Military Raises ‘Threat Level,’ Citing ISIS

Posted by | May 8, 2015 11:26 | Filed under: Top Stories War & Peace

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Over on CNN, Barbara Starr is saying something about “the new normal of… violent extremism.”

And while it’s good that at least one journo is not parroting the fearmongering “Islamic terrorism” trope, this latest bit of breaking news is sure to drive the great news about job growth off the front page.

Security conditions at U.S. military bases were raised Thursday night, because of growing concern of a jihadist threat in the U.S.

It comes hours after FBI Director James Comey [right] raised the prospect there are thousands of ISIS followers online in the U.S.

“We have a general concern, obviously, that ISIL is focusing on the uniformed military and law enforcement,” Comey told reporters Thursday.

The order was signed by Admiral William Gortney, head of the command.

Thousands?

You mean like Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction?

Now, it would not surprise me in the least to learn that there are several dozen violent extremists that have fallen through the cracks because House Speaker John Boehner and his fellow travelers are doing nothing to ease a shortage of federal law enforcement resources targeting these kooks. It also would not surprise me if in large part they are as inept and sloppy as the pair of deranged lone wolves who attacked Pamela Geller’s Hatefest 2015 in Garland, Texas, where it now appears that the local constabulary was a little slow on the uptake concerning a warning from the FBI about one of the goofball would-be jihadis that turned an Islamophobic stunt into a D-movie shoot’emup.

And yes, there may be some trained in more advanced combat tactics.

But excuse me if I’m a bit skeptical, not only about the reasoning behind raising the threat level, but its timing.

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Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: dave-dr-gonzo

David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.

* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.

49 responses to Military Raises ‘Threat Level,’ Citing ISIS

  1. fahvel May 8th, 2015 at 12:17

    what should concern every body is the constant state of fear that the govt continues to maintain – hit a soft spot and someone makes an announcement about them behind all the trees and bushes.

  2. Kick Frenzy May 8th, 2015 at 20:04

    From what I’ve been reading, it seems like Pamela Geller’s recent stunt may have at least some responsibility for the perceived need to raise the threat level.

    If that’s truly the case, I’m wondering if people still think her bigotry, hatred and inciteful actions should be fully protected under free speech.

    • True Blue May 8th, 2015 at 22:27

      Are you suggesting that if speech offends someone then it should be prohibited? Folks have been saying some really stupid stuff and it is all protected by free speech. If Muslims want to live in America they will need to get used to the “freedom” that we all enjoy. The best drawing that came out of the Mohammad drawing contest was the two chalk outlines in the parking lot of the terrorists. No other religion resorts to violence when their religion is mocked.

      • whatthe46 May 8th, 2015 at 22:38

        “No other religion resorts to violence when their religion is mocked.” lol. what??????

      • arc99 May 8th, 2015 at 22:52

        “”If Muslims want to live in America they will need to get used to the “freedom” that we all enjoy.””

        You might want to pass that tip on to the people who were burning Dixie Chicks records a few years ago.

      • Kick Frenzy May 8th, 2015 at 23:45

        Bullshit.
        Christians resort to murder when they’re religious rules are broken, not just when their God’s image is desecrated.
        See: Planned Parenthood Clinics, LGBTQ, etc

        And no, I’m suggesting offensive speech should be prohibited.
        I’m suggesting hate that incites violence, bigotry, bullying and hatred should be either prohibited or suffer less protection than regular free speech.
        When someone’s speech causes other people to die, that speech is no longer free… it cost human lives.

        When the price is human lives, it’s time to shut the fuck up.
        That’s my point.

        • whatthe46 May 9th, 2015 at 00:34

          “Offensive Speech: Along with fighting words, speech might be unprotected if it either intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly inflicts severe emotional distress.” exactly what geller or whatever the hell her name is did. she knew her acts of disrespect could insite violence as it was to emotionally inflict distress and in a nasty way.

          • Kick Frenzy May 9th, 2015 at 00:44

            Yes! Thanks!
            Shame on me for not knowing that!
            You’re so right, that’s exactly what she is guilty off.

