Weekday NEWS to Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Thurs 04.22.2010
Decrying U.S. ‘Threats,’ Iran to Launch War Games By NAZILA FATHI, DAVID E. SANGER - NYTimes.com Iran’s supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared Wednesday that President Obama’s new nuclear strategy amounted to “atomic threats against Iranian people,” and the Iranian military announced it would conduct a large military exercise in the Persian Gulf, where the United States and Israel have both increased their presence in recent months. The ayatollah’s statement referred to the section of Mr. Obama’s “Nuclear Posture Review” that guaranteed non-nuclear nations that they would never be threatened by a United States nuclear strike — as long as they are in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as judged by the United States.
North Korea Torpedoed South's Navy Ship By REUTERS SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's military believes a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine sank its navy ship last month, based on intelligence gathered jointly with the United States, a news report said on Thursday. The Yonhap news agency report appears to be the clearest sign yet that Seoul blames Pyongyang for the sinking, thought to have killed 46 sailors in what would be one of the deadliest incidents between the rivals since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
IMF world outlook warns of debt in developed world, inflation in emerging markets By Howard Schneider - WashingtonPost.com DEVELOPED WORLD Government debt Levels of government debt in the developed world are approaching levels not seen since World War II, and IMF economists see this as one of the chief risks for continued recovery. The fund is calling for a period of "fiscal consolidation" -- spending cuts and tax hikes -- in the United States, Europe and Japan, so that debt levels stabilize soon and begin a period of gradual decline. The risk, the agency says, is that chronically higher interest rates and chronically slower growth will set in as government borrowing undermines private-sector activity. The more acute danger involves a series of Greek-style crises in which governments would find it harder to raise the money needed to operate, risking a broader economic malaise.
Double-Dip Recession, Shot Federal Wad by Gary North - LewRockwell.com The case for a secondary recession rests on several factors: a double-dip decline in the residential real estate market, the accelerating decline in the commercial real estate market, the unresolved losses in bank balance sheets, the narrow focus of the profitability (earnings), which has been limited to bailed-out banks, and the threat of rising long-term interest rates, i.e., a decline in the bond market. All of these factors are known to the investment community, yet they have not persuaded stock market investors that there is any threat to corporate profits. So, either the negative factors are minor issues or else the optimism of stock market investors is an example of the same sort of stock market boomlet that took place in 1930. It collapsed in 1931.
America's Impending Master Class Dictatorship Stewart Dougherty - SilverBearCafe.com At certain times, focusing on the big picture is important not just for investment success, but for personal welfare, and even survival. We believe such times are here. It is estimated that 98% of Americans have never held a gold coin in their hands. Yet 100% of Americans regularly handle Federal Reserve Notes. From a contrarian standpoint, the financial message from those two statistics is clear. Even so, gold is much more than money or an investment medium; it stands for liberty and throughout history has facilitated escape and ensured freedom. Never having touched a gold coin is the monetary equivalent to never having breathed fresh air, felt the warmth of sunshine, looked up at the stars or risen from the gutter. Fiat Federal Reserve Notes are becoming nothing more than sewage decomposing in the vast, toxic septic tank of predatory Washington politics, epic Federal Reserve arrogance and error, blatant Wall Street fraud and outright Master Class plunder. Below, we outline America’s troubling and compounding predicament, and urge you to think about how to protect yourself from its consequences, both financially and personally.
Eight Reasons America Is On Edge Howard Fineman - Newsweek.com Fifteen years after the Oklahoma City bombing, the parallels to today are striking. On the banks of the Potomac River, guys carrying guns gathered in a Virginia park to proudly advertise the state's "open carry" law. Their compatriots gathered on the National Mall to honor the Second Amendment. They carried signs warning "Don't Tread on Me". On cable TV, Republicans speak about a "gangster government" and the need to "reload"—all innocent discourse, they claim—while on another channel, Democrats warn that such talk could lead to violence. And in Oklahoma City this week, families of those who died in the 1995 bombing are remembering their loved ones. People across the country wonder if, or when, it could all happen again.
