LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY navytron89)

Another Dominionist/Religious Reich lackey is back (from the grave) ready to lead us down another road to hell.

This week's U.S. NEWS & World Report has the lastest from Newt Gingrich and the whisperings of  his running for the Oval Office in 2008.

For the record this is the same moron that had the Office of Technological Assessment shut down as supposed part of cutting governmental spending (which is was actual as part of the Fundamentalist movement to put a leash on science and evolution). 

Science and evolution are the things that Religious Reich and Dominionist despise as it challenges/questions biblical ideology and intelligent free-thinking is needed to pursue science which is contridictory to simple-mindness/blind obedience of the masses.

I find bitter irony in Gingrich's statement:

• With America's economic dominance threatened, Newt Gingrich, the brainy former speaker of the House of Representatives, argues, "science and technology are at the heart of our survival." President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, Gingrich continues, is "nutty." Instead, he says, kids should be paid cold, hard cash for excelling in math and science; prescription drugs, meanwhile, should be available on websites like Travelocity.com, where shoppers can compare prices before they buy.

Ok, with all due respect Mr. (Former) Speaker of the House,  Aren't you the same idiot that shut down the OTA?

While he is currently pandering to the masses and middle America, especially those hurt by the economic impacts that Shrub has caused after going off to an illegal and unjust war. I'll  note that if the OTA had not been shut down and been still running for the last 10 years, as an independent group of scientists and a bipartisan panel, Shrub would have found it ten-twenty times harder to justify the Iraqi War as the WMDs and yellow-cake urianium was never real to begin with.

Reading futher on I see thru alot of his bullshit ideological values which are suppose to make for an appealing presidental canidate, especially after all the problems Bush 2.0 and his thugs have inflicted on the America sheeple and the rest of the planet.

•   Gingrich has plenty of ideas in his current role as consultant and policy wonk. Winning the Future focuses on issues that Gingrich believes threaten America's dominance. Like what, you ask? Liberal secularism, terrorism, inefficient bureaucracy, and poor math and science education. Gingrich's goal is nothing less than "creating a 21st-century, intelligent, effective government."

After looking this statement over I see his attempt to please the Religious Reich crowd with this paragraph, Liberal Secularism.

Excuse me! Professor if you read history as you have the damn degree in the United State was founded on secularism.  Moron!

Additionally he talks about creating an intelligent government, the government is already intelligent. The problem is there is no common sense among the college educated retards that are running the country into the ground, instead they are kissing the collective asses of the big businesses (like Wally-Mart, the Oil Baronies and other Mega Corpses) which is bleeding the populace dry of there life and money.   

While he was the  South Republican Poster Boy back in the 80s-90s,  it amazes me that his head is so far up his asshole that he can see the real world thru the shit-stained lenses of  his.

If you look back at his track record of screw ups and sell outs its amazing that we aren't farther along the road to Dominonist rule.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Christian network fights for TV station

Saturday, November 26, 2005

By GILLIAN FLACCUS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- For more than 30 years, public television station KOCE has dedicated coverage to Orange County in a media market otherwise dominated by the news and glitz of nearby Los Angeles.

But the small station is now battling in court to prevent Daystar, one of the nation's largest Christian networks, from taking over its airwaves.( Read more... )

This time, the head of the Reform Judaism movement in the US (the most liberal of the three Jewish denominations) has sent a stinging rebuke to dominionist groups in the US:

(from http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/647755.html)

The approach of American "religious right" leaders toward gays is akin to the anti-gay policies promoted by Adolf Hitler, according to the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Eric Yoffie.

Yoffie made the comments Saturday, during the movement's national biennial conference in Houston.

"We cannot forget that when Hitler came to power in 1933, one of the first things that he did was ban gay organizations," Yoffie said. "Yes, we can disagree about gay marriage but there is no excuse for hateful rhetoric that fuels the hellfires of anti-gay bigotry."

(Yes, he actually stood up and said before one of the largest Jewish groups in the US what hatecrime.org and other groups have said for some time)

Yoffie proceeded to state that the behaviour of dominionist groups is "blasphemous":

(from http://www.forward.com/articles/6927)

"When people talk about God and yet ignore justice, it just feels downright wrong to us," Yoffie said. "When they cloak themselves in
religion and forget mercy, it strikes us as blasphemy."

