It’s an exhilarating, if somewhat mystifying, experience to find yourself a supporting player in a modern media maelstrom. It’s even more instructive to learn that a dust-up over a few words can obscure a much more significant message.

“My first thought was, this is what they do in China on party matters if you talk off script.”

Those words were spoken Sunday night by Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor and Republican presidential candidate, in a public interview with me at New York’s 92nd Street Y. Huntsman was describing how his comments about the potential appeal of a third party got him disinvited to speak at a Republican National Committee event in Florida.

Before dawn, websites were reporting the quote under headlines like “Huntsman compares GOP to Communist Party of China.” By sunrise, Huntsman was on “Morning Joe,” scoffing that “bottom-feeder” blogs had taken his comments out of context. By midday,Buzzfeed–the target of Huntsman’s critique–had posted a lengthy video excerpt from my interview to argue that no, he had not been taken out of context.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think Huntsman was painting with a brush so broad as to compare the Republican Party with Communist China. For one thing, Huntsman is not yet under house arrest with his Internet access forbidden.

But here’s what the dust-up missed. If you take all of what he said to me over some 90 minutes, it is all but certain that John Huntsman is not going to be a Republican much longer.

CONTINUED at Yahoo News.

Latest state to revolt against kidnapping provisions of NDAA.

Utah has become the latest state to revolt against the indefinite detention provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), introducing a resolution urging Congress to repeal the law that allows Americans to be incarcerated without trial.

Following in the footsteps of Virginia, which earlier this month passed a House bill that codifies noncompliance with the “kidnapping provisions” of section 1021 and 1022 of the NDAA, the resolution “expresses disapproval” of the same provisions, noting that they serve to “violate a right guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Utah Constitution.”

“Be it further resolved that the Legislature of the State of Utah, the Governor concurring therein, urges the United States Congress to repeal or clarify Sections 1021 and 1022 of the 2012 NDAA to protect the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and Utah Constitution,” states the resolution (PDF).

The NDAA bill, which was signed into law by President Obama under the radar on New Years Eve while he was on vacation in Kailua, hands the government power to “allow the military to indefinitely detain terror suspects, including American citizens arrested in the United States, without charge.”

Republican Senator Todd Weiler, the chief sponsor of the resolution, fears the indefinite detention provisions of the bill could be used against American citizens just as the Patriot Act has been used against non-terrorists, telling the Salt Lake Tribune, “I have a legitimate fear this National Defense Authorization law will do the same thing.”

Emphasizing how opposition to the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA crosses partisan lines, both the American Civil Liberties Union and the conservative Utah Eagle Forum expressed their support for the resolution.

CONTINUED at Prison Planet. Written by Paul Joseph Watson.

On a fall day in 2010, half a dozen wealthy investors and portfolio managers converged on an office in midtown Manhattan. These were serious Wall Street moneymen; in aggregate, they handled more than a billion dollars. They had access to the most exclusive hedge funds and investment partnerships and often rubbed shoulders with the elite of New York, Greenwich and Palm Beach.

But on this day, they had turned out to meet an unknown college dropout from Utah — and to find out how he was knocking them all into a cocked hat.

The unknown, Allan Mecham, had been posting mind-bogglingly high returns for a decade at a tiny private-investment fund called Arlington Value Management, and the Wall Streeters were considering jumping on board. For nearly two hours, they peppered him with questions. Where did he get his business background? I read a lot, he replied. Did he have an MBA? No. I dropped out of college. Did he have a clever computer model or algorithm? No, he replied. I don’t use spreadsheets much. Could the group look at some of his investment analyses? I don’t have any of those either, he said. It’s all in my head. The investors were baffled. Well, could he at least tell them where he thought the stock market was headed? “I don’t know,” Mecham replied.

When the meeting broke up, “most people left the room mystified,” says Brendan O’Brien, a New York City money manager who was there. “They were expecting to see this very sharp-dressed, fast-talking guy. They were saying, I don’t get it, I don’t understand why he wouldn’t have a view on the market, because money managers get paid to have a view on the market.” Mecham has faced this kind of befuddlement before — which is one reason he meets only rarely with potential investors. It’s tough to sell his product to an industry that’s used to something very different. After all, according to their rules, he shouldn’t even be in the business to begin with.

Over a 12-year stretch, through the end of 2011, Mecham, now a mere 34 years old, has earned an astounding cumulative return of more than 400 percent by investing in the stock of U.S. companies — many of them larger ones like Philip Morris, AutoZone and PepsiCo. That investment performance leaves the stock market indexes and most mutual funds trailing far in the dust. Of the thousands of mutual funds in America, only a smattering of stock-oriented funds have done better, according to Lipper. Arlington, which is structured like a hedge fund, has put most firms in that category deep in the shade as well. It even managed to turn a profit during the crash of 2008, when Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell nearly 40 percent. And Mecham has done this mostly while sitting in an armchair, in an office above a taco shop, in downtown Salt Lake City.

