Google WWW Talk To Action


The Indian River Incident : What You Can Do

link > The "Stop the ACLU Coalition" Shaming Project
How you can help stop "Stop The ACLU" just by sending a few emails



 'Left Behind' video game imageThe Shaming Project

does the violence of "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" bother you ? If so, what can you do ? Well, to begin with you can email Jonathan Hutson's stories to people you know. That will help to bring more public scrutiny of the game. Public shaming really works ! Just click on the "email" icon and link at the top or bottom of the story and you'll be taken to a form that will allow you email the first story, The Purpose Driven Life Takers or the latest installment without leaving this site. Thanks. 'Left Behind' video game image




Religious Right Leaders Implicated in Widening DC Corruption Probe
By Frederick ClarksonTue Jan 03, 2006 at 10:10:03 PM EST
topic: Reed & Abramoff section:Front Page printable version print this story
Image hosted by Photobucket.com
Rev. Lou Sheldon, founder of the California-based Traditional Values Coalition has long been among the most stridently anti-gay crusaders on the Christian Right. The Washington Post reveals that he and two other top Religious Right leaders are  implicated in the widening Washington, DC corruption scandal centered around conservative Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff who has cut a deal with federal prosecutors in return for his testimony against Members of Congress.

Abramoff called him "Lucky Louie" Sheldon.

Previously, Ralph Reed, the former executive director of the Christian Coalition, and now a political consultant, had been shown to have received money from gambling interests tied to Abramoff -- even as he was publicly working on anti-gambling issues for another client.

And now the anti-gambling Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition has been shown to have recieved money from gambling interests, along with Rabbi Daniel Lapin's, Seattle based Orthodox Jewish foundation, Toward Tradition.  Lapin is frequently aligned with the Christian Right.

The Washington Post reported this past weekend, in summarizing the roles of the main players in the scandal:

E-mails released by federal investigators in June 2005 suggest that Reed secretly accepted payments from Abramoff to lobby against Indian casino gambling and oppose an Alabama education lottery at the same time that Abramoff was being paid to promote Indian casino gambling. Additional e-mails released in November 2005 show that Reed also worked for another Abramoff client seeking to block a congressional ban on Internet gambling. Reed has said he did not know the funds came from pro-gambling sources.

Reed is currently running for Lt. Governor of Georgia.

While Sheldon does not seem to be central to the corruption scandal so far, his collection of covert cash from gambling interests, when he too was publicly opposing gambling, will no doubt tarnish his credibility with his Christian Right constituents -- and anyone else who might be paying attention. The Post reports:

Sheldon's organization, which has protested loudly against gambling, allegedly accepted money from an online lottery firm, eLottery, to help in its $2 million pro-gambling campaign. Checks and e-mails obtained by The Post show that Abramoff recruited Ralph Reed to join Sheldon in the effort to pressure members of Congress.

Sheldon told The Post that he could not remember receiving eLottery money and that he was unaware that Abramoff was involved in the campaign to defeat an anti-gambling bill. Sheldon received at least $25,000 from eLottery; Abramoff is known to have referred to him as "Lucky Louie."


The original Washington Post report last October detailed  Abramoff's relationship with Sheldon, as well as Reed and  Lapin.  Lapin's organization Toward Tradition where Abramoff chaired the board of directors, also got $25,000 from eLottery.

The Post investigation shows that the way eLottery, a Connecticut-based company, sent money to Reed "had the effect of obscuring the source."  Reed claims he did not know that Abramoff was working for eLottery.

"To reach the House conservatives, Abramoff turned to Sheldon, leader of the Orange County, Calif. - based Traditional Values Coalition, a politically potent group that publicly opposed gambling and said it represented 43,000 churches. Abramoff had teamed up with Sheldon before on issues affecting his clients. Because of their previous success, Abramoff called Sheldon "Lucky Louie," former associates said.

Checks and e-mails obtained by The Post show that Abramoff recruited Reed to join Sheldon in the effort to pressure members of Congress....

