Southern Poverty Law Center report listed militia group at center of FBI probe

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Michigan-based Hutaree.com Group is center of FBI probe;  Planed violent opposition to US Government, and attacks on law enforcement 

A radical right wing fringe group based in Michigan and at the center of an FBI probe is awaiting the Anti-Christ.

Their website,  which detailed plans to kill police officers,  has this statement:  

"Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment,"Hutaree.com reads. "The only thing on earth to save the testimony and those who follow it, are the members of the testimony, til the return of Christ in the clouds. We, the Hutaree, are prepared to defend all those who belong to Christ and save those who aren't. We will still spread the word, and fight to keep it, up to the time of the great coming."

Source: foxnews.com

Agents have charged nine suspects in an April plan to attack law enforcement officials.  The group's leader,  David Brian Stone, is one of the charged.

  In the court indictment,  it was stated the group  planned to "oppose by violence  the US government"  and that plans to kill police officers and clash with law enforcement officials  were included in the strategy of their planned April attack.  

Seven of the suspects are due to be arraigned in court today.  

Fox News has reported that FBI Field Office Director Andrew Arena in Detroit, has said the case is an example of "radical and extremist fringe groups" found throughout society.

The Christian-faith based group has a "Doctrine of Hutaree"  which advocates that believes stand firmly in opposition to a corrupt government.  A YouTube video put out by the group depicts camouflaged members with high-powered rifles preparing for a final battle of the forces of good and evil.  Weapons are fired in the two minute segment.  

One video  that has been viewed more than 21,000 times, can be found on its YouTube channel  and reveals the groups militia training.  

Group was Listed with 512 Right Wing Extremist Patriot Groups Compiled by Southern Poverty Law Center 

Hutaree was one of more than 500 right wing extremist "Patriot" groups listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center's compilation of groups which posed a threat to United States Government and society.  

The SPLC had put out a report reveal a 244% increase in right wing militia groups under the Obama administration,  and had pointed out the heightened dangers of an increased domestic terrorism presence in the US.  

A spokesman for the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, Michael Lackomar, told the Associated Press that one of his team leaders got a frantic phone call Saturday evening from Hutaree members concerning a raid on their property in southeast Michigan by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Hutaree was named in a list of 512 so-called active "patriot" groups in the U.S. last year by the Southern Poverty Law Center in its spring intelligence report on extremist organizations. Of those groups, 127 were militias, including Hutaree. The remaining groups, according to SPLC, engage in "groundless conspiracy theorizing" or advocate anti-government doctrines.

Source: foxnews.com

No Gay Imitation of Christ at Texas University

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University Nixes Gay Imitation of Christ

A play to be performed at Tarleton State University, by Terrence McNally which features a gay Christlike figure , sparked protests and has been cancelled.

Corpus Christi, was one of several student-directed productions that were to be performed Friday on the Stephenville campus as part of an assignment for an advanced directing class.

In a written statement last evening, the University stated that the class's professor had canceled the four plays because of safety and order concerns.

The university's president Dominic Dottavio declared the play "offensive, crude and irreverent." He was willing to allow it to be presented, he said, because of freedom of speech and creativity issues.

He emphasized, however, that the university did not endorse the decision by student John Otte, 26, to present the play.

Gay marriage message in College Play

The play takes place in modern day Texas, and the Christ figure performs a gay marriage ceremony for two of his disciples, who are also gay.

Performances were for University students, and media and public had not been invited to attend. It was a class project, and only that, Dottavio stressed in his statement.

The student playwright who sparked the controversy told Texan TV News, a campus journalism project, that it had not been his intent to offend or to spark protests.

In an Opposing Views piece , an opposer who saw the play in another venue said that Tarleton was supported by Christians and tax payers, and that the play, which depicts a gay Christ who says, "F--- God" , among other things, was offensive to those who paid for the University.

"I am both a Christian and gay," Otte said in a video interview. "This play deals with that subject matter, I believe, in a tasteful way. ... I don't believe in a God who hates me for who I am."

"Never did I choose this play to attack Christians," he said. "I am one."

He said he disagreed with the widely held view among Stephenville clergy and others that McNally's play is blasphemy.

"I personally don't believe that," Otte said. "I respect those people's feelings that do believe that. I respect your religions."

