Was It A Christian Jihad In Norway? You Decide. Breivik's Video Looks Like Bryan Fischer Made It!

"One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests."           -posted by Anders Behring Breivik on Twitter


" Dam I would celebrate if this Viking sonuva bitch opened up that machine gun on a bunch of Muslims."

         - From Facebook wall of Anders Behring Breivik

Anders Behring Breivik and Timothy McVeigh: the parallels came dropping down like gumball-sized hailstones. The government building in Oslo was repeatedly compared to the Federal building in Oklahoma City. Both Breivik and McVeigh were clean-cut looking young men. Both men had an animosity towards the established government.


McVeigh's background, however, did not point to a particularly religious person, while Brievik's video (below) shows an obsession with the term of "Christian Soldier" and the Crusades. 


The video is exceptionally revealing and may be the only solid link to Breivik's motive - no matter what he says in his upcoming court date. It is unyielding in its hatred for Islam and Muslims. It features multiculturalism as the worst thing to happen to mankind because it will give way to a rising population of Islamists, thereby allowing them to eventually rule the world. It is arrogant in its righteousness. It paints himself as the only hope left. 


When you see it, you cannot help to think that it was written by an American who has voiced the same opinion every time: if Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association didn't write the script for the video, who did?




 

HIS SENTIMENTS EXACTLY

Bryan Fischer has once again proven that righteous arrogance breeds stupidity. His tweet makes him look just as bad as Anders Berhing Breivik is in its hatred for everything Muslim. It also insinuates his tolerance for violence. And putting the word Christian in quotes denotes a flaccid attempt at distancing himself from his obvious doppelganger. Millions of America's whitewashed public will be screaming "not me!" but no one will hear them from the din Fischer creates.   

Fischer will harp on the fact that, while almost everyone in Norway is baptized at birth, only 2% of country are regular church goers. Norway is the most secular country in Europe. We'll hear phrases not too unlike "getting what it deserves." Oh, others will chime in: Pat Robertson, Lou Engle, Franklin Graham, Cindy Jacobs, Rod Parsley to name a few. But no one will use Norway's tragedy like Fischer - a virtuoso of anti-Islamic hatred and intolerance; a hatred so embedded in America's psyche that media first-responders automatically assumed Muslims were involved in both the bombing and the massacre. And most of them sloughed off the possibility of an "apology" to the Muslim world and to Islam.

Another Case of Righteous Assassination?

At first another parallel seems weak, but given time, it grows: Byron Williams, who, almost EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO (July 21, 2010) was discovered in an attempt to terrorize the Tides Foundation and the ACLU. At that time, broadcaster Glenn Beck was linked to the attempted massacre. Now, however, the Oslo/Utoya tragedy can be linked to aggressive evangelism that does nothing to control the religious intolerance it creates. 




It has just been discovered that Anders Behring Breivik also wrote a kind of treatise/manifesto under the anglicized name of Andrew Berwick. You can download the entire 1500+ pages HERE. It is titled 2083 - a Declaration of European Independence. And while it  is mostly a rambling jumble of other writers, it strives to be an intelligent spin on Breivik's phobia against "multiculturalism" and perhaps one of the most revealing statements about Breivik's religion comes in this part (Kyle Spotswood):

Christianity is a way of life, and life involves power relationships, Christianity is at once a political way of life. One can not separate out ones politics from ones faith and beliefs, they are intertwined as ones beliefs effects ones politics. Thus, within the Christian worldview, there is no separation of ‘Christianity’ and ‘politics’, as distinct spheres, ‘politics’ is but another sphere of the way of life that is Christianity. Politics is subsumed within Christianity.

Bryan Fischer and "historian" David Barton would definitely agree with that statement.


So were Anders Behring Breivik's actions part of a Christian Jihad? Not an organized one, but possibly one that carried out a blueprint set out  by the likes of our own Bryan Fischer and leaders of our own Christian Right.

Rupert's Religious Ark: Will The Pope, Rick Warren And Pat Robertson Jump Ship?

Hell, Can They Even Swim?


















As the Murdoch Empire takes a pounding in the UK's Parliament, the media and the court of public opinion, another interesting tidbit makes for drooling speculation: Murdoch's long arm of publishing includes a bizarre dichotomy  - pornography and Christian books.


But wait, it may not be so dichotomous! It might, in fact, be just a matter of quid pro quo: Murdoch's religious affiliations have been just as quiet about the latest hacking scandal as they've been about his porn industry. Perhaps they don't want to draw too much attention to the financial dealings and donations with the media mogul.


