DHS using federal tax dollars to fund programs that attack conservatives, documents show

[Michelle]

 A federal anti-terrorism program is now using American taxpayer dollars to fund programs that attack conservatives.

Originally, the $40 million Department of Homeland Security program was designed to fight domestic terrorism.

Through FOIA requests, the Media Research Center, which is a conservative watchdog group, obtained documents showing DHS gave the University of Dayton a $352,109 grant for a program that the school said will combat “domestic violence extremism and hate”.

In their application for the grant, the university links to a conference that included a pyramid illustrating the levels of domestic terrorism. It starts with Fox News, the NRA, the Christian Broadcast Network, the Heritage Foundation and the Republican Party. One level up is Breitbart, MAGA, PragerU and Turning Point USA. The next tier is Nazis.

cont...

https://newschannel9.com/news/nation-world/dhs-using-federal-tax-dollars-to-fund-programs-that-attack-conservatives-documents-show-domestic-terrorism-domestic-violence-extremism-money-cash-funds-funding-department-of-homeland-security-politics-republicans-gop-democrats-media-research-center#

[Tatetopa]

What does that have to do with conservatives, low taxes, small government, keep the government out of our bedrooms conservatives?

[Gromdor]

EMW-GR-APP-00093 University of Dayton.pdf (dhs.gov)

All the good parts are exempted from the FOIA. 

I don't see anything wrong with it.  It mentions instances of KKK operating in the area and other hate crimes.  It's unfortunate that they identify as conservatives, but if conservatives policed themselves better, their name wouldn't be associated with those types of people.

[+and-then]

At this point, anyone who can't see the bias, hate, and targeting... doesn't WANT TO SEE IT.  I think those who ignore it now, will try to ignore it even after DC escalates the force level.  What can I say?  It would be foolish to expect no blowback, eventually.  It's simply human nature to resist oppression, is it not?

[Occupational Hubris]

Quote

In their application for the grant, the university links to a conference that included a pyramid illustrating the levels of domestic terrorism. It starts with Fox News, the NRA, the Christian Broadcast Network, the Heritage Foundation and the Republican Party. One level up is Breitbart, MAGA, PragerU and Turning Point USA. The next tier is Nazis.

I don't see the issue

[Kenemet]

58 minutes ago, Michelle said:

 A federal anti-terrorism program is now using American taxpayer dollars to fund programs that attack conservatives.

Originally, the $40 million Department of Homeland Security program was designed to fight domestic terrorism.

Through FOIA requests, the Media Research Center, which is a conservative watchdog group, obtained documents showing DHS gave the University of Dayton a $352,109 grant for a program that the school said will combat “domestic violence extremism and hate”.

In their application for the grant, the university links to a conference that included a pyramid illustrating the levels of domestic terrorism. It starts with Fox News, the NRA, the Christian Broadcast Network, the Heritage Foundation and the Republican Party. One level up is Breitbart, MAGA, PragerU and Turning Point USA. The next tier is Nazis.

cont...

https://newschannel9.com/news/nation-world/dhs-using-federal-tax-dollars-to-fund-programs-that-attack-conservatives-documents-show-domestic-terrorism-domestic-violence-extremism-money-cash-funds-funding-department-of-homeland-security-politics-republicans-gop-democrats-media-research-center#

Like the others, I don't see the problem.  They're not talking about ordinary conservatives, but rather the full-metal Neo-Nazis (who are right wing), White Nationalists like Atomwaffen, and that horrible group Patriot Front who are anything but patriots.

For far too long, America has pretended that the only extremists are foreigners and ignored growing problems here at home.  But most of our mass shooters have ties to these groups, which means they're doing something that inspires young men to go out and start killing everyone they can with a cache of deadly weapons.

And that's cause enough to have them watched.

 

[Hawken]

1 hour ago, and-then said:

At this point, anyone who can't see the bias, hate, and targeting... doesn't WANT TO SEE IT.  I think those who ignore it now, will try to ignore it even after DC escalates the force level.  What can I say?  It would be foolish to expect no blowback, eventually.  It's simply human nature to resist oppression, is it not?

When the media attacks one side constantly but ignores the other. Obviously, there's biased. No equal reporting.

[Occupational Hubris]

1 hour ago, and-then said:

At this point, anyone who can't see the bias, hate, and targeting... doesn't WANT TO SEE IT.

It is beyond INSANE that these are the words you are saying without and shred of self-realization

Edited May 27, 2023 by Occupational Hubris

[pellinore]

1 hour ago, Michelle said:

In their application for the grant, the university links to a conference that included a pyramid illustrating the levels of domestic terrorism. It starts with Fox News, the NRA, the Christian Broadcast Network, the Heritage Foundation and the Republican Party. One level up is Breitbart, MAGA, PragerU and Turning Point USA. The next tier is Nazis.

cont...

https://newschannel9.com/news/nation-world/dhs-using-federal-tax-dollars-to-fund-programs-that-attack-conservatives-documents-show-domestic-terrorism-domestic-violence-extremism-money-cash-funds-funding-department-of-homeland-security-politics-republicans-gop-democrats-media-research-center#

That sounds reasonable: a pyramid with mild hate at the bottom leading to extreme hate at the top. Linking anyone to the Nazis seems over the top, but the Nazis didn't start with gas chambers- they started with hate speech and scapegoats, then became more extreme as they gained more power. That is the danger of populism.