Gold at $1130-40 attractive for long-term investors Commodity Online Gold has fallen from its Friday high of $1160 to $1130 levels on Monday, a decline of 2.5%. Prices have since recovered to $1140 levels, the $1130-40 price range is an attractive entry point for long-term investors, according to Jeffrey Nichols, renowned precious metals Economist and Senior Economic Advisor to Rosland Capital. "There is good support under these levels from the main Asian markets – China and India – where current prices should engender price-sensitive buying. In addition, we are at a seasonally important time for the Indian market ahead of the propitious May wedding period. Bullion traders and jewelry manufacturers stepped up their buying earlier this month – and I expect we'll see still more buying at recent prices."
Bullish Bullion: Gold to gain 10%, Silver 20% The multi-faceted yellow metal gold had a hard time during the wake of the worst recession since the Second World War as an untimely rise in US dollar eclipsed the safety haven appeal of the metal. Gold was also caught up in the imbroglio where panic selling engulfed the market. The metal usually shares an inverse relationship with US dollar as it is considered an alternative investment to the currency. However, the metal benefited from the subsequent dip in the economical cycle, which pummeled the US currency, driving investors towards the safety of gold. The metal, since then, went o on to explore new heights with investment and safety buying piling up, lending the metal with wings to rise.
When Will Gold Make its Next Big Move? by Jordan Roy-Byrne - FinancialSense.com In recent commentaries, we’ve focused on the macro factors that will drive acceleration in the precious metals sector. Namely, the gradual exodus from both government and corporate bonds as authorities are forced to monetize debts in an effort to avoid rising interest rates, which would hasten default and bankruptcy. This, and not bank lending or consumer demand, is the cause of severe inflation. Predicting the timing is more difficult then the actual event. Luckily for our subscribers we constantly pour over numerous technical charts and sentiment indicators in order to advise as to favorable entry and exit points. In analyzing Gold, we find that intermarket analysis is an essential tool. Intermarket analysis is analyzing a market by comparing it to other markets.
Silver The Most Bullish Currency Hubert Moolman - SilverBearCafe.com Gold appears extremely bullish in most of the world's currency. Probably more than it has ever been in the last 30 years. However, there is one currency in which gold is looking really bearish. That currency is none other than the world's other true currency called silver. The outlook for silver as a currency is as bright as it has ever been; in fact, in my opinion, there is no currency that will match silver over the next couple of years. Below is a long term chart of the gold/silver ratio, which translates to the silver price of gold.
Cash Futures, Physical Forwards, and London Gold's "100-to-1 Leverage" by Paul Tustain - FinancialSense.com SOME COMMENTATORS are alarmed that the amount of 'physical' gold in London is not sufficient to meet the immediate demands of the market. This concern is based on a simple misunderstanding. Read what follows and you will have a much better idea of how gold futures, forwards, the spot and physical markets interact. Professionals who trade gold over the counter use a convenient standard for specifying the form of the gold they will deliver between each other. The standard is written and maintained by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
Big banks mint money again: $18.7 billion By Colin Barr - Fortune (Fortune) -- The biggest banks are minting money. Can they keep it up? Do we even want them to? The six biggest bank holding companies - Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley - raked in $18.7 billion in profits in the first quarter. That's more than six times as much as they earned in the fourth quarter of 2009, and their biggest haul since the financial crisis of 2008.
Sound Money and Schoolyard Politics Szandor Blestman - SilverBearCafe.com Economics is not rocket science. In fact, most everyone learns the basics of economics when they’re children. It’s quite simple, really, like math. If you have something I want and I have something you want, we can trade. We’re both happy. That’s really about it. Oh, sure, there are subtleties involved and other considerations to take into account, but those are really more about psychology and human behavior rather than economics. At its most basic level, economics is simply about how one acquires stuff.
Euro Is Near 2-Week Low on Concern Greece Talks May Fall Short By Yoshiaki Nohara and Ben Levisohn -- April 22 (Bloomberg) -- The euro traded near a two-week low against the dollar on concern discussions of a 45 billion- euro ($60 billion) aid package for Greece will fail to stem the nation’s debt crisis. The 16-nation currency fell against the yen for a second day as the International Monetary Fund yesterday cautioned that a failure of nations to contain soaring public debt might have “severe” consequences for the world economy. The yen may advance against higher-yielding currencies on expectations U.S. President Barack Obama will say today that new financial- industry regulations are needed.
