Ted Cruz' father indicates Ted anointed king as part of the 7 Mountains Mandate.

[madfloridian]

This is truly creepy to me, this whole concept of dominionism. This is part of an article by Bruce Wilson at Talk to Action. Wilson indicated in an earlier article linked below that Ted Cruz "brings to the table his own formidable, even astonishing, elite connections that, in 1999, helped enable candidate George W. Bush's lock on the 2000 election Republican presidential nomination."

Cruz' Father Suggests Ted Cruz "Anointed" to "Bring The Spoils Of War To The Priests"

In a sermon last year at an Irving, Texas, megachurch that helped elect Ted Cruz to the United States Senate, Cruz' father Rafael Cruz indicated that his son was among the evangelical Christians who are anointed as "kings" to take control of all sectors of society, an agenda commonly referred to as the "Seven Mountains" mandate, and "bring the spoils of war to the priests", thus helping to bring about a prophesied "great transfer of wealth", from the "wicked" to righteous gentile believers.

....Discussion of the now-notorious speech by Rafael Cruz has missed the fact that Ted Cruz was subsequently blessed and anointed by prominent dominionist pastors, in effect as a "king" in the political/governmental sphere, at a special blessing ceremony at the Marriott Hotel in Des Moines, Iowa, at a July 19th-20th 2013 rally designed to draw pastors into politics.

From Wilson's earlier article on Cruz:

Ted Cruz Worked With Religious Right Founder Paul Weyrich, To Elect George W. Bush

"We are talking about Christianizing America. We are talking about simply spreading the gospel in a political context." -- U.S. Senator Ted Cruz' late friend Paul Weyrich, in a 1980 Dallas speech to fundamentalist ministers. Weyrich is widely credited as one of the top architects of the new right and the religious right.

.... In other words, per Goeglein's account, Ted Cruz helped create the Bush Presidency. It's astonishing for an almost endless range of reasons, not the least of which is that it doubly true as well - Cruz also served on the Bush campaign's elite legal team that fought the legal battles over the vote recount in Florida which in turn led to the wildly controversial Bush v. Gore Supreme Court ruling that installed George W. Bush in the presidency.

But Cruz' ties to Paul Weyrich are nonetheless even more jaw-dropping than that considering who Weyrich was. How did Cruz earn the friendship of the man who helped create the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and the American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC ?

Here is more about Paul Weyrich and his goals toward "liberals".

Right wing leader said they must be willing to be obnoxious.

If you read what Heubeck and Weyrich wrote about their new plans... you see ruthlessness.

Our movement must be highly provocative. The thing we have most to fear is that we will be ignored.

Cultural conservatives must understand the predicament we are in. We must be willing to take measures that perhaps we would be unwilling to take under different, more ideal circumstances. We will have standards--we will never try to justify dishonesty, destruction of the personal reputation of our opponents, cheating, assault, etc., in the service of victory for our movement. However, we will not consider ourselves above appearing "unseemly" or surrendering some our personal dignity. We must be willing to shake people out of their complacency--which means being obnoxious if the situation requires it--because given the fact that the dominant leftist culture is safely ensconced, complacency only serves the interests of our opponents.

It is not enough to say that conservative philosophy is more sensible than that of the Left. If we leave it at that, we will only attract "sensible" people to our movement. But "sensible" people do not go to the barricades, they do not make great sacrifices for a movement. And the experience of the conservative movement has shown this to be the case. We need more people with fire in the belly, and we need a message that attracts those kinds of people. As Plato said, "madness comes from God, whereas sober sense is merely human."

We have now seen their attacks on the left play out in real time. All we have to do is look back at their words years ago. All planned.

We will maintain a constant barrage of criticism against the Left. We will attack the very legitimacy of the Left. We will not give them a moment's rest.

We will use guerrilla tactics to undermine the legitimacy of the dominant regime. We will take advantage of every available opportunity to spread the idea that there is something fundamentally wrong with the existing state of affairs. For example, we could have every member of the movement put a bumper sticker on his car that says something to the effect of "Public Education is Rotten; Homeschool Your Kids." This will change nobody's mind immediately; no one will choose to stop sending his children to public schools immediately after seeing such a bumper sticker; but it will raise awareness and consciousness that there is a problem. Most of all, it will contribute to a vague sense of uneasiness and dissatisfaction with existing society. We need this if we hope to start picking people off and bringing them over to our side. We need to break down before we can build up. We must first clear away the flotsam of a decayed culture.

