The Family: The “Religious Right” Christian Mafia

Conspiracy theory?  I don’t think so.  Those who accuse everyone else of having “agenda’s” are usually the ones who have the only real agenda.

According to RT:

A group known as the “Christian mafia” is the oldest and arguably the most powerful and influential religious rights organization in the United States, says American author Jeff Sharlet.

He recently published a book entitled “The Family” in which he reveals how the group functions.

“It goes back to the 1930s. They don’t seek publicity. They like to refer to themselves as the ‘Christian mafia.’ The leaders say the more invisible you can make your organization the more influence it will have,” Sharlet told RT.

The group has “expansionist ideas of American power” that lead them to a very active role in foreign affairs, says the journalist.

More at: RT!

Don’t Like the Food? Get in the Kitchen & Cook

Contributed by Lyndon Evans:

As we finally say goodbye to 2009 and look forward to a more hopeful 2010 (if dare iz uh God) I’d like to finish out the year with a commentary. As we also approach a full year of President Barack Obama and his administration, there’s a matter I need to address.

While 2009 has been a mix of gains, losses and stalemates for the LGBT community, one thing more than anything else has annoyed me to no end during this past year, the individuals, and more in particular LGBT blogs and websites which have found fault with President Obama and his administration when it has come to LGBT issues and causes.

In many cases the blog and website whiners have done nothing more than to find fault with Obama in self-serving promotion for their blogs and websites, thus appeasing their like minded readers, and yet offering no concrete solutions as how to accomplish the goals they feel the Commander-In-Chief has either lost sight of or dropped the ball without scoring a touchdown.

They conveniently blame NOM, the Christian-Right, Fox News and the like.

They blame NOM and it’s entities for it’s aggressive anti-gay and misinformation filled advertising campaigns, but in opposition to those campaigns, at best those who support same-sex marriage come up with “softball” ads “because we want to take the high road”.

I’ve addressed that notion previously here on this blog. If they get in the mud, you get in the mud too. It is after all politics, not just lifestyle versus lifestyle, as many would like to see the battle through lavender colored glasses.

There are very few, in my opinion, who have the right to speak up and find fault. Those who have more than earned a voice are of the likes of Larry Kramer, Peter Tatchell and David Mixner, who for what they have done other the years, have the right to find fault with where the LGBT community finds itself here in the United States, and indeed the world, as we close out 2009.

For individuals, yes you have the right to be upset and voice your disappointment with elected officials, presuming you voted for the politicians, or against them in the first place. But those who use their blog or website platform as a way for the condemnation of the Obama administration, without having, obviously, the slightest idea how politics work, well quite frankly as Archie Bunker would say, “Stifle yourself !”

Then we have those who have found “celebritay” this year such as Pam Spaulding and Lt. Dan Choi, who have received accolades, but also need to learn how to eat some humble pie. Those who have fallen into this category are enjoying their “fifteen minutes of fame”, but as with a candle, their momentary flame of glory will be extinguished, while the flame of the more gallant activists like the aforementioned Kramer, Tatchell and Mixner will continue to light the way long into the night.

Some bloggers this year have said Rachel Maddow should use her national broadcast platform on MSNBC to rally the cause of LGBTs. They say Anderson Cooper, if he is, should come out and be another face for LGBTs.

To wit I say, that’s not their job nor place to do so. They and others in high profiled positions are under no obligation to the LGBT community.

Those who feel that way should get their own national TV or radio program, become a national and internationally recognized member of the real media, not the “make believe” one of being a “citizen journalist” on a blog no matter how well read it is.

When blogs or websites are expounding opinion of what the collective “they” have or have not done, the biggest problem is you are singing to the choir and not to much of anyone else. I doubt very much folks in Middle America who are not LGBT are reading your blogs or websites, those the people who you might win over if they did become a reader, were it not for the continuous caustic rhetoric which after a while turns off even those in the LGBT community. Folks only take so much of being hit over the head with the same old, same old, before they tune out and change the channel.

So to those who have and will continue to find fault with local, state and national governments and politicians for what they have or not done, as the title of this post reads, if you ain’t happy with the food get in the kitchen and cook.

In other words, run for political office, win and then see how much change you can do.

Cross-posted at: Focus On The Rainbow

Dark Ages Now: Robert George’s Plan for America

There’s an excellent post by Kathleen Reeves at RH Reality Check which does a great job of pointing out the absurdity of the “religious culture wars” which concentrate more on taking away rights from people then it does of actually doing the “Christian” thing of helping those in need. Below is an excerpt.

