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Orrin Hatch's song for Reverend Moon
By John GorenfeldFri Sep 29, 2006 at 12:39:43 AM EST
topic: Unification Church section:Front Page printable version print this story
On the early Sunday morning of May 18, 2003, the high priests of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, owner of the Washington Times and Religious Right enigma, gathered over a grave near Jerusalem (left) to hold a funeral for the Christian cross. They had been touring the Middle East in the name of peace. They proposed Moon's teachings as the glue for Jews and Muslims, bewildering locals, and they held briefings on Mideast policy for the State Department, or so they claimed. They networked with politicians. And steam gathered for a big, big finale.

They buried the cross because it was Satan's icon, Moon said, cleaving Jew from gentile, Christian from Muslim. Moon demanded a new symbol that everyone could agree on: the Crown of Glory. In February and March, 2004, on Capitol Hill, U.S. politicians would attend two ceremonies celebrating this gospel, the last climaxing with the selfsame Crown Of Glory lowered onto the Times owner's head. (Video here, Washington Post link for those of you new to this story -- and a big welcome for Farkers.)

A surprising figure wrote a song especially for the crown tour, according to the Reverend's flock. That's U.S. senator, Christian recording artist and longtime Moon friend Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

With Moon in the front row, Hatch introduces Mrs. Moon 13 years ago on Capitol Hill. Click for video.

Hatch's tune appears on an album issued in 2004 to commemorate the Reverend's roadshow. It had to be rushed out to be ready in time for Moon's March 23, 2004 crowning on Capitol Hill, according to this cult newsletter:

"They asked me to put together a compilation CD (in about two weeks!) in order that it could be available for the Ambassadors for Peace/Coronation banquet that took place in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. on March 23."

Sen. Hatch shared songwriting duties with a Utah state politician and two other men. As advertised, a track on the album, "Jerusalem Peace Song," bears the following songwriting credits:

9) Jerusalem Peace Song (3:50)
(Orrin Hatch / Howard Stephenson / Dan Whitley / Stan Seale)

Was it an unwitting mistake -- writing a song for a group campaigning to dump the cross, a symbol of which many of Hatch's constituents are still rather fond? Perhaps. But Hatch and Moon, it turns out, go back years together. And their unlikely friendship offers a handy way to light a lantern along the convoluted corridors of the Reverend's maze of influence on Capitol Hill, touching a number of liberal Democrats but most enormous in its gifts to the conservative side of the aisle, including the $2 billion+ subsidy for the Times.

* * *

On February 4, 2004, over a month before the controversial "Crown of Peace" awards on Capitol Hill in which Moon named himself the Messiah, an earlier ritual was held at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building. I blogged about that here. The press has never reported on the earlier spectacle, in which Preston Moon, the likely heir to the church, drops by to pick up a crown on behalf of his father.

A Moon pastor exulted after the Preston Moon event:

"One unique dimension was the debuting of a special song called the "Jerusalem Peace Song", inspired by our Middle East Peace Initiative and authored by US Senator Orrin Hatch, Utah Senator Howard Stephenson and others. The performers of the song were quite inspired to reflect the spirit of reconciliation among the children of Abraham."

Those are the words of Jim Flynn, said by Moon's group to be "giving very important briefings to key American decisionmakers in the state department, Capitol Hill and beyond. The briefings are going well." (The Middle East is not.)

Crowning the Washington Times owner King of Peace in 2004: An accident? wondered observers. Or did the pols know what they were doing?

Some yes -- some no.

And Orrin Hatch's songwriting cameo? As Beatles fans know, those Lennon/McCartney credits don't tell you everything.

But consider Hatch's previous antics in Moon's world of plausible (and implausible) deniability -- a seemingly endless parade of surreal award shows in which Hatch and Moon have exchanged trophies.

In 1992, Moon presented Hatch with an award.

In 1993, there occurred a ludicrous episode in which Hatch played a key role. The punchline of the story is this: the U.S. now celebrates a holiday invented by Moon's Unification Church, which successfully lobbied for "Parents Day."

Senior Republicans proposed, on the floor of Congress, a holiday that would seemingly celebrate American moms and dads of the mortal kind. But as the Washington City Paper later unearthed, it turned out to be the brainchild of Reverend Moon himself, who openly said he was putting one over on Americans by convincing Congress to enact a holiday secretly honoring him as a "True Parent." By the time Clinton signed it into law, the "True" had been stripped, and Moon front group the American Family Coalition was disguising its links to the Times owner.

