The FBI yesterday raided a home said to be inhabited by members of the Michigan Militia in Washenaw County, near Ann Arbor, MI, and at several other area locations.

ADRIAN, Mich. -- The FBI confirmed to Local 4 that there were several law enforcement activities in the Lenawee/Washtenaw County area late Saturday night.

"The federal warrants are sealed and we can not comment at this time," said Sandra Berchtold, media/applicant coordinator for the FBI in Detroit.

Local 4 crews could see FBI helicopters flying over the area.

Michigan State Police said the raids are not terror related, but would not comment further.

Police said one person driving up from Toledo, Ohio was arrested and then taken in for questioning. Police also said they were looking for at least one person.

Although we don't know if it's related, the raid appears to have been coordinated with similar raids yesterday in Hammond, Indiana and Sandusky, Ohio.

FBI spokesmen said no information would be released until court documents were unsealed Monday.

UPDATE:

The FBI conducted raids Saturday night in the Washtenaw and Lenawee county area in an investigation tied to Hutaree, a Christian-oriented militia group based in Lenawee County, AnnArbor.com has learned.

[...] Michigan militia members say five people were arrested - including one known member of Hutaree. They said the raid occurred at a meeting of Hutaree members in the Ann Arbor area.

I found this reported chat with a Hutaree leader on an online message board dated today:

[04:13] mark_Koernke_ I just left a shouting match about 20 minutes ago with a little over a hundred militiamen who are on the move right now. The arguement was over not if but rather where to hit them. Trying to calm them down was useless and they are not going to let this lie. They will identify the straglers or pickets first and wipe them out. By what the radiio crew said the recon teams have all of the hiddy holes

[04:14] mark_Koernke_ …IDed for those they moved in and the group is infiltrating to site as we speak. I hope the locals are smart enough to step out of the way.

[04:16] mark_Koernke_ this is interesting for we may have live vids from the epicanter as it developes.

[04:16] mark_Koernke_ …epicenter…

[04:34] mark_Koernke_ sorry about that , just got off one of our back up phones with another militia unit commander. His first comment was “Well Mark, I guess that we aren’t going to chirch this morning.”

[04:35] mark_Koernke_ He then told me that as he was packing up his LBE and weapons into the armored truck he has that he asked his wife to bring the congregation together to say a prayer for the militia that may be going to war this sunday.”

[04:37] mark_Koernke_ His wife was crying in the background(I could hear her) and he said he had kissed his children good by and was now going out the door. He is a two war vet and young. He has killed many times before and she knows his moods

From what I've picked up from various sites, other militias consider the Hutaree a bunch of immature amateurs who seemed to be trying to provoke a showdown with ATF agents. If so, it's good that no one was hurt.

Yet.

Dave N.: FWIW, Koernke was one of the leading figures of the militia movement in the 1990s, and was well known for inflammatory and paranoid rhetoric.

Early reports are that these arrests involve people who were manufacturing and selling pipe bombs -- which is something of a constant refrain among Patriot movement people. Pipe-bomb busts brought down a number of militia groups in the '90s, most notably the Washington State Militia.

But of course, what we'll hear from the militiamen is that this is just the first step in liberals' evil plot to round up conservatives and put them in concentration camps. And it sounds like at least a few of them are getting itchy trigger fingers. If you're in law enforcement in Michigan, take extra care this week.

It seems hard to believe in a country that honors church-state separation, but Prison Fellowship Ministries, founded by ex-Watergate felon Charles Colson, was effectively given an entire wing of Iowa’s Newton Correctional Facility a few years ago, and Colson’s group created what was basically a state-sponsored evangelism program (called InnerChange).

A federal court struck down funding for the program as a blatant violation of the First Amendment, explaining, “For all practical purposes, the state has literally established an Evangelical Christian congregation within the walls of one of its penal institutions.... There are no adequate safeguards present, nor could there be, to ensure that state funds are not being directly spent to indoctrinate Iowa inmates.”

The case (filed by my former employer, Americans United for Separation of Church and State) went to the 8th Circuit on appeal, and today the appeals court agreed that the faith-based program is unconstitutional.

