Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Body Surfing
Monday, January 26, 2015
Smiling Faces
I never think people will do me wrong and then, being people, they do me wrong. In a sentence, I am easily played because I am so niaive. I am past middle age and yet I trust people to be honest and true instead of scheming and lying. I wish my husband was by my side all the time. He sees their base nature and doesn't give them a chance. As it is, I walk through this world alone, counting on my OWN judgement and once again I am hurt by people being people. I guess it would be easier to take or to comprehend if I wasn't so earnest, so true. Maybe if I were like them I would understand the games people play. I am not and I don't, so I cry once again, "How could they do that, I thought I could trust them."
The Temptations said it best: Smiling faces leave no traces of the evil that lurks within. Can you dig it?
Thursday, August 1, 2013
"Got my niggas in Paris and they just went gorillas"-From Niggas in Paris by JayZ/Kanye
The real question is, "Is fair the point of the black race baiters?" Clearly it is not. Those who want to keep the races separate in order to assure a career and personal riches keep on finding non-racial issues and making them into Black vs. White. Having a black president shows that the Whites of America are anything but prejudice yet Obama himself makes racist comments over and over again, dividing America, not uniting it as promised.
I am sad and sorry that civil rights and the equitable treatment we had worked for is being destroyed to attain a few bucks and a few minutes of fame. Ladies and Gentleman, you are witness to the de-evolution of American society and your emcee is Al Sharpton.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
How to Get Comcast Cable and Apple products to Work Well Together
Friday, September 14, 2012
A Quote From Winston Churchill's Book The River War
The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.
A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.
Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it.
No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.
-- Sir Winston Churchill (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 [London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899]).
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Futility
Friday, February 3, 2012
EQUAL PROTECTION. Tell me what is EQUAL in sentencing based on motivation? Who is to judge which offender has a "better" motivation to assault and so double the minimum sentencing? The guidelines should be equal, across the board or the very heart of this amendment looses it's power. Prejudicial mistreatment is a horror, hence this addition to our mighty law. It is unconstitutional to fake a left attempting to get around this rock of an amendment.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Fire starters: motherly advice
Today someone might call me an arsonist and say I was a troubled child. The fact is, I grew up and became a superior welder. I love heat and understand it, in an intrinsic physics kind of way. I know that the metal gets excited by the fire and then starts stalking it. So one moves the torch and the metal will follow, like a well trained dog.
I digress.
A kid who starts fires may just be curious, wanting to learn fire. In a cave man sort of way control of fire is power.
So I wanted power. Who doesn't? Children ARE powerless and what kid worth their salt wants to feel like that, vulnerable and weak.
LOL, that a complete repudiation of my original claim. Or is a kid wanting to feel powerful wrong.
-- Post From My iPhone
Friday, September 30, 2011
Donna, bye.
Donna Spence died after a long struggle with cancer. The last time I saw her, before I saw her dead body in the casket, was a while ago at the old WalMart. We talked about K Mart and Ames and the new WalMart. We both preferred Ames, which had closed to accommodate K Mart which had closed to accommodate WalMart. We met over these animal print and very stretchy, tight pajama gowns. Donna told me she had bought one and wore it as a dress, she suggested I also do so. I grabbed the leopard spotted one and I still have it although it does not look the same on me anymore, or I do not look the same in it, one or the other. Now I just wear it as a nightgown.
We talked for quite a while, catching up, as one does with these chance encounters. She asked what what I was doing and I told her I was a nurse. She told me she just found out she had cancer (I think uterine) and we talked about treatments, etc. It killed her. The words we spoke are all gone in the wind. My intermittant memory, the only record of girls who became women but never changed, really.
When I saw her at WalMart she was round and happy and womanly and filling out her nightgown dress beautifully. When I saw her in the casket she was skeletal and dead.
I choose to remember the spirit and personality that Donna was, servant to humankind, lively and vital and strong and wearing cool animal prints tight against her sexy body that turned it's back on her, and killed her.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Zaha Hadid-A Show for Academia, Not the World
My mother, two other family members, and I attended "Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion" at the Perlman Gallery, Philadelphia Museum of Art on Sunday. I was looking forward to the day but was severely disappointed by this star architects show. Walking into the gallery, one is instantly disoriented, kind of like a fun house in a carnival. Several of the people I was with had to sit down as their equilibrium was affected. Personally, I find Hadids work, visually incongruent, almost dizzying (as it literally was for my companions). So, while impressive for their reach, her buildings are not for general consumption. In fact, her objects and buildings are so confusing in their flow that they are essentially disturbing. All sense of beauty is swallowed up by the visual discordance. My brain became too occupied with trying to find the glitch rather than finding the beauty in the form.
