Guest Voice: Chuck Baldwin: Update on Hutaree Militia Case

Original Source Here

With much media fanfare, 9 members of a Michigan militia were arrested last March and charged with “seditious conspiracy”–specifically, plotting to murder law enforcement officers. Ostensibly, this was supposed to precipitate some kind of wholesale revolt against the government. Question: Have any of you heard anyone from the propaganda press corps (national news media) tell you what has been happening with this case? No? Did you not wonder why? Well, I’ll tell you why: the case has fallen apart.

The first indication of the Feds’ case going bad was a local report in the Toledo (Ohio) Blade, dated April 28, 2010. “An FBI agent who led the investigation of nine Michigan militia members charged with trying to launch war against the federal government couldn’t recall many details of the two-year probe yesterday during questioning by defense lawyers.

“Even the judge who must decide whether to release the nine until trial was puzzled.

“‘I share the frustrations of the defense team . . . that she doesn’t know anything,’ U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts said after agent Leslie Larsen confessed she hadn’t reviewed her notes recently and couldn’t remember specific details of the case.”

See the report at:

http://www.toledoblade.com/article/20100428/NEWS02/4280343/-1/rss

Can you believe testimony such as this was given in a court of law by a supposedly intelligent federal officer–an agent who had supposedly compiled the evidence that was used to arrest and incarcerate these supposedly “dangerous militia members”? If it wasn’t so serious, this would be a joke!

Remember that it was a federal informant who had infiltrated the group and even offered to teach Hutaree members how to make improvised explosive devices. On this point, William Grigg wrote, “While federal prosecutors have provided ample evidence that members of the Hutaree are passionately anti-government–what decent person ISN’T–they haven’t been able to demonstrate that the group did anything more than engage in survivalist training and indulge in apocalyptic rhetoric.” (Emphasis in the original.)

As a result, Judge Roberts found the government’s case sorely lacking. “Discussions about killing local law enforcement officers–and even discussions about killing members of the judicial branch of government–do not translate to conspiring to overthrow, or levy war against, the United States government,” she wrote, ordering that the Hutaree suspects be released on bail.

About which, Grigg wrote, “Since the federal case against the Hutaree rests entirely on what was SAID by the suspects, rather than anything specific  that was DONE by them, it’s difficult to see what’s left of it [the case].” (Emphasis in the original.)

See Grigg’s column at:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/57041.html

But then again, punishing people because of their speech or political associations seems to be exactly where America is heading.

Remember that the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is famous for supplying Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Fusion Centers and State law enforcement agencies with warnings against people due to their political
beliefs (pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, anti-United Nations, anti-New World Order, or anti-illegal immigration, for example), their associations (Libertarian or Constitution parties, for example), or even who they voted for (Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or Chuck Baldwin, to be precise). Previous reports even identified people as “dangerous” because of the books they were reading. (Tell me, again: this is the United States and not Nazi Germany, right?)

Now consider the statements of US Congressman Andre Carson (D-Indiana), who likens Tea Party protesters to “a terrorist threat.”

Washington Times reporter Kerry Picket recorded Rep. Carson as he explained it all:

Kerry Picket (Washington Times): “Do you think the people outside [Tea Party protesters] are generally dangerous or no?”

Rep. Carson: “Oh, absolutely. I worked in homeland security. I’m from intelligence, and I’ll tell you, one of the largest threats to our internal security  . . . I mean terrorism has an Islamic face, but it really comes from racial supremacist groups. (inaudible) It’s the kind of thing we keep a threat assessment on record [for].”

Larry O’Connor at BigGovernment.com then wrote, “And we can now see this two pronged message continuing in the narrative from Democratic politicians and the media: The Tea Party protests are really about white rage and they are
sowing the seeds for domestic terrorism. This was the message delivered by Rep. Carson that afternoon and that is the message the media has run with.

“Only problem is, we can’t find any proof to back up Rep. Carson’s story.”

See the report at:

http://tinyurl.com/teaparty-terrorism

The truth is, if the federal government and its prostitutes at the SPLC have their way, ANYONE COULD BE IMPRISONED FOR ANYTHING! Don’t believe physicians should destroy human life in the womb? You’re a terrorist. Don’t like the United Nations? You’re a terrorist. Believe immigrants should come through the front door when migrating to America? You’re a terrorist. Voted for Ron Paul? You’re a terrorist. Believe in the return of Jesus Christ? You’re a terrorist. Ad infinitum. Ad nauseam.