Catholic? Southern Baptist? Born Again?


Murdoch's personal religious leaning are murky to say the least: he has never formally pronounced his allegiance for any one Christian denomination or sect. While wed to his second wife, a Roman Catholic, he received an award:

 Catholic Herald 

In 1998 Rupert Murdoch was made a Knight Commander of St Gregory. He had apparently been recommended for the honour by Cardinal Roger Mahony, after giving money to a Church education fund. A year later he donated $10 million to help build Los Angeles Catholic cathedral.

Rupert's son, James, also created a firestorm when it was discovered that before meeting the pontiff in London during his visit, Murdoch had donated 100,000 pounds ($156,000) to the promotion of the visit. It became known as the "pope-for-hire" situation.  


Murdoch's hailing of Benedict's election was a bit brazen (and off he mark), but helped to dispel the rumors that Cardinal Ratzinger was still harboring Hitler-like tendencies. (see The Sun's Headline). 


The 700 Club Connection


Billionaire televangelist Pat Robertson has certainly profited from Murdoch's business ventures:

From donations provided by viewers, Robertson bought the Family Channel, sold part of its stock at a personal profit of $90 million, and then sold the rest to right-wing media mogul and FOX owner Rupert Murdoch for $1.82 billion.

Even die-hard Robertson fans considered the purchase to be an outrageous sellout: Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily wrote: "...Robertson was ready, willing and able to climb into bed with Rupert Murdoch ..."

Murdoch also owns two of the largest online religious sites, Beliefnet and Inspirio, but perhaps the biggest strangle hold he has is on religious publishing.


The Rick Warren Connection

"Do the religious authors making their fortunes off Murdoch wear gloves when they cash their royalty checks? Do they ever dare look in the mirror?"

                    - Frank Schaeffer, son of influential theologian Francis Schaeffer 

Murdoch's pornography empire is not too far down the publishing road from the likes of Zondervan and Harper Collins - two of the largest religious book publishers in America, if not the world. Under Zondervan, in fact, another empire flourished: The Purpose Driven Life, for after the sale of 20 million copies worldwide, it remains one of history's biggest bestsellers (appropriately, after The Bible). And with Zondervan's sales, the fortunes of Pastor Rick Warren have soared as well.* In addition, Murdoch has openly donated $2 million to Warren's P.E.A.C.E. plan, enabling a greater evangelical voice in foreign nations (primarily in Africa). 


Pastor Rick has repeatedly stated that he is Murdoch's pastor although Murdoch does not live in Orange County where the 120-acre Saddleback Church compound is located. He has also deflected charges of hypocrisy in dealing with Murdoch, reportedly the "king" of pornography:

‘I don’t have to agree with 100 percent of what another person does in order to work with them on the 20 percent that we do agree on.’

THE HEAT IS ON


Pornography aside, the hacking scandal has Catholics, evangelicals and other religious leaders calling on the religious community to sever all ties with Murdoch and to reassess their relations with his publishing venues and, yes, even FOX News Channel.**


But will the likes of Rick Warren and Pope Benedict follow suit? Will Zondervan and Harper Collins authors defect to other publishers? 


The problem here is that today's religious leaders, like Murdoch, go where the money goes and follow Rick Warren's chief motto: 


"Whatever It Takes."

*Enabling Warren to give back 25 years of his past salary to his beloved Saddleback Church. Warren says that he now "reverse tithes" giving 90% of his income to the church. This has been disputed, however, since concrete tax returns and financial statements have not been made open to the public. 

** Over one year ago, the Jewish community called upon Murdoch to sanction Glenn Beck for his references to the Holocaust, signing an open letter to Murdoch in Murdoch's own Wall Street Journal. It was posted on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Remembering Mike Ward - a personal and public tribute

Dear friends:


You should have known him. If you had, your lives would have been much richer. This video was put together by a wonderful movie man, Tyler St. Mark. It shows you what I was blessed with for so many years. 

More Notes From A Hospital Room, Waiting ...

The spirit in bed is lingering. I wonder when it will be completely extinguished. There is nothing for me to do but stare at Michael and type out this bit of time. 


"Comfort Care" - what the hell is it? Body comfort? Comfort for those of us watching him? I honestly don't know. 


It's late. I should get to sleep in the other hospital bed, but I don't want to equate myself with him.

Perhaps the best way to see Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan: America's Official Douchebag!

I don't normally write headlines like that, but the subject below needs attention.

