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Queeritics William Tells Worldly Power: Family Style. Part Two:
Queeritics William Tells Worldly Power: Family Style. Part Two:
Worldly Power: Family Style. Part Two:
Miércoles 28 de Abril de 2010 00:00
William J. Luckeroth
THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST AND ITS OFFSHOOTS
“Worldly Power: Family Style” has been presented in two parts. Part One appeared in the Big Bang Issue of Papel Mag (October 27, 2009). It concerns the Family’s behind-the-scenes global prayer group movement that was founded by Abraham (a/k/a Abram) Vereide, a Norwegian immigrant preacher, in Seattle, Washington in 1935. At the age of 49 Vereide formulated the Idea,[1] his realization that he should stop ministering to the needy and, thereafter, dedicate himself to the spiritual affairs of the wealthy. Ten years later Vereide dubbed his vision ‘the new world order.’ By then, he had moved his headquarters to Washington, D.C. where he ingratiated himself with the wealthy and the powerful, and pushed his prayer group movement worldwide[2] including Puerto Rico.[3]
A. THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST
In 1953 Vereide maneuvered President Dwight D. Eisenhower (a/k/a Ike) into attending the first annual National Prayer Breakfast. Since then, no president including President Barack Obama[4] has dared to dismiss it. In Part Two of “Worldly Power: Family Style” the outwardly innocuous, but inwardly sordid history of the Family’s National Prayer Breakfast and its offshoots will be scrutinized.
How did Vereide and Senator Frank Carlson (R-KS), one of his closest allies in Washington D.C., connive in 1951 to replace the Republican front-runner for president, Ohio Senator Robert Taft, the author of the reprehensible Taft-Hartley Act,[5] with Carlson’s friend and fellow Kansan[6] Ike Eisenhower,[7] a five-star general in the Army, who had become the most popular person in the United States of America after WWII?
They contacted Ed Cabaniss, a wealthy manufacturer, who then was president of the ICL.[8] They asked him to create prayer cells in every state to beat the drum for Eisenhower’s candidacy.[9] Carlson surreptitiously convinced delegates to the GOP convention that a popular general like Ike would unite the citizenry that was wary of war and fearful of communism more easily than a “professional” politician[10] like Taft and promised appointments in exchange for their support. Taft and Carlson reached a quid pro quo agreement—the former would relinquish his presidential ambition in exchange for the position of Senate majority leader and the latter’s promise to espouse the reversal of the New Deal.[11] Taft believed Eisenhower shared his “distaste for organized labor, indifference to civil rights, and a firm conviction that capitalism constituted a natural law more certain than the physics of nuclear fission” so he agreed.[12]
Carlson enlisted Reverend Billy Graham, a registered Democrat at the time, for the Eisenhower campaign. During the campaign, when Graham discovered Eisenhower had no church affiliation, he convinced him that this would create brouhaha among his (Graham’s) followers and the public in general unless he joined one. Graham deemed the United States to be a Christian nation and believed it was time for the New Testament to trump the Constitution. Vereide’s frustrated earlier attempts to persuade a president to attend one of his prayer breakfasts would finally come to fruition with Graham’s assistance. Graham too had “been talking about a Presidential Prayer Breakfast”. Eisenhower rebuked Carlson’s invitation alleging that he “did not want to set a precedent”; but when Graham intervened, Eisenhower could not refuse to make an appearance. Graham brought his evangelical followers out in droves to elect Eisenhower; therefore, he attended the first Presidential Prayer Breakfast to pay his political debts. Eisenhower insisted that there be no radio or television coverage to avoid public scrutiny, which suited the secretive Vereide. Unlike Graham, Vereide was only interested in the wealthy and powerful; not in finding favor with the masses. Graham gave the blessing before a crowd of approximately 400 at the Conrad Hilton in Washington. “Eisenhower was the first twentieth-century Republican to come to power in part through an alliance of populist evangelicals (led by Graham) and of elite fundamentalism [Vereide’s Family].”[13]
Eisenhower was assailable when it came to religious issues. His parents repudiated Mennonitism[14] (a/k/a Anabaptism) and became Jehovah Witnesses[15] when he was five years old. Eisenhower was a Jehovah Witness until 1911 when he was admitted to West Point,[16] which brought disharmony to the family. Many Eisenhower biographies fail to fully and honestly disclose his parents' religious affiliation. Even Graham, who became Eisenhower's spiritual mentor and close friend, was told his parents had always been Mennonites. The Eisenhowers and the overwhelmingly unctuous press concealed this dishonesty to champion Ike. Nobody in Ike’s fiercely protective camp wanted his Jehovah Witness background exposed because the Witnesses are opposed to the flag salute, all patriotic activities and blood transfusions—all of which are anathema to most U.S. citizens. During the presidential campaign mainstream religious zealots and political foes had harangued that a Jehovah Witness was not fit to become president.[17] These opponents regarded Eisenhower to be a hypocrite because he never went to or joined a church[18] after he abandoned the Truth[19] and entered the Army until after he was elected President.
It appears that Ike’s detractors might have been onto something? Jehovah Witnesses reckon all other churches (both Christian and non-Christian) are false; therefore, they profess that all priests and ministers are Satan’s allies. Witnesses believe there is no eternal hell for the wicked. Therefore, non-believers including apostates [the wicked] will cease to exist and be doomed to spend eternity in a state of nothingness instead of either (1) rising from the dead and spending eternity in heaven as spirit creatures with Jehovah God, the alleged “Anointed Class” or “Little Flock”, which is restricted to 144,000 Witnesses that was exhausted in 1935 [albeit a dwindling 8,700 of those chosen were supposedly still living then], or (2) remaining in “Paradise” on earth under Jesus Christ’s rule—Witnesses consider Him to be “a god” [John 1:1] who is lesser than the Almighty or Jehovah God—as part of the so-called “Great Crowd” or “Other Sheep”, all remaining Witnesses who were not anointed one of Jehovah God’s chosen children, but happen to be in “good standing” at death.[20] It is mere speculation: Did Ike, a disfellowshipped apostate with no hope of salvation, originally envisage, upon the termination of his military service and presidency, to request that the Elders, three male congregational leaders who serve both as judges and jury, reinstate him into the Watchtower Organization?
Vereide, Graham and Carlson, three canny operators, intimidated Eisenhower into attending the first Presidential Prayer Breakfast[21] on February 5, 1953. How? Eisenhower had religious vulnerabilities—his JW upbringing, no religious affiliation and church nonattendance. Thereafter, he would, even more fervently, endeavor to redress these vulnerabilities[22] by appeasing members of the Family while simultaneously defying secular citizens who wanted to conserve the constitutionally protected doctrine of separation of church and state, as well as Jehovah Witnesses who considered him to be an apostate.
For example, Senator Homer Ferguson (R-MI), an ILC (supra footnote 7) board member, sponsored an initiative, which was financed by businessman, philanthropist and self-help author W. Clement Stone,[23] to amend the Pledge of Allegiance.[24] Mr. Stone founded the Religious Heritage of America (RHA) Foundation, a national interfaith organization that was instrumental in getting the phrase “Under God” inserted in the Pledge of Allegiance.[25] “One driving force [behind this amendment] was the Catholic fraternal society the Knights of Columbus.”[26] Notwithstanding, the "under God" movement did not prosper until February of 1954 when Reverend George M. Docherty, Eisenhower’s Presbyterian[27] pastor adroitly sermonized, with the president in attendance, about the imperative need to insert “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.[28]
This dedicatory prayer breakfast, a parachurch event, seemed to nearly overwhelm Eisenhower, a customarily sedate and outwardly secular president. His opening remarks were: “Mr. Chairman [Senator Carlson], distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: This has been a wholly enjoyable occasion for me except for the one second when I opened the little blue slip and found that it said there would be an address by the President. I assure you, both for your sakes and for mine, there will not be. There are a few thoughts, though, that crowd into my mind. With your permission I will attempt to utter them in a very informal and homely way.” Eisenhower concluded: “Until I started over I had the picture, which Frank Carlson gave me last summer, of a small Congressional group of Congressmen and Senators who met on a morning each week. I had an idea of coming over to see 20 or 25 or maybe 50 people. I had no idea that our host had such a party as this. I do hope I may speak for all of you in thanking him for such a breakfast, the like of which I have not had in 10 years. As long as you feed me grits and sausage, everything will be all right. Thank you.” [29]
Many who are politically savvy justifiably oppose any president of the United States attending the Family’s National Prayer Breakfast, a virtual back door for face time with the incumbent.[30] Probably even more people would feel dubious about presidents attending it if they were aware that usual State Department and administration vetting that is customarily required before the president meets foreign dignitaries have been circumvented at this sectarian event. The members of the Family, a network of elite Christian fundamentalists, are found in government, business and the military and are all about stealth, wealth, power, prestige and empire (supra notes 8 and 9).
