They're Back - The Minuteman Cowboys

Just like a bad penny that always seems to showone with a great deal of integrity-resigns over
up, guess who is back in the limelight soaking upracism in the group and its unwillingness to excise
the press that was diverted to more serious"the cancer out of the (Goliad area) group".
world-issues like hurricanes and wars: The* Second, two months later, the guy who took
Minuteman Project.[1]Parmley's place, Kenneth Buelter, dissolves the
So, let's have a look-see, shall we, at what anticssame Goliad chapter without so much as a "by
and hijinks they've been up to since we lastyour leave".
spoke:* Instead of an outside group, someone neutral
* July 2005: Former Texas and Goliad chapterand unbiased-without an anti-Mexican axe to
president Bill Parmley, one of the group's originalgrind-investigating this Parmely's allegation of
organizers, said in a July interview that the groupracism, Garza proclaims the allegation as
would conduct observation activities mostly ongroundless.
private land along a line stretching from PortWhat you didn't see in the mainstream Fair and
Lavaca, through Victoria, on to Goliad, thenBalanced news coverage (besides everything I've
following U.S. Highway 59 to a point near Laredo.written above) is that there is more to Bill
Parmley resigned abruptly in late July allegingParmley´s resignation. There is more than
racism in the local chapter and a lack ofmeets the eye here, like most everything with
organization on the national level. In subsequentThe Minuteman Project.
interviews, Parmley stated the racism must run"Bill Parmley, former coordinator for Texas, quit
through to the national chapter since it had failedafter alleging Simcox[5] botched the organization's
to take action against the Goliad group. "I havefinancing. He also warned that some members of
seen how they have not tried to carve thehis Goliad, Texas, chapter, which recently was
cancer out of the (Goliad area) group. I can onlyshut down, were "racists" and "wanted to go
assume that (racism) is a part of their agenda,"after Mexicans as a whole," not simply report
Parmley said previously.[2]undocumented immigrants to the U.S. Border
* September 12, 2005: "The Goliad chapter of thePatrol."
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps was dissolvedNote that phrase, "wanted to go after Mexicans
today," reported Goliad chapter president Kennethas a whole". I warned of this neo-populism in my
Buelter in a brief e-mail sent to the Victoriacolumns months ago:
Advocate on Monday evening. There was no"J.C. Hernandez, a third-generation Texan, is the
additional explanation in Buelter's e-mail.[3]founder and president of Americans for Zero
* Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of TexasImmigration. Hernandez was working with
president Al Garza quickly jumped into the spinMinutemen organizers in Texas and said he
game: ""(The e-mail) really doesn't spotlightexpected to play a leading role in the upcoming
anything in particular," Garza said. The e-mailpatrol. He also wants the right, he said, to make a
simply said things weren't working out, he added.citizen's arrest of suspected illegal immigrants.
As to Bill Parmley's sudden resignation and"When you fight a war you don't fight it with
accusations of racism in the group, Garza, whorhetoric," Hernandez said. "When you fight a war,
worked for more than 30 years as a privateman, you go in and kill the enemy.... A signal has
investigator, said he looked into the allegations andto be sent to Mexico and all those countries that
found them groundless. "It was merely awe are tired of it and we're not going to put up
misunderstanding and misinformation," Garza said,with it."[6]
referring to the charges of racism."[4]The Houston Chronicle reported:
Now isn't that rich? Do you think that Garza has a"Parmley said he has become concerned that
wee bit of a bias in this "internal investigation" ofsome of the Minuteman activists in his region
his? And do you really think that the appeal to thehave a vendetta against the Goliad County
authority, "who worked for more than 30 yearssheriff, who is Hispanic. He asserted they also
as a private investigator", constitutes proof forhave made comments about shooting illegal
the claim that Parmely´s allegations wasimmigrants or letting them die from dehydration.
groundless?That's their mind-set, and I don't want my name
It strikes me, how shall I say this nicely, suspiciousand my reputation associated with a group of
the chain of events here. Let's take another look:people who are racist like that," he said.
* First, a "dyed-in-the-wool" Minuteman-apparently