I also wonder as to her clearly obvious and impractical choice of form over function. From the smallest, an oddly shaped spoon that made me want to scoop some broth to see if I could actually eat from it, to the videos showing her largest buildings, I could only see a desire to impress with none, not one little iota, of practicality. These buildings are a legend in her own mind and will not stand the test of time.
Please, beauty and form can go hand in hand with practical considerations. Ms. Hadid seems to think that they are exclusive of each other and it shows in her work.
I am not a fan.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
As you can see my bed is not made. Why make it when I am going to mess it right up again. The sheets are clean. That is what matters. The book is a school leftover that I did not want sell on Amazon. The class was accelerated and left a lot of stories, plays and poems unread. I am reading through them. The bottom middle is an electric blanket controller. I had to get rid of my favorite down comforter. I cannot tolerate the down anymore, sneezy all night long. Boo Hoo. The lotion is this really great, minty foot cream with tea tree oil. I rub it into my feet at night. It feels so good. The black thing below and right of it is my sleeping mask. I used to use it when I worked nights. Below and to the right of that is a little piece of Hershey's chocolate with almonds. Chocolate needs no explanation. The white thing next to my phone is a never used in a toilet toilet bowl brush. A patient of mine had one with her in the hospital. She told me they are the best back scratchers around. She was right. National Enquirer on top of the books. OJ was beaten in prison. I wonder if he got even a little idea of how his dead wife felt when he beat her?
So tell me, what's on your beside table?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
"Choke" by Chuck Palahniuk
January 4, 2011
Choke
I am reading a book called "Choke" by Chuck Palahniuk. I'm on page 37 and I am crying. The reviews I read said it was "humorous", called it a "riot" and pointed out how "gritty and perverse" it was. The perversity IS the sadness. That the little boy who just wanted his mother to love him could have been mistreated into becoming the wretched protagonist of this book breaks my heart. This story, while fiction, is fact. This stuff happens every day and I do not find it humorous. It is gut wrenchingly sad. Self absorbed parents treating children like less than pets...Oh the humanity.
So our society encourages self expression even if the passion blasting the self into the nethersphere is born of pure pain inflicted on a child...even if that lust is nothing more than an insane repetition of an inhuman past craving resolution. I do not think it is okay to wallow in the shit that has been heaped upon us since birth. Shit contaminates, it is poison. Sexual perversion is not the result of a happy childhood. It is the result of pain, of sorrow inflicted on a child and any adult expressions of that pain are merely reenactments of the same. It is like a vortex that keeps one prisoner due to it's very lack of solution, like if one keeps putting oneself into that hell it will, one day, turn out differently. It will not.
We are God's. He wants to free us all from the chains that bind us, some literally. He wants to redeem our lives and allow us to become the person we were born to be, not the the person we became, endlessly looking for a different ending to the same play.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Homosexuals in the Military: just say no
The above scenerio is what is wrong with allowing homosexuals to serve in the military.
I am not homophobic. It is not my place to judge what another human being does. God does that quite well without my help. My opposition to this law has nothing to do with the sexual choices of a small group of citizens and everything to do with respecting the youth who choose to enter the employ of the government in military service. What I am is a veteran with a REAL understanding of the situations that are presented in the sort communal living that is part and parcel of military life. I would not have wanted to have been forced to expose my genitals to a man on a daily basis yet allowing homosexuals to serve in the military is, in effect, assuring that will happen.
You see, boys and girls, homosexuals are sexually attracted to people of the same gender so it follows that the military should not place them in intimate situations with same sex individuals. That would be like putting men and women together in boot camp, in communal showers, sleeping next to each other, every minute of every day. Would you want that? Would you want your daughter or son to be exposed in such a sexual way by our government? The heterosexuals become unwitting victims of sexual voyeurism and it is condoned by the law. Whose civil rights are being tromped on...really!
I do not understand how such a small percentage of the population can dictate such ridiculous terms to the United States Government.