Mecham doesn’t look, talk or act like a typical Wall Street manager. He’s soft-spoken. He doesn’t use jargon. He dresses like he works in a bookshop, with a patterned shirt and a plain tie. And the story of his success, arguably, says a lot about the flaws of the fund-management industry. By his own account, and those of other investors who have vetted his fund, Mecham has no secret sauce or amazing algorithm; what’s extraordinary about this young man is how ordinary he is. But his investment approach relies on a handful of common-sense tactics — focusing on just a few stocks, for example, and avoiding or ignoring short-term statistical analysis — that big money-management firms either can’t use or are reluctant to try. Skeptics and admirers alike agree that Mecham’s approach involves a higher-than-usual potential for hefty losses. Russ Kinnel, director of fund research at Morningstar, says most fund customers would be unlikely to take that chance. “Pension funds, consultants, investors in general are quite benchmark-centric,” Kinnel notes; they get uncomfortable when their money managers deviate.

CONTINUED at Smart Money.

*Written by Rob Rimes.

I like Jon Huntsman. Sure, he has had some policies that were shit but when looking at his stance on the foreign side of things, one of the most important factors in choosing who I want to select as president, he is pretty stellar. He is strongly anti-war and he truly understands our situation with China as well as other countries where we are in a similar boat. He is able to foresee that the Pacific region is the future of trade and understands how to utilize it in an effort to not only build up our economy but to establish a more symbiotic relationship with all these other major countries that most conservatives perceive as nasty competition in a battle for world domination. Huntsman knows that the issues of trade and foreign policy aren’t so black and white. He also understands the cultural revolutions that are going on in places like China and Iran, where the younger generations are begging to be free and to live in a society that closely resembles America. He knows that when the old guard dies in those countries, things will be much different, at least if we don’t take measures that’ll just make them hate us and continue with the old policies once they gain power. He knows that our countless wars are pointless and wants nothing more than to bring our troops home to work on our “core”, as he calls it. Huntsman is one of the few under the Republican banner that gets how all this works. In fact, Huntsman is very close on these issues with my personal pick for president, Congressman Ron Paul. That’s why I found it so disturbing to see him drop out of the race at the peak of his success and immediately endorse Mitt Romney, a man who is the ideological opposite of Huntsman on these incredibly important issues.

So why would Huntsman, who only a day or two before dropping out called Romney “unelectable”, go on to endorse him and call him “the best equipped to defeat Obama”, “a great man” and “terrificly talented”? It’s like Huntsman doesn’t think any of the GOPers are electable but Romney is the best of the bunch: whatever. Most critics of Huntsman’s endorsement feel that it’s “a Mormon thang”. While that may hold some weight, the truth is that this goes much deeper than most people know. This may just be a classic case of blood being thicker than water. Yes, blood.

The truth is, Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney are cousins. Crazy, I know because the mainstream media has pretty much ignored that fact even though it is pretty well known, especially in Utah. Weirdly, it’s as if the media doesn’t want the rest of us to discover this fact. Now they have several times referred to the two men as “frenemies” but rarely, if ever, have they mentioned the fact that these two are blood related. The fact that they have been labeled “frenemies” also raises an eyebrow and makes this strange relationship even more confusing.

Their history of ideological division is pretty lengthy. In 2008, Huntsman was quick to endorse John McCain over his fellow Mormon and cousin, Mitt Romney. It’s also interesting to note that Huntsman’s father donated $130,000 to Romney’s campaign but the younger of the two Huntsmans made it a point not to support him. The odd thing about this is that Jon Huntsman came out and immediately endorsed McCain beating every other governor in the United States to the punch. He was the first governor that year to endorse anyone. Was his mind made up that early or did he just want to stick it to his cousin?

Something else that may contribute to the bad blood between the two happened in 2006, when Romney was gearing up for his first presidential run. According to a story that ran in 2006 in the Desert Morning News:

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Thursday that Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney entered into “probably problematic territory” in getting Brigham Young University officials to solicit support for what is widely seen as a presidential bid.

“Using a network or using an alumni list in the case of University of Utah or University of Pennsylvania or BYU is what any candidate would do,” Huntsman told reporters after taping his monthly news conference on KUED Channel 7.

“But having someone affiliated with that institution intervene directly as if they were placing an endorsement behind someone is probably problematic territory,” he said. “That seems to constitute the question.”