Seeing Ted Cruz in action recently brought back all these words of the founders of this movement for religious people to take over every aspect of the government.

In case you are unfamiliar with the 7 Mountains, here is a link to enlighten.

David Barton Advocates Seven Mountains Dominionism

[libdem4life]

1. Memories of Sister Sarah. Both certifiable. Couldn't watch the rest.

[madfloridian]

8. Wondering if Sister Sarah is part of this movement.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/2865

"Palin's "Chosen Vessels of God."

Just hours before last week's vice-presidential debate, Stephen Strang, founder of the Charisma publishing giant, highlighted an account by an Ohio pastor who claimed to have had a revelation of Palin as Esther. Pastor Mark Arnold, of Life Covenant Church in Monroe, Ohio, approached Todd and Sarah Palin at a campaign stop in Lebanon, Ohio, and made them cry with his prophecy of Palin as Esther.

Arnold claims that God told him to tell Palin, who encountered him in the rope line, that "God wants you to know that you are a present day Esther!" Palin, Arnold says, immediately began to cry. "The news and nay-sayers and criticizers are going to be very hateful toward you," Arnold continued, "and in the days ahead they are going to turn up the heat ... but do not fear." You are a "present day Esther," Arnold told Palin, and God "has chosen you to reign." Then Arnold made Todd Palin cry, too, and McCain shook his hand and gave him a "deep look of understanding." Sure."

[libdem4life]

13. I call it an Illness. But it is definitely self-serving and often craven ... note Pat Robertson's

groveling. His donations are down so he's suddenly Moderate.

They have this "thing" with "reigning" totally forgetting their hero, Jesus, went to an early grave because he was denouncing the whole idea. Boggles the mind.

[dlwickham]

31. I almost feel sorry for McCain

he got fucked hard with having to pick Palin for his VP

[Eljo_Don]

49. NWO

Please, try to place this kind of people into the NWO movement. They will make such a mess there that it will take thousands of years to recover.

[Eljo_Don]

50. Jesus

As far as I Know, Jesus never asked Cesar to make some laws to protect him. About politics Jesus said: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's"[Matthew 22:21] Anybody that does the opposite is after power and enrichment. (I'm not a believer.)

[libdem4life]

60. He was the first to come up with separation of church and state...good point

[madfloridian]

62. "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's"

[dchill]

2. Jesus.

[Moostache]

14. wept. (n/t)

[madfloridian]

25. And he still must be.

[yonder]

41. ...weeping.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. Scary stuff

[madfloridian]

5. I agree.

Gives me the shivers. And I was raised Southern Baptist, but now in recovery.

[TwilightGardener]

4. These Cruzes are fucking mental. But THEY'RE not suffering from their delusions.

The rest of us are.

[IrishAyes]

6. What a disgusting methodology they use to justify absolute evil and greed.

I could have more respect for Michael Douglas' character in "Wall Street", who said, "For want of a better term, greed is good."

These guys are as awful as Ayn Rand.

Congrats for an excellent, scholarly OP, btw.

[madfloridian]

7. Thanks for the kind words.

Dominionism is scary.

[IrishAyes]

9. They're all heretics. Every last one.

[elehhhhna]

10. whatever cruz is pushing ain't jesus' teachings

"The endtime transfer of wealth" WTF???

[madfloridian]

12. That phrase really stunned me.

I had not heard that concept before.

[libdem4life]

17. It's part of the End Times/Pre Tribulation stuff...Jesus helps them smite the evildoers and they

reap the reward before he comes down ... prior to them ascending with him later on. In other words, they get to have a party on the former wages of sin here on earth before going to their golden mansion in heaven. It's from the visions of John...not sure which one...that became Revelations. Post Tribulation means they have to be satisfied with not looking back and leaving it all behind as they go up.

I got dragged through every conceivable form of Fundamentalism. Heck, we were taught the Baptists were Liberals and going, you know where. Then I went to college.

[snagglepuss]

65. I too have never heard that term but I think its how the plutocrats who are

financing this have decided to spin the massive wealth disparity in the US to their deluded sheeples.

