all suspicious activities must be reported

[crunchymama]

Couldn't find the MIAC report itself online as wikileaks is having problems with web traffic. Guess a lot of people are upset...

I posted this transcript to Facebook. Here is another from the FOX news website. Notice that both Bob Barr and the Libertarian party are taking action. Pay attention to the last couple sentences in the article-

ACLU

Comments

[deadfong]

The MIAC report can by found at Scribd. I read it - it seems pretty simplistic for a
"strategic report." Then again, I don't often (or ever, maybe) read strategic reports.
Maybe this style and quality is par for the course.

As far as money goes, the MIAC report was probably cobbled together in an afternoon.

I don't know how I feel about this, exactly. Dave Neiwert has a post up
about this. I tend to trust his writing about right-wing extremists, since
he's had decades of experience dealing with them, and I do agree that cops,
especially state troopers and just regular beat cops are most likely to get
into trouble when pulling some of these folks over during routine traffic
stops, and could use the information to handle the situation with more
caution.

However, some (many?) cops won't use this information in a thoughtful
manner, and simply use it as another basis for unconstitutional profiling.
So, yeah, I'm a bit torn.

should I issue a retraction?

[crunchymama]

Thanks for the link to the original report Tyler. I felt humbled, reading the actual report. Not only is it compiled with help from wikipedia, but it just isn't all that Glenn Beck would blow it up to be. And of course Ron Paul and Bob Barr will take any publicity they can get. While I still think these Federal fusion centers are bad news, I was too quick to proclaim my sisterhood with domestic terrorists over a bumper sticker and my goldbug roots.

Re: should I issue a retraction?

[deadfong]

As I say, I'm torn. Neiwert has a rather large list of extremist violence against police that happened during routine traffic stops in the '90s, and all recent accounts suggest that militia and white-supremist activities are on the upswing again, so the report could be a useful tool to help cops keep themselves safe.

Or it could be seriously misused, and lead to the harassment and possible detention of people who happen to subscribe to non-mainstream political ideas. As Neiwert himself said, you're allowed to hold as radical a political philosophy in this country as you want, as long as you aren't violent about it. But I worry some cops will make the ridiculous leap "Ron Paul bumpersticker = homegrown radical terrorist" or what-have-you.

So I wouldn't issue a retraction. The whole issue is rather complex.

they retracted it!

[crunchymama]

http://www.kansascity.com/637/story/1109096.html

(Still it seems to me that profiling or not they were right on- it's hard to imagine a Militia member supporting anyone other than a 3rd party or "fringe" candidate, if they vote at all..)