The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power
Jeff Sharlet
Harper Collins
454 pp. $25.95

It’s one thing to say that a particular wing of modern conservatism seems a little fascist; it’s another thing to prove it unequivocally.

Jeff Sharlet’s The Family is about what is undeniably the most powerful and bizarre quasi-religious movement you’ve never heard of.  This is made evident near the beginning of the book, when Sharlet gives us a scene featuring Doug Coe, the group’s leader.  Coe is chatting with (or rather, instructing) Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R, Kansas):

My blood pressure is so high up at this moment. I just read an outrageous article by the AP.

NY priest pleads guilty to raping 3 teenage boys

A Franciscan priest admitted raping 3 boys in the 70s and 80s. BOSTON - A Franciscan priest from New York pleaded guilty to raping three teenage boys during overnight trips to Boston in the 1970s and 1980s and was ordered Tuesday to serve time on probation.

The Rev. Frank Genevieve avoided prison time as a Suffolk Superior Court judge sentenced him to a suspended sentence of eight to 10 years, with five years' probation.

Where is the fucking justice?

I recently read Richard Dawkins :The God Delusion," which has made me rethink some things.

Netroots Nation 08 - Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi Keynote

copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert.  BeThink.org

Welcome Home Netroots Nation attendees.  You may recall, it began with a dream, an impossible hope for a future unforeseen.  It was your wish, his want, her desire, and my aspiration.  Together we were the inspiration.  We imagined greatness would be if we worked together.  

The original source for this story is an article from Inside Higher Ed.

The University of San Diego recently rescinded an invitation for a prominent Catholic theologian to assume a year-long endowed chair position in 2009-10.  The theologian in question is Rosemary Radford Ruether, who wrote the seminal work on Christian feminist theology in 1983, Sexism and God-talk.  Southern California's proud, online, rabidly-conservative Catholic daily rag, the California Catholic Daily, railed against her appointment in an article last week, and national Catholic echo chamber LifeSiteNews.com picked it up as well. (Links here and here if you can stomach it.)  Last Friday, USD issued a statement indicating that Dr. Ruether's appointment was being rescinded and the conservative blogs rejoiced.

From The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights, a non-partisan movement working to ensure that our courts protect and preserve equal justice, fairness, and opportunity.

A recent ruling from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals endorsed a controversial building regulation that bans observant Jews from posting mezuzot—literally translated as "door posts"—on their apartment doors.

The imbroglio started in 2004 when the board of Shoreline Towers in Chicago passed a hallway regulation that banned residents from placing outside their apartments: "[m]ats, boots, shoes, carts or objects of any sort." Lynne Bloch, who was on the board and chaired the very committee that authored the rules, sued Shoreline Towers after they used her rule as justification for repeatedly removing her mezuzah.

As part of my internship at the House of Representatives I answer phones.  Often people from interest and lobbyist groups call looking to talk to a legislative assistant.  Equally often, however, are calls from constituents.  

First, a confession: I often frequent news site message boards about some piece of pro-gay news when I'm bored or need something to amuse myself with. It's always a lot of fun to read these boards, because I can watch the logic of the anti-gay posters unravel almost before my eyes. But in reading their accusations and knee-jerk reactions to sober, reflective and logical commentary on issues such as Proposition 8, I've discovered something.

They really do think that people are all exactly alike, and think in exactly the same ways as they do. And if you look at the accusations they make against gays (and non-Christians of various stripes) you'll find that they really do believe that everyone lives in the same kind of paranoid, isolationist, terrified, conformist world that they do. It's really quite frightening to try to think about the world the way they do - and it's no wonder that they are so afraid, angry, and rigid when confronted with social change that doesn't conform to their dogmatic beliefs.

Come with me after the jump for a partial analysis of how fundamentalists, through projection, accuse everyone else of acting just like they do.

Energized and inspired by the spontaneous"faint in" held for the Very Special Guest (GORE!!1!ZOMG!11!!) at yesterday's "Ask The Speaker" session here at Netroots Nation, maurading liberals gathered together for a 9:00am service dedicated to the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Commie pinko worship leaders, participants and organizers included:

Marauding liberals rampage below the fold.  With pictures!

As it happens, life has intervened and I am going to be unable to make it to Netroots Nation.  However, Ryan Valentine of the Texas Freedom Network has graciously agreed to stand in, and to read my panel presentation for me.

For those of us who are unable to be there, all is not lost.

NN has announced that much of the Netroots Nation agenda will be video taped and live streamed via ustreamtv -- including the panel pastordan and I organized:  Whatever Happened to the Religious Left?. It will also be archived and available after the convention.