            If the art show is speech, then the paintings are fighting words.

            • whatthe46 May 9th, 2015 at 00:54

              it was to cause emotional distress which could incite violence and in fact it did.

              • burqa May 9th, 2015 at 19:11

                Indeed. I’m new to the party on this Geller woman – – – please, please, please tell me she’s related to Uri!
                Now, to a sticky point:
                To your point about this “art show” she put on likely to cause emotional distress and move someone to violence, in this case could not a significant amount of the fault lie with those who would take offense?
                It seems to me that the right to free speech should allow someone, somewhere to put on such a show. But the way things are, it seems to me some risk of a violent reaction to such a thing regardless of who puts it on is likely for the rest of our lifetimes. So could we say that holding such a show is effectively banned for decades?
                What we’re doing is trying to identify the line where censorship begins.

                Since I am an artist, I am a bit sensitive to such things. There is a show I used to win prizes in every year, but have boycotted for a couple of decades because of their policy on nudes.
                I haven’t seen the paintings and have no idea of their content. But if we are going to ban such things, should we also ban art work that pokes fun at other faiths that could offend?
                There are plenty of people out there who will try to determine where people of a particular faith are sensitive and try to provoke them just to be a jerk, like this Geller woman did.
                I wonder where you guys were on the “Piss Christ” issue several years ago? Were you in favor of censorship?
                “Decadent” art by painters now recognized as masters inspired violence from the Nazis, who saw it as a threat to their culture and I think I could safely guess the sort of reaction that might occur if I showed some of my paintings of nekkid women in Saudi Arabia.

                We should not turn into a country where we have to have an army of heavily-armed fuzz in full battle rattle behind barbed wire surrounding a fortress in order to put on a controversial art show, nor should we be a country where people half way around the world get to decide what we can put in an art gallery. As far as I am concerned, Mullah Omar doesn’t get to decide that any more than the Pope does.

                I do not believe the Koran says anything about images of people being sacreligious, but that this comes from some obscure, questionable haddith. Many who follow this strain of thought also believe it sinful and offensive to take a photo or otherwise depict anyone, not just Mohammed. I think this thought has been behind some of the destruction of ancient artifacts and such in Iraqi museums. Do we fall on the side of those who were offended?

      • burqa May 9th, 2015 at 19:23

        True Blue: “No other religion resorts to violence when their religion is mocked.”

        Many more examples could be given in addition to those below.
        Faith is one of those things people can be very sensitive about and also something people get an ego boost from by puffing out their chest to step into the breach like Horatio at the gate to defend the faith from the invading hordes of culture and faith-destroying barbarians (their view).
        There are other things people get violent about when they get themselves chuffed up. People have been killed at sporting events in America because they rooted for the wrong team and one of these self-appointed vigilantes decided that just wouldn’t do.

        This kind of reaction is an aspect of human character that is weak in some people who can be easily set off, regardless of their faith, lack of faith, cultural, racial or national background.

    • greenfloyd May 9th, 2015 at 02:52

      Geller, on Fox, claimed no prior knowledge of a specific threat, local police say they got a tip from FBI about 3 hours before the attack. Not sure how the FBI alert came about, although one of the terrorists, Simpson, was on a “list” but not under active surveillance. At least not by the FBI… draw your own conclusions there.

      Nonetheless it appears the follow-up into this attack is connected to the escalation in threat level. I think that’s the more significant part of this whole thing. That and the troubling prospects of politics, not facts, influencing national security.

      • Kick Frenzy May 9th, 2015 at 16:07

        Oh yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t know of a specific threat.
        But she certainly knows of the persistent threat of extremists and how her actions can provoke them, which she does on purpose.

        And it makes sense to increase security when two people claiming ties to Daesh attack Americans, during which they are shot down by police.
        I’ve seen articles that report that Daesh is planning on coming after Geller personally, which means terrorists attacking an American on American soil.

        • greenfloyd May 10th, 2015 at 00:23

          Who or what is “Daesh?”

