On The Front Lines

[poncho]

Rutherford Institute Defends Marine Arrested, Incarcerated in Psych Ward & Detained Indefinitely for Posting Political Views, Song Lyrics to Facebook



August 20, 2012


CHESTERFIELD, VA— The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a former Marine, 26-year-old Brandon Raub, who was arrested, detained indefinitely in a psych ward and forced to undergo psychological evaluations based solely on the controversial nature of lines from song lyrics, political messages and virtual card games which he posted to his private Facebook page. Although the FBI and Chesterfield County police have not charged Brandon Raub, a resident of Chesterfield County, Va., with committing any crime, they arrested Raub on Thursday, August 16, 2012, and transported him to John Randolph Medical Center, where he was held against his will due to alleged concerns that his Facebook posts were controversial and “terrorist in nature.” In a hearing held at the hospital, government officials disregarded Raub’s explanation that the Facebook posts were being interpreted out of context, sentencing him up to 30 days’ further confinement in a VA psych ward. In coming to Raub’s defense, Rutherford Institute attorneys are challenging Raub’s arrest and forcible detention, as well as the government’s overt Facebook surveillance and violation of Raub’s First Amendment rights.


“For government officials to not only arrest Brandon Raub for doing nothing more than exercising his First Amendment rights but to actually force him to undergo psychological evaluations and detain him against his will goes against every constitutional principle this country was founded upon. This should be a wake-up call to Americans that the police state is here,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “Brandon Raub is no different from the majority of Americans who use their private Facebook pages to post a variety of content, ranging from song lyrics and political hyperbole to trash talking their neighbors, friends and government leaders.”


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[billwald]

Heil Hitler!

 

[LadyEagle]

I found a link that shows his FB postings. He rambles on about leading a revolution and severing heads and axes, like a nut job. Am not posting the link because of profanity but you can find it, if interested.

After the Holmes incident in Colorado, you can bet the feds are watching FB etc. and with good reason.

 

[Winman]

Normally I am a big defender of free speech, but I found some of Raub's comments on Facebook and they are very disturbing. This fellow is delusional and has some real problems. One thing he wrote is that the Bush's have a castle in Colorado where they have been raping and sacrificing children for years. That is delusional.

I do think it was a correct move to hold this fellow for observation.

 

[poncho]

So it's okay to detain someone against their will without charges because their comments might be viewed as controversial to some?

Raub, who was arrested, detained indefinitely in a psych ward and forced to undergo psychological evaluations based solely on the controversial nature of lines from song lyrics, political messages and virtual card games which he posted to his private Facebook page, is being transferred from John Randolph Psychiatric Medical Hospital in Hopewell to the Veterans Hospital in Salem, Va., on the other side of the state. ("more than three hours away from his family, friends and legal team.") SOURCE

In the Soviet Union, psychiatric hospitals were often used by the authorities as prisons in order to isolate political prisoners from the rest of society, discredit their ideas, and break them physically and mentally; as such they were considered a form of torture.[2] The official explanation was that "no sane person would declaim against Soviet government and communism". SOURCE

With no arrest papers and no trials required, Chinese authorities commonly resort to forced psychiatric hospitalization if someone is considered a troublemaker but hasn't committed a crime. The tactic is frequently used to silence dissidents, political activists and people who make themselves a nuisance with complaints about unpaid wages, confiscated land and other injustices.

Now, for the first time, Chinese lawmakers have drafted a law spelling out when people can be confined to psychiatric hospitals against their will. SOURCE

Be sure to re-read 1984, especially O'Brien's "medicating' of Winston in the Ministry of Love, and Cancer Ward, Solzhenitsyn's account of the psychiatric torture that political prisoners endured under the Soviet system (essentially, the Soviet system was a cancer that was killing Russia. But it can't happen here!). SOURCE

 

[mont974x4]

He does seem to need some help. However, a line has been crossed that should raise some serious concerns in all our minds.

 

[Don]

Poncho, normally I would agree with you; however, I have to point out that Columbine changed our way of thinking about these things.

Back when you and I were younger, people would say such things, but it was usually a comment about another person's character that caused us to make such comments. We had no inclination to act on our comments.

Sometime in the last 20 years, we've gone from making such comments, to making such comments and then acting on them. And we've seen recently where, if a certain notebook had been opened by his psychiatrist, a mass murderer may have been stopped before he opened fire in a theater.