Abramoff asked eLottery to write a check in June 2000 to Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition (TVC). He also routed eLottery money to a Reed company, using two intermediaries, which had the effect of obscuring the source.

The eLottery money went first to [Washington lobbyist Grover] Norquist's foundation, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), and then through a second group in Virginia Beach called the Faith and Family Alliance, before it reached Reed's company, Century Strategies. Norquist's group retained a share of the money as it passed through.

"I have 3 checks from elot: (1) 2 checks for $80K payable to ATR and (2) 1 check to TVC for $25K," Abramoff's assistant Susan Ralston e-mailed him on June 22, 2000. "Let me know exactly what to do next. Send to Grover? Send to Rev. Lou?"

Minutes later Abramoff responded, saying that the check for Sheldon's group should be sent directly to Sheldon, but that the checks for Norquist required special instructions: "Call Grover, tell him I am in Michigan and that I have two checks for him totaling 160 and need a check back for Faith and Family for $150K."

According to the e-mails, Reed provided the name and address where Norquist was supposed to send the money: to Robin Vanderwall at a location in Virginia Beach.

Vanderwall was director of the Faith and Family Alliance, a political advocacy group that was founded by two of Reed's colleagues and then turned over to Vanderwall, Vanderwall said and records show...

In a telephone interview, Vanderwall said that in July 2000 he was called by Reed's firm, Century Strategies, alerting him that he would be receiving a package. When it came, it contained a check payable to Vanderwall's group for $150,000 from Americans for Tax Reform, signed by Norquist. Vanderwall said he followed the instructions from Reed's firm -- depositing the money and then writing a check to Reed's firm for an identical amount.

"I was operating as a shell," Vanderwall said, adding that he was never told how the money was spent. He said: "I regret having had anything to do with it."

Abramoff had previously paid Reed's consulting firms to whip up Christian opposition to Indian casinos and a proposed Alabama state lottery that would compete with the gambling business of Abramoff's tribal clients, sometimes using Norquist's foundation as a pass-through, a Senate investigation has found.

A spokeswoman for Reed said Century Strategies had no business relationship with eLottery. She said Reed did anti-gambling work for Abramoff but was assured by Abramoff's firm "that our activities would not be funded by revenues derived from gambling activities."

While it is not clear that Reed, Sheldon and Lapin did anything illegal, it is certainly clear that their organizations all received funds from eLottery and that they worked with Abramoff to defeat the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act  -- a bill that was supported by the Christian Coalition, Moral Majority, and James Dobson of Focus on the Family.  

The corruption probe may prove that a number of Members of Congress were for sale. It may have already proved that some leaders of the Religious Right are for sale as well -- although that may not be illegal.

These are details that could easily get lost amidst the focus on former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) and other members of Congress.  

Those who are affected by the activities of Reed, Sheldon and Lapin, might not want to forget.




Display:
are coming right up.

Sems to me that there are some good issues in here somewhere.

by Frederick Clarkson on Tue Jan 03, 2006 at 10:53:14 PM EST


The Abramoff affair could have much wider insinuations. Many episodes in Abramoff's associations with various congressmen have already been given sizeable exposure in newspaper accounts and court filings.

When Abramoff was president of the National College Republicans in the mid-1980s, his two top deputies were Norquist and Reed. All three went on to prominent positions in far-right politics. Abramoff turned to lobbying for the Nicaraguan contras and anti-communist terrorist groups in southern Africa, and then, especially after the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, to lobbying for commercial and business interests.

From 2001 to 2004, according to documents filed in federal court in Washington DC, Abramoff and Scanlon together raked in some $82 million in payments from the Indian tribes. Scanlon himself billed four Indian tribes $53 million during this period, while kicking back $19 million under the table to Abramoff.

In the most notorious case, Abramoff mobilized the Christian fundamentalists to spike the bid of a smaller Indian tribe to establish a casino that would have undercut the profits of his clients, the Louisiana band of Coushatta Indians.

The scandal--the word is unavoidable but inadequate, since it is here describing the rule, not the exception, in today's Washington--reaches into the highest rungs of the Republican Party leadership and the Bush administration. DeLay, forced to step down as House Majority Leader after his indictment on an unrelated political corruption case in Texas, is the first top-level casualty. He once described Abramoff as "one of my closest and dearest friends."