The "Compassion" of Paul Ryan and The Right: "The Poor You Will Always Have With You - We'll See To It"

NOTE: Although I've posted this article under stressful circumstances  (see postscript below) the perspective presented is definitely appropriate and shared by many people in this country. I may not be writing for a week or two, so I hope that this article is passionate enough to suffice for a while. 

"But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.'"
— Luke 10:30–36, World English Bible


On Tax Day, April 15th, Rep. Paul Ryan had this to say about "his" budget:

Our budget offers a compassionate and optimistic contrast to a future of health-care rationing and unbearably high taxes. We lift the crushing burden of debt, repair the safety net, make America’s tax system fair and competitive, and ensure that our health and retirement programs have a strong and lasting future.[1]

There are people who would beg to differ with Ryan's statement, notably the people fighting his expansive social welfare cuts on Capitol Hill and in the White House. The fight has extended to the matter of the national debt and the next several weeks will be grueling ... and revealing. If you look at the fight in a simplified perspective, it becomes a battle for the existence of compassion: should it be sustained now (in a diminished form), or in the future? Republicans are already naming their form of "compassion" by calling it INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE. 


But whatever the outcome of the fight, we must not lose sight of the fact that the economic and financial  crises we now face are about people: some people will benefit, while others will not. Cost cuts to social welfare agencies are already showing results: the poor are not only getting catastrophically poorer because they have less money, but also because they have less access to housing and necessary subsidies. It is the same with healthcare reform: while decrying imagined atrocities of "Obamacare", not one conservative member of Congress has put forth any real solution for the uninsured. Republican actions in the House have, in fact, ensured us that none will ever be forthcoming. 


The conservative image has never taken such a beating as in this Congress. 


In the past, the conservative rich have always trotted out the defensive statistic that conservatives actually give more/do more for the disenfranchised than liberals because the liberals want the government to do their giving for them. They chafed when George Bush's "compassionate conservatism" was met with the label of "oxymoron." What liberals have always realized, however, is that most conservatives tend to give only to their own causes and many times those causes not only leave out whole groups of Americans, but actually sustain the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Conservatives must control where their money goes. Liberals do it too, but conservatives do it more often and on a larger scale.


TRUE COMPASSION


Giving to those in need comes down to true compassion. But what is "true compassion"? Who is more compassionate - a church elder making a cake for a church bazaar held for the homeless or the man who off-handedly gives a man on the street a dollar because he asked for it? Both are compassionate, but the church elder KNOWS to whom she is giving her time, money and effort to, while the anonymous man cares not who the needy person is (or even if the person is, indeed, needy at all). Conservatives would not call the latter's gesture compassion, but the mere foolhardiness of a "bleeding heart liberal."


In biblical terms, one could associate the Good Samaritan with true compassion: when the priest and the Levite saw the man they both passed by. Why? Perhaps because when they saw them they judged him immediately as not worth their efforts. Now, notice that Christ's story did not say that the Samaritan knew he was helping a Jew.[2] In other words, the Samaritan did not judge, nor did he know who he was helping. The Samaritan just did what he felt was the right thing- the human thing -to do.

In another belief system (not really a religion), there's the story of  bodhisattva  Quan Yin (correction: stories - hundreds of legends, but all of their central themes involve her compassion). The most popular is the one that after she was made an Immortal, Quan Yin started her ascent to Enlightenment (heaven), but heard the cries of people still in need, forsook heaven and descended to help them. There are many parallels given to Quan Yin's Christian counterpart, Mary, the mother of Jesus. (Aside: it is interesting to note that much of the non-denominational and Protestant denominational Christian Right consider prayers to St. Mary to constitute "Mariolatry" or idolization of the Virgin Mary. They are loathe to think of any intercessor to Christ for mercy.)


COMPASSIONATE CAPITALISM -
 ACCORDING TO RYAN & CO.


Just as true compassion does not need judgment, it does not need a reason except for helping someone to survive in the best way possible. Compassion need not come in the form of the Christian thing to do, nor even the right thing to do, but simply as the human thing to do. People in need do not have the luxury of determining from whence compassion comes.


The above statement of Paul Ryan is, to say the least, dripping with the disingenuous patronizing to the poor that many conservatives today deal out: the belief that capitalism in all its glory will ultimately benefit everyone.  The conservative mindset also believes that individual investment, individual charity, individual compassion will also prove supreme. 


