Pat Buchanan has always been recognized for his outspoken, often suspect public statements. This time, however, a minority advocacy group has had enough and is rallying for MSNBC to relieve him from his position on the network.

He claimed that a Klan leader stole his ideas; he defended Hitler; his new book talks of the “End of White America.” Yet, somehow, Pat Buchanan is still a commentator for MSNBC — but not if a civil rights group can finally have their way.

Color of Change, an advocacy group that sets out to “strengthen Black America’s political voice,” is calling for MSNBC to relieve controversial conservative host Pat Buchanan of his long-standing hosting duties on the network, citing a list of grievances against the commentator in an email published online this week.
“For years, Pat Buchanan has passed off white supremacist ideology as legitimate mainstream political commentary. And MSNBC continues to pay him and give him a platform on national TV to do it,” the group writes in a letter this week. Before listing a laundry list of remarks Buchanan has made over just a few short years, Color of Change adds that the host “has the right to express his views, but he’s not entitled to a platform that lets him broadcast bigotry and hate to millions.”
“If MSNBC wants to be seen as a trusted, mainstream source of news and commentary, it needs to fire Buchanan now,” they add.

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If you find yourself outside of Columbia, South Carolina and need to purchase any neo-Nazi memorabilia, you better act fast. The future of Laurens, SC’s Redneck Shop — and its inventory of KKK robes and even its backroom “Klan Museum” is in doubt.

That’s assuming, of course, that the owner of the building will follow through with plans to pull the plug on the mid-Atlantic’s number-one destination for confederate flag woven patches and “Racial Purity is America’s Security” bumper stickers. Given that ownership is now officially in the name of Rev. David Kennedy, a civil rights hero that leads the predominantly black New Beginnings Baptist Church, chances of walking into his building and purchasing a Robert E. Lee switchblade might soon be slim to none.

Rev. Kennedy helped lobby to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse dome in South Carolina and protested against a county that wanted to not recognize Martin Luther King Day. One of his longest battles, however, has been with the Redneck Shop, a kitschy repository of racial hatred in the small town of Laurens. The shop has been located in the site of an old local movie theatre since 1996, but in 1997 the ownership of the building was transferred to Red. Kennedy after the former owner, an ex-Klansman, had a dispute with his hooded brethren and seceded from the sect.

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Pensions and health care plans for US troops will be drastically reduced under a new budget presented by US President Barack Obama on Thursday. Not all aspects of the DoD will be annihilated, however.

The DoD will ditch medical benefits for troops but continue to spend on its expensive arsenal of doom.

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President Obama joined Defense Secretary Leon Panetta from the Pentagon early Thursday in a rare public address from the two to talk changes made to the ledger in regards to the operation of the US military. As the US begins to scale back on foreign operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Obama administration is finding less of a need for the servicemen and women that have been on the battlefronts for the last decade. In order to cut costs, the new budget will thus eliminate positions from the armed forces and initiate changes to the pension and health care plans for military vets.

Those changes will help balance the Defense Department’s budget as the Pentagon unveils that it will continue to invest billions in cutting edge weaponry and cyberspace capabilities.

Citing the end of the war in Iraq and a drawdown of troops in Afghanistan, the president said Thursday that the US must strategize on how to successfully prepare for future conflicts. In order to do such, said Obama, boots on the ground will be needed less and less. Instead, the US will rely more heavily on an agile, dispersed arsenal of troops and increased surveillance space age weaponry presence.

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Indian Wells, CA – After contributing as a major supporter of Desert Town Hall for 15 years, the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation is taking a new position as the 2012 title sponsor of the nationally recognized lecture series. Officially, the premier speaker series now in its 20^th year will be presented by the Palm Desert based foundation which supports numerous nonprofit education and service organizations in the Coachella Valley each year.

“We are thrilled to announce that the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation will lead the way as we continue our 20 year tradition of bringing some of the most prestigious speakers of our time to our community,” said Brian S. Harnik, Desert Town Hall Board President.

“We are extremely proud to partner with Desert Town Hall – a Coachella Valley tradition that inspires and enriches our community,” said Christopher McGuire, Vice President of Programs at the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation.

