> nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn > nnnnnnnnnn AANEWS nnnnnnnnnn > #27 uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu 5/1/96 > >In This Edition... > * GOP Hopes Aborted Over Platform Issue? > * Wild 'N Crazy Folks At USTP > * Should Muslims "Serve And Protect" At Public Expense? > * Freemen Update ~~ More On "The Guy Thing," And A Nervous Goat > *TheistWatch ~~ Find Out About The REAL Mark Of The Beast! > > GOP ABORTION PLANK FIGHT LOOMS > > Some political pundits have already written off the Republican Party in >the November, '96 Presidential race; the party's platform, which calls for a >constitutional amendment to ban all abortion, will make the difference when >voters (particularly women) step into the polling booth, they insist. And >barring a depression, major scandal or some other calamity which isn't on the >political radar screen right now, Bill Clinton will be residing in the White >House for his second four-year term. > That scenario has many Republican heavy weights worried, and this past >weekend, California Governor Pete Wilson joined a small but growing list of >GOP luminaries who want the anti-abortion plank yanked from the party's >platform. > It is a move which is already drawing plenty of flak from the party's >religious conservatives, including supporters of nomination-contender Pat >Buchanan and the influential Family Research Council. But Wilson's >announcement comes after other GOP governors -- George Pataki of New York, >Christine Whitman of New Jersey, and William F. Weld of Massachusetts also >declared their support for striking the 20-year old provision. The move > reportedly caught GOP frontrunner Sen. Bob Dole by surprise; religious >conservatives are still wary of the Kansas senator's opposition to abortion, >and are demanding that he select a staunch, anti-abortion running mate in the >Vice Presidential slot. > Some see the Wilson proposal as an effort to "take back" the GOP from >one-issue, religious special-interest groups who control much of the party's >state organizations, and constitute the rank-and-file of the Republican >volunteers. > Gary Bauer of the Family Research Council blasted Wilson's call for taking >out the anti-abortion provision, insisting "That is a prescription for >disaster for Bob Dole and the Republican Party." Angela Buchanan, who serves >as her brother's campaign manager, added "If the Republican Party chooses to >abandon the unborn, politically, it would be absolutely foolhardy." > With polls showing Dole trailing President Clinton, especially in the >category of women voters, the abortion plank fight could spell even more >trouble for the GOP. The Dole campaign quickly sent out press releases >re-affirming its support for the anti-abortion provision, and the candidate >announced that he was appointing Representative Henry Hyde of Illinois as >chairman of the Platform Committee. (Hyde is supported by many religious >conservatives, and has drafted one of the two versions of a "Religious >Equality Amendment" now winding through Congress.) > GOP Chairman Haley Barbour quickly went into damage control mode after the >Wilson announcement, insisting that "he did not want propspective Republicans >to feel excluded from the party because they did not share the anti-abortion >stand of its standard-bearer," according to the New York Times. > Buchanan A Factor? > One wild-card in the GOP house squabble is Pat Buchanan, who despite 28 >consecutive losses in the recent primaries, still managed to galvanize >considerable support for his religious-populist cause. Groups such as the >U.S. Taxpayers Party attempted to draft Buchanan for an independent run at >the White House, raising the prospect that the conservative commentator would >be a "spoiler" for the Dole campaign. Buchanan has insisted that he's staying >in the GOP ranks -- at least for now -- and promises to continue in efforts >to keep Republican ideology in accord with his vision of religious >conservatism and nationalism. > > AND MORE ON THE U.S. TAXPAYERS PARTY... > > In early April, AANEWS covered the connection between Buchanan, the U.S. >Taxpayers Party, and the Christian Reconstructionist movement which seeks to >implement old testament "Bible law" as the basis of civil society. Founded >by former Reagan White House strategist Howard Phillips, the Party reflects >the "dominionist" philosophy of extreme theologians like R.J. Rushdoony of >the Chalcedon movement. > "What the movement lacks in size, it makes up for in vigor and influence," >we observed. We also noted that Reconstructionist "justice" considered >homosexuality and adultery to be capital offenses punishable by death, and >would oppose women holding any civil office. > The U.S. Taxpayers Party seems to be the culmination in