The Rutherford Institute - Commentary

The Rutherford Institute - Commentary: "Two years ago, I alerted people to the fact that the groundwork was being laid for a new kind of government where virtually everyone is a suspect and it will no longer matter if you're innocent or guilty, whether you're a threat to the nation or even if you're a citizen. What will matter is what the president--or whoever happens to be occupying the Oval Office at the time--thinks.

At the time, I was voicing concerns about the liberties the Bush administration was taking in its application of the term 'enemy combatant.' Today, under the Obama administration, the perceived threat is coming from an altogether different direction: 'rightwing extremists.'

In a recent report issued by the Department of Homeland Security, 'Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,' an extremist is defined as anyone who subscribes to a particular political viewpoint. Rightwing extremists are broadly defined in the report as individuals and groups 'that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely.'

The report is problematic on many levels, but several things in particular stand out."