NY Times Blog: Fundamentalist Christians threaten republicans

They meet in secret. They conspire to run their own candidate for president. And this is a classic example of deserting a sinking ship. But everybody knows they will never agree on a candidate.

David Kuo detailed in his book how gullible these guys are, how they were seduced and used by the Bush White House. These guys think with their egos.

Now David D. Kirkpatrick reports in "The Caucus: Political Blogging from the Times:"

September 30, 2007, 2:38 pm
Christian Conservatives Consider Third-Party Effort

By David D. Kirkpatrick

Alarmed at the chance that the Republican party might pick Rudolph Giuliani as its presidential nominee despite his support for abortion rights, a coalition of influential Christian conservatives is threatening to back a third-party candidate in an attempt to stop him.

The group making the threat, which came together Saturday in Salt Lake City during a break-away gathering during a meeting of the secretive Council for National Policy, includes Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, who is perhaps the most influential of the group, as well as Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, the direct mail pioneer Richard Viguerie and dozens of other politically-oriented conservative Christians, participants said. Almost everyone present expressed support for a written resolution that “if the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate we will consider running a third party candidate.” more...

Mormon Polygamist Guilty of Rape

Yet another religion that promotes violent crimes.

Sect leader found guilty of aiding rape of 14-year-old

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Wednesday September 26, 2007
The Guardian

The leader of a breakaway polygamous sect of Mormons was yesterday convicted of abetting in the rape of a 14-year-old girl who was forcibly married off to a cousin.

Warren Jeffs, 51, is the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and revered by his followers as God's prophet.

He was convicted by an eight-member jury in St George, Utah, on two charges of being an accomplice to the rape of the girl, who was one of the followers of his church. She was married despite her objections to a cousin who was 19 years old.

In testimony, the forced bride, now 21, told the court she had wept in despair as Jeffs presided over her "celestial marriage" at a Nevada hotel. She had told Jeffs and her mother that she did not want to be married.

She said she had been raised in such isolation that she knew nothing of sex, and had to be coaxed to kiss her husband. A month after they were married, her husband told her it was her duty to have sex with him.

"My entire body was shaking. I was so scared," she testified. "He just laid me on the bed and had sex."

Immediately afterward, she retreated into the bathroom and took two bottles of pain reliever. The woman's husband, Allan Steed, has not been charged with any crime.

Yesterday's verdict brought a rare spotlight on the continued practice of polygamy by a community of 10,000 which appeared to live under Jeffs's complete control. The splinter group has been disavowed by the mainstream Mormon church, which renounced polygamy more than a century ago.

Testimony revealed a society that operated like a cult, where Jeffs wielded all power, and routinely assigned young girls to marriages against their will, or ripped families asunder when he believed the unions should come to an end.

In the communities governed by the church, in border areas of Utah, Colorado and Arizona, the word of Jeffs was law. "Everyone should now know that no one is above the law, religion is not an excuse for abuse and every victim has a right to be heard," Utah's attorney general, Mark Shurtleff, who had supported Jeffs's prosecution, told the court.

Lawyers for Jeffs claim that he is a victim of religious persecution.

Yesterday's verdict arrived after more than 17 hours of deliberation, and only after one juror was replaced by an alternate for reasons that were not disclosed.

It brings to an end Jeffs's domination of the church he has led since 2002, dictating even the most minor details in the lives of his followers.

The charismatic church leader is also charged in Arizona with being an accomplice to incest. He was captured at a routine traffic stop in Las Vegas after more than 18 months on the run.

But Richard Holm, a former member of the sect, said he did not believe the conviction would have much impact on the sect or polygamy in Utah.

"He will be regarded as a martyr. There is a power base and system in place to carry on," Holm said.

But Holm was relieved with the guilty verdict. "I think he [Jeffs] saw an opportunity to take glory, credit and power for himself ... In doing so, he abused and hurt a lot of people," he said.

Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma searches for his Jewish Soul

This classic article in the Jewish Standard, Jorma searches for his Jewish Soul is worthy of an award.

Check it out.

Original post 3/12/06

Worse than we imagined. Barnard College professor Nadia Abu El Haj is a classic racist

Blogs expose the classic racism of Nadia Abu El Haj.

Yes Barnard College professor Nadia Abu El Haj is a classic racist.

Give her tenure? We think not.

Monstrous Idiocy is what the Daily News calls Columbia Dean Coatsworth's invitation to Iranian Maniac I-have-a-dinner-job

We agree, it was monstrous idiocy.

Monstrous idiocy
Monday, September 24th 2007, 4:00 AM
Editorial

The Columbia University dean who is sponsoring today's obscene appearance by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is deeply unworthy of the position he holds. In saying that he would welcome Adolf Hitler to campus, John Coatsworth revealed that he lacks the moral compass, historical perspective and human decency to be the head of the university's School of International and Public Affairs.

