Conservative author and conspiracy theorist Ed Klein joined Sandy Rios of the American Family Association today to promote his book, “The Amateur,” where he revealed that Michelle Obama is the real power broker in the White House. Klein said that he learned from friends of the Obama’s that the First Lady “wears the pants in the family” and “is even further to the left than her husband.” He said she grew up “with a real chip on her shoulder” over anti-black discrimination and claims she has “never really gotten over that”:

Klein: They give me a portrait of a very, very strong-minded, powerful woman who wears the pants in the family. That her husband, Barack Obama, has I’ve been told again and again is actually afraid of Michelle, afraid of her temper, afraid of her shunning him, turning a cold shoulder to him, things like that, he is very susceptible to her moods. She comes from a very political family, her father was a precinct family, getting out the vote on the local neighborhood level for the old Mayor Daly, so she grew up steeped in politics and with a real chip on her shoulder because of her feeling that African Americans were second class citizens in Chicago, which they were back then, not any longer, but they were back then, and she’s never really gotten over that. In my view she is even further to the left than her husband, Barack Obama.

Rios: That’s the take you get on Valerie Jarrett as well, they are pushing him to this ideology which I think he does embrace too.

Klein: I do too; I think it’s in his system.

Rios: In his DNA.

Rios was also interested in the role of President Obama’s adviser Valerie Jarrett, telling Klein: “she was born in Iran—that for the life of me makes no sense—she is the daughter of Vernon Jarrett. Vernon Jarrett, how strange, was a very close friend of Frank Marshall Davis who was one of the editors of the Communist newspaper in Chicago who became later Barack Obama’s mentor.” Rios complained that “you can find out all kinds of alarming things” about Jarrett “without working too hard…they thought I was crazy.”

However, Vernon Jarrett is not Valerie Jarrett’s father. Her father is Dr. James Bowman, and Jarrett was born in Iran as her parents moved to there after her father found a job there at a hospital. Vernon Jarrett is the father of Jarrett’s late ex-husband Dr. William Robert Jarrett. The couple divorced in 1988 and he died in 1993.

Despite bragging about writing two chapters about Jarrett in his book, Klein doesn’t correct Rios and it is unclear if he even knew she was wrong in the first place.

Rios ended her show warning that Obama “has done tremendous harm to the black community by being who he is” and “is out for [the] destruction” of America:

Rios: There was a dark cloud, there was like a delusion, a strong delusion, that settled over America—it wasn’t about color—I think the sad thing is, I am grateful America has come to the place where they will elect an African American president, I think that has tremendous value and it should have, but not this one. I know too many fine men of color who love this country and I think he has done tremendous harm to the black community by being who he is, and who he is is he’s not a lover of this country. Most black Americans even in spite of the things that have happened in this past, the things that we’re ashamed of, still, this is their home, this is their country, this is their children who fight in wars and they don’t want someone leading who is out for destruction.

One of the central components of the work we do here at Right Wing Watch is listening to various radio programs and watching videos produced by an ever-growing army of Religious Right activists.  And among the most unpleasant chores in this process is the regularly viewing of Rick Joyner's daily "Prophetic Perspective on Current Events" broadcast, since Joyner generally spends the entire program mostly talking in circles without ever actually saying anything while simultaneously insisting that what he is talking about is vitally important.

Joyner fancies himself to be something of an expert on history, despite the fact that he doesn't really know what he is talking about, and he is convinced, based on a two-day long vision he had several decades ago, that the demonic forces responsible for Nazism in Germany are now trying to take over America.  Thus, we end up with clips like this from yesterday's program where he declares that liberals and gays are "useful idiots" being used by the Devil to bring America down and who, once they succeed, will immediately be wiped out by the very forces they helped to bring to power:

We should probably point out that it was not Marx, but rather Lenin to whom the phrase "useful idiot" is generally attributed.

In advance of a court case on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and amid calls to repeal the discriminatory law, the Family Research Council today sent an appeal to members urging them to tell Congress that a repeal of DOMA would present a “grave threat” to the family and religious liberty. In an email to members, FRC president Tony Perkins lamented that the Obama administration has already “forced open homosexuality upon the military” and provided “taxpayer-funded marriage benefits to same-sex couples.”

