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Showing Original Post only (View all)Oath Keepers Heart Edward Snowden! [View all]
Oath Keepers Heart Edward Snowden!
By Stephanie Mencimer
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has earned quite a following, sometimes in unlikely quarters. The latest evidence comes in the form of this billboard recently installed inside the subway station that serves the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. The billboard was paid for by the Oath Keepers, a "patriot" group founded in 2009 not long after President Obama took office. The controversial organization, founded by a former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) staffer and associated with former militia leaders, encourages members of the military and law enforcement to swear an oath of loyalty to the Constitution, and not necessarily to the Commander in Chief. The Oath Keepers pledge to essentially turn on the US government if they think they're being ordered to do things that they think are unconstitutional, such as, for instance, taking people's guns away.
They arrived on the scene with much fanfare and were often staples at tea party and Second Amendment rallies organized around opposition to the tyrannical Obama administration. Their ranks are filled with Birthers, Truthers, and others who see black helicopters lurking at every turn. Their highest profile associates have been people like Mike Vanderboegh, the former Alabama militia leader who urged followers to throw bricks through the windows of Democratic offices to protest the passage of healthcare reform. (Some actually did.) But the Oath Keepers have since dropped out of the limelight, the dictatorship they were preparing for never quite materializing.
But the group has reemerged with a new project, which involves billboards like the Snowden one at the Pentagon Metro station. The Oath Keepers initially set out to put up billboards around military bases to "Educate Troops About Their Oath Bound Duty to Refuse Unconstitutional Orders," and to "counter the propaganda of the domestic enemies of the Constitution," according to their website. So far this year, they've installed one near the Twenty Nine Palms Marine base in California, with plans to target Ft. Hood, in Texas, and Ft. Rucker in Alabama.
The first billboard went up last year across from Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, in response to a retired Army colonel who enraged tea partiers and gun activists with a paper he wrote describing a hypothetical scenario in which the military might have to intervene on US soil. The hypothetical involves an "extremist militia motivated by the goals of the tea party movement" that takes over a town in South Carolina and starts an insurrection. The "tea party insurrectionists" in the paper sound a lot like the Oath Keepers, who took great offense to the paper and responded with a billboard screaming, "Colonel 'Red Coat' Benson, The Tea Party is Not the Enemy. Soldiers! Honor Your Oath. Refuse To Fire On Americans."
- more -
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/07/oath-keepers-heart-snowden
By Stephanie Mencimer
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has earned quite a following, sometimes in unlikely quarters. The latest evidence comes in the form of this billboard recently installed inside the subway station that serves the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. The billboard was paid for by the Oath Keepers, a "patriot" group founded in 2009 not long after President Obama took office. The controversial organization, founded by a former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) staffer and associated with former militia leaders, encourages members of the military and law enforcement to swear an oath of loyalty to the Constitution, and not necessarily to the Commander in Chief. The Oath Keepers pledge to essentially turn on the US government if they think they're being ordered to do things that they think are unconstitutional, such as, for instance, taking people's guns away.
They arrived on the scene with much fanfare and were often staples at tea party and Second Amendment rallies organized around opposition to the tyrannical Obama administration. Their ranks are filled with Birthers, Truthers, and others who see black helicopters lurking at every turn. Their highest profile associates have been people like Mike Vanderboegh, the former Alabama militia leader who urged followers to throw bricks through the windows of Democratic offices to protest the passage of healthcare reform. (Some actually did.) But the Oath Keepers have since dropped out of the limelight, the dictatorship they were preparing for never quite materializing.
But the group has reemerged with a new project, which involves billboards like the Snowden one at the Pentagon Metro station. The Oath Keepers initially set out to put up billboards around military bases to "Educate Troops About Their Oath Bound Duty to Refuse Unconstitutional Orders," and to "counter the propaganda of the domestic enemies of the Constitution," according to their website. So far this year, they've installed one near the Twenty Nine Palms Marine base in California, with plans to target Ft. Hood, in Texas, and Ft. Rucker in Alabama.
The first billboard went up last year across from Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, in response to a retired Army colonel who enraged tea partiers and gun activists with a paper he wrote describing a hypothetical scenario in which the military might have to intervene on US soil. The hypothetical involves an "extremist militia motivated by the goals of the tea party movement" that takes over a town in South Carolina and starts an insurrection. The "tea party insurrectionists" in the paper sound a lot like the Oath Keepers, who took great offense to the paper and responded with a billboard screaming, "Colonel 'Red Coat' Benson, The Tea Party is Not the Enemy. Soldiers! Honor Your Oath. Refuse To Fire On Americans."
- more -
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/07/oath-keepers-heart-snowden
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"They arrived on the scene with much fanfare and were often staples at tea party and Second....
Tarheel_Dem
Jul 2013
#80
Who said you can't question? And yes, his motivation is of paramount importance to many of us.
Tarheel_Dem
Jul 2013
#207
Well that's it then. Call your Reps in Congress. It's the only way to address it now. nt
Tarheel_Dem
Jul 2013
#209
That is not the latest poll. That is from July 5th, before the public fully understood
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#118
No, he won't. He would be kept in solitary, probably tortured (for his own good) like Manning
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#163
Well, excuse me for taking more than a few minutes to get back to a request on the internet. Sorry
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#160
Not strange. Just opposition to the black President under the cloak of supporting the Constitution.
kelliekat44
Jul 2013
#133
You side with John Bolton on drone strikes, and Dick Cheney on domestic surveillance.