Much of the sordid story is here. If you don't believe me, get a load of the Congressional Record of July 27, 1993, in which Lott actually utters the words:

"...I rise today to offer remarks on `True Parents Day,' which will be celebrated officially on July 28, 1993..."

And there, on our national calendar, the holiday still stands-- here's George W. Bush on the subject. Moon crowed: "Men and women in the American Congress didn't know what they were doing, but as you know Congress passed the resolution of Parents Day."

Hatch played a visible role in the Parent's Day campaign, addressing a number of Moon front groups, including the ones that arranged for George H.W. Bush to tour with the Reverend in the mid-1990s. The evening after Trent Lott's proposal, Hatch hosted a Moon delegation on Capitol Hill.

Click on the Google Video window to watch a longer version of what was posted above. Hatch introduces Moon's wife as "my friend," with Moon in the front row. She then takes the stage, declaring herself and the Reverend the "True Parents." She also tells the audience that the "Completed Testament Age" has begun. In other words, she believes Congress is helping the couple write a third book of the Bible.

This was at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, years before Moon would be crowned within these marble walls.

And Hatch has met privately with the Reverend, according to Truth Is My Sword, a book put out by the church. In the 1980s, Hatch held a special hearing protesting Rev. Moon's imprisonment as a tax cheat. "I would like to underscore that I am not a close friend of Rev. Moon nor do I endorse his theology," he said at the time, declaring Moon -- like Joseph Smith, prophet of the Mormons -- a victim of religious discrimination. According to this Unification Church publication, Hatch calls the Reverend "a great man."

To conclude: the Messiah is something of a regular on Capitol Hill. His church newsletters speak of a "Coronation of God's Kingship" held in 2001 at Congress's Rayburn Building, as well as a speech in 2000 delivered to politicians at the Cannon Building. Around this time, Hatch and Moon shook hands while exchanging honors at something called the Century Awards -- held, natch, in the halls of Congress (pictured):

Moon's own appearances in Washington date as far back as December 18, 1975, when, his visa troubles having been straightened out by the late Strom Thurmond, he appeared in the House Caucus Room to make light of the widespread accusation that he was enslaving young Americans with "brainwashing."

"Are Americans really that foolish? Can they really be brainwashed by Rev. Moon, a Korean? I know your answer is no. My answer is no, too. No American is so foolish. I respect Americans very much, and I am surprised at such accusations."

So if 2004's crowning marked an instance of bad judgement, it's a breed of bad judgement that important members of Congress -- including Orrin Hatch -- have been exhibiting for decades.

* * *

Thanks to Moonboots for multimedia footage.

By the way: I ordered a copy of the CD a few weeks ago, but it never arrived. Has the Reverend considered the Apple Music Store?




Display:

Has a plug for this story and an expanded discussion.

See: here

by Bruce Wilson on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 04:01:29 PM EST


about this. I know he uses the line to rationalize helping Moon grow his influence that many do - they say they don't believe in Moon's theology.

IMO, Moon doesn't give much of a hoot if you are a member. When your goal is to mesh the world's religions you don't care what people are. He just wants people in the web in any manner he can get them at this stage. They know most people wouldn't follow Moon of their own accord.

Sure, he'd like for you and yours to become a "blessed CENTRAL family," but all he really wants now is for people to accept him as player.

Accept him. He knows if he is just considered one of the gang, just another voice, then his money and his operatives will handle the rest - he wins in the long run. Look at the influence the Washington Times has had on our political system, beyond giving Moon face around the world. Most people think it is just another player. haha They don't look back 25 years or remember Rush quoting it day after day after day...they don't believe Moon when he says he had direct influence over Reagan through the paper. They laugh at him. Think he is a clown.

That is one of the many things I think people get wrong about Moon. They think if we don't go down and vote for him to be the ruler, or become members of his organziation, he isn't winning. He doesn't care about us small fries, he has the big view in hand. He doesn't care about his favorite shills, the Bush family, either. He would spit them out tomorrow if it suited his goals.

Acceptance and through that acceptance he uses your credibility...Moon's organization does a lot of bragging that Hatch is for them.

Moon explained how obtaining endorsements from a few prominent persons made it easier to obtain others:  "When you go get the proclamations in your various cities and you meet the Mayors, it is easy, because your foundation has been laid. All you have to do is show other proclamations, other letters, and say what other people have done to honor Father."

Moon's apparent acceptance by American political leaders, coupled with his ability to turn out hundreds of disciplined followers for rallies and demonstrations, were assets enabling him to solidify his and his organization's ties with the Government. [Fraser Report 1978]

Wonder if Orrin, Lahaye, Falwell and all have ever read John 5:43...

by Lou on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 06:03:01 PM EST


here's some info from Mark Anderson, longtime follower of Moon:

"Parents Day wasn't even Reverend Moon's idea--it was the idea of Bob Grant or one of the people up there in the organization," Anderson said. "I think that church members probably latched onto the idea - now I'm talking about individuals--as somehow linked to the church."

