My OperaTalk To Action Mar 17
Sunday, April 3, 2011 5:28:41 AM
This is the Weekly digest for Talk To Action [http://www.talk2action.org]
Bishop Morlino and the Mystery of Madison
By Frank Cocozzelli, 2011-03-17 15:41:09
Section: Front Page, Topic: Theocratic Leadership
Catholic social teaching has recognized the right of workers to
organize since Pope Leo XIII's 1891papal encyclical Rerum Novarum
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rerum_Novarum]. This was soon followed
by the the American bishops' groundbreaking Bishops' Program of Social
Reconstruction
[http://archives.lib.cua.edu/education/bishops/1919-wel.cfm] (ghostwritten
for them by Monsignor John A. Ryan
[http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v23n4/saving_monsignor_ryan.htm]). The
bishops declared that they recognized "the right of labor to organize; and
to deal with employers through its chosen representatives..."
Unsurprisingly, Catholics in America have long been front and center in
organized labor, from the old Knights of Labor; the Italian seamstresses
of the ILGWU to Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers, and Richard
Trumka of the AFL-CIO. The rights and well being of working people is
unquestionably a Catholic issue
[http://www.catholicwebphilosopher.com/2011/02/labor-unions-are-mouthpiece
s-for.html]. That is why the silence of Bishop Robert Morlino
[http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/madisons-morlino-noted-othodoxy-co
ntroversy] Madison, Wisconsin -- except to call for neutrality as public
employees struggle to maintain the right to collectively bargain -- has
been a mystery.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/17/15419/0115
----
Soldier, Dad, Whistleblower: Atheist in a Foxhole Takes on Evangelistic Military Hierarchy
By Valerie Tarico, 2011-03-17 03:24:58
Section: Front Page, Topic: Dominionism in US Military
We are delighted to welcome back Seattle-based writer and psychologist
Valerie Tarico, following up on her first
[http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/2/8/22257/63244/Front_Page/Christia
n_Flag_Folding_Ceremony_Reveals_Official_Sanction_of_Church_State_Violatio
ns_in_the_Military] guest front-page post on the Army's spiritual fitness
program. She is the author of Trusting Doubt: A Former Evangelical Looks
at Old Beliefs in a New Light
[http://astore.amazon.com/exchrisnetenc-20/detail/0977392937] and the
founder of www.WisdomCommons.org [http://www.wisdomcommons.org/].
Her articles can be found at Awaypoint.Wordpress.com
[https://awaypoint.wordpress.com/], where this post first appeared. -- FC
Note: The Army's spiritual fitness program is part of a
pattern of religious discrimination and abuse in the military. While
reporting on these things has an often necessary and rightful focus on
civil and constitutional rights of individuals, this may also be fairly
seen as part of a wider political and religious war on equality and
religious pluralism by the American Religious Right.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/17/32458/2599
----
The Song of Santorum
By Frederick Clarkson, 2011-03-16 22:11:22
Section: Front Page, Topic: Church/State Separation
Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) who is considering running for
president, recently visited Boston, a major hub of Catholic politics and
the biggest media market in New England. While minor appearances by
non-candidates don't always make the news, Santorum's remarks to a small
group of Church partisans [http://www.catholic-citizenship.org/] made The
Boston Globe because he not only denounced our first Catholic president,
John F. Kennedy in his home town, but he attacked Kennedy's historic 1960
campaign speech in which he explained his unwavering clarity regarding the
constitutional doctrine of separation of church and state. Kennedy's
position had served as the standard for a half century of political
leaders. (See Rob Boston's excellent defense
[http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/16/94259/6666] of Kennedy's views
on separation.) Santorum has been trying to rebuild his political
career since being unseated by Bob Casey (D-PA) in 2006. And while he may
not catch fire on the campaign trail, Santorum's bombast in Boston is
certainly part of an escalating war of attrition against the principle of
separation -- and it may be a bellwether for what we might anticipate in
the run-up to the 2012 presidential campaign.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/16/221122/028
----
Religious Right Today, Religious Right Tomorrow, Religious Right Forever?
