This is going to be a rant. Maybe I can counterbalance today’s post that includes dead babies with a more light-hearted post tomorrow- perhaps about cute puppies?
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My wife turned to me today and asked, “Do you think this country is falling apart? Maybe we should get our passports renewed.”
Her question is timely, as for the past week or so, the news has been full of crazy, extremist, wingnuts publicly going off the deep-end.
The arrests this week of the Hutaree members comes amid what the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama nonprofit that tracks extremism, has called “an explosion of new extremist groups and activism across the nation.” The organization has cited the economic downturn as a major reason for the change, and contends that the far right has been particularly animated by the election of the nation’s first black president.
Those groups “came roaring back after years out of the limelight,” Mark Potok, director of the SPLC Intelligence Project, wrote in the group’s latest report. Last week, a new Harris poll reveals that 24 percent -repeating now, 24 percent- of Republicans say Obama “may be the Antichrist.”
So what’s a stump-jumpin’, ridge-runnin’ “Christian foot soldier” armed to the hilt who never outgrew playing army, creating an organization with a rank structure straight out of Pokemon to do?
“Preparing for the end time battles to keep the testimony of Jesus Christ alive” -Hutaree.com
From top left, David Brian Stone Sr., 44, of Clayton, Mich,; David Brian Stone Jr. of Adrian, Mich,; Jacob Ward, 33, of Huron, Ohio; Tina Mae Stone. Bottom row from left: Michael David Meeks, 40, of Manchester, Mich,; Kristopher T. Sickles, 27, of Sandusky, Ohio; Joshua John Clough, 28, of Blissfield, Mich.; and Thomas William Piatek, 46, of Whiting, Ind. (U.S. Marshall / Associated Press)
Yesterday, this from From The Detroit News:
Nine members of a Lenawee County-based militia group were planning to “levy war” against the United States and “oppose by force” the nation’s government, according to an indictment unsealed this morning in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
They had plans to kill a local law enforcement official and, once officers from across the country came to the funeral, to attack the funeral procession, the indictment alleges.
Because, apparently that is what Jesus would do.
Don’t we as first responders already have enough to worry about? This brings to mind this Pulitzer Prize winning photo by Charles H. Porter IV. It captures a moment in the life of Oklahoma City Firefighter Chris Fields, who on what is arguably the worst call on the worst day of his life, carries Baylee Almon, who became a dead baby shortly after the Murrah Federal Building was bombed in 1995.
- Pray you’ll never have a day like this
Accept my apologies for exposing you to the graphic image from that tragic day. But it bears close scrutiny in order to put the events of these last few days into some sort of perspective.
Imagine what could be going through Chris’s mind as he stares down at the face of such an innocent angel. Man, how does he still deal with that?
My brothers and sisters, home-grown terrorists who care not about killing babies and massacring cops at a policeman’s funeral don’t give a damn about you or your safety. In their dimly-lit skulls, these nutjobs are readying themselves for the violence of The Rapture, justifying their mission as following the teachings of the Christian faith.
You know- Thou Shalt Kill.
It’s not just extremist Muslims, folks.
It’s Frank from the car dealership and Jim Bob from the bait store. Another homegrown threat (again from Michigan) reminds us that terrorism is alive and well and thriving in the hearts and minds of those among us right here in the good old United States who call themselves Christian foot soldiers.
Because, apparently that is what Jesus would do.
Remember that scene safety is still at the top of the priority pyramid.
Be careful out there folks. It’s nuttier than ever.
I used to see myself as far from being an alarmist. Before uttering a response or invoking a knee-jerk emotion, I felt some pride knowing that I would first take the time to figure out what was being presented, then formulate an informed and measured response/decision/reaction.
Howabout that Avian (Bird) Flu of 2007? That was to be a major event. Although many were sickened and some lost their lives, it was not the end of days we were led to believe might occur. Human cases of bird flu peaked in 2006 at 115, with 79 deaths. The number has since declined, with 73 human cases and 32 deaths in 2009, the WHO said.
The pandemic sweeping across the country and the world brought at least one interesting question to mind that had previously not been considered:
“The CDC acknowledged that New York would only receive approximately 23 percent of its anticipated vaccine supply,” Paterson said. “As a result, we need to be as resourceful as we can with the limited supplies of vaccine currently coming into the state.”
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