As an aside, and I'm aware that this belongs in another thread as Shinerburke apparently does not have the guts to face the facts in this thread:
Actually unlike FOXnews (which has a proven record of deliberate misinformation) Katherine Yurica does a pretty thorough job. Take a look at the notes to her interesting article
The Despoiling of America where she examines the unholy influence of Christian Fundamentalists in US politics esp. in the context of the fundamentalist Bush administration.
Notes to The Despoiling of America
(By clicking on the endnote number, you will be returned to the referenced text)
[1] ?Religious Right Finds Its Center in Oval Office,? Washington Post, December 24, 2001.
[2] Kevin Phillips, American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush, Viking Press, 2004, at page 224.
[3] Antonin Scalia, ?God?s Justice and Ours,? in First Things 123 (May 2002): 17-21,
http://www.firsthings.com/ftis...5/articles/scalia.html
[4] Leo Strauss, Thoughts on Machiavelli, University of Chicago Press, 1978, at page 9. The actual quote is: ??[O]ne ought not to say to someone whom one wants to kill, ?Give me your gun, I want to kill you with it,? but merely, ?Give me your gun,? for once you have the gun in your hand, you can satisfy your desire.?
[5] Osha Gray Davidson, ?Dirty Secrets,? Mother Jones, September/October 2003 at page 53. ?The Bush administration has been gutting key sections of the Clean Water and Clean Air acts, laws that have traditionally had bipartisan support and have done more to protect the health of Americans than any other environmental legislation.? The subtitle reads: ?No president has gone after the nation?s environmental laws with the same fury as George W. Bush and none has been so adept at staying under the radar.?
[6] Alan Sager, Ph.D. and Deborah Socolar, M.P.H. ?61 Percent of Medicare?s New Prescription Drug Subsidy Is Windfall Profit to Drug Makers,? Health Reform Program, Boston University School of Public Health.
http://www.healthreformprogram.org You may read the report in a PDF file by clicking here:
[7] See Pat Robertson?s prescription on how to eliminate Social Security by clicking here.
[8] Pat Robertson ironically outlined the drastic effects that follow rash government spending in 1985. He stated that it will wipe out the middle class and destroy the Social Security and Medicare programs. (Taped and transcribed by the author.) Read Robertson?s description by clicking here:
http://www.yuricareport.com/Ca...ngressBuyingVotes.html
[9] If my words appear extreme, consider that in January of 2004, Walter Cronkite broke a lifetime rule, saying, ?I must speak out.? Mr. Cronkite continued, ?I am deeply disturbed by the dangerous and growing influence of people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell on our nation?s political leaders.?
Former Governor of Delaware, Russ Peterson in his new book, Patriots, Stand Up!, wrote, ?Our cherished American way of life is under attack by the far right-wing Republicans who are now running the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. This is the product of a conspiracy that has been growing over the past few decades through the use of evil tactics and strategies, lies and deceptions to transform America.
?Deception is now the hallmark of the Bush administration. Read of the frightening chicanery in furthering an imperial strategy, nurturing the military-industrial complex, waging war on the environment, plunging the nation into debt, demeaning the needy, antagonizing the world and using terrorism to frighten and exploit.?
The author calls on patriots to apply the principles of democracy now to retake America from a conservative elite that controls the country.
The author?s background: Russ Peterson, scientist, citizen activist, former executive with the DuPont Co., Republican Governor of Delaware, assistant to Republican Gov. Nelson Rockefeller of New York, head of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality under Presidents Nixon and Ford, head of the Office of Technology Assessment, reporting to six Republican and six Democratic members of Congress, president of the National Audubon Society, internationally acclaimed environmental leader, United Nations goodwill ambassador, and faculty member at Dartmouth College, Carleton College and the University of Wisconsin Madison. His numerous national and international awards include 15 honorary doctorates. In 1996 he became a Democrat.
