Leah Burton does an amazing job of tying the Oslo terrorist to Christian Dominionism.

Yesterday I wrote of the connection that Anders Behring Breivik had to Sarah Palin and the Teabaggers in America. As many of you pointed out the strongest connection could be made between Beivik and the Domonionists, which is true, though I also believe that there are much stronger connections between the Tea Party and the Dominionists than many people seem to realize.

However as I have said in the past, when it comes to writing about Dominionists I ALWAYS defer to my friend Leah Burtion, who is the recognized expert on the subject.

And so I have.

Courtesy of Politicususa:

In regards to dominionist linkages to the bloody slaughter in Norway, here are our findings so far:

a) In particular, with a video manifesto (which has been linked on Youtube until it was pulled there, and which has since shown up on Liveleak) the shooter makes some very specific references that show he has familiarity with, and probably shares terminology with (if not overtly sharing intel with) “Christian patriot” militia groups in the US (including material that has been posted on racist and far-right-wing forums in the US, use of particular catch phrases associated with the “Christian Patriot” movement in the US, and others). I’ve just spent nine hours typing up an extensive analysis of the video; he is clearly connected with religious-nationalist groups in Europe and in the US. The degree of references to material originating in the US, in fact, indicate he has been in somewhat regular contact with anti-Muslim racists in the “Christian Patriot” movement in the US, rather than obtaining racialist material from racist groups elsewhere in the world.

b) One thing that stands out (if one is unaware of racialist movements in Europe)–most racist activity in Europe so far has been from “odinists” and “Satanists” in the black-metal community (and are largely doing it in a pattern of occasionally bloody attention-whoredom) or from blatantly neo-Nazi groups. A group or person claiming a “Conservative Christian” basis for this, especially in Europe, stands out like a sore thumb; generally (unlike the US) there has not been a tradition of “racist right” churches like Christian Identity that claim to be “Bible-based”.

c) One thing that stands out in the killer’s videos and writings is a certain obsession with the Knights Templar, the Third Crusade, and the idea of setting up what amount to European “Christian Patriot militias” (often using the very same terminology, of note, as “Christian patriot” groups associated with dominionism and the racist right use in the US) to foment a revolution in the same way as planned by “Christian Patriot militias” here in the US.

d) In particular, the killer is a known guest writer on the site “Jihad Watch”, which has had very close linkage with Dominionist groups (including NAR groups). Jihad Watch is sufficiently infamous (and sufficiently tied to Dominionist activity, particularly among the NAR) that it is one of those groups that Southern Poverty Law Center keeps a very careful watch on (and is on verge of listing it formally as a hate site), and writers to that site almost inevitably have ties to NAR groups.

e) There is a known NAR movement in Norway, which is similar in extremism to the US and which has known linkage to NAR extremists in the US, particularly in C. Peter Wagner’s network (in particular, Jan Torp who has known linkage to Sarah Palin via the Wagner NAR network among others); Norway, a relatively religiously conservative country, has been aggressively targeted by the NAR in an effort to establish a bench-head in Scandinavia. (Of note–Wagner’s lineage of NARasites is the most closely connected to the “racist right” along with Christian Reconstructionists; there is clear evidence that Christian Identity groups and NAR groups have traded theological terminology related to domestic terrorism as recently as the late 1980s and early 1990s.) I wrote about Torp’s connection to Sarah Palin at God’s Own Party? in November 2008.

It is important to recognize that C. Peter Wagner who we are speaking of is one of the main endorsers of Governor Rick Perry’s “The Response” event in Houston.

Believe it or not this is but a taste of the extensive article that Leah has written making these connections and I urge you to free up the time necessary to read the entire post.

How the Republicans are destroying our public school system, right before our eyes.

This amazing article comes to us from Cassandra Vert, writing for Politicususa:

The conservative argument hinges on convincing us that private education is somehow better than aggregated public education. It’s not. The best students in the world come from state-run schools. When we had the best students in the world, it was because we made a philosophical and financial commitment that every student deserved access to the best education that we as a nation could provide. That is what has changed, and that is what we must reclaim.

