The Department of Homeland Brown-Shirts? Is Big Brother Actually Watching You?

Update [12/12/11]:  The third paragraph of the story below references an article initially reported by Oath Keepers and contains a quote from a source named Rand Cardwell.  Oath Keepers pulled the story after publication because, to quote Oath Keepers, Mr. Cardwell "is now denying that he ever told us that event occurred."  At this point, we are hard-pressed to verify either the truth of the statement attributed to Mr. Cardwell's in the third paragraph of this story or Mr. Cardwell's subsequent denials and urge our readers to use their own discretion when it comes to the veracity of the article referenced in the third paragraph.  We thank our readers for bringing the Cardwell redaction to our attention.

When Senator Rand Paul recently stated from the well of the Senate that those who store more than a 7-day supply of food in their homes may be considered a terrorist threat by our own government and subject to detention at Gitmo, a few eyebrows went up.  On the surface, the statement appeared to be a hat-tip to what liberals derisively call the "lunatic fringe." However, what was formerly the stuff of conspiracy theories is now moving into the mainstream, bolstered by the frightening and undeniable fact that government agencies on the federal, state and local level are, in fact, actively monitoring citizens who store food.

Is it possible that the same government that prefers to call acts of actual terrorism committed by radical Islamic extremists "man-made events" and recently re-classified the horrendous Fort Hood massacre as an incident of mere "workplace violence" is spending taxpayer money and resources to keep tabs on patriotic Americans simply because they own firearms or store excessive amounts of food?  Is it possible that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was created to protect Americans from terrorist threats from foreign radical Islamic extremists and criminal cartels from south of the border is now actively engaged in monitoring the comings and goings of patriotic Americans?  Is it possible that the report issued by DHS in April of 2009, which directed local law enforcement agencies to monitor the activities of military veterans, gun owners, pro-lifers and political conservatives, was not just a fluke or a single report taken out of context?

Evidence is mounting.  Recently, an organization called Oath Keepers reported that federal agents paid a visit to a Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Church food storage cannery in Tennessee and demanded the facility’s customer lists. According to Oath Keepers: "This incident was confirmed, in person, by Oath Keepers Tennessee Chapter President, Rand Cardwell: 'A fellow veteran contacted me concerning a new and disturbing development. He had been utilizing a Mormon cannery near his home to purchase bulk food supplies. The man that manages the facility related to him that federal agents had visited the facility and demanded a list of individuals that had been purchasing bulk food. The manager informed the agents that the facility kept no such records and that all transactions were conducted on a cash-and-carry basis. The agents pressed for any record of personal checks, credit card transactions, etc., but the manager could provide no such record. The agents appeared to become very agitated and after several minutes of questioning finally left with no information. I contacted the manager and personally confirmed this information.'"

NewsChannel 5 in Nashville Tennessee initially reported back in November that the Tennessee Department of Health, with the assistance of the federal government, conducted door-to-door searches of Tennessee residents to access "disaster preparedness."  One of the assessments made, during these door to door searches, was an appraisal of the amount of food that residents maintained on premises.  According to NewsChannel 5: "The Metro Public Health and the Tennessee Department of Health will be using a tool designed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to go door to door and check to see how disaster-ready you are. The door to door assessment will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. It will be in 30 neighborhoods in Davidson County that have been randomly selected to be the target of a door to door assessment."

Admittedly, it is difficult to ascertain the government’s motives in these instances.  It’s not outside of the realm of possibility that foreign-born terrorists would visit a cannery in Tennessee to stock up on survival supplies, but, if the account of the initial witness is to be believed, why did government officials demand the facility’s entire customer list?  Why did the government agents not simply go before a judge, show cause and obtain a warrant for the customer lists?  Did the government agents follow up and ask specific questions about specific individuals or groups of individuals who were actually under investigation and may have visited the facility?  And moreover, even if the government agents’ motives were pristine, is allowing our government to obtain such broad information an infringement of the liberties of others who may have purchased food from the cannery?

There are too many questions and too few answers and moreover, while information on the scope of government involvement is not readily available, and the media has once again fallen short when it comes to reporting on activities that run counter to the Obama administration party line, the above examples are not isolated incidents and conservative watchdogs, survivalist and gun owners are on the alert.  As Karen De Coster with LewRockwell.com states: "Of course, this effort has nothing at all to do with assisting individuals or educating folks in disaster preparedness. It is a totalitarian operation to discover and track those individuals who are deemed to be 'preppers' so that the feds can ramp up their propaganda on 'homegrown terrorists.'"