Lawmaker: Terrorists Could Infiltrate State Government

Scenario Alpha Foxtrot Zulu: Johnny Jihadi applies for a job at George Washington Carver Middle School in Pacoima. He gets the job. Seems like a nice guy. Mr. Jihadi starts teaching children how to overthrow of the government of the United States, by force and violence. The eighth-graders seem receptive. You're the principal, what do you do?

Never fear, California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of Irvine -- author of the Red-baiting novel "China Attacks" -- has written AB 137 to deal with this problem. To DeVore (in photo, during L.A. riots of 1992), there is a "clear and present danger" that "extremist terror networks will seek employment with this state ... to inflict great harm on the citizens of this state, to raise money to support global terrorist operations, and to spread deceit and teach untruth."

Hmmmmm. "Teach untruth."

That sounds sort of squishy. I mean, we are writing law here. Whose truth, then? Well, one editorial board thinks "AB137 could be as much a tool for false accusations, witch hunts, xenophobia and discrimination as a useful legal provision." Some would say that sounds a bit like what happened when California tried to enforce it's own anti-Communist laws in the 1950s.

DeVore agrees. He wants those musty old laws ... updated. "As I considered California's anti-Communist laws I thought that rather than simply eliminate them, it would be make sense to update them by striking the prohibitions on the Communist Party and on teaching Marxism and replace them with a prohibition on membership in and financial support of, foreign terrorist organizations."

But what if Suzy Suicide, a member of the public, wants to use the school gym for a meeting? DeVore would require her to sign a "Statement of Information," which appears after the jump below. Indeed, all readers of this blog are requested to sign and return the form to Political Muscle immediately.

(Photo: ChuckDeVore.com)

STATEMENT OF INFORMATION The undersigned states that, to the best of his or her knowledge, the school property for use of which application is hereby made will not be used for the commission of any act intended to further any program or movement the purpose of which is to accomplish the overthrow of the government of the United States by force, violence, or other unlawful means; That ____, the organization on whose behalf he or she is making application for use of school property, does not, to the best of his or her knowledge, advocate the overthrow of the government of the United States or of the State of California by force, violence, or other unlawful means, and that, to the best of his or her knowledge, it is not an extremist terror network as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1028 of the Government Code. This statement is made under the penalty of perjury.

                        __________________________
                        (Signature)