This could well be the beginning of the two largest congregations in the Jewish community rising up against dominionism, including dominionist-apologists within Judaism itself, according to some observers:

Several Jewish communal insiders based in Washington told the Forward that the Reform union's decision to oppose Alito could prompt several other major Jewish organizations to take a similar stance, including the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and Hadassah, a women's
Zionist organization that, with 300,000 members, is the largest non-synagogue membership association.

"Does it influence us? Yeah," said Shelley Klein, Hadassah's director of advocacy. But Klein said the organization would withhold judgment until Alito fills out his Senate questionnaire and testifies before the Judiciary Committee.

Like the Reform movement, Hadassah did not oppose John Roberts. The United Synagogue, the congregational arm of Conservative Judaism, endorsed Roberts as "qualified."

(Sunfell, you are welcome to copy and post this in full in the Talk2Action forums. I apparently don't have front-page posting privs but do intend to post this in my own diary there.)

Per DefCon Blog, the date of Justice Sunday III has supposedly been changed from December 4 to January 8. Per the DefCon Blog article, supposedly the event is to be held at a Philadelphia-area megachurch (anyone from that area wish to comment?)

The Family Research Council has been surprisingly quiet re Justice Sunday III (compared to the previous two Justice Sunday events)--the Justice Sunday website has not been updated, and what little press there is seems to be mostly through the dominionist "parallel media"; one gets the very real impression they are trying to keep it as low-key and stealth as possible.

Unfortunately for them, there's a lot of folks who feel the need for some good, cleansing light.

Among other things for those wanting to do some friendly intel:

I’ve actually discovered what satellite network is responsible for covering the Justice Sunday stuff. It’s a network called Sky Angel (which features dominionist-friendly-only programming including radio and TV satellite feeds of dominionist networks and stations–the particular dominionist group I walked away from is involved in it via Sky Angel carrying Voice of Hope Jerusalem (presently operated by High Adventure Ministries, which is a front group for the specific church I left); the only four secular channels carried at *all* on Sky Angel are Fox News, HGTV, Hallmark Channel, and Hallmark Movie Channel).

Sky Angel’s parent company is Dominion Video Satellite (and no, I do NOT think the name is coincidental); Sky Angel does not appear to own any satellites itself but rather rents satellite space from Dish Network’s EchoStar satellite system.

This listing gives one an example of the fun sorts of stuff produced by Sky Angel’s partners–including, notably, both Justice Sunday broadcasts (so it’s extremely likely Sky Angel will be carrying the third one, too). They’re even kind enough to post interactive schedules on their website (and I, as a walkaway, am kind enough to post the link not requiring you to register with them :3) which are supposedly good two weeks in advance.

In fact, they’re even nice enough to brag about their involvement in the previous Justice Sundays, down to reminding us all that they were carried on Angel Two (an in-house channel used by Sky Angel for their own original programming, just like your cable or satellite service has their in-house production channels).

Needless to say, we should DEFINITELY be able to find out some hard info on Justice Sunday III within about two weeks of the 8th, if only because they have to list it in their channel listings :3

One of the interesting things speculated on in the DefCon Blog entry is that the Family Research Council may be deliberately lying low because of Frist and DeLay's involvements in political scandals directly tied to FRC (and, notably, directly involving violation of elections laws). Perhaps I'm optimistic, but I also like to think that in general they're starting to run afraid because people are waking up (there are more mentions in the media on dominionism, including notably in Harpers and Mother Jones magazines as well as Rolling Stone).

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY polypolyglot)

The December issue of Mother Jones magazine focuses on the intersection of religion and politics. I thought it might be of interest to many of us here.

Project Tocsin has a very interesting article on their blog page regarding godcasters that is in reference to a recent article on the main group in the US coordinating "godcasting" groups, televangelists and the like. (The original Harper's article is available here as part of their "Soldiers of Christ" collection on dominionism.)

Specifically, the Tocsin article details a national conference of "godcasting" broadcasters by the National Religious Broadcasters, which included an awards ceremony at which an FCC employee received an award:

The convention opened on Saturday evening with an awards ceremony highlighted by the prestigious Chairman’s Award which was something of a paradox as it was “for serving the Christian community in a distinguished and exemplary manner,” but it was given to a nonbeliever, homophobic talk radio host, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who received a standing ovation. She acknowledged the award by saying she was “just a Jewish girl from the Bronx,” and that “we both serve the same God.”

Another award which one would think raises conflict-of-interest issues was given to Federal Communications Commission Chief of Media, Roy Stewart, the senior staff person who handles all broadcast matters. He accepted his award saying, “It is you who should be honored.”

