First up from the God Machine this week is a behind-the-scenes push by Mitt Romney's presidential campaign to "engage" the religious right in ways the American mainstream probably won't hear anything about.
On the surface, most voters hear quite a bit about the Republican candidate's focus on a far-right economic agenda, but the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody had a report this week on a very different focus away from the spotlight on social issues.
The Brody File has learned that Mitt Romney's campaign has begun a serious push to engage evangelical leaders behind the scenes, including weekly meetings, personal phone calls from Romney, discussions about appearing at more faith-based events, and serious dialogue about convening a gathering this fall with national evangelical leaders.
In just the last few weeks, Mitt Romney has spoken on the phone a couple times with popular evangelical pastor Rick Warren, and there have been efforts to try and schedule a face-to-face meeting between Romney and Dr. James Dobson, one of the most respected evangelical leaders in the country.
Peter Flaherty, a senior advisor for the Romney campaign, has been the main liaison when it comes to outreach within the conservative Christian community.
The CBN report added that the Romney campaign's frequent-outreach list reads like a who's who of religious right heavyweights, including Tony Perkins, Ralph Reed, Richard Land, and Gary Bauer.
One can only speculate about what's being said, but it stands to reason the Romney campaign, which probably fears a lack of enthusiasm from Christian evangelicals, is making a series of promises related to abortion rights and LGBT rights -- promises the religious right would expect Romney to keep if elected.
Also from the God Machine this week:
* Some religious right activists are pushing a boycott of Google because of the company's support for marriage equality. Lawrence O'Donnell had a segment on this the other day that I found especially entertaining.
* A Gallup report this week found Americans' confidence in religious institutions has hit an all-time low. Researchers believe the shift is partly the result of the Roman Catholic Church's international scandal involving the sexual abuse of children and the subsequent cover-up.
* Republicans in Florida's state legislature are trying to bring more religion into official public-school events, writing legislation that would allow students to read and recite "inspirational message[s]" at all non-compulsory school events, including graduations, assemblies and sports events. Proselytizing would, by all accounts, be permitted.
* A lengthy story in Bloomberg Businessweek hit newsstands yesterday on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' vast financial holdings. Mormon officials are reportedly offended by, among other things, the magazine's cover image.
* And regional German court's recent ban on circumcision has, oddly enough, brought together Jewish and Muslim organizations that are outraged by the ruling (thanks to R.P. for the heads-up).
Leave a Comment:
Buster wants me to give up teh Google! Give up teh Android!
Please, sir, can I just cut of my willy, instead?
So what you're saying is you have religious righties Googling to find out about the Google boycott?. Yes, Virginia, this all makes sense to them. :)
2 words: magic underwear.
I just thought of something else that deserves more scrutiny: "posthumous baptisms".
Mitt focusing on evangelicals? What, they don't own the republican party already?
No new taxes! But more forced tithes!
So now Mitt is lying the the evangelicals just as badly as he is lying to everyone else he talks to?
But liars can't call out liars.
It will be interesting to see which evangelical organizations publicly support such an obvious liar. It will help people who value honesty more easily sort through the choices of where to join to move further away from God.
The morons who become fundamentalists like becoming sheep to be fleeced and they get angry when you point out to them how they are being lied to and abused. There is no fundamentalist Baptist preacher who is not a con artist.
There is no
fundamentalist Baptistpreacher who is not a con artist.J*s*s himself gave it all away when he said he was a shepherd to his sheep. That's how much preachers think of their "flock."
Bah!
Just more indignant empty blather from Evangelicals. Just watch, their actions will prove that evangelicals don't really care what religion Mitt is as long as he promises continued protection of their Holy Triad:
Influence, money, and that beautiful tax-free status.
TC...,
Looneytarians are the same way.
@TCinLA,
Hi neighbor.
When I think of organized religion, I think of this.
My parents left Oklahoma because of kooks like this.
At least the IRS will revoke non-profit status when you turn them in.
Time to start revoking charity status for same sex discrimination.
...and for political activities that violate charity rules!
Them mormon missionaries are investing in goggle porn research so they are better equipped to fight evil in the world. It is to protect tainting their own body that their special underwear were created. Too bad about the tin foil hats.
