When Scott Bloch became head of the Office of Special Counsel he declared war on equal protection for gays in federal workplaces

In early October 2004, five Democratic members of Congress called on President Bush to "take the necessary action" in regards to Scott Bloch, the head of the Office of Special Counsel.

Bloch had refused "to enforce anti-discrimination protections for federal workers contradict[ing] Bush Administration policy to uphold former President Clinton's executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation," the Washington Blade had reported.

The letter to the president was signed by gay House members Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), along with Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and George Miller (D-Calif.).

On Tuesday, May 6, McClathchy Newspapers reported that "FBI agents ... searched the office and [Virginia] home of ... Bloch ... as part of an investigation into whether he obstructed an inquiry into allegations of his own misconduct."

Since his appointment the relatively unknown Bloch has been wielding a heavy hand and been the source of a series of controversies.

Who is Scott Bloch and how did he wind up as head of the Office of Special Counsel?

A group of evangelical scholars has issued "An Evangelical Manifesto" in an attempt to redefine and restore a good name to the evangelical movement within Christianity.

There is much to commend in their statement.  Most of it would have been of much more value had it been said years ago -- no, decades ago.  It is much too little and way too late.

House resolution congratulates the Ten Commandments Commission and its supporters for their `key role in promoting and ensuring recognition of the Ten Commandments as the cornerstone of Western law'

Most of us pay little attention to congressional resolutions. All sorts of resolutions are proposed; some pass, others are tabled, and still others are withdrawn.

Did you know that for the past two years, Congress has designated the first weekend in May as "Ten Commandments Weekend?"

These days, two resolutions relating to the Ten Commandments are being considered by Congress; one will again designate the first weekend in May as "Ten Commandments Weekend," while the other aims to celebrate the Ten Commandments Commission (TCC), an organization led by a former veteran of the Israeli Armed Forces, and made up of a host longtime conservative evangelical Christian leaders.

For months, Chris Rodda, a Senior Research Director for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) and a regular contributor to Talk2Action,  has been following developments surrounding the two Ten Commandments resolutions -- Senate Resolution 483 and House Resolution 598.

In 2005, Pastor Rick Warren announced that Rwanda would become the world's first "Purpose Driven Nation", following the principles of his book The Purpose Driven Life and his "P.E.A.C.E." plan for Africa. Originally, "P.E.A.C.E." stood for "Plant churches, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick and Educate the next generation", although the "P" has now become "Promote reconciliation".

His latest tour of East Africa - during which he spoke against gay rights in Uganda - has concluded with high-profile meetings in Kenya, and a message of opposition to political protest. A news release from A. Larry Ross Communications reports:

"We must never let politics or anything else divide us," Dr. Warren challenged. "Our message is, 'Overcome evil with good.' You don't overcome evil by protesting, marching or demonstrating."

Of course the context here is the recent violence in Kenya, and doubtless Warren believes that God's will and prayer are ultimately what bring about change, but this appears to be a blanket dismissal of political protest.

[note: I've reposted this article because the problem described needs far greater prominence than it's received so far. These abuses remain largely unchecked and pose a threat to American pluralist Democracy - Bruce Wilson] As detailed in recent reports from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), a 501c(3) nonprofit organization which fights for freedom of religious and philosophical belief in the US military, fundamentalist Christian ministries promoting what can be described as a "theology of war" have increasingly been invited onto US military basic training facilities such as Fort Jackson in South Carolina, and Fort Sam Houston and Lackland Air Force Base (both based in Texas), with the apparent endorsement of commanders at those bases.

The old guard is wondering if `the younger generation will heed the call' while the young Turks have other things on their minds besides abortion and same-sex marriage

These days, you can hardly stumble out of your doorway to pick up your daily newspaper, open a news magazine or log on to the Internet without encountering news of a meeting, conference, or book signing party, and a spate of articles with the theme "Whither the Religious Right?" or to put it more bluntly, "Is the Religious Right Dead?"

While an engaging debate for political junkies, we'll know that the subject has reached the kitchen tables of America when a copy of Real Simple or Sports Illustrated arrives in my mailbox featuring a cover stories with headlines like "From Woodstock to Ted Haggard: Twenty-Five Ways to Clean Up a Really Big Mess," or "Has the Religious Right Been on Steroids for the Past Two Decades?"