In the following excerpt from The Family, Jeff Sharlet warns: “The Family has grown and taken root directly at the center of American democracy, intertwining with the world as it is. ‘Business as usual’ is the Family’s business. The elite fundamentalism of the Family doesn’t lead us back to Plymouth Rock,[[31]] much less to the Taliban’s Kabul. The Family’s faith is not that of a walled-off community but of an empire; not one to come but one that already stretches around the globe, the soft empire of American dollars and, more subtly, American gods. If we want to understand this fundamentalism, we must ask not what it wants to do but what it has done: how it has run parallel to and at times flowed into the main currents of history.” [[32]]
The National Prayer Breakfast, the Family’s only ballyhooed encounter, has been broadcasted on C-Span[[33]] in recent years. It is a façade for the Family’s sub rosa prayer cell movement. Every February at the Washington D.C. Hilton[[34]] “3,000 plus dignitaries, representing scores of nations and corporate interests, pay $425 each to attend. For most, the breakfast is just that, muffins and prayer, but some stay on for days of seminars organized around Christ’s message for particular industries. In years past, the Family organized such events for executives of oil, defense, insurance, and banking. The 2007 event drew, among others, a contingent of aid-hungry defense ministers from Eastern Europe, Pakistan’s famously corrupt Benazir Bhutto[[35]], and a Sudanese general[36] linked to Darfur.”[37] [38] [39]
Jeff Sharlet described the Family’s influence peddling as follows: “Dennis Bakke, former CEO of AES [Applied Energy Services], the largest independent power producer in the world,[[40]] and a Family insider,…the author of a popular business book titled Joy at Work, has long preached an ethic of social responsibility inspired by his evangelical faith and free-market convictions: ‘I try to sell a way of life,’ he has said. ‘I am a cultural imperialist.’ That’s a phrase he uses to be provocative; he believes that Jesus is so universal that everyone wants Him. And, apparently, His business opportunities: Bakke was one of the pioneer thinkers of energy deregulation, the laissez-faire fever dream that culminated in the meltdown of
Enron. But there was other, less-noticed fallout such as the no-bid deal Bakke made with [his invitee, Ugandan President Yoweri] Museveni[[41]] at the 1997 [National] Prayer Breakfast for a $500-million dam close to the source of the White Nile—in waters considered sacred by Uganda’s 2.5-million-strong Busoga minority. AES announced that the Busoga had agreed to ‘relocate’ the spirits of their dead. They weren’t the only ones opposed; first environmentalists… and then even other foreign investors revolted against the project that seemed like it might actually increase the price of power for the poor. Bakke didn’t worry. ‘We don’t go away,’ he…dispatched… the son of one of the Prayer Breakfast organizers, to be AES’s in-country liaison… [who] was later accused of authorizing at least $400,000 in bribes. He claimed his signature had been forged.”[42]
Enron. But there was other, less-noticed fallout such as the no-bid deal Bakke made with [his invitee, Ugandan President Yoweri] Museveni[[41]] at the 1997 [National] Prayer Breakfast for a $500-million dam close to the source of the White Nile—in waters considered sacred by Uganda’s 2.5-million-strong Busoga minority. AES announced that the Busoga had agreed to ‘relocate’ the spirits of their dead. They weren’t the only ones opposed; first environmentalists… and then even other foreign investors revolted against the project that seemed like it might actually increase the price of power for the poor. Bakke didn’t worry. ‘We don’t go away,’ he…dispatched… the son of one of the Prayer Breakfast organizers, to be AES’s in-country liaison… [who] was later accused of authorizing at least $400,000 in bribes. He claimed his signature had been forged.”[42] Doug Coe, who currently oversees the Family, was dubbed “The Stealth Persuader” in the cover story of Time magazine’s February 7, 2005 issue. The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America also reminded readers that: “Many people think Congress is the host of the gala annual National Prayer Breakfast… It is not. The breakfast is organized by … members of Congress who belong to the Fellowship Foundation …[The Family] He [Coe] specializes in the spiritual struggles of the powerful… Coe also befriends dictators.[43] ‘He would still hold out hope that these people [dictators] could be redeemed and try to work through them to help the people over whom they have authority,’ says Richard Carver, president of the Fellowship’s board of directors.”[[44]
B. THE OFFSHOOTS
Coe became a member of the Family in 1959. From the onset he launched an offensive to subjugate leaders in Africa, Asia and Latin America.[[45]] These offshoots are analogous to franchises. “Coe, Oregon born, cares most for the American Christ, His power spread throughout the world even as the homeland is denied Him in the secular folly of church/state separation. One day, Coe believes—not yet—America (and Old Europe, too…) will wake up and find itself surrounded by a hundred tiny God-led governments: Fiji, a ‘model for the nations’ under theocratic regime after 2001, a family organizer boasted… and Uganda, made over as an experiment in faith-based initiatives by the Family’s favorite African brother, the dictator Yoweri Museveni…”[46]
Museveni is the equivalent to the Family’s franchisee in Uganda. The Family resembles a franchisor. It invited Museveni to a National Prayer Breakfast and Museveni used this invitation to network and gain access to powerful people in Washington [name recognition]. In return, Museveni and his cohorts plug the Family’s right-wing Jesus plus nothing theology [the product] thereby shaping Uganda’s political and social agenda: The Family’s Value Action[47] wedge issues are green-lighted in Uganda while its members from home and in-country reap social, religious, political and economic benefits.
Hitler’s and Museveni’s paths to consolidation of political and state power have been compared. They both deliberately and systematically engendered a climate of hate that framed genocide as both a necessary and unavoidable circumstance. Hitler headed a one-party state, and Museveni governs one too.[48] “Both leaders excoriated democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law, preferring bellicose militarism… [They both] demonized their victims and proceeded to whip xenophobia and the fury of the population, initially as means to prosecute a war and eventually as a final solution in itself. For Hitler in Germany, the progressive conversion of Jews into enemies was later formalized by an executive decree in 1933, which pointed out that there was a Jewish problem. This graduated to the Nazi slogan that Jews were a misfortune. In Uganda, Museveni’s coming to power was based on explaining national crises as caused by northerners, who came to be mostly identified with the Acholi population...; [49] and the derogatory NRM/A [National Resistance Movement/Army] slogan became Acholis are “Abanyanyas” [read as equivalent to the Nazis’ justification – Jews were a misfortune].” [50]
The Family instructs its members to form a small core group or cell, “a publicly invisible but privately identifiable group of companions.” This cell has “veto rights” over each member’s life. All members of the cell vow to eavesdrop on the others “for deviations from Christ’s will.” Thoughts on a core group [a Family document] explicates: “Communists use cells as their basic structure. The mafia operates like this, and the basic unit of the Marine Corps is the four man squad. Hitler, Lenin, and many others understood the power of a small core of people.”[[51]]
The National Prayer Breakfast has been copied ad nauseum domestically[52] [53] and in foreign countries where Family members are in power and the prayer group movement is active. These foreign neocolonialist offshoots are more often than not sordid. Ugandan President Museveni, a member of the Family, who in 1997 attended the National Prayer Breakfast and has repeatedly visited the White House in Washington D.C. (supra note 41), hosts the Ugandan National Prayer Breakfast. This infamous offshoot exemplifies the Family’s prayer group movement at its worst.
