Militia groups creating their own currency -- again

[The Straight Story]

Militia groups creating their own currency -- again


Counterfeiting money is crazy enough; creating your own form of currency and trying to pay your bills with it seems like downright insanity. Yet, that's exactly what dozens of members of the militia movement are doing, according to a leading civil rights group.

These paramilitary groups, whose adherents believe the government doesn't have any power over them, are waging a war of "paper terrorism" by creating their own form of currency and using it to pay everything from debts to their taxes, the Southern Poverty Law Center in Birmingham, Ala. says.

In St. Louis, bankers have received phony documents called "bond promissory notes" or "private offset" notes as payment for car loans, mortgages and credit card debt, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As the paper points out, such actions defy common sense. After all, the notes are completely worthless and, not surprisingly, these payments were not honored by the banks.

...

Her group has found 50 new militias in 18 months. "We added a group yesterday with 60 new chapters."

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/12/12/militia-groups-creating-their-own-currency-again/#continued

[backscatter712]

1. Is this a form of counterfeiting?

Sic the Secret Service on 'em!

[Posteritatis]

3. I think that's only trying to copy existing currency

If they aren't doing that then I don't think they're breaking any laws. Of course, anyone at the other end of the transaction is free not to recognize whatever they're using as an alternative.

If I was a hypothetical convenience store owner in Montana or whatnot, a militia member wanted to pay for goods with their own currency, and I chose to honor that, I don't think any laws would be broken. I'd be losing actual money, of course, since as far as the rest of the world was concerned I was giving goods away, but it would be my decision to make. Most people would decide the other way, which is where these guys start getting into trouble.

[TheWraith]

2. Good! Let them manage to lose their houses, cars, everything...

...Simply because they're too dumb to understand the concept of government.

[safeinOhio]

4. If you believe paper money to be invalid

I accept gold or silver with a 3% premium. It is one thing to believe something and another to just look for loop holes.

[MineralMan]

5. Morons abound.

Paper money is no good, so they try to pass their own paper money off on people. Betcha they don't take it when they get paid, though.

[Iggo]

6. Oh, wow!!

For some reason, I thought I was reading about African or Afghan warlords.

Wasn't 'til I got near the end I started wondering "Southern Poverty Law Center? St. Louis Dispatch? Wait a second. He said CIVIL rights groups, not HUMAN rights groups!! Oh shit. This is America."

[TheMightyFavog]

7. Reminds me of a story about a Afrikaner dominated town in South Africa that did the same thing...

From 2004:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3670441.stm

A whites-only enclave is launching its own currency just two days after South Africa celebrated the 10th anniversary of the end of apartheid.

Orania is a small town in the northern Cape populated by white Afrikaners, including the grandson of Henrik Vorwoerd, the architect of apartheid.

The currency will be known as the ora and is available in four denominations.

A spokesman said the currency could only be spent within the town and would be worthless if stolen by outsiders.

[Odin2005]

8. Aren't these morons Gold Standard Cultists? Shouldn't they HATE paper money?

Souldn't they be using gold?

[MineralMan]

9. See, they don't have any gold...that's the thing.

They're unemployable rabble-rousers, without a dime. They's just doin' the bestest they can until someone puts them in prison. Then they get three hots and a cot, and they're happy as can be.

Morons, each and all.

[xchrom]

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