The "Modern Militia" is Neither Modern Nor a Militia. Discuss.

Could the U.S. Navy Be Slack-Jawed, Militia Wingnuts?

While the so-called "militia movement" had a bit of influence in the 90s during the fallout of Ruby Ridge and Waco, it certainly has been on the wane ever since the whole Y2K apocalypse never happened. As a matter of fact, the entire concept of survivalists taking down the New World Order is more an image conjured by the left to publicize negative stereotypes of rural conservatives than an actual political philosophy. The copies of The Turner Diaries updated for an Obama administration aren't exactly flying off the shelves. But it appears politically-motivated attacks on citizens unsupportive of current policy are going to be revamped by our government. Recall that Bill Clinton blamed talk radio ("hate radio" were his words) for the OKC bombing back in 1995, which goes to show that politicians are like buzzards waiting for human tragedy to strike in order to fulfill their opportunistic agendas.

Now, Missouri's Finest are using an ill-contrived study from February 2009 called "The Modern Militia Movement" to be on the lookout for potential thugs. The probable cause indications for law enforcement are completely ridiculous [see pg. 7 of the study]. They include "political paraphernalia" like "Ron Paul" and "Bob Barr" bumper stickers plus the "Don't Tread on Me" Flag. It should be noted that Ron Paul is an elected congressman, Bob Barr used to be an elected congressman, and the Don't Tread on Me flag was originally conceived by that wild-eyed McVeigh-incarnate: Benjamin Franklin. This type of profiling is foolish considering the security threat now posed by so-called "militias" is marginal at best, and this study represents a major distraction to serious law enforcement. The Missouri State Highway Patrol is trying to do some damage control over the leak of this document to the press [Columbia Tribune]:

Hotz said using those or similar factors to determine whether someone could be a terrorist is not profiling. He said people who display signs or bumper stickers from such groups are not in danger of harassment from police.

“It’s giving the makeup of militia members and their political beliefs,” Hotz said of the report. “It’s not saying that everybody who supports these candidates is involved in a militia. It’s not even saying that all militias are bad.”

Hopefully, the men and women of the Missouri State Highway Patrol aren't gullible enough to fall for a paradigm ginned up by Media Matters types to denigrate the opposition while performing their law enforcement duties. (h/t Sith By Sithwest)