(cross posted at Calitics)

This report of a national conference call to fight Prop. 8 and marriage equality sounds more like a battle plan than a political strategy session.  All the leading figures of the religious right were there, and the language is undeniably militaristic.  I believe that the best way to counteract the theocratic right is to display them in all their radicalism, so the whole country understands the goals of their movement.  So here ya go:

The primary focus of the call was Proposition 8 in California, described by (Chuck) Colson as “the Armageddon of the culture war.” Many speakers invoked the language of warfare, raising up an army of believers, putting soldiers in the streets, being on the front lines of a battle. Lou Engle actually described a massive rally planned in Qualcomm stadium on November 1 as a “blitzkrieg moment.”

The 2008 Platform of the Texas Republican Party -- will make the Religious Right weep for joy. That is, no doubt, because they wrote it. The Religious Right continues to dominate the state party in Texas and the 2008 platform is Exhibit A.

Fortunately, The Texas Freedom Network has sifted through the platform for us -- and found a document that demonstrates that politicaly powerful elements of the the religious right not only have a theocratic agenda -- they have put it in writing.  

Here are a few examples from the TFN's just released report that illustrate my point.  

So McCain has disposed of Hagee's endorsement...and along with it the "great Catholic whore," "Hitler, God's deliverer of the Jew's to Israel," and "Katrina's revenge on New Orleans because of homosexuality." I guess he finally saw the light. It must be awfully dark where McCain lives.

But house cleaning has just started for Johnny Mac. What about that dark dusty closet where the Rev. Rod Parsley hides. McCain sought his endorsement and so now has to carry a Dominionist millstone around his neck also. Did he not check out Parsley's Dominionist ravings first? This puts McCain's judgment further into question.

Obama has Wright.
McCain has Hagee, Parsely, et al.
HILLARY HAS DOUG COE.

Obama's Rev. Wright is a total Progressive clergyman, doing the charitable work and supporting social justice through clear thinking and awareness of historical context.

McCain's pastors Hagee and Parsely and the rest of his group of Christianists with reactionary ideology and profiteering tactics, are total opportunists and succeed in their ambitions by manipulating their "flocks" (read that as $HEEP), and obviously act as petty crooks fingering their marks.

Hillary's Doug Coe of The Fellowship (aka The Family) is THE FASCISTS' PASTOR. Doug Coe works to fashion the death of Democratic Freedoms and insert THEOCRACY instead. And he admittedly, by choice, uses the methods of Hitler (see his written instructions to his devotees, below)! Doug Coe's goals are the goals of an anti-Constitution degenerate who desires to mold a new world religious order based on a twisted "morality" of solidarity and obedience to Authority in a fascist context!

HILLARY MUST BE THOROUGHLY VETTED! SHE MUST!

HILLARY'S CONNECTION TO DOUG COE AND THE FELLOWSHIP MUST BE MADE CLEAR AND KNOWN!  It's an anti-Constitution connection.

»

Catch Glenn Beck on CNN tonight?  I don't know how to post a link, so hopefully somebody else can.  He hosted Joel Rosenberg, an "evangelical Christian" author of an upcoming "novel" on end times visions,armageddon and ... apparently....1001 reasons we should expand our war in the Middle East to get the muslims before they get us.

The premise of his thesis?  The Muslims are trying to fulfill a mirror "bizarro" image of Christian revelations, neatly juxtaposing the forces of good vs. evil.  Both Rosenberg and Beck, a mormon, proceed on the fundamental assumption that we, the United States, will obviously and undoubtedly be on the side of right, immune to the wiles and aligned against the Roman born anti-christ.  They proceed to discuss current events, struggling sometimes to make the discussion fit their assumption.

It was an interesting discussion and with McCain courting Huckabee, specifically to appease the "evangelical christian" wing of the GOP, I think it's a discussion worth pursuing.  If they want to run a "war hero" and big supporter of the Iraq war together with an "evangelical christian" who thinks we should be positioning ourselves for Armageddon, then lets have that discussion.  

Part 2 by Omar on a collaborative book-review on one of most important book addressing Muslim opinion. The following is quoted from him.
Buy it here!

| Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

If you're looking for a candidate diary, this isn't it. These days that means maybe 20 people will read it, but oh well. You gotta talk when you have something to say, right? This won't wait until the primaries are over.

Friday is the National Day of Silence. In case you're unfamiliar with it, it's a day during which students remain silent to protest the harassment and bullying that the GLBT community has to deal with on a daily basis from people who say they love Jesus. You can learn more about it here.

This diary isn't so much about the Day of Silence as it is about a rabid group of parents who are opposing it in Arizona—as in, there's about 300 parents or so who really don't want anyone to suggest that maybe bullying is bad.

Of course the long term pipe dream of America's conservative fundamentalist theocrats is to eventually march right into Washington DC and take command of the government... and your lives, but for now it looks like they'll settle for taking control of the Republican party of Ohio, with an eye on eventually seizing the governor's office.

Today Ohio. Tomorrow, who knows?

Maybe your town or state.