They will not. Individual charity is subjective and can be manipulated. It can be focused on a number too few to benefit as many as possible. Philanthropy and charity have given the public many blessings, to be sure, but no matter how generous, they have always benefited only a portion of the truly needy. In most cases, the giving has been focused. In addition, many faith-based organizations are unfortunately too focused and their charitable agendas can be skewed: catastrophes, for example, have been used by what might be called "God's Ambulance Chasers" more intent on conversion to religious beliefs than relief.[3]


Of course, individual charity can be the most valuable adjunct to a society's governmental social services: it lets us know that - coupled with government - our society is doing everything it can to aid in our people's survival. Budget-slashing by the likes of Rep. Paul Ryan, however, puts a burden on individual charity that it cannot possibly sustain ... without neglecting hordes of our country's citizenry. Perhaps the truly sad part about the likes of  Mr. Ryan is that he knows it, and doesn't seem to care - hence the disingenuous statement above. Of course, he may not be entirely to blame, since his party is, after all, controlled by a very powerful group: the coalition of religious entities known as the Christian Right. 


AT A CROSSROADS


From what we've seen these last twenty years, can anyone truly say without a doubt that social conservatives (the Christian Right)possess true compassion? Their own "agenda" of condemnation exposes how they pre-judge people and groups, vehemently prejudicing against segments of society: for example, we have seen the great Southern Baptist Convention try to harm businesses that have supported the LGBT community and treated it with respect. And while some within the Christian Right community describe their compassion as "tough love" (Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association comes to mind) others beg to differ on that point: can "love" of any kind be borne of bigotry? [4]


So now our country's compassion is at a crossroads because of a budget crisis: should it be government (liberal) or individual (conservative) compassion? According to people like Ryan, America cannot have both. We could, but that might mean raising taxes while giving more to charity. A blogger at Hubpages.com put it well::

There are two kinds of compassion in this country. The compassion of the left and the compassion of the right. The compassion of the Democrat and the compassion of the Republican. The compassion of the government and the compassion of the individual.

Whichever one you choose, put your money where your mouth is.

With "slash and burn" Republicans goaded by Dominionists and corporations, the compassion of the Democrat may be gone entirely. And the other kind of compassion will be meted out to a select few. 


God help us.




1.The new terminology for Ryan's futuristic "compassion" is INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE. (!?)


2. Remember, the Jew was stripped and therefore not recognizable by any particular clothing. Also, Samaritanism and Judaism were very similar Abrahamic religions and shared the tenet of circumcision. 


 - The story of the Good Samaritan poses a conundrum for many in the Christian Right because it is sited as the epitome of compassion by many evangelicals and therefore is something they strive for; however, the Samaritan does not evangelize or proselytize in any way, leaving the audience of the story to wonder why evangelizing is necessary in order to do good.
  
3. In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, a faith-based organization spent $100,000 erecting electronic Bibles (60 loudspeaker systems from which Biblical verses were broadcast) among people who were still not receiving adequate medical treatment. Another example: after the horrendous Asian Tsunami, Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church sent food and clothing, along with 600,000 Christian scripture tracts (the cost of which totaled more than the emergency goods sent). Since the victims were mostly Buddhist and Hindu, the tracts were considered insultingly superfluous and respectfully sent back.


4. The concept of "love the sinner, hate the sin" is especially egregious: no other moral precept has ever been so misused as some ridiculous band aid for guilt. The phrase is always used while knowing that it goes against human nature: just as Jesus Christ new that the concept of "love thine enemy" was a hard sell, so to does the Christian Right know that LSHS falls on deaf ears, but it needs the phrase to sound more benign.


POSTSCRIPT





Parts of this article have been written while my former partner and best friend of fourteen years lies dying of liver cancer.  I have been his caregiver for six of those years, aided by his current partner and soul mate.  We live in San Francisco, (that bastion of liberalism and perversion!) certainly the most compassionate city in America. It was here that he was nurtured as an artist (award-winning theater director) and came to nurture other artists as well. It is in San Francisco that he is now comforted and cared for by an incredible extended family of friends, hospice workers, physicians, and therapists - many made possible by San Francisco and the caring state of California. I firmly believe that he could not have gotten greater "comfort care" anywhere else. He is passing in dignity as well. 


While there are conservatives who can be regarded as compassionate, I sincerely doubt that those in Congress (guided by today's Christian Right) would be as wonderfully human as the people I see around us. Ironic, isn't it - that such love and humanity should exist in the city they castigate most. 


We are put on earth to thrive from the knowledge that we have helped everyone else survive as best as possible. It is unfortunate that others do not see this purpose, because by being confined within boundaries of their own kind of compassion, they are depriving many people of the thing they need most: 


Humanity.  