FCC spokesperson David Sisk said the bureau had no policy about FCC employees receiving awards from those whom they regulate that everyone including the FCC commissioners receive awards all the time. Also honored as TV program of the year was Pat Robertson’s 700 Club.

This so far makes two confirmed dominionist-friendly regulators in the FCC--the other being advisor Penny Nance (whose connections to dominionist groups are thoroughly documented here.

The really worrying thing, however, is that Roy Stewart is head of the Media Bureau of the FCC (which is the division that regulates both radio and television stations, including LPFM stations). Per the FCC Phonebook he is still employed there, and per the Media Bureau's bureau chief listing he is Senior Deputy Media Chief of the Media Bureau. Roy Stewart is also--notably--Chief, Office of Broadcast License Policy. (In other words, the very guy who accepted the award from the National Religious Broadcasters is the very guy who sets official FCC policy for who gets and who doesn't get an FCC broadcast license.)

Disturbingly, the FCC also apparently sees no conflict of interest in receiving awards from dominionist "godcasters" (many of whom are blatantly hijacking LPFM licenses to set up barely regulated "godcasting" networks and would in fact be applying for LPFM and translator licenses from the Media Bureau itself).

We may have just found direct evidence of collusion between dominionists (and the hijacking of LPFM licenses) and the FCC itself. I'll keep you all posted.

( References for NRB and dominionist links )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Check out Holier Than Thou: When the Christian Right Goes Wrong. It's a blog written by Greg Spring, who says:

I am a television producer, journalist and award-winning political columnist. My work has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Playboy and Los Angeles Magazine, among others. My political columns have been honored by Art Buchwald and the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

And the preface of the blog is interesting too:

“Holier Than Thou” is our weekly quiz to test how well you’ve been keeping up with what the Religious Right is really up to. When they screw up, we’re there to note it. When their feet of clay start to crumble, we’re there to chip away a bit more. And when they serve as president of their church while leading a double life as the nation’s most feared serial killer…well, you get the idea.

Looks like fun reading ahead!

Several people mentioned this on other forums, and Nagisa specifically called it here, but now it's official:

http://www.local6.com/news/5052104/detail.html

Roy Moore--known Christian Reconstructionist and golden-boy of the dominionist movement--has officially announced his candidacy for governor of Alabama.

( a brief history of Roy Moore's hanky-panky )

There is already discussion on multiple forums--one which I think needs to turn into an organised campaign--to specifically see which churches and dominionist groups (with 501(c)3 non-profit status, such as how AFA and Focus on the Family are organised) are endorsing Roy Moore over the next few months and start filing reports to the IRS and state tax authorities of illegal politicking to have the tax exempt status of those groups revoked. (As Roy Moore is pretty much adored over and advocated/cheerleadered on by almost every dominionist group in the country--including a few specifically set up for the cheerleading of this idiot--it's possible that *most* dominionist groups could end up losing their tax exempt status if groups work in an organised fashion to monitor and report.)

EDIT: A fairly full history of Moore's misbehaviour is here.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Today's Talk To Action entry talks about what books and magazines to read, what websites to monitor, and other things you can do if you think that the Religious Right is a problem.

If You Think the Religious Right is a Problem....
There are lots of things to be done.

One of the first things to do --- is to learn more about it.

The Christian Right is one of the most successful political movements in American history. Yet people's level of literacy about the subject is often, well, shockingly low. The Christian Right is the dominant faction in the GOP. There are reasons for that. But few seem to know what those reasons are. If we are going to have intelligent conversations about all this, let alone be able to have coherent discussions about what to do, we need to have more people who share a common base of knowledge and the language necessary to have meaningful conversations. After many years, I know that useful knowledge and conversation in this area can be hard to come by.

So here is my up-by-the-bootstraps, do-it-yourself program for coming up to speed: books, magazines, conferences, videos, blogging -- and a radical idea.

Fred Clarkson goes on to list various places to go- including this board!- to learn more about the Religious Right. It's an excellent reference.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY breezyg)

So, I happened across this little gem on the NY Times.  (full text behind the cut)



( Read more... )



This just really pisses me off. 



When are people going to realize that homosexuality is not pedophila... and that this kind of crap hurts Catholicism more than it helps?

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY vyoma)

(Edited to make it a bit clearer that the dominionists *lost* for once. Never ever type before coffee :3)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,165696,00.html

Apparently, town with dominionist influence--which was actually invoking Jesus before town council meeting--gets sued by Wiccan, and the Wiccan *wins* (for once).

