This week's class at Beck University was the second class taught by "Professor" David Barton, and, as expected, the class was packed with quite a few of Barton's pseudo-historical lies and distortions. In fact, Barton managed to get over a dozen separate lies into this single half-hour class.

Consider the following short video documentary (see full story), which presents what it calls the "transformation" of Newark. Initiated by New Jersey residents Lloyd and Joanna Turner in early 2008, the Pray For Newark effort involves a consortium of church volunteers who are working closely with Newark's police and the mayoral administration of Corey Booker. The effort claims to be able to field an entire army of volunteers, one for each street in the city, organized by city ward - almost like a neighborhood watch.

Neighborhood watches have been shown to be effective at reducing crime. So what's not to like ? Well, as I documented in my story Movement Behind Uganda's "Kill the Gays" Bill Organizing in Newark, Pray For Newark is closely tied to a an international evangelical ministry whose leaders are in the forefront of opposing gay rights in Hawaii and are closely allied with Ugandan leaders who are leading the push in Uganda for the so-called "kill the gays" bill that would in effect legislate an entire segment of Ugandan society out of existence. As a simple point of fact, the Uganda Anti Homosexuality Bill is harsher than any comparable anti-gay legislation passed, prior to World War Two, in Nazi Germany. The movement can't currently aim so high in the United States but in Hawaii, where it is highly influential in the executive branch of government, gay rights activists are being treated as second-class citizens whose civil rights can be determined by majority vote.

Can anti-Semitism be effectively or credibly called out by a Jewish media titan with a controlling interest in a broadcast network that airs a wildly anti-Semitic Christian pastor who claims Rothschild bankers control global finance, says Hitler was a "half-breed Jew," and blames anti-Semitism on Jews themselves because the ancient Hebrews allegedly worshiped idols ? And is it wise for the Anti Defamation League to selectively go after certain public figures for anti-Semitic remarks while ignoring global distribution of anti-Jewish propaganda from Christians who say they support Israel ?

Members of the Livingston Parish School Board in Louisiana may be on the verge of making a huge mistake - one that could cost their community a lot of money.

During a recent meeting, several board members went off on a tangent about teaching creationism. During this public session, they openly discussed their desire to bring religion into the classroom. It was not a wise move.

The claims that the Religious Right is dead and that the Culture Wars are over are as ubiquitous as they are poorly supported.  We have debunked such claims many times here at Talk to Action. (Most recently, Frank Cocozzelli took on one such prominent claim.)

Over at Religion Dispatches, I have an essay about all this. You'll find a sample after the jump -- followed by a quiz featuring ten prominent examples of statements claiming End of the Culture Wars and/or the Religious Right is Near.

Fox News's favorite commentator and Religious Right darling Newt Gingrich has come up with a new popular book.  The Late Jerry Falwell welcomed Newt back on the political circuit after unseemly revelations about his marriage.  A frequent guest of the Christian Coalition, the historian is hinting he might be in the mix to run for President.

Will the recently released video showing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that he conspired, against US President Bill Clinton, to undermine the Oslo Accords have the sort of political blowback it truly ought to have ? Shot nine years ago, the video shows Netanyahu boasting that he destroyed the peace process and stating, "America is something that can be easily moved. Moved to the right direction... They won't get in our way ... Eighty per cent of the Americans support us. It's absurd."

The video has the potential to undermine Netanyahu's credibility in the US but there's another aspect to the story that could undermine Bibi Netanyahu's credibility with Jews in Israel and internationally - Netanyahu's key, close ally in undermining peace negotiations, Christians United For Israel founder and head John Hagee, has a ugly history of distributing, on a global scale, vile anti-Jewish propaganda including Adolf Hitler's favorite conspiracy theory, the canard that Jewish bankers rule the world.

In his most recent  New York Times op-ed columnist Frank Rich declared über-traditionalist Catholic movie star Mel Gibson's fall from grace to be "good news" -- suggesting that  as goes one downwardly spiraling Hollywood star, so goes the Religious Right.Too bad the facts don't support the pundit's pronouncement.

A compilation of past articles, video, and documentation on sectarian Christian supremacism and anti-government conspiracy theorists in the U.S. Military Chaplain Corp.

