[Peace-discuss] These people should be locked up & silenced...

Fri Mar 5 12:11:15 CST 2010

"I had nothing in particular against the ADL or even the SPLC for that matter but these rather unmerited attacks did turn up some interesting findings about their activities and makes one wonder why they are doing it."

You should have something against them. Until the 60s, the ADL was largely legitimate, focused on genuine anti-Semitism from the right, mostly from wealthy (and racist) individuals and popular commentators. Since then, it's been focused primarily on criticism of Israel from the left, which is labeled anti-Semitism. The SPLC has never been legitimate, focusing on "hate" as defined by mainstream liberals and conservatives, but not (as far as I know) treading on ADL "anti-Semitism" turf. This is an interesting relationship, which I have not heard about. Everyone knows that the ADL is a joke. Perhaps partly as a result of this, it will also be more widely known about SPLC. And of course, they can take "teaching tolerance" and the horrible Wisenthal Center with them. And all of this is very much related to identify "angry populists" with conspiracy theorists, violence, etc.

DG

----- Original Message ----
From: E.Wayne Johnson <ewj at pigs.ag>
To: C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu>; Peace-discuss List <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: Fri, March 5, 2010 11:15:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] These people should be locked up & silenced...

The Anti-Defamation League is involved with the SPLC in the preparation of these reports and press releases.  That is not a conspiracy theory, it's a fact.    The ADL is also active in special "training" for state and local police, some of which training occurs in Israel.  Illinois State Police personnel were included in such training in Israel in 2009.

The ADL and the SPLC were involved in the 2009 release of "information" to state "Fusion Centers" including the somewhat famous release of "information" regarding supporters of Chuck Baldwin and Ron Paul and anti-abortion groups.  ADL tends to stay behind the scenes in the press releases but details of ADL's involvement can be found on the ADL website.

I had nothing in particular against the ADL or even the SPLC for that matter but these rather unmerited attacks did turn up some interesting findings about their activities and makes one wonder why they are doing it.

----- Original Message ----- From: "C. G. Estabrook" <galliher at illinois.edu>
To: "Peace-discuss List" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 2:09 PM
Subject: [Peace-discuss] These people should be locked up & silenced...

Dobbs, Beck, Palin, Bachmann Share Blame
For Rise in Right-Wing Extremism, Says Activist Group
Southern Poverty Law Center Cites Violent Incidents;
Lou Dobbs Calls SPLC Director 'Paranoid'
By ANNA SCHECTER
March 3, 2010 —

Anti-government sentiments in the U.S. have reached levels so high they could
result in another attack like the Oklahoma City bombing, according to a report
released Tuesday by an organization that tracks right-wing extremists  and the
authors of the report place part of the blame on Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, Rep.
Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin.

In a statement to ABC News, Lou Dobbs hit back at the director of the group that
prepared the report, calling him "paranoid."

A host of recent attacks on law enforcement, plots against President Obama, and
a shooting at Washington, D.C.'s Holocaust museum are "signs of the times," said
Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit group that
monitors militias, white supremacists, and other extremist activity. Potok made
his comments during a teleconference with reporters to promote the SPLC's latest
annual report on hate-group activity.

"We've seen more threats and actual attacks in the past 18 months than we've
seen at any given period over the past 15 years," claimed Potok.

Potok said he blames some public personalities and conservative politicians for
inciting fear.

Potok cited talk-show host Glenn Beck for stoking fears that the Federal
Emergency Management Agency is running concentration camps, former CNN host Lou
Dobbs for incurring fears about supposed Mexican plots to take over the
southwestern U.S., Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., for making statements about
secret political reeducation camps, and former vice presidential candidate Sarah
Palin for referring to Obama "death panels" during the health care debate.
Bachmann and Beck are also cited by name in the SPLC's report, but Dobbs and
Palin are not.

"These people help to bring completely groundless conspiracy theories from the
margins into the mainstream," said Potok.

In a phone interview, Dobbs scoffed at the report. "It's sad that Mr. Potok
insists upon maintaining his paranoia, and I hope that he recovers."

"Beyond that, I have nothing to say about the man," said Dobbs.

'Another Oklahoma City Is Very Much a Possibility'

A spokesperson for Beck declined comment. Spokespersons for Bachmann and former
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin did not respond by press time to requests for comment.

Bachmann and Beck are discussed in the report itself as possible sources of
anger, while Potok cited Palin and Dobbs in separate articles accompanying the
report.

The latest annual SPLC report, "Rage on the Right," claims there has been a
startling rise in numbers of extremist groups, particularly in the Patriot
movement and militias, the paramilitary branches of these Patriot groups.
Patriot groups see the federal government as their primary enemy and adhere to
extreme antigovernment doctrines, frequently believing in groundless conspiracy
theories.

According to the SPLC's figures, the number of active Patriot groups grew from
149 to 512, an increase of 363 groups (244 percent) in 2009, and the number of
militia groups grew from 42 to 127, an increase of 85 groups (200 percent) in
2009. The number of nativist vigilante organizations that go beyond advocating
strict immigration policy and actually confront or harass suspected immigrants
grew from 173 to 309, an increase 136 groups (almost 80 percent) in 2009, the
report said.

The number of hate groups based on racism, anti-Semitism and anti-gay sentiment
grew from 926 to 932 in 2009. SPLC said this increase caps a decade in which the
number of hate groups surged by 55 percent from 2000 to 2009 (602 groups to 932).

Potok says the expansion of hate groups in 2009 would have been much greater if
not for the demise of the American National Socialist Workers Party, a key
neo-Nazi group whose founder, Bill White, was arrested in October 2008. The
group had 35 chapters.

Taken together, these three radical strands -- antigovernment Patriot groups,
nativist extremist groups and hate groups -- increased their numbers by
approximately 40 percent in 2009, according to Potok.

Potok said one of the main fears is that these radical groups are infiltrating
mainstream groups like the Tea Party movement because of cross pollination of
individuals who attend radical group meetings and more mainstream gatherings.

Potok said he thinks that the climate today matches that of the 'white hot'
tension among anti-government groups prior to the Oklahoma City bombing that
killed 150 people in 1995.

"Another Oklahoma City is very much a possibility," said Potok.

Copyright © 2010 ABC News Internet Ventures

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