IMF and Bundesbank fear contagion from Greece as bond spreads soar to fresh records By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk The International Monetary Fund has warned that Greece’s debt crisis risks spinning out of control, threatening to spill over across the region unless action is taken soon to restore confidence. "In the near term, the main risk is that – if left unchecked – market concerns about sovereign liquidity and solvency in Greece could turn into a full-blown sovereign debt crisis, leading to some contagion," said the Fund in its World Economic Outlook. Bundesbank chief Axel Weber echoed the concerns, saying the financial system was still very fragile and subject to a "significant risk of contagion effects. A possible default by Greece would most likely be a severe economic blow for other countries in monetary union".
V-Shaped Explosion Martin Hutchinson - SilverBearCafe.com Commentators, including the egregious Ben Bernanke, are increasingly claiming that the United States is in the process of a V-shaped recovery from the Great Recession. Certainly first-quarter GDP, to be announced next week, is likely to show a substantial bounce, albeit not quite the inventory-driven 5.6% annualized growth of the fourth quarter. Yet commentators should be careful what they wish for: a V-shaped recovery is likely to lead not to a prolonged period of healthy growth, but to an economic explosion and collapse.
IMF Urges Stronger Chinese Yuan; Japan Might Need More Stimulus By Aki Ito April 22 (Bloomberg) -- The International Monetary Fund said China should let the yuan gain to cool growth, while Japan must be prepared to widen its stimulus measures as Asia’s two biggest economies diverge. Japan, with its “tentative” economic recovery, is an exception in a region that’s leading the global rebound, the IMF’s semiannual World Economic Outlook, released yesterday, showed. The Washington-based lender that offered rescue packages to countries from Iceland to Ukraine during the crisis raised its projections for growth in Asia’s economies for 2010 and 2011.
Wall Street's Bad Dream By ANDREW COCKBURN If only for a moment, things look a little sour for Wall Street. Amid the SEC’s indictment of Goldman-Sachs and consequent reminder to the citizenry of the crookedness rampant in the financial “services” industry, a hitherto loyal ally, Senate Agriculture Committee chair Blanche Lincoln, has proposed legislation requiring major banks to divest themselves of their their vitally lucrative derivatives trading desks. Only at the very end of the senate Democrats’ enormous 1408 page financial reform is there a hefty chunk of solace for the bankers, in the form of Section 1155, a generally unnoticed provision clearly mandating another taxpayer-funded bailout all round the very next time disaster strikes.
The Role of Government Dan Denning - SilverBearCafe.com We're going to paint with a broad brush and say most well-meaning government interventions in public and private life are designed to promote equality of outcome, social justice, or reduce the seeming unfairness and volatility of life in market economy. But have you ever wondered if, in the earnest attempt to eliminate risk in our society (financial, physical, emotional), we're actually make people less safe and society more inherently risky?
Goldman Sachs Not 'Too Big For Jail', House Dems Write Attorney General Ryan Grim - HuffingtonPost.com Democrats in the House are pressing the Justice Department to pursue a full-scale criminal investigation of Goldman Sachs, the bank hit last week with civil fraud charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Led by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), the group is asking more members of Congress to sign on to the letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that "if the DOJ is not currently looking into this particular case, we respectfully ask you to ensure that the U.S. Department of Justice immediately open a case on this matter and investigate it with the full authority and power that your agency holds."
Goldman Sachs in legal crosshairs By Tomoeh Murakami Tse and Zachary A. Goldfarb Washington Post Staff Writer Along with SEC, other investigators and suits may target Goldman Sachs NEW YORK -- As investigators in Massachusetts considered charging Wall Street firms for their role in the financial collapse, they focused on Goldman Sachs because it had bundled and sold the shoddiest of subprime mortgage loans, setting up the housing market for a greater fall by continuing to sell shaky securities even as other banks withdrew. After discussions with the office of state Attorney General Martha Coakley (D), Goldman last year agreed to pay up to $60 million to end that investigation, the first major settlement involving Wall Street's role in the subprime mortgage crisis.