C. U.S. EVANGELICALS’ AND HATEMONGERS’ INVOLVMENT IN UGANDA’S PROPOSED ANTI HOMOSEXUALITY BILL
The remainder of Part Two of “Worldly Power: Family Style” will be dedicated to dissecting The Anti Homosexuality Bill, 2009[54], a copy of which is attached hereto (Memorandum included) as Appendix A, that was introduced in the Parliament of Uganda by David Bahati, Member of Ndorwa County West Kabale, for the following objectives that were set forth in the accompanying Memorandum: To: “(a) provide for marriage in Uganda as that contracted only between a man and a woman; (b) prohibit and penalize homosexual behavior and related practices in Uganda as they constitute a threat to the traditional family; [c] prohibit ratification of any international treaties, conventions, protocols, agreement and declarations which are contrary or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act; [and] (d) prohibit the licensing of organizations which promote homosexuality.”Objective (a) is straight out of the religious right’s wedge issue playbook.[55] Defining and “defending” marriage as an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman is supported by both elite and populist religious fundamentalists and their right-wing political allies.
Objective (b), the penalization of homosexual behavior, finally ended in the United States in 2003 when the Supreme Court, in a landmark opinion delivered by Justice Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas (539 U. S. 558),[56] resolved that “a Texas statute making it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimate sexual conduct… furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual.” The majority held that: “The petitioners[57] are entitled to respect for their private lives. The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime. Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government. It is a promise of the Constitution that there is a realm of personal liberty which the government may not enter.”
Even before homosexuality was decriminalized by virtue of this United States Supreme Court decision, the U.S. political and religious conservatives started promoting their homophobic politics in the Third World.[58] For example, populist U.S. evangelical minister Rick “Warren's bestselling book, A Purpose Driven Life is studied across sub-Saharan Africa and his Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California has close ties with leaders across Africa, including, until recently, Martin Ssempa… [who] is one of the key architects of the antigay bill and persecution of LGBT people in Uganda. He made global news when he published the names of LGBT people in the local press and destroyed condoms to promote abstinence-only programs in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Ssempa was a regular visitor to Saddleback until Warren distanced himself from him in 2008.”[59]
Objective (c) is equivalent to self-defining Uganda as a pariah or rogue state[60] that is intent on becoming a serial transgressor of human rights. “For two days in early March 2009, Ugandans flocked to the Kampala Triangle Hotel for the Family Life Network's ‘Seminar on Exposing the Homosexuals' Agenda.’ The seminar's very title revealed its claim: LGBT people and activists are engaged in a well thought-out plan to take over the world. The U.S. culture wars had come to Africa with a vengeance. To put on the conference, the Uganda-based Family Life Network—led by Stephen Langa with the goal of ‘restoring’ traditional family values and morals in Uganda—teamed with two U.S. hatemongers from the Christian Right, Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively and Dan Schmierer of the ex-gay group Exodus International. Vocal opposition in international circles did not stop the country's high profile religious leaders, parliamentarians, police officers, teachers, and concerned parents from attending. Indeed, parliamentary action to wage war on gays was on the conference agenda. It was not enough that homosexuality is illegal in Uganda. As someone stated from the podium, [The parliament] ‘feels it is necessary to draft a new law that deals comprehensively with the issue of homosexuality and …takes into account the international gay agenda….Right now there is a proposal that a new law be drafted.’ The unsuspecting audience heard Lively promote his book, The Pink Swastika, and his argument that not only are gays seeking to take over the world, but they also threaten society by causing higher rates of divorce, child abuse, and HIV/AIDS. Legalizing homosexuality is on par with accepting ‘molestation of children or having sex with animals,’ he said. As Lively puts it, LGBT issues cannot be considered human rights issues.”[61]
Finally, Objective (d) makes it absolutely clear that The Anti Homosexuality Bill could not be implemented without condemning gay people in Uganda—it will make everyone spy on his or her neighbors, relatives and guests; interfere with and/or ban inclusive social and business enterprises; and generally intimidate and endanger tourists and Ugandan citizens alike regardless of their sexual orientation.[62] Freedom of association, a cherished core human right, would no longer exist in
Uganda due at least in part[63] to the ex-gay movement.[64] For example, Richard A. Cohen’s International Healing Foundation, a nonprofit and tax-exempt organization, “offers commercial teleconferencing classes on topics such as the causes of same-sex attractions and the process of healing.”[65] His lectures and theories about conversion therapy—the use of psychiatric treatment to change the sexual orientation of a person—clash with mainstream medical views of sexual orientation.[66] Mr. Cohen who in 2003 was expulsed from the American Counseling Association, the world’s largest organization of professional counselors, for ethical violations concerning his “financial relationship with…clients and using them to promote [himself].” When Rachel Maddow pressed Mr. Cohen about his lack of credentials, he riposted: “I am a professional psychotherapist, Rachel. And my credentials are that I came out of homosexuality. I’ve been married 27 and a half years to my beautiful wife. We have three great children. And again, over 20 years, I‘ve helped thousands of men and women in this country and worldwide come out of homosexuality… we [International Healing Foundation (changeispossible.com)] know that people can change if they want to. We do not support this Ugandan legislation (supra note 54).[67] People who have same sex attractions, whether they chose to live a homosexual life like yourself, Rachel, or like me who made a decision to come out of it, we all need to be treated with respect, love and compassion.”[68]
Uganda due at least in part[63] to the ex-gay movement.[64] For example, Richard A. Cohen’s International Healing Foundation, a nonprofit and tax-exempt organization, “offers commercial teleconferencing classes on topics such as the causes of same-sex attractions and the process of healing.”[65] His lectures and theories about conversion therapy—the use of psychiatric treatment to change the sexual orientation of a person—clash with mainstream medical views of sexual orientation.[66] Mr. Cohen who in 2003 was expulsed from the American Counseling Association, the world’s largest organization of professional counselors, for ethical violations concerning his “financial relationship with…clients and using them to promote [himself].” When Rachel Maddow pressed Mr. Cohen about his lack of credentials, he riposted: “I am a professional psychotherapist, Rachel. And my credentials are that I came out of homosexuality. I’ve been married 27 and a half years to my beautiful wife. We have three great children. And again, over 20 years, I‘ve helped thousands of men and women in this country and worldwide come out of homosexuality… we [International Healing Foundation (changeispossible.com)] know that people can change if they want to. We do not support this Ugandan legislation (supra note 54).[67] People who have same sex attractions, whether they chose to live a homosexual life like yourself, Rachel, or like me who made a decision to come out of it, we all need to be treated with respect, love and compassion.”[68] After Rachel Maddow aired Richard A. Cohen’s ludicrous assertion that he was “a victim of a hate crime”[69] informed people perceived what an implacable charlatan he is. The American Counseling Association, the alleged “perpetrator” of the “hate crime”, expelled him for ethical reasons and brought attention to his financial gain from the sale of DVDs, books and other instructional materials. These materials “claim… gay people don’t have to be that way if they don’t want to be.”[70] Lively, Schmierer and Cohen are nutcases that diminish traditional conservatives. They are paranoid, right-wing lunatic fringe leaders.