[zebonaut]

11. Fundamentalist Religion was the cause of all this Garbage

Religion is a kind of mass psychosis; where its normal to be delusional

[Hutzpa]

15. Not to worry

Just get Raul or Fidel Castro on their asses and it will be over.

[madrchsod]

16. romney and the cult of the white horse

http://www.salon.com/2012/01/29/mitt_and_the_white_horse_prophecy/

obama was a member of the united church of christ in chicago.

[Amonester]

18. Ted $crews Just Extorted $25 Billion From All Taxpayers

Ted Screws Just Extorted $25 Billion To Pay For His Lunatic Shutdown

Should be front-page headlines everywhere tomorrow morning.

[NastyRiffraff]

19. Sickening, but very important to know

The Religious Right have been working for years to destroy democracy and establish a theocracy. I didn't know that Cruz was a part of the dominionists and/or Christian Reconstructionists, but knowing it now makes a lot of his actions more clear. Cruz wants to destroy the American system of government.

These people are anti-democracy, anti-freedom and anti-America. They are extremely dangerous.

For more information (and there's a lot of it) see http://www.theocracywatch.org/

[efhmc]

20. Church is in Carrolton and not Irving.

[penultimate]

76. OMG... I live near these people?

That might explain a few things...

[efhmc]

78. So sorry. Just remember if you are in Texas as I am, there are always

some nearby.

[penultimate]

87. I can deal with the typical religious person in most cases, buuuut

I've never seen this level of creepy mix of religion and money worship at the same time. It's almost like a caricature of sorts.

[blkmusclmachine]

21. This Cult owns The Family and "Frathouse for Jesus" in Washington DC (home for US Senators, D & R).

They operate the Presidents Prayer Breakfast every February in Washington DC, and there are rumors that The Family helped author Uganda's Kill the Gays bill that has been circulating before the Ugandan Congress.

See them in action propagandizing to Evangelical youth in the movie Jesus Camp, on DVD/Blu Ray and streaming.

Also, I have heard that Rev. Rick Warren is deeply associated with the Christian Dominionist movement.

[sabrina 1]

37. I have read about their presence in Uganda and their 'mission' against

Gays there. It is evil.

[Ineeda]

74. Huckabee, too.

(4/2011) Mike Huckabee was saying that all Americans should be forced to listen to (David) Barton's messages - at gunpoint if necessary. Barton is prominent in this cult.

[DhhD]

22. Cult of Donimionism - union of Church and State when the Bible teaches just the opposite.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/14/dominionism-michele-bachmann-and-rick-perry-s-dangerous-religious-bond.html

Now the annointed One seems to be Rick Perry for president in some Dominion churches to E.R. Cruz in other Dominion churches.

Who is Cruz's apostle? Who is Perry's apostle?

[DhhD]

23. Will one Dominion Church primary another Dominion Church next year? Tax exempt status?

[Snake Plissken]

24. The GOP isn't fucked, They are so beyond fucked, they couldn't catch a bus back to fucked

And it's not like they weren't warned

[mia]

26. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

[FiveGoodMen]

64. Their end will only be what their actions deserve

if we do something about it.

[madfloridian]

92. I remember that verse now....been a long time.

I was trained in church and believe it or not...school...to memorize hundreds of verses. The school part was an after school event in which we could win a trip to camp for the memorization.

Been a long time since I heard that verse.

[FloriTexan]

27. K&R

It makes me want to go to church just to keep an eye on these crazies.

[madfloridian]

28. ....

[DURHAM D]

29. It has been reported that Ted does not bathe on a regular basis.

Is that consistent with these religious beliefs?

[hedda_foil]

30. Oh crap! ALEC is part and parcel of the Dominionists web

From the article on Cruz above: http://www.talk2action.org/story/2013/10/8/132658/236/

So Weyrich and his gang set about reframing the political debate. He founded the highly influential Heritage Foundation in 1973 to translate controversial, very conservative beliefs into policy positions.

He went on to found the Free Congress Foundation in 1977 which describes its mission on its website:

[O]ur main focus is on the Culture War. Will America return to the culture that made it great, our traditional, Judeo-Christian, Western culture? Or will we continue the long slide into the cultural and moral decay of political correctness? If we do, America, once the greatest nation on earth, will become no less than a third world country.