Hold your friends close, and your enemies closer? Know your enemy? Research! The only subject they investigated thoroughly before objecting to it.
thought this abc news article from janurary with be of some interest to "twig" readers
------------------
Mitt Romney Sent Millions to Mormon Church
Newly uncovered stock contributions made during Romney's Bain days suggest there is another dimension to Romney's support for the church -- one that could involve millions more than has been previously disclosed.
As part of just one Bain transaction in 2008, involving its investment in Burger King Holdings, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that an unnamed Bain partner donated 65,326 shares of Burger King stock to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, holdings then worth nearly $1.9 million. And there were numerous others, giving the church a stake in other Bain properties, such as Domino's Pizza, the electronics manufacturer DDi, the phosphates company Innophos Holdings, and Marquee Holdings, the parent to AMC Theaters.
The Republican presidential candidate's campaign staff confirmed that some of the stock transactions were at Romney's direction, but they would not say which ones.
"Mitt Romney has publicly stated that he regularly tithes to his church," said Andrea Saul, a Romney campaign spokeswoman, when asked about the Bain contributions. "Some of those church contributions have come through the Tyler Foundation. Others have been donations of stock through Bain. Any shares donated by Mitt Romney are personal shares owned by him."
Saul also noted that not all the shares that appear on Bain securities filings can be attributed to Romney, "as there are other Mormon members of the firm who may also have been making donations to the church of personal shares owned by them."
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/mitt-romney-millions-mormon-church/story?id=15380149#.Txb4m1awV7e
Oh, so Bain is a cabal of Mormons? Running an operation on the edge of legality to rob people and wreck their lives in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. Sounds very Moron, er, I mean Mormon to me.
Worship of moron Mammon.
Sounds like the right take on Mittens.
So Cain's Dominos is a bain investment? Hmmm...
According to the Mormon Church their tithing is to be 10% of their income.
@paul...yes they own the pizza chain.....bain also owns clear channel broadcasting, home of rush, beck, hannity and more
@lorr....that's correct, plus the romneys, according to their tax filings, gave a bit above 10% to the church over the last few years
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/mitt-romney-made-42-million-paid-14-percent/story?id=15423615#.UAMhBFaAqq0
Thanks russell. Not much being made of this, seems it should be.
I was thinking about giving up my "droid" for another smart phone brand. I am now keeping my "droid"!!!
Hmmm Google or AFA? ROTFLMAO!!!!
Now, poor Buster is backing down? So to him and the AFA, a CORPORATION is more important that his "true religious beliefs"?????? Sounds like he just put a pricetag on his GOD!!!
in some happier "twig" news
episcopal church ok's gay ceremony
npr:
With a vote Tuesday evening by its House of Deputies, the Episcopal Church became the largest U.S. denomination so far "to officially sanction same-sex relationships," as CNN's Belief blog writes.
The Associated Press says that "supporters of the same-sex blessings insisted it was not a marriage ceremony despite any similarities. Called 'The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant,' the ceremony includes prayers and an exchange of vows and rings. Same-sex couples must complete counseling before having their unions or civil marriages blessed by the church."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/07/11/156597630/episcopal-church-oks-same-sex-blessings-largest-u-s-denomination-to-do-so?ft=3&f=1001&sc=nl&cc=nh-20120711
I'd love to see Google fight back by boycotting all of their right wing boycotters.
Could you imagine Gods gladiators logging on and not being able to use the Google search engine because they've been blocked?
Or worse yet logging onto Google and realizing that all of their blogs, articles and youtube video's were scrubbed from Googles search results making them impossible to find and rendering these right wing groups completely invisible on the internet.
Of course the religious wing nuts would belt out their usual battle-cry that freedom of religion was under attack (yawn).... but it wouldn't matter because nobody would see them since Google rendered them invisible.
Show us your mighty power Google. Make the parting of the red sea look like childs play. Ban those who threaten to boycott you.
".. scrubbed from Googles search results making them impossible to find and rendering these right wing groups completely invisible on the internet."
That would be too awesome for words!