Until that happens, this debate over the Religious Right's status visa via this mortal coil will remain "inside baseball."

Fred Clarkson, a veteran journalist, co-founder of Talk2Action, and the author of the 1997 book "Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy" - one of the earliest, and still essential, books on the movement -- observed recently that "It seems that every few weeks someone who ought to know better announces that the religious right is dead, dying, or irrelevant."  

At Street Prophets, Pastordan colorfully noted that "a lot of the people writing about it would rather put roses on its grave than send a get-well card."

Billing himself as a "former terrorist" and a "peace activist", Walid Shoebat, who has described Islam as a "satanic cult", has over the past several years toured Europe and America painting Islam as a religion bent on violent conquest and intent on the killing of Christians and Jews and, bearing that message, Shoebat has appeared on an astonishing range of mainstream media forums. According to Shoebat's website, he has made four appearances on CNN and twelve on Fox, and Shoebat's full list of appearances on radio, TV and personal speaking appearances is extensive. Among those, Walid Shoebat has been a regular at Texas Megachurch Pastor, Christians United For Israel founder John Hagee's "A Night To Honor Israel" events, was at CUFI's July 2007 Washington conference and is currently scheduled to appear this summer at CUFI 2008 along with US Senator Joseph Lieberman. Hagee has also produced an extended video interview in which he queries Shoebat about his alleged terrorist background. But a March 30 investigative report from The Jerusalem Post casts considerable doubt on the veracity of Shoebat's account of his alleged 'terrorist' background and indicates Walid Shoebat may even be guilty of fraud. Shoebat, along with two other self-designated "ex-terrorists" (now born-again Christians), was paid $13,000 dollars, some of it USAF Academy money, to appear on a panel at a United States Air Force Academy conference on terrorism which, according to the organizers of the event, would be packaged into a report to be delivered to members of the US Congress.

The purpose driven man and his 'PEACE' mission marches forward with a goatee and Hawaiian shirt

In two recent Talk2Action posts, Richard Bartholomew and Fred Clarkson talk about Rick Warren, the popular and passionate pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., widely considered one of the more important mega-churches in the country.

While Bartholomew cites a speech Warren gave in Uganda in which he basically claimed that homosexulaity is not a human right, Clarkson raised important questions about so-called moderate evangelicals in general and Warren in particular.  

In December 2006, Warren hosted both Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Sam Brownback at his annual AIDS conference. "Right wing, left wing. I'm for the whole bird," said Warren.

"You have to have two wings to fly. When I thought of all the men I knew in Congress and the Senate, and believe me there were more who wanted to come [to the conference], I thought of Sen. Obama and Sen. Brownback for three specific reasons," Warren said, citing "their integrity, their civility even when they disagree and their openness to learning and listening."

Warren appears to be close with U2's Bono, eschews being labeled part of the Christian Right, and is seen by some as a man for all seasons; perhaps even the 21st century's Billy Graham.

In March 2006, I wrote a lengthy piece about the Hawaiian short-wearing pastor who has sold millions of books and has grand plans for Africa.

The Kampala Monitor reports:

Dr [Rick] Warren said that homosexuality is not a natural way of life and thus not a human right. "We shall not tolerate this aspect at all," Dr Warren said.

Warren was speaking in support of Ugandan Anglicans who intend to boycott the forthcoming Lambeth Conference, and this harsh rejection of tolerance for gays and lesbians may have serious consequences in a country where homosexuals face harrassment and and the threat of imprisonment.

President's brother flaks for Moon organization in Latin America while his curriculum on wheels is being investigated by the Education Department's inspector general  

Over the past several years, Neil Bush, the younger brother of President George W. Bush and the son of former President George H.W. Bush, has made several international trips of behalf of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's assorted enterprises. In late February, Bush called on Paraguay's president while in the country as a guest of a business federation founded by the Rev. Moon.  

A source in the Paraguayan president's office, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that Neil had met with President Nicanor Duarte "along with a delegation from the Universal Peace Federation," a group associated with Moon. According to its website, the UPF "is a global alliance of individuals and organizations dedicated to building a world of peace, a world in which everyone can live in freedom, harmony, cooperation, and co-prosperity for all."

