Military Purge Underway by Michelle Wright from Free Patriot

Military Purge Underway; We Just Snoped Snopes!

October 29, 2013 by Michelle Wright | News

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Is Snopes really a reliable source for finding the answers to your questions of true or false claims? Snopers nationwide hit the site to knock down any worries they’re having about viral emails and FaceBook posts that may have made their blood pressure spike, but just how reliable is their “research” ?
Let’s cover the basics, the site has been run by David Mikkelson and his wife Barbara from their sunny California home since 1995. There have been multiple allegations of party affiliation and even ties to George Soros, but we won’t bother going there this time round. The Mikkelson’s have no formal investigative training, and their research experience is limited to their time scouring the internet. If you can google it, bing it, yahoo it or otherwise, you have the same capabilities as this couple who claims to put bad theories to bed with their hoax slaying. Oh, and in the off-chance you can’t get to it on the internet, don’t worry, you can still stay at your desk, the answers will be a phone call away.
I came across a claim by the Mikkelsons from January of this year that caught my eye, for obvious reasons, all of the hype in media lately about litmus tests and whatnot have the masses on edge. This hoax killer was entitled “Citizen Pain”, and “President Obama is purging military leaders who will not agree to fire on U.S. citizens, ” was the allegation that they claimed to be debunking. Right off the bat, they have labeled this one as FALSE.
The question posed was whether Dr. Jim Garrow’s claims of the litmus tests were valid or not. This was their response:

Origins:   For as long as we’ve been operating this website (close to twenty years), the three most commonly and continuously circulated types of conspiracy theories have to do with claims that the President of the United States or some other federal agency is about to declare martial law, is readying mass internment facilities (i.e., concentration camps), or is preparing to use armed force against U.S. citizens.
The latest entry in the latter category comes courtesy of Dr. Jim Garrow, who posted on his Facebook page on 21 January 2013 that:

I have just been informed by a former senior military leader that Obama is using a new “litmus test” in determining who will stay and who must go in his military leaders. Get ready to explode folks. “The new litmus test of leadership in the military is if they will fire on US citizens or not”. Those who will not are being removed.

How seriously should one take this warning that the military is being purged of those who won’t agree to fire on U.S. citizens? Consider that:

• The only supporting evidence for this claim is a second-hand account from an anonymous source.

• Not a single reputable news outlet has reported any such story.

• Not a single member of the U.S. government or the U.S. military has come forward to confirm the claim.

• There is no evidence that the U.S. military has experienced a recent purging of leaders from its ranks.

• The claim fits a common model of conspiracy theory which has been repeatedly espoused many times over (but has never proved true).

We’ll just start with their claims, first off, they labeled this claim as false, not with evidence, but with what they know personally. This is where anyone with common sense would ask, why should you believe the Mikkelsons over Dr. Garrow? We’re immediately at a his word against theirs issue. The Mikkelsons go on to point out a common sense approach to the claims and use their questions with some  answers to claim false. Who here believes that the Government would be the one to come out and tell you that they were asking officers whether they’ll shoot you or not? Anyone? Well the Mikkelsons evidently still live in the land of veiled eyes believing that this is the government of transparency.
Let’s debunk their claims one by one: (All Free Patriot Articles have embedded source links in the highlighted words to the MSM news sources to back up our claims)
1.)”The only supporting evidence for this claim is a second-hand account from an anonymous source.”
Obama Preparing “my military” for next step
Full List: 197 Officers removed from Obama’s military during the purge
2.) “Not a single reputable news outlet has reported any such story.”
Navy Seal Claims Top Brass Asked if they will disarm Americans [Video Interview with Fox News]
3.) “Not a single member of the U.S. government or the U.S. military has come forward to confirm the claim.”
Government Creating Conditions for Civil Unrest [Fox News Interview]
Interview: Renowned author says military purge meant to weed out officers who won’t fire on American citizens
Leaked Video: MPs in Briefing Discussing FEMA Gun Confiscation Plan
4.) “There is no evidence that the U.S. military has experienced a recent purging of leaders from its ranks.”
Confirmed: Military Purge Underway, Superpower status at risk
5.) “The claim fits a common model of conspiracy theory which has been repeatedly espoused many times over (but has never proved true).”
Okay really,  you didn’t prove it wrong either….but hey, I am pretty certain that I just proved it right.

So, do you know unsuspecting people who run to snopes for their gospel truth? Show them this, and tell them if they want to prove something wrong, they’re just as likely to get answers doing the “research” themselves if this is what constitutes investigative journalism these days. Maybe the Mikkelsons need to take another look at their site, it appears it’s in need of updating.