So sorry, but I'm going to have to "err on the side of caution" on this one. I almost hate saying it, but we're seeing a society that has somehow decided that making such comments and then acting on them is "acceptable"; and therefore, those we pay taxes to protect us are required to investigate and determine the credibility of each threat they discover.

The slippery slope is, in some cases, our own fault....

 

[Zaac]

Poncho, normally I would agree with you; however, I have to point out that Columbine changed our way of thinking about these things.

Where's ITL with his "that's your assertion" comments.

Back when you and I were younger, people would say such things,

Hmm/ You may need to prove that. Any citations?

but it was usually a comment about another person's character that caused us to make such comments. We had no inclination to act on our comments.

May need to show proof of this statement too.

Sometime in the last 20 years, we've gone from making such comments, to making such comments and then acting on them. And we've seen recently where, if a certain notebook had been opened by his psychiatrist, a mass murderer may have been stopped before he opened fire in a theater.

Can you give us some real examples of this?

So sorry, but I'm going to have to "err on the side of caution" on this one. I almost hate saying it, but we're seeing a society that has somehow decided that making such comments and then acting on them is "acceptable";

Sounds like another assertion.

and therefore, those we pay taxes to protect us are required to investigate and determine the credibility of each threat they discover.

Another assertion

The slippery slope is, in some cases, our own fault....

Ungh ungh. It may be your fault, but the burden of proof is on you to prove that it's our own fault.

 

[poncho]

Poncho, normally I would agree with you; however, I have to point out that Columbine changed our way of thinking about these things.

Back when you and I were younger, people would say such things, but it was usually a comment about another person's character that caused us to make such comments. We had no inclination to act on our comments.

Sometime in the last 20 years, we've gone from making such comments, to making such comments and then acting on them. And we've seen recently where, if a certain notebook had been opened by his psychiatrist, a mass murderer may have been stopped before he opened fire in a theater.

So sorry, but I'm going to have to "err on the side of caution" on this one. I almost hate saying it, but we're seeing a society that has somehow decided that making such comments and then acting on them is "acceptable"; and therefore, those we pay taxes to protect us are required to investigate and determine the credibility of each threat they discover.

The slippery slope is, in some cases, our own fault....

Those we pay taxes to protect us are very busy turning what was once a republic into a militarized panopticon. It's strange to me but I imagine normal to most folks (I'm just paranoid ya know) that our government is gearing up for war against us. Need citations? It's in the news everyday.

The DHS buying millions of rounds of ammo. The Social Security Admin is buying millions of rounds of ammo. The police have been heavily militarized, Posse Comitatus hasn't been repealed but the military is actively policing the citizenry openly. The president with the help of congress has made himself king, judge and executioner over all of us that he alone judges to be a threat and therefore unworthy of constitutional or human rights. Now there is "Trapwire" and soon the sky will be buzzing with drones lovingly watching our every move from on high, morning, noon and night.

And all this because "the terrorists" are out to kill us all"? How can this possibly still fly as the reason to turn the USA into an open air prison where all of us are guilty until proven innocent, and that's if and only if the state in all it's magnificent wisdom deems us worthy of due process.

All the while the state itself is the biggest supporter of global terrorism on the planet. Bar none! Libya and Syria have proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt now.

So what have we got? Easier to count what we don't got I guess.

We don't got due process.

We don't got habeas corpus.

We don't got privacy.

We don't got any fourth amendment protection.

We don't got any fifth amendment protection.

We don't got a right to a lawyer. Unless granted permission from our accusers.

We don't got a right to face our accuser. Unless our accuser grants us permission.

We don't got a right to examine the evidence against us.

And now it would seem we don't even got a right to complain in public!

What's left to give up for a false sense of security Don? The terrorists are to busy taking our money to overthrow the Syrian government and keep the Libyians killing each other to be much of a threat to us now. And if they work for us as the evidence plainly shows then why do we need so many unconstitutional safeguards that make us all threats to the state?

How can it be Don? How can people twist their minds around the blatant hypocrisy coming from our "leaders" and still have faith that the state will do the right thing???

You gotta help me out here Don. I just don't get it anymore.

Where's the line in the sand? I keep asking. It's moved up another notch I keep hearing. Everything changed when . . . I keep hearing.