AIG Said to Insure Goldman's Board Against Investor Suits By Hugh Son -- American International Group Inc., the financial firm rescued by the U.S., is the lead insurer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s board against shareholder lawsuits, said a person with knowledge of the policy. AIG is among firms that sold so-called Side A directors and officers’ coverage to the New York-based bank, said the person, who declined to be identified because details of the policy are private. Goldman Sachs was sued last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which claimed it misled investors in 2007.
The Multiple Scams of Goldman Sachs By DEAN BAKER Last year, Rolling Stone columnist Matt Taibbi described Goldman Sachs as “a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money." It turns out that Mr. Taibbi was far too generous in his assessment of the huge investment bank. Since that time we have learned that Goldman played a central role in helping Greece to hide its government budget deficit from the European Union, the financial markets, and the public at large. Goldman sold complex swaps to Greece in which it paid the Greek government for future revenue streams on items like airport landing fees. This was in effect a loan, but the swap allowed the Greek government to avoid entering the borrowed money on its books as a loan, which would have raised its budget deficit above the euro zone limits. Today of course Greece’s financial meltdown is threatening the stability of the euro.
Lehman fiasco fuels Obama bill debate By Sean Lengell - WashingtonTimes.com Big partisan battle brews again A probe of one of Wall Street's biggest failures has become a proxy battle in the congressional fight that could decide the fate of President Obama's push to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory system. As talks continued on a bid to reach a compromise deal, lawmakers on Tuesday used the investigation into the historic September 2008 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers to spar over key provisions of the bill, which is shaping up as the biggest partisan clash on Capitol Hill since the passage of Mr. Obama's health care law.
There's a New AIG Story. I Was an AIG Exec. Here's the Deal. Richard (RJ) Eskow - HuffingtonPost.com It's looking like the SEC/Goldman Sachs lawsuit could open up a whole new can of worms -- one that Tim Geithner and some bank executives aren't likely to be very happy about. The story's about AIG and I used to work there so, as much as I like to stay out of the story, a little personal background is in order. We'll do the story first and then get to the personal stuff. The story is this: As almost everyone knows by now, the SEC filed a suit against Goldman over a program called Abacus. The suit alleges that Goldman didn't tell Abacus investors that the bonds they were essentially insuring were being picked by a firm (Paulson) which was betting that they'd fail. Remember that Twilight Zone episode called "To Serve Man," where the aliens promised to help everybody but were really just getting ready to eat them? In this story the investors are the humans and Goldman's execs are the aliens.
Ex-GSE Insiders Debate the Future of Fannie, Freddie By Jerry Ascierto - HOUSING FINANCE NEWS The entire structure of the nation’s housing finance system is up for play as Congress begins its debate on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But the next generation of housing finance will be forged at a time when partisan divides are as deep and heated as at any time in recent history. “The mood on Capitol Hill is one of tension, and sometimes bordering on hysteria, about the GSEs,” said Doug Bibby, president of the National Multi Housing Council, as he kicked off "The Government, the GSEs, and the Future," a keynote session at the 2010 Apartment Finance Today Conference.
Fed paid record $47.4 billion to Treasury in 2009 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it transferred a record $47.4 billion to the U.S. Treasury in 2009 as a result of its programs to help the economy and financial firms during the financial crisis. The increase in income was primarily due to interest earnings on mortgage-backed securities issued by government supported mortgage finance agencies, the Fed said. Some of the data in the Fed's 2009 annual financial statement revises estimates released in January. The 12 Fed regional banks are required to transfer their profits to the Treasury after paying dividends to member banks and retaining some of their surplus.
Why religion could affect Obama's court nomination By James Oliphant, Los Angeles Times With the exit of John Paul Stevens, the court will be without a Protestant for the first time. Catholics dominate. Does it matter? When Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens steps down this summer, he will leave the court — long dominated by Protestants — without one for the first time in its history. That historical oddity has reopened a low-key debate as to whether the religion of a justice matters, and whether President Obama should consider the faith of his next nominee.
Gerald Celente Says This Is Among His Most Important Trends Ever Mac Slavo - SilverBearCafe.com The world's top trend forecaster, Gerald Celente, who has been publishing the Trends Journal since 1991, says his Spring 2010 report is one of the most important Trends he's ever published: "Of all the Trends Journals® I have published since 1991, this issue stands apart. Were I to rank it, I would say it is among the most important. The United States is on a path that, if not diverted, will lead the world into the first "Great War" of the 21st century.