D. WHO’S WHO IN THE FAMILY: THE UGANDA CONNECTION
![Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) [AP Photo]](/images/stories/queeritics/william_tells/worldy_power_2/Senator-James-Inhofe.jpg)
Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS), James Inhofe (R-OK), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mike Enzi (R-WY) and John Ensign (R-NV) and Representatives Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Bart Stupak (D-MI),[71] all reportedly members of the Family, have been deeply involved in Ugandan politics. Some of them live in the C Street house in Washington D.C. that has been implicated in all the major Republican sex scandals of 2009.[72] Many of these key men—those chosen for his position of power and/or affluence by God to be used as His tools[73]—including Ensign have fought to shift funding for Uganda’s successful comprehensive and timely campaign against the AIDS epidemic, formerly considered to be a model for Africa, to a condom-free/abstinence-only faith-based approach.[74] Brownback and Inhofe feature their recent trips to Uganda on their Web sites. Uganda has been a focus of The Family‘s international efforts for years. Did any of these Congressmen who have intervened in Uganda in the past attempt to halt The Anti Homosexuality Bill?[75]
In an interview with The Advocate, Jeff Sharlet made the following observation: “They're speaking out against [The Anti Homosexuality Bill] only in response to heavy pressure, both from the media and behind the scenes. None of these statements from politicians is a profile in courage, and not one of them has pledged to use his influence against the bill… Sen. Russ Feingold [D-WI]—with no special connections to Uganda—has.[76] Then Sharlet pointedly challenged Inhofe,[77] “who has a personal relationship with the Ugandan dictator, to call up his pal up and say, ‘Not such a good idea’. Then he reprehended Inhofe, Brownback, Pitts, Ensign and all other Family members who have been interfering in Uganda’s internal affairs while serving in Congress… The only guy in the Family that I know of who's really doing the right thing is Bob Hunter, a former Ford and Carter administration official who helped build the relationship between the Family… and President Museveni of Uganda. [He’s] …speaking out and encouraging others to do the same.”[78]
Nicholas D. Kristof, journalist, author, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, and a winner of two Pulitzer Prizes who is widely known for disclosing human rights abuses in Asia and Africa[79] boldly observed: “Absolutely. I mean, there should be a major effort to address, not only that bill [The Anti Homosexuality Bill], but also the larger problem of homophobia in Uganda and around east Africa, because it has been a major impediment in fighting AIDS. And as you know, already, being gay is punishable under the criminal sanctions of Uganda. And this would make it much worse, but it‘s not as if there isn‘t a problem already.”[80]
Melissa Harris-Lacewell, writer, political scientist, and an Associate Professor of Politics and African American studies at Princeton University, compared the United States’ credibility gap relative to the drone attacks[81] with its discrepancy between words and actions on homophobia, when she briefly discussed The Anti Homosexuality Bill with Rachel Maddow. “In a country [USA] where members of Congress represent districts and states where people who are gay and transgendered can be kicked out of their rental housing, can be denied job opportunities, can lose custody of their children depending on the state, in a place where we have impassioned speeches about the rights to marry that are ignored by other members of a state legislature, where it is possible that Washington, D.C.‘s marriage equality will be turned back by our very Congress, we have set an international tone indicating that gay, lesbian and transgendered people are second class citizens even in our own country. So it becomes very, very difficult for us to moralize on these questions abroad.”[82] The Family’s ubiquitous involvement in Uganda has been well documented thanks to people of consequence such as Jeff Sharlet, Rachel Maddow, and Terry Gross (supra note 71).
Populist evangelical ministers also have a presence in Uganda. The most egregious example is California mega-church uber-pastor and best selling author (The Purpose Driven Life) Rick Warren. Yes, he is the same reverend that President-elect Barack Obama and his team selected to deliver the inaugural prayer. More than a few Obama supporters including human and gay rights activists and organizations were displeased and demanded that Warren be uninvited because of his social conservative beliefs. Warren supported Proposition 8 in California, a ballot initiative reversing same-sex marriage, compared homosexuality to pedophilia and bestiality, and backed other right-wing wedge issues such as his anti-choice stance on abortion and his advocacy for condom-free/abstinence-only faith based initiatives (instead of science-based programs that had already reaped excellent results) to combat not only unwanted pregnancy, but also AIDS in Africa. The Obama administration cited Warren’s work on AIDS in Africa to combat this understandable ground-swell of criticism from backers. Warren prevailed and was allowed to lead the inaugural prayer, but the merciless press and implacable progressives continued to intensively scrutinize this occasionally taciturn pastor’s controversial faith-based activities both at home and abroad.
This probe into the unbeknownst darker side of Warren’s life eventually produced disgusting results. Martin Ssempa, a charismatic pastor with close ties to Uganda’s First Lady, Janet Museveni, is Warren’s man there. “In the capitol of Kampala, Ssempa is known for his boisterous crusading. Ssempa’s stunts have included burning condoms in the name of Jesus and arranging the publication of names of homosexuals in cooperative local newspapers while lobbying for criminal penalties to imprison them… When Warren unveiled his global AIDS initiative at a 2005 conference at his Saddleback Church, he cast Ssempa as his indispensable sidekick, assigning him to lead a breakout session on abstinence-only education as well as a seminar on AIDS prevention. Later, Ssempa delivered a keynote address, a speech so stirring it ‘had the audience on the edge of its seats,’ according to Warren’s public relations agency. A year later, Ssempa returned to Saddleback Church to lead another seminar on AIDS. By this time, his bond with the Warrens had grown almost familial. ‘You are my brother, Martin, and I love you,’ Rick Warren’s wife, Kay, said to Ssempa from the stage. Her voice trembled with emotion as she spoke and tears ran down her cheeks.”[83]
Warren, Ssempa and the Family did not just persecute safe sex advocates in Uganda. Ssempa led fear inducing marches through Kampala demanding that Museveni’s government impose harsh punishments on gays. Intimidating placards read: “Arrest all homos” and “A man cannot marry a man.” Ssempa created a Website to list the names, addresses and photos of gay rights activists. He wrongfully denounced them for promoting homosexuality and seducing children. Warren has denied being homophobic. He told NBC’s Ann Curry, the news anchor on the Today morning television program, in an interview that “I have always treated them with respect. When they come and want to talk to me, I talk to them.” This is hypocrisy pure and simple; Warren backed Uganda’s Anglican bishops when they repudiated the Church of England’s tolerant, inclusive treatment of homosexuals. At the time [March of 2008] Warren said: “The Church of England is wrong… I support the Church of Uganda on the boycott…” He also emphatically stated that homosexuality is “an unnatural way of life”, which the church must disallow.[84]
After weeks of negative press coverage, multi-sector pressure and growing public contempt for not having criticized The Anti Homosexuality Bill, Warren distanced himself from Ssempa and then made public a videotaped message that he addressed to pastors in Uganda. On December 10, 2009 he condemned this draconian Bill that would criminalize homosexuality in Uganda, particularly its imposition of the death penalty, which he called “unjust and un-Christian.” Many spheres praised Warren, but the pastors in Uganda—his former friend Ssempa included—were infuriated. In response to Warren’s turnabout, these ministers organized the Uganda National Pastors Task Force against Homosexuality that sent him a culpatory email message insisting that he “issue a formal apology for insulting the people of Africa… As you yourself have said, ‘the Bible says evil has to be opposed. Evil has to be stopped. The Bible does not say negotiate with evil. It says stop it. Stop evil.’”[85]
Warren claims that he had not spoken out earlier because “it is not [his] role to interfere with the politics of other nations.” His initial position mirrored what cagey Family member-politicians unrighteously opined at the beginning. Recently Warren acknowledged that he was mistaken because the criminalization of homosexuality in Uganda is “a moral issue” and pastors in Uganda that he mentors “look to [him] for guidance.”[86] Will Warren’s dilatory rebuke be enough to restore halcyon times in Uganda?