It would be, Ninz, but I think that this signals the more serious trend going on here. Underwear and Google jokes aside, this suggests that if Mitt Romney can carry out meetings with evangelical leaders he is signaling the intention to run on conservative hot-button issues. It's one thing for people who fear too strong a hand of government in their lives to criticize "Socialism." But the old mantra that conservative Christians like to harp on "God, guns, and gays" is in general a truism.
My forecast-- Mitt pleads with Christians to ignore his Mormonism, and instead emphasizes the shared values that they should all shore up. Cue the music for a litany of socially-oriented commercials, each of which has little to do with proper government activity, but which will surely become the means by which conservatives are encouraged to get the vote out.
The more orthodox right-wing Christians would be fools to trust Romney, but that sort of thing has happened before.
It would be foolish to trust speakers from either side until they speak the whole truth and not just disparate and opportune parts of the whole.
And no truth goes unpunished.
Pinocchio The Etch-A-Sketch Man -- otherwise known as Willard Mitt Romney -- is an equal opportunity liar !
If you caught him with his hand in the cookie jar he would say : NO NO I am not stealing cookies ! I was just wiping cookie dust off the inside of the jar ! LOL
Romoney getting all hootchie-cootchie with the chrsitofascist scum demonstrates this really is the election that Upton Sinclair was worried about when he said "when fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
I don't think the religious right leaders are going to be able to motivate their people to vote for Romney. These leaders will find that an endorsement of Romney is about as effective as the Catholic bishops are with their followers. I do not foresee these leaders coming out with an endorsement of a Mormon because of their views on that religion. However, I do think the leaders will endorse his social issue agenda and other candidates who are endorsing Romney which is a backdoor way of supporting him. This allows the religious right leaders to avoid offending the fundamentalists. Romney at the head of the Republican ticket is going to suppress the fundamentalist vote because there as some people who will not be able to bring themselves to vote for him. Endorsing Romney could cost these religious leaders some of their influence and I doubt they want to risk that loss.
I must say, the German thing struck rather a chord with me, in that I rather agree. Circumcision is a cosmetic surgical procedure, not usually a necessary medical one, and I do agree that those undergoing the procedure must give informed consent. Clearly that doesn't happen if you're 8 weeks old. The idea that what is frankly child mutilation is allowed just because you're religious is abhorrent.
But it's in the book! It's in the book!
Oh, wait, so isn't cutting off hands for thievery.
There's a lot more religious folks dont' follow in that book, than they do follow. It's picking and choosing which parts of religion you want to do, and kinda not doing that which you don't want to do, God Ordained or not.
Fortunately the first command was "Be fruitful and multiply..." Come on, isn't it time for Romney's hidden harem to show up? It would certainly lighten the mood. Or maybe Mitt is a latter day saint himself.
There is one thing and one thing only that drives both the evangelicals and the GOP/TP. Fear of the day when whites will be an minority, one group among many in this country, and not automatically the top group.
It explains the virulence against abortion, the über-whiteness of Romney's campaigning, and all the votes against giving a helping hand to anyone not rich (implying 'white')--as well as all the votes keeping women down -- since 'free' women might choose not to have or to abort those little white babies (if they have access to contraception and to abortion).
That's the length, breadth and depth of their vision, and I challenge them to explain why this is not the case.
Well, they might "explain", but it certainly won't be truthful.
All hail Prince Mormoonie! Good luck with that Dobson call, I don't think it's going to go well dude. You think your faith is fruity? You haven't heard anything yet!
Disclaimer: I generally don't believe from experience that Mormons are inherently evil (just wrapped in a cult candy shell!) but boy oh boy Mittens, go get your Catholic on for the real vampire suit with gore included!
nytimes has good coverage on the german circumcision situation
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/world/europe/in-germany-ruling-over-circumcision-sows-anxiety-and-confusion.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120714
These "evangelicals" only worship money and power. This is their doom, they will not be saved, and if you believe in GOD, He has promised to read the "Book of Life" as they try to get into heaven. Some of the "Books" on these guys should read like a comic book, or a trashy novella, but most will be "Books" that have been redacted page after page, but it won't help as God is the Editor, Executioner, and Chief Comedian.