Phillip's own >personal journey into the realm of more extreme and authoritarian politics. > For two decades, he was involved in more mainstream, conservative movement >like the old Barry Goldwater campaign and Young Americans for Freedom; he >later helped found groups like the influential Conservative Caucus, the >Heritage Foundation and the Fallwell-linked Moral Majority. But as a recent >issue of The Nation notes, "Unlike the more pragmatic Ralph Reed, Phillips >has given up on the Republican Party as a means of restoring the 'Christian >republic' he says the Founders intended." > Along the way in their ideological Haj, he and the U.S. Taxpayers Party >have picked up some bizarre and even violent company. The linkage of the >USTP to even something as extreme as the Buchanan campaign could provide a >new platform for anti-abortion terrorists and other millennialist culture >warriors, including: > *Rev. Matthew Trewhella, Wisconsin USTP organizer and head of the >"Missionaries to the Pre-Born" which The Nation describes as an 'armed >antiabortion militia.' Trewhella is also a leader in 'Defenders of the >Defenders of Life' which raises money to support the legal battles of those >who kill abortion providers and clinic workers. > * Jeffrey Baker, chairman of the Florida USTP, insists that "Abortionists >should be put to death. They are murderers." Represents the "Tenth >Amendment Militia, Church Status." > * Byron Dale, speaker at the Wisconsin State Convention of the USTP and a >close associate of one Gordon Kahl. Kahl became a folk hero to the Christian >Identity and militia movements when he shot two federal marshalls in 1983, >and ended up being killed in a battle with the FBI. He had declared in one >of his manifestos that "our nation has fallen into the hands of alien >people...These enemies of Christ have taken their Jewish Communist Manifesto >and incorporated it into the Statutory Laws of our country and thrown our >Constitution and our Christian Common Law (which is nothing other than the >Laws of God as set forth in the Scriptures) into the garbage can." Dale is >reportedly an Identity supporter, and a believer in the "Two Seed" theory >which states that Jews and "Mud People" originated in a conjugal union >between Eve and the devil. > * Randall Terry, l'enfant terrible of the anti-abortion movement and one >of the founders of the notorious Operation Rescue. The Nation quotes Terry: >"This I can promise you. You will never see a pro-death, pro-sodomite >'moderate' in the U.S. Taxpayers Party." > * Rev. Michael Bray, described as a signatory in the "Defensive Action" >statement of accused murderer Paul Hill which attempts to justify the murder >of abortion doctors. Served four years for conspiracy to bomb clinics in the >mid-1980's. > Do some links constitute "guilt by association"? Sources close to >Buchanan insist that the feisty conservative commentator is not a racist or >advocate of anti-abortion violence; however, it is significant that the USTP >attracts such trypes, and provides a political vehicle for promulgating such >bizarre views including Reconstructionism and the "Two Seed" theory. > ***** > FARRAKHAN GROUP AT THE PUBLIC TROUGH > > How would we react if, say, members of religious militia groups were given >public contracts to "patrol" public housing projects in mostly poor-white >neighborhoods? > Reverse that situation a bit, and you've got a pretty good description on >how Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam is cashing in on public contracts to >provide security in cities throughout the country. The latest controversy >centers in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. where a corporate affiliate of the Farrakhan >group known as "NOI Security Agency" has a $97,400 - a - year contract with >that city's Housing Authority. > The arrangement doesn't sit well with people like State Representative >Thomas Kirwan who told the New York Times: "I don't want public money going >to racists of any stripe. I'd be just as outraged if the Ku Klux Klan or >Aryan Nations had been hired." > According to a study last year, Nation of Islam security firms have been >awarded more than $15 million in nine cities; they include Philadelphia, Los >Angeles, Baltimore, Washington and New York. Some critics charge that the >Muslim companies were awarded contracts even when they had not submitted the >lowest bids; others insist that the NOI affiliated firms should be >disqualified since they do not practice equal employment hiring practices. > Those who live in public housing developments often claim that the Muslims >are effective in ending drug dealing, beatings and other forms of violence in >their community. But an executive director of the Poughkeepsie Housing >Authority notes that other firms produce