Now that the otherwise closemouthed members of the Family (elite fundamentalists) have belatedly[87] and halfheartedly[88] criticized The Anti Homosexuality Bill that Bahati introduced in the Ugandan parliament (supra), what has the Ugandan government done? Its populist evangelical minister friends from the United States with intimate, but until now unobserved, ties to Uganda, after considerable delay, have amelioratively denounced The Anti Homosexuality Bill. However, the most demoralizing recreants for Bahati, the homophobic Ugandan Member of Parliament, and his ilk were the three homophobic “ex-gays” (and their respective sponsorial entities)[89] that ruefully backtracked. They are the rascals who set The Anti Homosexuality Bill ball rolling in the first place when they attended the “gay agenda” seminar that Stephen Langa, the executive director of the Family Life Network in Uganda, organized (supra note 67). Its express purpose was: Expose the “threat” homosexuals pose to Bible-based and traditional African family values. These pusillanimous “traitors” of the anti-gay agenda had vilified homosexuals at this seminar in Uganda (supra note 89). They promoted their lunatic fringe ideas and plugged their lucrative money-making books, videos, and other outrageous wares there. Yes, these religious/cultural/economic imperialists who gleefully characterized the onerous “white man’s burden” [circa 1899/Rudyard Kipling’s satirical poem undermining imperialism] fearfully jumped ship stranding the government of Uganda to confront the burgeoning international furor over The Anti Homosexuality Bill.
On January 2, 2010, the Ethics and Integrity Minister of Uganda, James Nsaba Buturo, said that The Anti Homosexuality Bill will be debated in parliament within the next three weeks. The same day, the Kampala-based Daily Monitor newspaper reported that the Ugandan government may try to convince Bahati, the sponsor-member, who originally tabled the proposal in October 2009, to withdraw it because of heightening pressure from the international community.[90] Notwithstanding, Buturo, in a concomitant telephone interview declared: “The matter is beyond our [the Ugandan government’s] hands and we can’t interfere with the work of parliament.”[91]
Buturo recently stated that Museveni (supra) informed colleagues that “he thinks the proposed bill is too harsh.” Furthermore, he supposedly urged his National Resistance Movement Party to strike the provision in The Anti Homosexuality Bill mandating the death penalty for sexually active homosexuals who are HIV+, recidivists, and perpetrators of same-sex rape. Museveni still has not revealed whether he supports life imprisonment for gays,[92] another punishment option in The Anti Homosexuality Bill. Buturo said: "The death penalty is likely to be removed…" He added: "The president doesn't believe in killing gays. I also don't believe in it. I think gays can be counseled and they stop the bad habit." Mary Karoro Okurut, a member of Museveni’s party, also opposes the death penalty, but she pledged to support The Anti Homosexuality Bill when it voted on in Parliament. She argued that homosexuality "is not allowed in African culture” [supra note 58] and alleged that The Anti Homosexuality Bill has to stay because the Ugandan government has "to protect the children in schools who are being recruited into homosexual activities." Sex Minorities Uganda’s head Frank Mugisha announced that he will support Museveni’s reelection in 2011; elimination of the death penalty provision is enough to assure his gay rights organization's endorsement.[93]
Elizabeth Mataka, the U.N. Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, queried: “Who will go to HIV testing if he knows that he will suffer the death sentence? The law will drive them [homosexuals] away from seeking counseling and testing services." Homosexuality became illegal in Uganda under colonial-era laws. [94] The colonial powers brought a lot of sexual taboos including the criminalization of homosexuality to most of the Third World Uganda inclusive, but now they have decriminalized homosexuality and are gradually granting equal rights to homosexuals at home while homosexuality is still typified as a crime in most of the former colonies including Uganda. The Anti- Homosexuality Bill under Ugandan Parliament’s consideration “is intended to put more teeth into prosecuting violators.” Itwould also have extraterritorial effect “…to Ugandans participating in same-sex acts in countries where such behavior is legal. ‘They [Ugandans who are homosexuals] are supposed to be brought back to Uganda and convicted here. The government is putting homosexuality on the level of treason," Frank Mugisha, the gay Chairperson of Sexual Minorities in Uganda complained. Ugandan legislators indicate that they will pass The Anti Homosexuality Bill. “It has the blessing of many religious leaders—Muslim and Christian —in a country where a July poll found 95 percent [of Ugandan citizens are] opposed to legalizing homosexuality.” Esau Omara, an Episcopal provost to Boroboro Cathedral in the Lira district of Uganda's Lango region, said “any lawmaker opposing the bill will pay for it during the next election... And a leading Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ramathan Shaban Mubajje, has called for gays to be rounded up and banished to an island until they die.”[95]
On January 7, 2010, the Ugandan Minister of State for Investment, Aston Kajara said that the government “fears backlash from foreign investors” over The Anti Homosexuality Bill that Bahati proposed last year because it “has provoked criticism from gay rights groups and protests in London, New York and Washington… [It] tarnishes Uganda's image.”[96]
According to USA Today, dozens of well-known United States Christian leaders signed a joint statement that condemns The Anti Homosexuality Bill as "a betrayal of Jesus' commandment.” The statement, which was released by Faith in Public Life and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, reads, "Our Christian faith recognizes violence, harassment and unjust treatment of any human being as a betrayal of Jesus' commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. As followers of the teachings of Christ, we must express profound dismay at a bill currently before the Parliament in Uganda." It was inspired by a declaration by Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, elected Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church in June 2006—she serves as Chief Pastor and Primate to the members of the Episcopal Church in sixteen (16) countries and a hundred and ten (110) dioceses that seek to make common cause for global good and reconciliation—who said: “attempts to export the culture wars of North America to another context represent the very worst of colonial behavior. We deeply lament this reality, and repent of any way in which we have participated in this sin.” Her declaration intimates that the Family (especially Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma) “is reputedly the architect of Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill, which would use the East African nation as a theocratic experiment in its 70-yeat [sic] quest for absolute power and world domination” as revealed in Jeff Sharlet's book, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism At The Heart Of American Power. None of the joint statement's signatories are associated with the Family; “so it would seem something of a Holy War is brewing here in the U.S. based on the Family's principles and global reach, and Christians who oppose its ideals and actions in other parts of the world.” [97]Peter Tatchell of OutRage! (Supra note 94) summarized The Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is pending approval: It “proposes the death penalty for two classes of same-sex acts.”
· “First, for 'aggravated' homosexuality, which is defined as gay sex with under 18s or disabled persons and gay sex by a person in authority or by a person with HIV, even if they use a condom.”
· “Second, for 'serial' homosexual acts, meaning for persons who have repeated same-sex relations ie. [sic] more than once or twice.”