Friday, December 3, 2010
God's Plan
All of this, all of the false careers that were mere blips in His true intention for me, all of this and I really, really love my job. Thank you God, you have been faithful and true while I have been skeptical and unbelieving. I hated you for letting me be so hurt and destroyed (the suffering made me a more compassionate nurse). I learned how to act like I wasn't dying inside ( that made me a rock of a nurse). I feared that You would see how rotten I felt (That made me a humble nurse). I felt I had to do it all myself (that made me an efficient nurse). I learned how to trouble shoot (that made me understand the human body). I mothered (what patient doesn't need a little motherly love?). I doubted you but You never doubted me. You had a plan. You always do.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Barack Obama is tired of your motherfucking shit
hahaahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha this just cracked me up but I don't really know why
Saturday, May 15, 2010
An Offering
A male friend asked me why women apologize when we haven't done anything wrong. Here is what I told him:
I say "I am sorry" because I am polite and choose to diffuse. I do not apologize for myself except when I am truly at fault. Sorry does not only mean apology. As a matter of fact, apology is only a small portion of the definition of sorry. I won’t bore you with all the meanings here. Look it up.
Back to sorry…When I say I’m sorry you are upset, I am not apologizing, I am stating a fact. I am sorry that you are upset. Firstly, as an empathetic person, I really AM sorry you are upset. Upset is not a good place to be. Happy is a good place to be. Mellow is a good place to be. Upset, not so good. I feel your suffering in your upset place and am sorry FOR YOU. Secondly, when you are upset it colors the atmosphere around you and I happen to be in that atmosphere of your upset. Consequently, I am affected by your upset in an existential way.
I will continue to say I am sorry. The world is a place full of hurt and I am very sorry for those who suffer, even if it is at the hands of their own twisted psychs.
I think the woman’s sorry you speak of is part of who we are, empathetic, nurturing, caring. These are generally not traits associated with men.
I’m sorry if you have had difficulties in the past with understanding the nature of the female sorry. I am sorry for you because it caused you to view women as other than they actually were. What you apparently perceive as weakness is actually giving, loving and caring.
I hope I have helped you see our sorry for what it is, a selfless (sometimes) verbal pat on the back.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Racist Census: More questions than answers
On the census there are many different kinds of browns to choose from, many different sub groupings of non-whites, non-European peoples. I had considered leaving the areas requiring racial information blank. What did the government care what color I am? What difference did it make? Why are all non-browns, non-latinos lumped together? When I investigated the necessity of this information to the government I found it was, in part, a way to decide voting districts as well as dispensation of government monies. Voting districts are designated along racial lines? Government handouts go by racial heritage not need? Are certain races more needy by dint of their color or language? Is the government perpetuating a welfare race by it's application of racial profiling? Look what the US did to the indigenous peoples. They hobbled them through forced dependence. Why is the issue of one's Latin heritage so important to the census? Could it be related to the 57% democrat versus the 23% republican partisian allegiance that Latinos claim? When will our government stop being racist in order to further it's own subversive agenda?
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
True Healthcare Reform From a Healthcare Professionals Perspective.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Letter to my Sisters: from an aging feminist
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
yuck
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I am so tired of being sick walking around like everything is fine when I feel like puking sweating fevers eyes burning can't see hurting sinus pins jabbing then sneezing inflamed urethra hurts to pee parts that I never knew could pain so obnoxious and constantly unpredictable from this stupid rheumatoid arthritis.
Let me collect myself and clear the knot from my throat, I have work to do.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Mohammad Cartoon worth killing over?
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Here is the hard to find and never seen on television news cartoon that has radical muslims ready to kill an old grandfather and his five year old granddaughter.
Here is a piece of "art" that is a crucifix of Jesus Christ submerged in urine. This image has been shown on major news and television shows and is a winner in an art exhibition of the National Endowment for the Arts, an entity of the US government.
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I am wondering why the news media bows to Muslim threats and supresses a political cartoon yet the same news media, along with the US gov't, encourages and rewards this obvious insult to Christians?
James Thurber said: Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.
addendum: When I originally wrote this post the real cartoons were impossible to find on the internet and I posted what had been labeled as "the" cartoon. I was wrong. Strangely, the images of mohamad as dog are readily available now. This is one of the series.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Harvard Brilliance or The Importance of Being Happy
When we met, she happened to be complaining about her health insurance. She was going to have to start paying for a Cobra policy which she could not afford. She was complaining that since she had a pre-existing condition she was unable to purchase a regular policy and that to add her onto her partners policy the cost was once again prohibitive.
I asked if she considered her health and the insurance implications when she left her job. She said yes, but that her happiness was more important. Now she wants me to pay for her care through nationalized health care. She thinks it is her right. She loves HObama's current proposed health care initiative. It absolves her of her less than common sense decisions. It makes me pay for her quest for happiness.