To fight the Culture War, Weyrich helped draft television preacher Rev. Jerry Falwell in 1979 to head a new political movement that Weyrich coined "the Moral Majority." How do you politicize a constituency that is mostly apolitical? And how do you get members of that constituency to join the political party that least represents their economic interests? In August of 198 pop0, W"eyrich laid out his vision for a new America at a meeting of fundamentalist ministers:

We are talking about Christianizing America. We are talking about simply spreading the gospel in a political context.

[...]
The Moral Majority burst onto the political scene in 1979 like an earthquake, sending shockwaves throughout the United States. They made up the margin that got Ronald Reagan elected President in 1980, and they managed to defeat five of the most liberal Senators from the U.S. Congress that same year.

Weyrich is one of the founders of American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and served as it's treasurer (1981-1992). ALEC is a coalition of corporate leaders and culture warriors. It will be the topic of a future post.

Weyrich is also one of the founders of the highly secretive Council for National Policy where he has served on the Executive Committee. ABC news wrote a story on the CNP with the subtitle, Meet the Most Powerful Conservative Group You've Never Heard Of.

[...]

Perhaps most disturbing of all is a strategy paper published by Weyrich's Free Congress Foundation. It is revealing of true Machiavelli and diabolical thinking. The Integration of Theory and Practice: A Program for the New Traditionalist Movement was written for CFC by Eric Heubeck.

Here are some samplings of what Katherine Yurica calls the most immoral political program ever adopted by a political movement in this country.

This essay is based on the belief that the truth of an idea is not the primary reason for its acceptance.
Our movement will be entirely destructive, and entirely constructive. We will not try to reform the existing institutions. We only intend to weaken them, and eventually destroy them. We will endeavor to knock our opponents off-balance and unsettle them at every opportunity. All of our constructive energies will be dedicated to the creation of our own institutions.

We will maintain a constant barrage of criticism against the Left. We will attack the very legitimacy of the Left. We will not give them a moment's rest.

We will use guerrilla tactics to undermine the legitimacy of the dominant regime.

We must reframe this struggle as a moral struggle, as a transcendent struggle, as a struggle between good and evil. (emphasis theirs)

[...]
"

Viewed from their perspective, the events of tonight aren't a win for our side. As far as they're conceived, they've thoroughly shaken our foundation and set things up for the next go round, which will continue to disrupt and undermine the republic until they take it down for good.

[sabrina 1]

38. This, we see it even here on DU and on other Democratic 'left' forums:

We will maintain a constant barrage of criticism against the Left. We will attack the very legitimacy of the Left. We will not give them a moment's rest.

It began to infiltrate 'left' forums around 2004. Looks like they left 'no stone unturned' in their zeal to destroy the 'left', including infiltrating even 'left' institutions, forums etc.

Good link, thank you. It's so much easier to fight the 'enemy' when you know who they are.

[madfloridian]

94. Hi hedda_foil...been a while.

Good to see you.

[Starry Messenger]

32. K&R

[flamingdem]

33. Go Mandate a Mountain Cruz

If you Cruz you Luze!

[LarryNM]

34. The Leaders Direct

the delusional, the desperate and the miseducated, all while conning a cut of the action for themselves; regardless of how much/little of the bs they themselves believe. Of course, such organizations are perfect instruments for the Plutocratic Plans of the < 1 %.

[peoli]

35. this is so scary to me.

[madfloridian]

36. We have seen them in action now.

We should all be scared.

[sabrina 1]

39. We should have been scared of them a long time ago, and so should our

elected leaders. They should NEVER compromise with these thugs, but they have and in doing so have given them the go ahead to keep demanding more.

I hope this ends any compromising with the Far Right, especially on issues that are of the most vital importance to the most vulnerable among us.

Reading what their plans are for the 'Left', which includes policies such as Social Programs, no Democrat should EVER budge one iota of an inch to 'compromise' with these lunatics.

[madfloridian]

40. Amen, Sabrina.

I hope some eyes were opened in DC circles.

[Enthusiast]

46. I agree.

No compromise. Get them out of office before they destroy the nation. They should be exposed in the media where they could never stand up to the light of scrutiny.

[madfloridian]

79. ...

Good to see you.

[Enthusiast]

88. Good to see you, too, madfloridian.

We have to stick together, those of us of like minds.

[yonder]

42. holyeefuckamolee!

these nuts can own guns?

[Rex]

43. Well there it is.

Unfuckingbelievable!