Source: dallasnews.com

Conservatives and GOP Have Suffered Worst Legislative Defeat Since 1960s

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Conservatives Have Suffered the Worst Legislative Defeat in 40 Years 

David Frum admits this is GOP Waterloo with no mitigating factors 

Conservatives and Republicans today have surely suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s.  Calling it "a defeat of free market economics and Republican values"  and a virtual "Waterloo",  the conservative forum of David Frum is seething.  

For the GOP,  this is a defeat of such magnitude that there are few mitigating factors.  Even,  says Frum,  if conservatives attempt to console themselves with the idea that the House will flip in 2010,  it is still a terrible blow.  

 And Frum points out something else:  By November, the economy will have improved, and the benefits of the healthcare bill will be starting to show.  They may be overly confident about a real change in 2010.  As Huffington Post puts it, this is an enormous  -  if modifed  - victory for Democratic legislation, and proves the Tea Partiers and GOP to be ineffectual and stymied.  

As Frum says , even if there is a November victory,  So what? "Legislative majorities come and go. This healthcare bill is forever. A win in November is very poor compensation for this debacle now.".  

Frum says the GOP are themselves to blame.  Strategic plotting forgot one thing:  Obama was elected with 53% of the vote, not Clinton’s 42%.   Within the Democratic Congressional caucus,  the liberal block is bigger,  more robust,  far more powerful than under Clinton in '93-94.  And the Democrats do not forget history, nor were they willing to let their Waterloo of 1994 recur.  

Too late to second guess now,  Frum says.  It is law, it is irrevocable.  

"  David Frum:  No illusions, please:  The Bill will Never be Repealed"  .  Rush Limbaugh Made the GOP Fail 

And then Frum follows up with his most priceless gem of wisdom:  

"We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat."  

He lays the blame on Tea Party Fox News pundits:  "Conservative talkers on Fox and talk radio had whipped the Republican voting base into such a frenzy that deal-making was rendered impossible. How do you negotiate with somebody who wants to murder your grandmother? Or – more exactly – with somebody whom your voters have been persuaded to believe wants to murder their grandmother?" 

Frum hits the nail on the head :  The talk radio pundits thrive on anger,  recrimination, fear, passion.  They give pseudo-information,  the incite to fury.  And why?  For advertising, ratings.  Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck caused the GOP to fail,  Frum says.  And he is right on target.  

So today’s defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, it’s mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, it’s Waterloo all right: ours.

Source: frumforum.com

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Analysis: Global Debt Bombing

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Roy C: Vancouver, WA

Paul B. Farrell of MarketWatch recently published an eye-opening, jaw-dropping list of the twenty "global time bombs" set to go off in the world.

Without a doubt, it is quite a list, and you would rightfully feel disturbed as the final illusions you might be entertaining about a rosy future ran away in complete panic and took your retirement prospects along with them, shouting out a Great Big HA, HA! Hey, and, if you still think that we did not have an answer to the question as to whether or not we had entered the antechamber of a Great Depression, something which Pim of Spain pointed out here months ago as needing a structural change to overcome, then, after pondering this list, you will say that we have an answer, and it is "yes".

As we add debt, we reach a triggering point where we can no longer pay the interest on the debt and the whole system goes tilt. This might be dealt with by what is called "sovereign bankruptcy". No matter how it is dealt with, our currency will be devalued. You will not be getting Social Security checks, and you can forget about Medicare and Medicaid. You will be lucky to have a full stomach.

Gerald Celente has also been quite prescient in this regard. Take a look at the videos included.

the trigger mechanism [discussed] in This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly, by economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff: The "90% ratio of government debt to GDP is a tipping point in economic growth." For 800 years "you increase it over and beyond a high threshold, and boom!" Well guess what? "The U.S. government-debt-to-GDP ratio is 84%." Soon, Ka-Booom! Depression. Kiss your retirement goodbye.

Source: marketwatch.com

Mr. Farrell's list:

Poll: 20 economic weapons of mass destruction triggering ticking Global Debt Time Bomb

1. Federal Budget Deficit Bomb. The Bush/Cheney wars pushed America deep into a debt hole. Federal debt limit was just raised almost 100% with Obama's 2010 budget, to $14.3 trillion vs. $7.8 trillion in 2005. The Congressional Budget Office predicts future deficits around 4% through 2020. Get it? America's debt at 84% of GDP will soon pass that toxic 90% trigger point.

2. U.S. Foreign Trade Bomb. Monthly deficits actually dropped from $50 billion per month to roughly $35 billion. But the total continues climbing as $400 billion is added each year. Foreigners now own $2.5 trillion of America, with China holding over $1.3 trillion in Treasury debt.

