Montana police identify new homeland security threat - The Rainbow Family
The Missoulian reported that the Missoula, Montana Police Department received the mayor’s approval for a $254,930 grant proposal to homeland security for a mobile communications vehicle. The city cited numerous hazards faced by the local area that would benefit from, as Assistant Police Chief Scott Hoffman calls it, the “motor home with communications and computers and radios and things like that.”
One hazard the city is concerned about is, The Rainbow Family, of course. This “extremist organization,” as described on the application, promotes peace, love, and understanding, which can only be considered a certain threat in this post 9-11 world.
But wait, what kind of terrorism could a large group of pacifists inflict on someplace like Missoula, Montana with such a huge population of less than 70,000 people? Hoffman wasn’t really sure. In his statement he said, “I don’t know what the hazards of the Rainbow people are.”
But, that didn’t stop him from prescribing an outlandish sum of money to counter this threat that he admittedly knows nothing about.
Fortunately, Police Lt. Scott Brodie came to the rescue, after the public received word of the request, with this totally legit reasoning for the quarter of a million dollar spend, “When they have their gatherings, they historically have created a mess that needs cleaned up.”
Of course! Everyone knows the police are the super janitors in charge of public park cleanup. That makes perfect sense.
Except, litter cleanup isn’t in a police officer’s job description. Even if it were, Lt. Brodie’s comments still lack actual evidence of widespread destruction. Even worse, his comments are in direct contradiction of the Rainbow Family’s core tenets.
Fox 13 out of Salt Lake City reported in August, following a Rainbow Family Gathering that included over 8,000 participants in the Uinta National Forest, “The Forest Service says the Rainbow Family left the 1,300 acres of land they were camping on in great condition.”
Their report concluded saying, “Officials with the Forest Service said there is no additional clean up necessary on the land.”
The Rainbow Family is described on WelcomeHome.org, as the following:
Some say we’re the largest non-organization of non-members in the world. We have no leaders, and no organization. To be honest, the Rainbow Family means different things to different people. I think it’s safe to say we’re into intentional community building, non-violence, and alternative lifestyles. We also believe that Peace and Love are a great thing, and there isn’t enough of that in this world. Many of our traditions are based on Native American traditions, and we have a strong orientation to take care of the Earth. We gather in the National Forests yearly to pray for peace on this planet.
Okay, we have a gathering of thousands of peace-loving people, often referred to as hippies, who clean up after themselves and take better care of the Earth than most of us. Yet, this police department, which consisted of less than 100 officers in 2012, seems to think a quarter million dollar communications vehicle will help them clean up when the party is over. Is there any logic in that at all?
Unfortunately it’s all in how you spin the numbers. A communications vehicle like that probably would be a nice thing to have. Necessary? Well…maybe not. But Homeland Security is looking for ways to spend its budget and such vehicles are one way of getting out a huge chunk of money to “help” a small police department. The Rainbow Family gathering is an event that likely does come with needs for service that could be facilitated out of a mobile command post. Calling them “terrorists” just checks another box for DHS to justify spending the money.
The “Patriot Act” and Homeland Security were huge mistakes - or deliberate acts - that ended many of our rights as US citizens…remember that Constitution thing the right wingers are so interested in? That supposedly guaranteed our freedom…Remember that?
I was one of the many citizens attending the City meeting to speak out against the buying of a “Communications Vehicle”. The “reason” given in the grant request for the need of this vehicle was because of the Rainbow People and Hells Angels problems? Please. Yet when this proposal was talked about at the meeting it was suddenly about avalanches and train derailments which we do have happen here in Missoula. As one of the many active political Progressives here we all knew it was more about shutting down our protest marches and other public events here more than anything else.
Grain of truth, google REX 84, Reagan and Ollie Norths plan to declare martial law and suspend the Constitution
Common sense, isn’t common