Today I received another reminder in my email of why Alex Jones and the John Birch Society and other conspiracy fanatics on the far right who claim to be libertarians or at least paleocons are nothing of the sort. (also available in article form.
This took the form of a lengthy collection of links and brief observations drawn from a variety of websites run by Alex Jones and the John Birch Society and other even more questionable folks, focusing on the "invasion" of American towns by private security companies, which is apparently some sort of diabolical plot to advance the police state and implement the dreaded New World Order.
Apparently this horrific development has taken place in exactly two towns nationwide, though the only one they are able to actually name is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And although described as an "invasion" it appears to be nothing more sinister than merely contracting out some police services to properly trained private security in order to save money, all of which is self-evident from information provided in the article.
Bizarrely, almost all of the actual complaints against law enforcement raised in the various links accompanying the article refer to abuse of power by actual police officers who work directly for local government and are not private contractors. The only specific activities ascribed to private security firms are "driving around in police patrol vehicles" and "harassing citizens." Very vague and pretty much what police are supposed to do, so long as the harassing is confined to suspected criminals.
The article also includes a screed against the use of private security contractors and mercenaries in overseas military operations and a grab-bag of typical Bircher lunacy about the NWO using foreign troops to suppress American dissent, FEMA and ATF stormtroopers, etc. Lots of good supporting links to absolute lunacy at infoward.com and the JBS's newamerican.com.
Article comments
1 - Ralph
For examples of actual Libertarians at work, please see: Libertarian International
2 - Alan Kurtz
Sometimes it's enough to just say that Birchers and Infowarriors are nuts and ignore them …
Dave, I respectfully disagree. As long as reasonable people dismiss such groups as nuts and ignore them, they have the field to themselves. That helps explain their apparently growing appeal. It's time to take these folks seriously. (And by that I include applying parody and satire, which are among the most potent weapons in democracy's arsenal.) Dismissing them as nuts is lazy and irresponsible. And ignoring them is the worst possible strategy. If one of us, God forbid, should develop warning signs of a treatable disease, ignoring those signs could allow that disease to progress to an untreatable stage; by then, it's too late to fight back and we are doomed.
So I commend you, Dave, for this thoughtful blog debunking false but persuasive (to those so predisposed, anyway) claims by Birchers and Infowarriors. I trust this approach will, in the long haul, be far more effective than either name-calling or obliviousness.
3 - pablo
yawn
4 - Glenn Contrarian
Dave -
but it is quite clear that these purveyors of hate and misinformation are no friends of liberty or the Constitution.
You were referring to the John Birch Society, among others. It's very interesting that you would have such a quite true opinion of them, seeing as how the John Birch Society co-sponsored the CPAC convention this past February.
5 - Joseph Cotto
Dave. I strongly agree with Alan's statement as ignoring the Birchers and their fellow travelers which fawn over the subhuman anti-Semite, anti-capitalist, anti-military, and anti-American thing Alex Jones will only create an opportunity for them to enjoy a field day in spreading their abhorrent propagations. It is essential that they be publicly repudiated in only the most vocal of manners and exposed for the enemies of civilized society that they are. You are very effective at this on your website, Idiotwars, which I read from time to time. Nonetheless, it must be recognized that the Birchers and Jones's Flavor Aid-chugging groupies will have the capability to inflict much harm upon our nation's political process if they are able to grow in number. Unfortunately, the societal and economic conditions which we are currently experiencing could not provide them with a better climate for peddling their vitriol and it getting a frighteningly receptive audience. Pretending that the Birchers and Jones's followers do not exist might appear to be ideal on the surface, but in reality it is only self-delusion.
6 - STM
Nice. Dave ... what happened to those excellent nut-watch pieces you used to post up on your blog?? This qualifies, but couldn't find the others today.
7 - Chris
Wow alex jones hates jews now. Learn something new everyday