[yonder]

44. I don't get it

Doesn't sound like any preaching I ever heard in church. What about humility, helping out and being wary of the grasp of wealth? kookoo as hell!

[madfloridian]

59. Seems to me it is more about power and greed than religion.

[Mc Mike]

75. Another tool to promote fascism.

Katherine Yurica's blog has a lot of info on these creeps. Max Blumenthal's book Republican Gomorrah, and Chris Hedges' American Fascists have good info about them also. And there was a good 2 part documentary by Antony Thomas in '87 -'88 called 'Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done' that won a Sundance Award.
http://history.sundance.org/films/967/thy_kingdom_come_thy_will_be_done

[snappyturtle]

45. K&R I watched a video last week about Dominionism....will look to

see if I can find it.

[Enthusiast]

47. Kicked and recommended.

This is a sick distortion of Christianity.

[madfloridian]

93. .....

Thanks for the rec.

[silenttigersong]

48. Ted Cruz's ego has no humility....

because of this.I fear for my Grandchildren and their science education.Why we should take Richard Dawkins advise and be very active.

[Berlum]

51. The Great Deception. Indeed.

&cfs=1

[toby jo]

52. This crap will sink these guys.

They get together in their little clicks and it provides a form of power, but on the national stage it reeks. I hope he covers himself in it.

Middle eastern prescriptions of religious thought are primitive - no place for them on the world's stage.

[SamYeager]

53. That's some terrifying fucking shit right there.

Ted Cruz is the single most DANGEROUS MAN on the planet.

He is worse than normal demagogues.

He's a fucking theocratic end times demagogue!

[Alcibiades]

54. Looks like the stenographer is in on it

She references Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."


She thought she was serving in the House at a prophesied time. When the fantasy falls apart, the cray cray comes out.

[drynberg]

55. 2 Points: Separatation of Church/State? and Teddy True Colors are out and helping him repel all but

The most Baggery of Baggers. Kinda like McCarthy on steroids, no?

[Ishoutandscream2]

56. Uh, shouldn't this church be taxed?

Endorsing a political candidate and all?

[madfloridian]

58. Should be.

But never happen.

[DhhD]

57. Cruz recently made a remark about the Roman Cesar. And statements about moving all the money to

In my opinion: Latino refers to people of Roman/Cesarean/Arian descent (Germans who moved in to Rome to become the Romans) and Celts and Iberians in Spain. The Seven Mountains refer to seven hills around Rome - from the Bible. The Crusaders of Mid-Evil Times brought the idols (mostly Bael) made of gold to the Pope. They are still in the basement of the Vatican, a building at the center of the seven hills. In later times, the Spanish Conquistadors brought gold from South America to the Kings and Queens of Spain. The gold of Africa had already been mined on the near surface long ago. Now we have a new money - Carbon- and to come - Electrons and Protons from the Sun (next is to stake a claim on the Sun). It is all about money from the the other side of the hill as in ponze schemes - wealth disappearance from the public (same old story). Who is the head of each mountain - a World Person for that mountain/pyramid, equals seven persons, (to be guided by Cruz, Perry and who ever else wants to challenge him for the Title of the Anointed One).

[Coyotl]

61. "Christianizing America" = transfer the wealth to the rich and screw the liberals.

[madfloridian]

63. Cruz at it again...holding things up.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014623932

Just doing his job, I guess.

[snagglepuss]

66. This OP should be a permanent feature on DU's home page.

[madfloridian]

67. ......

Thanks, but no way my posts will make front page often. Too outspoken. Nice comment though.

[ANOIS]

96. On his radio show, Thom Hartman quoted

from one of your posts last week, & said that it was from DU, posted by madfloridian. I believe it was about Ted Cruz, considering how he's the talk of the country. He probably loves it.

[ancianita]

68. This doesn't appear even as a subset of dominionism. Is this 7 mountains stuff really as

widespread or as powerful as you think? It really seems to just be getting started. Isn't it also just a histrionic part of religious fundraising? Not criticizing; just asking.

[madfloridian]

69. Well...

There is a difference between widespread and powerful. May I point to the success Ted Cruz had in almost bringing government to a halt. I say almost because his own party started getting fearful of him. There was power behind him.

Histrionic? I don't think so. I think it is real, and I think it is destructive.