Then Tatchell emphasized: “The Bill extends the existing penalty of life imprisonment for same-sex intercourse to all other same-sex behaviour [sic/British variant], including the mere touching of another person with the intent to have homosexual relations. Life imprisonment is also the penalty for contracting a same-sex marriage. Promoting homosexuality and aiding and abetting others to commit homosexual acts will be punishable by five to seven years jail. These new crimes are likely to include membership and funding of LGBT organisations [sic/British variant], advocacy of LGBT human rights, supportive counselling [sic/British variant] of LGBT persons and the provision of condoms or safer sex advice to LGBT people. A person in authority—gay or heterosexual—who fails to report violators to the police within 24 hours will be sentenced to three years behind bars. Astonishingly, the new legislation has an extra-territorial jurisdiction. It will also apply to Ugandan citizens or foreign residents of Uganda who commit these 'crimes' while abroad, in countries where such behaviour is not a criminal offence. Violators overseas will be subjected to extradition, trial and punishment in Uganda. This bill is even more draconian than the extreme homophobic laws of countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is part of a wide attack on civil society and is symptomatic of Uganda’s drift to Mugabe-style* authoritarianism…”[98] *[means: gaining control of government, disregarding democratic principles, and keeping power]
Then Tatchell emphasized: “The Bill extends the existing penalty of life imprisonment for same-sex intercourse to all other same-sex behaviour [sic/British variant], including the mere touching of another person with the intent to have homosexual relations. Life imprisonment is also the penalty for contracting a same-sex marriage. Promoting homosexuality and aiding and abetting others to commit homosexual acts will be punishable by five to seven years jail. These new crimes are likely to include membership and funding of LGBT organisations [sic/British variant], advocacy of LGBT human rights, supportive counselling [sic/British variant] of LGBT persons and the provision of condoms or safer sex advice to LGBT people. A person in authority—gay or heterosexual—who fails to report violators to the police within 24 hours will be sentenced to three years behind bars. Astonishingly, the new legislation has an extra-territorial jurisdiction. It will also apply to Ugandan citizens or foreign residents of Uganda who commit these 'crimes' while abroad, in countries where such behaviour is not a criminal offence. Violators overseas will be subjected to extradition, trial and punishment in Uganda. This bill is even more draconian than the extreme homophobic laws of countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is part of a wide attack on civil society and is symptomatic of Uganda’s drift to Mugabe-style* authoritarianism…”[98] *[means: gaining control of government, disregarding democratic principles, and keeping power]
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill is currently tabled in committee prior to its second reading in parliament, which is scheduled for late February or early March. It may be amended yet, but it is widely expected to become law soon thereafter.[99] Bahati recently announced that he plans to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on February 4, 2010.[100] At once, CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) urged the White House to pull away from President Obama’s earlier commitment to attend the Family’s National Prayer Breakfast. Melanie Sloan, CREW’s director, expressed her organization’s dissatisfaction: "The president and members of Congress should not legitimatize this cult-like group—the head of which [Doug Coe] has praised the organizing abilities of Hitler and Bin Laden—by attending the breakfast."[101]
The White House brushed CREW’s admonition aside, and once more President Obama attended the National Prayer Breakfast. Notwithstanding, President Obama incidentally touched on The Anti Homosexuality Bill when he informed those attending the event: "We can take different approaches to ending inequality, but surely we can agree on the need to lift our children out of ignorance, to lift our neighbors out of poverty. We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are, whether it is here in the United States or, as [Secretary of State] Hillary [Clinton][102] mentioned, more extremely in odious laws that are being proposed most recently in Uganda."[103]
President Obama’s cursory denunciation of The Anti Homosexuality Bill at the National Prayer Breakfast seems to have exerted some pressure on Uganda’s government. After he referred to it as an “odious law”, Deputy Foreign Minister Henry Okello Oryem told the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation): "I am sure the bill will take a different form… Oryem did not give specific details about the potential changes, but he added that the government would not have power to make alterations while it remains a private member’s bill… David Bahati, the bill’s sponsor, said two weeks ago that he is willing to ‘amend some clauses,’ according to the BBC. A cabinet committee is examining his proposals.”[104]
William Tells shares CREW’s position on the president’s imprimatur of the Family’s National Prayer Breakfast: President Obama should decline all future invitations to attend this elite fundamentalist group’s National Prayer Breakfast thereby ending this insidious habit that President Eisenhower was boxed into in 1954.
E. 3-WAY WRAP-UP
Part Two of Worldly Power: Family Style, The National Prayer Breakfast and its Offshoots, the last of a tripartite series, was preceded by The Other FBI (Faith-Based Initiatives) and Part One of Worldly Power: Family Style, The Prayer Group Movement. Those who read this series know that faith-based initiatives and “compassionate” conservatism are interconnected. Both secretively move together waging war on their putative enemy, secularism. Fundamentalist religion and right-wing politics meld together to form a movement that operates nationally and internationally. Its origin can be traced to the Prison Fellowship. Traditionally evangelical Christians worked for the poor and the suffering, but this changed in the early part of the twentieth century. Their “Social Gospel” was radically revised. Today good works are disdained; all the poor needs is Jesus. The Prison Fellowship’s founder, felon Charles Colson of Watergate infamy, and his “brothers” are members of the Family. In both the United States and Puerto Rico, faith-based initiatives threaten the doctrine of separation of church and state, which incorporates two established democratic principles, secular government and religious freedom.
In Part One of Worldly Power: Family Style, William Tells revealed how the Family or Fellowship, a core of elite religious fundamentalists that wants to change the world, takes the same approach to religion that Ronald Reagan took to economics. The Family, founded by Abraham Vereide and currently headed by Doug Coe, professes: “Reach the elite, and the blessings will trickle down to the underlings.”[105] This group of elite fundamentalists includes evangelicals, Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, and an assortment of right-wing politicians that Jeff Sharlet dubs the avant-garde of American fundamentalism in The Family, his bestseller about the secret fundamentalism at the heart of American power. Vereide’s Idea for the prayer group movement emerged from his hate for labor unions and communism. The two groups that typify this movement are prayer breakfasts and cells. Initially it was tempered: Conservative Democratic and moderate Republican politicians who genuinely believed in the doctrine of separation of church and state and practiced bipartisanship participated. This started to change when right-wing Republican Ronald Reagan pioneered the use of wedge issues and favored the rarefied elite, big economic interests and the super-wealthy. For example, he campaigned as anti- big government, welfare state, abortion and civil rights; and pro-tax cuts, death penalty, states’ rights, unbridled militarism and war on drugs. Many of his wedge issues appealed not only to the GOP base, but also to enough conservative Democrats and independents for him to be elected Governor of California and President twice apiece. Most of what recently has gone wrong in the United States and abroad including the sub prime mortgage crisis and the meltdown of the financial sector can be traced to discredited Reaganomics (a/k/a trickle-down or supply-side economics) that failed to translate into jobs for the poor and middle wage earning classes at home; instead the enterprises of the super-rich outsourced their work and too many jobs were moved overseas. Neoconservatives meet both at 
ubiquitous prayer breakfasts and imperceptible prayer groups for the elite. They are pejoratively referred to as crony capitalists, businessmen whose success depends on favoritism from government officials that far too often devolves into corruption. Some attend weekend worldview conferences and right-wing mass rallies to preach hate and fear, appeal to poor and middle class wage earners’ prejudice and chauvinism, indoctrinate them into a simplistic, divisive credendum of life that fuses church and state, promote creationism (a/k/a “intelligent design” and generally misinform them in order to garner support for compromised right-wing political candidates who support disadvantageous, elitist economic and social policies that benefit the super-rich and prejudice the poor and middle classes. Too many like-minded politicians sell their votes to special interests in exchange for campaign contributions or “sweetheart” deals.
ubiquitous prayer breakfasts and imperceptible prayer groups for the elite. They are pejoratively referred to as crony capitalists, businessmen whose success depends on favoritism from government officials that far too often devolves into corruption. Some attend weekend worldview conferences and right-wing mass rallies to preach hate and fear, appeal to poor and middle class wage earners’ prejudice and chauvinism, indoctrinate them into a simplistic, divisive credendum of life that fuses church and state, promote creationism (a/k/a “intelligent design” and generally misinform them in order to garner support for compromised right-wing political candidates who support disadvantageous, elitist economic and social policies that benefit the super-rich and prejudice the poor and middle classes. Too many like-minded politicians sell their votes to special interests in exchange for campaign contributions or “sweetheart” deals. William Tells animates Papel Mag’s readers to become progressive independent voters who analyze party platforms and evaluate all the candidates for political office beforehand. Part Two dissected the so-called National Prayer Breakfast and its sordid Offshoots. Much more could be said about both the populist and the elitist branches of Christian fundamentalism and the sinister worldview that they share. The ominous situation in Uganda concerning The Anti Homosexuality Bill is unresolved; therefore, however much William Tells is disposed to introducing new themes early-on in 2010, depending on what finally transpires in Uganda’s parliament, a follow-up on this human rights crisis may be requisite.
[1] “Abram… [became] an exponent of a religion for the elite—the ‘up and out,’ as he called them—for the rest of his life. He termed the trickle down faith the Idea… In the one sense, it was nothing more than the status quo. It neither challenged power nor asked for anything from the powerful but their good intentions. In another, it was the most ambitious theocratic project of the American century, ‘every Christian leader, every leader a Christian,’ and this ruling class of Christ—committed men bound in a fellowship of the anointed, the chosen, key men in a voluntary dictatorship of the divine.”Sharlet, Jeff. The Family the Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, Harper Perennial (2009), p. 91.
