http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/kovach/060208

Liberal lies and phony tough-guys
Brown Berets did not shoot down helicopter


Tom Kovach
Tom Kovach
February 8, 2006


This writer has received confirmation of something that was suspected while doing the research for the column "Who will stand up to the Brown Berets?" The press information officer of the Riverside (CA) Police Department has confirmed that no helicopter belonging to their department has been shot down — by the Brown Berets, or by anyone else. It appears that the group's claim to have shot down the helicopter was a bit of ethno-political bravado, designed to make the group appear strong enough to have stood up to "The Man."

A change of personnel at the PIO office in Riverside had delayed the original request. It was further delayed by the fact that no one could recall a shootdown incident. And, a check of police records turned up the fact that there was an incident involving gunfire that hit a helicopter. But, the incident was not a "shootdown." Here is the official RPD summary of the incident.

"There was one incident of shots having been fired at an RPD helicopter over New Year's 1994-95, apparently stemming from overhead surveillance of a domestic violence incident at one address while some sort of drug deal was going down next door, unbeknownst to officers. Shots related to the drug deal were fired at the helicopter, one of which injured the pilot. The co-pilot successfully landed the helicopter. It was not shot down."

So, a group of drug dealers assumed that the helicopter was hovering overhead to keep an eye on them. In reality, it was keeping an eye on a domestic violence situation next door. The drug dealers shot at the helicopter. But, at some point along the way, the Brown Berets apparently took credit for "shooting down" the helicopter. This begs some questions.

Were members of the Brown Berets involved in the drug deal? If so, is that how the claim of responsibility came to be? If so, then — by claiming responsibility for the "shootdown" of the helicopter — haven't the Brown Berets publicly admitted to shooting the pilot? (Keep in mind that the pilot of a police helicopter is also a police officer. Therefore, the Brown Berets would be implicit in a cop shooting.) If the above logic is correct, then doesn't that belie the "peaceful" purposes that the Brown Berets have purported to the Left-leaning MSM? And, if that is the case, then doesn't this prove that the Minutemen were right all along?

Here are some more questions. When the Brown Berets came into the national spotlight last Spring, by making accusations of racism against the Minutemen, why didn't MSM editors across America do the type of research that this writer did? And, by adhering to doctrines such as "mi raza primero," haven't the Brown Berets proven that they are the real racist organization? (Keep in mind that the Minutemen have several Hispanic men in leadership positions, while the Brown Berets have no non-Hispanic leaders. Also keep in mind that La Verdad in Spanish means the same thing as Pravda in Russian: "the truth.") So, why is the MSM promoting a racist organization? And, why is the MSM castigating a group of patriotic Americans that give up their own time and resources to help protect our national borders?

The questions continue, but on a larger scale. Why are high-ranking elected officials, such as Senators Ted Kennedy and Chuck Shumer, opposed to the Minutemen? And, if the Brown Berets (an openly Marxist organization) have successfully used lies to aid their recruiting efforts, then what other Leftist organizations have acted in like manner? For example, the national Democratic Party was able to gain members and money by putting forth the "October surprise" scenario. (And, that was done with far more MSM publicity than the Brown Berets received.) For those that don't recall, the Democratic Party made the claim, during the election campaign, that 1980 vice-presidential nominee George H. W. Bush had secretly flown aboard an SR-71 spy plane (which travels at Mach-3) to Paris for negotiations with the Ayatollah Khomeini. At that time, our embassy staff in Tehran, Iran, was being held hostage. The Democrats claimed that Ronald Reagan's campaign staff sent Bush as an emissary to Khomeini, to ask that the hostages not be released prior to the outcome of the November elections. Then, the Reagan staff could be assured of being able to blame President Jimmy Carter for failing to get the hostages released. Because the SR-71 flights allegedly took place only about three weeks prior to the elections, the alleged scheme was dubbed the "October surprise." What a coincidence that the Bolshevik revolution was also known by that nickname in Russia, where the Julian calendar was still in effect when Tzar Nikolai Romanov and the Russian royal family were assassinated in 1917. (Because of the differences between the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the "surprise" revolution took place in October on the Russian calendar, but in November on the Western calendar.)

Thus, the Brown Berets and the Democratic Party (both of which have long-standing ties with the Communist Party of the USA) have used similar tactics to raise money, recruit new dupes, and smear conservative American patriots. And, both organizations have based their Leftist strategies upon liberal lies and phony tough guys.