Town has only $15,000 insurance, and may have to end up paying over $65,000 in court costs in result (the courts are still ruling on whether court costs are to be awarded).

(Of minor interest--one of the major folks supporting the dominionists is (shock, shock) an AoG preacher at a church with a not-terribly-dissimilar name to the one I walked away from (though in a completely different state). They've claimed if the courts rule for payment of court costs by the town, the church will cover it...I dare say the next step after *that* should be revocation of the church's tax exempt status. If they can shell out $65,000 for court costs to spite someone who sued for violation of the *Constitution*, I think they can afford to pay their damned taxes.)

EDIT:

( Backgrounder )

For what it's worth, South Carolina is also a state that has been specifically targeted by dominionists for invasion with the goal of ultimate secession.

( the hive of scum and villany responsible )

Some further backgrounder:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/wicgf.htm

Info on the other case that could be tried with this (should this go to the Supremes, as the dominionists are threatening to):

http://www.wildhunt.org/2004/11/catching-up-so-much-of-my-and-worlds.html

EDIT AGAIN:

Here's the actual court docket, for the legal minded:

http://pacer.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinion.pdf/032069.P.pdf

Fark.com has been reporting on this and many of the links regarding information are from the discussion thread (http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1622014). Props where props are deserved :3

EDIT YET AGAIN:

Apparently, per at least one source, the Supremes refused to review the case, hence the court ruling stands (This per the Religioustolerance.org link above).

Also, not only is she *still* not being heard at town hall meetings (regarding a matter of public safety, at that), but the town is making noises about possibly defying the court ruling:
http://www.heraldonline.com/local/story/4987993p-4556234c.html

Apparently both CNN and Good Morning America (on ABC) have done segments on the "De-gaying camp" controversy and with Love In Action in particular (Reviews of both shows at http://www.exgaywatch.com/blog/archives/2005/07/the_good_mornin.html)

http://www.washblade.com/2005/7-29/news/national/ex-gay.cfm has an interesting expose that shows--as frightening as it may seem--that "Love In Action" is actually *moderate* as far as de-gaying camps go (some use techniques that are akin to torture:

For example, Exodus will not work with aversion therapists who use penis rings that deliver shocks when subjects respond to inappropriate imagery. Exodus also seeks to distance itself from “holding therapists” who try to heal people of homosexuality by touching them.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200508120008 notes, among other things, the continued use of Fox News as a dominionist mouthpiece (this time for "intelligent design", aka young-earth creationism cleverly disguised and not to be confused with "guided evolution" (as formerly accepted in the Catholic Church pre-Pope Palpatine, erm, Benedict XVI) or other forms of creationism that are at least compatible with evolution). (It should be of note that Rupert Murdoch, CEO of Fox, *is* known to have been a member of the dominionist think-tank Coalition for National Policy.)

Interestingly, one of the ex-founders of "Love In Action" (and one of a number of "ex-ex-gays", aka those who discovered "de-gaying therapy" doesn't *work*) speaks out himself on the longterm harm: http://www.waynebesen.com/columns/2005/07/love-in-action-co-founder-my-ministry.html (This should give you some info on what poor Zach is going through)

Here's the letter in question: http://www.waynebesen.com/columns/2005/08/john-evans-im-sickened-by-attempts-to.html

As it turns out, Santorum *was* being a pander-bear (surprise, surprise): http://www.waynebesen.com/2005/08/sen-rick-santorum-is-anti-liberty.html has a link to an unfiltered radio interview with Santorum (whole show is available at http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/08042005 or Santorum's excerpts from the same page). One has to wonder what his aide (whom is gay) thinks of all this...

Interestingly (and unsurprisingly) it seems all the "ex-gay" promoters are on active payrolls of dominionist groups: http://www.waynebesen.com/2005/08/still-no-unpaid-ex-gays-in-america.html and http://www.baywindows.com/media/paper328/news/2005/08/11/News/ExGay.Movement.Plans.Boston.Confab-966568.shtml
have more info.

http://www.waynebesen.com/2005/08/ex-gay-leaders-in-sexual-no-mans-land.html mentions the specifics of the coercive mindset engendered in "de-gaying" centers; this from an expose the BBC did (http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article304446.ece) which is rather similar to the one that Salon Magazine did a month or so ago. Reportedly, BBC2 also did a report on this on 9 August (if anyone in the UK caught it, info, please?)

http://www.exgaywatch.com/blog/archives/2005/06/afa_praises_par.html has info on how the AFA is now targeting gay/les/bi/trans acceptance clubs in school, with examples (http://www.exgaywatch.com/blog/archives/2005/06/afa_praises_par.html) of how they're trying to form "de-gaying" clubs in schools.