similar results, including the >previous security company which was known as Big Mac. And Kirwan adds: "As >for the effectiveness of reducing crime, if you could find some old members >of Hitler's Gestapo or the Waffen S.S., they also would provide good >security, but I doubt if there would be a groundswell of support for public >funds going to a bunch of Nazis." > Others charge that the NOI security companies have used heavy-handed >tactics themselves, and cite a case where Muslim guards grabbed and beat >teenagers they suspected of shoplifting from a mall. Critics also note that >Nation of Islam is a religious organization, and should not be receiving >public monies of any kind. > ***** > FREEMAN UPDATE ~~ GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES AND MORE > ABOUT ''THE GUY THING''... > > The Montana Freemen group which has managed to project an image of >rebellious independence and self-sufficiency actually received over $676,000 >in government aid according to public records and files in a local County >Courthouse. While branding the Federal Government as a "corporate >prostitute," Freemen booster Ralph E. Clark was the beneficiary of subsidy >programs and emergency aid over a ten-year period. But when the farm economy >started having trouble in the 1980's, Clark began having confrontations with >everyone from state tax officials to the Farmers Home Administration. One >problem which may have complicated things -- the Freemen member cannot read >or write according to an attorney who helped Clark once avoid foreclosure. > There is other interesting news about the Freemen and their Christian >Identity beliefs: > * Rodney Skurdal, head of security for the Freemen group was a Marine >Corps sergeant who worked in a special detail which drove political >dignitaries at the Western White House under President Nixon, and even >guarded President Gerald Ford during his stays at Camp David, Maryland. > Following his discharge, Skurdal became a roustabout, and damaged his skull >during an oil rig accident. He "underwent a personality change," according >to the New York Times, and now, appropriately, has the nickname "Skull." > * There is an interesting Mormon connection in the Freemen saga, involving >that sect's teachings about women, patriarchy and polygamy. Identity >teachings such as the "Remnant Resolves" affirm the subjugation and >submission of women to men. There is also the tradition of men taking >numerous wives to emulate the practice of the old Hebrew Patriarchs, a church >teaching declared in 1843 when the inventor of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, wrote >about "Moses, Abraham, David and Solomon having many wives and concubines...a >new and everlasting covenant." Smith declared that "if any man espouse a >virgin...(or even) ten virgins...he cannot commit adultery, for they belong >to him." > Smith and other Mormons practiced polygamy; the Mormon prophet accumulated >a "stable" of forty-two women, but favored one or two at any time. Some >declared that there was "less room for jealousy when wives live under the >same roof," but feminists of the era tried to woo Mormon women away from the >practice. Polygamy was even compared to the institution of slavery by some. > While Polygamy was abolished in order to bring Utah into the Union, it is >still advocated by "fundamentalist Mormons" who constitute a unique >sub-culture on the American religious landscape. > There are "fundamentalist Mormons" who, as part of that doctrine, consider >girls to ready for marriage when they reach puberty. Freemen compound member >Gloria Ward is one such person, and reportedly "pushed" her 14-year old >daughter into marriage with the leader of such a neo-Mormon sect, John Perry >Chaney, age 38. Chaney is presently in Utah, charged with conspiracy to >commit rape; he "married" his 13-year old daughter to a 48-year old sect >member named Don Beaver. > * Dale Jacobi is the man in charge of religious doctrine for the Freemen >group; he is a Christian Identity preacher who had lectured at various >militia seminars, and declared that "Jews brought the blacks into this >country to destroy us (whites)," and that "God tells his people to kill many, >many times in Scripture. He doesn't allow murder, but he allows killing. > * Former Green Beret Colonel "Bo" Gritz, who continued to be an >intermediary in negotiations between the Freemen and the FBI, is an >ex-Mormon. Adherents of the "Two Seed" theology, however, may find the >"Patriarch of the Militia Movement" as a lapsed soul, since he is divorced >and presently has a Chinese wife. > * There appears to be an odd synergy between doomsday-militia groups which >retreat into fortified compounds, and bizarre religious ideologies that >preach subjugation of women, and the role