Grant, an evangelical Christian and lobbyist associated with right-wing religious causes, told The Tribune he is indeed one of the fathers of National Parents Day. It was enacted by Congress as a bipartisan, non-sectarian holiday through neutral-language legislation, he said. [Mesa Tribune 1998]

Robert Grant was the president of Moon's political front, the American Freedom Coalition.

From Christianity Today in 1988:

According to its promotional booklet, AFC is a "supra-coalition with a higher and more comprehensive goal than the sum total of its parts." It "serves as a catalyst to unite a vast array of groups, activists, churches and community organizations in cooperative and effective action." More than 300,000 individuals in all 50 states have joined AFC since its inception in April 1987. ...

According to information provided to Christianity Today by current and former AFC members, the majority of AFC administrative officers, including the executive director, administrative director, and publications editor are members of the Unification Church and have been officials of CAUSA and ACC. ...

He [Robert Grant] emphasized that the AFC is a political coalition formed because of the "inability of the 'Christian Right' to achieve its agenda" due to its "fragmentation and its failure to build coalitions with its philosophical allies from other communities for effective civic participation." [Kim A. Lawton, "Unification Church Ties Haunt New Coalition - Are followers of Sun Myung Moon expanding their influence among conservative Christians?" Christianity Today, Feb. 5, 1988.]

Moon, a theocrat, would say he wanted to "restore" Christianity.

Frontline reported this in 1992:

Narrator: But Moon's influence over the AFC is underscored by this 1988 letter FRONTLINE obtained from a source who once worked within the Moon Organization. AFC President Robert Grant, writing to Reverend Moon, thanks him for investing heavily and "helping to bring the AFC into being." Grant concludes by telling Moon, "Without your leadership, vision and the support of your devoted followers, the AFC would not exist." Frontline - 1992 - Rory O'Connor writer and producer]

Then we have this:

Christianity in America alone will never amount to anything and they know that as well as we do. We have to revive them. Ron Godwin, Robert Grant and Donald Sills and Dr. Pak formed a revival group. They all agreed. Last Friday, Father went to Washington and persuaded them. Each one understood. They will lead the revival of American Christianity. [Sun Myung Moon - June 1, 1991 Belvedere, NY.]

then this quoting Moon:

Father sees the presence of Dr. Ron Godwin, Dr. Bob Grant and Dr. Don Sills as very precious. Father looks at these precious three collaborators, supporters and members of this great movement almost like Jesus' three disciples. The three of them are really accomplished giants in our world. By uniting with Reverend Moon's ideology they will become even greater. Each of the three has very special characteristics. They are very different characters, as much as Jesus' three major disciples were different from each other.

(...Dr. Grant, Dr. Sills and Dr. Godwin stood up and grasped their hands together, holding them high. Father waded through several rows of members to himself grasp the clasped hands of the three, making four.)

Dr. Pak then introduced Dr. Robert Grant as a man with a deep spiritual connection to Father. Dr. Grant then spoke about his work for God and the direction of the USA activities.

Father [Moon] spoke again:

Time has passed very quickly, but Father is very satisfied and fulfilled in his heart because Father has been assured that the three heavenly musketeers will do the job. Father looks at them almost as heavenly locomotives pulling the train of America in the right direction. ...

I feel very confident that even though I may not be here all the time, if you trust these three musketeers and unite with them and join with them and work together toward the goal, I am sure you will fulfill a great victory here in America. [Sun Myung Moon speaks at International Leader's Conference Jan. 2, 1992]

Btw, though the American Freedom Coalition is not that active now, it served at a time between the fall of the Moral Majority and before the Christian Coalition. Oddly, many people who cover theocratic movements don't mention the organization or Moon.

This is what was said about the AFC in 1992:

Narrator: Moon has also consistently promoted a conservative political agenda in the United States. His efforts have not gone unnoticed at the White House. Douglas Wead was a Special Assistant to President Bush responsible for liaison with conservative groups.

Wead: "I'd say right now there are probably two groups among conservative organizations that really have an infrastructure, that have grassroots clout -- Concerned Women of America would and the American Freedom Coalition would."

Narrator: During the 1988 election, the AFC printed and distributed 30 million pieces of political literature, including these glossy voter scorecards.