          In her Fox interview she mentioned she has armed security around her 24/7. She’s not stupid. Crazy perhaps, but not stupid. She is a woman on a mission and appears to be passionately dedicated to it. She has a powerful presence on the tube that I found rather mesmerizing.

          My thinking is it was not so much the shooting itself that lead to the sudden escalation of the threat level, as we know too well, cops shoot people all the time. I suspect it’s new information that’s been gained about the attackers, their tactics, weapons and most of all their connections here and/or abroad that has caused a re-think and adjustments to the threat level. At least that’s what I want to believe based on what little I know.

  3. True Blue May 8th, 2015 at 22:37

    It is only going to get worst. Islam is an thinly veiled religion but is actually a form of government. Our government is importing Muslim immigrants from the same countries who have publicly stated their hate for America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PzT8vEvYPg&feature=share

    • bpollen May 9th, 2015 at 03:05

      Then EVERY religion is a government. And “importing”??? Are we getting them cheaply? Are they keeping all the good ones for themselves and only allowing the defective ones to be exported? Is it a tariff-free importation? Who’s the target market? Are we only importing Muslims from countries who have an official policy of hating Amerika, or are we getting them wherever they are cheapest? Do we get discounts if we import in bulk? How does this affect our trade deficit? Is it covered under TPP?

    • StoneyCurtisll May 9th, 2015 at 06:59

      Gosh…
      The list of countries who have “hated America” and we now accept as immigrants is a long one..
      I will start from the beginning..(if you count being at war with as hating) most people would.

      British..(Canada) the entire UK.
      Native Americans
      Mexico..
      Nicaragua..
      Haiti..
      The Dominican republic..
      Spain..
      we even fought/hated ourselves (the civil war)
      Germany.,.
      Italy…
      China..
      Korea..
      Japan..
      Afghanistan..
      Iraq..

      Thats the short list.

    • StoneyCurtisll May 9th, 2015 at 07:02

      I actually watched that video…
      Is that your kindergarten teacher?

    • Kick Frenzy May 9th, 2015 at 16:01

      Dear lady in the video,

      “Hijra” = “Spread Islam across the world and spread the word far and wide”?
      Sounds a lot (as in, exactly) like what God told the Christians to do… whose churches enjoy tax-free status and many of whose followers are also on welfare.

      So, once again, we have someone who thinks America is only for Christians.
      Problem is, we’re not founded as a Christian country and people are alowed to follow any religion they want.

      Speaking of Christianity, did you realize you spoke about “needy people” as if they were something to be shunned, ignored and shamed?
      Did you know that is a decidedly un-Christian viewpoint?

      Did you know your an asshole?

      • burqa May 9th, 2015 at 17:23

        Good points. I’ve been reading Jefferson lately on the topic. A great deal of what ended up in the Constitution was first proposed or enacted here in Virginia, particularly the part where we have religious freedom. This is based on a document Jefferson, Madison, Pendleton and a few others hammered out about a block from where I type. I refer to the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.
        Durnit, I don’t see it just now, but I have in my notes a quote from Jefferson about this document where he says America is a place where all can worship as they want, and he specifically mentions the “Hindoo and the Mohametan.”

        Good point on people in need, too. I have repeatedly challenged people who have it in for Christians to google up their local churches and interfaith council and see what they are doing. I imagine they’ll see what I see daily – many people doing extraordinary work running food pantries, gathering clothes and other things for those in need, running homeless shelters and the like. This is what the overwhelming majority are doing in our communities. We are surrounded by angels and being with them helping out gives one a whole new look at humanity and an appreciation for others.

        • Kick Frenzy May 9th, 2015 at 18:28

          Yup… you’re right on both counts.
          At least, mostly.

          By which I mean, while there are plenty of great people helping those in need and aren’t being asses on the side, there are also those who are bigots in angels clothing.
          I’ll appreciate any help given to the needy, but if it’s being done by someone who also practices bigotry or racism, they’re no angels.