By Bill Berkowitz, 2011-03-16 13:04:21
Section: Dominionism in the military, Topic: All Topics
No matter what you might have read in the mainstream press, no matter what
you've heard, no matter what you've hoped for, these are not the end times
for the Religious Right. Before there was Google, there was the modern-day
Religious Right. Before YouTube videos, Facebook, My Space, and tweets,
there was the Religious Right. Before e-books, Wi-Fi, and Podcasts there
was the Religious Right. Before IPods, IPads, and IPhone Apps, there was
the Religious Right. And it is likely, as each of these
late-twentieth/early twenty-first century marvels (read life's bare
essentialsJ) morph into something even more social networky and more
amazingly gadgety there will be the Religious Right. Despite the
predilection of its leaders and organizations to be deeply suspicions of
and express disdain for modernity, the Religious Right has done one
heck-of-a-job adapting to, harnessing and working with much of the above
phenomena.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/16/13421/7138
----
Slander From Santorum: Former Senator Once Again Proves That He's No Jack Kennedy
By Rob Boston, 2011-03-16 09:42:59
Section: Front Page, Topic: Church/State Separation
I've criticized former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum previously
[http://blog.au.org/2010/09/08/absolute-separation-jfk%E2%80%99s-houston-s
peech-upheld-true-spirit-of-liberty/] for his poor understanding of
church-state separation. Santorum believes President John F. Kennedy was
wrong when, in a famous 1960 speech, Kennedy vowed to be the president of
all people and make his policy decisions not on the basis of what his
Roman Catholic faith demanded but on the grounds of what was good for the
country.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/16/94259/6666
----
Rushdoony's Theocratic Libertarianism at Work in the Nation's Statehouses
By Rachel Tabachnick, 2011-03-15 14:26:15
Section: Front Page, Topic: All Topics
Biblical Capitalism - Part Four What would a Reconstructionist America
look like? Meet Bobby Franklin and his pastor and advocate Rev.
Joseph Morecraft. In my recent article The Rise of Charismatic
Dominionism [http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/1/3/122613/0240], I
quoted a 1994 series of articles by Frederick Clarkson in The Public Eye
[http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisre1.html] which included a
section subtitled "The Wrath of Morecraft."
[http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisre3.html] Rev. Joseph
Morecraft is a nationally recognized leader of a religious/political
belief system called Christian Reconstructionism. One of the better known
congregants of Morecraft's Chalcedon Presbyterian Church is Rep. Bobby
Franklin who has served as the state representative of the 43rd District
of Georgia (north Cobb County) since 1996. Franklin argues that the Tea
Party should be focused on the illegality of taxes and other federal
powers he claims are not constitutional, as opposed to concerns about
reducing taxes. Franklin wishes to abolish:
[http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2011/01/31/bobby-fran
klin-lets-do-away-with-drivers-licenses/] drivers licenses (calling it the
Right to Travel Act
[http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/26675368/detail.html]); public schools;
income taxes; and mandatory vaccinations. He has introduced a bill
[http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/fulltext/hb430.htm] to make gold
and silver the only legal tender, a bill relabeling rape victims
[http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-07/us/georgia.rape.law_1_fraud-victims-wo
rd-victim-burglary-victims?_s=PM:US] as "accusers" in Georgia statutes and
a bill that would require women to provide evidence
[http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/23/bobby-franklin-miscarriage-naturally/
] that their miscarriages occurred naturally or face felony charges.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/15/142615/800
----
Wisconsin is Not Your Father's "Culture Wars"
By Bill Berkowitz, 2011-03-15 13:49:24
Section: Dominionism in the military, Topic: All Topics
It may not leap out at you, but what's going on in Wisconsin and several
other states is a fusion of Koch-ist free-market fundamentalism, Tea Party
swagger, and the Religious Right's traditional values agenda; think the
Heritage Foundation's full-blown project coming home to roost. With the
stripping away of fifty years of collective bargaining rights for public
employee unions in Wisconsin, the culture wars of the past three decades
are morphing into something much larger: a right-wing cultural revolution.
And while battles over reproductive rights, same-sex marriage and an
assortment of other highly-charged social issues will continue to be
fought over, the political landscape is dramatically changing.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/15/134924/638
----
Marjoe, The World's Littlest Child Evangelist !
By Bruce Wilson, 2011-03-15 10:30:38
Section: Front Page, Topic: All Topics
In the 1940's color footage clip, a sharply dressed blond woman declares,
"At this time I would like to present to you the world's youngest ordained
minister and the world's youngest evangelist, Marjoe Gortner. Marjoe
started preaching when he was three and a half..." -- "Howdy neighbors,"
pipes little Marjoe, clad in white, with a bowtie and a red carnation,
"may the Lord bless you!" He remembers being smothered by a pillow, as a
"correctional activity" when his little mind would wander during the
training, to say the right words, the words which helped establish him in
Ripley's Believe it Or Not: the world's youngest, littlest child
evangelist.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/15/103038/907
----
Department of Defense Funded Christian Ministry That Promotes The Glorification of Suicide Bombing
By Bruce Wilson, 2011-03-14 15:48:04
Section: Front Page, Topic: All Topics
"Check it out! We're stoked to present Tedashii's music video for "Make
War" off his last album, Identity Crisis. Hope you dig it...be sure to
pass it on to your friends!" ---Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's
Ransom [http://www.ransom.tv] ministry, November 3, 2010
[http://www.ransom.tv/ransom/2010/11/tedashii-make-war.html]. In
September 2010, the Department of Defense, via Fort Bragg in Georgia,
funded a Christian ministry that two months later was promoting an artist
who celebrates suicide bombing as an example of Christian commitment to
the cause. Here are the details.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/14/15484/2828
----
Whatever Became of the White Citizen's Council?
