PIML 96051404 / Posted to Patriot Information Mailing List: At XXXX, you wrote: (in reference to Morris Dees) >In the local militia organization, it is suspected that we have amongst >us someone who is on his "payroll" of investigating the militia. Either >that or this guy is a gov't snoop. His background just doesn't check >out; I suspect he's had . . . training . . . > > . . . however I'm curious, do you have >a lot of information about Mr. Dees and his operations involving his >"investigations?" My job partly is countering his efforts as I . . . > > Sincerely, > > XXXX ------------------------------------------------------------------ XXXX: I am aware of who and what Dees is but I don't really have any information on him that is not common knowledge. I just happened to stumble across his unlisted fax number. The nature of a militia unit is that of a public organization. Any authentic militia unit must post public notices of meetings and elections of officers. *ALL* persons residing in the area (usually county) are allowed and should be encouraged to participate. Any para-military unit that is not publicly formed and can not trace a line of authority to the people (usually of a county), is not a militia unit but rather "a private army which does not exist under the authority of the people" and may run into trouble because of that. Only if and when an individual performs actions detrimental to the unit should that individual be ejected from the unit and then only through a vote of the participants at a public militia meeting for which public notice has been given. Ideally the person would be given an opportunity to explain or defend his actions at that meeting. Simply reporting public information to Dees or some government agency should not be detrimental to the unit. Of course it may well be necessary to hold private staff meetings for obvious reasons. Unless the person in question has been elected to a staff position, he has no "right" to attend staff meetings. If he has been elected, you have more of a problem - and may need to post public notice and hold a new election. Some information in the unit should be on a "need to know" basis, such as arms and supply cache locations or alert rosters with names and telephone numbers. Members of the militia are the whole people less any exceptions that may be listed in constitutional state law. People who actively participate in unit activities are only militia members in the sense that all are militia members. The active ones are more properly referred to as "participants", not members. Continued use of the word "member" suggests that the militia is some kind of private organization, which it is not. It is my feeling that militia units should be as public as possible. In Texas, when an organization volunteers to police (meaning pick up trash) a section of highway, the highway department posts signs saying X organization has volunteered to keep this section of highway clean. I would like to see militia signs on all Texas highways. Fourth of July and other parades are good PR opportunities. The Public Relations Officer should be one of the most highly qualified staff officers in a unit. Units need to coordinate with the County Sheriff and let him know that organized manpower is available to search for lost children and other such needs. Secret organizations claiming to be militia cast discredit upon the actual militia and tend to cause the erroneous public impression that the militia is something like the Klu Klux Klan. Public militia units need have no great concern that their public activities might be reported to the authorities. The above is only my personal opinion, although it is also the general philosophy of the Texas Constitutional Militia. I do not speak for the TCM, as I resigned from my leadership position in January 1995 when I decided that guns in general and the militia in particular were not going to *solve* our problems with the state and, especially, federal governments being out of control. for Liberty, Bill Utterback