http://www.governorpeterson.org/
[10] ?Christian Reconstructionism: Theocratic Dominionism Gains Influence,? by Frederick Clarkson, The Public Eye Magazine, Vol. VIII, Nos. 1 & 2, March/June 1994, Part 1 of a four part series. See
http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisre1.html
[11] Gary North, Ph.D., in Econonmics, the President of the Institute for Christian Economics (ICE) and is also the son-in-law of R.J. Rushdoony, the founder of Christian Reconstructionism, advises his followers not to give out his literature to everyone?just to interested people. ?Let word of mouth tell the story. You need not become very visible if you choose not to.? From Replacing Evil With Good
http://reformed-theology.org/ice/books/conspiracy/html/8.htm on page 9 of 11. For a complete understanding of how good and evil are inverted and the "conspiriators" become us--see this entire collection titled: "Conspiracy: A Biblical View" by Gary North at
http://reformed-theology.org/ice/books/conspiracy/index.html Click on each section of the Table of Contents at the site. This web site can be reached only by entering from the root directory.
[12] See Joan Bokaer?s article in ?The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party,? a public information project from TheocracyWatch.org
http://www.4religious-right.info/taking_over.htm
[13] Ben Kinchlow, co-host of the 700 Club with Pat Robertson, was made Vice President of CBN in charge of CBN?s charities program ?Operation Blessing.? On March 27, 1985, while criticizing farmers for wanting a government bailout he said: ?What?s wrong in this country is that so many people have substituted the government for God. Instead of looking to God to supply their needs, they?re looking to government.? Railing at financially stressed people was very common on the show.
[14] Tim LaHaye predicted on Pat Robertson?s 700 Club show on September 25, 1985 that 110,000 evangelical, fundamentalist, and Pentecostal churches could sponsor one person per church to run for office and win, that in a decade they would hold every office in the U.S. At the time, he said there were only 97,000 public offices in the U.S. so ?we would have more Christians in office than there are positions.? By 1994, for the first time in forty years, Republicans regained control of Congress. Similarly Ralph Reed predicted that by the year 2,000 they would control Congress. Gary North wrote in 1985: ?I propose a program. Some variant of this program must be adopted if we are to have any meaningful hope in recapturing the machinery of civil government, the media, and the educational institutions. It will be done. It has already begun. How long it will take is problematical; I think we will begin to see major victories before the year 2005.?
http://reformed-theology.org/ice/books/conspiracy/html/8.htm at page 5 of 11 pages.
[15] Francis Schaeffer originally appeared on the 700 Club with Pat Robertson in 1982. The series of interviews with Schaeffer were repeated on the show in the week of July 7, 1986 as Robertson presented the legal and biblical foundations for Christian political action. Francis Schaeffer, however, died between the first and second airing. The Schaeffer interviews were tape recorded and transcribed, my quotes are from my transcript. The accuracy of my transcript can be compared to the video tapes of the shows. At the time, People for the American Way was recording the shows and establishing a Pat Robertson 700 Club library for future reference.
[16] All 700 Club quotes in this article were recorded and transcribed by the author and her assistant unless otherwise indicated.
[17]Although neither Robertson nor Schaeffer used the words ?Dominionism? or ?dominion? in this interview series they used the word ?dominant? when asking which culture was dominant in the United States: the Christian culture or the humanistic culture. They asserted the humanistic culture was the dominant force in America and ?Christians? had to regain dominance.
[18] The most successful ministers knew the psychological importance of creating ?enemies? that were attacking the church. Jerry Falwell maintains the rule: ?To be successful, keep a good fight going all the time.?
[19] Psychiatrist Scott Peck has written about the phenomena groups resort to almost universally in his book, The People of the Lie, ?There are profound forces at work within a group to keep its individual members together and in line...Probably the most powerful of these group cohesive forces is narcissism?group pride?.A less benign but practically universal form of group narcissism is what might be called ?enemy creation,? or hatred of the ?out-group.??
[20] ?War on Secular Society? at
http://www.4religious-right.info/introduction2.htm
[21] In short, they needed a religion of their own to justify evil acts and to counter the political acceptance by many Christians who were attracted to the communal and ?communistic? principles of the early church (Acts 2:42-47), where the early Christians sold all their possessions, gave them to the needy, and held ?all things [in] common.? Such Christian ideas were a direct threat to capitalism?s future robber barons. How could great fortunes be amassed if one had to give it all away to the poor and follow Jesus? (Matthew 19:16-30.)