By wilkyjr, 2011-03-14 10:49:21
Section: Front Page, Topic: Hate Speech ?
The White Citizen's Council was known by critics as a white collar version
of the Klan. It was made up of professionals like lawyers and judges
in contrast to the crude membership in the Klan who did the dirty work.
The WCC held the power and motivated the Klan. A deceased minister
told me just about all the prominent white men in East Texas were members
of the WCC during its time of popularity. Bad publicity or liability
often causes organizations to change their legal names. The White
Citizen's council is still alive and well living under the name Council of
Conservative Citizens.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/14/104921/755
----
Short Takes
By Frederick Clarkson, 2011-03-13 13:13:13
Section: Front Page, Topic: Blog Roundup
No More Mr. Nice Blog
[http://nomoremister.blogspot.com/2011/03/maybe-peter-king-should-investig
ate.html] discusses revelations that Newt Gingrich, while serving as
Speaker of the House in 1998, arranged a conference room for Muslim
Congressional staffers to worship together. The Washington Times
[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/10/pro-life-movements-waterl
oo/]: Randall Terry takes to Rev. Sun Myung Moon's outlet to
denounce anti-abortion leaders for being insufficiently anti-abortion. He
wonders if the movement has become " ...a political mistress - the ditsy
bauble hanging on the arm of GOP sugar daddies in the campaign season,
then ignored without penalty? Or worse, is the pro-life movement a
political streetwalker that is knowingly being bought and sold and defiled
for the money and power of our political pro-life pimps in Congress?" RH
Reality Check
[http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2011/03/03/stoking-fire-randall-terrys
-campaign-platform]: Meanwhile, Eleanor Bader thinks Randall Terry's
campaign to get on the Democratic presidential primary ballot somewhere,
may not be getting anywhere.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/13/131313/905
Bishop Morlino and the Mystery of Madison
By Frank Cocozzelli, 2011-03-17 15:41:09
Section: Front Page, Topic: Theocratic Leadership
Catholic social teaching has recognized the right of workers to
organize since Pope Leo XIII's 1891papal encyclical Rerum Novarum
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rerum_Novarum]. This was soon followed
by the the American bishops' groundbreaking Bishops' Program of Social
Reconstruction
[http://archives.lib.cua.edu/education/bishops/1919-wel.cfm] (ghostwritten
for them by Monsignor John A. Ryan
[http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v23n4/saving_monsignor_ryan.htm]). The
bishops declared that they recognized "the right of labor to organize; and
to deal with employers through its chosen representatives..."
Unsurprisingly, Catholics in America have long been front and center in
organized labor, from the old Knights of Labor; the Italian seamstresses
of the ILGWU to Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers, and Richard
Trumka of the AFL-CIO. The rights and well being of working people is
unquestionably a Catholic issue
[http://www.catholicwebphilosopher.com/2011/02/labor-unions-are-mouthpiece
s-for.html]. That is why the silence of Bishop Robert Morlino
[http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/madisons-morlino-noted-othodoxy-co
ntroversy] Madison, Wisconsin -- except to call for neutrality as public
employees struggle to maintain the right to collectively bargain -- has
been a mystery.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/17/15419/0115
----
Soldier, Dad, Whistleblower: Atheist in a Foxhole Takes on Evangelistic Military Hierarchy
By Valerie Tarico, 2011-03-17 03:24:58
Section: Front Page, Topic: Dominionism in US Military
We are delighted to welcome back Seattle-based writer and psychologist
Valerie Tarico, following up on her first
[http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/2/8/22257/63244/Front_Page/Christia
n_Flag_Folding_Ceremony_Reveals_Official_Sanction_of_Church_State_Violatio
ns_in_the_Military] guest front-page post on the Army's spiritual fitness
program. She is the author of Trusting Doubt: A Former Evangelical Looks
at Old Beliefs in a New Light
[http://astore.amazon.com/exchrisnetenc-20/detail/0977392937] and the
founder of www.WisdomCommons.org [http://www.wisdomcommons.org/].
