A lot’s been going around over the last week or so about a report issued by the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), an intelligence clearinghouse or fushion center that feeds information to law enforcement entities in Missouri. The report states that there are militias that conduct domestic terrorist activities and that you can tell who they are by bumperstickers advertising the Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party, the Campaign for Liberty (and their associated political candidates like Congressman Ron Paul and former Congressman Bob Barr). There’s been such a buzz on the blogosphere that I decided to wait it out before putting fingers to keyboard. Since it’s started to receive some mainstream media coverage, there are now videos available that cover the issue, such as the following Glenn Beck and Penn Gillette conversation:

The MIAC report is flawed (err, you know, as in completely wrong and misinformed) in a number of ways.

First and foremost, a person’s peaceful associations do not translate into making that person associated with violent groups. Specifically, in the case of card-carrying Libertarians, we carry cards that specifically state that we will not initiate force to achieve political, social, and/or economic goals (unless this has changed since the last time I renewed my membership). Anyway, the adoption and adherence to a non-initiation of force principle makes for a lousy potential to be terrorists.

The second major flaw is that the report assumes every person in a militia-type of organization is violent or intends to initiate force. Having met people claiming to be involved in such organizations (which is nearly impossible not to if you live in a rural area of middle America), I really wouldn’t be too afraid of them. Those I’ve met have been old, overweight, ex-US military members who are simply concerned about where the country is heading. They have families and children, they attend church, and they think that the Constitution’s a good thing. That describes a large majority of all our neighbors (and they were always so quiet). I wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t even elected politicians (especially from the mountainous Western states) who had some sort of formal militia ties. Luckily for me, I forgot the names and whereabouts of all these random persons that I bumped into in all of my wilderness excursions and wouldn’t be able to tell you a thing about them (especially under conditions of extreme torture). 

The big unfortunate in this situation is that a lot of people will leave this as Libertarians being singled out, so why care? It’s Libertarians today, but maybe it’ll be you tomorrow. And in preparation, the Department of Homeland Security’s got a number of intelligence fusion centers at the ready in your state.

H/T:  The Smoking Argus, Deleware Libertarian, Kn@ppster, Independent Political Report, and others

Last night, I had the opportunity to hear a marketing presentation from an IBM Vice President. He talked a lot about the future of marketing and Web 2.0-compatible ideas like “swarm marketing.” There were so many important takeaways that I could have the foundations for writing an awesome book about the future of marketing and product management. Unfortunately, my mind kept coming back to an example he used about the re-branding efforts of Blackwater, the para-military security training and consulting company that caught a lot of heat a few years ago in Iraq. Recently, they announced that they were going to change their name to Xe (pronounced Zee). What the hell does that mean?

I don’t think a namechange is the best route to go, especially one that is quite enigmatic. At some point during the presentation, I wrote in my notebook the following (picture a grandmotherly type holding a steaming apple pie in front of you on a tray):  ”Grandma was going to bake an apple pie, until the terrorists came. But Blackwater stopped them.” I had to try really hard to hold back the laughter, since it was so cheesy, but I bet it would work. Take the message to the people in a public relations campaign that relates Blackwater to the warm, happy parts of what it means to be in America, a war against evil forces, duty, honor, and all those things that have nothing to do with Blackwater’s core mission of killing people. I mean, it worked for Bush (at least for a while).

Charles Grassley easily provided the quote of the day when discussing AIG executives: 

“I suggest, you know, obviously, maybe they ought to be removed,” Grassley said. “But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they’d follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I’m sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.

“And in the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide before they make any apology.”

As a public official, hasn’t Charles Grassley ever screwed the pooch or did something deceptive or unethical? If so, maybe he should take his own advice. I know that initially such a recommendation seems shocking, but having been a candidate for public office myself, I’ve met plenty of people who had no business being in public office. They had over-the-top egos, typically belittled honest hard-working citizens in private, and always sought to pad their pockets before providing for the public good. So, my question to Charles Grassley:  As you seem to think you have a right to says who lives or die, do you think that you can do the “honorable thing?” Of course not, I mean, you’re no Budd Dwyer…