The Free Thought Project Is An Anti-Government Group Supporting The Bundy Militia

Last week, I revealed to readers how the organization Cop Block was defending the Bundy militia members who have taken over a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon. Many liberals regularly read and follow Cop Block, along with other groups like The Free Thought Project which pose as advocacy groups, but are not-so-secretly anti-government activists.



On Wednesday, the fire chief of Harney County where the militia takeover has occurred resigned, claiming he didn't like the government's response to the occupation. The website Free Thought Project covered the story with the headline "Oregon Fire Chief Catches FBI Agents Posing as Militia – Quits His Job in Protest" - and claims that the FBI is trying to provoke an armed showdown with the militia members.

Many activists and militia members are now suspecting that the undercover agents were planning to act as agent provocateurs and create trouble in order to frame the protesters for things that they did not do. This theory is supported by the fact these undercover agents were reportedly bothering locals and acting in a threatening manner.

However, mainstream media has reported that militia members were harassing locals, but now that version of events is being brought into question considering the fact that undercover agents were posing as militia. The looming threat of agent provocateurs may be one of the reasons why the refuge occupiers are turning away help from outside militias who have attempted to join the occupation. (Source)

What The Free Thought Project blogger John Vibes conveniently leaves out is that fire chief Chris Briles was sympathetic to the militia in the first place, and that he announced his resignation at a press conference where Ammon Bundy stood with him. This isn't an accidental oversight while blogging from hundreds or thousands of miles away from where the story is happening, it is a deliberate omission of key facts to promote an agenda supportive of the Bundys, and other anti-government groups like them.

Chris Briles is hardly an impartial government official who uncovered some shocking plot against protesters, but a Bundy sympathizer who is promoting conspiracy stories to give credence to the claim that the Bundy militia is simply a group of peaceful occupiers fighting against government tyranny and overreach.

Here's what the local TV station KATU had to say about Chris Briles:

Briels is a member of the Community Committee for Public Safety, which is a local group that's expressed interest in taking over for the Bundy protesters to work to reclaim local rancher's land rights when and if they leave. (Source)

So why would The Free Thought Project leave out these important facts about Chris Briles and the Bundy Militia? If you dig around on their website, you'll find that they promote the same gun confiscation stories that the NRA and gun fanatics regularly repeat, along with false articles about vaccines and other debunked conspiracy stories.

As I've said before, underneath their smoke screen of being police accountability advocates, they're little more than anti-government activists that use well-meaning liberals to spread their message.

Q&A Session December 2015

Here are the results of my Q&A session.

Michael Pettersen: Corned Beef or Pastrami on a Ruben?

Pastrami. I love both but pastrami is where it's at.

Maryse Bonniwell: Is there, really and honestly, a chance Bernie could win. He doesn't get the coverage the others do, he doesn't have the same machine behind him. I know many of us feel like he should, but, in the real world, the one we live in, with apathy as ramped as it is, and racism gaining ground every day with the help of you know who, does he really stand a chance?

Bernie Sanders can win, but I don't know that liberals are ready for him.

Crystal Minarik: What brought you to Louisiana?

A series of unfortunate events. A bad economy in Florida during the housing crisis and a nasty divorce. I lost everything, then eventually became more successful here in my career than I was there.

Lance Burson: What would have to happen for the American south (I live in suburban Atlanta) to become a stronghold for the Democrats?

For people to wake up and realize the GOP is not their friend.

Pam Philpot: Do you see a relationship between party affiliation and sharing of Facebook hoaxes?

People are dumb on both sides of the aisle.



Patti Casey: Who does Peanut really love most---you or your wife?

Me. He tolerates her but loves me, except when there is food involved.

Donna Schoetker Dunn: What do you enjoy doing when you have some down time?

Fishing or playing poker.

Mack Kirk: Growing up in the south was your political ideology different at one point? Ask for myself having gone through a Libertarian phase into my mid 20s.

I was once a conservative Republican. That has obviously changed. I have some beliefs that are mildly conservative or libertarian now, but I base those on facts instead of popular ideology on the left.

Dan Whitaker: Do you actually believe that if my neighbor plants his fields with GMO corn, and because of prevailing winds his crop cross pollinates my crop, Monsanto can sue me?

No. They have been very careful on that issue.

Leonard Gerber: What is your real name and why pick such a ludicrous alias?

I don't disclose my name to most people because of the fact that there are both liberals and conservatives who would love nothing more than to torment me and my family. The alias was given to me by a fellow Jewish coworker years ago, and I decided to start writing under this pseudonym as a joke, but now everyone knows by the name Manny Schewitz.

David Matheny: Do you suck the heads on Crawfish?

Of course. That is where all the fat is and it is delicious.

That's it for this Q&A session, I'll do it again soon.