Who REALLY Killed 4-Year-Old Jadon Higgenbothan?

It's not enough to say 
"we're not all like that".


(Warning: please be advised that the first section of this article chronicles a brutal and horrendous series of events)


RESPONSIBILITY, PT I


Why is it that whenever a heinous crime is discovered perpetrated by a person with a fringe-religious background that religious people immediately say "we're not like that"? Either that, or they hide underneath the "not-a-fanatic" cloak of invisibility. I'm sorry, oh righteous ones, but you are not Harry Potter. In fact, as insufferably self-righteous souls you'd have a hard time convincing people you're not Valdemort.


Responsibility and complicity are words that become fainter with distance, but THEY DO NOT DIE OUT COMPLETELY.

Durham, N.C. - A man is on trial for capital murder after he allegedly shot a 4-year-old boy in the head because he thought the boy might be gay.

That shuffling noise you hear right now is the sound of people, organizations and churches backing away from the central light cast by the atrocious murder.

Peter Lucas Moses Jr., 27, is also accused of murdering a young woman who tried to escape from the house where she had been living with Moses and several other women, who called Moses “Lord.” Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty against Moses. Three of his “wives” are also charged with murder and with being accessories to murder.

Black Hebrews


"Not-a-cult" can be considered just as much a cloak of invisibility as "not-a-fanatic." The word "cult" fairly drips with the unsightly sweat of "evil." In America, ALL "cults" are demonic: only the thinnest veneer of respect is offered to today's Mormons by "mainstream" evangelical denominations.* So it's not surprising that the word "cult" is used so freely in the case of little Jadon.


Black Voices:

Moses and his wives were members of a religious sect called the Black Hebrews, a group that frowns upon homosexuality. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, The Black Hebrews believe that they are descended from the 10 lost tribes of Israel. They live according to their own special rules of conduct. Polygamy is permitted and birth control is forbidden. 

The Black Hebrew movement, however, is not very recent: it's beginnings stretch as far back as the mid 1800s - almost as far back as Southern Baptists (!). In 1980, there were an estimated 80,000 Black Hebrews in the U.S. and an estimated 200,000 Black Jews in this country. It has been suggested that technically there are three groups involving African Americans and Judaism: Black Hebrews, Black Jews and Black Israelites. All have a belief of their roots being the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, with Black Hebrews being the strictest in their social and dietary laws.


So far, the description of the Black Hebrew "cult" makes it seem to be a culture in tune with aspects of both Mormonism and Christianity. But wait ...

Sometime in October 2010, prosecutors told the judge, one of the women told the defendant that Jadon had hit another child’s bottom, and Moses retaliated because he thought the boy might be homosexual – partially because the child’s father had left his mother.

"Partially"? At this point, we have to wonder what fully constituted homosexual behavior in Moses' mind. What had he heard/read from religious leaders about homosexuality? Was it something so bad as to kill Jadon because he might be gay? A fatherless child may swat the bottom of another child, but the instance has a huge leap to being gay: who or what filled in that gap? Who instilled such unreasonable homophobia in Peter Lucas Moses?

Homosexuality, Cline contended, is frowned upon by the Black Hebrews, so the defendant asked the boy’s mother to get rid of him. 

Jadon's mother did not comply with the "lord's" wishes. But he persisted, so four days later ...

Moses then ordered two of the other women to set up computers and speakers in the garage, prosecutors contend, then the defendant took the boy into the garage, where music and the Lord’s Prayer in Hebrew blared, and a gunshot sounded. One of the women told investigators the boy was shot in the head.

As to Antoinette McKoy:

McKoy had been strangled, beaten and tortured by Moses and his other “common-law wives” in the days leading up to her murder. She managed to escape the home where she was held prisoner and begged a neighbor to please call for help, but was refused as the neighbor believed the woman to be mentally ill. McKoy was then dragged back to the home by Moses, and eventually shot to death in the bathroom.

Her corpse was shown to Moses' family. They even partied around it at one point. It was then buried in his mother's backyard.

RESPONSIBILITY PT. II
Looking at this case analytically:
1. Moses thinks Jadon "might be gay." His "wives" including the boy's mother, help camouflage  the sound of the gunshots when Moses shoots him.
2. The wives then pack Jadon's body in a suitcase and put it away until Moses complains of the smell.
3. Antoinette McKoy, tries to escape the house but is thought to be insane by the neighbor she seeks help from. The other wives and Moses drag her back to the house where, after being tortured, she is eventually shot.
4. Antoinette's body is shown to the Moses family and is then buried in the backyard of Moses' mother's house.
5. It is not until another woman escapes the house and goes to the police that the deaths are discovered.