[22] Pat Robertson is particularly adept at changing the issue from questioning an aggressively religious political agenda into an attack on religion. The Constitution prohibits a religious test for office in America (Article 6). However, a battle over the nomination of Herb Ellingwood in 1985 to the position of Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy caused a fire storm. (That office screens candidates for the federal judiciary.) During the same period dominionists like Ellingwood and Tim LaHaye were advocating that twenty-five percent of all government positions should be handed to Christian fundamentalists (dominionists) since they made up twenty-five percent of the nation?s population. Pat Schroeder, former Democratic congresswoman from Colorado and chairman of the Civil Service Committee strongly opposed the view as a religious quota system and a violation of Article VI of the Constitution. She said the questions that were asked of judicial candidates, apparently prepared by Ellingwood, amounted to a religious test for office. She spoke on the Phil Donahue show on (September 6, 1985):
?If you look at some of the questions that are being asked by some of the senators of judges, they don?t have to do with their background, their training, whether or not they understand the law, they have to do with personal beliefs. That?s not where we have been in the past, and that?s a very dangerous turn??
During the same period of time (August-September) Pat Robertson easily turned the legitimate questioning of Herb Ellingwood?s agenda into an attack on Christianity by framing it this way on his 700 Club Show on August 9, 1985:
?Can an evangelical Christian hold high office in the United States of America? Now that is the question. Or are evangelical Christians going to be discriminated against? And indeed will there be a religious test for public office which disqualifies anybody who speaks to a religious group? . . . .Herb Ellingwood is Chairman right now of the Merit Protection Review Board and he has done a superb job. He was the former legal counsel to President Reagan in California and has worked closely with Ed Meese for years. He?s been a very distinguished attorney. It just seems like this campaign of assassination that goes on against good men like that should be brought to a stop. . .And if you feel that Christians ought to be allowed to serve in positions of responsibility in the government?and you don?t think that Christians should be discriminated against?here?s the number of the White House: 202 446-7639?? (700 Club 8-9-85)
[23] One cannot help comparing this passage with the fact that 27,000 bombs were dropped on Iraq in the 2003 air war and in a demonstration of cold indifference, the Bush administration ignored the advice of prominent archeologists to protect Iraq?s museums, which contained the greatest collection of ancient relics, art, and ancient treasures in the world, and in so doing, allowed the looting?the despoiling?of that nation?s treasures.
[24]Again, because we will learn in this article that Machiavelli is a handbook in the Bush administration, one must ask if the George W. Bush administration perceives despoiling as a plan of action to control the American populace. The question must be asked.
[25] See Kevin Phillips, author of American Dynasty, Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush. Viking Press, 2004, at page 239-240.
[26] Ibid. at page 321.
[27] Robertson?s and Ledeen?s relationship continues. For a recent CBN interview of Ledeen conducted by Pat Robertson and transcribed by CBN.com go to:
http://cbn.com/CBNNews/News/030623e.asp?option=print
[28] Ledeen tried to arrange the sale of arms to Iran in order to divert the profits to the Contra militants who were fighting the Nicaraguan government?s Sandinistas. However, Congress had voted to cut off U.S. aid to the Contras and therefore any such transaction was illegal.
[29] William O. Beeman?s article, ?Who Is Michael Ledeen?? was published on May 8, 2003 and may be read at the alternet.org:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15860
[30] Gerard Thomas Straub worked at CBS for eight years before joining the 700 Club as executive producer. After leaving CBN?s employment, he went to work for ABC?s ?General Hospital? as associate producer. His 1986 book, Salvation for Sale, (Prometheus Books, N.Y.) offers insights to how Pat Robertson conducted business off camera from the perspective of an insider. The dichotomy between his public friendly ?pastoral? role and his actual business conduct is stark evidence that he understood Machiavelli?s rule that only appearance counts. Straub wrote: ?In reality Pat is a pompous pope of the video Vatican of Christian broadcasting, and he rules his empire with absolute authority. He does not tolerate debate, discussions, or dissent?His television followers never get to see the tough-minded, hard-driving cut-throat leader.? In addition, over the years, Pat Robertson revealed his Machiavellian political philosophy repeatedly and openly on his show in discussions of how to handle foreign policy and in his ruthless approach to the poor and needy of America.