Wead: "I think the scorecards and some of the independent literature published had an enormous effect. In fact, we had huge notebooks filled with published materials from a wide variety of organizations. The best was probably the AFC's. It was by far the slickest and the finest produced material. And when that doesn't cost you anything, and it is not charged against the campaign and is widely distributed to mailing lists across the country, that has a very important impact." [Frontline - 1992]

Moon has been a major player in our nation's politics for 30 years and most people in the country don't know he is still alive and of those that do, many think he is a no-count clown. Amazing.


by Lou on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 07:40:46 PM EST


I've read Jeff Gornefield's blog avidly for the past few years, and saw the Frontline documentary a while ago.  What I don't understand is why the media doesn't expose Moon and his connections to the Republican Party?  What is it about the Rev. Moon that keeps the media from talking about him, and his influence in the conservative movement a relative secret?

-------------------------------------------------
"Free nations do not have weapons of mass destruction." - George W. Bush
by hardindr on Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 01:22:50 PM EST
There are many reasons the media doesn't cover Moon.

One, is that they are snot nosed, blind, uninformed fools who 'think' he is old news and all that can be said about him has been. Moon has outfoxed them so badly when they do belatedly look some day in the future, they will hide rather than report. I am one who believes it is too late, Moon has done what he planned, or it is all in motion, it is just matter of time for it to become obvious and then people will take note much too late to do anything about it. Moon was quoted, (his followers deny the statement like they deny most everything that exposes them) but he was quoted as saying something like, "My enemies don't know me, therefore they have already lost the war"... it's true.

The overwhelming majority of Americans haven't a clue as to Moon's influence on their daily lives and the political direction of the country. Of all the information we do know, the question becomes, "is it news when it hasn't been reported?" or "is it news when it has been reported but people don't know it?"

I would suggest it is the latter but the 'know it alls' in their ivory towers in DC and NY think otherwise so the nation travels uninformed. I called a WH correspondent of a major paper once and told them I had some information on Moon and on the other end of the phone I heard a frightened voice say, "I don't want to know anything about the Moon." I really couldn't tell for sure if it was just his editors he was afraid of, knowing it was news but that they were too short sighted to let him cover it or if he was just afraid. I sent another WH TV correspondent overly documented information for a question on Moon's ties to the Bushes and the fact that Moon's organization is involved in our nation's negotiation with NK - he replied that it was a VERY good question and said I should email the WH and ask them myself.

The WPost in the 80s and the 90s did some good reporting on him but that was before the internet took off and so most never saw those reports. Not many people in Kansas have subscriptions to the WP.

You also have the problem that in the USA for something to get any traction today, it has fall in couple categories.

One is that information HAS to be a Republican talking point which is shoved down their followers throats by Rush, Hannity, FOX and talk radio including the network of hundreds of extremist right wing theocratic "Christian" radio stations. Face it, Rush and O'Reilly, while they are demonizing someone like Soros, they aren't going to inform their listeners that without Sun Myung Moon's billions of swindled bucks brought in from overseas, his fronts and operatives, the conservative's wouldn't control the government. A Bush-like person would not be president. It doesn't fit the false reality they condition their followers to accept. Kind of hard for Rush to tell his listeners they are Moon's unwitting tools to create a right wing increasingly theocratic nation and that Moon has played a major role in bringing them to power.

Another reason is that you have to have friction between the right and left to create a stir in America. Moon has smudged enough democrats over the years to keep them or their fellow democrats quiet. Oddly, even though Moon has spent billions kicking democrats in the teeth, promoting all the things they oppose over the last 25 years, now that Moon has created a front group with "Peace" in the title, democratic politicians across the country send Moon and his wife well wishes on their stops to promote Moon's grand theocratic planet manipulation front, the Universal Peace Federation.

Moon has used his black minister gathering front, the American Clergy Leadership Conference(ACLC), to help him make inroads into the black caucus. At least they brag they are doing that. You will note that all the names which appeared on the host list for Moon's crowning were members of the black caucus. Moon has convinced many black ministers to follow him - he tells them he was persecuted like Jesus and MLK and they fall for it. Like the BS Mrs. Moon said in the video.

But, I will repeat, and this is really sad....many people who cover theocratic influences on America don't mention Moon. It is like the story is too big to understand, or it is too icky, or they think they will be looked at like a conspiracy theorist, or they know to cover Moon they would have to spend a lot of time learning, or like so many, they suffer form what would best be called a Biblical blindness and the most you will get out of them is the usual giggle when Moon's name is mentioned.