[2] Ibid. The Family, pp. 89-90.
[3] The Family’s records are located at the Billy Graham Center Archives in Wheaton, Illinois (the Archives). Currently only users with the written permission of the President of the Family (a/k/a the Fellowship Foundation) can view them. This restriction was implemented by the Archives in November of 2003. Jeff Sharlet’s article “Jesus plus nothing: Undercover among America’s secret theocrats” was published in Harper’s Magazine in the March 2003 edition; therefore, it is evident that the Family’s board of directors’ restriction on use was vindicatory rather than coincidental. On the Archive’s Website, the files on Puerto Rico are listed among the folders in Boxes 176-266 that contain international correspondence up to 1970. This correspondence refers to contacts between members of the Family in Washington and the leaders of local prayer groups, trips to Christian communities or individuals in other countries for the purpose of advancing such prayer groups, suggestions about which denizens should be invited to participate in the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington or some analogous event to be celebrated in their respective countries. “Records of the Fellowship Foundation—Collection 459” (2007, November 7). Billy Graham Center Archives, Wheaton College, Retrieved December 11, 2009, from http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/459.htm#404
[4] Sarah Posner, author of God's Profits: Faith, Fraud, and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters (PoliPointPress, LLC, 2008), who has covered religious fundamentalists for the Prospect, The Nation, The Washington Spectator, AlterNet, and other publications interviewed journalist Jeff Sharlet who infiltrated the Family. She asked him: “What do you think Barack Obama's relationship with The Family would be if he's elected? He answered: “Obama's going to make peace with The Family—you have to. He's going to go to the National Prayer Breakfast; he has to. How can you say, I'm opposed to prayer? They've set the terms up so you can't really go against it.” “Focusing on The Family” (2008, July 10), The American Prospect, Retrieved December 14, 2009 from http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=focusing_on_the_family
[5] It was popularly dubbed the “slave labor law.” This 1947 Act rolled back some of the New Deal labor gains and replaced strikes with employer-controlled conciliation that was in sync with Abram’s vision for “industrial peace.” Taft and the rest of the “Old Right” wanted the economy to return to its pre-Depression condition—[The economy of Pre-New Deal America was controlled by several dozen billionaires, disparagingly referred to as the “robber barons” who dominated political life; therefore, the nominally democratic system of government was plutocratic (controlled by the wealthy class) and corrupt.]—with no vibrant expanding middle class or concomitant labor unions that demanded higher wages. Reactionary politicians and their big business supporters, many of whom were members of Abram’s prayer group movement that devolved into the Family, wanted deregulation, zero government intervention in the economy and repeal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Ibid, The Family, pp. 142-192.
[6] He was born in Denison Texas in 1890, but the Eisenhower family settled in Abilene, Kansas when he was two years old. Wikipedia (The Free Encyclopedia).Dwight D. Eisenhower (Aftermath of WW II), 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_David_Eisenhower
[7] General Eisenhower served as the first Supreme Allied Commander of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) from April 2, 1951 – May 30, 1952. Ibid.
[8] International Christian Leadership was the formal front organization that the Family maintained until Abram’s death in 1969. His successor as “First Brother”, Doug Coe, who had worked for the Family since 1959, continued all of the prayer group activities of the Family as inconspicuously as possible except for the National Prayer Breakfast, currently the Family’s only publicized gathering. “At the 1990 National Prayer Breakfast, President George H. W. Bush praised Doug Coe for what he described as ‘quiet diplomacy, I wouldn’t say secret diplomacy.’” An anonymous government informant told a sociologist formerly on the faculty of Princeton University and currently on the faculty of Rice University: “If Doug Coe can get you some face time with the President of the United States, you will take his call and seek his friendship. That’s power.” These contacts, which the powerful influence-peddling members of the Family surreptitiously obtain for unscrupulous (and sometimes corrupt) opportunists, bypass proper State Department channels, the Administration’s vetting process and transparency in government dealings and decision-making. Ibid, The Family, pp. 8, 24-5.
[9] Part One of “Worldly Power: Family Style” that appeared in the Big Bang Edition of Papel Mag (October 27, 2009) explains how neoconservatives, sometimes referred to pejoratively as crony capitalists, businessmen whose success depends on favoritism from government officials that far too often devolves into corruption, join elite prayer cells and attend prayer breakfasts. Many also lead weekend worldview conferences and right-wing mass rallies where they preach hate and fear to susceptible (poor and middle class) wage earners. These “leaders” appeal to their prejudice by stereotyping women, liberals and minorities and patriotism through chauvinistic sloganeering. They also indoctrinate them into a simplistic, divisive credendum of life that fuses church and state, and pretends to encompass every aspect of creation (a/k/a “intelligent design”) without explaining anything. Their “plain and simple” message is Jesus plus nothing, which is based on their particular interpretation of the Bible (religious beliefs); not on evidence. Evolution, which overwhelming evidence supports, no well-grounded facts refute and in practice proves itself, is systematically demonized. They misinform the credulous masses to garner support for compromised right-wing political candidates who, once elected (or re-elected) to public office, support disadvantageous, elitist economic and social policies that widen the economic gap between the poor and the super-rich. Too many politicians that are members of the Family sell their votes to special interests in exchange for campaign contributions or “sweetheart” deals.
[10] Also known as a “career” politician, an elected official who is more interested in securing his/ her own lifetime permanence in office through repeated re-election than in fulfilling the duties of his/her office.
[11] “U.S. domestic program of Pres. Franklin Roosevelt to bring economic relief (1933 – 39) [after the Great Depression]. The term was taken from Roosevelt's speech accepting the 1932 presidential nomination, in which he promised "a new deal for the American people." New Deal legislation was enacted mainly in the first three months of 1933 (Roosevelt's "hundred days") and established such agencies as the Civil Works Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps to alleviate unemployment, the National Recovery Administration to revive industrial production, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate financial institutions, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration to support farm production, and the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide public power and flood control. A second period of legislation (1935–36), often called the second New Deal, established the National Labor Relations Board, the Works Progress Administration, and the social security system...” Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: New Deal.Answers.com 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2009, from http://www.answers.com/topic/new-deal
[12]Ibid, The Family, pp. 189-195.
[13] Ibid, The Family, pp. 196.
[14] “Member of a Protestant church named for Menno Simonsz. They trace their origins to the Swiss Brethren (established 1525), nonconformists who rejected infant baptism and stressed the separation of church and state. Persecution scattered them across Europe; they found political freedom first in the Netherlands and northern Poland, and from there moved to Ukraine and Russia. They first emigrated to North America in 1663. Many Russian Mennonites emigrated to the U.S. Midwest and to Canada in the 1870s when they lost their exemption from Russian military service. Today Mennonites are found in many parts of the world, especially in North and South America. Their creed stresses the authority of the Scriptures, the example of the early church, and baptism as a confession of faith. They value simplicity of life, and many refuse to swear oaths or serve in the military. The various Mennonite groups include the strictly observant Amish and Hutterites as well as the more moderate Mennonite church.” Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Mennonite.Answers.com 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2009, from http://www.answers.com/topic/mennonite
[15] “Member of an international religious movement founded in Pittsburgh, Pa., by Charles T. Russell in 1872. The movement was originally known as the International Bible Students Association, but its name was changed by Russell's successor, Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869– 1942). The Witnesses are a millennialist group whose beliefs are based primarily on the apocalyptic sections of the Bible, notably Daniel and the Book of Revelation. They refuse to perform military service or salute the flag, actions which have brought them into direct conflict with governments around the world. They are famous for their door-to-door evangelizing and for refusing blood transfusions; they believe there is scriptural justification for all their actions and beliefs. Their goal is the establishment of God's kingdom on earth, and they hold that Jesus— who is believed to be God's first creation rather than one person in a trinity—is God's agent in this plan. Their national headquarters is in Brooklyn, N.Y.; their major publications, the Watchtower and Awake, are published in about 80 languages.” Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Jehovah’s Witness.Answers.com 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2009, from http://www.answers.com/topic/jehovah-s-witnesses
[16] He was born David Dwight Eisenhower. According to the official position (Eisenhower Library and Museum), he switched the order of his first and middle names and became Dwight D. upon his matriculation at West Point. Even the most benevolent would surmise that he most likely did so to prevent the disclosure of his Jehovah Witness past and keep this religious movement’s anti-militaristic stance at a distance.