Americans United presented evidence that inmates who took part in InnerChange were given better treatment and perks that were not available to others, including better housing and expedited access to classes required for parole…. At trial, inmates testified that they were pressured to convert to evangelical Christianity, and that the beliefs of Roman Catholics and other faiths were ridiculed. The court record showed that non-Christians were frequently referred to as “unsaved,” “lost,” “pagan” and “sinful” by InnerChange staff. The program required staffers to abide by an evangelical statement of faith.

In a unanimous decision joined by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the appeals court upheld a lower court ruling issued on June 2, 2006, except that it reversed a portion of the lower court ruling that required InnerChange to return funds it received prior to June 2006. InnerChange will still need to return funds it received after the June 2006 ruling.

It's the latest major setback for Bush's faith-based initiative.

As if that would be a shock to anyone, but it is worth mentioning. On CNN's In the Money, John Muleta, who is the founder and CEO of M2Z media was talking about the telecom giants trying to block his companies plans of providing free, high-speed, wireless internet to the entire nation.

Download | play Download | play

Muleta has been pushing for this for quite sometime now. He testified before Congress in May, and now his big hurdle is with the FCC. He is also collecting online signatures for his petition to Congress and the FCC, which you can sign here.

The benefits of this plan are great. I know the capitalistic mind always cringes at the word "free", but think of the boost such a service could offer to online retailers.

Another problem also made news this week. The Washington Post published an article talking about Comcast canceling subscribers account for "excessive usage":

Comcast has punished some transgressors by cutting off their Internet service, arguing that excessive downloaders hog Internet capacity and slow down the network for other customers. The company declines to reveal its download limits.

"You have no way of knowing how much is too much," said Sandra Spalletta of Rockville, whose Internet service was suspended in March after Comcast sent her a letter warning that she and her teenage son were using too much bandwidth. They cut back on downloads but were still disconnected. She said the company would not tell her how to monitor their bandwidth use in order to comply with the limits.

"You want to think you can rely on your home Internet service and not wake up one morning to find it turned off," said Spalletta, who filed a complaint with the Montgomery County Office of Cable and Communication Services. "I thought it was unlimited service."

In today's world of streaming media, news like this is very bad. We need better control of our internet, and control that doesn't hurt the consumer. The United States is quickly falling behind in offering quality, high-speed internet to all the nation. Actions like this just put us even further behind.

O'Connor Decries Republican Attacks on Courts

NPR:

"2006 · Newly retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor took on conservative Republican critics of the courts in a speech Thursday. She told an audience at Georgetown University that Republican proposals, and their sometimes uncivil tone, pose a danger to the independence of the judiciary, and the freedoms of all Americans....read on" (hat tip Andrew)

You can listen to Sandra Day O'Connor at this link.

You can read a transcript here.

Kos:

"With the news out of South Dakota, it's obvious that a woman's right to choose is in graver danger today than it has been in decades. (SD has passed an outright ban on abortion, as opposed to the "partial birth" case which the court will hear in the next session.) And one of those reasons is the replacement of pro-choice Justice Sandra Day O'Connor by Samuel Alito. Joe Lieberman had the chance to take a stand on behalf of critical privacy issues, but abdicated...read on"

FDL:

"Give your money to Ned Lamont. Choice in this country will not survive another Bush nominee to the Supreme Court confirmed by this Senate. It may not survive the ones we've already got. There is no more important task right now before the supporters of pro-choice in this country than breaking up the Gang of 14 and making sure that pro-choice Senators take the seats of those who would return us to coathanger days, and yes that means you, Lieberman...read on"

You can donate here too...

Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District: National Center for Science Education podcasts, transcripts, and more, giving a blow-by-blow from the Dover PA., Intelligent Design as science, trial.
Bob alerted us to Crony Jobs: "PRESIDENTIAL PALS & BACKERS...Apply now to secure a lucrative career both decrying and luxuriating in the spoils of Big Government! No experience necessary! Don't miss your chance to suckle greedily at America's soon-to-be-bankrupt bureaucracy teat!"