[pellinore]

1 hour ago, and-then said:

At this point, anyone who can't see the bias, hate, and targeting... doesn't WANT TO SEE IT.  I think those who ignore it now, will try to ignore it even after DC escalates the force level.  What can I say?  It would be foolish to expect no blowback, eventually.  It's simply human nature to resist oppression, is it not?

It isn't clear what you are saying to me. Are you agreeing with this: 'It starts with Fox News, the NRA, the Christian Broadcast Network, the Heritage Foundation and the Republican Party. One level up is Breitbart, MAGA, PragerU and Turning Point USA. The next tier is Nazis'. Or are you saying it is wrong?

[pellinore]

16 minutes ago, Occupational Hubris said:

It is beyong INSANE that these are the words you are saying without and shred of self-realization

That's what is confusing me. I thought @and-then was a bit right leaning, yet here he is tearing into the right wing media: At this point, anyone who can't see the bias, hate, and targeting... doesn't WANT TO SEE IT

Edited May 27, 2023 by pellinore

[Occupational Hubris]

2 minutes ago, pellinore said:

That's what is confusing me. I thought @and-then was a bit right leaning, yet here he is tearing into the right wing media: At this point, anyone who can't see the bias, hate, and targeting... doesn't WANT TO SEE IT

He's not, though. He thinks it's all an evil seditious plot from the left. He went off the deep end a while ago. 

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

12 minutes ago, pellinore said:

That sounds reasonable: a pyramid with mild hate at the bottom leading to extreme hate at the top. Linking anyone to the Nazis seems over the top, but the Nazis didn't start with gas chambers- they started with hate speech and scapegoats, then became more extreme as they gained more power. That is the danger of populism.

The Nazis started off as “patriots” wh9 wanted to restore Germany to greatness …. While taking rhe coin of big business.

[Agent0range]

2 hours ago, Michelle said:

 A federal anti-terrorism program is now using American taxpayer dollars to fund programs that attack conservatives.

Originally, the $40 million Department of Homeland Security program was designed to fight domestic terrorism.

Through FOIA requests, the Media Research Center, which is a conservative watchdog group, obtained documents showing DHS gave the University of Dayton a $352,109 grant for a program that the school said will combat “domestic violence extremism and hate”.

In their application for the grant, the university links to a conference that included a pyramid illustrating the levels of domestic terrorism. It starts with Fox News, the NRA, the Christian Broadcast Network, the Heritage Foundation and the Republican Party. One level up is Breitbart, MAGA, PragerU and Turning Point USA. The next tier is Nazis.

cont...

https://newschannel9.com/news/nation-world/dhs-using-federal-tax-dollars-to-fund-programs-that-attack-conservatives-documents-show-domestic-terrorism-domestic-violence-extremism-money-cash-funds-funding-department-of-homeland-security-politics-republicans-gop-democrats-media-research-center#

So, what you are saying is that these news networks are strictly for conservatives?  

[+Link of Hyrule]

7 minutes ago, pellinore said:

That sounds reasonable: a pyramid with mild hate at the bottom leading to extreme hate at the top. Linking anyone to the Nazis seems over the top, but the Nazis didn't start with gas chambers- they started with hate speech and scapegoats, then became more extreme as they gained more power. That is the danger of populism.

The Republican party = mild hate? MAGA, a step up, and just one rung above them - NAZI'S! 74 million votes for Trump in 2020, would it be fair to call those voters "MAGA", or just "Republicans"?  

If the former,  you've basically just argued that at least 1/5th of the adult American population is just one rung below being Nazi's! If the latter,  then what is the distinction between Republicans and MAGA. As far as I know,  no one has ever officially defined MAGA beyond a slogan, and that's part of the problem as any definition you provide will just be your interpretation. 

At a bare minimum you've categorised an entire voting bloc (Republicans) as collectively belonging to a group that is categorised as "hate". As such,  I would argue the categories are insufficient and by nature divisive!

[Raptor Witness]

1 hour ago, and-then said:

….. It's simply human nature to resist oppression, is it not?

Your idea of simple “human nature” is what happened on Bloody Sunday in Alabama, when the whites felt “oppressed.”

[Tatetopa]

1 hour ago, and-then said:

At this point, anyone who can't see the bias, hate, and targeting... doesn't WANT TO SEE IT.  I think those who ignore it now, will try to ignore it even after DC escalates the force level.  What can I say?  It would be foolish to expect no blowback, eventually.  It's simply human nature to resist oppression, is it not?

My dad was a church going geologist in the Texas Oil Business.  Its hard to get more conservative than that.  Two of my uncles were Klan wannabes hell bent on teaching 12 year old me how to shatter a coke bottle thrown from a moving car at the feet of a black pedestrian on the sidewalk and yell the appropriate swear words. Believe me,  I know the difference.

