1. A few weeks ago, I read the early chapters of Kathleen Belew's scholarly, exhaustively documented book, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America, but for no good reason I got distracted and quit reading it. Today I returned. While Belew does refer to actions of the Ku Klux Klan and other white power organizations during Reconstruction and on into the 20th century, the bulk of her book focuses on the the emergence of white separatists organizing themselves and committing acts of violence in the wake of the end of the Vietnam War.
I'm going to finish this book before I write much more about it. I can say, at this point, that the timeline of events, say from the November 3, 1979 mass killing at Greensboro, NC to the attacks carried out by the Order, including the murder of radio host Alan Berg and the robbery of armored cars, to the establishment of the Aryan Nations compound in Hayden Lake, Idaho to the deadly standoffs at Ruby Ridge and Waco, TX to Timothy McVeigh blowing up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City is becoming clearer in my mind, as are the connections between these events.
What grievances drive this movement? What are the sources of disaffection that inspire separatism and virulent anti-government stances? What do proponents of white power hope to achieve through violence? Belew addresses these questions, but I want to understand her arguments better before I say more about them.
2. On my late afternoon walk today, I listened to an episode of Fresh Air. It was an interview with writer James Risen who discussed his book, The Last Honest Man, a study of former Idaho senator Frank Church and his work as chair of the 1975 Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities. His committee's probe into activities of the FBI, CIA, and other government entities led to the enactment of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 that imposed procedures for the gathering of intelligence.
It was a fascinating interview, full of wild stories as well as serious insight into Frank Church's efforts to hold powerful entities like the CIA to account, at least to some degree.
3. Debbie popped open a can of chicken chunks and combined it with pasta, red peppers, celery, mayo, and other ingredients to make a smashing chicken pasta salad. I served myself a bowl and customized it a bit by adding sweet pickle relish and a generous sprinkling of black pepper to my salad. I loved it.
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