[Infowarrior] - New 'signs' of a militia member

[Richard Forno]

This is quite disturbing.....  --rf

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/23/fusion-centers-expand-criteria-identify-militia-members/

'Fusion Centers' Expand Criteria to Identify Militia Members

Do you like Ron Paul or oppose abortion? You may be a member of a  
militia, according to a new report by a government information  
collection agency.

By Joshua Rhett Miller

FOXNews.com

Monday, March 23, 2009

FILE: Rep. Ron Paul, a former 2008 Republican presidential candidate,  
joins third party candidates taking part in a news conference on Sept.  
10, 2008, From left are: Paul, former Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney  
from the Green Party, Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party, and  
Ralph Nader. (AP Photo)

If you're an anti-abortion activist, or if you display political  
paraphernalia supporting a third-party candidate or a certain  
Republican member of Congress, if you possess subversive literature,  
you very well might be a member of a domestic paramilitary group.

That's according to "The Modern Militia Movement," a report by the  
Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), a government collective  
that identifies the warning signs of potential domestic terrorists for  
law enforcement communities.

"Due to the current economical and political situation, a lush  
environment for militia activity has been created," the Feb. 20 report  
reads. "Unemployment rates are high, as well as costs of living  
expenses. Additionally, President Elect Barrack [sic] Obama is seen as  
tight on gun control and many extremists fear that he will enact  
firearms confiscations."

MIAC is one of 58 so-called "fusion centers" nationwide that were  
created by the Department of Homeland Security, in part, to collect  
local intelligence that authorities can use to combat terrorism and  
related criminal activities. More than $254 million from fiscal years  
2004-2007 went to state and local governments to support the fusion  
centers, according to the DHS Web site.

During a press conference last week in Kansas City, Mo., DHS Secretary  
Janet Napolitano called fusion centers the "centerpiece of state,  
local, federal intelligence-sharing" in the future.

"Let us not forget the reason we are here, the reason we have the  
Department of Homeland Security and the reason we now have fusion  
centers, which is a relatively new concept, is because we did not have  
the capacity as a country to connect the dots on isolated bits of  
intelligence prior to 9/11," Napolitano said, according to a DHS  
transcript.

"That's why we started this.... Now we know that it's not just the  
9/11-type incidents but many, many other types of incidents that we  
can benefit from having fusion centers that share information and  
product and analysis upwards and horizontally."

But some say the fusion centers are going too far in whom they  
identify as potential threats to American security.

People who supported former third-party presidential candidates like  
Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin and former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr  
are cited in the report, in addition to anti-abortion activists and  
conspiracy theorists who believe the United States, Mexico and Canada  
will someday form a North American Union.

"Militia members most commonly associate with 3rd party political  
groups," the report reads. "It is not uncommon for militia members to  
display Constitutional Party, Campaign for Liberty or Libertarian  
material."

Other potential signals of militia involvement, according to the  
report, are possession of the Gagsden "Don't Tread on Me" flag or the  
widely available anti-income tax film "America: Freedom to Fascism."

Barr, the 2008 Libertarian Party presidential nominee, told  
FOXNews.com that he's taking steps to get his name removed from the  
report, which he said could actually "dilute the effectiveness" of law  
enforcement agencies.

"It can subject people to unwarranted and inappropriate monitoring by  
the government," he said. "If I were the governor of Missouri, I'd be  
concerned that law enforcement agencies are wasting their time and  
effort on such nonsense."

Barr said his office has received "several dozen" complaints related  
to the report.

Mary Starrett, communications director for the Constitution Party,  
said Baldwin, the party's 2008 presidential candidate, was "outraged"  
that his name was included in the report.

"We were so astounded by it we couldn't believe it was real," Starrett  
told FOXNews.com. "It's painting such a large number of people with a  
broad brush in a dangerous light."

Michael German, national security policy counsel for the American  
Civil Liberties Union, said the report "crosses the line" and shows a  
disregard for civil liberties.

"It seems to implicate people who are engaging in First Amendment  
protected activities and suggest that something as innocuous as  
supporting a political candidate for office would mean that you're  
harboring some ill-intent," German told FOXNews.com. "It's completely  
inappropriate."

German, who claims the number of fusion centers nationwide is closer  
to 70, said the centers present several troubling concerns, including  
their excessive secrecy, ambiguous lines of authority, the use of data  
mining and military participation.

"No two are alike," German said. "And these things are expanding  
rapidly."

But MIAC officials defended their report, saying it's not a basis for  
officers to take enforcement action.

"These reports sometimes mention groups or individuals who are not the  
subject of the document, but may be relevant to describing tendencies  
or trends concerning the subject of the document," MIAC said in a  
statement.

"For example, a criminal group may use a particular wire service to  
transfer funds, but the mention of that wire service does not imply  
that it is part of that group, or a criminal enterprise.

Nor does it imply that all individuals who use that service are  
engaged in criminal activity."
The statement continues, "We are concerned about the  
mischaracterizations of a document following its recent unauthorized  
release and we regret that any citizens were unintentionally offended  
by the content of the document."

Donny Ferguson, a spokesman for the Libertarian Party, said he was  
concerned by the report's "poor choice of words," among other things.

"Unfortunately it is so broadly worded it could be interpreted as  
saying millions of peaceful, law-abiding Americans are involved in  
dangerous activities. These mistakes happen and we hope Missouri  
officials will correct the report," Ferguson wrote in an e-mail. "The  
Libertarian Party promotes the common-sense policies of fiscal  
responsibility and social tolerance. We are the only party in America  
who makes opposition to initiating violence a condition of membership."

Bob McCarty, a St. Louis resident who blogged about the MIAC report,  
said he's afraid he may be targeted, since he's previously sold Ron  
Paul-related merchandise.

"[The report] described me, so maybe I need to get a gun and build a  
shack out in the woods," McCarty said facetiously. "It's certainly an  
attempt to stifle political thought, especially in Missouri. It  
definitely makes me pause, if nothing else. Maybe Missouri is just a  
test bed for squelching political thought."

ACLU officials blasted a Texas fusion center last month for  
distributing a "Prevention Awareness Bulletin" that called on law  
enforcement officers to report activities of local lobbying groups,  
Muslim civil rights organizations and anti-war protest groups.