A story by David Kirkpatrick in the New York Times Magazine profiles Robert P. George, the purported “intellectual architect” of the rise of conservative Catholic bishops in American politics. George is the chairman of the National Organization for Marriage and a professor of jurisprudence at Princeton—a man admired by conservative legal scholars and political henchmen alike. Like other members of the religious right, George focuses on “culture war” issues like abortion and gay rights, while ignoring poverty, war, and health care (in other words, the issues involving people’s lives). What’s interesting about George is his way of accounting for this inconsistency—he embraces it, while other Christian conservatives shy away from the issue. George claims that the Gospel is clear on abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, and same-sex marriage, but inconclusive on the liberal stuff:

To be sure, he said, he had no objection to bishops’ “making utter nuisances of themselves” about poverty and injustice, like the Old Testament prophets, as long as they did not advocate specific remedies. They should stop lobbying for detailed economic policies like progressive tax rates, higher minimum wage and, presumably, the expansion of health care—“matters of public policy upon which Gospel principles by themselves do not resolve differences of opinion among reasonable and well-informed people of good will,” as George put it.

Perhaps because George has a PhD, he thinks he can pull this off. Embryo- and sex-related issues are “moral social” issues, but poverty and health care are somehow neither moral nor social.

Read the entire post here!

I couldn’t agree more. The religious right constantly attempts to turn the “intolerance and bigotry” of social issues around to reflect poorly on members of the LGBT community, but it’s only to distract from their own misdeeds. The only thing I’m really intolerant of when it comes to “religious” institutions is the fact they are allowed to use tax-exempt dollars to lobby against equal rights for a tax-paying minority. This is a point that must be pointed out over and over again until people start to hear what’s really going on.

Congressman Randy Forbes Appears with Anti-Gay Christian Nutcase

From Michael-In-Norfolk:

As a former Republican, I continually shake my head in disbelief at the lunacy that is becoming more and more a hallmark of today’s GOP. Moreover, elected Republican officials increasingly act as if they have undergone some sort of “Stepford Wife” treatment that has turned them into robots for the nuttiest of the Christianists. A case in point is Congressman Randy Forbes (at right) from nearby Chesapeake, Virginia. I have know Randy since the days the two of us were classmates in law school. Never in my wildest dreams back then would I have ever believed that Randy would have become a Christo-fascist who has no regard for the Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of religion for all. Yet, he is increasing in bed with the worse elements of the lunatic far Christian Right. I can help but wonder what the Hell happened to him. Here are some highlights from Alternet on the gather of GOP members of Congress with nutcase, Lou Engle:

Last night’s segment of the Rachel Maddow show provided footage, which first appeared at Talk To Action, of a Christian evangelist who is quite influential but also little known to secular Americans: Lou Engle, founder of TheCall. The Maddow segment highlighted an event noted a few days ago by RightWingWatch, an anti-health care reform “Prayercast,” held by the Family Research Council, led by emergent, highly militant leaders of the Christian right such as Lou Engle and also by Republican senators Brownback and DeMint, and GOP Representatives Bachmann and Forbes.

More here!

Americans are Not on Board with This Gay Marriage Thing

From the NY Times:

“Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, the conservative Christian group that is leading the charge against same-sex marriage around the country”, stated:

“It (the loss of marriage equality in Maine) interrupts the story line that is being manufactured, that suggests the culture has shifted on gay marriage and the fight is over,” she said. “Maine is one of the most secular states in the nation, it’s socially liberal, they had a three-year head start to build their organization and they outspent us two to one. If they can’t win there, it really does tell you the majority of Americans are not on board with this gay marriage thing.”

“This gay marriage thing” ??? This “thing” as you so commonly refer to it Ms. Gallagher is called equality. This “thing” as you so simply put it is about giving the same recognition to all tax-paying citizens. This “thing” (and others) is what keeps LGBT persons as second-class citizens in a nation that is suppose to be a world leader.

Ms. Gallagher, You, your organization, it’s supporters, and what you stand for are the only “things” that are preventing some from enjoying the same rights and benefits you take for granted. That “thing” is called discrimination and oppression.

I hope you’re pleased with your self Maggie. I hope you’re elated with joy that you’ve lead a majority of voters, with blatant lies and deceit, to maintain oppression on a minority. I hope you’ve become more comfortable within yourself, knowing that you can rest easier because who someone else loves and wants to marry will not stand in the way of your “Christian” agenda of promoting hate, intolerance and bigotry.

Enjoy this victory Maggie Gallagher. Have a bottle of champagne, use some of those tax-exempt donations to take a vacation. Celebrate your cause and be happy…and while you do, don’t give a second thought to the lives you’ve affected negatively. Don’t think twice about denying a commitment of love between two consenting adults, and most importantly, don’t feel guilty about the lies you’ve told, because without them, you wouldn’t have a paycheck!

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