Moses shoots, the wives and family cover up - case closed. 


Aaah, no. 


No matter what the "cult" members said about the confines of the house, or about the cold charisma of Moses, none of them lived in a vacuum. They were taught in public schools (there's been no testimony about home-schooling), they interacted with the rest of the community to buy groceries and even tend the house. While Lucas Moses lived at home, the wives worked. Their children (supposedly) went to school. The Moses family hotly denies being Black Hebrews. 

Protecting people from a cult can seem like a thankless task since most of the members do not want to be protected nor do they want any form of intervention. Concern from family, friends, even churches go up against walls too difficult to scale, too difficult to believe. But there are times when monitoring and intervention is absolutely necessary and human life hangs in the balance.  

The surrounding community must have known something, but preferred not to "be involved." (Another cult-like family comes to mind when mentioning an uninvolved community: the Fred Phelps clan. Topeka gave up years ago.**) Moses' Black Hebrew contacts must have suspected something about his situation since he seemed bolstered in the illegal actions of polygamy.*** And the still-prevalent homophobia of the African American community fed into Moses' religious psyche.


Responsibility. It gets fainter as the sphere of family and social contacts gets wider: family, religious group, social group, community group, racial ties. Biases and prejudices fan out as much as they close in. 


Seven people are charged with the murder of Jadon Higgenbothan - one directly responsible, the others, accessories before or after the fact. But who else is responsible?


Maybe we all are.




*Many Right Wing Christians do not even give Mormonism any respect at all.
** Even after Fred were confronted with running a "Fagan" operation - his two sons were forced to sell church candy and light bulbs door-to-door; when they couldn't make their day's "quota" they were forced to steal (Phelps would beat them mercilessly if they didn't meet the "quota") 
*** Just where can you obtain a CD of "The Lord's Prayer" in Hebrew? 

The Rodeo Clown Comes (Ideologically) Home To Texas: Glenn Beck Will Live Deep In The Heart Of Right Wingnuts

Maybe He'll Help Spur On The Secession, 
Then Unite Texas To Israel!

For the past several years, the state of Texas has been booming with radical Right Wing ideologies and uber-Christian Right authority over previously secular things (e.g. school boards changing textbooks to reflect a more Christian nation). And with an event like governor Rick Perry's The Response, Texas has inflated itself beyond recognition. To some people, in fact, Texas now looks like a clown car ready to burst.


BLAM! Glenn Beck has just announced that he will moving his family and base of operations to ... Texas! The nation's self-described rodeo clown will join the ranks of Rick Perry and some very serious Wingnuts!

As it turns out, anyone who speculated that Beck might be headed somewhere in America's heartland—closer to the core tea party-ing audience that consumes his sometimes controversial ramblings with an apostolic zeal—was indeed correct. Beck confirmed on his daily radio program Monday that he, his family and part of his media empire are moving to Texas. He will open studios there for Mercury Radio Arts, the Manhattan-based production company behind both the radio show and his forthcoming Internet TV venture.

But wait, that's not all folks! As an added bonus, Beck has jokingly said to Governor Rick Perry that he might run for governor of the Lone Star State! That is, unless Perry decides to have Beck as his running mate on the Republican ticket!

OK, folks, let's be serious for a minute (it's hard, but we have to) and envision what Glenn Beck's move will mean to Texas and the rest of the country.


Glenn Beck will be neighbors with:

• His protege,  pseudo-historian David Barton.  who has been vice-chairman of the Texas Republican Party and an evangelical advisor to the Republican National Committee. 
• Fort Worth-based televangelist Ken Copeland. Copeland is also noted for his involvement in Oral Roberts University (his daughter, Terri, married the former Board Chairman of ORU, George Pearsons)
• Pastor John Hagee of San Antonio. Remember Hagee as the "Whore of Babylon" pastor who put a sizable dent into John McCain's campaign.
• Chuck Norris, of Walker, Texas Ranger fame and thoroughly Right Wing spokesperson for the NRA. Norris has always bolstered Beck's conspiracy theories and then there was this wonderful exchange: 

 GLENN: Americans will, they just, they won't stand for it. There will be parts of the country that will rise up. And they said, where's that going to come from? And I said Texas, it's going to come from Texas. Do you agree with that, Chuck, or not? NORRIS: Oh, yeah. You know, Texas is a republic, you know. We could actually --GLENN: It was a country before it was a state. NORRIS: Yeah, we could break off from the union if we wanted to. GLENN: You do, you call me. NORRIS: Oh, yeah.

