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The Missouri "militia memo"
A while back, the Missouri Info Analysis Center (a State agency) and the MO highway patrol circulated a report claiming a resurgence in the militia movement and telling police to keep an eye on dangerous radicals concerned about unemployment, taxes, gangs, border security, inflation, abortion, and federal agencies.
Americans for Limited Government made a public records request for data relating to the preparation of the report, and information behind it, and got some interesting results. As in ... there are none. There isn't even a record of who wrote it.
Comments
While I am not familiar with Missouri law, if this was a federal FOIA request, the response would have been a violation of law.
Posted by: Federale at October 15, 2009 03:44 PM
Imagine you are a Homeland Security employee charged with generating a monthly email to LEO agencies that lists fresh threats, concerns, et. Your job evaluation and salary depend on coming up with a list once a month. So you do, even if you have to make it up.
Posted by: Anonymous at October 15, 2009 05:35 PM
Using information from the SPLC was a mistake. They have a very tilted agenda all their own.
Posted by: Jim K at October 15, 2009 05:52 PM
The Missouri state government is still infested with democrat hacks. The former AG, now Governor, didn't want anything coming back to him. No sir!
Posted by: Crucis at October 16, 2009 02:22 PM
The thing that jumped out at me was the statement they issued in response to the Sunshine law request: "[b]ackground material was not retained by the author during drafting” and “[t]here is no record listing the individual who wrote the report."
I may be a paranoid individual (and living in Missouri, I think it pays to be paranoid about these things) but how in the world can they claim the author kept no background material if they don't know who the author is? Do they have selective ESP? It only lets them know that the material the anonymous author used is no longer available?
Would someone in the state government like to answer my questions? Anyone?
The final quote is good: "If this continues, the American people will continue to question whether their government is a danger to them,” Wilson concluded.
No, I don't question whether my government is a danger to me - some things are iron-clad certainties.
Posted by: Steve Moyer at October 19, 2009 03:57 PM