It was kind of a dick move for Huntsman to point that out, as he seemingly threw his cousin under the bus, but he was also the Governor of Utah at the time and chances are, he was just acting on the “up and up” and trying to be ethical. Regardless, it had to leave a bad taste in Romney’s mouth. In the end, the issue was resolved and Mitt Romney moved on: unscathed. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who owns and operates BYU, said that they were neutral on the issue and claimed that the questionable meetings between Mitt Romney’s backers and the church officials were just “courtesy calls”.

A major difference between the two is that they have very different levels of involvement with the Mormon church. Romney, as he has said, has gone to the same church for decades and very closely follows and proudly promotes his religion. Romney isn’t afraid to wear his Mormonism on his sleeve and in certain ways, it’s respectable, whether you agree with his faith or not. Jon Huntsman however, hasn’t been shy about how much he’s distanced himself from his religion. Now he hasn’t abandoned Mormonism but he has admitted that he looks at and appreciates the philosophies of other religions and ideologies and trusts in the wisdom he finds in other cultures, not just his own. Huntsman, unlike Romney, doesn’t strictly follow traditional Mormon protocol but he is also much more of a well-seasoned world traveler.

Their paths to the top are also very different. Romney has taken the traditional path, being the son of a governor and auto industry executive, he followed in his father’s footsteps. Romney went to BYU, became a leader in his church, went on religious missions overseas, became a powerful executive that lead Bain Capital to the top and also became a governor himself. Huntsman dropped out of school, traveled with his rock band, lived in Asia for some time and eventually became a governor as well. Their very contrasting origins led them to a similar place but the roads getting there went in very different directions.

Looking at their deep family ties, USA Today recently published a detailed article about it; here’s an excerpt:

Parley Pratt, an early Mormon missionary, is Romney’s great-great-grandfather and Huntsman’s great-great-great-grandfather. That’s how the two GOP candidates are related.

Huntsman’s mother, Karen, lived with Romney’s sister, Jane, while they attended the University of Utah.

Huntsman’s maternal grandfather, David Haight, was best friends with Romney’s father, George. (They grew up together in Oakley, Idaho, and would go swimming in a canal near their homes, Haight recalled in 1998 when Brigham Young University renamed its Institute of Public Management after George Romney.)

Huntsman’s uncle, Bruce, once dated Romney’s sister, Lynn.

Utah is too small of a place for all these Mormon elites to live and not cross paths. Whether the families are still close today or not is their business but the truth is, these families have a deep past together and they all come from the same source. So with the seemingly love/hate relationship between Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney, one has to ask what the angle is.

Maybe Huntsman really feels that Mitt is the best chance the country has at beating Obama. Maybe he feels bad for supporting McCain in 2008. Maybe he is just trying to support his cousin. Or, maybe Huntsman and Romney had this planned out all along because if there are two Mormons in the race, it makes Mitt’s religion seem a lot less obscure. I mean, in 2008, evangelical Christians had a huge issue with Romney being a Mormon. Today, the Mormon issue seems moot. One could argue that it is because of Huntsman also being in the race that the issue has kind of been forgotten. Then again, the Mormon thing was so four years ago and maybe people just don’t care anymore. It could also be possible that people just dislike Barack Obama so much that a candidates religious affiliation is a secondary concern.

In the end, no one will know how these two really feel about each other besides the men themselves. I just thought it was important to touch base on these issues, as the mainstream media doesn’t always get to the bottom of the story. These men are cousins with a history of being “frenemies” but regardless of that, Mitt Romney is the frontrunner of the GOP, whether anyone likes that or hates it, and now his cousin and fellow Mormon, Jon Huntsman, is in his corner.

Personally, I wish Huntsman would’ve sided with the man who shares a lot of his foreign policy points, that being Ron Paul. I guess he decided to support someone in his bloodline who is ideologically at odds with him. Whatever Huntsman’s reasoning was, doesn’t really matter. This is his cross to bear but maybe by helping the man who shares his blood, Huntsman will have a future at Romney’s side. That is, if Romney can pull this thing off. Truthfully, I just don’t think he can.

One Utah school district believes a cougar mascot would be insensitive to women.

The Canyons School District overrode the students top choice of a cougar mascot for their high school that is to be completed in 2013.

Would-be Corner Canyon High School students chose the Cougars as their mascot — a name principal Mary Bailey said carries an ugly connotation that is disrespectful to women.

In popular culture, the cougar is a sexually aggressive middle-aged woman who attracts younger men.

The school board, which consists of six men and one woman, thought the Charger would be more appropriate, which was on the ballot but failed to appeal to students as the cougar had.

Cougars — the large mountain cats — are popular in Utah. Brigham Young University, considered conservative, uses the cougar for its mascot.