I simply cannot urge you enough to read what Cassandra has written.


I have tried multiple times to write how important I find this issue, but have never distilled it down to its main points, nor defined the importance of doing something to stop the privatization of our education system, anywhere near as well as was accomplished in this article.

The picture you see above is my alma mater, A.J. Dimond High School. It is no exaggeration to say that THAT public school changed my life forever and taught me valuable lessons which STILL inform the way I conduct myself to this very day.

What makes you think that Michele Bachmann is trying to steal Sarah Palin's mojo? I mean besides everything?

The idea that Michele Bachmann is ACTIVELY trying to supplant the Grizzled Mama in Teabagger hearts is simply ridiculous.  Bachmann even said so herself a  few days ago.

"They want to see two girls come together and have a mud wrestling fight, and I am not going to give that to them," Bachmann told a voter Wednesday who asked about her relationship with the former Alaska governor.

See media? No mud wrestling! (Even though from a purely male perspective that would be pretty AWESOME! Sorry, had a little testosterone surge there.)

So get over it media.  Just because they sound alike, screw up historical facts alike, and dress alike,

sometimes exactly alike, it does NOT mean that Michele is trying to rip Sarah Palin off.

So just relax and enjoy watching Bachmann launch her Presidential campaign with her bus tour, and....

what?

Oh come on!  ALL candidates have a bus that they ride around on to meet the voters.  Why must we compare Bachmann's bus to....

Wow, they are similar aren't they? Are those even different buses, or did she actually steal Palin's bus and repaint it?

Well forget about the buses, because beyond that they have very little in common. And I am sure that most political observers would agree with me on that.

I'm sorry Sarah Jones, of Politicususa, what is that you are saying?

Both Bachmann and Palin are GOP puppets; religious extremists dressed up, puffed up and pushed out, sold to the highest bidder to put a pretty face on ugly ideas. Both women seem nice enough from afar, both are ostensibly good mothers from afar, both are absolutely hypocritical on almost every issue they purport to stand for and too ignorant to know it. Both are wildly over-confident, in the way that can only come from a small mind that cannot conceive of larger issues beyond the self-aggrandizing, unregulated id that drives them.

Both women bring out the worst in our culture. Both appeal to the lurking sexism, hooking it with a wink and bringing all women down into the mud with them if we dare call them out on it. Yes, if we dare say a word, we are then labeled ugly haters or “fat”. It’s as if we are back in Junior High, only I never knew anyone so shameless and tawdry as either of these two women in Junior High. It offends me to even address their vulgar cries for attention via their sexuality.

Oookay, well perhaps I misspoke. 

Fine, I guess Bristol IS right for once and Bachmann is copying her mother (And doing it better by the way), but SURELY Sarah Palin is a big enough person to let it slide and simply enjoy what she has going for her. 

You know like Bristol's very successful book tour.  Oh that's right.

Well how about her new film?  It's not like her supporters have to fake attendance numbers in order to make it seem more pop...oooh that's going to leave a mark.

Okay well Sarah Palin has "tough skin" so I imagine like any Mama Grizzly whose life is in the shitter she is taking all of this in stride, right?

Did anybody else just lose the feeling in their testicles? (Look away, Gryphen, look away!)

Yeah somehow I think that things might be a little chilly at Casa De Grizzly for he next several weeks.

Now if only no OTHER potential candidates do anything to piss her off, or make her feel like even more of a loser, things might just settle down.

From Politico:

Mitt Romney is slated to have private sit-downs with top officials while he's fundraising in London next week, potentially including Prime Minister David Cameron, per the Globe.

The story raises the possibility of a get-together with Margaret Thatcher, which would be noteworthy on a few levels - including her recent reported refusal to take a meeting with Sarah Palin. (Thatcher's office reportedly denied two British papers' stories that there was an intended snub by the elderly former politician) .

Somewhere in Wasilla a refrigerator just screamed in terror.

