1. Transforming Culture One Blockbuster At A Time -- Z Magazine, January 2008

http://www.zcommunications.org/zmag/viewArticle/16097

Named the nation's "greediest executive" by Fortune magazine in 1999 and recently identified by Beliefnet as the 10th most powerful Christian in Hollywood, Philip Anschutz is bringing faith-based movies to the nation's cineplexes.

2. Israel and Iran, After the NIE -- RightWeb, February 15, 2008  

http://rightweb.irc-online.org/rw/4880.html

"Iran is today the world's leading state-sponsor of terror," declared President George W. Bush in a speech given in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates during his January trip to the Middle East. "Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. So the United States is strengthening our long-standing security commitments with our friends in the Gulf -- and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late."

3.  The Heritage Foundation at 35 -- Media Transparency, March 3, 2008

http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=229

President Bush opened a recent speech at the Heritage Foundation about the "War on Terror" by acknowledging that while he had only 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 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."

4.  Right Puts Obama in Media Crosshairs -- Inter Press Service, April 25, 2008

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42130

The unveiling this week of a new campaign advertisement by the North Carolina Republican Party -- using video of controversial remarks made by Senator Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and attacking two North Carolina Democratic candidates for governor -- is a reminder that the race for the presidency will likely only get uglier as the summer goes on.

5.  Embedding the Analysts: Modern-Day Propaganda? -- RightWeb, May 8, 2008

http://rightweb.irc-online.org/rw/4913.html

Over the course of the Iraq War, the Pentagon has used hand-picked retired military officers as "message force multipliers" to shape public opinion, a New York Times investigation revealed last month.1 According to the report, which was the product of a two-year battle with the Pentagon over the release of some 8,000 pages of documents, briefers gave talking points to the retired military men, who were then frequently showcased as experts on war matters by various media that did not make viewers aware of the experts' administration connections.2 In fact, the media outlets were generally unaware that the analysts had received administration briefings. From the administration, these analysts received access to top-level officials (as well as tours of Iraq and Guantanamo Bay and the accompanying insider knowledge), which some of them then parlayed into business advantages, for example for defense contractors for whom they worked. From media outlets, they sometimes received payments for their contributions. These serious conflicts of interest were not revealed until the Times' investigation.

6.  Same-Sex Marriage Showdown in California -- Religion Dispatches, June 16, 2008

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/religiousright/300/same -sex_marriage_showdown_in_california

To the apparent disgust and delight of many national Religious Right leaders, November's election in California will be about more than the presidency; it will be a showdown of epic proportions over same-sex marriage. And while this year's battle isn't as widespread as 2004, when the Karl Rove-engineered anti-same-sex marriage ballot initiatives were victorious in more than a dozen states and may have helped carry President George W. Bush to a second term, California's Marriage Initiative could either re-energize the GOP's now-listless evangelical base, or result in another blow to a Religious Right many feel is over the hill.

7.  A president desperately seeking a legacy -- Media Transparency, July 11, 2008  

http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=241

In 2004, at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, President Bush's contribution to the evening's entertainment was his narration of a slide show that pictured him looking around the Oval Office for weapons of mass destruction. In one of the shots, Bush is looking under some furniture and remarked: "Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be here somewhere." Flash forward four years: At this year's dinner, Bush played highlights from a number of his previous appearances. In a wise decision, he left the WMD skit -- which was roundly criticized for making fun of the issue that was the driving force behind the invasion of Iraq, which has led to deaths of thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis -- out of the highlight package. These days, Bush is no longer concerned about whether WMD existed in Iraq.

8.  Defining Obama 24/7 -- Media Transparency, August 6, 2008

http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=243

As Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama trekked toward the final Democratic primaries, and it looked inevitable that Obama would be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, conservative pundits and cable television talk-show hosts, a host of blogs, and a number of newly formed organizations began intensifying their attacks on Obama, embarking on the early stages of one of Karl Rove's most effective political strategies: Directly attack the opponent's strengths. In the case of Obama, this means turning his very popularity into a negative, defining him as effete and more interested in celebrity before the Democrat can introduce and define himself to the larger nation.