          But I don’t want to come across as saying there aren’t any people out there who are wonderful souls, there certainly are and I appreciate their existence on Earth. :)

          • burqa May 9th, 2015 at 19:47

            Thanks. There were a couple reasons I made the point. One was to show that the kooks and goofballs we see highlighted here do not represent the group as a whole. I described what I see almost every day around me and which I’m sure they’d see if they looked. They’d learn even moreso were they to pitch in. It’s a whole ‘nother world and the tons of food collected, stored and distributed monthly is amazing.
            I know people who, because of their faith, dedicate their whole lives to these efforts.
            I’ve been in churches of many different sects as well as attended ceremonies by non-Christian faiths. I’ve never heard a political sermon of any sort. I’ve never heard someone go off on gays or abortion or premarital sex or interracial marriage.
            So first, the actions of the overwhelming majority show the stereotypes to be false.

            The second reason is more important. I’m from the Deep South. I know a thing or two about bigotry. It was pondering the qualities I’ve seen in bigots across the spectrum, regardless of the target that led me to see more clearly the bigots among us on the Left.
            It’s not enough to call them bigots. That doesn’t do any good.
            What do we want them to do?
            Change their minds?
            Why, sure!
            And when you put a bigot face to face with the targets of their hatred, or elbow to elbow with them cooking and serving meals to the homeless or collecting coats, shoes and/or school supplies for poor children, hearts begin to change. I think this is why the ones I have challenged have so far refused, because they have an idea of what they’d find. I’m happy to start even with that little seed.
            After all, this is how we integrated our society in the face of more racism than I see these days. We forced people together. We forced employers to hire and for school districts to bus children and eventually, after enough exposure many of the bigots softened and realized the targets of their hatred weren’t so bad after all.
            And so I have made the offer to any of the Christian-haters here, if they find themselves in the Fredericksburg, Va. area, I’ll be glad to take them around to the homeless shelter, the food pantries and give them a chance to pitch in to help the needy and find out what the overwhelming majority of these Christians are doing.
            Get around them long enough and life becomes sweeter as cynicism melts away and awe sets in at what’s going on, but is not reported much in the news.

            • Kick Frenzy May 9th, 2015 at 21:19

              Well, your experience is what it is and nobody can refute that.

              I should probably mention I grew up in a Christian household and was devoutly Christian and avid church goer until I left for college.
              Even after that, I long held closely to those beliefs and practices.
              I considered myself a good person… empathic, loving, etc.
              But the thing is, I also had been indoctrinated by Christianity that homosexuals were a deviation from what’s acceptable and felt fine writing lyrics that, now, I’m embarrassed to have ever written.
              And the pastor at the last church I was a regular at (for years) was found to have been embezzling… that was quite a blow, considering I’d always thought well of him.
              Now, there are other churches where I never heard or saw anything wrong from the pastors and I wanted to make sure I shared that as well.

              Basically, Christians are people too and there are many who are great people, but there are many who are not.
              And while you may not hear a pastor preach in favor of bigotry, it can still be something that exists in the congregation.
              I’ve certainly heard multiple preachers/pastors rail against abortion and then there’s everyday examples, like Hobby Lobby.
              Premarital sex and homosexuality are also common themes in church sermons, even if you haven’t heard them personally.

              So, I know what you’re talking about when you mention that there are Christians who are not racists, bigots or otherwise a pain in the side of society.
              But to suggest that the overwhelming majority have no bigoted, racist or other undesirable qualities is making an assumption that neither of us know to be true.
              There are such huge numbers of either side that it would be hard to make the call which has more… but we do know that there are WAY too many who want to force their religion on the greater populace.
              There are too many who want to impose the equivalent of Sharia law, just based on the Christian Bible.

              • burqa May 9th, 2015 at 23:21

                I’ve heard cats like Falwell and Robertson talk about that stuff on TV and all, but never heard it in a church. Besides visiting different churches, I also lived on base where there were military chaplains cycling in and out from different faiths.
                And please, though I’m defending against what I see as bigotry we need to rid the Left of, I don’t think I’m a particularly devout person. It’s just that I see bigots being given a fee pass and I can’t let it slide.

