First Barrel: If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that the feds had saved us from the world’s worst terrorist right nearby in Ogdensburg. The number keeps changing, but they seized somewhere between 175 and 400 weapons from John Rumble, along with a lot of ammunition. This guy was planning something really big, right?

Well, a friend of his said “his father was a World War II veteran who started a collection of war memorabilia to which Mr. Rumble himself continued to add.”

Another friend described him “as a survivalist who disapproves of a large, activist government.”

One report said he had a “bunker full of food” and another that he was wearing a ballistic vest when he was arrested.

The feds say he was associated with a drug-trafficking ring, apparently based on two different anonymous sources, one of whom will not face any charges, but they only found some marijuana residue at Rumble’s home.

And Rumble has a Federal Firearms License. And he was arrested without firing a shot.

Some terrorist.

Second Barrel:

The raid makes a lot more sense, though, when you take a look at another profiling report that has been leaked, this one from the Department of Homeland Security, titled Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.

Here’s some of the commentary from Infowars:

According to the DHS and FBI, local law enforcement’s primary concern should be the high volume of gun and ammunitions purchases over the last few months. The document equates Americans who stockpile ammunition to “rightwing terrorists.” Moreover, stockpiling (merely purchasing) ammunition is an indication of involvement in “paramilitary training exercises” and potential terrorist activity.

According to the Irish Times, the “stockpiling” of ammunition and increased firearm sales are due to the fear Obama will impose new gun laws and other restrictions. “Gun-shop owners and the National Rifle Association (NRA) say the surge is driven by worries that President Obama is planning to ban many types of firearms and that the deepening economic crisis will fuel a crime wave.”

If we are to believe the DHS and the FBI, these Americans, numbering in the millions, are violence prone terrorists and a threat to local law enforcement. In addition, as noted below, concerns about crime due to a worsening economy are paranoid fantasies exploited by terrorists.

The document states that job losses, home foreclosures, and the collapsing economy are “perceived” by rightwing terrorists and exploited by them to “draw in new recruits” and further radicalize “those already subscribing to extremist beliefs.” According to the document, the economic crisis is a perception without a foundation in reality, merely an exaggerated device used by terrorists.

In other words, if you complain about the faltering economy reported upon numerous times a day by the corporate media you are a rightwing extremist and a terrorist who may resort to violence and threaten local law enforcement, especially if you support the Second Amendment, own firearms, and “stockpile” (purchase) ammunition.

And a footnote in the document divides “rightwing terrorists” into two categories — “adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely.”

So if you’re worried about the economy, Second Amendment rights, and think the feds have usurped power that belongs to the states and the people – you’re a right-wing extremist.

Welcome to the club.