9.  Whither the Religious Left? -- Religion Dispatches, September 15, 2008

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/rdbook/475/rdbook%3A_wh ither_the_religious_left

Although many in the mainstream media have been writing the Religious Right's obituary for several years, it's probably more accurate to say that the movement is undergoing significant changes. During an appearance at this year's National Religious Broadcasters conference, Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, raised questions about the future of the conservative Christian movement that he helped shape. "The question is," Dobson said, "will the younger generation heed the call? Who will defend the unborn child in the years to come? Who will plead for the Terri Schiavos of the world? Who's going to fight for the institution of marriage, which is on the ropes today?"

With the deaths of two movement icons, the Rev. Jerry Falwell and Dr. D. James Kennedy, new and younger Christian evangelical leaders are stepping up to the plate, some bringing with them what appears to be a broader and more inclusive agenda. There is even talk about a revivified Religious Left. Thus far, most of that talk has centered on the outreach efforts to evangelicals being made by the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama.

10. The Palin Payoff: Riling up the Christian Right -- By Bill Berkowitz and Mike Reynolds, Alternet, October 1, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/101175/

Until John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, Obama attack ops -- whether political action committees or their 501(c)4 partners -- were struggling mightily to raise the kind of cash that fueled the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth smear machine in 2004. More than $45 million poured into that effort to sink John Kerry's campaign, mainly from the pockets of wealthy Bush backers. A review of Federal Election Commission (FEC) campaign donations back in June of this year showed that the big Swift Boat donors -- such as Ohio investor Carl H. Lindner and family, Dallas pharmacy magnate Harold C. Simmons, Texas homebuilder Bob Perry and oilman T. Boone Pickens -- were putting their money elsewhere, either pouring it directly into the McCain campaign or sending it off to Republican Congressional races, the Republican Governors Association or Newt Gingrich's PAC, American Solutions. But all that changed when the evangelical pro-life Alaska governor stepped up to the podium in Minneapolis to accept the Republican nomination for vice-president. Overnight the culture warriors, who'd been grumbling about McCain from the sidelines, were back in play. The Council for National Policy, one of the Christian right's most secretive strategy bodies, immediately endorsed the "values"-enhanced McCain ticket, triggering a $10 million infusion of campaign donations from evangelicals and their associates on the hard right. In this volatile race for the White House, they may yet make the difference. Call it the Palin Payoff.

11.  The Religious Right After an Obama Victory: The Beat Goes On  -- Religion Dispatches, November 5, 2008

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/religiousright/684/the_ religious_right_after_an_obama_victory%3A_the_beat_goes_on_%C2%A0

While it won't be the same as it ever was, an Obama presidency will give the Religious Right an opportunity to bask in the glow of martyrdom and seize the mantle of underdog, while it raises hundreds of millions of dollars for its political campaigns and the never-ending 'culture wars.'      

12.   Pastor Rick Warren's Star on the Rise -- Inter Press Service, December 12, 2008

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45092

For a president who had little to do but pardon turkeys on Thanksgiving and throw the switch on the national Christmas tree, little to look forward to but packing his bags and evacuating the White House, and less positive accomplishments to look back on than most presidents, this year's World AIDS Day was clearly a high point. And Pastor Rick Warren was there to share the spotlight with him.

13. Paul Weyrich, "Godfather" of Modern Conservative Movement, Dead at 66 -- Religion Dispatches, December 19, 2008

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/religiousright/884/paul weyrich%2C%E2%80%9Cgodfather%E2%80%9D_of_modern_conservative_mo vement%2C_dead_at_66_

For most Americans, the death of Paul Weyrich will not resonate; after all, most Americans have probably never heard of the man. He wasn't a dashing celebrity, a sports star, a captain of industry, or a prominent public political figure; he wasn't a regular guest on the premier talking-head TV programs; he never held elected office; there was no hint of a Ted Haggard/Newt Gingrich-like "values" scandal in his life. But Weyrich, who died after a long illness on Thursday, December 18, at the age of 66, and who wasn't reticent about sharing his ideas and opinions, was, in fact, the connective tissue of the modern conservative movement.