Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

mr40, Oath Keepers and the Age of Treason

.. it's a very long one i've had on tab for some two weeks .. couldn't decide what to do with it .. now, here it is in full ..

Glenn Beck loves them. Tea Partiers court them. Congressmen listen to them. Meet the
fast-growing "patriot" group that's recruiting soldiers to resist the Obama administration.

—By Justine Sharrock | March/April 2010 Issue 1080

Photos by Lucian Read.

Keep your New Year's resolution to learn something new; read the story
below. To see more of 2010's best long-form magazine pieces, click here ..
http://www.motherjones.com/riff/2010/12/10-great-mojo-long-read-articles-2010.

THE .50 CALIBER Bushmaster bolt action rifle is a serious weapon. The model that Pvt. 1st Class Lee Pray is saving up for has a 2,500-yard range and comes with a Mark IV scope and an easy-load magazine. When the 25-year-old drove me to a mall in Watertown, New York, near the Fort Drum Army base, he brought me to see it in its glass case—he visits it periodically, like a kid coveting something at the toy store. It'll take plenty of military paychecks to cover the $5,600 price tag, but he considers the Bushmaster essential in his preparations to take on the US government when it declares martial law.

His belief that that day is imminent has led Pray to a group called Oath Keepers .. http://oathkeepers.org/oath/ , one of the fastest-growing "patriot" organizations on the right. Founded last April by Yale-educated lawyer and ex-Ron Paul aide Stewart Rhodes, the group has established itself as a hub in the sprawling anti-Obama movement that includes Tea Partiers, Birthers, and 912ers. Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, and Pat Buchanan have all sung its praises, and in December, a grassroots summit .. http://www.nationallibertyunitysummit.com/ .. it helped organize drew such prominent guests as representatives Phil Gingrey .. http://gingrey.house.gov/ .. and Paul Broun .. http://www.paulbroun.com/index2.html , both Georgia Republicans.

There are scores of patriot groups, but what makes Oath Keepers unique is that its core membership consists of men and women in uniform, including soldiers, police, and veterans. At regular ceremonies in every state, members reaffirm their official oaths of service, pledging to protect the Constitution—but then they go a step further, vowing to disobey "unconstitutional" orders from what they view as an increasingly tyrannical government.

https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=88485649

You and your oath keeper Stewart Rhodes .. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/elmer-stewart-rhodes-0 , are deluded, dishonorable and shameful individuals who trade in disinformation and falsehood.

He starts with a his own deluded declaration of indisputable fact

"Last year, I (Stewart Rhodes) was attacked by the left wing media for calling McCain a traitor who deserved to be tried for treason (for his support for the use of military detention and military tribunals for Americans, rather than a jury trial as required by our Constitution)"

which in fact is a misrepresentation of what many experts believe.

Most experts seem to agree that it is constitutional to try by military tribunal non-citizens accused of terrorism. But there are other concerns about President Bush's order. The American Bar Association assembled a task force of legal scholars to study the president's order. The task force questioned the use of military commissions against non-citizens who are actually in the United States when captured. It cited court cases holding that aliens, even those not lawfully within the country, are entitled to due process protections contained in the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth amendments. It argued that such individuals should not be tried by tribunals. Other experts, however, argue that the Quirin decision does permit trial by tribunal of even U.S. citizens who enter the country to violate the law of war.

The task force further recommended that military tribunals should be used only under narrow circumstances where security issues are compelling. To assure a "full and fair trial," it suggested incorporating the procedures currently required in the court martial of U.S. military personnel (as outlined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice). These include an open and public trial except for compelling reasons and most rights accorded a criminal defendant in a civilian court except for the exclusionary rule and unanimous jury verdicts. The task force also recommended that tribunal jurisdiction be subject to review by higher courts.

The procedures proposed by the secretary of defense include a number of these recommendations. But they do not include all of the requirements outlined by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Most notably, they do not give convicted defendants the right to appeal to federal civilian courts.
http://www.crf-usa.org/america-responds-to-terrorism/military-tribunals.html

His attack on McCain, condoned and joined by you, is disgusting and wrongheaded. That's been covered in other replies.

See also:

Fox News’ worst Cliven Bundy lies: 22 right-wing delusions about the absurd standoff
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=104519541