3. Weakening U.S. Dollar as Foreign Reserve Currency Bomb. Fear China and other currencies will replace dollar as main foreign reserves. The dollar's fallen: The main index measuring dollar strength has gone from 120 at the Clinton-to-Bush handoff to below 80 today.

4. Cheap Money Bomb: Credit Ratings Down, Rates Up. Economists at S&P, Fitch and Moody's were totally co-conspirators of Fat Cat Bankers, misleading investors before meltdown: Soon, debt up, ratings down, interest rates soar.

5. Global Real Estate Bomb. Dubai Tower, new "world's tallest building" is empty. BusinessWeek warns that China's housing collapse could be worse than America's. Plus the U.S. commercial real estate bubble is now $1.7 trillion, a "ticking time bomb" bloating 25% of bank balance sheets.

6. Peak Oil and the Population Bomb. China and India each need 500 new cities. The United Nations estimates world population exploding 50% from 6 billion to 9 billion by 2050: Three billion more humans demanding more automobiles, exhausting more resources to feed their version of the gas-guzzling "America Dream."

7. Social Security Bomb. We have no choice; eventually we must either cut benefits or raise taxes. Politicians hate both, so they'll do nothing. Delays worsen solutions. Without action, by 2035 Social Security and Medicare benefits will eat up the entire federal budget other than defense.

8. Medicare: A Nuclear Bomb. Going broke faster than Social Security. Prescription drug benefit added an unfunded $8.1 trillion. In 5 years estimates rose from about $35 trillion to over $60 trillion now.

9. Health-care Insurance Bomb. Burden increasingly shifted to employees. Costs rising faster than inflation. Recent Obamacare plan would have cost $90 billion annually, paid to Big Pharma and insurers.

10. State and Local Government Budget Bombs. Deficits of $110 billion in 2010, $178 billion in 2011on top of more that $450 billion in underfunded state and municipal employee pension funds.

11. Underfunded Corporate Pensions Bomb. From $60 billion surplus in 2007 to $409 billion deficit in 2009. And a whopping 92% of the pension plans of companies are now underfunded. Defaults are guaranteed by taxpayers.

12. Consumer Debt Bomb. Americans are still living beyond their means. Even with a downturn, consumer debt rose from about $2.3 to $2.5 trillion.

13. Personal Savings Bomb. Before the 2008 meltdown savings rate dropped from about 10% in the early 1980s to below zero. [This one we have changed recently, and savings are up.]

14. War and Military Defense Deficits. Costs of Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- $200+ billion annually, $3 trillion minimum.

15. Homeland Insecurity Bomb. Security at airports, seaports, borders, vulnerable chemical plants all increase budgets.

16. Fed/Treasury Bailout Bombs. Tax credits, loans, cash and purchase of toxic assets from Wall Street banks estimated at $23.7 trillion as new debt was shifted from too-big-to-fail Fat-Cat banks to taxpayers.

17. Insatiable Washington Lobbyists Bombs. Paulson, Goldman, Geithner, Morgan and Wall Street banks, through their lobbyists and former employees working inside now have absolute power over government spending

18. Shadow Banking: The Derivatives Bomb. Wall Street wants no regulation of this $670 trillion, high-risk, out-of-control casino.

19. Dysfunctional Two-Party Political Bomb. Polarized partisanship increasing- no solutions.

20. The Coming Populous Rebellion Bombs. Nobody trusts anyone in authority. We have riots and real anarchy in the streets.

Palin's Political Threat and Magnetic Power

Karl Gotthardt, Alberta , Canada Palin, A crowd Magnet?

Sarah Palin has, without any doubt, the ability to draw a crowd. Despite many attempts to discredit her, the venues that she headlines, either during her book tour or at the Tea Party Convention, have drawn large crowds.

The former Governor of Alaska and Vice Presidential candidate seems to somehow threaten those that believe Sarah Palin will run for President in 2012.

Sarah Palin Not Qualified to be President (Public Perception)

Despite the angst that seems to prevail when thought of Sarah Palin's presidential aspirations are raised, 71% of Americans do not think she is qualified to be President. To change this,Sarah Palin would require a complete makeover. Even then it is doubtful that the public perception of Palin's qualifications would change.

Sarah Palin - Hate Her or Love Her

Sarah Palin has been dragged through the dirt by the Main Stream Media, the Left; Pro Choice and Feminist Groups. Others love her for her populist approach, thus her success with the Tea Party movement. The recent Tea Party Convention amply demonstrated welcome she received from that movement, while detractors were quick to bring forth criticism..

