The media is really making a huge effort to shift blame for Loughner's actions from right-wing propaganda to anything but that!

VIRGINIA STATUTE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM (PDF. Hat tip to Americans United)

Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as it was in his Almighty power to do; that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world, and through all time; that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical; that even the forcing him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor, whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness, and is withdrawing from the ministry those temporary rewards, which proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind; that our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which in common with his fellow-citizens he has a natural right; that it tends only to corrupt the principles of that religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion, and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own; that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them:

Marxism in America is a short video produced by The Oak Initiative, a relatively new Religious Right group organize by Rick Joyner, founder of MorningStar Ministries.  The video was disseminated across the country, through local Oak Initiative chapters and promoted on many websites of various Tea Party groups prior to the election.

According to some information I've been reading lately, Jared Lee Loughner and other similar criminals - including Scott Roeder (who murdered George Tiller) and possibly James Von Brunn (the Holocaust Museum shooter) - are linked not just to "right wing conspiracy theories" in general but to something much more specific:  the so-called "sovereign citizen" movement, a subset of the so-called "Patriot" movement.

I am posting this in response to recent posts by Chip Berlet on the possible extreme right wing connections of Jared Loughner, who is accused of shooting  Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killing six other people.

On November 27, 2009, College of Prayer International President Fred Hartley III made an appearance on the radio show of his old friend and colleague, Jim Wood, pastor of the Wears Valley Ranch, which has a mission to "Demonstrate the love of Jesus by providing Christian homes, education, and counseling to children from families in crisis and by providing a Christian camp and retreat experience for people from all walks of life."

Here's a section of my partial transcript that's of special interest:

[Jim Wood] Tell us about what's happening in Uganda, with the College of Prayer there.

[Fred Hartley III]: Yes. Uganda, it's an amazing thing. Our leader, Bishop Julius Oyet, with Lifeline Ministries - I met him, a dear friend of Os Hillman, Marketplace Ministries, here in Atlanta - when we were introduced it was just a divine appointment and he invited us to come to Uganda. He has crusades with up to 50,000 people and I've seen three thousand saved in one night. He is friends with people in high places and the members of parliament came to the College of Prayer and enjoyed the time so much they invited me to speak at their parliamentary prayer breakfast this year. We were expecting maybe 25 members of parliament and 75 other city leaders. There were 248 who came, 50 members of parliament, and they invited me and the College of Prayer to come back twice a year for the next three years and mentor them. And we just, just two weeks ago I was with the members of parliament and had a marvelous time, these are dear brothers and sisters in Christ and they are in earnest about righteousness and the cause of Christ and the amazing thing is they are standing for righteousness in areas that where we have long ago sold ourselves down the river but they're looking to us for spiritual mentoring to, that they - as kings and queens so to speak - can stand in kingdom alignment and operate according to Biblical principles in their spheres of influence. And it's a great honor to serve them.

Hartley goes on to mention that his College of Prayer International has received invitations to conduct mass trainings in China, Indonesia, and Thailand.

From April 16-18, 2009, less than a week before the draft of Uganda's Anti Homosexuality Bill was introduced in Uganda's Parliament, the Atlanta-based College of Prayer held two major events in Kampala,  including a Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast that was broadcast on Ugandan national television.

Later in the year, on October 14, 2009, Ugandan MP David Bahati tabled the bill. On both occasions, College of Prayer President Julius Oyet was present in Parliament. The College of Prayer Uganda includes MPs David Bahati, Benson Obua-Ogwal, and Nsaba Buturo - all of whom have played a part in the promotion of the bill, which Oyet has himself enthusiastically promoted.

Two weeks after Bahati tabled the Anti Homosexuality Bill, from October 31 to November 1, 2009, College of Prayer International President Fred Hartley III led the first COP teaching module, for COP Ugandan Parliament members including David Bahati and Nsaba Buturo, Uganda's head of the Office Of Ethics and Integrity. After returning to the United States, Hartley made a November 27, 2009 appearance on a colleague's radio show in which Hartley stated,

"just two weeks ago I was with the members of parliament and had a marvelous time, these are dear brothers and sisters in Christ and they are in earnest about righteousness and the cause of Christ and the amazing thing is they are standing for righteousness in areas that where we have long ago sold ourselves down the river but they're looking to us for spiritual mentoring to, that they - as kings and queens so to speak - can stand in kingdom alignment and operate according to Biblical principles in their spheres of influence. And it's a great honor to serve them."

Fred Hartley also had glowing words for Julius Oyet:

"Uganda, it's an amazing thing. Our leader, Bishop Julius Oyet, with Lifeline Ministries - I met him, a dear friend of Os Hillman, Marketplace Ministries, here in Atlanta - when we were introduced it was just a divine appointment and he invited us to come to Uganda. He has crusades with up to 50,000 people and I've seen three thousand saved in one night. He is friends with people in high places and the members of parliament came to the College of Prayer and enjoyed the time so much they invited me to speak at their parliamentary prayer breakfast this year. We were expecting maybe 25 members of parliament and 75 other city leaders. There were 248 who came, 50 members of parliament, and they invited me and the College of Prayer to come back twice a year for the next three years and mentor them."

Julius Oyet is one of Uganda's most powerful evangelists, who has held top leadership roles in Uganda's two biggest umbrella associations of born-again Christians - that comprise Museveni's most steadfast block of electoral and political support.

