LA Times: Evangelicals Want Faith Rewarded

Evangelicals Want Faith Rewarded

Christian leaders fear that influence on Bush, despite wide support, could be short-lived.

By Peter Wallsten, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — Christian evangelicals provided much of the passion and manpower for President Bush's reelection. But even as they celebrate his victory, many of the movement's leaders are experiencing post-election anxiety, worried that their strong support for the president might not translate into the instant influence they expected.

They are flexing their muscles to block Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), an abortion rights supporter, from a Senate leadership post overseeing judicial nomination debates — but Specter appears likely to get the job. They want a clear-cut ban on same-sex marriage, but Bush's newly stated support for civil unions makes them wonder how strongly the president will back their efforts.

And as much as they turned out in force for Bush on election day, many are worried that their power could be short-lived, given that a number of prominent Republicans who support abortion rights and gay rights are positioning themselves to succeed Bush in 2008.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-na-evangelical12nov12,1,2293914.story?coll=la-features-elect2004

Bob Jones III, president of the Christian conservative Bob Jones University in South Carolina, recently urged Bush to purge moderates from the White House.

"If you have weaklings around you who do not share your biblical values, shed yourself of them," Jones said in a letter to Bush after the election. "Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ."


I sure hope the Republicans are about to become their own worst enemies.

As long as our world doesn't crumble over the next 48 months.

The moderates and true fiscal conservatives must be wondering what they've unleashed.

With the economy still in the shitter and a growing problem in Iraq, I'm getting really annoyed with all of this coverage in the media that has all been spawned by a poorly worded exit poll question.

he comes out to preach HATE even more in a public mode too

And that's a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. Get all the frothers out in the open and let everyone get a good look at who the Republicans let into the corridors of power. This is YOUR government on the Fundie crackpipe!

a lot of those votes come from people like this. These are the kind of voters who will just stay home if they can't find someone who is talkin' the talk AND walkin' the walk.

assholes

count on it. the bornagain voting block trick has worked since 1980, and the suckers ALWAYS fall for it. but the repub party itself will turn out to be the biggest suckers when they see the end result of theocracy.

I'm sick of so-called moderate Republicans voting for bushco with a smirk on their faces, knowing that the social issues will be pushed aside while they get what they really want - tax breaks.

Let the moderate Republicans suffer for a change. Let the betrayed fundies howl and unleash their rage on their own party for a change.

is doing his very best (it's hard work, ya know) trying to bring about the "end times" by making the whole damned Islamic world really really pissed off at the US Government?

No -- these idiots want to force their will on the majority -- and bring on the Theocracy to make over the nation in their own image.

As always with these nut cases -- their war begins with women -- the battle ground is women's bodies.

Well young women -- no need to study history -- it looks like you will be reliving history in reverse -- you will be asked to slowly give up one "little" thing after the other to appease these nuts.

The fundie wing nuts won't be happy until women in the US are wearing black shrouds just like the fundamentalist Islamic countries. Education for women? Why bother! These fundies -- Christians Reconstructions have some very strict ideas about women's place and it isn't what todays young women could ever imagine.

Think I'm making this up? (Perhaps I've gone overboard about the black shrouds). Just take a stroll through one of the dozens of fundamentalists colleges and read some of the rules given to incoming students. Women have a very strict dress code -- and a very strict code of behavior -- which would almost rival the behavior code in some more "liberal" Islamic countries.

This should be interesting to watch -- NOT.

The real Christians -- the quiet Christians who follow Christ's example must be appalled at the misuse of Christ's name. There are follow the liberal Christ's teachings -- peace, caring for the less fortunate, caring for the environment.

When will the real Christians take back the real Christ and denounce the Pharisees in the temple? (The spelling of that doesn't look right).

(depends on the strictness of the college) -- women required to wear modest dresses and nylons. Arms covered -- sleeves on dresses. No short skirts or tight skirts or tight sweaters. Make up -- depends on the college -- with the SDAs being among the strictest as to women's dress codes and no make up allowed.

No low cut dresses -- generally the girls have to walk past a monitor who checks their dresses -- girls have to return to their rooms and change if their dresses don't conform to the code.

boys also have a dress code-- varies from school to school. Generally tight pants/jeans not allowed. Undershirts required to be worn under shirts.

I read the dress code for one of the Fundie colleges recently -- and it was very similar to the dress code for colleges in the 60s and 70s.

