How powerful are extreme militia groups today?

                             Hutaree.com photo above shows trained militia.

Militias more connected than they claim

The common wisdom congealing around the Hutaree story is that the militia members are part of some off-shoot, unique, religious cult that has nothing to do with anything else.

Rachel Maddow scratches the surface of the story with Crooks and Liar’s David Neiwert and finds that common wisdom falls apart.

Nine Michigan Militia members charged with terror plot

Nine members of a violent Michigan militia  have been accused of plotting a terrorist attack on law enforcement agents.

“Six Michigan residents, along with two residents of Ohio and a resident of Indiana, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade and FBI Special  Andrew Arena.

Despite doubt, Karzai brother retains power

President Obama recently visited Afghanistan and talked to to their president Karzai about corruption in their government. Karzai said he would work on ending it. His idea of “ending corruption” doesn’t jive with reality. Just look at how rotten his brother is: 

Key figure in southern Afghanistan is accused of links to drugs, corruption

What If Fox News Actually Wants Mob Violence?

How easily things get twisted and distorted when a political party has an agenda of “no cooperation.”

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Fox News talkers did their best to trivialize the illegal, terrorist threats made against elected officials, and implied they were deserved.

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Emails: it’s a good idea to question the truth of forwards

Below is an email that is going around right now. It’s one of those “forward this” if you agree with the message.

What I’m curious about is how many people think the information is true in the following email? How many think the writer is totally misinformed? 

So what do you think readers?

“For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws.

The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform that is being considered...in all of its forms. It came out today that the staff that help right this law is exempt as well. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical.  We do not have an elite that is above the law.  I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever.  The self-serving must stop.”

image source

An optical illusion for a rainy day…

 

 

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Do you find something unusual in this picture? 

If not just move away from the screen and try focusing on the center portion.

Now do you see it?

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Hot Health Care articles in the news today

Photo source- The White House

Insurers agree to fix gap in sick kids’ coverage

New law had been unclear on whether coverage would kick in before 2014

Obama signs health care ‘fixes,’ student aid bill

Measure cuts banks out of the student loan business, costing them billions

How do you get 30 million Americans to sign up for health insurance? With great difficulty.

How Will Health Care Reform Affect You?

A look at how different groups will fare under the new law

Tuesday morning news to you…

Good morning. As I sipped my coffee I accumulated six stories for your inspection. Here’s what happening:

RNC fires staffer over $1,946 topless club visit

The Republican National Committee has fired a staffer who helped organize a $1,946 visit last month to a sex-themed Hollywood club, and the GOP says it will recoup the money from a donor who also participated.

The episode is the latest in a string of questionable spending by the RNC as Republicans prepare for a costly election season in which they hope to take dozens of House and Senate seats from Democrats.

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Fake caviar? Fight against ‘food fraud’ grows

The expensive "sheep's milk" cheese in a Manhattan market was really made from cow's milk. And a jar of "Sturgeon caviar" was, in fact, Mississippi paddlefish.

Some honey makers dilute their honey with sugar beets or corn syrup, their competitors say, but still market it as 100 percent pure at a premium price.

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Study: Magnets can alter morality

Magnets can alter a person's sense of morality, according to a new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Using a powerful magnetic field, scientists from MIT, Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are able to scramble the moral center of the brain, making it more difficult for people to separate innocent intentions from harmful outcomes. The research could have big implications for not only neuroscientists, but also for judges and juries.

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Man fleeing Ohio police jumps fence — into prison

Police say a motorist fleeing officers in Cleveland abandoned his car and jumped a fence — landing in what turned out to be a prison yard.

Garfield Heights police say the chase started in that suburb early Monday over a traffic violation and reached speeds of 90 mph

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DNA testing emerges as weapon against cancer

Francis Collins, who helped map the human genome, did not get around to having his own genes analyzed until last summer. And he was surprised by what he learned.

Collins has a predisposition for type-2 diabetes, something he had never suspected. The lanky, former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) discovered this through tests offered by Navigenics, 23andMe and DecodeMe — companies that charge customers a few hundred dollars for a peek at their genetic makeup.

Man arrested for threatening to kill Cantor

House Republican had accused Democrats of publicizing threats for political gain

 This proves that extremists on the Left have anger issues too. People like the guy who threatened Cantor seem to believe that violence is the only answer. Make no mistake. There are extremists on both sides of the political spectrum. They’re also getting more dangerous – and bold - every day.

 Rhetoric is wreaking havoc in America. Never before has the opposition to our government been so bold. There’s too many people in this country whose idea of “taking the country back” means violence. This isn’t really about political parties. It’s about a growing divide in this nation that may result in the break-up of the union. There’s no doubt that’s what the Neo Confederacy, the Neo Nazis, the Christian Cults that wear Camouflage, the Aryan Nation, the KKK, and the rest of these fringe groups want.