Few were shocked by the recent announcement of President Obama's "evolved" support for redefining marriage. His words have finally followed his actions - or his inaction when it comes to marriage policy. In less than four years, the Obama Administration has forced open homosexuality upon the Armed Forces, opposed state marriage amendments, refused to do its constitutional duty to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA), and awarded taxpayer-funded marriage benefits to same-sex couples.

Now some in Congress are seeking to repeal DoMA - an act that would endanger the marriage laws in 44 states that currently define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

There are those who hope you will step aside and allow this God-given institution to be redefined. We cannot allow the DoMA law to be repealed. Please sign our Stand for Marriage petition, and join us in showing Congress and President Obama that marriage is worth standing for.

…

Given that the family consisting of marriage between one man and one woman is the foundation of civil society, I urge Congress and President Obama to uphold and defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA), which defines marriage for the federal government and affirms the rights of states to protect the institution of marriage. President Obama's cynical endorsement of same-sex "marriage," along with his failure to do his constitutional duty to enforce and defend federal law in relation to marriage, combined with the plans of some in Congress seeking to overturn DoMA - is a grave threat not only to the well-being of the family, but to the religious liberty of countless Americans who do not wish to be forced to embrace a counterfeit version of marriage.

The number of right-wing conspiracy theories relating to President Obama, Islam, Sharia Law, immigration, Agenda 21 and the debt seems to be growing exponentially…but finally now there is one conspiracy theory that brings them all together.

Avi Lipkin, who on speaking tours in churches and synagogues across America says he learned secret information from his wife, whom he claims is an Israel intelligence officer. On Crosstalk with Vic Eliason of VCY America, Lipkin maintained that Obama is a Saudi plant who is out to destroy Israel and the United States:

Lipkin: Obama was made a Muslim man in Indonesia by age 11. He said, ‘I’ve got health care problems, I got economic problems in America, Muslims in Egypt and Muslims in the Muslim world, be patient, I will show you when the time comes what I am going to do to Israel.’ My wife picked up other broadcasts, for example the Saudis were saying, ‘we will have a Muslim in the White House in 2008.’ The Saudis also said, ‘Obama has three tasks: task number 1 is to destroy the Shiite threat in Iran, task number 2 is to destroy the Jewish threat Israel, task number 3 is to destroy the great Christian Satan America and turn America into a Muslim country.’

Surely you’ve heard that one before. But, you may not have known that Obama will destroy America by supporting the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in order to collapse the region’s economy after the group persecutes the country’s Christians, leading to a wave of Muslim immigration to the United States. Obama will then settle the “50-100 million” Muslim immigrants on “lands confiscated by Agenda 21,” the sustainable development initiative, and bring about Sharia law in the U.S.

Obama also built up the national debt to a point where the U.S. will need a bailout from Saudi Arabia, who will grant it with the condition that “America will surrender its Christianity.” Lipkin explains that God sent the Muslim immigrants to the U.S. to be “hunters” of Jews and Christians, forcing them to leave the U.S. and move to Israel:

Lipkin: The Muslim Brotherhood is going to end up either killing, converting to Islam or expelling the remaining Christians of Egypt. When the Christians of Egypt are gone, the economy of Egypt is gone. When the economy of Egypt is gone, the 76 Muslims who remain are going to starve to death. What do people do when they starve? They leave. Where do they go to? America. Who’s going to bring them in? Obama. Where is he going to settle them? In the lands confiscated by Agenda 21.

…

Lipkin: America will be Muslim by 2016. 2016 is the eighth year of President Obama, meaning he is going to bring in 50-100 million Muslims because it is inevitable that all these Islamic countries cannot rule, they don’t know how to rule themselves, they are completely inept, and after they kill all the Christians that remain there will not be any economy left so you’re going to have overnight 50-100 million Muslims coming in. You cannot put them in American cities, you have got to create entire new areas populated in the United States and Canada with these Muslims.

Eliason: Where Sharia law holds forth?

Lipkin: Yes! So you have Agenda 21, you have Sharia law, by the way I’m going to throw out a real wildcard now. You have all those people who talk about the American debt being insolvable, where are you going to get $14 trillion from? The answer is very simple, you don’t think the Saudis have $14 trillion in cash? They’ll give you the cash and they will say ‘we own you now, we’re going to take over America.’ And Americans will say, ‘if we don’t do this we’re going to lose our economy and we’re going to lose our dollar and everything.’ The American economic problem is not a problem if the Saudis come in and bring in their cash. The problem here is America will surrender its Christianity.