Journalist Sarah Jones bravely delves into the world of the "Quiverfull Movement."

Vyckie Garrison ex-Quiverfull member

Courtesy of Politicususa:

Sarah Jones: Can you define “Quiverfull movement” and what you’ve identified as the patriarchal beliefs behind it?

Vyckie Garrison: I like to define Quiverfull as a very powerful head trip. It’s an all-encompassing vision of a big, happy family which infects the mind and affects every aspect of a Believer’s life. The term “Quiverfull” comes from a reference in Psalm 127 which likens children to “arrows” in the hands of a mighty man, “blessed is the man who has his quiver full of them.”

Quiverfull Believers eschew all forms of birth control in favor of “trusting the Lord” with their family planning. The Quiverfull ideal embraces a “biblical” model (read, fundamentalist) of the traditional family which insists that the husband is the head of the household and the wife is the submissive “helpmeet.”

Sarah Jones: How do those beliefs manifest for wives and female children? Can you give us some examples of expectations of wives and daughters that might surprise our readers?

Vyckie Garrison: In practice, the Quiverfull ideals often result in larger-than-average families (think, Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar of TLCs “19 & Counting” fame) in which the woman stays at home having babies, homeschooling, homesteading, dressing “modestly,” and most importantly, serving and submitting to her “lord,” i.e., her patriarchal husband.

The Quiverfull lifestyle is extremely demanding and the only way a woman can hope to succeed is to rely heavily on her older daughters. It is expected that a Quiverfull daughter will be fully capable of running the household, including all meal-preparation, laundry duties, child care and homeschooling of younger siblings by the age of twelve. Many girls are doing all this by the time they’re eight or ten because their mothers are so consumed with birthing more and more “arrows” to fill the quivers of their husbands.

A Quiverfull daughter is taught from a young age that her purpose in life is to serve the man whom God has placed in authority over her. She serves her father while she lives at home (she does this primarily by assisting her mother in domestic duties and child care). She absolutely must remain a virgin and is taught to expect to meet and marry her future husband through a father-led match-making process called “courtship.” Her education is geared toward developing domestic skills ~ college is generally considered unnecessary and even dangerous for her spiritual well-being.

Sarah Jones: Do Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann (both of whom share a belief in the bible replacing the constitution; i.e., a theocratic takeover of the American government) represent the beliefs you were taught and if so, how? If not, why?

Vyckie Garrison: When I was a fully-convinced Quiverfull believer, I did question how Sarah Palin could justify her political activities so long as she had children still living at home. I also thought it ironic that, according to the ideals she espouses, women should not hold authority over men, or even be allowed to vote for that matter.

Still, I supported Palin because she understands and promotes conservative Christian “family values.” I was especially impressed by her convictions with regard to “taking back America for God” — in my Quiverfull-colored opinion, Sarah Palin “got it.” Meaning, of course, that she has a decent understanding of Dominionist principles and she has a plan to lead America toward a “truly Biblical” (read, theocratic) society.

This philosophy of breeding for God is as old as religion itself. Older even.

It dates back to a time when the only hope that a community had of survival was to have more warriors, and more people working to support those warriors, than their enemies had at their disposal.

One of the main fears that Christians, even today, have is that the Muslims are out breeding them, and that ultimately they will lose their religious dominance and power structure. By the way that is the same fear that the White Power people have concerning Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans. And yes, the two ARE tied together.

I am still constantly amazed how Sarah Palin is able to gain the support from these hyper Fundamentalists when her entire lifestyle is an affront to the tenets of their belief system. It seems that essentially these people are bred to accept the lies told to them by their leaders, and therefore give her a free pass.

Please do click the link at the top and read this entire interview.  Though it is very troubling, it provides important information to help us understand where the Republican party keeps finding their supporters.

Republicans hire Obama impersonator to belittle the President, only to escort him off stage when he turns on them.