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Theocracy_Alert/070605Seesholtz/070605seesholtz.html has a *very* interesting article on dominionism and how the mental health system is often warped by dominionists (usually under the "Christian Counseling" canard, but often with dominionist-friendly mental health professionals and even quasi-professional associations like NARTH). (I would like to note, as an aside, this has gone on for a good twenty or more years, even more so as the recognition of "Bible-based" coercive religious groups has increased; the old USSR and other totalitarian regimes (and, from what little gets out, especially in North Korea) also have tended to abuse the mental health profession in this manner.)

For that matter, http://www.onlinejournal.com/Theocracy_Alert/theocracy_alert.html is a pretty darned good resource (and one we could stand to partner with). Many many good articles.

Speaking of coercive religious groups in "therapeutic" drag, here's some articles noting how Zach's mannerisms in his last blog entry show signs of coercion: http://www.sovo.com/2005/8-5/news/national/nationalnews_zachupdate.cfm and especially http://a_musing.blogspot.com/2005/08/breaking-zach-code.html

Ex-Gay Watch is presently compiling a list of media contacts--specifically, people who have had experience in coercive "de-gaying" facilities like Love In Action (http://www.exgaywatch.com/blog/archives/2005/08/xgw_seeks_to_co.html).

http://www.cjrdaily.org/archives/001727.asp
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001010563

Martin, the new head of the Federal Communications Commission, has recently appointed Penny Nance as advisor.

Nance is associated with a fair number of dominionist groups, including:

• Concerned Women for America


• Center for Reclaiming America (which is a blatantly Christian Reconstructionist group)


• "Kids First Coalition" (a dominionist group that also specialises in "stealth evangelism" and targets teenage moms)

Very interestingly, all of the groups she has worked for have pushed senators to ban peer-to-peer applications using dominionist arguments (not the "oh my god they're violating copyright" arguments, rather, "oh my god they could be trading KIDDIE PORN").

It's actually bad enough that very nearly 100 percent of complaints to the FCC on "indecency" in radio and television are from a single dominionist group, the Parent's Television Council.

(Yes, I feel safe in calling PTC dominionist. Two major funders are the DeVos Foundation (the bankroll foundation set up by the founders of Amway specifically for dominionist causes) and Castle Rock Foundation (one of *several* groups set up by the Coors family to bankroll dominionists); the previous article and http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=62 also have further info on dominionist links with PTC. The parent group of PTC, Media Research Council, is also known to be linked to dominionist groups and has pretty much stated they won't be happy unless ALL networks are essentially turned to PAX TV fare.)

The scary thing is, we are likely now to have someone on the boards of the FCC even *friendlier* to their complaint...

UPDATE 10/25/05:

It appears that--per this FCC release--Penny Nance may be operating as the public relations folks for the division of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau specifically dealing with obscene/indecent broadcast. Especially considering Penny Nance's known history of working for dominionist pro-censorship groups this is especially disturbing.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY gleef)

Does anyone know what's going on in the Utah school system? I've been following the controversy in Kansas and in Dover, PA, but I didn't know of another active "Intellegent Design" push going on in Utah.

From this article:

Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, had earlier suggested he would propose legislation that would enforce the teaching of alternative concepts of human existence. Now he says conversations with the state superintendent of schools have left him confident that teachers who teach the evolution of humanity "will be dealt with."

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This past weekend, there was a conference (reported here by Frederick Clarkson) that was entitled "Taking Back the Gates". It was a conference aimed at Christian businessmen. The homepage blurb reads:

CONSIDER THIS…

* What would happen if a Godly influence owned CNN, FOX News or the New York Times? (In the 1880's the New York Times was the leading pro-life voice in America referring to abortion as "child killing" - It has since changed hands!)
* What if Christians owned the stadiums and arenas in town and a lot more real estate?
* What if 1 in 8 websites offered help and hope to the world instead of posting pornography? (Source: www.internetfilterreview.com)
* The portals of power (gates of the city) have been captured by the enemies of the gospel and have now been turned on us, assaulting our liberties and stealing our children.

WANT TO TURN BACK THE TIDE?

I just want to know one thing: What the heck is a 'godly influence', anyway? No, don't answer that- I know that it's a code word for rich, white, dominionist Christian males. No one else need apply.