The big problem with all this is that Moon is NOT remotely the same organization he was even five years ago. He said in 1999 that he had all the things in place and that now all they had to do was organize it, and they are doing that now. There are a lot of people and nation's the world over who are falling for his UPF front. He hands out these "Ambassador for Peace Awards" - to many people who probably rightfully deserve awards - but they get them from whom? Moon and then he has them under his umbrella. They accept him as leader. These are not wild eyes members; these are political and religious activist the world over. The speaker of the House of the Philippines says that everyone knows Moon's plan is the way.

Another reason Moon isn't talked about within the right, btw, is Reagan's 11th commandment, not to speak ill of another Republican or conservative. That rule gave Moon cover, when Republicans tried to speak up, they were told to shut up.

You can read more about one reason why the TV media doesn't cover Moon here. The short answer? Because they would have to admit they have helped him.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/12/15/221015/62


by Lou on Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 07:04:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]



being mistreated. For one, he was convicted of tax fraud here and he could have received a sentence of 14 years but they gave him 18 months, they were lenient. Others were morals charges.

His suffering has mainly consisted of him being bowed to by members and having his every whim catered to. He has roughed it by having to spend all those hundreds of millions his "church" was found responsible for swindling from the Japanese. I wonder what all those families he broke up think about his "suffering."

Moon may have been wrongfully imprisoned in NK and I am sure it was no picnic no matter what he did, but to act like he is just Mr. Mistreated and Misunderstood Nice Guy is a big bunch of hooey.

I would also like to know what all the people in South America who were tortured think about Moon's efforts to support the likes of Stroessner.

Check this out:

SOUTH AMERICA:
'Archives of Terror' Yield New Horrors

The so-called "archives of terror" discovered by a human rights lawyer in Paraguay over a decade ago continue to yield new information on the cooperation between the de facto regimes that ruled much of South America in the 1970s and 1980s.

MONTEVIDEO, Sep 16 (IPS) - Paraguayan activist and lawyer Martín Almada visited Uruguay this week to hand over documents recently found in the archives of terror, which indicate that the number of Uruguayans who were detained in Paraguay during the dictatorial regimes was much greater than human rights groups had previously realised.

In December 1992, Almada, who was held as a political prisoner and tortured in his country in the 1970s, came across a room full of official records in a police station near the Paraguayan capital.

The hundreds of thousands of documents that he basically discovered by accident pertain to the torture and forced disappearances carried out by the dictatorship of Gen. Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989) in Paraguay.

But the archives of terror are especially important because they contain secret documents shedding light on Operation Condor, a coordinated plan among the military governments that ruled Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay in the 1970s and 1980s, aimed at tracking down, capturing and eliminating left-wing opponents.

Thanks to legal action by Almada, the archives of terror are open to public scrutiny. They are stored on the premises of Paraguay's Supreme Court, in the Centre of Documentation and Archives for the Defence of Human Rights. ......

Although there is abundant information on flights carrying political prisoners between Argentina and Uruguay, until now activists did not have official records showing that such flights existed between Uruguay and Paraguay.

"I also gave the Uruguayan Congress a copy of the document that records the birth of Operation Condor (in late 1975 in Chile) and outlines the mechanisms by which it functioned, as well as a list of Uruguayan officers who belonged to the so-called Anti-Communist League in 1977, which formed the basis of that repressive plan," said Almada.

"These documents also indicate that Korean Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church had links" to Operation Condor as well, he added.

Almada said that in September 1977, after Jimmy Carter became president of the United States, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) withdrew its support from Operation Condor.

Documents declassified in recent years in Washington, D.C. clearly demonstrate that Operation Condor was backed by the United States since its creation at the initiative of the Chilean dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).

After September 1977, "ties began to appear between Moon's sect and the local and Latin American Anti-Communist League. A finance company, Urundel, was even set up in Paraguay to serve as a bank for the repressive operations in that country," said Almada.

He added that Operation Condor, which basically kept its "administrative headquarters" in Paraguay, was conceived of and led by the armed forces in the region, which often made use of the police to help with the "dirty work". Industrialists were also accomplices in the case of Paraguay, he noted. more...

and this:

Museum in South American country to display records of
torture, terror

However, in the wake of the adoption of a human rights policy by U.S. President Jimmy Carter during his term from 1976 to 1980, support for Operation Condor was cut off by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in 1977.

Almada claimed that Stroessner then relied primarily for guidance and assistance in Operation Condor activities on the Unification Church of the South Korean Sun Myung Moon sect under the cover of the World Anti-Communist League and the Pacific Anti-Communist League, both of which were backed by the KMT regime and headquartered in Taipei.



by Lou on Sat Sep 30, 2006 at 07:49:01 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
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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 (3 comments)
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)

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