Okay sure granted everything has changed right down to our reasoning.

But, if the terrorists work for us as the evidence abundantly shows then it all changed on false pretenses. So why do people still have faith in a state that's obviously busy gearing up for war against them?

I'm told the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result each time. If that's anywhere near accurate then the people of the USA have gone stark raving mad for putting up with the shameless straight faced lies,the looting of the economy and the total hypocrisy that has become routine for the state.

What's going to be acceptable for the state to do to us next week, or next month?

 

[Don]

I don't have a good answer for you. People are too comfortable with their creature comforts, and are willing to put up with increasing indignities to maintain life "as they know it." Even here on Baptist Board, people that I usually agree with surprised me with their willing acceptance and support of TSA searches because it makes them feel safer.

How do you boil a frog? By putting it in boiling water and hoping it doesn't jump out? Or by putting it in cool water and gradually increasing the temperature, thereby fooling the frog into not realizing it's being boiled?

If people would only give that question some consideration, and then ponder things that have been going on since even before 9/11....

 

[saturneptune]

I don't have a good answer for you. People are too comfortable with their creature comforts, and are willing to put up with increasing indignities to maintain life "as they know it." Even here on Baptist Board, people that I usually agree with surprised me with their willing acceptance and support of TSA searches because it makes them feel safer.

How do you boil a frog? By putting it in boiling water and hoping it doesn't jump out? Or by putting it in cool water and gradually increasing the temperature, thereby fooling the frog into not realizing it's being boiled?

If people would only give that question some consideration, and then ponder things that have been going on since even before 9/11....

Just got through flying for the first time in fifteen years to Washington and Oregon. Never again thanks to the TSA. We almost missed a flight because we had a six ounce bottle of cocktail sauce in our carry on bags. We got pulled aside, questioned, delayed etc. We ended up having to throw it away. Aside from the shoes off, the delays, etc in some airports where planes are changed, one cannot physically stay in the security zone in getting from one gate to another, which means another check. In addition, like most government operations, the screeners seem totally disorganized and clueless. It is not worth it to me. I will either drive or stay home.

 

[poncho]

Judge orders release of detained Marine veteran

HOPEWELL, Va. (WTVR) – A Hopewell circuit court judge has ordered that a Marine veteran detained over anti-government Facebook posts be released from a psychiatric hospital.

CBS 6 News’ Catie Beck said the Judge Allan Sharrett dismissed the case Thursday against Brandon Raub. The judge said the original petition for Raub’s detention contained no facts. In other words, there was no information on why Raub was being held — and the judge deemed this violated his civil liberties.

As a result, the judge ruled the government had no grounds to hold Raub.
Beck said the judge is in the process of writing an order for Raub’s release. He is expected to be released from a the hospital in Salem, Virginia Thursday afternoon.

CONTINUE . . .

I'll drink (1/2 caff coffee) to that!

 

[poncho]

Lawyer: 20 More Cases Similar to Brendon Raub Ongoing

The lawyer who helped secure the release of Brendon Raub, a former Marine forcibly incarcerated in a psychiatric ward by authorities in Virginia for political posts on Facebook, told the Alex Jones Show today that there are currently a further 20 cases in his county alone that are similar in nature to Raub’s detention.

John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute also said that he had been contacted by numerous veterans in the aftermath of Raub’s release who had encountered similar problems with authorities attempting to have them declared mentally ill.

​

Whitehead attributed the high number of cases involving veterans as a consequence of the Department of Homeland Security’s aggressive campaign to demonize former servicemembers as domestic extremists.

Despite controversy at the time, DHS chief Janet Napolitano said she stood by an April 2009 DHS intelligence assessment that listed returning vets as likely domestic terrorists.

​

Just a month later, the New York Times reported on how Boy Scout Explorers were being trained by the DHS to kill “disgruntled Iraq war veterans” in terrorist drills.

​

The FBI has also gone out of its way to characterize returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan as a major domestic terrorist threat.

Whitehead pointed to efforts on behalf of health authorities in the United States to characterize distrust of authority as a mental illness under the label “oppositional defiant disorder” or ODD.

​

As we highlighted earlier today, veterans in particular are being targeted in police raids to confiscate their firearms based on the manufactured pretext that they are “mentally defective.”

CONTINUE . . .