There is also generally strict rules about how dating -- in other words every aspect of a student's life is strictly controlled.

If you compare these rules cult rules -- where there is also strict control of the individual -- you can understand why these students come out like cookie cutter people.

:)

:toast:

Like, ain't Heaven ENOUGH for you freaks?

:spank:

Repubs have been teasing those fools with visions of glory for 25 years and now they've got a monstrous case of the blue balls. Shooting not-so-veiled threats at the man they acclaimed as God's Chosen -- what a difference 2 weeks makes! And the Boy Emperor does not take kindly to being ordered around. This can only get better...

as he please.

The Fundies got Had once more and only now they are finding out? Excuse me while I go outside to .... LAUGH OUT LOUD.

to do something about those cultists.

-------------------------------------
Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

SoCalDem (1000+ posts) Sun Aug-15-04 06:52 PM
Original message

My dear Republican friends,


So, are you done being "played"??.... Have you "seen the light"??

Right about now, some of you must have noticed that your "boy" is tap dancing as fast as he can, yet he seems to be getting boos instead of rose garlands..

For over 30 years, you have been "played". The people to whom you have trusted your futures, and your children's, have let you down...again..

....These fat-cats at the top of your "party" know full well that some of you don't like "dark people", so they have carefully crafted language that you lap up with a "wink, wink, nod, nod". They have no intention of carrying through with their carefully couched plans to re-segregate and return to the "good ole days" that they pretend to long for.. They like the days NOW.. They are making tons of money by rotating in and out of industry and government.

....The republican-masters at the top of the heap, got that way because THEY control the taxes that they pay. They throw the peons a bone now and then, and let them think that they too are getting a tax break...finally.. But Look at those utility bills, your insurance co-pay, that college tuition bill, the grocery bill...look at the latest rent increase or the increase in property taxes.. That $10 extra every week in your paycheck doesn't BEGIN to cover the increases in the things you pay "hidden" taxes on. Roads are not free, power plants are not free,bridges are not free, city government is not free.. Taxes pay for these things, and when the revenues go down, the COSTS of those public services go UP. It's a fact of life.The extra money you were supposed to have , to help boost the economy, just ends up in another rich man's pocket...along with the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of tax cuts HE got.

....They know that some of you are truly religious, so they came up with a "bone" for you all too.. They ooze "faith" from each and every pore when they are talking to you all and asking for votes, but behind closed doors, they continue to cheat on their wives, abuse their kids, and do all the things that they profess to hate. True faith is more than carrying a Bible around, or saying "God Bless Anerica every time a microphone and camera are near. Faith is what you have in your heart, your soul...not what dangles from a shirt sleeve or drips off a lying tongue.


....They know how you all loathe the "welfare queens" ..Ronald Reagan told you all about them.. The ones with the fur coats and Cadillacs, out to collect their food stamps..She was a made up myth.. The real welfare queens are visible when the fat cats look in the mirror. They "rent" public land for pennies to graze their cattle...they take kickback subsidies for their corporations, and then they lay you and your friends off.. They tell you about all the wonderfully diabolical things they have in store for those "damned immigrants" , but they are the ones who offer jobs to them.. Why?? Because they know that the immigrants will be too afraid to dare ask for a raise, or bathrooms or decent wages, or health insurance..These workers get hurt on the job, and then have to go to emergency rooms. which raises the cost for all of us.. The reason they get hurt is because these same fat cats have bribed our legislators to "ease" the safety requirements on the job.. If they end up blind in one eye, it's no biggie to the bosses.. immigrants have TWO eyes..

....These same politicians know that if you ever got some truth , you might see through their lies, so they have made sure that the airwaves are chocked full of people who "sound reasonable", yet seem to always agree with only their ideas.. Didn't it ever strike you as odd, that no matter what time of day you turned on the radio for all those years, you rarely (if ever) heard an opposing opinion? These fat cats at the top, have tons of money, but they still needed to "push your buttons" and "ring your bells" to get you out to vote for them. They had to have a perpetual way to get your attention..and they needed to keep you "upset and angry" enough to turn out on election day.

About those buttons and bells:

....Abortion is always a bell they can ring, and their Pavlovian supporters start salivating. Whether your unknown-to-you neighbor has an abortion, or does not, should be of little consequence to you, but over the years, they and their preacher friends have somehow convinced a lot of you, that by inserting yourselves into the crotches of all women, you are endearing yourselves to God Almighty. Do you really think that you are getting "extra credit" for screeching epithets at women who may be entering a clinic for a pap smear, or that God will praise you for encouraging "physicicide"?
Ask yourselves , truthfully, if you would welcome the child of YOUR 13 year old who was raped..or would you just quietly call a doctor-friend, who would "help" in such a situation?