SEC charges Miami schemer in massive Ponzi By Aaron Smith NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The SEC and the U.S. Attorney's office in New Jersey on Wednesday charged a Miami Beach-based businessman with allegedly running a Ponzi scheme that sucked in close to $1 billion. The Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. District Attorney Paul Fishman filed fraud charges in New Jersey against Nevin K. Shapiro, founder and president of Capitol Investments USA. Shapiro is accused of fraudulently offering risk-free annual returns as high as 26% to investors in his grocery diverting operation, a type of business where low-cost groceries are purchased in one region and sold for a higher price elsewhere.
New York State May Run Out of Money Before July By Henry Goldman April 21 (Bloomberg) -- New York’s general fund may run out of cash in June and will for the first time in state history end the months of May through August with a negative cash balance, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said. The third-most populous U.S. state ended its past fiscal year on March 31 with $2.3 billion in its general fund after Governor David Paterson delayed disbursing $2.9 billion, mostly in tax refunds and school aid. Because those payments must be made in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the general fund may run out of money before July, DiNapoli said.
Fed's supersized reverse repos could come by summer Pedro Nicolaci da Costa - Reuters (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve could take a first crack at draining liquidity from the financial system this summer as the economy shows signs of healing, an opening salvo for eventual interest rate hikes that could rattle still-fragile financial markets. The Fed could begin draining bank reserves, via transactions known as reverse repurchase agreements, or repos, in large increments as early as this summer, market analysts say. Importantly, the U.S. central bank could begin repos before it openly abdicates a commitment to keep interest rates low for an "extended period" since, technically speaking, reverse repos do not constitute an actual rate hike.
U.S. Offers a Hand to Those on Eviction’s Edge By PETER S. GOODMAN - NYTimes.com SAN MATEO, Calif. — Two years into a merciless downward spiral, Antonio Moore was threatened with living on the street. He had lost his $75,000-a-year job as a mortgage consultant, his three-bedroom house with a Jacuzzi, his Lexus sedan. He could no longer pay even the rent on his cramped studio apartment — not on his $10-an-hour part-time job as a fry cook at a fast food restaurant. Faced with eviction, he was staring last month at the imminent prospect of joining the teeming ranks of the homeless. His last hope was a new $1.5 billion federal program aimed at preventing that fate.
Oklahoma lawmakers to sue over federal health reform (Reuters) - Leaders of the Oklahoma House and Senate said on Tuesday they plan to file a lawsuit to block President Barack Obama's reform of the U.S. healthcare system. House Speaker Chris Benge and Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, both Republicans, said they plan to sue the U.S. Congress, president and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to prevent provisions of the act Obama signed into law last month from taking effect. Their announcement follows the refusal earlier this month of Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson to join a multi-state lawsuit led by Florida's attorney general. Edmondson, a Democrat, said he would join the lawsuit if required by legislative action.
No job for years and still looking By Chris Isidore NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- John Miller wasn't too nervous when he lost his job in the mortgage industry in June 2008. The worst of the financial crisis was still months away. While the subprime mortgage industry had already imploded, there was still a debate at the time whether a recession had started. Job losses were steady but not dramatic. Miller lost his job when Deutsche Bank shut down a unit making government-guaranteed FHA loans, but he had found work in the past when an employer had closed a unit. He thought that even if it took a few months to find another job, something would turn up.
KB Home’s Bruce Karatz Guilty in Backdating Trial By Edvard Pettersson April 21 (Bloomberg) -- Former KB Home Chief Executive Officer Bruce Karatz was found guilty by a U.S. jury of hiding from auditors and regulators that he backdated stock options. Jurors in federal court in Los Angeles today found Karatz guilty of two counts of mail fraud and two counts of making a false statement. He was acquitted of 16 charges, including mail and wire fraud, securities fraud and filing false proxy statements.
Will others follow Arizona's lead on immigration? By Kristi Keck, CNN (CNN) -- Now that Arizona lawmakers have passed what's considered some of the toughest immigration legislation in the country, other states are watching to see whether they should follow in the state's footsteps or stand back. Arizona's bill orders immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there's reason to suspect they're in the United States illegally. It also targets those who hire illegal immigrant day laborers or knowingly transport them.