Courtesy of Sarah Jones over at Politicususa:

Video surfaced today of the Republicans kicking Reggie Brown, their Obama impersonator, off the stage at the Republican Leadership Conference after he made fun of their candidates. I confess that I’ve been struggling to understand what passes for Republican humor ever since we found out that they think Colbert is a conservative and tried to claim “Obama Waffles” “Barack the Magic Negro” and “Watermelon White House” were “satire”.

I’m still befuddled after watching this video, because they were gettin’ a good laugh on as Reggie mocked Obama’s race and birthplace but they got all button down upset when Reggie went for the Obamneycare.

See, it’s rip roarin’ funny when the impersonator goes after Obama, talks about race endlessly, and equates Obama with the Kardashians. I’d grade this sort of low level base humor on par with what I expected from my nephew when he was in Junior High, but I’ll note that even my small town nephew with a big heart got the cruelty of such jokes by the time he reached the ripe age of 13. Happiest laughter at Anthony Weiner jokes — this coming from a party chock full of elected officials who have committed actual sex crimes and remain in office, self-awareness clearly not in evidence in New Orleans this night.

When do they get offended? When the humor is directed at their candidates, of course.

At has been pointed out repeatedly that the Republicans just don't get humor.  So they hire a rather juvenile comedian because he sounds like Obama and often mocks him in his act, but have no idea that this guy makes jokes that also target their own candidates. 

When they realize that his jokes have more than just a grain of truth in them about the GOP field they quickly have him escorted offstage by an old white guy.

Of course having Obama pushed off stage by an old white guy is EXACTLY the kind of wet dream that most of the GOP have every night anyway.

Wasting no time, the Democrats use the first Republican debate to ridicule them.

(H/T to Politicususa.)

I watched a little of this last night, and after it was over I had to wonder if they all left in separate vehicles or if they all climbed into the same clown car together, and careened off into the sunset.

None of these losers is any competition for President Obama.  His only competition is job growth.

Just another example of how Sarah Palin's ridiculous birth story hurts working mothers. Even those working for Fox News.

Currently Megyn Kelly, another of Fox's blond bimbo-ish talk show hosts, is on maternity leave.

You would imagine that those who espouse the "conservative family values" point of view would find that admirable.  But apparently you would be wrong.

Here is Fox News contributor Mike Gallagher and Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace acting like neanderthals on the subject.



Yeah, how proud am I of MY gender right about now?

Thankfully I am a REAL pro-family progressive, and not one of these knuckle draggers who only give lip service to the idea of sacrificing for their families.

However leave it up to the brilliant Sarah Jones, of Politicususa, to quickly recognize just who it is that reinforces this type of antiquated thinking from conservative males:

A side note while I point out just one more reason women have problems with women like “conservative” Sarah Palin; Palin told the media that she gave a speech after going into labor (or breaking water) and then flew home ten hours before driving another two to her preferred hospital. Three days later, she arrived at work with her new baby and men all over the country said, “Atta gal!”

They praise her now as the “ideal wife”, as if she had no help with her child, as if taking a 3 day old infant with health problems to work is a viable idea, as if motherhood weren’t really, actually, very time consuming and physically draining. All of this leaves women like Megyn Kelly even more vulnerable to criticism for taking some time off before and after giving birth. This is “Mama Grizzly” feminism: Selling the unrealistic notion that women can and should do it all at the same time, no less, and look great while they’re doing it.

So you see it is not JUST that the pregnancy hoax gave Sarah Palin pro-life credibility that she did not deserve, and put her on the short list of possible John McCain VP candidates, it ALSO reinforces a negative stereotype that working women use their children as an excuse to get out of work whereas men do not.

(And we all know that if MEN had to give birth, they would demand SIX months off from work, as well as a trophy for their accomplishment, and probably a holiday named after them just to top it off.)

In truth Sarah Palin has done more to set back the Women's Movement in this country, than Hooters, Baywatch, and Hustler magazine combined.

And I would also like to point out that is REAL women like Sarah Jones and Laura Novak, female journalists who are willing to address the Palin faked pregnancy head on, that should make feminists and working women proud of their gender.  NOT the phony, hypocrisy ridden, Sarah Palin.