Coatsworth's invitation to the Iranian president was a gross abuse of academic freedom that he has been attempting mightily and futilely to defend. But there is no way, at least in civilized society, to defend Coatsworth's expressed openness to granting a forum to a man who was the world's most determined, most efficient mass murderer.

Here is what Coatsworth said in a Saturday interview with Fox News. So shocking were his comments that we quote verbatim to assure the reader that he actually said what he said: "If Hitler were in the United States and wanted a platform from which to speak, he would have plenty of platforms to speak in the United States. If he were willing to engage in a debate and a discussion, to be challenged by Columbia students and faculty, we would certainly run it."

Coatsworth is grievously wrong on so many counts. His belief that Hitler would be invited to speak across the U.S. is an insult to America's character. And his thought of engaging the guiding force of the Third Reich in collegial debate is simply monstrous. In your worst nightmare, you can imagine the topics. For example: Yes or no, are Jews truly subhuman? Even to conceive of such a colloquy is both soul-deadening and a wellspring of fury. Identical thinking - repugnant on its face and grossly insensitive to the Jewish community and to all good people - drives Coatsworth's event with Ahmadinejad.

Coatsworth's efforts to justify his remarks further showed he is absolutely ill-equipped for his post. He told the Daily News yesterday he meant "in 1939, [when Hitler] had not started the war and the Holocaust hadn't begun." Oh. So six years after Dachau, four years after the anti-Jewish Nuremberg Laws and a year after Kristallnacht, when Hitler's intentions were known to all, he'd be a fine speaker for Columbia?

The Iranian president denies the Holocaust and has declared that he would like to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. His regime is a leading exporter of terror, provided munitions that are killing U.S. troops in Iraq and is openly trying to go nuclear. He is repressing his own people with radical Islamic law and would similarly repress everyone else if given a chance.

He's his own Hitler - for now without the resources. Despite the established record - right down to Ahmadinejad's "Death to America" rallies over the weekend - Coatsworth is determined to bring the Iranian to Columbia. And Columbia President Lee Bollinger foolishly agreed to legitimize Coatsworth's circus by playing Ahmadinejad's foil. Bollinger will challenge the madman, yes he will. As if Ahmadinejad will give a hoot to what any of Columbia's academics think - although he'll take full advantage of their forum. As if anyone will learn anything that isn't well-known from the record of Ahmadinejad's actions.

Bollinger believes that he'll be standing up for what is right in confronting Ahmadinejad. He's mistaken. In truth, he squandered the opportunity to stand up for a higher good when he did not reject this perversion of academic freedom - a freedom that, like all others, must be exercised responsibly. Simply put, he should have told Coatsworth to stuff it. Fortunately, Coatsworth is only the acting dean of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. Now, given Coatsworth's disqualifying remarks about Hitler, Bollinger needs to find someone who is fit to lead the school.

Wednesday is thump-your-bible-in-school-day

From Hackensack, NJ comes a dramatic new tote-em and quote-em scheme for bible-thumpers nationwide. Look for this happy event on Wednesday, planned to coincide with pole-day. See the article text below for insight into that brilliant idea.

The difference between religion and cognition emerges right here. A pastor urges his young flock to tote their bibles to school and quote them in classes one-day-a-year.

If the children were actually learning anything in Sunday school, they would know some verses by heart and a whole lot more content every day of the year.

The picture above illustrates how bibles can help students in their math classes.

Anyway, this story reminds me of a few incidents involving bible-thumpers at the University of Minnesota.

One time a thumper enrolled in my Intro to Judaism class with the intention of converting me. He sat in the third row center in a class of about 300. Three weeks into the class he raised his hand and started asking me if I accepted Jesus as my savior. I looked at him for a second and then the other students started berating him. "Hey, this is a Jewish Studies class. Get out of here," and the like. I said nothing. He dropped the course the next day.

Another time a thumper came into my office hours to inform me of the "good news." She started to pull out her bible and I politely asked her to tell me what she wanted to without referring to any texts or written notes. She had next to nothing to say.

In a third incident I was approached by a thumper who offered me a little free green New Testament. I told him no thanks I'm Jewish. He said he knew all about Jews from the Old Testament. I said no you don't know about Jews unless you study the Mishnah, the Talmud, the rishonim and the achronim, and the shulchan aruch. He looked at me stupefied and I walked away.

It's amazing that out of eighteen years at the U - I can recall only these three incidents.