She had a very well paying position which she gave up, voluntarily, having full knowledge of the effects her leaving would have on her health insurance which, as a cancer patient, was rather important to her. Now she was complaining because she got what she knew she would get.
Harvard spits out some real smart cookies huh?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
A healthcare conversation among nurses
welfare–noun - the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc., of a person, group, or organization; well-being
I would respectfully submit that our constitution does address this "right"
Since you etc.'ed some of the words in your definition of welfare I have posted the definition again. Welfare- well-being, health, comfort, security, safety, protection, prosperity, success, fortune; interest, good.
Do you really think that taxpayers should pay for the government to provide all of these things or only the ones you select? Can the government assure prosperity for all? On whose dime?
The constitution specifically states "general welfare" not the welfare of each and every person. So, knowing that only 18% of the population is without healthcare coverage, and knowing that only about 14% of those are naturalized citizens (from National Coalition on Health Care), I offer that implementing the proposed health care initiatives negatively affects the prosperity of many more people than it helps, health wise. Since the constitution allows for the "general welfare" of the people not the specific welfare of the minority, this proposal is unconstitutional.
Thomas Jefferson writing on the portion of the constitution to which you refer.
http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/found...a1_8_1s25.html
Sunday, July 12, 2009
An Immoral Co-dependance - the Church in America
The US Christian “tolerance” doctrine, which posits that one must accept and tolerate everyone no matter what they do, is a lie used by satan to destroy the Christian church. Firstly, Jesus roared through the temple and turned over the tables of the money lenders. He did not look at them and say, “Whatever you do is okay because I will love you anyway.” He did not say, “Well, as long as you love God then you keep on doing what you want.” He said “It is written...my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers” and then he tore it up! The idea that we must accept everyone no matter what they do sort of makes us into our own gods. It is we who decide who gets forgiveness, it is we who decide what is sin and what is not sin. God’s law, which Jesus came to fulfill, becomes irrelevant. Christians find personal forgiveness in God through Jesus by the grace of God but with this new American pseudo christianity, we are the forgivers and the forgetters that God always was. We are told forgive and forget even though the sinners have not asked for it, even though they do not accept their immoral acts as sinful and since they don’t think it is sinful than neither should we. It is like a whole big step is skipped and God is not even a part of the equation. Their immoral acts become simply lifestyles and God’s word regarding sin becomes disconnected from many American churches today. By accepting and allowing whatever the people want, the church is becoming a part of the disintegration of America.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
LGBT Pride Month
Oh, and by the way, why did they leave out the H's (heterosexuals) or you could call us S's (straights). We have sex too.
As an addendum: Okay, so you say that LBGT is a lifestyle, not a sexual preference. No difference, The big O is still a hater as he leaves out so many lifestyles, so many human beings with no special month or even day to be appreciated. Take for instance the H's (Hobo's) they have summer homes (jungles) a written language (http://www.angelfire.com/folk/famoustramp/signs.html) and their own convention in Britt, Iowa, yet there is no real government appreciation of their contribution to the US. Supreme court justice William O. Douglas was once a hobo, as was that other famous traveler Jack Kerouac.
Ya know, it is just not fair.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Another Nephew, a different conversation
To Nephew:
What's up kiddo? Ready for a global economy?
H. R. 1913 Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 or More Stupid Laws
Please vote against H. R. 1913. Firstly, we have no need for further legislation regarding violent crime. Laws are already in place to handle violent crime. Secondly, this law would only cost the taxpayers more money in prosecution of court cases while giving higher value and sentencing to specific violent crimes which is prejudicial in and of itself. And lastly, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution provides for equal protection under the law. This law gives absolute unequal protection for a very specific population.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Yeast Colony for Homemade Bread
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Every morning, I wake up and start a pot of coffee. Next I start a loaf of bread. Have you ever eaten homemade bread? It is so delectable, so full of perfect texture and satisfying flavor. If you eat it when it is fresh out of the oven, as we do, topped with drippy, melting butter you will never want store bought bread again.
The ingredients are simple, yeast, sugar, flour, butter, olive oil, milk and salt. The yeast is the most expensive addition, running upwards of $9.00 per 4 oz. With the budget crunch in mind I started experimenting with making my own yeast starter. I figured it would not be too hard based it on the fact that I make my own sourdough starter. Why couldn’t I just start a batch of yeast and go with it. It works. I have not gotten to the place where I need to put the yeast to sleep. I will try that though, putting it in the refrigerator or freezer, and I will let you know if it works.