Again, maybe this helps explain why all those (non-existent) FEMA camps are being built!

In my initial column on the Hutaree raid, I wrote, “Did members of the Hutaree intend to carry out aggressive violence against law enforcement personnel? I have no idea. Until this story broke in the national media, I had never heard of this group. I will wait for the facts to come out–if indeed the federal government and national media even allow the facts to come out.”

See my column at:

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=1177

Well, the facts are beginning to come out: The FBI agent who brought the charges against these self-professed militia members made a complete fool of herself under oath in a court of law. She presented zero evidence to indicate that the Hutaree posed an imminent threat to anybody. Now that the judge has released the Hutaree members from jail and rebuked the agent for presenting such inept testimony, we’ll see if the Feds decide to pursue the case any further. Again, as Will Grigg said, “Since the federal case against the Hutaree rests entirely on what was SAID by the suspects, rather than anything specific that was DONE by them, it’s difficult to see what’s left of it [the case].”

However, the bigger question is, How far will Big-Government toadies try to take this Nazi-like philosophy: that anyone who believes in limited government and freedom, and who rejects their sanctimonious attitude and bullying is a “dangerous terrorist”? And even greater is the question, How long will the American people put up with it?

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Obama nominates a dyke for SCOTUS

Ah Lovely, that’s all we need; some morally depraved homo in the Supreme Court.

Go Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here. You can read the blogger round up here.

What’s next? Men in drag?

So much for that “Christian Nation”, that I hear people on the far right talking about all the time. 🙄

RedState Update on the Tennessee Floods

(H/T HotAir)

As you know, I wrote about the floods in Tennessee. Here’s RedState Update’s take on it. It is, as always, hilarious.

How you can help:

Arizona Gov to Obama: 'Hey Joker Bitch Boy, you ain't funny'

(via JWF, H/T Hotair.com)

Countdown to Democrats crying raaaaacist in 5…..4….3….2…….

News from a Different Perspective

Disclaimer: I present this little newsletter as a different perspective on the news. I will give you a fair warning; the author of this newsletter is a Fundamental Baptist. In the interest of full disclosure, I am, doctrinally, also a Fundamentalist. This is not to say that I do not have issue with the 21 century Fundamentalist movement, especially among the Baptists.  But I do agree with most of this newsletter. This is the difference between Conservatives and liberals. We Conservatives, and yes, even “Right of Centers” like me, are quite tolerant of others opinions. Unlike Liberals, who will turn on someone who disagrees with them. Having said all that, I present the newsletter…

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PDF VERSION

FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES

May 7, 2010, Volume 11, Issue 19

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

THE WORST PROBLEM WITH IB FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL (Friday Church News Notes, May 7, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – In my estimation, the worst problem with Clarence Sexton’s Independent Baptist Friends International movement is that it has circled the wagons against “criticism.” The reason I joined an Independent Baptist church in 1973 not long after I was converted was the separated Christian living, the willingness to take the whole Bible seriously, even “fanatically,” and the bold defense of the faith. I had grown up in Billy Graham’s denomination, the king of non-judgmentalism and the chief enemy of Biblical separation in our generation. Being convinced that the Graham philosophy is unscriptural, I joined the Independent Baptists. It was in the early 1990s that I first saw signs of a bold rejection of separation among Independent Baptists and the spread of the damnable New Evangelical “judge not” philosophy. This occurred in conjunction with the rapid growth of Contemporary Christian Music and its contemporary Southern Gospel counterpart. Widespread love for carnal music accelerated the spread of the non-judgmental philosophy among Independent Baptists. Music, we are told, is an inconsequential issue. The Promise Keepers movement was another catalyst for the non-judgmental philosophy. When I exposed the ecumenism of Promise Keepers, I was rebuked and mocked by the some IB leaders. They argued that the good outweighed the bad and that we should be glad that men were being taught to assume their spiritual responsibilities. This is the theme-song of Independent Baptist Friends International. When I wrote a lengthy e-mail to Pastor Sexton, a gracious and respectful e-mail expressing my concerns, he did not even acknowledge its receipt. He knows of me and my ministry; he has preached in my home church and has talked with my pastor on several occasions. I have heard from several other men who have tried to communicate with Sexton about this matter and have been ignored, some of whom consider him a personal friend and all of whom appreciate him as a brother in the Lord and a fellow soldier for Christ. I am not talking about ignoring warnings from a man’s hateful enemies; I am talking about ignoring warnings from friends. And not just ignoring the warnings, but even treating the warners as troublemakers. I have received angry e-mails from several men rebuking me for speaking out against IB Friends. They say that I should shut up and just focus on the “big issues.” Well, I’m not going to shut up. Big problems usually grow from small ones. God has instructed me to prove ALL things, to preach with rebuke and reproof, to earnestly contend for the faith. Without judging and reproof, there is no mechanism of correction and error can grow apace. Sexton urges all of us to be friends, and I am all for it. God’s Word tells me that the wounds of a friend are faithful (Prov. 27:6). Paul was a friend when he rebuked Peter’s “small” hypocrisy. He was a friend when he reproved the church at Corinth for their errors, including such “small” things as the sin of misusing the Lord’s supper and taking one another to court. I urge Clarence Sexton to stop stonewalling reproof, to stop pretending that criticism of IB Friends is some sort of carnal persecution. I urge him to publicly acknowledge that his friends have every biblical right and responsibility to criticize what he is doing. I have a suspicion that his critics in this matter are the best friends that he has.