I watched our Southern Baptist church call the Iraq invasion a holy war. They pushed it from the pulpit. I saw them start to deny women the right to birth control. The head of the seminary where their pastors are trained is leading the way on these divisive issues.

We left that church. There are things going on that are not religious in nature, but are all about power and greed.

[ancianita]

70. I'm buying into this. I think dominionism in all its recent permutations is dangerous, especially

when they redefine "freedom" as solely biblically based.

It's particularly dangerous in its privileging Old Testament memes over Jesus' own teachings. Your asserting that it's another form of power and greed reminds me of Christians' claims that even the devil quotes scripture. In this case, framing their drive to power as some 7 Mountains meme resembles just that.

[haikugal]

77. Look into steeplejacking...

these people have been active for quite a while but they do it on the down low...very nasty stuff. It only looks like it's just starting to happen...

[madfloridian]

82. I did. I see a book about it by authors with whom I am familiar.

http://www.amazon.com/Steeplejacking-Christian-Hijacking-Mainstream-Religion/dp/097719728X

"An unprecedented look inside the battle for religion in America, Steeplejacking: How the Christian Right is Hijacking Mainstream Religion exposes how a strident theocratic minority is attacking—or “steeplejacking”—mainstream churches in order to eliminate progressive voices and take control of America’s historic mainline denominations.

An insider account by two ministers on the front lines of mainstream religion’s longtime shadow war against the religious right, Steeplejacking reveals how conservative renewal groups, backed by a right-wing organization called the Institute on Religion and Democracy, use social wedge issues like homosexuality to infiltrate mainline churches and stir up dissent among members of the congregation, with the goal of taking over the leadership of the church, and ultimately, the denomination. The book unmasks the covert methods that renewal groups and the IRD use to spread their propaganda, as well as showing how the pastor and other church leaders can act as either"

I think I will order it.

[haikugal]

83. That looks good...

I have Christian Fascists by Chris Hedges and I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/American-Fascists-Christian-Right-America/dp/0743284461/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382144227&sr=8-1&keywords=chris+hedges+american+fascists

Twenty-five years ago, when Pat Robertson and other radio and televangelists first spoke of the United States becoming a Christian nation that would build a global Christian empire, it was hard to take such hyperbolic rhetoric seriously. Today, such language no longer sounds like hyperbole but poses, instead, a very real threat to our freedom and our way of life. In American Fascists, Chris Hedges, veteran journalist and author of the National Book Award finalist War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, challenges the Christian Right's religious legitimacy and argues that at its core it is a mass movement fueled by unbridled nationalism and a hatred for the open society.

Hedges, who grew up in rural parishes in upstate New York where his father was a Presbyterian pastor, attacks the movement as someone steeped in the Bible and Christian tradition. He points to the hundreds of senators and members of Congress who have earned between 80 and 100 percent approval ratings from the three most influential Christian Right advocacy groups as one of many signs that the movement is burrowing deep inside the American government to subvert it. The movement's call to dismantle the wall between church and state and the intolerance it preaches against all who do not conform to its warped vision of a Christian America are pumped into tens of millions of American homes through Christian television and radio stations, as well as reinforced through the curriculum in Christian schools. The movement's yearning for apocalyptic violence and its assault on dispassionate, intellectual inquiry are laying the foundation for a new, frightening America.

American Fascists, which includes interviews and coverage of events such as pro-life rallies and weeklong classes on conversion techniques, examines the movement's origins, its driving motivations and its dark ideological underpinnings. Hedges argues that the movement currently resembles the young fascist movements in Italy and Germany in the 1920s and '30s, movements that often masked the full extent of their drive for totalitarianism and were willing to make concessions until they achieved unrivaled power. The Christian Right, like these early fascist movements, does not openly call for dictatorship, nor does it use

You probably end up as angry as I am....oh well, my eyes are open!

[ancianita]

71. So I say, if we want a non-theocratic country, we are in for a long haul of crazy.

Thank you for this invaluable history lesson on Paul Weyrich's and Eric Huebeck's legacy of this brand of dominionism in politics.

You might be Christian. I'm not. Yet I've lived a Christian worshipful life, sacraments, Sunday School teacher, the whole nine. One thing I'd remind others of is the famous Christian saying that even the devil can quote scripture. The 7 Mountain Dominionist group's privileging of Old Testament teaching over Jesus' words "Render under Ceasar..." falls into that category and their biblical cherry picked revelations just reveal them to be mostly about power and greed.