Ultimately, the combined efforts of DeLay inside the House of Representatives and Sheldon's lobbying outside tipped enough Republican votes. The ban on Internet gambling failed to get the two-thirds majority required to clear a procedural hurdle, and the effort was abandoned.


by dogbert on Thu Jan 05, 2006 at 08:25:42 AM EST


I don't want to be right.

by MaryOGrady on Thu Jan 05, 2006 at 11:03:51 PM EST

Left Behind: Eternal Forces: Installments of Jonathan Hutson's Talk To Action expose series on the "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game have been viewed by up to 1/2 million people. See our site section featuring Over 35 original articles covering the controversial "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game that has provoked a boycott by a coalition of religious groups and a letter writing campaign urging Walmart to stop selling the game. Media inquiries click here
(image: detail from Francoise Dubois' rendition of the Bartholomew's Day Massacre reveals the actual nature of religious warfare)

Franklin Graham to Obama: Are You A Muslim? (And How Obama Courted Hagee Publisher Strang)
On June 10, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama convened a meeting in a law office in downtown Chicago with a wide array......
By Max Blumenthal (0 comments)
Short Takes
Street Prophets:  Pastordan is skeptical of efforts to squeeze progressive Christians "into the square holes of Dobsonite Evangelicaldom."  He also flags the perrenial problem......
By Frederick Clarkson (0 comments)
David Barton: Bobby Jindal is "One of the Really Cool Guys"
Quite a few articles were written last week about speculative McCain VP pick, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, many focusing on Jindal's signing into law......
By Chris Rodda (0 comments)
Religious Right Leaders Back McCain -- New Set of Problem Pastors?
Ohio Religious Right leader Phil Burress recently said of McCain, "We don't like him, and he doesn't like us." But Burress has gotten himself......
By Frederick Clarkson (1 comment)
Walid Shoebat: The Simon Altaf Connection
Following on from my examination of Walid Shoebat's snake-oil Biblical scholarship a couple of days ago, I decided to check out his former collaborator,......
By Richard Bartholomew (0 comments)
Pulpit Politicking: Why It's Not A Free-Speech Issue
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has recently received calls from a couple of Minnesota pastors who are convinced they have a......
By Rob Boston (9 comments)
CUFI Speaker: "666" is "In the Name of Allah"
When Joe Lieberman gives credibility to the upcoming Christians United for Israel with his attendance, he won't just be lending his reputation to conspiracy-monger......
By Richard Bartholomew (2 comments)
Peter Marshall, Christian Nationalist
Previously I discussed the Reverend Peter Marshall's work here.  Rev. Marshall is a fairly big figure in "Christian America" circles.  From what I know......
By Jonathan Rowe (2 comments)
Short Takes
Time: Amy Sullivan thinks Dobson's attack on Obama may be backfiring. Americans United for Separation of Church & State to Louisiana:  "We are watching."......
By Frederick Clarkson (0 comments)
Charismatic Dominionists Endorse Bentley
A few days ago I wrote a piece on Todd Bentley's faith-healing revival in Florida, noting support for Bentley from Steven Strang, the influential......
By Richard Bartholomew (0 comments)
Financial Fiddling at Fidelis?
The Catholic Right, Part Sixty-one A little more than a year ago Fidelis, an umbrella advocacy group consisting of various not-for-profit entities, sought to......
By Frank Cocozzelli (4 comments)
RAMBO Returns: Some Notes on Tradition, Family and Property
Tradition, Family and Property's attack on same-sex marriage in California has brought the traditionalist Catholic organisation back into the spotlight. Bill Berkowitz has an......
By Richard Bartholomew (0 comments)
On the Failings of Evangelicalism
Christine Wicker's new book, The Fall of the Evangelical Nation, tells two stories very well.  First, it explains how Americans have been duped into......
By Mainstream Baptist (0 comments)
All in the Family -- A Review of Jeff Sharlet's New Book
Jeff Sharlet's book The Family has been getting some high profile media attention, most recently with an interview on The Diane Rehm show, on......
