DHS: Right-Wing Extremism Report | 04/27/2009 1:05 pm
Calls Get Louder for Apology From Napolitano Over 'Right-Wing Extremist' Report
© AP
Should Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano offer a more robust apology to veterans, abortion opponents and those in favor of tougher immigration laws? Some seem to think so.
Stephen Gordon at The Liberty Papers, a veteran of 11 years, is peeved over the recent DHS report warning that right-wing extremists could be recruiting, among others, American war vets coming home from Afghanistan or Iraq. Napolitano later tried to clarify, claiming she wasn’t saying vets are terrorists, rather that they could be targeted for recruitment by extremists. But that isn’t satisfying everyone. Gordon, for one, thinks an apology should be issued to those who believe in small government and closed borders, anarchists, pro-lifers and others.
Writes Gordon:
As a civilian political activist, I’m highly upset that virtually every believer in the principles of small government (this category describes me well) or social conservatism (this doesn’t describe this libertarian so much) has been labeled as a potential terrorist … I took that ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States’ portion of my oath very damned seriously. Part of the Constitution I swore I’d uphold … is that pesky little First Amendment … I certainly don’t agree with all of these issues, but I would have willingly died to ensure that people had the right to express these views and to mobilize politically to support them.The Boston Globe also today lamented the DHS report, noting that even the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties had issues with the report. "Napolitano must take these concerns more seriously. She should consider it one of her primary obligations to prevent the politicization of Homeland Security."
The No Political Profiling Coalition, which points out that the Pope, Mother Teresa, George Washington and Ronald Reagan qualify as "terrorists" under the DHS definition, has begun placing full-page ads demanding the removal of Napolitano for the report. The first ad is in this week’s Washington Times Weekly edition and the Times’s Wednesday daily edition.
"Even though DHS admits it has ‘no specific information’ of violence planned by so-called right-wing extremists, nevertheless, the report labels millions of law-abiding Americans potential terrorists and calls on state and local authorities to monitor their activities," said Coalition Chairman Janet Folger Porter. "Not content with slander, Napolitano is calling for domestic spying on opponents of the Obama administration."
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60 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment
Janet —You opened up a can of worms. You opened your mouth and inserted your foot. It’s time to go home now. The "swine" diversion isn’t going to work. And, speaking of the "swine flu" - just what are your plans? You danced around that issue also.
I keep asking myself - where do they find these people?
Make it a totally ‘unlikely trio’ with the Boston Globe in there as well!
Where was all this attention when vets were calling for the resignation of any number of politicians, Rumsfeld et al., that made decisions that actually got people killed? She signed off on a a report that was never intended for public exposure, was written by a Bush appointee and was not the first or last of it’s kind. She has apologized a numebr of times to a number of different groups.
I think some people are feigning outrage to get attention, imagine that :O
She got caught and she should do whatever it takes to clear that up.
But the bigger point here is that if these wars that we have been involved with…are not succeeding….and were not needed…then why in the world would RETURNING VETS BE RIGHT WINGERS.
That’s right, those that know, that are there, that aren’t spoonfed there opinion by a rigged and corrupt MSNBC or NBC know better….
That’s the point.
Really C.Aune? Not even the returning vets are due any respect from you?
I heard Michael Savage one time…once. Rush…once over 10 years ago…each time, I did not disagree with much that I heard. What does work for me is observing my surroundings and watching cause and effect unfold in front of my own eyes. It is helpful to hear that others also have observed the same thing.
No. She shouldn’t have to apologize to the extreme right just because they are looking for a distraction away from the fact that they offer this country nothing but negativity. If the shoe fits, where it.
When FOX has right wing hacks calling for ‘revolution’ and telling people to buy guns, and we’ve had several shootings that were right wing extremist in nature, the Right really should look in the mirror and stop looking for straw men to divert attention.
Also, if the righties actually were capable of objectively reading the statement in the report they would know that it was not making any accusations, but ‘objectivity’ is not what they are looking for, just distraction.
If the shoe fits, where it.
By DeBúrca obj on 04/27/2009 2:50 pmI think you meant "Wear it" She not only fit both feet in her mouth…..She was "wearing" shoes that fit at the time she inserted them!