Savers Get the Shaft Jim Amrhein - SilverBearCafe.com The Bean Counter's Guillotine They think this because I go out of my way to avoid the gaze of cameras on traffic-light posts, highway underpasses, parking garages, airport departure lanes, stores and malls and coffee shops and government offices. They think this because I have three loaded guns in my house, one in every room in which I spend time - bedroom, living room, and office. OK, so I've got one in the bottom of the magazine basket next to the toilet in my master bathroom, too... But it's only a .22 snub-nose. It shouldn't even count. They think I'm a nut-job because I'm aware of how just vulnerable I am in an America where people think the "rule of law" gives them the right to $2 million in damages when they spill hot McDonald's coffee into their crotches - but not the right to their own safety and property under a natural conformity to legal order.
Tata May Beat Hyundai in India Helped by World’s Cheapest Car By Vipin V. Nair -- April 21 (Bloomberg) -- A Tata Motors Ltd. factory opening this month in western India to assemble the $2,500 Nano, the world’s cheapest car, may help the company surpass Hyundai Motor Co. this year as the nation’s second-largest automaker. The plant in Sanand will start producing the Nano by April 30 and make up to 250,000 a year, said Debasis Ray, a spokesman for the Mumbai-based company. That’s about 80 percent of Hyundai’s India sales last fiscal year, based on industry data.
Distrust, Discontent, Anger and Partisan Rancor by Pew Research - LewRockwell.com By almost every conceivable measure Americans are less positive and more critical of government these days. A new Pew Research Center survey finds a perfect storm of conditions associated with distrust of government – a dismal economy, an unhappy public, bitter partisan-based backlash, and epic discontent with Congress and elected officials. Rather than an activist government to deal with the nation's top problems, the public now wants government reformed and growing numbers want its power curtailed. With the exception of greater regulation of major financial institutions, there is less of an appetite for government solutions to the nation's problems – including more government control over the economy – than there was when Barack Obama first took office.
The Slippery Definition of Extremist by James Bovard, Future of Freedom Foundation Americans are once again hearing of the perils of extremism. But the definition of this offense is slipprier than a politician’s campaign promise. The definition of extremism has continually been amended to permit government policies that few sober people previously advocated. Prior to 2000, anyone who asserted that the Census Bureau was deeply involved with the roundup of Japanese-Americans for internment camps in 1942 was considered an extremist. The Census Bureau spent 60 years denying its role but finally admitted its culpability ten years ago after academics uncovered undeniable proof. Regardless of the Census Bureau’s past abuses or perennial deceit, only extremists believe that their answers to this year’s census could ever be used against them.
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER PUBLISHES PATRIOT HIT LIST By Chuck Baldwin - NewsWithViews.com -- In a report on its web site dated April 2010, entitled "Meet The Patriots," the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) profiled "36 individuals at the heart of the resurgent [patriot] movement." (In reading the list, I counted only 35 "patriots" and 5 "enablers" for a total of 40. I'm not really sure how the SPLC came up with "36." Perhaps their ability to count is commensurate with their ability to appreciate patriotism and liberty.) The SPLC (founded by Morris Dees) sees itself as America's guardian against "right wing militias" and loves to label conservatives and libertarians that it doesn't like as "extremists." The SPLC is one of the most ultra-liberal organizations in the country and should be dismissed as a group of paranoid leftists, not worthy of thought or mention.
Leftwing extremist 'Southern Poverty Law Center' smears conservatives, patriots Conservative ExaminerAnthony G. Martin -- The Leftwing extremist group called 'The Southern Poverty Law Center' of Montgomery, Alabama has with one stroke of the pen smeared conservatives and Patriots in its new, infamous 'blacklist' it entitles, 'Meet the Patriots.' Among those it includes in the blacklist are some of the most reputable conservative Patriots in America today, such as U.S. Representative Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), federal judge and Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano, U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), Gun Owners of America (GOA) chief Larry Pratt, Fox News personality Glenn Beck, and U.S. Representative Paul Broun (R-GA), among others.
THANKS SPLC, . . . for listing a few freedom loving Americans who will not be intimidated.