…

Lipkin: If and when a war breaks out in the Middle East between Israel and its neighbors then you will see 10, 20, 30 million, maybe more, 40, 50 million Muslims, some of them are going to rise up in a 9/11 type terrorist attacks and they are not afraid to die, they cherish death, and American law enforcement with all the best of intentions will not be capable of dealing with this. They are not going to kill 10 million, they are going to kill some and a lot of Jews and Christians are going to go into hiding and eventually a lot of them will eventually leave the United States and coming to Israel so I see this as a spatula, they leave by God, you have the hunters and these hunters are going to be the Muslims. I believe America will come out of this mess but it’s going to be a very rough time, weeks, months, before the situation is brought under control. The more Muslims you have in America the more capable they will be to wreak havoc on Jews and Christians.

Peter LaBarbera today posted yet another interview with his new best friend, Patrick Wooden along with John Kirkwood, pastor of Grace Gospel Fellowship in Bensenville, Illinois. discussing the recent passage of the marriage amendment in North Carolina.

During the discussion, the three men tackled a wide array of related topics, including President Obama's statement of support for marriage equality.  It was Obama's citation of the Golden Rule in explaining his views that seemed particularly offensive to them, prompting Wooden to offer up a truly incoherent statement that "most people don't invite strangers to their family reunions" while Kirkwood simply compared Obama's citation of Scripture to Satan: 

LaBarbera: Talk about this use of the Golden Rule that Obama cited to justify his new support of the so-called homosexual marriage.

Wooden: It's funny, he's quoting Scripture to debunk Scripture. Amazing. But I agree with the President on the Golden Rule, I think we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us ... I don't that that I should aid anyone in entering into anything that does apply to them or does not appertain to them. Words still have meaning and the word "marriage" means something, it means the union between a man and a woman. So I don't know how he's applying the Golden Rule but I think we should treat people the way we want to be treated. But if a person wants to do something that doesn't apply to them, then I don't think we should help them do it.

Most people don't invite strangers to their family reunions. Most people don't allow perfect strangers to come into their house and sit at the dinner table and dine with them. And we shouldn't, under the Golden Rule, allow people who are not to participate in marriage to be invited into the union in the name of treating people the way we want to be treated. It makes no sense.

LaBarbera: And John, also, four years ago or long, dismissed Romans 1 to justify his support for homosexuality. So talk about this.

Kirkwood: Yeah, I don't think he holds The Word with a great deal of esteem. There was another guy in Matthew 4 who quoted The Word to rebuke The Word. It's not going to work out so well for him.

Matthew 4, for those who may not know, is when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan.

While Target created a firestorm in 2010 for donating to a conservative group backing an anti-gay, and unsuccessful, Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota, the retailer now is selling t-shirts to benefit the Family Equality Council, a group representing LGBT families.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said “if they're looking to resonate with Americans, they ought to try defending marriage”:

Target's slogan is "expect more." And when it comes to their politics, Americans do. Hello, I'm Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. One of America's biggest companies isn't just named Target--it's becoming one. Starting May 20, the mega-chain's introducing a new line of same-sex "marriage" merchandise that says, "Love is love." Target promises to donate 100% of the profits to a national homosexual group--but they don't specify which one. Retail analyst Britt Beemer says that Target's strategy isn't "very smart," especially in conservative states, where it does the biggest business. "Anytime a retailer gets away from doing what they should be doing by being involved in a social cause, [they] lose." The company said it wanted to "resonate beyond fashion." But if they're looking to resonate with Americans, they ought to try defending marriage. According to voters, the country's still very opposed to redefining it. Let Target know that its agenda isn't your style. Log on to target.com, scroll down, and click "Contact Us."

Naturally, the American Family Association is also fuming, and the organization’s president Tim Wildmon released an action alert and letter blasting the company:

Target is joining President Obama in ramming same-sex marriage down the throats of the American people.

Send an email to Target Chairman Gregg Steinhafel. Let him know that a majority of Americans oppose same-sex marriage and are able to use their pocketbooks to voice their opposition to companies that support it.

…

Dear Chairman Steinhafel:

Thirty-one states have overwhelmingly voted for constitutional amendments to protect marriage as only between one-man, one-woman. And your company does business in all of these states.

That's why I can't understand why Target would purposely choose to offend me by donating cash to support the Family Equality Council's push for legalizing homosexual marriage.