Bailey said Corner Canyon’s close proximity to BYU was another reason to use the Charger.

She said the cougar was popular enough, while the charger gave the school an opportunity to have a unique mascot in Utah.

Source: CBS Las Vegas.

Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman will drop out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination on Monday, a campaign advisor confirmed Sunday night.

The decision comes the day he received the endorsement of The State, Columbia, SC’s newspaper, and nearly a week after finishing third in New Hampshire- a state where his campaign focused as a pivotal launch pad for his bid.

Huntsman appears to have received little if any boost from New Hampshire, still placing at the bottom of most national and South Carolina polls in the low single digits.

Matt David, a spokesman for Huntsman, told the New York Times, that Huntsman will endorse Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

Huntsman, a former two-term governor of Utah, formally entered the presidential race in June well after many of his GOP rivals like Romney who had already formed campaign organizations and fundraising networks. His resignation as President Obama‘s first ambassador to China became effective in late April. His stint in the Obama administration was viewed skeptically by some voters, but Huntsman defended it as service to the country.

From the beginning, Huntsman had vowed to be a different kind of candidate – from his early videos highlighting his love of motorcycle riding to his demeanor in the GOP debates as the adult in the room.

But as the campaign developed, Huntsman began drawing sharper contrasts with his rivals, especially Romney.

When the GOP front-runner said before the New Hampshire primary that he liked “being able to fire people” – a comment that was taken out of context during remarks on health care – Huntsman responded that it indicated his opponent is “slightly out of touch with the economic reality playing out in America right now, and that’s a dangerous place for somebody to be.”

Source: USA Today.

My Two Cents: It is also worth noting that a man was found dead in a tent at an Occupy SLC event in Utah. Police said there was nothing suspicious about the death in Salt Lake City. End Two Cents.

*Taken from AJC.

Police are investigating a fatal shooting just outside the Occupy Oakland encampment in Northern California and the apparent suicide of a military veteran at an Occupy encampment in Vermont’s largest city.

The Oakland killing is further straining relations between local officials and anti-Wall Street protesters. A preliminary investigation into the gunfire Thursday that left a man dead suggests it resulted from a fight between two groups of men at or near the camp on a plaza in front of Oakland’s City Hall, police Chief Howard Jordan said.

Investigators do not yet know if the men in the fight were associated with Occupy Oakland, but they are looking into reports that some protest participants tried to break up the altercation, Jordan said.

CONTINUED..

*Taken from the Daily Mail. Pictures and videos at link.

When thousands of people took to the streets of Salt Lake City in their underwear, they were not just hoping to break records.

Wearing just boxers, panties and bras, are the crowds of people said they were there to break stereotypes.

Salt Lake City is the home of the Mormon church, which is a vocal opponent of gay marriage and a bastion of conservatism.

CONTINUED..

*Taken from Deseret News.

A Salt Lake airline passenger faces federal charges for allegedly carrying a knife onto an airplane and verbally threatening police and FBI agents.

Shortly after taking his seat on a Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas on Sunday, David Alan Anderson, 60, began elbowing the passenger next to him to “claim” the armrest, according to a federal complaint. He then put his foot on the passenger’s leg.

“Sir, you are going to have to move over,” the passenger told him.

About five minutes later, the passenger saw Anderson staring at him. He then said to the passenger, “If I have a knife, I would slit your throat,” the complaint states.

CONTINUED..

*Taken from Geekologie.

Jason Valdez (whose Facebook profile you can view HERE to read everything that went down), 36, barricaded himself and his ladyfriend in a motel room after police tried to serve a felony warrant on a drug related charge. Then sat in the room for 18-hours providing Facebook status updates but didn’t have the decency to write a Yelp review for the motel.

Utah police were involved in a standoff with a guy in a motel and he updated his Facebook status throughout the ordeal — which ended with him shooting himself in the chest as a SWAT team raided the place (he’s now in critical condition at the hospital, but expected to survive).
Many of the reports claim that it was a “hostage” situation, because there was a woman in there with him, but, if you read through the messages, it seems pretty clear that she was there willingly. The guy, Jason Valdez, even posted photos of the two of them and joked about his “hostage.”

Listen dipshits (you know who you are) — before this turns into the idiotic trollfest about race that I know you bottomfeeders are capable of, how about we like, not do that? I know it’s not easy for some of you more short-sighted halfwits, but remember: the easiest things to do in life are rarely the best. Take your mom for example.

Sign Of The Times: Guy Updates Facebook Status During Police Standoff [techdirt]

Thanks to mud, who got on my jeans and now I’m gonna have to wash them despite only having worn them for a week.