of males as "heads of the >household." That has made female militia leaders such as Linda Thompson an >outcast in the eyes of certain segments of the movement. There is the case >of the Rulo compound in Nebraska, for instance, where Michael "Archangel" >Ryan presided over a neo-Nazi community with four "Queens" and numerous >servants and followers. Echoing his "God of the Old Testament" patriarchal >line, Ryan engaged in murder, torture and theft. He also invented a scam >called "the Arm Test" to determine the will of God when the almighty was >asked a question. This "test" was employed nightly to see who would be the >recipient of Ryan's "seed". The compound also had a rather nervous goat; >males in the Rulo compound were forced to sodomize the animal and each other >while the "Patriarch" had sex with their wives, mothers and daughters. (For >more on the Rulo compound, see "Armed and Dangerous" by James Coates --Hill & >Wang, 1987) > ***** > THEISTWATCH SHORT SHOTS > > Pope John Paul assures us that a) the "resurrection of Christ" was for >real and b) followers of J.C. were really skeptics. Speaking to a throng of >believers Sunday in St. Pete's Square, the Pontiff, "replying to recent >theological skepticism concerning the resurrection of Christ" (Reuters) said: > "The appearance of Christ was the determining experience. It was >certainly an extraordinary experience but completely believable given the >trust owed to those who were involved. Not just Peter and the other apostles >but a good number of disciples, men and women." > Really? We beg to differ. The accounts about tales like the resurrection >weren't put to paper until decades, even centuries past the time when they >allegedly occurred. Worse yet, scholars still argue over the authenticity > of the documents which were conveniently massaged, edited, embellished, cut >and then fit in Procrustean form into the church doctrines of the fourth >century, c.e. and labeled with much fanfare as "The New Testament." > And His Holiness has some strange standards when it comes to the >verifiability of claims and evidence. "One can rule out any possible fraud," >we're assured, "by considering the holiness of their lives, many of which >ended in martyrdom. Nothing makes one think they were seized by mystical >exaltation or collective hallucination." > Well, being killed for a cause doesn't make that cause proper, true and >just, at least in the eyes of cool, objective and critical observers. And >the "holiness of their lives", referring to the apostles, rests likewise on >some dubious writings. Bottom line, Your Eminence -- you've got a shabby >case at best for demonstrating the validity of any of your religious claims. > > ***** > We keep hearing about how the "god" of various religions does so many >wonderful and miraculous things... the one person who survives the airplane >crash is a "miracle" or the lone individual who is "cured" of cancer after >prayer is proof of "God's power." But it sure takes some good 'ol technology >and Works of Man (and Woman!) when it comes to things like logistical support >for the annual Haj or pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. For the latest >four-day event, more than $1.6 billion was spent improving water and sewage >facilities, and close to 4,000 additional phone circuits installed. Special >medical evacuation planes were on stand-by, and we've gotten reports of >everything from air conditioned tents >(!) for the faithful to cold-storage centers and trucks with food supplies. > In their enigmatic style, the Saudi authorities also note that the only >individual who became ill during the religious festival was an Iranian >politician; he was shipped back home in a plane. > *************** > We're really becoming a nation of wet-nursed whimps who want church and >state to hold our hand, lest we see, hear, experience or (worse yet!) >actually DO something sinful, offensive, politically incorrect or taboo. > We've got warning labels on everything from CD's to magazines, and now -- >thanks to the Communications Decency Bill and the religious right -- we might >just have them in cyberspace. > Yesterday, a government witness who happens to hail from the Mormon Church >university -- Brigham Young -- proposed that "objectionable" Internet >material have a tag he called "L-18" which would require proof of age from >users, similar to a credit card verification number. > Now, this writer hears constantly about how constipated religious types >worry and fred over the "Mark of the Beast", good 'ol 666, which supposedly >will be stamped on all believer's foreheads, hands, buttocks or some other >anatomical part under the regime of the Antichrist as a requirement for doing >business. The more imaginative proclaim that the supermarket barcode is