I urge you to reconsider this promotion and stop supporting a gay marriage campaign.

Otherwise, I will reconsider shopping at your stores and choose making my purchases from your competitors.

• Michael B. Keegan @ Huffington Post: Bain's Not Just Fair Game, It's the Only Game.
• Ed Kilgore @ Political Animal: Walking the Planks.
• Jeff Spross @ Think Progress: Sheriff Joe Arpaio Admits Using Taxpayer Funds To Pursue Birther Conspiracy Probe: ‘So What?’
• Nick R. Martin @ TPM: Emails Show How Hawaii Stiffed Arizona Secretary Of State’s Birther Investigation.
• McKay Coppins @ BuzzFeed: In Conservative Media, A "Race War" Rages.
• Good As You: Harry Jackson: God punishes marriage supporters, NAACP next; you're not taping this, are you?

• Mitt Romney is confirmed to speak at Ralph Reed's 2012 Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference & Strategy Briefing.
• SaveCalifornia.com's Randy Thomasson says "'Harvey Milk Gay Day' is training children to be political activists for perversity."
• Bristol Palin now has a reality show.
• Bryan Fischer declares that "President Obama and his MussoliniCare health care program have displayed tyrannical effrontery by contemptuously disregarding fundamental American principles" through the contraception mandate.
• Finally, FRC's Rob Schwarzwalder assures us that "the socially conservative Christians I know almost universally are compassionate, thoughtful, approachable, principled, and well-informed [and] characterized by their forgiving spirits and their eagerness to share the love of Christ ... [more] than by the ignorance, bigotry, and bluster attributed to them by their smug and seemingly mystified opponents."

TBN co-founder Paul Crouch had an unscripted, and rather telling, moment during a live appearance on TBN’s “Behind the Scenes” program. Crouch was speaking with his son Matt on February 9th, just one week after TBN was rocked by a lawsuit filed against it by Paul's granddaughter Brittany Koper. Koper was a senior executive at TBN until she was fired, allegedly for blowing the whistle on "illegal financial schemes."

Without naming names, Paul and Matt said "Gold help" anyone who gets in the way of TBN, and Paul claimed to have attended the funerals of two people who had tried. Here's how their conversation went:

Matt: You know what’s funny dad? There have been a few attempts in the TBN history to upset TBN, to stop TBN. There have been a few fools in the 38, 39 year history, coming up on 40 years. And you what? Any attempt at stopping TBN, they have no idea who they’re actually pushing into the corner. You and mom get pushed in a corner, God help you. That’s a lesson I’ve learned from you. Seriously.

Paul: God help anyone who would try to get in the way of TBN, which was God’s…

Matt: plan and his purpose.

Paul: I have attended the funeral of at least two people who tried.

Matt: Hello.

Paul: Um…

Matt: Hello.

Paul: That’s another whole story.

Earlier we reported that James Dobson warned that the environmental movement is a “Satanic” effort to help radical Islamists and Cal Beisner claimed that the movement is modeling itself after Satan. Conservative talk show host and Eco-Tyranny author Brian Sussman appeared yesterday on Eagle Forum Live with Phyllis Schlafly and identified yet another sinister force behind the environmental movement. Sussman claims that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels not only created the environmental movement but also the nefarious, anti-capitalist and anti-Christian notion of man-influenced climate change. And now, Sussman says, they have a powerful disciple in the White House:

1883, you had two well-known left-wing thinkers who had a pretty big audience, these were people who hated capitalism and hated Christianity as well, they wanted to liquidate Christianity, they came up with a scenario, they said, ‘capitalism produces pollution and that pollution could change the climate and bring us into an ice age that would destroy all species.’

That was 1883, they put together this wild theory to destroy capitalism by scaring people of the coming ice age. Those two thinkers were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, this was 1883. Might I just add Phyllis, the left hasn’t left this, first it was global cooling, then it was global warming, then it was global cooling, then it was global warming, and now it’s just a catchall phrase known as climate change and the fact of the matter is there isn’t substantial science to back any of these claims up.

…

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and their ilk, they don’t care about capitalism, they don’t care about free market opportunities, they want a planned and controlled economy because they believe that most of us our incapable of running our own lives and the scary thing is now, Phyllis, we have these people in all levels of government of the United States, including in the White House and the West Wing of the White House.