                My point about what the overwhelming majority are doing can be seen on the websites of churches where you and I live. I live where there’s about 250,000 people in a 15 mile radius. I don’t know how many poor or homeless there are, but once one gets involved, it’s a lot more than others realize. People don’t see the camps out in the woods.
                The next homeless shelter is about 25 miles away. I helped a little and so was able to have a front row seat when ministers from several sects and citizens across the political spectrum, white collar, blue collar, multiracial – the whole works united and fought quite a campaign to get the Thurman Brisben Homeless Shelter. Those religious leaders led the fight and it was quite a sight to see them go nose to nose with power brokers and politicians not used to such treatment.
                Micah Ministries runs the cold weather emergency shelter.
                78% of the food pantries are run by faith-based organizations and a lot of the people in secular outfits helping out are believers carrying out their faith.
                If you were to see a meal plan of where poor and homeless go to be fed, you’d see it is churches 5 days a week, plus, oh shoot, the secular outfit’s name escapes me at the moment.

                You google the interfaith council and as many churches here as you want and you’ll see a list on each site under a heading like “Mission Statement” or something. You’ll typically see a list of about a dozen programs, nearly all help the needy, plus a youth sports league and a few other things.
                No one around here is organizing anti-abortion marches from the pulpit, but they do, week in and week out, put out the call for volunteers and THAT’S what they show up to do in dozens here and there, thousands of them across the region doing things to help those in need.
                They have empty trailers and trucks they park here and there and people flock to fill them up. Those same numbers don’t get whipped up in churches on some political issue.

                I help a little occasionally. When I began, a whole world opened up for me and the numbers of people it takes to move dozens of tons of food a week – gather it, move it, store it and distribute it takes a small army.
                We don’t have armies in the tens of thousands turning out to hate on gays every week.

                What I see – the people I meet and work with and know – do not fit these ugly stereotypes people want to believe. I think I mentioned I know people who devote their lives to this work. They are awe-inspiring and I happen to think they deserve defending and do not deserve to be painted as bigoted hate-filled theocrats.
                Lemme tell you something – working with the poor and homeless is not easy. There’s a lot of people with mental illness who aren’t taking their medications and they can be difficult. It wears a person down, especially when they do this work all day, 7 days a week, all year long.

                I know of no group of any size with any power that is any threat to impose a Christian sharia law. I also know very few people who can tell me what the only law given to Christian is. These days they go back to the Law given to the Jews, but they can’t get away with hating Jews like they can Christians so that’s who they target.
                It’s a bogus scare argument.

                • Kick Frenzy May 10th, 2015 at 00:34

                  (Well, there are groups, and congressmen, who champion Christian-specific rule making every chance they get. It’s in the news all the time. That’s what I mean when I referenced “Sharia law”, that it’s a religion trying to force the populace into following their religious laws. We’ve already seen some passed and there’s more all the time.
                  But that’s not what I really wanted to respond to.)

                  Well, let me tell YOU a thing or two!
                  Those groups (and I looked up Micah Ministries) all sound perfectly… awesome!
                  From what I read on the Micah site, they sound like incredible people doing important work.
                  And you’re right that those with mental illnesses can require sustained concentration and patience.

                  I drove a cab once upon a time and a good chunk of my employment was as a medical driver and had a good amount of regular passengers who had mental illnesses.
                  I remember one guy started to get violent.
                  BUT, most of the time it was non-eventful.
                  And sometimes it was a lot of fun (like making up a song as we drove along, all 3 passengers joining in.)

                  My point is, you don’t have to defend them against me.
                  Like I said, there are plenty of good-hearted Christians out there who do not act out in bigotry, racism or anything else like that.
                  And it sounds like you’ve got an exceptional area there. :)

                  • burqa May 10th, 2015 at 01:34

                    To your first point, I agree and it pisses me off the way they try to sneak stuff in, especially when they hide it in a bigass defense spending bill or th ACA or something.

