We've all heard the "You might be a Redneck If" jokes, but in this series "You might be a Domestic Terrorist If" you believe in civil liberties, or if you actually believe in your Constitutional rights. Sadly, this is not a joke. You might also be a terrorist if you have ever expressed concerns of Big Brother. Are you a Christian who has ever discussed the anti-Christ, the apocalypse, or even mentioned the book of Revelation? Guess what, according to DHS then you too qualify as a potential domestic terrorist.

An 18-year veteran in law enforcement warned to beware of Homeland Security training that is being pushed to local law enforcement. James Wesley Rawles recently posted on AxXiom for Liberty some very disturbing trends in law enforcement training. He reports a shift in focus in the last 18 years from local community to a "federally dominated model of complete social control" coming out of, not surprisingly, Homeland Security. More specifically, the long-reaching DHS arms of TSA and FEMA have been pushed heavily in the last two years to local law enforcement.

Rawles notes that regardless to training session topics, the courses shift to domestic terrorist warnings in the community. That is not abnormal, but the wide scope of what our government describes as having the most potential to be domestic terrorists is highly alarming.

Rawles writes that the following are characteristics that qualifies a person as a potential domestic terrorist:

Expressions of libertarian philosophies (statements, bumper stickers)

Second Amendment-oriented views (NRA or gun club membership, holding a CCW permit)

Survivalist literature (fictional books such as "Patriots" and "One Second After" are mentioned by name )

) Self-sufficiency (stockpiling food, ammo, hand tools, medical supplies)

Fear of economic collapse (buying gold and barter items)

Religious views concerning the book of Revelation (apocalypse, anti-Christ)

Expressed fears of Big Brother or big government

Homeschooling

Declarations of Constitutional rights and civil liberties

Belief in a New World Order conspiracy

People engaged in the above activities or mind-set may be considered "extremists" or "militia groups" that exist in our communities and are "hiding in plain sight, ready to attack."

We've looked before at suspicious activity reports (SAR database) and fusion centers that keep info on supposedly "suspicious" people, keeping watchlists that can be accessed by local law enforcement and other government agencies. Domestic surveillance seems out of control and ACLU's Policy Counsel on National Security, Immigration and Privacy, Mike German, has said as much: "The most disturbing thing we've uncovered is the scope of domestic intelligence activities taking place today. Domestic spying is now being done by a host of federal agencies (FBI, DOD, DHS, DNI) as well as state and local law enforcement and even private companies. Too often this spying targets political activity and religious practices. We've documented intelligence activities targeting or obstructing First Amendment-protected activity in 33 states and DC."

I'm sure none of us want terrorists in our country. Although there may be domestic terrorists inside the USA, why don't we actually hear about these groups? Could it be that all the warnings of how there are such high risks for terrorism inside the U.S. might be because there are these utterly ridiculous lists of what qualifies as potential terrorists?

I strongly disagree that We the People of the USA, the land of free, are a wildly dangerous group. In fact, I don't think terrorists are lurking everywhere in America, waiting to attack. I believe, it is because we love America that we talk about and write about the worrisome facts of our great country becoming the land of surveillance and distrust, the place where neighbors are encouraged to report neighbors, and where local law enforcement is being told to be on the lookout for terrorists lurking all over their communities.