I was born without eyelids....the good doctor was not concerned as he circumcised my dingus...he used the skin to make me some new eyelids.....NOW, I have a tendency to look at life a little cockeyed...................
Many years ago, I started a business which put video cassette rentals in small convenience stores in rural towns in Northern Indiana. After awhile, we began to get complaints from several customers at our stores that we didn't have any "religious" tapes. Dutifully, I went ahead and invested in a couple hundred religious themed cassettes and put them on our shelves. At the same time, most of our store owners were asking if we carried porn tapes. We didn't, but to satisfy that demand, I bought a small number of XXX tapes - which the store owners kept out of sight behind the counter - available for rental to adults by request only.
Anyone want to bet which tapes performed better? And I mean, REALLY better, by a factor of at least 10 to 1...
Gumby does Pokey was a big hit, right?
Albeit Northern Indiana was your geography, that Utah is #1 in online pornography proves religious conservatives support for industry that pays women better than men.
Veggie (in their) tails?
The civil war alone invalidates christianity,,, had Jebus said those five little words, "no man shall enslave another", the world would have been/would be a better place.
I think He did say that but not in the same words. His was a spirtual message, you are looking for a temporal one. He was not a political savior and to a fault that unfortunately is what many evangelicals are looking for today (a political candidate that carries a political message of salvation). I don't think it's going to happen.
To the point, Jesus did talk against slavery, that to sin and death. One of eternal significance. It would have been great if He vanquished poverty too, instead He said, "The poor will always have with you" and "Blessed are the poor".
I suppose He figured that His death on the cross would be enough to convince us that, that is why He came. To free all mankind from the bonds of sin & death. And grant eternal life.
Just my thoughts.
Here's the point regarding Bain - Romney probably did leave his active role in 1999. If so, why did he show as sole manager/general partner, CEO and owner of 100% of the company? And get paid handsomely for doing so? Because he was defrauding Bain investors, who were misled to believe that it was still a Romney-run company! In other words, Romney's defense is "I didn't run Bain, I was only defrauding Bain investors!" He figures that's a lesser offense than doing the firing.
While the sex scandals of the Catholic church undoubtedly continue to undermine confidence in organized religion, that is old news. I have to wonder how much of the decline has to do with the increasingly political message coming from the pulpit. When the preacher is more concerned about the election than with the scripture, you may as well stay home and watch Fox News.
Isn't Fox News scripture?
The continuing rape of underage girls by the "fringe" elements of the Mormon church and the aggressive response (LOL) for the Utah and surrounding states authorities doesn't help religious credability either.
I live in the "Bible belt" and do not hear much about the Catholic Church's scandal of pedophilia and cover up but hear often about how judgmental and fanatical evangelical's have become to have become intolerant of others' beliefs and lifestyles. All this cherry picking of the Bible brings out their outrageous hypocrisy. Beliefs are not objective realities but are entirely subjective. Yet here we have these evangelicals insisting their 'beliefs' are reality that is just being ignored by those who disagree with them.
Morality was around long before Christianity and the principles of democracy are not based on the Bible. Get these religious groups out of politics and please no more presidential debates coming from mega-churches moderated by preachers...please.
As far as Romney is concerned this man will say and do anything to be president which is so apparent by his pathological habit of lying about everything. Only wealth keeps this man afloat since he lacks integrity, character or substance of any kind. Look how low the GOP has sunk into the mire of denial.
Go n-ithe an cat-thu i s go n-ithe an daibhal an cat. Gealic, translation.................later:
Check out the great vid!!!
I'm as black as Obama, and I'm tired of any legitimate criticism of the President's policies reduced to lazy and ludicrous charges of racism. Obama and the Democrats have been promising a whole lot of hope and change but, instead, have delivered higher unemployment, higher poverty rates and millions more welfare enrollees while aggressively promoting abortion in the black community.Unemployment among Blacks was 12.7% when Obama took office. It spiked at 16.7% last August and remains at 14.4% today. Abortion, which has cultivated a culture of abandonment, occurs up to 6 times more in the black community.
Pictured: Ryan Bomberger 'I'm as black as Obama, and I'm tired of any legitimate criticism of the President's policies reduced to lazy and ludicrous charges of racism.'
