well-regulated militia

This is strange fruit. It's neither entertaining nor amusing any more (if it ever was), and makes me wonder if we've entered a new period similar to what historians call "The Dark Ages."

The Department of Homeland Security and FBI have arrested members of a Michigan militia group that has stirred up a witches brew of planned politico-religious violence, in preparation for the Second Coming.

From the AP story on this group: The group in question calls itself the "Hutaree"; its website says the term translates as "Christian warrior." And in keeping with that name, the material it has posted online reflects an outlook of violent religious confrontation. The Hutaree believe that acts of violence can bring about the final judgment prophesied in the Christian Bible — and therefore have been arming themselves to go to war with the Antichrist, "evil Jews," and Muslims. They have documented their training exercises in a series of You Tube videos. And they spell out the theological rationale for their actions on the about us page on their website.

"Evil Jews" and Muslims? What about Unitarians, Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians?

Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment. The only thing on earth to save the testimony and those who follow it, are the members of the testimony, til the return of Christ in the clouds. We, the Hutaree, are prepared to defend all those who belong to Christ and save those who aren't. We will still spread the word, and fight to keep it, up to the time of the great coming ... The Hutaree will one day see its enemy and meet him on the battlefield if so God wills it. We will reach out to those who are yet blind in the last days of the kingdoms of men and bring them to life in Christ.

This is so far from rational thought, such a welter of superstition and "magical" thinking, that it barely even qualifies as speech. It's more like the grunting of primitive humanoids, and not far removed from the mentality exhibited in its heyday by the Manson Family.

According to the indictment unsealed this morning in court, the nine members of the group — eight men and one woman — planned to "levy war" against the U.S. government. To incite such a war, the group planned to murder law enforcement officials and then follow up their initial attacks with a separate attack on the fallen officers' funeral(s), where a large number of law enforcement personnel would no doubt be gathered.

The one hopeful thing about this, apparently, is that even other right-wing militias don't like this group, so that when they realized they were under attack over the weekend and asked for help from militia people in Michigan and Ohio, they didn't get any.

But this kind of thing is clearly madness, and it's past time we gave some serious thought to who we are and where we're going. I've never seen anything like what's going on in this country today, and I'm through joking and wisecracking about it.

But still, I can't help but wonder why it is that most of these people have very round heads.