Some pics I took of the "Veterans" (Tea Party) rally today

[freshwest]

72. I think the Secret Service is up to speed, but after the returning vets like Kokesh, Agui and others

that have clear teabag or RWNJ leanings, the number of shootings by those who were trained, the stories of White Supremacists who joined for no purpose other than to learn to make war, the Christian Nationalists, etc. into the services we've heard about on DU and some extremely anti-PBO vets I've met...

I wonder what percentage there are, especially those who came back and were unable to get jobs. Obama has done all he could for them, but the reality is that there could be disaffected vets who blame the government for everything.

They may have just cause to hate the government, as other veterans did in unpopular wars, but they volunteered. But for some it was a forced choice due to lack of educational and economic opportunity. And Rush Limbaugh is STILL spewing his hatred on Armed Forces stations.

I'm not calling to question the loyalty of DUers who served, took an oath to protect the Constitution, but there is the dark side, the Oathkeepers, who want it all torn down for a libertarian (and theocracy is the goal) revolution to remove the government.

There is big money behind all of that, as shown in this picture, widely posted:



...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..."

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/07/oath-keepers-heart-snowden

Their piece of their intent is in itself is not that bad, and I don't give a rat's ass about Snowden. It's the Oathkeepers that have me worried. Always have, as they are part of the Christian Nationalist Movement. I've seen in Christian bullets their meetings which they fill up large auditoriums and they are not open to all. The SPLC says:

Oath Keepers to Form ‘Civilization Preservation’ Teams in Anticipation of Societal Collapse

by Ryan Lenz on October 2, 2013



The Oath Keepers are going operational.

An article posted to the group’s website Tuesday announced the formation of “Civilization Preservation” units, basely loosely on the organization of U.S. Special Forces teams, to provide “community security and support during crisis” – but also “to assist in forming and training town and county militias.”

These comically named 12-person teams would consist of two communications experts, two medics, two combat engineers, two weapons experts, two operations leaders, a commander and his assistant – positions that would be filled by the law enforcement officers and former military personnel who comprise the Oath Keepers. The Oath Keepers imagines that these units would be scattered across the country, working with other veterans organizations such as the VFW, American Legion and Marine Corps League, to lead communities “in resistance to oppressive regimes.”

More at link where it says, 'continue to full post' which details there are 30K members with reader comments. There are other stories at the link:

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/?s=oathkeepers

I don't think SPLC is into scaring people, but having seen the uptick in gun shops, Obama hate and Second Amendment Solution bumper stickers, hate radio taking over even in my area, I'll admit I'm getting a bit worried.

If the government defaults many people I know will lose their residences in November. Their loved ones who depend on SS, Medicare and Medicaid will lose their homes and care. None of this has to happen. I see very positive things happening and negative ones as well. If I thought that we'd recover after default, it'd be one thing. But I don't:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110218177

These bastids want this. And I don't know if SPLC or Mother Jones are into scaring people with things that are not true. Sorry for the long post, guess I'm just venting here.