I usually speak only with a rough outline and notes because if I write a speech or a presentation for myself -- its boring. But because I could not be there I had to write a 12 minute speech for someone else to read for me!  I have been a writer, editor and public speaker for 25 years, but have never had to do that before.

We will all get to find out whether it worked -- or whether it was weird -- or just boring -- on Saturday at 4:30 Central time.

As many of you know, one of the most striking differences between Canada and the United States is in the strength of religious feelings. Despite cheerful whistling past the graveyard by the usual suspects, religion in Canada is on life support. The commonly quoted proportion of Canadians who attend church weekly stays within a few points of 20% according to surveys, but there is hard evidence, provided by on the spot head-counting, that such surveys over-report actual physical presence at church by up to 100%:

Hadaway, Marler, and Chaves repeated their Ohio study in Oxford Country in southern Ontario, Canada. Most polls show that 20% of the adult population say that they go to church weekly. Again, half were lying, as only about 10% actually attend church weekly. [source]

However, fifty years ago, the situation was very different. In the early 1960s, church attendance in Canada was not only as high or higher than in the United States, it was steadily increasing.

Is the "surge" succeeding?  If we stick with the "surge" will we "win?"  If we leave Iraq will we lose?  Implicit in each of these questions are more fundamental questions, like: who are we fighting and why?  what are our goals and why?  These are strategic questions that should dictate our policy and someone should give kudos to Obama for having the judgment to appreciate the need for a comprehensive strategic vision.

Focusing on the "surge" in Iraq is a misplaced focus on "a" tactic and not necessarily a meaningful measure of long term success in the wider war.  The "surge" is simply one tactic we've employed in Iraq, but whether it is "succeeding" or not does not answer the bigger questions of whether we should be there at all, how long we should be there and what we are hoping to accomplish while there.  

Obama's speech yesterday was the first to define a broad strategic vision for true security and a leadership role for this Country at the dawn of the New Global Age.  The following is a discussion of guerilla tactics, Iraq and the implications of each with respect to our broader global objectives.

Or, most likely, not mentioned at all...

The 199 corpses.

And the depth of someone's religious belief undoubtedly makes their beliefs true.

Unless they conflict with laws regarding trafficking in illegal reptiles.

There's been a lot of talk about faith-based initiatives lately. Some of us favour giving tax money to churches, and some of us favour not giving tax money to churches. I've always been one to favour giving one's personal money to religious organizations if one desires, but keeping taxpayer money out of the equation. The issue generates strong feelings on all sides. I wonder - how many of us actually give to the poor?

I doubt if the results of this poll will be useful to Senator Obama. Maybe Markos (or his advertisers) can get some use out of it. I will certainly learn something from it, and perhaps anyone who reads it will also learn something from it.

crossposted from unbossed

Lest you think that NIOSH is not on board with faith-based initiatives and the role faith can play in health, O! Ye of Little Faith!, think again.

In the past few weeks we have learned Obama is putting together a program reaching out to Christians as well as a faith based initiative with an Obama spin. Most seem to believe this is a good thing and it is, yet some too are concerned about the separation of church and state or churches using this money for other than charitable works. Obama's plan clearly spells out restrictions as well as expectations and is worth a read before deciding its merits.

Progressivism and religion are a good fit, one of the core values of each is social justice. So it isn't surprising a progressive candidate would reach out to people of faith. Obama understands the importance of churches in the fight for social justice during his time as a community organizer in South Chicago. What is also true, is many people don't realize what a powerful advocate for progressive change churches can be and have been in the past. Follow me below the fold for a look at religion and politics, the good parts.

Pam Spaulding has ann exlusive story on Obamas faith based program.

In short, the campaign is saying that there will be no money for proselytizing or "reparative" therapy.

A source with Senator Obama's campaign (Director of the LGBT Vote, Dave Noble) has now confirmed to Pam's House Blend that under no circumstances will funds from the program will be granted to FBOs for proselytizing or reparative therapy.

Source

More after the flip.

What makes Obama tick? This seems to be the most pressing question of the day because, as David Broder insists we "don't elect enigmas to the oval office."

The challenge is that Obama is unique in American politics. He's trying to pull off something that doesn't fit preexisting models, and all the political experts out there (of which there's no shortage), who take great pride in knowing "the rules" of politics, are determined to explain Obama in the facile language of an old paradigm. Now that his shine has worn a little thin, now that we've grown accustomed to the idea of this "new kind of politician" who seemed to come out of nowhere, the debate has devolved into overly simplistic dichotomies like whether or not Obama is centrist or Machiavellian. There's far too little appetite for actually trying to better understand the guy on his own terms.