Armageddon In Ohio
by Jeremy Leaming

I am not aware of any writing which more accurately forecast, and along a range of fronts, the political dangers which would beset American Democracy in our era. George E. Lowe says he worked with John McCain's father [and told me, in an interview, that Admiral McCain would be "turning over in the grave" at his son's current political behavior], and he did substantial writing on nuclear deterrence and served in the Reagan Administration. In the late 1990's Lowe clearly foresaw the coming peril, that right-wing American fundamentalists would make a concerted push to grab political power in the period from 2000-2012 after which, Lowe forecast, demographic changes would erode fundamentalist influence and so reduce the danger.

On March 7, 2008, a jawdroppingly vile screed against gays by Oklahoma House of Representatives member Sally Kern.

It was pointed out to me by peskydang of Delphiforums, who found it on Crooks and Liars, who found it at Pam's House Blend.  Kossack jmbranum wrote it up yesterday, here -- it's still rec'able. Please bump it up. I'm going to post the video (really just the audio, but with a video someone added to it) below the fold.

Note: This is the latest in a long running series, usually posted only at Talk to Action.

Our Distinguished Panel of Judges convened in Emergency Executive Session today to recognize a truly remarkable Theocrat of the Week.

But first, they wish to acknowledge and repent their dereliction of duty in failing to recognize worthy theocrats for more weeks than they care to count.

Forward and Onward!

As the curtain rises and we lift up this exemplar of theocratic values for all to behold and admire, Our Distinguished Panel of Judges wants me to underscore that there is no greater barrier to theocracy than religious pluralism; nothing more dangerous to all things theocratic than the notion that people of all faiths and no faith are equal in the eyes of the law and indeed, in the eyes of God. The law, after all, may only be determined and interpreted by theocrats. Our Theocrat of the Week demonstrated that he understands this when he declared that a group of California state legislators who think otherwise are "disgusting" in the eyes of the Lord; and are spreading "deadly lies."  

Muslim theocracies rule according to "sharia", the religious law interpreted by priests derived from the Koran and their traditions. Many Muslims prefer to live according to sharia than according to other legal systems in countries without sharia.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the UK's state religion, the Anglican Church, claims that UK Muslims should be able to ignore UK secular law in favor of sharia if they choose.

Let me say upfront: I in NO way favor mingling religion and government. Period. I believe in separation and the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. Religion has no place in government or the governance of our country. Leaders, Senators, Congressmen, newspaper reporters (yes, and even bloggers) can allow whatever their beliefs are (whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, "other," or some ethical humanist set of rules) to guide their ethical and moral behavior and frame their policy and political positions. As for myself, I am Jewish, and when I refer to the Bible in this article, I am referring exclusively to what is more commonly called the "Old Testament." Since Jews do not believe in the "New Testament," it does not frame any part of my ethical or moral belief system.

Others here have written well about the news about the federal indictment of former Rep. Mark Siljander (R-MI), so I will mention the details only in passing.

Back in the 1980's then-Rep. Mark Siljander (R-MI) was one of America's leading theocratic politicians. He was a high profile member of the Christian Right, and a close political allyof Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Today he is the posterboy for how the Framers of the Constitution and the ratifying states got it right when they proscribed religious oaths and tests for public office; protected the rights of individual conscience; discouraged religious supremacism and resolutely separated church and state.

"I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God,"

Goody.

It has taken me a bit to react to this particular comment from one of the many lunatics that we call Republican candidates (Huckabee in this case), but then I realized that this is a bit of an old call to arms. We have heard it before.

And we have a response.

In a story that unites the terrorism, theocrats, and lobbyists, former Reagan-appointed UN delegate and Michigan Congressman Mark D. Siljander (R) has been indicted on charges of involvement in a terrorist fundraising ring that raised and sent $130,000 to an al-Qaida affiliated group that aimed to kill American troops in Afghanistan. Siljander, who served from 1981-87, had been hired as a lobbyist for the group in their attempt to get off the United States' list of registered terrorist groups.

From the Kansas City Star:

A Kansas City grand jury has charged a defunct charity in Columbia with sending money to an Afghan terrorist with ties to al Qaida and the Taliban.

The indictment, returned early this afternoon, also accuses a former U.S. congressman of money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

The new charges also accuse Mark Deli Siljander ... of receiving $50,000 from the charity in 2004. Siljander, who operates a Washington D.C. public relations firm, was hired to lobby Congress to remove the charity from a U.S. Senate Finance Committee list of non-profit organizations suspected of being involved in supporting international terrorism.

I was never really all that religious, but I always had a conceptual belief in a higher power until a few years ago when I just couldn't reasonably accept the universe as it is with the notion of some kind of cosmic super being behind it all. It just makes no sense to me. Oh, and currently I am allowed to believe in the lack of a deity.

Alas, people keep popping up who wanted to remake this country into a place that is ruled by their theocratic vision where I must hide my beleifs. People like Huckabee who says:

"[What] we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards,"

In an unguarded moment, Mike Huckabee revealed his true thoughts about the role of religion in America:  The Constitution should be amended to reflect his beliefs about the word of the living God.

I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that's what we need to do, to amend the Constitution so it's in God standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.

This is a truly dangerous man who covers up his radical beliefs with folksy populist rhetoric.  Link to the video is below the fold.