The local Bergen Record reports on the new scheme:

Teacher wants kids to use Bible in class
By JOHN CHADWICK
STAFF WRITER

A New Jersey Christian activist will mount an unusual effort this week to carry religion into the nation's public schools.

Rather than lobbying the government to require school prayer or battling against the teaching of evolution, Bob Pawson is asking students to bring Bibles to school for the week.

And he doesn't want Scripture sitting in lockers or backpacks.

Pawson, a conservative evangelical and Trenton public school teacher, said students should use relevant Bible passages to complete assignments and contribute to classroom discussions. His Scripture in Schools Project also calls on students to leave religious tracts at "strategic places throughout school," such as in library books, desks and lockers.

"The only people keeping Bibles out of America's public schools are us Christians!" Pawson wrote on his Web site, bringyourbible.com. "Let's just bring them in. Millions of us. Tote 'em and quote 'em!"

Pawson has scheduled the project to coincide with a nationwide See You at the Pole event in which students will gather for prayer at their schools' flagpoles before classes begin. Organized by evangelicals, the annual gathering will take place Wednesday and is expected to attract several million participants nationwide.

However, it appears few North Jersey students will heed Pawson's call, despite his efforts to publicize the event through Christian media circles.

Pawson knew of just several local kids -- all members of Emmanuel Christian Fellowship in Hackensack -- planning to take their Bibles to school.

One student said he plans to read his holy book during study halls and avoid aggressively promoting his faith.

"My friends consider me a cool Christian, because I don't ram my faith down people's throats," said Adam Van Clief, a senior at North Bergen High School.

Another student said she, too, will take a low-key approach because she knows no other evangelicals at her school.

"It's going to be a little awkward, because I have a lot of friends who aren't Christian," said Angelica Camacho-Malone, a sophomore at North Arlington High School. "But I'm hoping I can just let them know about the Bible and show them that it isn't as boring as it may seem to them."

Meanwhile, Barry Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said he had concerns about Pawson's plan, though he also noted that there's nothing unconstitutional about students bringing Bibles to school.

Lynn said he was disturbed that Pawson's Web site asks students to distribute tracts and suggests that pastors should go to schools with their Bibles and clerical garb.

"You can bring a Bible to school," Lynn said in an interview. "But this seems to be a case of pushing the envelope, and in some areas, he pushes it right off a cliff."

Pawson, who said he started the event a decade ago, said the purpose isn't to proselytize or convert students, but to share the wealth of literature, history and theology in the Bible.

Still, he said he relishes the idea of students quoting Genesis in science class to contest the theory of evolution -- which many evangelicals say contradicts the biblical account of creation.

"We aren't looking to spark controversy," Pawson said. "But if the class discussion is on how life started ... then a kid who believes in creation can back up his viewpoint."

Lynn, however, said there's a fine line between legitimate classroom discussion and theological indoctrination.

He said a lecture on the works of William Shakespeare -- which contain many biblical allusions -- would be an appropriate place to discuss Scripture.

But he said some conservative religious groups have begun training students to aggressively challenge science teachers on evolution.

"I think in those cases it's appropriate for the teacher to say, 'This is a science class; we are not discussing religion,' and tell the student to sit down," Lynn said. "Students don't get to rewrite the curriculum just because they feel like it."

The Hackensack church, meanwhile, kicked off both the Scripture in Schools Project and the See You at the Pole event with a rally Friday evening replete with Christian rock bands and sermons by the pastor.

Mandy Leverett, the youth pastor, said it's important for students to bring their faith to school, because it sets a good example for others.

"To introduce young people to the Lord, a lot of times it will detour them from getting into habits that are destructive," Leverett said.

Blog Post #1000 - Why?

In honor of my 1000th blog post I am giving myself an award.

I'm also asking myself a question. Why?

For me the answer is simple. I like to write, I have opinions and I need diversions. I have no pretense of being or becoming a professional or an influential blogger.

It has been fun. I almost gave it up this summer. But somehow I persevered. And yesterday we had 1300 page views.

Thanks to all my readers. I hope you enjoy it too.

Calls to US Authorities to Arrest Ahmadinejad

This JTA article describes one effective way to protest the visit of Ahmadinejad.

Pressure to arrest Ahmadinejad
Published: 09/20/2007

Israel's friends are calling for the arrest of Iran's president in advance of his arrival next week in New York City

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be in New York for the opening of the new session of the United Nations General Assembly.

On Monday, a team of lawyers and diplomats who want Ahmadinejad tried for inciting genocide will call on the U.S. Department of Justice to arrest the Iranian president when he arrives on American soil.

"He is an international war criminal," said Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz. "He has repeatedly violated the anti-genocide convention. He is as guilty as the Rwandans who are convicted and sentenced to years in prison for inciting genocide."