Here is what you do to make your own yeast. I do not measure so use your judgement as these amounts are just estimates for those of you that need the cup:
Day 1- Use a gallon zip lock baggie. Add about 3 cups of flour and maybe one half cup sugar. Add about four tablespoons of dry yeast (this is the only time you will have to add the yeast). Add whole milk to make it thick and mushy, between thick milkshake and sticky dough consistency.
Day 2- Add another cup flour and tablespoon of sugar and enough milk to keep it mushy. Mush the bag to mix it well.
Day 3- Repeat day 2
Day 4- Repeat day 3
Day 5- Use 1-3 of cups of the yeast mush in your favorite bread recipe with these changes (vary amount added to rise time you prefer, a longer rise time means tastier bread, similar to artisan bread)- on first mix, do not add the salt, adjust your liquid and go a little light on the flour, leaving the dough a little sticky, let it sit about 15 minutes. The yeast will start doing it’s thing. Then knead, adding the salt and more flour until it is the right consistency. You can change the amount of yeast mush to alter the rise time. You can basically use your favorite recipe from here on in. I leave mine to rise over the whole day (maybe 4 hours first then fold then 2 hours then bake) if I add less mush. If you work all day just fold it when you come home and rise it another hour or two then bake. When using a long rise time, take care that the top of the bread does not dry out. I have a ceramic dish with a glass lid that is the perfect size for me. I flour the loaf and the dish and do the rising and baking right in it. This is so inexact, so work it like you have to.
The mush needs replenishment so just add more flour sugar and milk in appropriate proportions each time you take some. I keep mine on the kitchen counter and if I’m not making bread that day I just add a little of the flour sugar milk to feed the yeast until the next day. You don’t need a lot of mixture to keep it going. Over time it might take on a bit of a sour dough flavor which is alright with me. If you don’t like it then start afresh.
Enjoy.
Update: May 7th, I've had a nice sponge of yeast in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. It is in a big plastic container rather than the baggie. I used it to make dinner rolls last night and they rose just great. Next I will try the freezer.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment
IA-0257-09 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (U//FOUO) Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (U) LAW ENFORCEMENT INFORMATION NOTICE: This product contains Law Enforcement Sensitive (LES) information. No portion of the LES information should be released to the media, the general public, or over non-secure Internet servers. Release of this information could adversely affect or jeopardize investigative activities. (U) Warning: This document is UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (U//FOUO). It contains information that may be exempt from public release under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). It is to be controlled, stored, handled, transmitted, distributed, and disposed of in accordance with DHS policy relating to FOUO information and is not to be released to the public, the media, or other personnel who do not have a valid need-to-know without prior approval of an authorized DHS official. State and local homeland security officials may share this document with authorized security personnel without further approval from DHS. (U) All U.S. person information has been minimized. Should you require the minimized U.S. person information, please contact the DHS/I&A Production Branch at IA.PM@hq.dhs.gov, IA.PM@dhs.sgov.gov, or IA.PM@dhs.ic.gov. (U//FOUO) Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment 7 April 2009 (U) Prepared by the Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division. Coordinated with the FBI. (U) Scope (U//FOUO) This product is one of a series of intelligence assessments published by the Extremism and Radicalization Branch to facilitate a greater understanding of the phenomenon of violent radicalization in the United States. The information is provided to federal, state, local, and tribal counterterrorism and law enforcement officials so they may effectively deter, prevent, preempt, or respond to terrorist attacks against the United States. Federal efforts to influence domestic public opinion must be conducted in an overt and transparent manner, clearly identifying United States Government sponsorship. UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 2 of 9 (U) Key Findings (U//LES)
The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) has no specific information that domestic rightwing* terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues. The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and recruitment. —
(U//LES) Threats from white supremacist and violent antigovernment groups during 2009 have been largely rhetorical and have not indicated plans to carry out violent acts. Nevertheless, the consequences of a prolonged economic downturn—including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and an inability to obtain credit—could create a fertile recruiting environment for rightwing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities similar to those in the past. —
(U//LES) Rightwing extremists have capitalized on the election of the first African American president, and are focusing their efforts to recruit new members, mobilize existing supporters, and broaden their scope and appeal through propaganda, but they have not yet turned to attack planning.