By Frederick Clarkson (0 comments)
The Discovery Institute, the LA Family Forum, and the "LA Science Education Act" UPDATED
Louisiana has become the latest target of the Discovery Institute, the Seattle think tank whose "Wedge Strategy" for getting intelligent design (ID) creationism into......
By Barbara Forrest (1 comment)
Hope Never Dies for Extremists
The extreme political Religious Right hasn't given up hope of getting something out of this election. Their latest ploy involves petitioning the parties for a "True Christian" in the vice-presidential slot. The Christian Anti-Defamation......
By John McKay (0 comments)
Catholic religious right wing: Legion of Christ
Frank L. Cocozzelli's weekly series of posts on "The Catholic Right" (listed here) includes quite a few posts about Opus Dei. There's another, similarly ultra-orthodox Catholic religious order he might want to examine in......
By Diane Vera (3 comments)
Prosyletization in Iraq: A threat to national security
As amazing as it sounds, dominionists may in fact be fomenting terrorism--not just the domestic terrorism like bombings of women's clinics we normally associate, but the very "Islamist terror bombings" that the GOP loves......
By dogemperor (0 comments)
Proselytization in Iraq: A minor history
The recent incident where a Marine was recently found distributing "Bible coins" promoted by a fundamentalist "Bible church" is, sad to say, far from the first incident of overt prosyletisation in Iraq. The truth......
By dogemperor (1 comment)
Source of "Bible coins" distributed by USMC in Iraq discovered
In what is--sadly--yet another case of the extent of which blatant prosyletisation is tolerated in the modern US military, a recent incident where members of the US Marine Corps were handing out coins to......
By dogemperor (0 comments)
What Does the Religious Right Fear the Most?
A poll that one of the giants on the right, Coral Ridge Ministries, sent to their members gives a revealing insight into their world view. ......
By John McKay (3 comments)
UK Abortion Limit Stays at 24 Weeks Despite Washington Think Tank's Tactics
IN GOD'S NAME is a revealing documentary about how the Alliance Defense Fund is using its tactics to try to restrict abortion in Europe as well as in America.  Watch this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeTfW8-dCNE ......
By TMurray (3 comments)
'Christians United For Israel' Joyfully Sing of Israel's Invasion and Destruction
An open letter, from Ray McGovern, a 27-year intelligence analyst with the CIA, to Admiral William J. Fallon, warns of an impending US attack on Iran. If such an event occurred, the resulting war......
By Bruce Wilson (3 comments)
The Petrification of John McCain
We are very pleased to welcome Frederick Lane as a guest front pager. He is the author of several books,most recently, The Court and the Cross: The Religious Right's Crusade to Reshape the Supreme......
By Frederick_Lane (3 comments)
More Biblical Precedent for Allowing Abortion
This is a follow up to my most recent diary entry. ......
By TMurray (1 comment)
John Hagee Says God Made AIDS and Bird Flu But Lord will Protect Him Personally
John Hagee claims 1) that he knows with absolute certainty the will of God (as he told a BBC interviewer in 2003), is 2) sure that he, John Hagee, has a place in heaven......
By Bruce Wilson (0 comments)
Biblical support for abortion, who knew?
It turns out that our present legal understanding of when a life is entitled to legal protection is consistent with the Old Testament Biblical understanding of when a fetus becomes a 'life' warranting legal......
By TMurray (2 comments)
2001 John Hagee Film Shows Gangsterish Rabbi, Foppish Catholic Priest In League With anti-Christ
The following somewhat satirical video is built around a brief excerpt from Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee's 2001 55-minute film "Vanished", which followed the prophetic, premillennial plot line of Tim LaHaye's and Jerry Jenkin's......
By Bruce Wilson (0 comments)
PBS "Carrier": A Mixed Blessing
Watching the PBS miniseries "Carrier" was a revelation, but not always a pleasant one... ......
By bughouse square (0 comments)
Will We Ever Learn?
Ever looked at something or did something which at the time seemed good and beneficial only to learn that it was not what you thought?  If we could all have the opportunity to live......
