Georgia: publication features Obama in crosshairs on cover for article on white supremacist threat

by: Pam Spaulding

Wed May 21, 2008 at 17:00:00 PM EDT

"We knew we were on the provocative edge," Altork said. "But it's a very fair piece, a smart piece."

The article was pitched and reported by veteran freelance journalist Alan Sverdlik, who said he was curious how law enforcement agencies were handling the increased number of threats lodged against Obama by white supremacist groups, some of whom are based around north Fulton. Sverdlik said Tuesday he had not seen the cover and had no input in its development.

The Beacon's publisher said the art "projected the story," one which he believes serves a valuable public interest: "We're hoping federal law enforcement takes notice." So far, however, the content inside has been obscured by the furor over its illustration.

"Their slogan is 'responsibly provocative,'" wrote Miami teacher Rian Fike. "This is irresponsibly inflammatory." And poorly timed, though The Beacon can't be held accountable on that front. The article's publication coincided with an ill-advised quip by former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee after a loud noise interrupted his speech to the National Rifle Association.

"That was Barack Obama," Huckabee said. "He just tripped off a chair. He's getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him and he - he dove for the floor."

..."That was a bad break for us," Altork said.

"With the selection of Barack Obama as the first black Democrat nominee for President seeming more possible by the day, racists and white supremacists are posting increasingly ugly and threatening remarks on the Internet," says Mark Potok, resident expert on the radical right at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., the arch-nemesis of the Ku Klux Klan and its allies.

He adds, "The most heated anti-Obama talk appears on sites that allow people to post messages anonymously. The so-called white nationalists who inhabit these sites are deeply concerned that their comments are being monitored by law enforcement for any criminal threat relating to the presidential race."

...With 42 active white power cells, Georgia ranks fourth in the country behind California, Texas and South Carolina, according to the Montgomery center, whose investigative arm, KlanWatch, supplies intelligence to state and federal law enforcement agencies. Ironically, their map shows a concentration in metro Atlanta, with sprinklings in the state's northeast and northwest. The League of the South, described as neo-Confederate, and The Council of Conservative Citizens, deemed white nationalist, operate on the periphery of the North Fulton suburbs.

..."Libertarians, gun nuts, conspiracy theorists, leftovers from the militias, and yes, some who are petrified by Obama and what he represents. That's the group we've got here," says Mack Reynolds, a rare coin dealer. "We stay in touch by computer, fax and shortwave radio and have a little get-together every month. I'd say that 95 percent of them are good, honest, hardworking people."

Down a worn path through the brush, uniformed men, some with protruding bellies, others with faces painted green and black, crouched in wet grass as they practiced reconnaissance, ambushes and self-defense. As they attempted an obstacle course, their grunts and groans brought smirks to the faces of some of the women.

"They're practicing military maneuvers which, evidently, many of them have forgotten," says Reynolds, smiling himself as he turns over a slab of pork.

***

Bonus bigotry: at least this WingNutDaily freak cuts right to the chase:

...for whom will you vote?
Posted by Sol on May 19, 2008 21:07

mccain, or 3rd party - just to keep Stymie from the Office.

http://www.chopperfreak.com/st...