Oyet also has a personal relationship with Yowerie and Janet Museveni tracing back, at least, to his starring role in the 2005 propaganda film "An Unconventional War" (produced by George Otis, Jr., with the help of the presidential media team), that depicts Oyet, with the help of Ugandan government troops per the personal order of President Museveni, supernaturally conquering the rebel group the Lord's Reformation Army.  

Since Oyet's College of Prayer Uganda appears to have played a notable role in the genesis of the Anti Homosexuality Bill, I am posting here a copy of the account, formerly posted at the main College of Prayer website, of the COP events held in Kampala on April 16-18, 2009 - which have since been deleted from the COP website.  

Of particular interest is College of Prayer International President Fred Hartley III's keynote address based in I Kings 18, which describes a confrontation between the prophets of Elijah and the prophets of Baal, that ends in the slaughter of the Baal prophets. Leaders on the American Christian right routinely depict Homosexuality as a manifestation of Baal worship.

When you think it's already gotten crazily deep, you learn it can easily get deeper.  The sheriff of Polk County is being sued by the Atheists of Florida for giving basketball hoops only to churches.

In accordance with the goal of creating a permanent Republican majority, this column by Sid Salter (columnist for the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson) basically says that the Democratic Party in Mississippi is on life support.
Mississippi and Alabama both have had weak Democrats for a while, but ours seems to finally have been beat up pretty badly.

There have been a series of political prosecutions by Republicans against prominent, wealthy Democrats in the South, particularly in Mississippi and Alabama. Raw Story did a series on it: http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/The_Permanent_Republican_Majori ty_1125.html  

As a result money has dried up, moderates and progressives are demoralized and no meaningful organizational opposition can survive.

Of course, the Religious Right has largely combined with the Tea Party to rally behind the Republicans. After all, Tupelo is home to Bryan Fischer's AFA and these good folk vote just like they are told.
Pehaps after solidifying their base in Dixie, the GOP will be better poised to go after more Democrats... maybe where you live.

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20101219/COL0412/12190321/Ar e-Dems-AWOL-as-elections-loom-

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Excerpt:
The party's website has been static since June. According to a gentleman who identified himself as "field director" Jason Harper when he answered the Mississippi Democratic Party headquarters' phone in Jackson, the headquarters is closed "for renovations and will reopen after the renovations for qualifying in January."

Less than a year ago, the party's website was active, the Democratic Party had an active and engaged staff and was doing a significant amount of party-building activities. Former party executive director Sam Hall departed in August. Hall announced his decision to step down as executive director of the party and said in a blog post that he was returning to his private consulting firm.

The invisibility of the Mississippi Democratic Party in the midterms was simply stunning. Meanwhile, Mississippi Republicans are operating a fully functional, 24/7/365 effort in the state. State GOP chairman Brad White's visibility and party-building work was constant during the midterms.
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(Also, the Green Party of Mississippi has had a dormant web site for several years. Take a look at it if you need a chuckle. I almost think that it is a GOP dirty trick.)
http://www.greenpartyms.org/

Conscientious Objector in MS

Cross-posted from RH Reality Check.

Researchers at the World Health Organization have recently documented a substantial 48% decrease in the numbers of unsafe abortion deaths. In 2008, 47,000 women a year lost their lives from complications of unsafe abortion, compared to 70,000 in 2003. But the bad news is that unsafe abortions have not decreased and are still the predominant way that women end pregnancies in developing countries. Abortions appear to a bit less unsafe because more women are turning to safer medical abortion pills to induce their own abortion.

A myth, according to one Webster's is "a popular belief or assumption that has grown up  around someone or something, often dealing with gods, demigods or the heroes of a particular people."

We are all familiar with the Greek myths and view them as wonderful stories, according to Freud, that illustrate workings of the human mind, among other things.  But, throughout history the dominant ruling class has demanded that citizens embrace particular set of cultural, political and religious myths, or pay a price.   In Socrates' day, belief in the truth of the myths was important enough to demand the death of that most famous teacher, a man who had tutored many of the Athenian ruling class, the very people who later demanded his death  The 399 BCE affidavit sworn out by Meletus, who was a student of Socrates,  specified two related charges: "refusing to acknowledge the gods recognized by the State, introducing new and different gods" and "corrupting the youth."   Socrates, of course, became the first known martyr to free thinking, not to mention academic freedom.

In those 2400 years since Socrates drank the hemlock, millions more have been sacrificed to the demand that people, especially teachers, embrace the dominant mythology.  Much has been made over the years of the fact that Socrates accepted the ruling of the court out of respect for law, but should a law be respected that demands the death of anyone who disagrees with the whatever myth happens to be in fashion?  Certainly the pious members of that Athenian Society deeply believed that Zeus was in his heaven, but they would have been put to death for the same "crimes" Socrates committed, if they believed such but lived in a 17th century Puritan community.

We all know the Lord's prayer, right?   Well, maybe not as well as we might think- and the dominionists have really missed the boat here like they have with so many other things.

In his 2007 book Transformation - Change The Marketplace and You Change The World, International Transformation Network head Ed Silvoso wrote, on page 62,

"Of all the nations in Latin America with a sizable born-again population, Guatemala is at the very top.  It is estimated that between 47 percent and 52 percent of the people are evangelicals - and when born-again Catholics are added to the numbers, the percentage can easily reach 75 percent. That means that three out of four Guatemalans are saved."

Silvoso's implication is clear - Catholics who are not born-again are damned to hell.