When you hear the word "patriot" do you think of someone who stands for the national anthem, perhaps serves in the Armed Forces, and loves their country?  Well, "patriot" may become a dirty word if the new Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2018 becomes a law. (And it probably will – we've seen the unPatriot Act and the NDAA repeatedly pass with little more than a rustle of dissent.)

Congress finds the following:

(1) White supremacists and other right-wing extremists are the most significant domestic terrorism threat facing the United States.

(2) An unclassified May 2017 joint intelligence bulletin from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security found that "white supremacist extremism poses [a] persistent threat of lethal violence," and that White supremacists "were responsible for 49 homicides in 26 attacks from 2000 to 2016 … more than any other domestic extremist movement".

And it's true – we HAVE seen some horrible attacks on Muslims and people of color and those should be denounced.

But…what about Antifa? There is absolutely no mention of that group in the bill and they've wrought havoc all over the country, attacking anyone whom they suspected to be on the "other side", causing exorbitant property damage, and promoting violence as necessary. The FBI and Homeland Security have both identified Antifa as domestic terrorists, yet they are conveniently exempt from mention in this bill.

The bill cites unreliable and biased sources.

And the most astounding thing is who they cite to do so. An excellent and thorough report on the Free Thought Project website explains.

The bill goes on further to credit the Southern Poverty Law Center—a group who makes hundreds of millions of dollars selling hate by labeling anyone they disagree with politically as a hate group…

…As Reason's John Stossel pointed out recently, "SPLC once fought useful fights. They took on the Ku Klux Klan. But now they go after people on the right with whom they disagree."

They are also making a killing while doing it.