• Tea Party groups and affiliates. There are literally hundreds of Tea Party groups in Texas. 
• James Robison, televangelist. Robison has brought together Christian Right leaders and politicians to secure the Presidency for a social conservative.

Although Beck will connect with Texas' top movers and shakers of Right Wing Religion and politics, perhaps it is the prevailing Texas state of mind that Beck will truly be comfortable with: anti-East Coast, gun-totin', Creationist, Southern Baptist, Libertarian isolationist.


UPDATE:


What's up with Beck and Israel? Why? Is he trying to establish himself on an international scale? As what? Whatever the reason Glenn Beck has in visiting Israel, the pundit's recent address to the Knesset was pure schlock theater: the  "where you go, I will go" Ruth-to-Naomi" quote has been overused, but Beck made it totally pointless. It's in the latest video below. You expect him to cry at one point, but he didn't (no Vics VapoRub in Tel Aviv?). 


Jerusalem Post: 

Beck discussed his view on Israel's portrayal in the media in a speech peppered with jokes, in a room packed with MKs from six parties, media figures and onlookers.
The television and radio host was introduced by committee chairman MK Danny Danon (Likud) who said he is "glad to host a friend of the State of Israel."
"We see that your love for Israel comes from your heart; you support Israel unconditionally," Danon said. "We wish we had more people like you."

He ostensibly came to Israel to announce his future rally for Israel, but his approach was too Beckian to limit his visit to mere promotion of an event. It was to promote Glenn Beck, of course, but why? It's puzzling and Beck likes it that way. 


If it wasn't, he wouldn't need a chalk board to explain it. 

Texas Hates (Heathen) America And (Deceived) Oprah: Rick Perry's Prayer Fest And What It Means To The Rest of The Country

Everyone's talking about Texas Gov. Rick Perry's prayer rally, The Response. Is it a Texas state-sponsored revival meeting? Spiritual warfare? A gay-bashing contest?


Perhaps it's just what it seems at the outset: a Holy-Roller-Only event intent on telling people that Texas is a Christian state intent on purging itself of "evil" (i.e. everyone else).


Of course, the rally is open to people of all faiths, but....

...[Don] Wildmon, AFA's* president, stressed the Christian nature of the event and said people of other religions were "free to have their own events." He insisted his group did not hate anyone, but he said that people who do not embrace Christianity were headed for eternal damnation.

"It's not just Jews or Muslims," Wildmon said. "It's anybody that rejects the free gift of salvation through Christ. The Bible teaches there's heaven and hell. Those who believe go to heaven. Those who don't go to hell."

It would seem at first that a call to prayer by the governor of a state would not draw very many religious for an obvious slap-in-the-face to the 1st Amendment, but the Christian Right is still a desperate lot, no matter how many politicians it owns: the likes of Lou Engle, Cindy Jacobs, Bryan Fischer and David Barton are planning to attend with all the fanfare they can muster. And at the outset, every comedian can envision what the prayer fest would look like: more a convention of wingnuts than a prayer rally. OK, let's try a hand at it:

• Cindy Jacobs might give a lecture on "The Shapes of Different States - Which Ones Are Demonic and Which Are Angelic."**
• David Barton could conduct a seminar discussing "Sam Houston As A Founding Father"
• Bryan Fischer would talk about "How To Build a Wall To Keep Out Gay Immigrant Stormtroopers."
• Lou Engle might  speak on the subject: "From Gulliver To Gullible: Invading Small Third World Countries With THE WORD While Keeping Them Out Of The Twenty-First Century."***

Sadly, this rally is very serious in its intent to promote Seven Mountains Dominionism to the point of making it a (unofficial) religious tenet for the State of Texas.