One of the speakers at this business conference was Gary Cass, who runs the Center for Reclaiming America, which the Christian Science Monitor describes thusly:

The Center for Reclaiming America, the Monitor reported, "aims to increase its 500,000-strong 'e-mail army' to 1 million, and to encourage Christians to run for office. It has plans for 12 regional offices and activists in all 435 US House districts. And a new lobbying arm in Washington will target judicial nominations and the battle over marriage."

"'If they don't vote our way, we'll change their view one way or another,' executive director Gary Cass tells the group. As a California pastor, Dr. Cass spearheaded efforts to close abortion clinics and recruit Christians to seek positions on local school boards. 'We're going to take back what we lost in the last half of the 20th century,' he adds."

The title of Cass' Cedarville talk is: "Winning the Culture Wars."

"We'll change their view one way or another..." Is it me, or does that sound like a threat?

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Chuck Currie has a great blog post about the religious right adapting the tactics and strategy of 1930s Germany:

After listening to James Dobson and his evangelical Christian colleagues talk about controlling the federal judiciary through the Republican majority in Congress – to the extent of punishing judges and defunding courts – one can’t help recalling the events in 1930s Germany. The National Socialists removed judges who didn’t go along with the party program. Law became what they party said it would.

Dobson, speaking on his radio show it April, imagined political change proceeding this way: “The troublesome Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco could be abolished and then staffed by different judges immediately.” He complained that “Congress has not had the political gumption to take any such action.” House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has encouraged such views: “We set up the courts. We can unset the courts. We have the power of the purse.”

Dobson seems not to realize that an independent judiciary is essential to the rule of law. As one prominent jurist explains: “If we are to be a nation of laws and not of men, judges must be impartial referees… By insulating judges from external retaliation and from internal temptations of ambition [by life appointment and irreducible salary], the framers hoped that the judiciary would be free of pressure not only from the government by also from the people.” These words are not from the left-wing fringe; they belong to archconservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The whole post and some of the comments are definitely a must-read.

The transcript of the June 10 segment of "NOW" is up. It features an interview with writer Chris Hedges and the '10 Commandments Judge' Roy Moore. I may post the transcript seperately. There's lots of good stuff in it. Hedges wrote the article in the May Harpers about the Religious Broadcasting convention.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has a feature about the 'holy war' against gays.

Here's an example of what might be called the "pro-discrimination" (or even the 'pro-hate') movement targeting homosexuals. More about it here.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This article talks about Christians preferring their own media to that of the mainstream:

Christians flocking to religious media

BY COLLEEN MCCAIN NELSON
The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS - (KRT) - When FamilyNet reported on the recent Miss Universe pageant, the Christian TV network edited out footage of the swimsuit competition.

When World magazine wrote about a church embroiled in controversy, the Christian publication noted that the "mainstream media had badly garbled the story."

And when the Christian Broadcasting Network covered founder Pat Robertson's trip to India, a reporter matter-of-factly described miracles that had been delivered.

In the world of Christian news, you'll find a biblical perspective on the day's events and a notable lack of skin and celebrity gossip.

"We're sort of the goody-two-shoes network," said Lorri Allen, news director for FamilyNet.

Some Christians say that's exactly what they want. Many are turning to religious media for their news, and they're finding a growing number of outlets - from TV newscasts and magazines to radio shows and Web sites.

Sacred media is more trustworthy than its secular counterparts, some churchgoers say. Christianity is a worldview, they say, and religious news outlets provide an alternative for those who reject mainstream media.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY thedemonprist)

Apologies in advance if this has nothing to do with anything...but I found this article from the BBC website tonight, and it triggered something in me. ( Text of article inside... )We know that the dominionists purposely spread fear and misinformation in their efforts. I wonder if this is potentially an example, seeing as how they want to incite bloodshed so that they can justify their taking over/destroying the world. I mean, this is more than a spelling error or a faulty headline in a popular magazine - serious harm was done.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but it really makes me wonder.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This NY Times article talks about the GOP's attempt to turn PBS into another 'fair and balanced' network:

Republican Chairman Exerts Pressure on PBS, Alleging Biases

By STEPHEN LABATON, LORNE MANLY
and ELIZABETH JENSEN

WASHINGTON, May 1 - The Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is aggressively pressing public television to correct what he and other conservatives consider liberal bias, prompting some public broadcasting leaders - including the chief executive of PBS - to object that his actions pose a threat to editorial independence.

Without the knowledge of his board, the chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, contracted last year with an outside consultant to keep track of the guests' political leanings on one program, "Now With Bill Moyers."( Read more... )