....Guns are always a fun issue for them too. They know that a lot of their supporters are gun aficionados, so they try to scare you into thinking that the next knock on your door will be Ted Kennedy coming to collect all your guns.. Cars are registered, and yet, unless you miss payments,no one is coming to take your car away from you. In case you haven't noticed, there are democrats who like guns too.

....School vouchers are another interesting wedge issue, since it hits on several of their "issues". "Upper-Crusty" Private schools probably see the government vouchers as valuable as toilet paper for their little scions who attend, but for the storefront Bible oriented schools, these are manna from heaven.Vouchers themselves are not the problem, as much as they are a clever way to funnel public tax money into private enterprises, while weakening the public schools that most people choose for their kids.. This should be an issue for you to be on the "other" side. Taking public money for private use seems like something that fiscal conservatives would be against. Somehow, they have managed to convince a bunch of you that with that $3,000 voucher in your hand, it's "next-stop-Exeter" for little Jim Bob , jr... What that voucher will do for you is allow other fat cats like Bill (the Gambler) Bennett to sell some of his software so he can hit Vegas in style..Neil (Asian girls have sex with him for free) Bush also is into the private school scams, so your vouchers help him pay his alimony and child support.

....School prayer is always good for a few hoots too. Every religious kid on earth has prayed in school, but organized prayer in school (unless it's a religious school) is NOT OK. This does not mean that God has no place in school. God can be in each student's heart and soul. Teacher-led or school sanctioned public prayer is NOT for public school, and deep down you know it. It's an interesting issue to drag out of the closet every election year.

The flip side of "your" issue is this... If Susie Jones can lead the Lord's Prayer, and all are expected to chime in, how will YOUR child feel when Mohamed leads the prayer from the Koran, or a Jewish child leads the prayer, or a Hindu child, or a Sikh child, or a Buddhist child? Will your child behave respectfully, or will they come home and after telling you, will YOU run to complain to the school board?? Like it or not, we ARE a pluralistic society, and the "new people" who have come here with their faith and customs, are allowed to have the same rights as you have.

....What if you found out that the two elderly "sisters" who have lived in your neighborhood for 30 years, are really not sisters? What if they had babysat for your kids, and you had invited them to Thanksgiving Dinner? What if you had liked them for all those years, and THEN you found out that they were gay? Does that make you a bad judge of character? Does that mean that somehow your children will "turn gay" because you found out about them? Will your marriage suddenly crumble to dust because someone you thought was an old maid, turned out to be a lesbian? Will they now expect you to "join them"?? or will they just be what they have always been...your neighbors. Ask yourself about your own children.. What would you really do if your own child was gay? Would you disown a 12 year old who told you he thought he liked boys "in that way"?? Does that make you a bad parent for raising him "wrong"??

....That brings us to the "wacky environmentalists" and their "junk science". Have you ever wondered why so much energy , money and attention is paid to discredit scientists who have spent their lifetimes trying to figure out how to save lives and make our health better? Why WOULD that be?? Hmmmm ..Maybe it's because the tale they are telling us contradicts the corporate masters of your politicians who allow these same companies to pollute your water, air and soil. Is it OK for your baby to get "a little" mercury, arsenic,plutonium, or any other toxins out there?? Do you know what your baby's "upper limit" is regarding tolerance of toxins.?? The "slow" child at 5, may have been poisoned as a baby, and you will NEVER EVER get an answer.. Isn't it better to try whatever it takes, to eliminate ALL toxins from our food chain, and from our air and water?? How is that a BAD thing?? To hear Rush & the gang, one would think that people who legislate for money and corporations who are in it for the money, actually do have your best interests at heart.. Do they?? Is it worth your health or the lives of your children, if they are wrong?? If the environmentalists are wrong, all you get out of it is cleaner air, cleaner water, safer food.. That's a BAD thing??

....Last but not least , we have that "icky" war thing.. I know that most of you wrapped yourselves in the flag-cocoon with him, and probably thought that we did "need" to attack Iraq, but isn't it a shame that nothing has turned out the way he said they would.. Flag worship is NOT the same as Patriotism..True Patriotism is a mature love of country.. Patriots love their country, but they are grown up enough to support their country with full knowledge, that their country can make mistakes. Flag worshippers love their country like a jealous lover, ready always for vengeance and spite.