the >first insidious step in this diabolical process. (I've though it was just a >scheme to rip off consumers, but...) > I think that the REAL mark of the REAL beast is something like "L-18" > Anyway, yesterday in Manhattan Federal Court, BYU professor Dan Olsen >proposed this Orwellian scheme, and was promptly challenged by attorney >Randall J. Boe. Mr. Boe happens to represent a man named Joseph P. Shea, >editor of an on-line newspaper called The American Reporter; and Mr. She >would like to publish an article about former President Richard Nixon, and >wanted to include excerpts from those (explitive deleted) Watergate tapes, >which are just brimming with foul language. Olsen admitted that under the >"Decency" Law -- now being challenged in two lawsuits, including the >Manhattan litigation -- readers of The American Reporter would have to go >through the cumbersome task of "L-18" verification; that could cost Olsen and >his on-line paper $10,000 if, say, 10,000 people had to be verified at an >estimated cost of $1 per person. > Well, the rest of Monday's court fiasco involved numerous what-ifs; at one >point the Judge became so frustrated that he asked lawyers to provide clear >definitions for terms like "patently offensive" and "indecent." Judge Jose >Cabranes then queried "Can material be 'sexually explicit' and yet be neither >'obscene' nor 'indecent'?" > Such legal sophistry is clearly the result of religious prudes trying to >legislate that thing they define as morality. The Christian Coalition and >its allies is chalking up the Communications Decency Act as one of its recent >"victories", but it remains to be seen if the law is constitutional, or even >enforcible. Just to appease religious sentiment, we may all end up paying >more and more for information in cyberspace, as worried publishers on-line >implement costly and cumbersome schemes like "L-18." > Hmmm...wonder if "L-18" should be required for any on-line version of The >Holy Bible? There's plenty of "sexually explicit" material there, Your >Honor. > ********* > Remember the controversy that erupted when Pope John Paul took his >roadshow through Latin America last fall? TheistWatch tracked the antics of >one Bishop Sergio von Helder, a member of the Brazilian Universal Church of >the Kingdom of God, as he beat up a statue of Mary during a TV broadcast. > The Kingdom of God outfit is headed by one Edir Macedo, who presides over a >network of 300 member churches in 30 countries. > While blasting the papacy for all sorts of alleged vices and crimes, >though, Macedo has been up to some hanky-panky of his own. The Brazilian >government has gone to court to freeze his assets, insisting that he owes >some $5 million in back taxes and fines. And the Roman Catholic Church there >struck back, releasing a video provided by a former Macedo flunkie, which >shows the Neo-Pentacostal leader "dancing lewdly on a beach, joking about >stripping at a Jerusalem hotel party, and grinning while counting donation," >according to Christianity Today. > The Kingdom of God countered, pouring demonstrators into city streets >throughout Brazil, and managed to mobilize 100,000 in Sao Paulo alone. > Pentacostal and evangelical groups are booming in Latin America, once >considered the privileged "turf" of the Roman Catholic Church, which has a >long history of allying itself with the political powers-that-be throughout >the region. Seems now that the monopoly is broken, but unfortunately not by >secular activism. In the meantime, Mr. Macedo has apparently corralled his >own substantial and lucrative following in the belief-marketplace and is, >literally, joking and dancing all the way to the bank. > ********** > ON-LINE RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS... > > If you would like to receive information about American Atheists, just >send e-mail to: info@atheists.org. Be sure to include your name, address and >zip code. > Members of American Atheists may participate in aachat, our moderated >discussion forum. Contact aachat@atheists.org for further information, and >be sure to give your name and mailing address. > You may post or forward dispatches of AANEWS, or quote our material >provided that appropriate credit is given to both American Atheists and the >aanews. > For additional background on this list, contact: >aanews-request@listserv.atheists.org, and put "info aanews" in the body of >your e-mail message. > Coming soon ~~ the American Atheists site on the world wide web! Watch >this space for further details. > ******** >AANEWS is a service from American Atheists, a nationwide movement founded by >Madalyn Murray O'Hair for the advancement of Atheism, and the total, absolute >separation of government and religion. Edited and written by Conrad F. >Goeringer, The LISTMASTER.