                    That is so cool you went to the Micah website! It barely scratches the surface of what they do. They are operating under quite a strain, but somehow seen to keep it together. I know quite a few of the people they serve and it is often very difficult when you’ve got a bunch of bipolar people who aren’t on their meds going bonkers. I’m no shrink, I guess I should say bipolar-like conditions or something less specific.
                    One of these people is a close friend to me whom I have been helping for years. This person has been kicked out of the libraries, city council, homeless shelter and numerous shops downtown. She’d go on rants for 3 or 4 hours before taking a breath at a volume that could be heard clearly a block away. These performances could be stunning.
                    Anyway, one day she went into one of the churches where they were having a meeting and began to go off. Initially they thought to throw her out but the minister held up his hand and said, “Stop.!” He went on to say this was someone to love and someone to help. This was someone to take to one’s bosom and that’s what they did. I don’t know how, but somehow they convinced her to go to the hospital for treatment and they took care of it all. This was about 13 months ago and I have not seen my friend since and have worried. Her life had been a horror, made worse by whatever beset her mentally. I don’t know how many years she had been living in the woods and hope she’s taken care of. I worry.

                    And let me say I view this as more of a conversation than a debate. I like talking to you and looking at things from different angles in an adult fashion. Sometimes I dress up my prose to be fun, but it’s the points I make that are important. When I write I have to be careful not to get too figurative.

                    There are some things I can’t describe because I need to remain anonymous, but the struggle for the Thurman Brisben Homeless Shelter was a battle royale. It has been moved several times, partly due to NIMBYs. Get this – at one time it had to move and the city had an unused school in disrepair but with essentially facilities and it was a hell of a battle with lifelong enemies made.
                    Before then we had homeless living and dying along the river. Thurman Brisben was one of them. I’m not sure if I knew him or not. Back then I was a teenager and when I found out those people were homeless and not just camping I was horrified this would exist in my country and I began to take them food and stuff. Thurman Brisben died down there during a terrible cold snap, alone, lying on the ground, hungry no doubt, abandoned by a society that pretended he and those like him did not exist.

                    This winter was a tough one and the emergency cold weather shelter Micah operates on Rt 3 (King’s Highway) was packed, but didn’t turn anyone away to my knowledge and I think I would have known because I took a lot of people down there who missed the bus.

                    I could tell you lots of stories about various people and what they do. I’ve told several here over the years. It is seeing them that I came up with the expression that we are surrounded by angels because the more you look, the more you find.
                    I’ll bet it is like that where you live, too. It just takes some digging.

                    • Kick Frenzy May 10th, 2015 at 14:59

                      It just makes more sense to have a decent discussion (or even debate) instead of a yelling match and who can call who a worse name.
                      It only makes things worse, or at best doesn’t make anything any better, when people just yell at each other.

                      Not to say I don’t have a rougher side at times (usually more likely when I’ve been drinking), but I try to keep it in check unless someone is obviously being an ass.
                      So, I can also take getting used to… but also because I can make weird comparisons or leave off what I’m saying because of getting distracted or whatever.

                      I’m glad to hear about all the good being done around you.
                      It’s always encouraging to hear or see stuff like that happening. :)
                      And you’re right, I’m sure there is good being done around me as well.

                    • burqa May 17th, 2015 at 00:21

                      I used to get all psyched up to go online and beat up on conservatives but eventually got tired of it. About that time in 2007 I found Liberaland and it was a site where everyone was pretty cool and laid back and more interested in discussions than fighting and name-calling. Occasionally someone would pop in and go off on some topic or another and everyone else would tell them to take it easy, “that’s not how we do it here” – and a lot of the time the new user would be grateful to find such a place.
                      I would like to get it back to being like that.

                      Yes, it is beautiful seeing what so many people are doing to help the less fortunate. I get to feeling ashamed for doing so little. There are many extraordinary people like that and I think they deserve a defense.

                    • Kick Frenzy May 17th, 2015 at 00:48

                      I have a theory.
                      It goes like this… Democrats have gone as far left as they have because of how far the Republicans have gone to the right.
                      Like a yin/yang thing, the universe balancing itself.
                      “Too many douchebags and dumbasses, gotta press the equality and common sense people a bit harder.”