Meanwhile, back home, late last year, a number of news reports confirmed that the U.S. Department of Education's Inspector General was looking into "allegations that federal money is being spent inappropriately on technology sold to schools" by Ignite!Learning, a company founded by Neil Bush.    

note: video may be slow to load but it's well worth the wait. For selected, bizarre footage of Moon at Washington dinner party, 1997, see inside

Part of my job involves reading Religious Right fund-raising mail and newsletters. It's like stepping into some Bizarro World where up is down, black is white, and truth is determined not by factual evidence but by whatever the Maximum Leader says.

The Family Research Council's Washington Watch is a good example of this. It's always entertaining.

My choice for the title of the book I just read is the "Unsatisifed Womb".  This is one of the sub titles found on pg. 111 in the work . The actual title is BE FURITFUL AND MULTIPLY, by Nancy Campbell.  Vision Forum in San Antonio, Texas published the book in 2003.  It is on its fourth printing.  Doug Phillips wrote the forward to the book reminding the reader that the first commandment in the Bible is to be fruitful and multiply. pg. 7  Doug stated that the sin of Onan in the Bible was that of failing to impregnate his brother's widow.  This was a capital offense.  Doug states that God is against people who refuse to do what is their own nature, that is to reproduce. pg. 9  Phillips says that the influnce of evolutionism and eugenics has caused Christians to embrace the notion of child prevention.  The church, Doug says, has been swept up in this evil self deceiving vision of birth control. pg.s 10-11.

Several days I ago I received a bulk email from Charisma magazine, featuring a message from its publisher, Stephen Strang. Strang - one of Time magazine's "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America" -  has worked tirelessly to assimilate the neo-Pentecostal movement into the wider Christian right, with supernatural interpretations of current affairs that turn critics of George W. Bush into enemies of God. As he explains in the email:

I believe prayer and spiritual warfare brought about shifts in prior political campaigns--such as the narrow win in Florida for George W. Bush during the recount in 2000. Prayer was also responsible for the installation of certain Supreme Court justices when their appointments appeared to be politically unlikely.

The main focus of his email, however, is to endorse a message from God supposedly revealed to neo-Pentecostal leader Chuck Pierce during a night-time trip to the toilet - a message which declares that next two months will be "the most rearranging, realigning months that we have ever known in the history of this generation".

In 2001, a young man in Michigan named Joseph R. Hanas was arrested for possession of marijuana. He pleaded guilty and was told he could avoid prison by entering a drug rehabilitation program.

The program Hanas ended up in is called Inner City Christian Outreach. It is sponsored by a Pentecostal church. Hanas is Catholic, and upon his arrival at the program, his rosary and prayer book were confiscated. He was told Catholicism is a form of witchcraft and that he would not be allowed to see a priest.

After seven years both Democratic presidential candidates express support for and reservations about Republican religious patronage system

With the days of his administration numbered, President George W. Bush is working to shore up what was intended to be the centerpiece of his domestic policy agenda, his faith-based initiative.

However, unlike the much ballyhooed event that launched the program in January 2001, its seventh anniversary passed relatively quietly. On January 28, during his final State of the Union address, Bush urged Congress to permanently institutionalize the faith-based initiative. A day later, at the "Jericho" prisoner reentry program in Baltimore, Maryland, Bush said that when he came into office in January 2001, many "religious and community groups were providing effective assistance to people in need," but the federal government was not helping these groups do their work.

Now, through his faith-based initiative, the government is.

Washington, D.C.-based tax-exempt "non-partisan" Republican think tank celebrating three-plus decades of saying no to government and yes to privatization, deregulation, wars, intervention and 'traditional family values'

In November, President Bush told a Heritage Foundation audience that while he only had 14 months left in his presidency he was going to be "sprinting to the finish line." Bush complained about the Senate being slow to confirm Michael Mukasey for attorney general, urged Congress to make the Protect America Act permanent, and blasted "MoveOn.org bloggers" and "Code Pink protesters."