So when did black become white and up become down. It used to be American veterans were our heros and terrorists our enemies. Today though the terrorists are our heros (those we support and use to overthrow "evil regimes" who dare thumb their nose at the NWO) and American veterans are the enemy.

Am I the only one here that finds this "ODD"?





​

 

[Don]

Well, I'm man enough to say my initial assessment seems to have been wrong; and and I need to do some more reading.

 

[poncho]

Well, I'm man enough to say my initial assessment seems to have been wrong; and and I need to do some more reading.

Believe it or not Don this is all old news to me. I posted it all here as it was happening play by play. The Boy Scouts being trained to put down "disgruntled vets", vets being declared mentally ill and having their guns confiscated, the troops being fed psychotropic drugs like they were candy and the whole nine yards.

No one cared. I imagine they thought I was "dislusional" for questioning authority.

They all say they support the troops, and that's all fine and dandy but what about the vets? Do they support them? Not so much evidently, you witnessed em throwing Raub to the lions quick enough didn't ya?

So the propaganda worked this time Don. Will it work next time?

Gonna let ya in on a little tip Don, THIS is the propaganda we can expect to be hearing from now on from our ever faithful leaders, foreign policy wonks and talking tv corporate heads.

"Islamic extremists are good, American veterans are bad."

Watch for it. It'll be on every channel and all from the same script.

 

[poncho]

War On Terror’s New Targets: Veterans, Tea Partiers, Anti-Fed Activists

Big Sis uses methods designed to catch Al-Qaeda terrorists as tools to silence dissent against big government.

Two new videos recently released by the Department of Homeland Security add to the mountain of evidence that proves Big Sis has now dispensed with all pretense of the war on terror being focused on Al-Qaeda Muslims, as tools that were designed to catch foreign terrorists are now being targeted against Americans who are opposed to big government.

The two recent PSAs (watch them below), part of Homeland Security’s “See Something Say Something snitch campaign, portray white middle class Americans as terrorists in almost all of the scenarios shown in the clips.

CLICK HERE to view videos.

Far from representing some superficial nod to political correctness, this is in fact a deliberate effort by the feds to characterize predominantly white, middle class, politically engaged Americans as domestic extremists. It’s all part of the agenda to frame dissent against big government as dangerous radicalism.

Still don't believe it?

Read the MIAC report.

Read any of the numerous "law enforcement" pamphlets in this article. They all say the same thing. We are the "terrorists" the state is most worried about.

All this while the media and foreign policy wonks work overtime to make Islamic extremists into sexy heros.

Is this sickening or am I just afflicted with "ODD"?

 

[poncho]

This guy is obviously stricken with "ODD".

The war on terror is coming home to America and the new bad guy is the former good guy: the American Veteran. Once honored for his bravery and self-sacrifice, the American Warrior is now disowned and despised by what is presumably his own government. The question is why? Let's drop the labels, ignore the media's false representations of returning veterans, and look at this clearly.

Veterans are being labeled "white supremacists," "mentally ill truthers," "mentally defective," "domestic terrorists," and "right-wing Tea Party radicals." But they are none of these things. They are patriots. The scapegoating of American veterans must end. For a society and a government to scapegoat its own warriors who risk their lives for the safety of the weak is the lowest crime imaginable.

If we mindlessly accept the validity of the totalitarian labels that are being used to scapegoat veterans then it becomes easier to justify our silence when they are illegally taken away to psych wards for exercising their free speech.

We have to admit to ourselves that it is bizarre that the warriors who were tasked with destroying the old bad guys (Al-Qaeda, Muslims) are now classified as the new bad guys who must be vanished from the tribe and extinguished. This shocking turn of events should make us question the foundations of not just the criminal war on terror, but of our own fragile psyches, which can be so easily manipulated by politicians, bureaucracies, and the modern mass press.

The warriors who are coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq deserve praise and gratitude, but they're not getting it. Instead, they are being received with a cold shoulder and treated like a disease by the press, the government, and society at large. This is not healthy nor honourable behaviour.

Why are people so fickle? The U.S. government is turning heroic defenders into domestic terrorists almost overnight, and some people think it is morally correct to go along with this nonsensical narrative? How can people disown others in their community who are a part of themselves, especially returning warriors, so quickly and thoughtlessly? This article tries to answer that painful question.

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