That Colored Fella: The real possibility that a Justice Miers could be the ideological twin of a Sandra Day O’Connor, has devastated an Evangelical Right fully expecting, at least, a Judge Roy Moore in drag.

Big Daddy Malcontent lives up to his handle.

THE BRAD BLOG: "The Fight for American Democracy Continues..." We're not supposed to be talking about this issue at all, 11 months after November 2nd, 2004...
Justice Miers could be the ideological twin of a Sandra Day O’Connor, has devastated an Evangelical Right fully expecting, at least, a Judge Roy Moore in drag.

Big Daddy Malcontent lives up to his handle.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and a key swing vote on issues such as abortion and the death penalty, said Friday she is retiring. O'Connor, 75, said she expects to leave before the start of the court's next term in October, or whenever the Senate confirms her successor. There was no immediate word from the White House on who might be nominated to replace O'Connor...read on

Will Bush do the right thing and avoid a three ring "circus"? Highly doubtful. Dobson's gang is ready to mobilze. Tony Perkins marauders will be gathering at the gates of the White House.

As the "God's Clown Circus," is ready to descend upon on us, I thought I would show you what these judge battles are all about:

Chris ( author of Losing Moses on the Freeway ), appeared on NOW and explains that there is a push to turn America into a Christian Nation.

Download | play -WMP

Download | play -QT

DAVID BRANCACCIO..They believe in the literal truth of the Bible and aim to put God in charge of government.

CHRIS HEDGES: What it's calling on is for its followers to essentially take control of secular society and create a Christian, what they define as, a Christian nation.

If you want more about this, read John Cole's ( you don't have to agree with all of his positions to see his point) article on James Dobson's statement about Sandra Day O'Connor and why he feels there will not be any advise and consent on the nomination: "If anyone really thinks Dobson and Tony Perkins care about the Constitution, they need to reassess their faculties. They care about the Constitution in the context that they think liberal activist judges are robbing them from what is rightfully theirs (and in fairness, sometimes they are right). What they really care about is displaying the Ten Commandments wherever and whenever because we are a "Christian Nation." read on

That was the story that came out on Face The Nation. Arlen Specter said that Sandra Day O'Connor has been approached to come back and take the mantle from Rehnquist.

Download | play -WMP

Download | play -QT

Specter thinks it would help the country....

How long will it take for the FRC to produce some ads attacking her?

(Update)-People are asking what an Originalist is click here Strict constructionism here

via TPM Cafe

by Nathan Newman
bio

It makes me nauseous hearing various Democratic leaders lauding Sandra Day O'Connor as a great heroine of moderation.� Yes, she made a few token bows on social issues, but her time on the Bench has been one of unmitigated hostility to working people.

While she may have saved some shards of affirmative action for the college-bound, it's worth remembering that O'Connor authored the decision in Adarand�which largely gutted the ability of the federal government to engage in affirmative action in subcontracting, just as she authored the decision in Croson�that outlawed the City of Richmond's affirmative action programs.� As Justice Marshall in dissent wrote of Sandra Day O'Connor's opinion:

today's decision marks a deliberate and giant step backward in this Court's affirmative-action jurisprudence. Cynical of one municipality's attempt to redress the effects of past racial discrimination in a particular industry, the majority launches a grapeshot attack on race-conscious remedies in general.

As for her attitude towards labor unions, O'Connor never missed a chance to cripple workers' union rights through her votes on the Court. Read on...

Yankee Doodle Judy       Hullabaloo

Gene Lyons has Croson�that outlawed the City of Richmond's affirmative action programs.� As Justice Marshall in dissent wrote of Sandra Day O'Connor's opinion:

today's decision marks a deliberate and giant step backward in this Court's affirmative-action jurisprudence. Cynical of one municipality's attempt to redress the effects of past racial discrimination in a particular industry, the majority launches a grapeshot attack on race-conscious remedies in general.

As for her attitude towards labor unions, O'Connor never missed a chance to cripple workers' union rights through her votes on the Court. Read on...