(U//FOUO) The current economic and political climate has some similarities to the 1990s when rightwing extremism experienced a resurgence fueled largely by an economic recession, criticism about the outsourcing of jobs, and the perceived threat to U.S. power and sovereignty by other foreign powers. —
(U//FOUO) During the 1990s, these issues contributed to the growth in the number of domestic rightwing terrorist and extremist groups and an increase in violent acts targeting government facilities, law enforcement officers, banks, and infrastructure sectors. —
(U//FOUO) Growth of these groups subsided in reaction to increased government scrutiny as a result of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and disrupted plots, improvements in the economy, and the continued U.S. standing as the preeminent world power.
(U//FOUO) The possible passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks. *
(U) Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 3 of 9 — (U//FOUO) Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of rightwing extremist groups, as well as potentially spur some of them to begin planning and training for violence against the government. The high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by rightwing extremists in anticipation of restrictions and bans in some parts of the country continue to be a primary concern to law enforcement. —
(U//FOUO) Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to rightwing extremists. DHS/I&A is concerned that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to boost their violent capabilities. (U) Current Economic and Political Climate
(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that a number of economic and political factors are driving a resurgence in rightwing extremist recruitment and radicalization activity. Despite similarities to the climate of the 1990s, the threat posed by lone wolves and small terrorist cells is more pronounced than in past years. In addition, the historical election of an African American president and the prospect of policy changes are proving to be a driving force for rightwing extremist recruitment and radicalization. — (U) A recent example of the potential violence associated with a rise in rightwing extremism may be found in the shooting deaths of three police officers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on 4 April 2009. The alleged gunman’s reaction reportedly was influenced by his racist ideology and belief in antigovernment conspiracy theories related to gun confiscations, citizen detention camps, and a Jewish-controlled “one world government.” (U) Exploiting Economic Downturn
(U//FOUO) Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the economy, the perceived loss of U.S. jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and home foreclosures. Anti-Semitic extremists attribute these losses to a deliberate conspiracy conducted by a cabal of Jewish “financial elites.” These “accusatory” tactics are employed to draw new recruits into rightwing extremist groups and further radicalize those already subscribing to extremist beliefs. DHS/I&A assesses this trend is likely to accelerate if the economy is perceived to worsen. (U) Historical Presidential Election
(U//LES) Rightwing extremists are harnessing this historical election as a recruitment tool. Many rightwing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 4 of 9
(U//FOUO) Perceptions on Poverty and Radicalization
(U//FOUO) Scholars and experts disagree over poverty’s role in motivating violent radicalization or terrorist activity. High unemployment, however, has the potential to lead to alienation, thus increasing an individual’s susceptibility to extremist ideas. According to a 2007 study from the German Institute for Economic Research, there appears to be a strong association between a parent’s unemployment status and the formation of rightwing extremist beliefs in their children—specifically xenophobia and antidemocratic ideals. ownership and use. Rightwing extremists are increasingly galvanized by these concerns and leverage them as drivers for recruitment. From the 2008 election timeframe to the present, rightwing extremists have capitalized on related racial and political prejudices in expanded propaganda campaigns, thereby reaching out to a wider audience of potential sympathizers. —
(U//LES) Most statements by rightwing extremists have been rhetorical, expressing concerns about the election of the first African American president, but stopping short of calls for violent action. In two instances in the run-up to the election, extremists appeared to be in the early planning stages of some threatening activity targeting the Democratic nominee, but law enforcement interceded. (U) Revisiting the 1990s
(U//FOUO) Paralleling the current national climate, rightwing extremists during the 1990s exploited a variety of social issues and political themes to increase group visibility and recruit new members. Prominent among these themes were the militia movement’s opposition to gun control efforts, criticism of free trade agreements (particularly those with Mexico), and highlighting perceived government infringement on civil liberties as well as white supremacists’ longstanding exploitation of social issues such as abortion, inter-racial crimes, and same-sex marriage. During the 1990s, these issues contributed to the growth in the number of domestic rightwing terrorist and extremist groups and an increase in violent acts targeting government facilities, law enforcement officers, banks, and infrastructure sectors. (U) Economic Hardship and Extremism
(U//FOUO) Historically, domestic rightwing extremists have feared, predicted, and anticipated a cataclysmic economic collapse in the United States. Prominent antigovernment conspiracy theorists have incorporated aspects of an impending economic collapse to intensify fear and paranoia among like-minded individuals and to attract recruits during times of economic uncertainty. Conspiracy theories involving declarations of martial law, impending civil strife or racial conflict, suspension of the U.S. Constitution, and the creation of citizen detention camps often incorporate aspects of a failed economy. Antigovernment conspiracy theories and “end times” prophecies could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition, and weapons. These teachings also have been linked with the radicalization of domestic extremist individuals and groups in the past, such as violent Christian Identity organizations and extremist members of the militia movement. UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 5 of 9 (U) Illegal Immigration (U//FOUO) Rightwing extremists were concerned during the 1990s with the perception that illegal immigrants were taking away American jobs through their willingness to work at significantly lower wages. They also opposed free trade agreements, arguing that these arrangements resulted in Americans losing jobs to countries such as Mexico. (U//FOUO) Over the past five years, various rightwing extremists, including militias and white supremacists, have adopted the immigration issue as a call to action, rallying point, and recruiting tool. Debates over appropriate immigration levels and enforcement policy generally fall within the realm of protected political speech under the First Amendment, but in some cases, anti-immigration or strident pro-enforcement fervor has been directed against specific groups and has the potential to turn violent.