Given the current revival of anti-government rhetoric, the following list of articles might mean more to readers now than when they were originally published. MRFF has repeatedly warned about the aggressive proselytizing conducted by the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches (CFGC), headed by Ret. Col. Jim Ammerman.  In addition,  Ammerman and some of his chaplains, while flaunting their military credentials, have promoted "New World Order" conspiracy ideology, in which they claim that the U.S. will imminently lose sovereignty, betrayed by government leaders who are part of a demonic cabal of "Illuminati," described as international banking families. (The list is Jewish except for the Rockefellers - explanation to follow below).

This summit took place on June 25 -27 and is old news, but since it failed to make it into U.S. media, I think it is worth noting. Also, the blurring of the lines between end times prophecy and foreign policy will continue with the CUFI Summit in Washington D.C.  on July 20 -22.  This follows Hagee's release of his new book Can America Survive:  Ten Prophetic Signs That We Are The Terminal Generation," which includes the graphic description of the end of Judaism and the forced conversion of the state of Israel. Nevertheless, Jewish politicians (Democratic and Republican), Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, and other Jewish leaders will speak at the event.

The New York Times recently reported that the Vatican, while revising its laws on disciplining pedophile priests, simultaneously pronounced "...that ordaining women as priests was as grave an offense as pedophilia."

This move also appears to be designed to obfuscate just how little has been done to punish predator priests.

[editor: This story is about a radical right wing movement in charismatic Christianity that claims to fight demons but, leaving demonology aside, is demonstrably close to seizing the reigns of power in entire US states.]

They claim to be able to raise the dead and cause miracles, such as the multiplication of Thanksgiving turkey dinners. They burn "witchcraft items" and "idols." They hold mass exorcisms to cast out alleged evil spirits they say cause lust, pornography, addiction, homosexuality, bisexuality, and perversion. They claim to be able to heal HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis C, Glaucoma, and cancer, and to break "generational curses" and "witchcraft curses." Who are they? Here are a few overviews (1, 2, 3.)

They compare opponents of their movement to rats that will be exterminated and one of their leaders has predicted that the regime they're working to create will initially "seem like totalitarianism". They're closely tied to the notorious, so-called "kill the gays bill" before Uganda's Parliament. They're behind Sarah Palin and one of their "prophets" has become the de-facto prayer leader for the Republican Party.  

On Tuesday of this week during the Glenn Beck Show, Beck stated the following:

"Jesus conquered death. He wasn't victimized. He chose to give his life. He did have a choice. If he was a victim, and this theology was true, then Jesus would have come back from the dead and made the the Jews pay for what they did."

While the Anti-Defamation League has not been especially vigorous recently in opposing virulently anti-Semitic claims from Christian Zionists such as John Hagee, the ADL nonetheless can be considered an authoritative source concerning what anti-Semitism is. The ADL identifies Glenn Beck's claim that "the Jews" killed Jesus as one of the top four most destructive of anti-Semitic lies.

"Why is it that the people who came to the Capitol building in support of the gay community and HB444 were required to obtain a Special Use Permit and proof of liability insurance in order to participate in a rally, but the pastors, church members, and those rallying against the civil rights legislation were not similarly required to obtain the necessary permits? And, why is it that certain people were invited to a special prayer meeting inside the Governor’s office, but others were excluded?" - Hawaii activist Carroll Cox

As she announced her veto of Hawaii's Civil Unions Bill HB444 on July 6th, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle echoed a standard argument traditionally advanced by leaders of the Christian right, that the issue of the civil rights of minority groups was so important that it should not be decided by an executive decision but, rather, by popular vote. It was a strange argument for a Jewish politician given the use of the democratic legislative process in pre-World War Two Germany to strip German-Jewish citizens of basic rights. But it also was the height of hypocrisy because that day, prior to announcing her veto, Lingle had sent a clear message of her executive decision: supporters of the civil union bill gathered at the Hawaii State House that day were second class citizens and Lingle was more than happy to use the power of the state to enforce the point.

The San Marcos, California-based organization, a project of the controversial National Organization for Marriage, has a new `strategic plan' which it hopes will make it a national force in the pro-marriage movement

The passage of California's Proposition 8, the November 2008 initiative banning same-sex marriage, was an indicator to the folks at the Ruth Institute that a bright future may be looming. These days, armed with a new four-year strategic plan; a leader, who, in addition to having a sparkling resume, is hoping to forge a national reputation and is sporting the nickname "Dr. J"; and a full-bore affiliation with the National Organization for Marriage, the Ruth Institute is putting the finishing touches on its "It Takes A Family to Raise a Village '10 - training the next generation to be marriage champions" event, and has every intention of becoming a major player in the national pro-marriage movement.