Let us stop being puzzled, frazzled and war weary of these cycles of crazy. This is The Long Game now. Cruz's "we" are the dog whistle dominionists that he and his suicide caucus represent. Dominionist purists presume to define "real" Americans. It's their special brand of God Club. And most of the rest of us ain't in it.

So when Ted Cruz, by traditionalist, dominionist logic, says "we win," I now get it.

[madfloridian]

90. Excellent post. This sentence....

"So when Ted Cruz, by traditionalist, dominionist logic, says "we win," I now get it."

[DeSwiss]

72. Dominionism = Fifth Column

- They believe that they're not traitors because they do it for the Godhead.

Lieutenant General Michelle Johnson's recent appointment as head of the Air force Academy (the heretofore unchallenged domain of these vipers) will be telling. I hope she has plenty of tent pegs......

K&R


USAF-Academy Chapel

[barkway]

73. Tax Churches

Have said it before and will say it again. Churches need to be taxed. They have no respect for separation of church and state, and as such should be paying their fair share.

[Jamastiene]

80. Mercy. I live in the Bible Belt and thought I had heard it all.

Even compared to some of the extreme fundies in my area, some of that stuff is so far out there that is sounds damned dangerous to me. When people start anointing themselves kings and shit like that, it's time to start preparing to defend ourselves from them. That's some dangerous stuff.

[madfloridian]

81. It is really far out there.

Almost hard to believe it.

[Jamastiene]

89. It sounds like a cult to me.

[madfloridian]

84. Thanks to those who let me know about Thom Hartmann mentioning it. And thanks for all the Tweets!

That's a lot of tweets...much appreciated. People need to know about this stuff.

[madfloridian]

85. Wow. Most tweets ever for me. Means it is getting exposure.

Makes me happy.

[Crowman1979]

86. I hope a Jim Baker-like scandal of biblical proportions occurs with this church.

[Scurrilous]

91. K & R

[Tx4obama]

95. Kick n/t

[NYC_SKP]

97. Wow. Recommended. (nt)

[Octafish]

98. ¿¡Que carajo!?

Apestan al aceite.

[madfloridian]

99. Okay...you really must translate.

All I got on a lookup was "oil stinks" Really?

[Octafish]

100. WTF?

They stink like oil.

[madfloridian]

103. ....

Okay....

[Octafish]

104. 'Carajo' is an idiom...

...it can mean anything from "the hell" to "the testicles of a large land animal" to "go eff one's self."

The oil on Cruz and Son is to symbolize their connection to Big Oil and Old Money, a la Rockefeller. Papa Cruz worked the oil patch out of Canada, back in the day. His Texas based boy, no doubt, will serve his masters well in the tradition of satrap and toadie.

I used Smirko's picture because it conveys the essence of their Enterprise, the control of the world economy for their private gain. Odd how they could do so much good with the stuff, yet they use what remains to power things that could run on green energy.

Case in point: For just the amount of money squandered on the Iraq War, we could create a 100-percent renewable, clean energy grid for the entire nation. Here're details:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/for-the-price-of-the-iraq-war-the-u-s-could-have-a-100-renewable-power-system/5330881

But, no. We need austerity. And we need to understand why contracts don't count for the little people. And why the public schools aren't a priority. And why the wars without end always get funded. And why the banksters, warmongers and traitors that have run America over the cliff and the planet into the ground walk free.

PS: Sorry to ramble, madfloridian. Tough times...

[madfloridian]

106. I know the feeling. Your last paragraph says it all...couldn't have said it better.

Ramble on, Octafish.

[Historic NY]

101. Holy hell in a hand basket.......!!!

"In the video, which became briefly notorious and unsettled many uncommitted moderate voters, Sarah Palin, who would soon run for and win the Alaska governor's seat, was shown being blessed and anointed by a

Kenyan pastor

with a croaking, raspy voice who called upon God to bless candidate Palin and protect her against witchcraft."

[djean111]

102. "We will maintain a constant barrage of criticism against the Left. We will attack the very

legitimacy of the Left. We will not give them a moment's rest. "
Well, as a proud leftie, I am certainly familiar with this tactic.......

[Blue Owl]

105. Hail, King Turd

n/t