Continue reading “News from a Different Perspective”

Fallout: More on the NYT bomber

One thing I will say about the media. They really can get the story. Yeah, I know, they’re liberally biased. But so is Fox News.

The Latest via CBS NEWS:

Sources tell CBS News that would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad appeared on a Department of Homeland Security travel lookout list – Traveler Enforcement Compliance System (TECS) – between 1999 and 2008 because he brought approximately $80,000 cash or cash instruments into the United States.

TECS is a major law enforcement computer system that allows its approximately 120,000 users from 20 federal agencies to share information. The database is designed to identify individuals suspected of or involved in violation of federal law.

Another feather in Obama’s cap. 😉 Seriously, it does predate him. So, I will not blame him.

More this guy and his background Here, and Here. The Liberals are saying, “But a Muslim stopped the attack“!

Gabriel Malor over at Ace of Spades HQ lays the smack down on that idiotic nonsense:

Let me translate: the Left really want the legacy media to congratulate a member of the Muslim community because despite his faith he didn’t simply stand around and let a carbomb kill people. Really, that’s the story these Lefty bloggers are pushing. Otherwise there’s no point in bringing up his religion. And they say that we’re the ones with a repugnant view of Islam…

Third, this idea relies on the logical impossibility that Niasse knew he was helping stop Muslim terrorism. There’s no way he could have known that. I suppose he could have assumed that a carbombing was likely to be perpetrated by Muslims, but I doubt very much the Lefty blogs will appreciate that line of reasoning.

Finally, you don’t get bonus points for doing the right thing. Niasse was in danger himself. Of course, he went to the NYPD. He’s a t-shirt vendor in Times Square and Times Square was under attack. The Left seems to believe that this fellow did something heroic, but in fact he simply noticed smoke coming from a running vehicle and flagged down a nearby police officer. I’m glad he did, but it was hardly out of the ordinary. I would expect the same from anyone, regardless of their race, religion, nationality, or political ideology. Indeed, that’s one of the many reasons I am not a Leftist: my expectations don’t change depending on the skin color, politics, or religion of whoever I’m talking about.

So very well put. Bill O’Reilly was talking about it last night. That the left is now saying that because this man defaulted on his mortgage is why he did this. Which is, of course, B.S. as usual. The dude did it, because he was pissed at America because of our trying to stop Al-Qeada in Pakistan. Hmmm, Sounds like Ron Paul’s people. They have so much in common.

Memo to John McCain: Will you please shut up?

I swear this douche nozzle is about as goofy is his fat ass daughter:

It would have been a serious mistake to have read the suspect in the attempted Times Square car bombing his Miranda rights, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday.

McCain, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a longtime leading Republican on national security issues, said he expected the suspect in the case could face charges that might warrant a death sentence if convicted.

“Obviously that would be a serious mistake…at least until we find out as much information we have,” McCain said during an appearance on “Imus in the Morning” when asked whether the suspect, 30-year-old Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen from Pakistan.