Slated to appear for the 2012 series:

Thursday, January 26: Dick Cheney, former Vice President of the United States, along with his daughter, Liz Cheney, political commentator. “A Conversation with Vice President Cheney and Liz Cheney about Today’s Political Landscape”

Sunday, February 12: David Brooks, author and New York Times columnist. “Political Outlook: Election 2012”

Monday, March 5: Robert Gates, former U.S. Secretary of Defense in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. “Current Global Issues”

Thursday, April 5: Bob Ballard, ocean explorer. “The Last Great Frontier”

All four evening events are held at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells and begin at 6 pm.

“Desert Town Hall is a dynamic organizationsupported by sponsors, patrons and volunteers,” Harnik said. “We remain focused on bringing the finest speakers from around the world, and hosting the Youth Ambassador Program, which connects young people from throughout the Coachella Valley with world leaders, inspirational speakers and provocative lecturers.”

Series tickets (all four events) currently are available. 

$1150 – Reserved Seat with Dinner

$500 – Reserved 

$250 – Unreserved 

Serving as officers for 2011-12, the 20th season of the celebrated series, are: Brian S. Harnik (Roemer & Harnik), President; Andy Clark (111 Wealth Management), Vice President; Ed Monarch, Treasurer; Phillip K. Smith, Jr. (Sunrise Company), Secretary.

Members of the Board of Directors are: Jerry Fogelson (Fogelson Properties), Keith Goff (Rabobank), Lois Horvitz (Founding President), Bill Powers (immediate past president), Tim Sullivan (Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa), Judy Vossler (Palm Springs Desert Resorts CVA); and Mark Winkler (The Desert Sun).

 The lecture series is sponsored by a number of local companies, organizations and philanthropic individuals.

Desert Forum, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c) (3) educational corporation, produces Desert Town Hall. A portion of the cost of the tickets is tax-deductible.

This nationally recognized series (the 16th as a nonprofit corporation) has included world leaders and other notables such as President George W. Bush, Time Editor Fareed Zakaria, author Jeannette Walls, former US Senator and basketball great Bill Bradley, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Pakistan President Musharraf, slain Pakistani

leader Benazir Bhutto, Britain’s Tony Blair, retired Army General and former US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, peace activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel laureate in economics Paul Krugman, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former CIA Director George Tenet, retired Army General Tommy Franks, Republican leader Rudy Giuliani, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, UK leader Margaret Thatcher, diplomat Henry Kissinger, former President George H. W. Bush, Israeli leader and former PM Shimon Peres, retired Army General Norman Schwarzkopf, columnist and author William F. Buckley, former Kansas Senator and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, former UK Prime Minister John Major, former US Secretary of Defense William Cohen, PBS’s The McLaughlin Group, columnist and author George Will, filmmaker Ken Burns, longtime AP correspondent Helen Thomas, oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau, political power couple David & Julie Eisenhower, and a host of others.

As part of its philanthropic mission, Desert Forum, Inc. invites 150 local high school students to attend each lecture. The students participate in a hosted evening where the featured speaker visits with the youth.

Staff for the series includes Tim Parrott, executive director; Becky Kurtz, marketing director; Mimi Monahan, administrative director; Jonathan Gaag, office assistant. Nearly 40 dedicated volunteers, many of whom have been with the series since its inception in 1993, help to make the series a success and a solid sellout every year.

 Sponsors of the series include the title sponsor, The H. N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, along withThe City of Indian Wells, Anderson Travel, Buzz Factory, Phil & Geda Condit Family, The Desert Sun, Lois U. Horvitz,Rabobank, Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa, Roemer & Harnik, The Ryerson Indian Wells, Sunrise Company, Valentine-Dougherty-Clark/111 Wealth Management Group.

 Several levels of sponsorship are available for the new season.

 Information: (760) 610-2852 www.DesertTownHall.org.

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On Monday, December 26, 2011 an attempted kidnapping took place in the area of Two Bunch Palms Trail and Ocotillo. Two Black males were involved in the incident. One was arrested immediately after the incident and one subject is still outstanding. Detective Sandoval of the Desert Hot Springs Police Department is seeking the community’s assistance in identifying the second subject.

We are asking the community if they recognize anyone matching the attached sketch and if so to contact Detective Sandoval. Desert Hot Springs Police Detective Raul Sandoval at 760.329.6411 x330.

Dispatch Tel: 760-329-2904