Soldiers keep dying, and we are no closer to the Iraqi Dream that they told you all about.. You know the one.. The one where they race alongside the Humvee, throwing kisses and flowers.. Here are a few facts.. There never were WMDs..(well there were, but those were the ones that his Daddy gave Saddam, and Clinton destroyed 99% of them, and the rest were rusted pieces of junk).. The only things thrown at the humvees were rocks and bombs.

Bush KNEW there were no WMDs.. He LIED.. You all jumped for joy when Clinton was coerced into a lie about sex, yet can so easily ignore a BIG FAT UGLY LIE that has gotten over 1,100 soldiers, and untold Iraqis killed..Shame on you !..There were ZERO Iraqis on the planes that crashed into our buildings..ZERO..ZERO..

Do you really believe, deep down in your bones, that George W cares one iota about the welfare of the Iraqi people?? Of course he does not. It's about enriching his contractor friends, and his daddy, and of course, himself..when he leaves office. It's about the "Grand Plan"..the one where the US controls the world.. It's almost a James Bond-like fantasy, only it's NOT A MOVIE.. Real people are spilling real blood,thousands of them, and the end game is not one that he could have predicted. He failed to plan for what happens after the tanks, and choppers, and Humvees "won the war"..

The Iraqi people have been a civilization for thousands of years, and they are very capable of handling their own affairs. Lots of people around the world feel that OUR leader is a dangerous man. Should their feelings count for nothing?? If they had the military strength, what would happen if they decided to "remove" our leader? Would you take up arms against them?? Of course you would. This mis-adventure is turning out badly because it was unnecessary from the beginning.He was hell-bent to have his "war", even though he had a perfectly appropriate opportunity many years ago, but was too scared to go. He needed to be the wartime hunky president in a padded flight suit.. It's always about the photo-ops.

....If you sit down and play a game of "pretend" you will see the light.. Here's how you play.. Read any article and every time the word "Bush" appears, substitute "Clinton".. Do a "gut-check"..Tight, uneasy, angry, conflicted?..

You have been "played", but it's not hopeless. Imagine YOUR job out-sourced.. Imagine YOUR insurance gone... Imagine yourself homeless.. Imagine your own child stricken with a preventable cancer.. Imagine your own freedom ...gone.. It's almost there.. But there is still time..

No one is telling you that you MUST vote for Kerry, just that you take the time to think for yourself..analyze what you read.. Read foreign papers.. There is actually "news" in other places, and things that happen here DO affect them too.. They have a stake in what happens here..

It's called empathy.. Look it up.. It's helpful and it really does not cost that much.. The returns far outweigh the cost.

Now THAT is a joy to read. Bravo! Well done! Well done!

Really -- totally great.

Too bad its intended audience can't read.

Or think.

They're tools.

Let's not ever, EVER, repeat the media term that's much kinder/gentler to these phony-ass reich-wing "Christians."

And henceforth, let's always refer to their leaders as "RADICAL CLERICS." Same terminolgy as the Islamic nutters.

We really need to get our act together and ALWAYS refer to these extremists in this fashion.

If our side continues to bang them down, and THEIR side continues to betray them, the mid-terms are ours.

Want their faith rewarded? Fuck that.

From hints for visitors using campus residence halls: We ask the young ladies to wear modest dresses or skirts (please, no hems or slits above the knee and no sundresses) and hose. We ask that you not wear pants (except for recreation) and that you not wear shorts.

We ask the young men to wear collared shirts and casual or dress pants and to have their hair trimmed neatly (off the collar and with their ears showing). Except for recreation and summer camps, we ask that you not wear blue jeans.

From this page; there's lots more information on the rest of the site:

www.bju.edu/aboutbju/guest/index.html

Yes, popcorn is just the thing while watching heretics roast. Perhaps marshamallows on very long sticks? The whole "moral values" crowd will turn on each other. Those Catholic bishops & priests who joined because of abortion while abandoning every other Church teaching? They represent the Whore of Babylon, the Scarlet Woman. Mainstream Protestant denominations? Heretics, as well. And the Christian Reconstructionists want to bring back slavery.... Any religiously-sane Republicans who mostly want their tax cuts? They don't fit in at all.