[31] On June 19, 1985: Danuta Soderman, the second member of Pat Robertson?s daily team, asked Pat Robertson how the United States should deal with middle-east terrorist groups: ?Speaking about being decisive in dealing with terrorists? groups, yesterday you offered some opinion on how Iran should be one of the places we should target our energies on, any other thoughts on this?
Robertson: ?Just like the last guest in that clip our news department did, he said it?s pretty much undeclared war. Khomeini has declared war against the United States. He has told people that if they die against the infidel, they go to heaven. The Islamic Jihad is controlled out of Iran, and the other factor of course is Syria, which is giving some sanctuary to all of these people. Syria controls the Becca Valley now? practically all of it, since Israel withdrew its forces. So up in the Becca Valley the Shiite Muslims from Iran are forcing the Lebanese women to wear veils and practice the various extreme views of the Islamic faith in the Shiite traditions. We?ve got to go after the source. If you want to go after a snake you don?t cut inches off his tail.?
Robertson also focused on the Becca Valley on July 12, 1985 and on several other occasions. The refrain has not changed in nineteen years. A recent January 2004 article published in the Jerusalem Post states Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is considering invading the Becca Valley, which is still controlled by Syria.
[32] See: Project for the New American Century ?Principles?:
http://newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm and ?Rebuilding America?s Defenses?
http://newamericancentury.org/publicationsreports.htm
[33] William O. Beeman?s article, ?Who Is Michael Ledeen?? was published on May 8, 2003 and may be read at the alternet.org:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15860
[34]The BBC article may be read at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/pro...s/panorama/3031803.stm The longer and more important article, ?Veteran neo-con advisor moves on Iran,? by Jim Lobe, writing for the Asia Times can be found at:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EF26Ak03.html Another very interesting article is ?Flirting with Fascism: Neocon theorist Michael Ledeen draws more from Italian fascism than from the American Right,? by John Laughland and published in the June 30, 2003 issue of The American Conservative. You may read this article at:
http://www.amconmag.com/06_30_...rint/featureprint.html And for a recent interview with Ledeen, conducted by Pat Robertson on CBN.com, go to endnote 27 above.
[35] As quoted by Jim Lobe in ?Veteran neo-con advisor moves on Iran? published in the Asia Times.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EF26Ak03.html
[36] Shadia Drury, Leo Strauss and the American Right, St. Martin?s Press, 1999 at page 1.
[37] From Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss, University of Chicago Press, 1958 at pp. 10-11.
[38] Ibid. pp. 176-178.
[39] The only example of this possibility I have found so far is in the work of Dominionist Gary North who wrote tirelessly on the correlations between conservative economic principles and the Old Testament laws and rules. See Gary North, ?The Covenantal Wealth of Nations,? from Biblical Economics Today, Vol. XXI, No 2, February/March 1999. It can be read at:
http://reformed-theology.org/ice/newslet/bet/bet99.02.htm See also an article by J. Ligon Duncan, III, ?Moses? Law for Modern Government: The Intellectual and Sociological Origins of the Christian Reconstructionist Movement,? Premise, Vol. II, Number 5, May 27, 1995, page 4 and on the web at:
http://capo.org/premise/95/may/ssha2.html Ligon states: ?...Reconstructionism is attempting to make a systematic and exegetical connection between the Bible and the conservative ideology of limited government and free market economics. For instance, Gary North has written volume after volume deriving principles of economics from his studies of the Pentateuch.?
[40] Shadia Drury, Leo Strauss and the American Right, St. Martin?s Press, 1999 at page 11-13.
[41] Shadia Drury is quoted in an analysis by Jim Lobe for the Inter Press Service News Agency.
http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=18038
[42] Shadia Drury, Leo Strauss and the American Right, St. Martin?s Press, 1999 at page 23.