By truthngrace (0 comments)
McCain-Endorser's Church Casts Out "Demon of Anal Fissures", Teaches Vomiting Evil Spirits
[NOTE: for a related story, see Mai Tai Dogs: Pics Show Bush Administration, McCain-Endorser Hagee Schmoozing at Chinese Restaurant] I have to admit, on one level it sounds more entertaining than a church full......
By Bruce Wilson (3 comments)
Bush 41 salutes Sun Myung Moon's effort to subdue the planet.
Sun Myung Moon's end time political front, the Universal Peace Federation had a summit from April 28 to May 2 in Washington DC. The participants took a tour of the Moon owned Washington Times......
By Lou (2 comments)
Advancing The Kingdom
Over the past four years, I've researched the darkest regions of the Christian right for the non-fiction film Silhouette City. The film tracks the movement of apocalyptic Christian nationalism from the margins of American......
By MichaelWWilson (2 comments)
Newspaper Profiles Army of God Spokeman
We have written a great deal about the anti-abortion terror organization, Army of God. One recent post prompted God Tube to take down videos posted by the proprietor of the Army of God web......
By Frederick Clarkson (0 comments)
Judicial Council Chief James Holsinger and $20 million of UMC Money
Dr. James Holsinger, a leader in the IRD-linked Methodist renewal movement has, until now, been best known for his crack-pot anti-gay views. - FC Dr. James Holsinger, the Bush nominee for Surgeon General  and......
By AJWEAVER (0 comments)
No Constitution Party home for Keyes
Well, that didn't take long.  All the speculation about Alan Keyes finding a home with the rabidly right-wing Constitution Party has quickly come to naught as the CP convention picks radio talk show host,......
By tacitus (0 comments)
Florida Christian License Plate
Well, Florida is at it again. They're considering a "Christian" license plate.  It's supposed to have a cross and a stained glass window on it with the words "I Believe!" More below the break!......
By ArchaeoBob (3 comments)
The Alleged 'Atheist Delusion'
John Gray's ample Saturday Review column in the March 15th edition of London's  Guardian newpaper diagnosed the current climate surrounding religion as one of `moral panic'.  This is true only of the irrational fear......
By TMurray (0 comments)
A Real GI Bill of Rights
As much as I admire Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel for their efforts to reform the military, I respectfully submit that their proposed bill doesn't go far enough... ......
By bughouse square (2 comments)
Mikey's War
There comes a time when ordinary citizens need to step up and openly challenge the perverse Christianization of our national instutions, particularly the military. What follows is an introduction to someone who is doing......
By bughouse square (1 comment)
For McCain, Silence on Religion is Golden
Just one day before lambasting Barack Obama over his recent comments about religion, John McCain was a no-show at Sunday's CNN Compassion Forum on faith.  That's because when it comes to discussing his own......
By Jon Perr (0 comments)
Christian Right Flees Randall Balmer's Challenge On Torture
At the Daily Kos website, I have written what so far is a four part series [1, 2, 3, 4] on the Bush Administration and torture. My series covers the structure of the National......
By Bruce Wilson (3 comments)
Just *what* is "The Family" so desperate to hide?
Over the past few days, I've done some writing expressing concern regarding some revelations that Jeff Sharlet will be discussing extensively in his new book "The Family"--including information regarding apparently widespread and systemic use......
By dogemperor (7 comments)
The *other* members of Hillary's "Family" cell
On Friday, news reports started coming out to the effect that Hillary Clinton may be a member of a cell-church group run by the secretive "Family" nee "Fellowship" org; as the import of this......
By dogemperor (1 comment)
Hagee donating 6 Million dollars to Irael
Today it was reported in the local paper that John Hagee has donated 6 million dollars to Israel.  http://www.theledger.com/article/20080406/API/804062669 It appears to be a big publicity stunt.  The article says that "Hagee... brought hundreds......
By ArchaeoBob (0 comments)

More Diaries...