So S 1959 Does Not Pose a Threat? Think Again…

From American Everyman:

by Scott Creighton

Two of the most common arguments from those who suggest we should not be concerned about S 1959 relate to their assumptions that :

1. The bill does not contain language that will do anything more than set up a committee,
2. It is not the intention of the writers of this bill to use it against those people who simply disagree with the commonly held “belief system”.

***UPDATE: During the November 28 CNN special Campaign Killers: Why Do Negative Ads Work?, CNN anchor Campbell Brown said: “General David Petraeus made his reputation taking on insurgents in Iraq. But when he came to Capitol Hill in September, he was confronted by American insurgents, a liberal anti-war group called MoveOn.org.” from an article by Media Matters, here. ***

rebuttal after break…

Rebuttal; Part 1. From S. 1959

. “‘‘SEC. 899B. FINDINGS.

‘‘The Congress finds the following: ‘‘(1) The development and implementation of methods and processes that can be used to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in the United States is critical to combating domestic terrorism.”

Notice that it states clearly that this bill is designed for the purpose of “development and implementation of methods and processes…” not just a study, but also the processes that will come from the study to remove the perceived “threat”. And of course, who decides what is a “threat” and what is not?

‘‘(2) VIOLENT RADICALIZATION.-The term ‘violent radicalization’ means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.”

“Adopting or promoting…” that is very dangerous language! Have you “adopted” an extremist belief system? Have you promoted one?

What do they consider an “extremist belief system?

Well, that goes to the second part of my response…

Rebuttal; Part 2. Homeland Security Subcommittee Hearing on H.R. 1955 (House version of 1959)

From YouTube the opening statement is below the actual transcript.

Transcript of Mark Weitzman of the Simon Wiesenthal Center Hate and Terrorism Task Force before the Homeland Security Subcommittee US House of Representatives.

“We have been tracking at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, instances of internet extremism, going back to the mid 1980’s when they began as off-shoots of US extremists such as Tom Metzger, Lewis Bean, and David Duke, ect… in the early bulletin board systems and have subsequently expanded.

One of the things we have discovered is that the methods used by both our homegrown extremist as well as international extremists are the same.

By trying to appeal to a closed group, that is to create a closed environment, they helped to influence the process of radicalization as has been described earlier.

I am not going to continue by summarizing up the written testimony as much as I am going to demonstrate some of the things we have been talking about and the panel has discussed already. Some of these are conspiracy theories that present a closed view of the world such as blaming 9/11 as an “outside” job, as in, by the US Government…”

It is interesting to note that he continues and talks about Jihadist sites and Iraq insurgency support site, but the very first thing he talks about are 9/11Truth sites!

You may not be a fan of the 9/11Truth movement, but how do you feel about free speech? The very first thing Mark mentions in his presentation is the 9/11 Truth movement! And that is deeply troubling to anyone who believes we have a right to say and to think what we want to in this country.

Below is the actual opening from the meeting where he talks about the targets of this bill.