the Constitution to limit the power of Government and ensuring some rights and protection to Minorities and individuals.
The difference between Republic and Righteous Republic is that in the Republic the Government rules according to the law set up by men, in the Righteous Republic the law is the Law of God. Only in the Righteous Republic it can truly be said "One nation under God" for it is governed under commandments of the only One True God and there is no pluralism of religions.
Autocracy declares the divine right of kings; its authority can not be questioned; its powers are arbitrarily or unjustly administered.
Mobocracy: 1. Political control by a mob. 2. The mass of common people as the source of political control.
We need to ramp up our rhetoric.
Low-level indeed.
Instead of posting the whole story in the original post, could we link to the story? It would make it far more readable that way.