Share on emailEmail
Print
Share on facebookFacebookShare on deliciousDelicousShare on myspaceMySpace
Share on twitterTwitterShare on stumbleuponStumbleShare on diggDigg
More Sharing ServicesMore Destinations
ATLANTA, GA (SoOutloud.com) - A bold and original animated music video, calling for President Obama to "GET OUT", was released this week by nationally known speaker and Emmy Award-winning Creative Director, Ryan Bomberger. It was created through the newly launched http://www.sooutloud.com/ The 2 minute long video, complete with a jingle that's infectious, adds a creative punch and dares to call out the President's failures on a wide range of issues.
"I'm as black as Obama, and I'm tired of any legitimate criticism of the President's policies reduced to lazy and ludicrous charges of racism. Obama and the Democrats have been promising a whole lot of hope and change but, instead, have delivered higher unemployment, higher poverty rates and millions more welfare enrollees while aggressively promoting abortion in the black community," Bomberger explains.
"Unemployment among Blacks was 12.7% when Obama took office. It spiked at 16.7% last August and remains at 14.4% today. Abortion, which has cultivated a culture of abandonment, occurs up to 6 times more in the black community than in the majority population. Yet, President Obama persistently promotes Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion chain, which claims that 'abortion and food stamps elevate the black community'."
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the national poverty rate is 15.1%, with 46.2 million in poverty-the largest number in the 52 years since this data has been tracked. Under Obama, poverty continues to increase in the black community (currently at 23.3% among ages 18-64), higher than it ever was during the previous administration (which reached a height of 20.6%).
"There is a profound lack of command of history that enables the black community to be so easily swayed by a political party that desperately depends on revising its own history," says Bomberger. "The Democrats -- the party of slavery, Jim Crow laws, anti-women's suffrage movement, the KKK, abortion, and generational welfare--is also the party that hopes to change our liberties through its abuse of the Constitution. This video just says out loud what many others are feeling."
-----
SoOutLoud.com was founded by Ryan Bomberger, a creative agitator, to deal with social, political and faith-based issues. Bomberger upholds famed orator Frederick Douglass (a Republican) as a profound source of inspiration. He's determined to create messaging that's fearless, factual and freeing.
- - -
Ryan Bomberger was designed to create. He is an Emmy® Award-winning Creative Director who continually marvels at how powerfully design can communicate. He is nationally known for his bold anti-abortion billboard/web campaigns and his amazing story of adoption.SoOutloud.com emerged from his desire to just say it! Too often, the ever oxymoronic state of political correctness, prevents people from saying what they’re thinking–even when they have the truth to back it all up
Translation: May the cat eat you. And the devil eat the cat!
The best thing anyone can do when they are unemployed is to attend school.
Obama eliminated bank involvement with education loans and grants, which was holding up people from obtaining student loans and grants.
The unemployment disparity among the African American population is mostly because of lower education attainment.
The national unemployment rate of 8.2% is for people with high school diploma or GED.
Lack of a high school diploma or GED doubles the unemployment rate for adults to about 16%.
Unemployment among youth that lack a high school diploma or GED is double that at about 32%.
Bachelors degree cuts the unemployment rate by half to 4% on average. Some professional certifications, like x-ray technology, reduce unemployment about the same with an associates degree.
Masters degree, PhD, medical degree reduce unemployment rate to 2% or less.
Many unemployed have bad credit. That is worse in the African American community.
Romney wants to restore bank involvement with student grants & loans, which will make problems worse in African American communities.
The value added by banks is to turn down grants and loans for people that need education and impose a surcharge for students when the federal government assumes all of the risks for any loan defaults.
You can look up all of this information at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (click here).
This is how you retrain into a new profession.
Step #1: Shop for a profession with high demand (low unemployment)
Step #2: Use the SOC code to identify the education requirements
Step #3: Use the SOC code to find employment statistics for your geographic area.
Step #4: Register with an educational or credentialing institution (may cost $100)
Step 5#: Register for grants and loans.
Step #6: Begin networking with local employers
Highest employment jobs are health care, law enforcement, technology, and engineering. Most of these require only an associates degree or certification test. Some have no special qualifications.