[43] I?m indebted to Patricia J. Williams, Professor of law at Columbia University for this insight. See her article, ?Infallible Justice,? The Nation; October 7, 2002 at
http://www.thenation.com/docpr...0021007&s=williams Not only is the concept of ?original intent brilliant and revolutionary, it in fact goes further than any other political format to legitimize the conversion of present day jurisprudence back to the judicial weltanschauung (world view) of eighteenth century jurists. It is the key factor in the Dominionist?s intent to establish biblical law over all Americans. Two Supreme Court justices subscribe to it already. In other words, as Law Professor Patricia J. Williams has pointed out, the rule would effectively repeal most of the judicial decisions made in the last century.
[44] Shadia Drury, Leo Strauss and the American Right, St. Martin?s Press, 1999 at page 106.
[45] Ibid.
[46] See the excerpts from my book, The New Messiahs which trace the political machinations of the Dominionists within the Republican Party and the plot to take over all three branches of the government of the United States.
[47] J. Ligon Duncan, III ?Moses Law for Modern Government: The Intellectual and Sociological Origins of the Christian Reconstructionist Movement,? Premise, Vol. II Number 5, May 27, 1995.
http://capo.org/premise/95/may/ssha2.html.
[48] Social Darwinism is the discredited extension of Darwin?s evolutionary theory to the human social condition. Social Darwinism takes Charles Darwin?s concept, ?the survival of the fittest,? and applies it to the idea that the ladder to material wealth and to the ?good life? may be climbed only after one has successfully engaged in group battles and conflicts and prevailed in the pit of life by drop kicking one?s opponents. Those who climb out of the pit and up the ladder become the socially recognized victors in the competition and are considered biologically superior to those who fail. The illogical fallout from this concept is the circular argument that the existence of a socially elite class must be proof that those who possess wealth and power are necessarily superior to those in economic classes below them.
[49] Dominionists may argue with some credibility that they do believe in helping the poor; however, they want churches to undertake that task and adamantly fight against government social aid programs funded from tax monies?unless of course?it is a so-called ?faith based? initiative. Pat Robertson forgot his objections to the government handing out money and gratefully accepted the $500,000 Mr. Bush sent him early in his administration for ?good faith based charitable work.? Regardless of their protestations, however, the churches of America cannot and do not have the billions of dollars to provide the social safety net for the poor, elderly and sick among America?s population. In 1985, for example, Robertson bragged CBN gave $50 million worth of food, clothes, and supplies to 8.5 million people, but that was what he called ?leveraged? contributions, in which CBN had joined with other charities. Robertson admitted they gave only $10 million. Deducting the $2 million of CBN?s contributions to the Contras in Central America, CBN?s total contribution amounted to only about eighty-eight cents to every hungry, needy person he said CBN helped.
[50] Pat Robertson wrote in The Secret Kingdom: ?Unhappily, evangelical Christians have for too long reduced the born-again experience to the issue of being ?saved.? Salvation is an important issue, obviously, and must never be deemphasized. But rebirth must be seen as a beginning, not an arrival. It provides access to the invisible world, the kingdom of God, of which we are to learn and experience and then share with others. Jesus Himself said it clearly before His ascension: ?All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.? [Matthew 28:18-20 New American Standard Bible]. The commission was to make followers and learners?converts?and to teach them the principles of the kingdom. Entry into the body of believers was not enough. They were to learn how to live in this world?The invisible was to rule the visible. Christ has authority over both.? Emphasis is Robertson?s. (p. 51)
[51] James Poniewozik, ?10 Questions for Sean Hannity,? Time Magazine, Nov. 11, 2002.
[52] Mark S. Zaid, ?The New, Unabashed McCarthyism: A Review of Treason: Liberal Treachery From The Cold War To The War On Terrorism Originally published by Findlaw.com and reprinted with permission at the Yurica Report.com:
http://www.yuricareport.com/Re...idonCoulterTreason.htm
[53] Antonin Scalia, ?God?s Justice and Ours,? in First Things 123 (May 2002): 17-21,
http://www.firsthings.com/ftis...5/articles/scalia.html
[54] Ibid.