                      And because of that, Dems have gotten less tolerant of dealing with the BS, while at the same time the BS keeps getting BS…ier.
                      It was one thing to deal with the other side when they were disagreeable on some topics, but it’s a whole other ballgame now that they’ve gone adamantly ignorant while foaming at the mouth with hatred in all directions.

                      But I get what you mean… sometimes it’s nice to go to Cheers.

                    • burqa May 17th, 2015 at 22:03

                      I think that’s reasonable and interesting – the idea of things becoming balanced.
                      I think some of it comes from a sort of perfectionism. I used to have it with music. There was a narrow range of genres and performers I would listen to. It was important to see a sort of purity, and anything less was a sort of sell-out. Seeking the best in a given field can be good, but it can also be overdone.
                      I think one factor with some extremists is the need to seek a sort of purity and to also be strict in what meets the standard of purity set forth. With political zealots, they can never be satisfied so they get to the edge and then push the edge outward.
                      Being able to cross their arms and sneer, while looking down on some impure unworthy sort has an ego-pumping effect. I can make the person feel they are in a sort of elite class because of their superior taste and discrimination.

                      My goals or intentions online have changed. Rather than seek a fight I prefer to have more of a discussion. I am more interested in persuading someone to alter their views. It is too much to expect someone agree entirely, but when things are convivial it is possible for another person to better understand my opinion and to perhaps bend in that direction.
                      One of my fave moments here came a few years ago when I was discussing prisoner interrogation with a conservative here whose screen name I have unfortunately forgotten. He was a pretty good guy who had been a state’s attorney in Louisiana.
                      This is a subject I have done a great deal of research on and I lined up my witnesses as if we were in court. As is my wont, I go to the best experts I can find on a subject – in this case professional career interrogators to go with everyone else I was quoting from Sun Tsu to George Washington. The gentleman changed his opinion to where he opposed the “enhanced interrogation” methods used by the Bush administration. It took quite a bit of time, but it was worthwhile in the end.

                    • Kick Frenzy May 18th, 2015 at 14:08

                      I definitely agree that it’s more productive to discus and.or debate things.
                      When anyone approaches a topic with yelling, name calling or any kind of belittling or vitriol, nothing will be figured out… no progress made.

                      Of course, sometimes there’s no progress to be made and there’s nothing lost in laying into someone a bit for being a terrible example of humanity.

                    • burqa May 18th, 2015 at 22:26

                      Yeah, I try to be patient and direct invective towards public figures, but occasionally fail. It’s something I struggle with because I can have a pretty sharp tongue. I use the edit function here a LOT. Often it is to correct a spelling error or poor English, but much of the time I also have to dial back a comment.
                      I think the more those episodes are spread out the more impact they have when I finally get exasperated.

                      I used to prefer the other style of going at it tooth and nail. It could be satisfying when it got really heated up. There was one board I was on where I had a little team that would take on another group and we had some incredible battles. That board had a private message feature and one thing I enjoyed doing was being like an orchestra conductor, rapidly sending others lines to use that would add up to a big punch line, which I always gave someone else to deliver. I liked that I had to work very quickly. I did some pretty creative things.

                      The Chat Room here used to be a real gas. There came time when I got pissed off and left LL for a couple years. Hardly anyone knew it, but I was in the Chat Room where we, as I used to enjoy saying, would relax in our bunny slippers. It was good, warm, pleasurable times there.

                      What I’m getting to is forums like this have great potential to be more than boxing rings. It just takes some people who want to have a forum like that and some creativity and it can be pretty special.

                    • Kick Frenzy May 19th, 2015 at 00:27

                      You have no idea how much I agree.

                      The majority of my existence as Kick Frenzy is spent on a forum.
                      Not like this place, this isn’t a forum to me.
                      (No offense, this is closer to a blog than a forum… but I still love it.)