Just look at some of the other sponsors/people in attendance:

• "Apostle" Doug Stringer , The Response's "ministry and Mobilization Coordinator who has flatly stated, like the late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, that 9/11 was caused by the acceptance of homosexuality in this country.
• Former Senator Sam Brownback, now governor of Kansas, whose close connections with former C Street roommate, Lou Engle and staunch opposition to any gay rights has garnered a profile that one could consider far right.
• Televangelist James Robison, the man from whom Mike Huckabee took his ques before he was Governor and who recently spearheaded a meeting to strategize how to prevent Obama from being re-elected.
• Native American "apostle" James "Jay" Swallow, founder of the Two Rivers Native American Training Center - basically a Christian Military Training Camp - and has conducted seminars such as "Demonic Spirits" and "Spiritual Warfare." The particular irony of his attendance cannot be overlooked: the AFA's Bryan Fischer has said that Native Americans had long ago "disqualified themselves from the land." 
• International House Of Prayer (IHOP), a Pentecostal organization with strong ties to Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee and Lou Engle. It has been instrumental in structuring The Response much like Engle's rallies for The Call.
• Pastor Jim Garlow, the chief architect of California's Proposition 8
• Pastor John  Hagee,  the man who came to prominence during McCain's 2008 campaign by calling Rome the "Whore of Babylon". Hagee's bizarre anti-semitic views (he is a founder of CUFI - Citizens United For Israel) lead one to doubt that any Jewish people will be in attendance.  
• Che Ahn, pastor of Harvest Rock Church in Paszdena, CA. At one time a supporter of the controversial group People Of Destiny International, Ahn is also a stalwart of Lou Engle.
• Pastor Stephen Broden, an advocate of the overthrow of the government by violent means, if necessary.
• Peter Wagner - leader of Seven Mountains Dominionism  and chief "Apostle" (International Council of Apostles) Wagner and his associates are extremely anti-Roman Catholic and anti-Mormon. He, like Cindy Jacobs, advocates the burning of statues of saints, Buddhas, and any other non-Protestant Christian relics or figures. (reminds one of destruction of the Buddhas of the Bamiyan by the Taliban)
• Mike Bickle, who preaches that Oprah is the precursor to the anti-Christ (see clip below) and that the "Harlot Babylon" movement will involve acts of compassion and kindness.

The main source of concern about The Response is that it is sponsored by the American Family Association (see footnote) and its chief talking head, Bryan Fischer. Mr. Fischer has become so virulent in his tirades about gays, Native Americans, Muslims and African Americans, that appearing on his daily radio show has become a litmus test for extreme Right politicians.


The Sum Of Exclusions


Considering what The Response will pray for and who will be praying, is it reasonable to suppose that Perry's revival will turn off almost as many people as it will turn on? Looking at the Texas demographics in wikipedia, seems to indicate that Perry is willfully alienating half of his state: Catholics comprise 28%, Jews comprise 2%, Mormon 2%, Islam 1%  No Religion 11% Jehovah's Witnesses 1%. Throw in the hefty gay populations of Dallas, Austin and Houston, along with churches and denominations that welcome LGBT Christians you have a figure hovering at the 49% mark. 


Unfortunately for Perry, the list of people scolding him for sponsoring the event is pouring in as fast as the Right Wing notables themselves: Jewish, Islamic, Catholic, LGBT groups are coming out loud and strong against the governor.

Critics also accused Perry of using a religious event to boost a possible presidential bid.

"I want to be clear that my criticism of the governor doesn't stem from my lack of appreciation for religion, rather it comes from my deep respect for religion and from not wanting religion to be prostituted for political purposes," said C. Welton Gaddy, a Baptist minister and president of the Washington, D.C.-based Interfaith Alliance. "I think the people of Texas elected him to be the governor of the state, not the pastor of the state."

Houston Mayor Annise Parker (a lesbian) takes a more reasonable and practical bent:
I'm glad to have anybody's dollars coming to the city of Houston. They can come back on a monthly basis if they'd like as long as they spend money.

Now there's an elected official who looks out after her own. ALL of her own.

Pray For Our Beloved Country

When intolerance and bigotry brazenly get together in order to show who they are targeting in the "Name of God", the rest of the country should know the whys and wherefores of such an event as The Response: like any other disease, it can spread. Rick Perry's marriage of church and state may seem foolhardy for Perry, but it is an emboldened move by Dominionists who need a stronghold like Texas from which to strike at local and state governments. 


Extremists such as Cindy Jacobs and Peter Wagner could be discounted if it were not for the fact that they are joined by so many other extremists willing to make America a "Christian Only" country on the road to theocracy. And The Response needs to be scrutinized closely not only for the people in attendance, but for the people excluded from attendance. 


So while Rick Perry and his gang of Dominionists pray for America, maybe the rest of America should be doing the same. 

* American Family Association has shown the country why it has been named a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center in keeping on Bryan Fischer who excoriates gays, African-Americans, Native Americans, Muslims, illegal immigrants, non-Christian immigrants and all other non-Christians in general.

**  And why Florida "spiritually stimulates" her
*** ... and in the fourteenth where they belong