Marr
Jul 2013
#4
Nice collection of unrelated links. You still agree with John Bolton and Dick Cheney. /nt
Marr
Jul 2013
#12
How silly. The fact is that Marr is correct, so it is not a good idea to try to smear someone
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#24
You started a preposterous game. Now that we all decided to play, you don't like the game.
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#37
The OP is so defensive that the only way to deal with it was to have some fun with it.
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#55
I would'nt worry, it's not working anymore. We have all had an awakening over the past
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#25
I thought you wanted to play a preposterous game. I love these games, always have. If you
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#39
You "thought" wrong, and screaming that I agree with Cheney is pure silliness. n/t
ProSense
Jul 2013
#56
Oh well then, I guess I will change my opinion of Snowden now, thank you.
Puzzledtraveller
Jul 2013
#16
What do you make of Cheney's and Bush's and King's and Fleischer's and Ledeen's
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#29
His non-fan club include Cheney, Bush, Fleischer, Limbaugh, Faux and 'we count the votes' Peter
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#32
I think everyone is enjoying this thread immensely. So see what you did, you united everyone
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#43
Nice deflection. I'm not, but why are you so defensive about this article? n/t
ProSense
Jul 2013
#41
One thing I've learned - it's not worth arguing with people with six-figure post counts.
reformist2
Jul 2013
#48
Alluding to someone's post count (whether high, low, whatever) was taboo on the old DU2.
Scurrilous
Jul 2013
#176
This is what we have to look forward to in 2014 and 2016 if the left doesn't come to its senses
AllINeedIsCoffee
Jul 2013
#49
I'm a heterosexual, 25-year-old caucasian male studying in a field that has a 4% unemployment rate.
AllINeedIsCoffee
Jul 2013
#66
Your failure is in thinking that critisism of a Dem means a no vote for the Dem.
L0oniX
Jul 2013
#73
So does the ACLU, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Daniel Ellsberg.
Tierra_y_Libertad
Jul 2013
#68
You are citing one group's opinion. I'm saying that there are groups that share that opinion.
Tierra_y_Libertad
Jul 2013
#74
So do liberals and progressives. Edward Snowden is an American hero, riding to warn us of danger
quinnox
Jul 2013
#76
You've posted this so many times that I'm starting to think you're just goofing on us...
Scurrilous
Jul 2013
#83
I'm not Snowden defender, but how simillar to the "Obama palling around with terrorists" attempt
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#78
Apparently some believe one can judge veracity and integrity by the most extreme of your supporters
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#93
Your intent in posting this is very clear to most on this thread, PRO.... Big fail.
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#96
Bullshit. The article is what it is. Projecting "intent" is purely a cheap deflection tactic.
ProSense
Jul 2013
#99
It is all our problem when one of our supposed "own" uses these kind of tactics
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#101
Pro--these character assasination by association tactics are the ultimate deflection...
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#105
Ugly ugly failing strategy, ProSense... I understand you have a stake in defending administration
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#108
Not just me that sees this as very wrong. You are better than this, ProSense...
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#114
Hey, go for it... Klayman and the group in your OP are kooks... That's not the point..
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#122
Right... I and four dozen others on the thread just "made up a point".... How, convenient when your
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#132
Even the most extremist RW groups in our society may express a real concern, even if their reasoning
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#120
I and about four dozens other here have made it very clear what this issue is. Feign confusion
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#126
Nor do you win debates by deflecting with straw men.... but you certainly are trying
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#142
Accusing ME of something I have never ever posted, uttered, or thought-- NICE and very dishonest, PR
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#149
You lied about me in your last post... attributing comments to me I NEVER said/posted.
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#153
No, I didn't. You (and others) are having trouble dealing with the content of the OP. n/t
ProSense
Jul 2013
#155
YOU MOST certainly attributed a comment I never made to me... THAT is the definition of lying.
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#157
THe direct evidence of your lie (post 146 ). Anyone here can verify I NEVER SAID THAT
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#164
You was generic. Not everyone is doing all those things. You (and other) are having trouble
ProSense
Jul 2013
#165
I deflect NOTHING... Your accusation/comment you attributed to me was a DEMONSTRABLE LIE...
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#171
^^^^ Everything you need to know (perhaps already suspected) about this poster^^^
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#173
Everything I need to know about you: You can't accept facts, and love to deflect.
ProSense
Jul 2013
#175
You lied (demonstrably and irrefutably). No, you don't get to play the vicitm.
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#178
Deflection, it's about you covering an embarrassing episode of false accusations. n/t
ProSense
Jul 2013
#181
Covering YOUR embarrassment, perhaps... YOU SHOULD BE embarrassed & ashamed at your lie.
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#182
You lied, PROSENSE (demonstrably and irrefutably). No, you don't get to play the vicitm.
hlthe2b
Jul 2013
#187
What you are telling everyone is that right and wrong do not figure in your opinions.
RC
Jul 2013
#159
Please stop projecting silliness. Don't want to read the OP report. Don't. n/t
ProSense
Jul 2013
#162
Christ, Hitler built the predecessor to the Interstate Highway. I like the Interstate Highway.
NuclearDem
Jul 2013
#174
Wow, awesome rewording! Considering I didn't even vote in 2008 or 2012, it's even more awesome!
NuclearDem
Jul 2013
#188
So I didn't participate in the consistently-rigged system that would have had me holding my nose
NuclearDem
Jul 2013
#191
Well, 'cause you rather come off as an unhinged crusader, and are relying on guilt by association
Scootaloo
Jul 2013
#192
No, that's your take, but then again anyone who supports Snowden would make that claim.
ProSense
Jul 2013
#194
Just because you use a word doesn't mean it's applicable; in this case, "projecting"
Scootaloo
Jul 2013
#210