                      We used to be really rowdy, but it’s pretty barren these days.
                      I still consider it “home base” and still have fun there, but there aren’t as many people and the mood is pretty chill.
                      I even started a thread there for people from FreakOutNation to come visit (but it includes LiberaLand by extension): http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/showthread.php?t=20437)

    • burqa May 9th, 2015 at 17:06

      In 1824, Thomas Jefferson said:
      “I consider religion a supplement to law in the government of men.”
      In many societies, religion plays a role in establishing and reinforcing standards as well as knitting society together to where it is a community as opposed to just a collection of people.

      Until they dropped out of sight a few years ago, I would have been pleased to introduce you to some of those Muslims I knew for almost 20 years here, True Blue.
      They are quite devout and therefore took seriously the requirement their faith puts on them to give to charity. Arabs are generally extraordinarily hospitable anyway, True Blue. This family was well positioned, as they had a grocery store near the poor end of town.
      They did not hate America, but were pleased to live here. They have always been shining assets to the community and this opinion is held by all who know them.
      Their children are perfectly behaved, too, which counts a lot in my book. They are polite, say please and thank you, sir and ma’am, are not obstreperous and do not run in stores.
      I wish we had more like them to come here.

      Also, True Blue, have you considered the nature of the war with terrorists? It is an unconventional one, a fight in which we desperately need spies and informers in the enemy camp and the sort of people we need for this kind of work are those who grew up in this society, who know the manners and customs, are fluent in not just the language but colloquialisms and for whom this is their native terrain. If we expand the potential pool of recruits we stand a better chance of recruiting the sort of infiltrators we need to discover the enemy’s plans, capabilities, prejudices, weaknesses, thought processes, etc.
      If we act fearfully and condemn everyone from that part of the world with crude stereotypes we will reduce or eliminate this pool of recruits while helping the enemy convince people America means them harm and hates them. This hurts us while helping the enemy.

    • allison1050 May 9th, 2015 at 21:45

      Do you actually believe this crap?

  4. Obewon May 8th, 2015 at 23:29

    Right Wing Jihadi white supremacist anarchists commit 2/3 of global and domestic terrorism.-InterPol. Europol Report: All Terrorists are Muslims…Except the 99.6% that Aren’t! http://www.loonwatch.com/2010/01/terrorism-in-europe/

    DHS: “An attack by right wing radicals is either carried out or foiled every 34 days” in the USA via DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson. Partial list of FBI Crime Data linked Terrorism Directed At ‘Liberal’ And ‘Government’ Targets July 2008-2011 By David Neiwert. http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/violence-directed-liberal-and-govern

  5. StoneyCurtisll May 9th, 2015 at 06:32

    We could use Pam Geller and her little extremist hate group as bait..
    And draw the other crazies/ISIS followers out into the open..
    Then just drop a great big bomb on all of them…
    Two birds with one stone..

  6. burqa May 9th, 2015 at 16:41

    The news report I heard last night was a little different. The reporter spoke with a high-ranking military officer involved in this. The officer said what they were doing was not responding to a specific threat, but were raising the threat level in various places and intended to do so periodically, randomly, to make planning a terrorist attack more problematic.
    I live near a couple military bases with 40 or 50,000 wooded acres I have spent a considerable time on. In some places it would be very easy to get on base and do some serious damage.
    Before 9/11 it was ridiculously easy to get on base and cruise around without be stopped or anything. You just needed to know your way around, that’s all. The security has changed quite a bit since then, but I used to be alarmed at how close one could get to HMX-1 at the airstrip at Quantico. HMX-1 is a helicopter squadron that flies Marine One – carrying the president (I’ve known a few of the pilots).

    I’m not going to be skeptical of this story just to be skeptical with no reason to be so. Just because they misused those orange alerts at times under Bush Jr. does not mean that this is happening under Obama. I just don’t know one way or the other, so my opinion is flxible until I can get more info. But in the meantime, I’m giving the administration the benefit of the doubt till I have reason to not do so on this issue.

  7. allison1050 May 9th, 2015 at 21:42

    I love the last sentence!

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