Her articles can be found at Awaypoint.Wordpress.com
[https://awaypoint.wordpress.com/], where this post first appeared. -- FC
Note: The Army's spiritual fitness program is part of a
pattern of religious discrimination and abuse in the military. While
reporting on these things has an often necessary and rightful focus on
civil and constitutional rights of individuals, this may also be fairly
seen as part of a wider political and religious war on equality and
religious pluralism by the American Religious Right.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/17/32458/2599
----
The Song of Santorum
By Frederick Clarkson, 2011-03-16 22:11:22
Section: Front Page, Topic: Church/State Separation
Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) who is considering running for
president, recently visited Boston, a major hub of Catholic politics and
the biggest media market in New England. While minor appearances by
non-candidates don't always make the news, Santorum's remarks to a small
group of Church partisans [http://www.catholic-citizenship.org/] made The
Boston Globe because he not only denounced our first Catholic president,
John F. Kennedy in his home town, but he attacked Kennedy's historic 1960
campaign speech in which he explained his unwavering clarity regarding the
constitutional doctrine of separation of church and state. Kennedy's
position had served as the standard for a half century of political
leaders. (See Rob Boston's excellent defense
[http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/16/94259/6666] of Kennedy's views
on separation.) Santorum has been trying to rebuild his political
career since being unseated by Bob Casey (D-PA) in 2006. And while he may
not catch fire on the campaign trail, Santorum's bombast in Boston is
certainly part of an escalating war of attrition against the principle of
separation -- and it may be a bellwether for what we might anticipate in
the run-up to the 2012 presidential campaign.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/16/221122/028
----
Religious Right Today, Religious Right Tomorrow, Religious Right Forever?
By Bill Berkowitz, 2011-03-16 13:04:21
Section: Dominionism in the military, Topic: All Topics
No matter what you might have read in the mainstream press, no matter what
you've heard, no matter what you've hoped for, these are not the end times
for the Religious Right. Before there was Google, there was the modern-day
Religious Right. Before YouTube videos, Facebook, My Space, and tweets,
there was the Religious Right. Before e-books, Wi-Fi, and Podcasts there
was the Religious Right. Before IPods, IPads, and IPhone Apps, there was
the Religious Right. And it is likely, as each of these
late-twentieth/early twenty-first century marvels (read life's bare
essentialsJ) morph into something even more social networky and more
amazingly gadgety there will be the Religious Right. Despite the
predilection of its leaders and organizations to be deeply suspicions of
and express disdain for modernity, the Religious Right has done one
heck-of-a-job adapting to, harnessing and working with much of the above
phenomena.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/16/13421/7138
----
Slander From Santorum: Former Senator Once Again Proves That He's No Jack Kennedy
By Rob Boston, 2011-03-16 09:42:59
Section: Front Page, Topic: Church/State Separation
I've criticized former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum previously
[http://blog.au.org/2010/09/08/absolute-separation-jfk%E2%80%99s-houston-s
peech-upheld-true-spirit-of-liberty/] for his poor understanding of
church-state separation. Santorum believes President John F. Kennedy was
wrong when, in a famous 1960 speech, Kennedy vowed to be the president of
all people and make his policy decisions not on the basis of what his
Roman Catholic faith demanded but on the grounds of what was good for the
country.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/16/94259/6666
----
Rushdoony's Theocratic Libertarianism at Work in the Nation's Statehouses
By Rachel Tabachnick, 2011-03-15 14:26:15
Section: Front Page, Topic: All Topics
Biblical Capitalism - Part Four What would a Reconstructionist America
look like? Meet Bobby Franklin and his pastor and advocate Rev.
Joseph Morecraft. In my recent article The Rise of Charismatic
Dominionism [http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/1/3/122613/0240], I
quoted a 1994 series of articles by Frederick Clarkson in The Public Eye
[http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisre1.html] which included a
section subtitled "The Wrath of Morecraft."
