Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the Homeland Security unit for investigating "non-Islamic" domestic right wing terrorism has been virtually shut down, due to coming under fire from right wing Republicans.
A big flap ensued previously when a 2009 report to law enforcement was leaked to the media, detailing a rapidly growing threat of extreme right wing terrorist attacks.
Conservative pundits and Republicans screamed bloody murder about being branded "terrorists" by the report, which simply described common perspectives subscribed to by right wing terrorist groups subject to investigation, which just happen to correspond exactly with common right wing Republican rhetoric and talking points.
You might recall having seen this go by, at the time, and the flap that ensued:
Full '09 Report pdf
Now, Daryl Johnson, the man who wrote the report has left the agency, after being relentlessly attacked and having his staff and funding decimated by Republicans feigning outrage over his supposed "prejudice".
Homeland Security "non-Islamic" investigations across the entire spectrum have been virtually suspended, he says, at a time when SPLC cites rapid growth in the numbers of both right wing extremist groups and recruits to those groups, as well as terrorist acts by members of those groups and their "lone wolf" adherents.
"Eventually, they ended up gutting my unit. All of this happened within six to nine months after the furor over the report. Since our report was leaked, DHS has not released a single report of its own on this topic. Not anything dealing with non-Islamic domestic extremism – whether it’s anti-abortion extremists, white supremacists, 'sovereign citizens,' eco-terrorists, the whole gamut."
Johnson says it keeps him awake at night, worrying about the prospect of undetected mass-casualty attacks, which he thinks are more likely to occur under present circumstances.
SPLC does good work, investigating and reporting on all kinds of political extremism and terrorism, and has won some huge landmark lawsuits literally destroying various KKK formations, Aryan Nations, and other such groups.
They are appealing to Janet Napolitano, Director of DHS, to re-evaluate the present situation.
They issue weekly email reports with the latest headlines on such topics, and feature a considerable archive of detailed reports and information on specific groups and individuals, their activities and history.
Current Story About Johnson, SPLC Site
I think it's significant to note that these right wing reactionary conservative extremist elements are, of course, the ones screaming loudest about recent extension of the Patriot Act.
Many elements on the left also decry the Act as a threat to civil liberties, having already been used to harass and set up environmental and peace and justice activists with contrived provocateur "terrorist" entrapment ploys, as well as some domestic Muslims posing questionable real danger beyond provocateur influences brought to bear on them.
But meanwhile, the real, substantial, actual threat, right wing extremist groups, have continued to arm themselves to the teeth and to agitate, recruit and train for political assassination, mass murder and civil war.
How do we balance the real threat of right wing extremism against the legitimate rights of citizens to engage in legitimate protests, demonstrations, dissent and even resistance against government policies, or to be Muslims angry about US foreign policy?
Indeed, as I recall, the Justice Department has recently been directed to spend more time on the real threat, from the right, and to lay off the lefties, who pose no real threat of "mass casualty" attacks, and also to lighten up on the Muslim community, the vast majority of whom despise the jihadists, and would sooner turn them in, than see them run amok.
It could be that Justice can handle these real threats from the right adequately, and leave the rest of us alone, with proper supervision, oversight, monitoring, and regulation by Congress...but will they?
Whatever President Obama and his administration may direct, such agencies are heavily infested with deeply embedded right wing Republican hires, appointments and promotions many of whom are virtually untouchable, except by attrition (retirement) or getting some really good dirt on them.
Rogue elements abound, it seems, subject to ignore and even defy orders from a President and administration they do not recognize as legitimate, in virtually every agency, from HS to Justice, EPA and other regulatory and enforcement agencies, to even the military, all looking to embarrass, discredit, and destroy the Democrats, "on principle".
Ultimately, as long as right wing majorities rule, government agencies can only be expected to be more or less skewed by the very considerable, if not absolute, power of those majorities, to manipulate, co-opt, corrupt, sabotage, and even completely disable, by hook and by crook.
The only way this can be mitigated is by purging the right from all levers of power, to the greatest extent possible in 2012, so we can begin reversing the effects of the last 30 years and more of monopoly corporate fascist right wing reactionary conservative Republican dictatorship.
That won't be accomplished in just one term, especially with the Prez and the Party still hostage to remnant right wing majorities, which was the case even after '08, under putative Democratic "Majorities" rotten with Blue Dogs. And it's worse now.
This is ALL about relative right/left plurality in the House and Senate, and down the ladders of power to the state and local levels.
More substantial actual real Democratic Majorities, NOT rotten with Blue Dogs, coming out of 2012, could begin to actually materially resolve the contradictions, going forward.
Less substantial plurality, not so much, or worse,.
It's time to seize the power, for real, for a change.
Unless and until we do, the whole world, including us, are pretty much screwed, more or less, regardless of the issue.
Indeed, the ice caps are melting faster and faster, and the pigs want to deploy freakin' nukes all over the place to "fix" that, for gawd's sake.
It's do or die, seems to me.
Seize the Time!
Bring the Better Democrats!
All Out for 2012!