He wrapped up his speech by saying that he believed a president of the United States will come to the Heritage Foundation 50 years from now and say "Thank God that generation that wrote the first chapter in the 21st century understood the power of freedom to bring the peace we want."

Will he host a television talk show or head a movement; will he be a vice presidential candidate or this generation's Jerry Falwell, albeit way more funny

Now that his presidential run is over, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee ought to be wary of taking too much time off. After all, if "Idleness is the root of mischief" - a maxim traced back to Chaucer's 1386 "Tale of Melibee" -- or to put it more colloquially, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop," then Huckabee best get busy getting busy.

As Ripley might say, Believe it or not, the man has a barrel full of options.

If at first glance Huckabee doesn't strike you as the future of talk teevee or as the head of conservative Christian evangelicals, take another look. From out of a pack of uninspiring Republican Party presidential candidates Huckabee, practically single-handed livened up a god-awful GOP primary season with self deprecating humor, quirky quips, country-boy charm, and a batch of old time rock and roll guitar riffs.  

Not to mention a belief system that pre-dates Chaucer!

All-in-all, Huckabee's had a rather spectacular fifteen minutes. Why shouldn't he want -- or expect -- more?

Bush liaison to conservative evangelicals resigns over repeatedly plagiaizing from other work  

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

Lee Russ, of the Watching the Watchers website pointed out that earlier this month in one of his Saturday morning addresses, President Bush "tout[ed] the quality of his nominees":

One of the most important jobs of any president is to find good men and women to lead government agencies, preside over our courts and provide vital services to the American people.

So I have nominated talented individuals for these positions.

WatchingtheWatchers.org went on to remind us of the many "Bush appointees and other White House warriors who left under a cloud or face conflict-of-interest allegations" (see below for more).

Add Tim Goeglein, Bush's much celebrated but little known liaison to conservative evangelical Christians, to that list.  While Claude Allen, the president's former domestic policy adviser was relieved of his duties after stealing stuff from --and making phony returns to discount department stores -- Goeglein evidently was in the word-stealing business.    

In a radical departure from traditional Baptist protocol, Richard Land stated in a recent speech, "What we should want as Baptists, is maximum accommodation."  Land is head of the religious liberty branch of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Christian conservative movement not 'on its deathbed,' says Bishop Harry Jackson

Despite the President Bush's record low approval ratings and the conservative movement's recent floundering, as of Sunday, February 24, three conservative books -- "An Inconvenient Book" by Glenn Beck and Kevin Balfe, "Real Change" by Newt Gingrich with Vince Haley and Rick Tyler, and "Liberal Fascism" by Jonah Goldberg -- were on the New York Times best-seller list. In less than ten days, another conservative tome will be published: "Personal Faith, Public Policy" by Harry Jackson and Tony Perkins,  the head of the Washington, DC-based lobbying group, the Family Research Council.  

Jackson, the founder and Chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition and the author of a number of books including "The Warriors Heart: Rules of Engagement for the Spiritual War Zone," used his Monday, February 25 column Townhall.com column both to boost the sagging morale of the Religious Right, and to promote his forthcoming book.

In a piece titled "The GOP Needs Political Viagra," Jackson argued that: 1) despite the "lack of political passion and enthusiasm of the conservative movement," and despite the mainstream media's predilection for burying the Religious Right, the movement is not at death's door; and 2) the Religious Right is actually growing.

"Personal Faith, Public Policy," due out on March 4, provides, according to Jackson,  a clear "blue print for positive, visionary involvement in the political process."

U.S. Christian Zionists backing former Israeli Prime Minister

Joel C. Rosenberg, a best-selling author and one-time aide to former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, recently reported on his blog that the head of the Likud Party was "waiting in the wings, talking tough on Gaza and Iran, saying [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert should strike hard and fast with 'disproportionate force' against Palestinian terrorists."  

Of major importance to Rosenberg and other Christian Zionists is Netanyahu's opposition to any peace accord that would divide Jerusalem. "We must not repeat this mistake [of the South Lebanon and Gaza withdrawals]," Netanyahu said on Jan. 21. "This time we're going to have an Iranian base facing Jerusalem and the Dan Bloc, which includes Tel Aviv. We have to prevent Iran's armament and not let it establish new bases on our territory."