[55] Patricia J. Williams, Professor of law at Columbia University. See her article, ?Infallible Justice,? The Nation; October 7, 2002 at
http://www.thenation.com/docpr...0021007&s=williams
[56] Ibid.
[57] Antonin Scalia, ?God?s Justice and Ours,? in First Things 123 (May 2002): 17-21,
http://www.firsthings.com/ftis...5/articles/scalia.html
[58] Ibid.
[59] Patricia J. Williams, Professor of law at Columbia University. See her article, ?Infallible Justice,? The Nation; October 7, 2002 at
http://www.thenation.com/docpr...0021007&s=williams
[60] The platform of the Republican Party of Texas may be found at:
http://www.4religious-right.info/texas_gop.htm. Here are excerpts: ?The Republican Party of Texas reaffirms the United States of America is a Christian Nation ...
?1. GOVERNMENT: We reclaim freedom of religious expression in public on government property, and freedom from government interference. Support government display of Ten Commandments.
Dispel the "myth" of the separation of church and state. A strong and vibrant private sector [should be] unencumbered by excessive government regulation. Oppose Campaign Finance Reform. Oppose any form of gun control. Abolish: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Position of Surgeon General; EPA; Department of Energy; Department of Housing and Urban Development; Department of Education; Department of Commerce and Labor; National Endowment for the Arts.
?2. ECONOMY: Abolish the dollar in favor of the gold standard. Abolish the IRS. Eliminate income tax, inheritance tax, gift tax, capital gains, corporate income tax, payroll tax and property tax. Repeal minimum wage law. ... Gradually phase out Social Security tax for a system of private pensions.
?3. UNITED NATIONS: .. We immediately rescind our membership in, as well as all financial and military contributions to the United Nations." We should " ... evict the United Nations from the United States and eliminate any further participation.
?4. FAMILY: We believe that traditional marriage is a legal and moral commitment between a man and a woman. We recognize that the family is the foundational unit of a healthy society and consists of those related by blood, marriage, or adoption. The family is responsible for its own welfare, education, moral training, conduct, and property.
?The practice of sodomy tears at the heart of our society... The party oppose
decriminalization of sodomy. Oppose all forms of abortion - even in cases of rape or incest. We unequivocally oppose United States Senate ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
?5. EDUCATION: We call for the abolition of the U.S. Department of Education and the prohibition of the transfer of any of its functions to any other federal agency.
?Support official prayer in public schools Oppose Early Childhood Development Programs. We support ... a program based upon biblical principles... Terminate bilingual education. Since Secular Humanism is recognized by the United States Supreme Court as a religion ... Secular Humanism should be subjected to the same state and federal laws as any other recognized religions.
?6. THE ENVIRONMENT: Oppose the myth of global warming. Reaffirm the belief in the fundamental right of an individual to use property without governmental interference. Oppose EPA management of Texas air quality.
?7. THE MIDDLE EAST: ... Jerusalem is the capital of Israel ... therefore, the United States should move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.?
To read the complete Texas GOP Platform click here to go to a PDF file: more
[61] J. Ligon Duncan, III ?Moses Law for Modern Government: The Intellectual and Sociological Origins of the Christian Reconstructionist Movement,? Premise, Vol. II Number 5, May 27, 1995. http://capo.org/premise/95/may/ssha2.html.
[62] Gary North, ?The Covenantal Wealth of Nations,? from Biblical Economics Today, Vol. XXI, No. 2, February/March 1999. It can be read at: http://reformed-theology.org/ice/newslet/bet/bet99.02.htm
[63] Katherine Yurica, ?Rogue Republican Dons in Congress Tear Up the Constitution, Exclude Democrats and Accept a New Title: The Godfathers,? at http://www.yuricareport.com/Co...lsUnconstitutional.htm
[64] Gary North, ?The Covenantal Wealth of Nations,? from Biblical Economics Today, Vol. XXI, No. 2, February/March 1999. It can be read at: http://reformed-theology.org/ice/newslet/bet/bet99.02.htm
[65] Ibid.
[66] Ibid.
[67] Ibid.
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