Ahmadenijad's visit has been roiling New York for days. A scheduled appearance at Columbia University has prompted calls for the school to rescind the invitation. Columbia refused, invoking the principle of free speech. The New York City Police Department also announced that it would not accompany Ahmadinejad to Ground Zero as he had requested, though some reports suggest he plans to travel there anyway.

Iranian Maniac Leader Will Entertain Columbia University Students Monday.

The NY Times reports that Columbia University's president will "challenge" Ahmadinejad. Huh? This Columbia is a University. This Iran is a country. That's like me challenging Tiger Woods to a golf match. He could care less. So that said, Columbia is affording a maniac a platform and credibility. Not a good decision.

Also today, Mr. Bollinger said that Mr. Ahmadinejad would speak at the World Leaders Forum, organized by Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, on Monday. Mr. Bollinger said in a statement:

In order to have such a University-wide forum, we have insisted that a number of conditions be met, first and foremost that President Ahmadinejad agree to divide his time evenly between delivering remarks and responding to audience questions. I also wanted to be sure the Iranians understood that I would myself introduce the event with a series of sharp challenges to the President on issues including:

• the Iranian President’s denial of the Holocaust;
• his public call for the destruction of the state of Israel;
• his reported support for international terrorism that targets innocent civilians and American troops;
• Iran’s pursuit of nuclear ambitions in opposition to international sanction;
• his government’s widely documented suppression of civil society and particularly of women’s rights; and
• his government’s imprisoning of journalists and scholars, including one of Columbia own alumni, Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh.

I would like to add a few comments on the principles that underlie this event. Columbia, as a community dedicated to learning and scholarship, is committed to confronting ideas­ to understand the world as it is and as it might be. To fulfill this mission we must respect and defend the rights of our schools, our deans and our faculty to create programming for academic purposes. Necessarily, on occasion this will bring us into contact with beliefs many, most, or even all of us will find offensive and even odious. We trust our community, including our students, to be fully capable of dealing with these occasions, through the powers of dialogue and reason.

I would also like to invoke a major theme in the development of freedom of speech as a central value in our society. It should never be thought that merely to listen to ideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas, or the weakness of our resolve to resist those ideas, or our naiveté about the very real dangers inherent in such ideas. It is a critical premise of freedom of speech that we do not honor the dishonorable when we open the public forum to their voices. To hold otherwise would make vigorous debate impossible.

That such a forum could not take place on a university campus in Iran today sharpens the point of what we do here. To commit oneself to a life­ and a civil society ­prepared to examine critically all ideas arises from a deep faith in the myriad benefits of a long-term process of meeting bad beliefs with better beliefs and hateful words with wiser words. That faith in freedom has always been and remains today our nation’s most potent weapon against repressive regimes everywhere in the world. This is America at its best.

Hey, just a thought, why not have the infamous almost tenured professor and equally loony Nadia Abu El-Haj introduce him?

Intelligent Design = It's Deism

Our friends (we miss them) over at Canonist Does Intelligent Design Need A Specific Emotional Cocktail? criticized a Slate article by Will Saltetan that says:

Proponents of ID claim that complex systems found in nature-the cell, the bacterial flagellum, the immune system-are evidence of "intelligent activity" by a designer. But what kind of intelligence? Is the designer brutal or loving, jealous or forgiving? Look at the ancient crocodilelike predator we just dug up. Its mouth is a perfect killing machine. Does the same intelligence that designed us design our murderers?

Canonist asks:

Why does any of that matter to the basics of the theory? And, further, his examples - Pat Robertson (vindictive God) and Pope Benedict XVI (loving God) - probably have provided numerous quotes indicating the precise opposite position.
This kind of red-herring assessment doesn't do much for Saletan's argument, and it's unusual to see him resort to this.

I said over there, "As I see the argument underlying that article: if ID is not science and is really theology, then it is fair game to pose the whole range of theological questions to the proponents. Is the designer brutal or loving, jealous or forgiving? These are classic theological concerns and quite apropos of ID - because it is theology under a wig and a funny nose." (I like to quote myself. Occasionally I agree.)

There's a lot of verbiage out there in the press on this Intelligent Design Debate. So where do I stand on ID? It's Deism plain and simple. It should be taught in American public schools in the history curriculum. Many of our founding fathers were deists. Students will find it curious to know about this arcane chapter of our early colonial culture. All Deists: Thomas Paine, Ethan Allen, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington (though he kept his religion to himself) .

Franklin wrote cleverly, "Some books against Deism fell into my hands. . . It happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist."

What then do the fundamentalists expect to achieve by preaching and promoting Deism? Do they even know anything about how they may accomplish "quite contrary to what was intended by them" by teaching it?

-repost from 11/05