“Don’t give this guy his Miranda rights until we find out what it’s all about,” McCain added.

via McCain: ‘Serious mistake’ if car bombing suspect was Mirandized – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room. (Video Here)

Uh, Duh! The man is an American Citizen and he is afforded the rights of our Justice system. What a freaking idiot. 🙄

Here’s a video that explains that: (H/T Ed @ HotAir.com)

So, yes, he is an American Citizen, he is afforded rights. Ed Morrissey explains it better:

Beck and Napolitano are correct. Shahzad is an American citizen, arrested by law enforcement in America. As a US citizen, Shahzad has the right to remain silent. In that sense, he differs from the EunuchBomber, who attempted to enter the country (our airspace) to conduct a sabotage mission for an enemy of the US. Ambdulmuttalab should have immediately been taken into custody by military and intelligence agencies, not the FBI, in order to make his status as an enemy combatant clear.

So, there. McCain, put that in your pipe and smoke it, you idiot. 🙄

As for the left, they’re crying the blues because it was not a racist Tea Bagging Klansman or something:

Others on these subjects: The Plum Line, The Moderate Voice, The Note, Firedoglake, The Corner on National …, Commentary, Washington Post, neo-neocon, The Confluence, Associated Press, Jules Crittenden, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, Swampland, Daily Kos, Questions and Observations, Brilliant at Breakfast, Dean’s World and YID With LID —- Complete Round Up Here

UPDATED: Bomb Scare in New York's Times Square

I missed this last night; because I went to bed early. Which I have been doing for a good long while now.

Video of reaction on the Street: (H/T Gateway Pundit)

The New York Times Reports:

A crude car bomb of propane, gasoline and fireworks was discovered in a smoking Nissan Pathfinder in the heart of Times Square on Saturday evening, prompting the evacuation of thousands of tourists and theatergoers on a warm and busy night. Although the device had apparently started to detonate, there was no explosion, and early on Sunday the authorities were still seeking a suspect and motive.

“We are very lucky,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said at a 2:15 a.m. press conference. “We avoided what could have been a very deadly event.”

A large swath of Midtown — from 43rd Street to 48th Street, and from Sixth to Eighth Avenues — was closed for much of the evening after the Pathfinder was discovered just off Broadway on 45th Street. Several theaters and stores, as well as the South Tower of the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel, were evacuated.

Mr. Bloomberg was joined by Gov. David A. Paterson, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and other officials at the early morning press conference to give a chronology of the vehicle’s discovery, its disarming, and the investigation that has been launched. The mayor and police commissioner had returned early from the annual White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington.

At 6:28 p.m., Mr. Kelly said, a video surveillance camera recorded what was believed to be the dark green Nissan S.U.V. driving west on 45th Street.

Moments later, a T-shirt vendor on the sidewalk saw smoke coming out of vents near the back seat of the S.U.V., which was now parked awkwardly at the curb with its engine running and its hazard lights on. The vendor called to a mounted police officer, the mayor said, who smelled gunpowder when he approached the S.U.V. and called for assistance. The police began evacuating Times Square, starting with businesses along Seventh Avenue, including a Foot Locker store and a McDonald’s.

Police officers from the emergency service unit and firefighters flooded the area and were troubled by the hazard lights and running engine, and by the fact that the S.U.V. was oddly angled in the street. At this point, a firefighter from Ladder 4 reported hearing several “pops” from within the vehicle. The police also learned that the Pathfinder had the wrong license plates on it.

Members of the Police Department’s bomb squad donned protective gear, broke the Pathfinder’s back windows and sent in a “robotic device” to “observe” it, said Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, the police department’s chief spokesman.

Inside, they discovered three canisters of propane like those used for barbecue grills, two five-gallon cans of gasoline, consumer-grade fireworks — the apparent source of the “pops” — and two clocks with batteries, the mayor said. He said the device “looked amateurish.”

Mr. Browne said: “It appeared it was in the process of detonating, but it malfunctioned.”

Bomb squad officers also discovered a two-by-two-by-four-foot metal box — described as a “gun locker” — in the S.U.V. that was taken to the Police Department’s firing range at Rodman’s Neck in the Bronx to be destroyed, Mr. Kelly said. It was not immediately known what, if anything, was inside it.

Officials said they had no reports of anyone seen running from the vehicle. Mr. Kelly said police were scouring the area for any additional videotapes but noted that the S.U.V.’s windows were tinted, which could further hamper any efforts to identify those inside. Some of the surveillance cameras nearby were located in closed businesses, and the mayor made clear it would take time to review all available tapes.