Presidential Aspirations

During the 18 months Sarah Palin has been on the national scene, with a failed attempt to win election on the McCain ticket, Palins' presidential aspirations have been subject of much debate. Speculation of her 2012 quest for President of the United States are not well founded. Palin will do a great job drawing crowds for those campaigning for the Presidency. Palin's quest for the Presidency are unlikely.

The perception, that she is not qualified, is well ingrained in the American voters psyche. While she may be a spokesperson against what some consider to be wrong with the Obama Administration, her chances to be elected are minimal.

It is also doubtful that Palin would put herself or her family through the attacks and smear campaign that would, no doubt, be waged. Take a deep breath, Sarah Palin will not be a candidate for President in 2012, Hillary Clinton is the greater threat to Obama.

If Palin harbors presidential ambitions, she has a huge mountain to climb. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 71 percent of Americans do not think the politician who wasSen. John McCain's running mate in 2008 is qualified to be president.

Those numbers are so daunting that some Republicans who otherwise admire what she has accomplished doubt that she will run in 2012. Others say that unless she can transform attitudes dramatically, she cannot hope to win a general election. Still, GOP strategist Phil Musser said, "if she ran for president today, she would be the Republican nominee."

Source: washingtonpost.com

"GayAsylum" Advocate Lauds Deratany's 'Haram Iran'

Praise in London for Deratany's 'Haram Iran'

Omar Kuddus, a prominent figure in the "Gay Asylum" movement in the United Kingdom, has praised Chicago attorney and human rights advocate Jay Paul Deratany for his play 'Haram Iran', calling it "a true portrait of Iran's 'non-existent' homosexuals.".

(Feb. 18, New York , London) Omar Kuddus, a prominent human rights advocate in the forefront of the United Kingdom's 'GayAsylum' , has praised Chicago attorney Jay Paul Deratany's play 'Haram Iran', which depicts the true story of two Iranian youths slated for execution for the 'crime' of homosexuality in 2005 Tehren.

Kuddus, - who has taken on the British government before the British House of Lords, as in this noted case - fights on behalf of Iranians who face execution upon deportation.

He has praised Mr. Deratany's play - which he discovered through a Gnosis Arts Multimedia New York press release, giving the work's history and providing a webcast preview - and has said it is "badly needed", and "a true portrait of Iran's 'non-existent' homosexuals".

Another gay advocate, from Pink UK News, who is an associate of Kuddus and based in Canada, Jean Paul Dugas, has told press today that he believes Deratany's 'Haram Iran' is "both gripping and alarming thereby stressing the need to educate those of us living in truly democratic societies to promote not only the Universal Declaration of Human rights but also the fact that Gay Rights are Human Rights."

Kuddus has said he believes that the play should be produced for the London theater to raise further awareness of the plight of gays in Iran, and around the globe. He plans to be in contact with media professionals in London and New York - after obtaining formal permission and advisement from Mr. Deratany - and would like in time to make a London production a reality within the next year.

Says, Kuddus, "The special interest and expertise [of gayasylum] is in [opposing] the persecution, torture and execution of homosexuals in and by the Islamic republic of Iran".

In his GayAsylum mission statement, Kuddus asserts that , "Sexuality is as important a fundamental human right as all others, and should be fully respected".

A London actor and stand-up comedic artist, Martin Huxter, (pictured below, at right) has also been impressed by Deratany's play, and would like to play one of the lead roles. He will be meeting with Kuddus in London this Spring to discuss future plans in this vein, and would like to see a full copy of the play's script.

'Haram Iran' made its debut on the Chicago stage in 2008, and now makes its west coast premier this March 2010 at the Celebration Theater in Los Angeles.

Jay Paul Deratany is a personal injury attorney in Chicago, specializing in the rights of birth injured children and their families. He has a solid record as a human rights advocate and philanthropist, in addition to his role as playwright. He has also been involved in Cook County politics, losing a commissioner's seat to the incumbent GOP in a very slim margin. He is the attorney representing the plaintiff in the high profile suit against CNN's Nancy Grace.

Deratany is currently advising on a pro bono basis the New York Appellate case involving Rhonda Mangus and her gay teen son Michael.

Michael left North Tonawanda High School in Niagara County, New York, after being bullied and receiving a death threat due to his gay identity. Mangus was placed in the state's data base of offenders for the charge of "educational neglect".