A report about modern militia activity will no longer be distributed to Missouri law enforcement officers after receiving nationwide criticism that it contains political profiling.
The decision came Wednesday, hours after Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder called for Department of Public Safety Director John Britt to be placed on leave because of the report, which said followers of third-party political candidates might be militia members.
But the superintendent of the Missouri Highway Patrol said Britt wasn't to blame. Instead, Col. James Keathley said, the issue is a flawed oversight system, which will be revamped. Keathley said the report was sent to highway patrol members without being reviewed by him or Britt.
Since the report was leaked to the public earlier this month, it has been criticized by conservatives and third-party candidates.
The report was produced by the Missouri Information Analysis Center as a guide for state troopers. The center, created by the Department of Homeland Security after Sept. 11, is a means to share security information between different entities.
The report, titled, "The Modern Militia," specifically mentioned 2008 presidential candidates Republican Ron Paul, Libertarian Bob Barr and the Constitution Party's Chuck Baldwin. It said that militia members "most commonly associate with 3rd party political groups."
LOL.
Britt apologized on Monday to the three candidates for the inartful way in which one section of the report was written.
"Upon review and reflection, it is the judgment of the Department of Public Safety that the report should have made no reference to supporters of Ron Paul, Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin or of any other third-party political candidates," wrote Britt, who is a former Secret Service agent.
In the letter to the three candidates, he promised to redact the section in question.
Not so LOL... the whole idiocy should be dumped.
Missouri Libertarian Party spokesman Mike Ferguson said his party is happy with Britt's apology, although they support the efforts of other groups to look at other parts of the report.
The response hasn't satisfied Kinder. He criticized the public safety director's apology for not mentioning another aspect of the report, which included militant anti-abortion as an ideology sometimes espoused by militia members. Kinder pointed to other groups, such as eco-terrorists, not mentioned in the report.
"There was no mention of this, because apparently it's more important to focus on pro-lifers," he said.
Yeah... and never mind the actual real terrorists out there.
* shakes head *
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