Conservatives used to be smart and usually somewhat compassionate and honest.  Democrats used to be the stupid, crooked ones.   Neither side, conservatives or liberals fanaticized about overthrowing the government just because they didn't get their way all the time.

I suspect conservatives still embody those qualities.  When Lauren Boebert struts across the stage in front of a pulpit and talks about Christian Nationalism, or Margery Taylor Green talks about Jewish Space Lasers they are not  conservatives.  When Gym Jordan wants to trash the Constitution and change laws to protect his criminal leader, he is not a conservative.

[pellinore]

17 minutes ago, Occupational Hubris said:

He's not, though. He thinks it's all an evil seditious plot from the left. He went off the deep end a while ago. 

We are lucky in the UK that we are a largely secular nation- the majority think the few people who take the Bible literally are harmless nutters.The Conservative Party (our version of your Republicans) are attempting to rebrand their extreme right wing, the ERG, (whose slogan is "Hate foreigners not Us")  as "National Conservatives". They invited some right wing US guest speakers at their first conference recently and one of them gave a speech about something like "What is the UK without Christianity?". No one, not even they, knew what this meant.  It would have at least some meaning if they had asked "Where in the UK is Christianity?" but it would have still have had no point. For most of the population, the CofE officiates civil functions like weddings and funerals but that is about it.

Edited May 27, 2023 by pellinore

[Occupational Hubris]

7 minutes ago, Paranoid Android said:

 

you've basically just argued that at least 1/5th of the adult American population is just one rung below being Nazi's!

Yes

[Kenemet]

40 minutes ago, Paranoid Android said:

The Republican party = mild hate? MAGA, a step up, and just one rung above them - NAZI'S! 74 million votes for Trump in 2020, would it be fair to call those voters "MAGA", or just "Republicans"?  

If the former,  you've basically just argued that at least 1/5th of the adult American population is ju

We know that not everyone who voted for Trump is a hardcore MAGA-FAN.

I have seen several Republicans say they didn't vote for him and a few (like 2-3) who did and regretted it.  They're still Republican, though.

It's a false dichotomy to think that MAGA-FANs are Republican (some are Independents, some Tea Party, some other) or all Republicans are MAGA-FANs.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Kenemet

[Agent0range]

9 minutes ago, Paranoid Android said:

The Republican party = mild hate? MAGA, a step up, and just one rung above them - NAZI'S! 74 million votes for Trump in 2020, would it be fair to call those voters "MAGA", or just "Republicans"?  

Not all bugs are ants, but all ants are bugs.  Not all Republicans are white supremacists, but all white supremacists are Republican.  The leader of the Oath Keepers got 18 years.  I'm quite sure you're against that.

[+Link of Hyrule]

21 minutes ago, Agent0range said:

Not all bugs are ants, but all ants are bugs.  Not all Republicans are white supremacists, but all white supremacists are Republican.  The leader of the Oath Keepers got 18 years.  I'm quite sure you're against that.

Richard Spencer endorsed Joe Biden and the democrats at the last election!

[+Link of Hyrule]

28 minutes ago, Occupational Hubris said:

Yes

OK . I disagree.  Thanks for sharing. 

[+Link of Hyrule]

27 minutes ago, Kenemet said:

We know that not everyone who voted for Trump is a hardcore MAGA-oid.

I have seen several Republicans say they didn't vote for him and a few (like 2-3) who did and regretted it.  They're still Republican, though.

It's a false dichotomy to think that MAGA-oids are Republican (some are Independents, some Tea Party, some other) or all Republicans are MAGA-oids.

We don't have a definition for MAGA, that was my whole point.  You're opinion here sounds reasonable,  and I'm not necessarily arguing against it by writing this. But just for a comparison,  another member has already said that they agree that any Trump voter is MAGA, hence my argument that 74 million voting adults have been pegged as one step below Nazi's, and that is a sickening way to view the world, IMHO!!

[Kenemet]

1 minute ago, Paranoid Android said:

We don't have a definition for MAGA, that was my whole point.  You're opinion here sounds reasonable,  and I'm not necessarily arguing against it by writing this. But just for a comparison,  another member has already said that they agree that any Trump voter is MAGA, hence my argument that 74 million voting adults have been pegged as one step below Nazi's, and that is a sickening way to view the world, IMHO!!

I'd agree - I think it's unfair to assume that all Republicans are devoted MAGA followers and vice-versa.  However, the concepts that that are being presented to them are fueling more dangerous elements to act in ways that harm their fellow Americans (with mass murder as one of the results of the directed messages to the ... extremist right-wingers).

In this age of hasty decisions and shallow thinking, people often are easily manipulated because they don't ask for the other side of a story.  I fall prey to that sometimes, myself.  But the mythos that the MAGA folks perpetuate is far more harmful.

More disturbingly, these are the folks that (on a conservative board that I monitor) often say things like they've got guns and there'll be a bloodbath of liberals real soon now.  Yes, much of it is just hot air, but... still... replacing a call for dialogue with a call go get your gun and mow down any liberal is not the sort of thing we should sanction here in America.

I