Try to imagine how much these extremists are enjoying watching our two main political parties batter each others with lies and rhetoric. The problem is, they’re no longer sitting on the side waiting. They’re getting motivated by national hate speech’s by both parties. Ever hear the expression: “Waving a red flag in front of a bull?” (BTW-Bulls are color blind. It’s the waving part that angers them!)

Excerpt from the Reuters article. 

“WASHINGTON - U.S. authorities have arrested and charged a man with threatening to kill the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, Eric Cantor, and his family, according to court documents filed on Monday.”

ABOVE PHOTO: House Republican Eric Cantor

Feds: Militia members sought to spark uprising

The Faces of Domestic Terrorists - This is the result of inflammatory rhetoric. People start believing that our President is the Anti-Christ, and that all police and government bodies in America are working for the devil. This group is the tip of the iceberg. Don’t be surprised to see more of this kind of thing happen as Tea Baggers call for revolution and other extreme Conservative groups ramp up the hate meter.This is the kind of extremist scum that believes in the destruction of democracy to achieve their own selfish violent ends. Take a good look at them. One day it’s going to be your neighbor if things don’t change. They wanted war, but got caught before they could attack.

They also do it in the name of religion, which is really sick. When people like Sarah Palin call for the rightwing nuts to “Reload” and to “take their country back” this is the result. Mainstream Conservatives are swimming in the same pool as the militias and other radical anti-government groups these days. Unless the rhetoric is toned down, expect to see more of this kind of thing.

Eight arrested, one on the run; they allegedly plotted to attack police

Toxic Chemicals found at military bases and aboard ships poses a serious health threat

From Jim Davis (Veterans-For-Change):

“As most are aware, seen on TV, in the newspapers, and from veteran sites across the country, TCE/PCE is a major issue.

TCE a chemical degreaser used on all bases and board ships is a carcinogenic chemical, and on the many military bases nationwide was disposed of into the ground behind buildings eventually contaminating the ground water and getting into the drinking wells.

Same thing with PCE which is a dry cleaning chemical used both on bases and off base nationwide, also being disposed of into the ground and eventually contaminating the ground water and getting into the drinking wells.

Most recently CNN did a broadcast show highlighting the male breast cancer cluster surrounding Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.

Personally I feel the anchor didn’t bother to do his homework very well, didn’t bring to light all the other medical issues or the families harmed by these chemicals.

There is also currently a bill in committee to award benefits, but in my humble opinion is limited in scope and restrictive to those who served at Camp LeJeune and doesn’t mention any of the 130+ bases nationwide listed on the EPA Superfund list.

Veterans-For-Change has a bill which was drafted back in February 2009 along with a petition to which we’re trying to collect at least 40,000 signatures in order to get either a Senator or Congressman to sign off and present the bill to the floor which will not only address TCE but PCE as well, and opens it up to all military, veterans and family members who served at any base where these chemicals were used and disposed of improperly thereby contaminating all who drank the water or who used the chemicals in their daily jobs.

Veterans-For-Change needs your support desperately to meet the number of signers on the petition. This is NOT an electronic petition, but a hard copy petition. We ask that everyone please go to www.veterans-for-change.com, and if you’re not a member to please subscribe, go to the documents section, then to the TCE/PCE and other Chemicals section and download the petition.

Sign and try to obtain at least 10 more signatures and mail the complete form into our California office ASAP.

Should you have any questions, please click HERE and send us an E-Mail and we’ll be more than happy to reply!

As It Stands: If the truth sets you free, the Catholic Church is in captivity

Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 03/28/2010 02:26:41 AM PDT

Facts can fracture foundations, but once they are exposed they can also be repaired. The current scandals involving the Roman Catholic pedophile priests in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United States, the Netherlands and Italy are rocking the church's credibility and stability to the core.

When Pope Benedict XVI recently sent a letter to Ireland apologizing for the chronic child abuse within the Catholic Church, after offering no help to three official Irish investigations that revealed 100 years of abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese and the rural Ferns diocese, he followed the road paved by his predecessors. Over 15,000 victims of sexual abuse by priests have been discovered thus far.

In his letter, the Pope urged priests to confess if they're child molesters, but didn't say what he'd do with them when they did. He mentioned facing the law. But whose law? The Vatican's track record with the church's pedophiles is not very reassuring. The church outright refused to help in the 2001-2009 probes that revealed the scale and longevity of the abuse suffered by Irish children throughout the 20th century.

GO here to read the rest.

UPDATE: Web site carrying today’s column (11:45 a.m., PST):

Wayne Seelinger:  New Jersey Church Insurance Specialist

UPDATE: Former Eurekan, Kay Ebeling, shares her story of early age abuse in the Catholic Church. Go to her blog City of Angels: Action 2010 for the whole story.

An article (March 27) by her appeared in AlterNet.

Special thanks to you Kay for fighting for justice. Someday, people like you will force changes within the Catholic Church. Someday, they won’t protect pedophiles.

U.S. lawyer takes on Vatican over abuse cases

updated 1 hour, 9 minutes ago

He shared documents with New York Times, sees Ore. lawsuit as critical