(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that rightwing extremist groups’ frustration over a perceived lack of government action on illegal immigration has the potential to incite individuals or small groups toward violence. If such violence were to occur, it likely would be isolated, small-scale, and directed at specific immigration-related targets. —
(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A notes that prominent civil rights organizations have observed an increase in anti-Hispanic crimes over the past five years. — (U) In April 2007, six militia members were arrested for various weapons and explosives violations. Open source reporting alleged that those arrested had discussed and conducted surveillance for a machinegun attack on Hispanics. — (U) A militia member in Wyoming was arrested in February 2007 after communicating his plans to travel to the Mexican border to kill immigrants crossing into the United States. (U) Legislative and Judicial Drivers
(U//FOUO) Many rightwing extremist groups perceive recent gun control legislation as a threat to their right to bear arms and in response have increased weapons and ammunition stockpiling, as well as renewed participation in paramilitary training exercises. Such activity, combined with a heightened level of extremist paranoia, has the potential to facilitate criminal activity and violence. —
(U//FOUO) During the 1990s, rightwing extremist hostility toward government was fueled by the implementation of restrictive gun laws—such as the Brady Law that established a 5-day waiting period prior to purchasing a handgun and the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that limited the sale of various types of assault rifles—and federal law enforcement’s handling of the confrontations at Waco, Texas and Ruby Ridge, Idaho. UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 6 of 9 —
(U//FOUO) On the current front, legislation has been proposed this year requiring mandatory registration of all firearms in the United States. Similar legislation was introduced in 2008 in several states proposing mandatory tagging and registration of ammunition. It is unclear if either bill will be passed into law; nonetheless, a correlation may exist between the potential passage of gun control legislation and increased hoarding of ammunition, weapons stockpiling, and paramilitary training activities among rightwing extremists.
(U//FOUO) Open source reporting of wartime ammunition shortages has likely spurred rightwing extremists—as well as law-abiding Americans—to make bulk purchases of ammunition. These shortages have increased the cost of ammunition, further exacerbating rightwing extremist paranoia and leading to further stockpiling activity. Both rightwing extremists and law-abiding citizens share a belief that rising crime rates attributed to a slumping economy make the purchase of legitimate firearms a wise move at this time.
(U//FOUO) Weapons rights and gun-control legislation are likely to be hotly contested subjects of political debate in light of the 2008 Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller in which the Court reaffirmed an individual’s right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but left open to debate the precise contours of that right. Because debates over constitutional rights are intense, and parties on all sides have deeply held, sincere, but vastly divergent beliefs, violent extremists may attempt to co-opt the debate and use the controversy as a radicalization tool. (U) Perceived Threat from Rise of Other Countries (U//FOUO) Rightwing extremist paranoia of foreign regimes could escalate or be magnified in the event of an economic crisis or military confrontation, harkening back to the “New World Order” conspiracy theories of the 1990s. The dissolution of Communist countries in Eastern Europe and the end of the Soviet Union in the 1990s led some rightwing extremists to believe that a “New World Order” would bring about a world government that would usurp the sovereignty of the United States and its Constitution, thus infringing upon their liberty. The dynamics in 2009 are somewhat similar, as other countries, including China, India, and Russia, as well as some smaller, oil-producing states, are experiencing a rise in economic power and influence. —
(U//FOUO) Fear of Communist regimes and related conspiracy theories characterizing the U.S. Government’s role as either complicit in a foreign invasion or acquiescing as part of a “One World Government” plan inspired extremist members of the militia movement to target government and military facilities in past years. —
(U//FOUO) Law enforcement in 1996 arrested three rightwing militia members in Battle Creek, Michigan with pipe bombs, automatic weapons, and military UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 7 of 9
(U//FOUO) Lone Wolves and Small Terrorist Cells (U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent rightwing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States. Information from law enforcement and nongovernmental organizations indicates lone wolves and small terrorist cells have shown intent—and, in some cases, the capability—to commit violent acts.—
(U//LES) DHS/I&A has concluded that white supremacist lone wolves pose the most significant domestic terrorist threat because of their low profile and autonomy—separate from any formalized group—which hampers warning efforts. —
