Re: Thus, I say that government does have part to play in national development -- and it's not just in seeking aid for the wealthy but it is in taking responsibility for one of the basic functions of government, namely the maintenance of law and order.
Huh?! C'mon, Searle!! You're so OLD-FASHIONED! Why sould you, a proud white man, give up your God-given right to protect your homeland to the state, Satan's most cunning contrivance???? Just take it up and do the "law and order" thing YOURSELF!!
Just read the last paragraph:
Minuteman leader has troubled past
by Susy Buchanan and David Holthouse
With his guns close at hand and visions of mushroom clouds blossoming darkly in his mind's eye, Chris Simcox punched the record button on the answering machine inside his Los Angeles apartment.
"Hi, this is Chris," he said. "You have reached a righteous American educational institution. Due to the horrific changes in our society in the last few days, I now must preface that I will accept offers of communication only from people who preface their message with the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America. If you include that with your message, I look forward to communicating with you, and have a great day. Thanks. Bye."
It was Sept. 13, 2001. Simcox, by his own later account to reporters, was obsessed with the recent terrorist attacks. His phone messages and conversations with relatives were growing increasingly bizarre. He talked endlessly about stockpiling firearms and apocalyptic premonitions. Los Angeles was doomed, he said. Then, on Sept. 30, he fled the city for good.
"I'm going on a great adventure," he told his teenaged son. "If I end up going to prison, you can always e-mail me."
Four years later, Simcox is at the height of his great adventure. He is president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a nationwide, anti-immigration vigilante organization with armed "citizen border patrols" in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, along with a smattering of states on the Canadian border where Minutemen have deployed to protect America from northern invaders.
Simcox has said he moved to Los Angeles from New York (where he relates that he was mugged twice by people who didn't speak English) because he wanted to be a movie star.
He didn't make it as an actor. But he's famous now. Hailed as a hero within the anti-immigration movement, Simcox has testified before Congress and been interviewed, repeatedly, on CNN.
A frequent guest on the Fox News show "Hannity & Colmes," Simcox travels the country giving paid lectures at anti-immigration conferences where he receives standing ovations and accolades from other celebrity extremists.
"I salute Chris Simcox. The Minutemen are the best thing that ever happened to our movement," the Los Angeles talk radio host Terry Anderson told anti-immigration activists at "America First," a "summit on national security" held in October at a private Christian school in a Chicago suburb.
At that summit, Simcox claimed to have signed up more than 1,200 volunteers who have "assisted in the apprehension of more than 6,500 illegal immigrants representing 27 different countries."
"We are the premier civilian border defense organization," he said. "We are the biggest, baddest neighborhood watch group in the nation."
Angling for Power
Never modest, the cigar-chomping Simcox is a hyper and relentless self-aggrandizer who comes across with the smug egotism and fiery conviction of a former nobody who has long suspected that he's destined for greatness.
"I didn't choose this cause, it chose me," he said during his "America First" address. "But the Minutemen are now a force to be reckoned with, and I will continue to lead these proud and patriotic Americans until we achieve total victory. We're not leaving the border until we're relieved from duty by the U.S. military or National Guard. There will be no compromise."
Though his core supporters are anti-immigrant extremists, Simcox's political influence presently extends far beyond the fringe. More than 20 U.S. congressmen attended a Minuteman rally he hosted in September in Washington, D.C. And six of those politicians actually signed up with his organization, strapped on handguns and participated in Minuteman patrols in October, along with Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Don Goldwater, nephew of archconservative one-time presidential contender Barry Goldwater ("Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice").
That same month, Simcox met with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Both men have publicly endorsed Minuteman patrols in their states.
"I appreciate the support of elected officials, but right now our state and federal politicians are still not willing to do what's necessary to defend our borders, which is why we have to do it ourselves," Simcox said at "America First." "If you're breaking into this country when this country is at war, then you're a potential enemy of this country, and you should be treated accordingly."
[...]
splcenter.org |