Obviously, I am glad that this idiot or these idiots were not successful. Hopefully, the FBI nabs these guys. As you can imagine; The right is hollering “Jihad!” and the left, of course, is playing it down. Personally, I am not going to do either. Because obviously someone intended to cause some pain here. As to whom it was, I am sure the FBI either knows by now or is close to finding out.

What I now look for, is for the media, especially Fox News and the rest of the Conservative talkers to politicize the crap out of this. Which I think is sad; for all we know these idiots could have been just some people trying to scare people. I think everyone should just wait until the investigation is complete; then have at it. But they will not; which is sad.

Update: Bloomburg is on it, as usual:

Good catch by AllahPundit, NYC Police and FBI are checking a possible South Park link. Bomb was set off near Viacom’s offices, which owns that Cartoon:

The device, which failed to detonate, was left near the offices of Viacom, which owns the irreverent cartoon series.

Last month postings on an Islamic website warned the creators of South Park – Matt Stone and Trey Parker – that they could face violent reprisals after an episode of the show featured Muhammad in a bear suit.

A posting on the website of a US-based group called Revolution Muslim warned Stone and Parker that they would “probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh”, the Dutch film-maker who was murdered in 2004 by a Muslim angered by his film about Muslim women.

Images of the Prophet are strictly forbidden in Islam, and Comedy Central, which broadcasts South Park, has banned Stone and Parker from depicting Muhammad in the past. In 2006 the network stopped them from featuring Muhammad in an episode which followed worldwide protests over a caricature of the Prophet by a Danish cartoonist.

Detectives are also understood to be investigating striking similarities between the New York bomb and two car bombs planted by Islamic terrorists outside the Tiger Tiger nightclub in London in 2007.

In both cases, the devices comprised cylinders of propane gas and cans full of petrol intended to be ignited by electronic detonators.

David Paterson, the Governor of New York, described the Times Square incident as an “act of terrorism.”

Wouldn’t it be nice, if they tied that to the guys at Revolution Muslim and put those idiots in jail?

Update #2: Video of the SUV:

AllahPundit Says:

“a Brazilian tourist was right there with camera rolling as the “firecrackers” in the back of the SUV went off. My understanding of the incident until now was that only the local street vendors noticed something amiss and that the cops moved people in the area way back before anything happened in the vehicle. Not so. As you’ll see, there were still crowds around and the firecrackers themselves were heavy duty enough to cause a serious boom. Listen to the guy off-camera shouting about the Taliban 30 seconds in; bystanders clearly knew what the risk was here. If you’re a New Yorker, especially a New Yorker who was in the city on 9/11, this is tough to watch.”

…and Obama says this is nothing to get excited about. 😡

The Blogger round up is a big one: Hot Air, protein wisdom, Runnin’ Scared, Left Coast Rebel, The Page, Pajamas Media, Atlas Shrugs, Newsweek Blogs, Gothamist, LA Observed, Mediaite, Gateway Pundit, Winds of Change.NET, Boing Boing, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, The Jawa Report, TalkLeft, Firedoglake, Questions and Observations, Below The Beltway, Press Association, The Moderate Voice and This Just InComplete Round up at Memeornadum

I am not one to criticize Ed Morrissey, but…

Well, except when he goes on a tirade about the unions. 😉

Anyhow, I happen to notice this over at HotAir.com:

I just received my copy of the book and will try to complete reading it before Aaron appears on The Ed Morrissey Show this week to discuss the book. The book follows the efforts of David Freddoso’s The Case Against Barack Obama (reviewed here) and Jerome Corsi’s Obama Nation. Both of those books shed light on Obama’s past political associations and efforts, but didn’t get as much traction as they deserved, thanks to a wave of popular support for Obama.

To put it in context; Ed is reviewing a book. However, he could have written up that Blog entry without mentioning Jerome Corsi and I would have had zero to say about it. The problem I have with Corsi is this; the dude is a habitual liar and his crazy conspiracy theories, like where Obama was born, have been proven to be false, even within Conservative circles.

I respect Ed and AP over at HotAir; Because I feel it to be one of the more mainstream Conservative sites out there. HotAir is not, nor do I hope it ever becomes WorldNetDaily. Mentioning Jerome Corsi in the same breath as Obama does nothing at all to further that cause of being a respectable mainstream Blog.

So, Ed. Consider this a friendly and mild objection. Please, don’t go there. We do have an election to win this year.

That is all.