(U//FOUO) Similarly, recent state and municipal law enforcement reporting has warned of the dangers of rightwing extremists embracing the tactics of “leaderless resistance” and of lone wolves carrying out acts of violence. —
(U//FOUO) Arrests in the past several years of radical militia members in Alabama, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania on firearms, explosives, and other related violations indicates the emergence of small, well-armed extremist groups in some rural areas. ordnance that they planned to use in attacks on nearby military and federal facilities and infrastructure targets. — (
U//FOUO) Rightwing extremist views bemoan the decline of U.S. stature and have recently focused on themes such as the loss of U.S. manufacturing capability to China and India, Russia’s control of energy resources and use of these to pressure other countries, and China’s investment in U.S. real estate and corporations as a part of subversion strategy. (U) Disgruntled Military Veterans
(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists—including lone wolves or small terrorist cells—to carry out violence. The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today. — (U) After Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990-1991, some returning military veterans—including Timothy McVeigh—joined or associated with rightwing extremist groups. — (U) A prominent civil rights organization reported in 2006 that “large numbers of potentially violent neo-Nazis, skinheads, and other white supremacists are now learning the art of warfare in the [U.S.] armed forces.” —
(U//LES) The FBI noted in a 2008 report on the white supremacist movement that some returning military veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have joined extremist groups. UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 8 of 9 (U) Outlook
(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that the combination of environmental factors that echo the 1990s, including heightened interest in legislation for tighter firearms restrictions and returning military veterans, as well as several new trends, including an uncertain economy and a perceived rising influence of other countries, may be invigorating rightwing extremist activity, specifically the white supremacist and militia movements. To the extent that these factors persist, rightwing extremism is likely to grow in strength.
(U//FOUO) Unlike the earlier period, the advent of the Internet and other informationage technologies since the 1990s has given domestic extremists greater access to information related to bomb-making, weapons training, and tactics, as well as targeting of individuals, organizations, and facilities, potentially making extremist individuals and groups more dangerous and the consequences of their violence more severe. New technologies also permit domestic extremists to send and receive encrypted communications and to network with other extremists throughout the country and abroad, making it much more difficult for law enforcement to deter, prevent, or preempt a violent extremist attack.
(U//FOUO) A number of law enforcement actions and external factors were effective in limiting the militia movement during the 1990s and could be utilized in today’s climate. —
(U//FOUO) Following the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, the militia movement declined in total membership and in the number of organized groups because many members distanced themselves from the movement as a result of the intense scrutiny militias received after the bombing. —
(U//FOUO) Militia membership continued to decline after the turn of the millennium as a result of law enforcement disruptions of multiple terrorist plots linked to violent rightwing extremists, new legislation banning paramilitary training, and militia frustration that the “revolution” never materialized. —
(U//FOUO) Although the U.S. economy experienced a significant recovery and many perceived a concomitant rise in U.S. standing in the world, white supremacist groups continued to experience slight growth.
(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A will be working with its state and local partners over the next several months to ascertain with greater regional specificity the rise in rightwing extremist activity in the United States, with a particular emphasis on the political, economic, and social factors that drive rightwing extremist radicalization. UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 9 of 9 (U) Reporting Notice: (U) DHS encourages recipients of this document to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to DHS and the FBI. The DHS National Operations Center (NOC) can be reached by telephone at 202-282-9685 or by e-mail at NOC.Fusion@dhs.gov. For information affecting the private sector and critical infrastructure, contact the National Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC), a sub-element of the NOC. The NICC can be reached by telephone at 202-282-9201 or by e-mail at NICC@dhs.gov. The FBI regional phone numbers can be found online at http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm. When available, each report submitted should include the date, time, location, type of activity, number of people and type of equipment used for the activity, the name of the submitting company or organization, and a designated point of contact. (U) For comments or questions related to the content or dissemination of this document, please contact the DHS/I&A Production Branch at IA.PM@hq.dhs.gov, IA.PM@dhs.sgov.gov, or IA.PM@dhs.ic.gov. (U) Tracked by: CRIM-040300-01-05, CRIM-040400-01-05, TERR-010000-01-05