Meet the 'Patriots' Southern Poverty Law Center In the last year and a half, militias and the larger antigovernment "Patriot" movement have exploded, accompanied by the rapid expansion of other sectors of the radical right. This spectacular growth (see timeline) is the result of several factors, including anger over major political, demographic and economic changes in America, along with the popularization of radical ideas and conspiracy theories by ostensibly mainstream politicians and media commentators. Although the resurgence of the so-called Patriots — people who generally believe that the federal government is an evil entity that is engaged in a secret conspiracy to impose martial law, herd those who resist into concentration camps, and force the United States into a socialistic "New World Order" — also has been propelled by people who were key players in the first wave of the Patriot movement in the mid–1990s, there are also a large number of new players. What follows are profiles of 35 individuals at the heart of the resurgent movement:
Heaven Can Wait - Chuck Baldwin, 57
The Repentant Taxman - Joe Banister, 47
Bulldozer vs. Bulldozer - Martin "Red" Beckman, 80
'Needle of Estrogen' - Catherine Bleish, 26
Arguing at Gunpoint - Chris Broughton, 29
The Pricey 'Patriot' - Bob Campbell, 69
Murder: The Fantasy - Robert "Lil Dog" Crooks, 59
Unfair and Unbalanced - Joseph Farah, 55
The FEMA Fabulist - Gary Franchi, 32
The Exaggerator - Al Garza, 64
Of Government and Guillotines - Ted Gunderson, 81
The Unnamed Co-Conspirator - John Hassey, 60
Telling Tall Tales - Alex Jones, 36
The Red-Hot Patriot - Devvy Kidd, 60
Apostle of Disunion - Larry Kilgore, 45
Writing Right - Cliff Kincaid, 55
Swim for Your Life - Mark Koernke, 52
A Sheriff of Their Own - Richard Mack, 57
Facts and Fiction - Jack McLamb, 65
Railing About Reds - John F. McManus, 75
Facing Down the UN - Daniel New, 64
Back in the Saddle - Norm Olson, 63
Out of the Barrel of a Gun - Larry Pratt, 67
Of Cops and Conspiracies - Stewart Rhodes, 44
Correcting the Constitution - Jon Roland, 66
The 'Patriot Journalist' - Luke Rudkowski, 23
Militia Midwife - Robert "Bob" Schulz, 70
The Cautious Conspiracist - Joel Skousen, 63
The Rough Guide - Jim Stachowiak, 49
Running Radical Radio - John Stadtmiller, 56
'Alice in Wonderland' - Orly Taitz, 49
Teed Off in Tulsa - Amanda Teegarden, 54
Gunning for the Government - Mike Vanderboegh, 56
Uncommon Citizen - Paul Venable, 56
Architect of Militias - Edwin Vieira Jr., 66
100% American - Michele Bachmann, 54
Meet the Enablers:
The Ringmaster - Glenn Beck, 46
Doctor of Demonization - Paul Broun, 64
Fox Pox - Andrew Napolitano, 59
'Dr. No' - Ron Paul, 74
Special army unit ready to be deployed on American soil just before Nov. elections April 21, 2010 - Newark Examiner.com In October of this year, one month prior to the November midterm elections, a special army unit known as 'Consequence Management Response Force' will be ready for deployment on American soil if so ordered by the President. The special force, which is the new name being given to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry, has been training at Fort Stewart, Georgia and is composed of 80,000 troops. According to the Army Times, "They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack."
Consequence Management Response Force CCMRFs now training on US soil! Marial Law NorthCOM
Perot: Time will show impact of tea party effort By JOHN MILBURN - The Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Texas billionaire Ross Perot said Tuesday that the national tea party movement seems to be doing well but that time will tell how it will affect the country, government and November elections. The former Reform Party presidential candidate also said he wouldn't be offering the group advice anytime soon. "In a free society, you're entitled to do whatever you want to do. Time will tell how effective it is," Perot told reporters in Kansas City on Tuesday, where he was receiving a leadership award from the Army's Command and General Staff College Foundation. "Just as a layman looking at it from afar, it seems to me they are pretty well organized and getting the crowd."
Allen West speaks about Islam
Allen West: Define the Enemy: What it takes to win in Afghanistan
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