[http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisre3.html] Rev. Joseph
Morecraft is a nationally recognized leader of a religious/political
belief system called Christian Reconstructionism. One of the better known
congregants of Morecraft's Chalcedon Presbyterian Church is Rep. Bobby
Franklin who has served as the state representative of the 43rd District
of Georgia (north Cobb County) since 1996. Franklin argues that the Tea
Party should be focused on the illegality of taxes and other federal
powers he claims are not constitutional, as opposed to concerns about
reducing taxes. Franklin wishes to abolish:
[http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2011/01/31/bobby-fran
klin-lets-do-away-with-drivers-licenses/] drivers licenses (calling it the
Right to Travel Act
[http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/26675368/detail.html]); public schools;
income taxes; and mandatory vaccinations. He has introduced a bill
[http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/fulltext/hb430.htm] to make gold
and silver the only legal tender, a bill relabeling rape victims
[http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-07/us/georgia.rape.law_1_fraud-victims-wo
rd-victim-burglary-victims?_s=PM:US] as "accusers" in Georgia statutes and
a bill that would require women to provide evidence
[http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/23/bobby-franklin-miscarriage-naturally/
] that their miscarriages occurred naturally or face felony charges.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/15/142615/800
----
Wisconsin is Not Your Father's "Culture Wars"
By Bill Berkowitz, 2011-03-15 13:49:24
Section: Dominionism in the military, Topic: All Topics
It may not leap out at you, but what's going on in Wisconsin and several
other states is a fusion of Koch-ist free-market fundamentalism, Tea Party
swagger, and the Religious Right's traditional values agenda; think the
Heritage Foundation's full-blown project coming home to roost. With the
stripping away of fifty years of collective bargaining rights for public
employee unions in Wisconsin, the culture wars of the past three decades
are morphing into something much larger: a right-wing cultural revolution.
And while battles over reproductive rights, same-sex marriage and an
assortment of other highly-charged social issues will continue to be
fought over, the political landscape is dramatically changing.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/15/134924/638
----
Marjoe, The World's Littlest Child Evangelist !
By Bruce Wilson, 2011-03-15 10:30:38
Section: Front Page, Topic: All Topics
In the 1940's color footage clip, a sharply dressed blond woman declares,
"At this time I would like to present to you the world's youngest ordained
minister and the world's youngest evangelist, Marjoe Gortner. Marjoe
started preaching when he was three and a half..." -- "Howdy neighbors,"
pipes little Marjoe, clad in white, with a bowtie and a red carnation,
"may the Lord bless you!" He remembers being smothered by a pillow, as a
"correctional activity" when his little mind would wander during the
training, to say the right words, the words which helped establish him in
Ripley's Believe it Or Not: the world's youngest, littlest child
evangelist.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/15/103038/907
----
Department of Defense Funded Christian Ministry That Promotes The Glorification of Suicide Bombing
By Bruce Wilson, 2011-03-14 15:48:04
Section: Front Page, Topic: All Topics
"Check it out! We're stoked to present Tedashii's music video for "Make
War" off his last album, Identity Crisis. Hope you dig it...be sure to
pass it on to your friends!" ---Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's
Ransom [http://www.ransom.tv] ministry, November 3, 2010
[http://www.ransom.tv/ransom/2010/11/tedashii-make-war.html]. In
September 2010, the Department of Defense, via Fort Bragg in Georgia,
funded a Christian ministry that two months later was promoting an artist
who celebrates suicide bombing as an example of Christian commitment to
the cause. Here are the details.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/14/15484/2828
----
Whatever Became of the White Citizen's Council?
By wilkyjr, 2011-03-14 10:49:21
Section: Front Page, Topic: Hate Speech ?
The White Citizen's Council was known by critics as a white collar version
of the Klan. It was made up of professionals like lawyers and judges
in contrast to the crude membership in the Klan who did the dirty work.
The WCC held the power and motivated the Klan. A deceased minister
told me just about all the prominent white men in East Texas were members
of the WCC during its time of popularity. Bad publicity or liability
often causes organizations to change their legal names. The White
Citizen's council is still alive and well living under the name Council of
Conservative Citizens.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/14/104921/755
----
Short Takes
By Frederick Clarkson, 2011-03-13 13:13:13
Section: Front Page, Topic: Blog Roundup
No More Mr. Nice Blog
[http://nomoremister.blogspot.com/2011/03/maybe-peter-king-should-investig
ate.html] discusses revelations that Newt Gingrich, while serving as
Speaker of the House in 1998, arranged a conference room for Muslim
Congressional staffers to worship together. The Washington Times
[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/10/pro-life-movements-waterl
oo/]: Randall Terry takes to Rev. Sun Myung Moon's outlet to
denounce anti-abortion leaders for being insufficiently anti-abortion. He
wonders if the movement has become " ...a political mistress - the ditsy
bauble hanging on the arm of GOP sugar daddies in the campaign season,
then ignored without penalty? Or worse, is the pro-life movement a
political streetwalker that is knowingly being bought and sold and defiled
for the money and power of our political pro-life pimps in Congress?" RH
Reality Check
[http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2011/03/03/stoking-fire-randall-terrys
-campaign-platform]: Meanwhile, Eleanor Bader thinks Randall Terry's
campaign to get on the Democratic presidential primary ballot somewhere,
may not be getting anywhere.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/3/13/131313/905