[17] Bergman, Jerry. Why President Eisenhower Hid His Jehovah's Witness Upbringing ( an edited version of his paper published inthe JW Research Journal, vol. 6, #2, July-Dec., 1999). Retrieved on December 22, 2009, from http://www.seanet.com/~raines/eisenhower.html
[18] “Eisenhower was baptized, confirmed, and became a communicant in the Presbyterian Church in a single ceremony on February 1, 1953, just 12 days after his first presidential inauguration. He is the only president known to have undertaken these rites while in office.” Wikipedia (The Free Encyclopedia).Dwight D. Eisenhower (Religion), 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_David_Eisenhower
[19] “Witnesses believe that after the death of the apostles, the Church embarked on a "Great Apostasy", diverging from the original teachings of Jesus on several major points. Influenced by Restorationism in the 19th century, Charles Taze Russell and his associates formed a Bible study group in the 1870s in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, developing teachings that they considered to be a revival of "the great truths taught by Jesus and the Apostles", in what the Watch Tower Society today says was a return to original Christianity. Although many of their fundamental teachings have changed over the years, Jehovah's Witnesses have consistently claimed to be the only true religion.” Wikipedia (The Free Encyclopedia).Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses. Retrieved December 22, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beliefs_and_practices_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses
[20] Highlights of the Beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses, TowerWatch Ministries [founded by Cal Lehman, a born-again Christian who was a Jehovah Witness for 35 years] (June 16, 2003; updated August 21, 2009). Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.towerwatch.com/Witnesses/Beliefs/their_beliefs.htm [istries
[21] In 1970 this misnomer was pretentiously changed to another paltry subterfuge: National Prayer Breakfast.
[22] Eisenhower was instrumental in the addition of the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954, and the adoption of "In God We Trust" as the motto of the United States [1956], and its introduction on paper currency [1957]. Ibid, The Family, pp. 198-9.
[23] Ibid.
[24] This contributor (W. Luckeroth) learned the Pledge of Allegiance in grammar school before “Under God” was added; his posture on this amendment appeared in the now defunct San Juan Star’s Readers’ Viewpoint under the caption Rescue of public education, defense of secularist heritage are one and same mission on November 16, 2005: “Pennock* is confusing oranges with apples when she mixes the “Under God” issue with poor academic excellence and other serious school problems. *[Elizabeth Pennock, in The pledge is never recited by children wielding lethal weapons, Star, November 18, 2005, had criticized “a U.S. District Court judge in Sacramento, Calif. [who] ruled that the pledge’s reference to one nation “under God” violates school children’s rights to be free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.”] Michael Newdon, [an atheist and father of a public school student who challenged the phrase’s constitutionality in the U.S. District Court], is right on the pledge issue. Francis Bellamy, a Baptist and socialist who believed in complete separation of church and state, wrote the Pledge of Allegiance in 1892 at the behest of the National Education Association. He would have been horrified by the addition of “under God” to the pledge in 1954 during the [Joe] McCarthy** era. ** [Republican Senator from Wisconsin who used anti-communism to promote himself during horrific televised congressional hearings] The secular pledge was meant to be a straightforward commitment to assimilation of all immigrants: “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” …Tolerance is just as important today as it was in our past. We must oppose the inroads religious fundamentalists have made, especially those in the classroom, and educate our youth about our great secularist heritage.”
[25] Wikipedia (The Free Encyclopedia).Religious Heritage of American. Retrieved December 24 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Heritage_of_America
[26] Greenberg, David. The Pledge of Allegiance Why we're not one nation "under God. Slate (online/updated June 28, 2002). Retrieved December 23, 2009, from http://slate.msn.com/?id=2067499
The Family the Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, Harper Perennial (2009), p. 91.
[27] President Eisenhower attended the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. Rosenbaum, David E. With Little Ado, Congress Put God in Pledge in 1954. The New York Times (Published: June 28, 2002). Retrieved December 27, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/28/us/with-little-ado-congress-put-god-in-pledge-in-1954.html
[28] Greenberg, David. Ibid.
[29] Woolley, John T. and Peters, Gerhard. The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara, CA. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President: Remarks at the Dedicatory Prayer Breakfast of the International Christian Leadership (February 5, 1953). Retrieved December 24, 2009, from http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9851
[30] When asked: Should [President] Obama attend the [2010] National Prayer Breakfast in February? Jeff Sharlet, the author of The Family replied that he didn’t: “…think any U.S. president should attend a privately organized and funded sectarian event, secretly presided over by a leader who is on record and on video talking about the leadership lessons of Hitler. The planning documents of this ostensibly ecumenical event declare: ‘Anything can happen, the Koran could even be read, but JESUS is there! He is infiltrating the world.’ Citizens are entitled to that view. But they're not entitled to de facto government endorsement of it.
The first president to attend, Eisenhower, did so under political pressure and said he hoped it wouldn't become a tradition. It might not have had the next president, John F. Kennedy, not been compelled to attend to prove to evangelicals that his Catholicism wouldn't be a barrier between them. It's worth noting that Jackie refused to go. Every president since has found in the Prayer Breakfast a platform for publicly banal and privately powerful engagements with American religious figures and the foreign leaders the Family chooses to invite to the many off-the-record events that surround the breakfast. This simply isn't a ‘National Prayer Breakfast’; it's a lobbyist's dream. If the American people want a National Prayer Breakfast, fine — let Congress appropriate funds and designate a national-level agency to run it. And let the Supreme Court deal with the First Amendment issues that will follow.” Harmon, Andrew. Family Expert Jeff Sharlet on Uganda ( Posted December 21, 2009). Advocate.com. Retrieved December 27, 2009, from http://www.advocate.com/News/News_Features/Jeff_Sharlet_on_Uganda/
The first president to attend, Eisenhower, did so under political pressure and said he hoped it wouldn't become a tradition. It might not have had the next president, John F. Kennedy, not been compelled to attend to prove to evangelicals that his Catholicism wouldn't be a barrier between them. It's worth noting that Jackie refused to go. Every president since has found in the Prayer Breakfast a platform for publicly banal and privately powerful engagements with American religious figures and the foreign leaders the Family chooses to invite to the many off-the-record events that surround the breakfast. This simply isn't a ‘National Prayer Breakfast’; it's a lobbyist's dream. If the American people want a National Prayer Breakfast, fine — let Congress appropriate funds and designate a national-level agency to run it. And let the Supreme Court deal with the First Amendment issues that will follow.” Harmon, Andrew. Family Expert Jeff Sharlet on Uganda ( Posted December 21, 2009). Advocate.com. Retrieved December 27, 2009, from http://www.advocate.com/News/News_Features/Jeff_Sharlet_on_Uganda/
[31] The rock, in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, near which the Mayflower [the ship that carried the first settlers to New England] landed in 1620. These settlers were members of the English Separatist Church, a radical faction of Puritanism. “Plymouth Rock”. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy [History Dictionary], 3rd Ed. (2002). Houghton Mifflin Company. Retrieved September 22, 2009, from http://www.answers.com/topic/pilgrims
[32] Jeff Sharlet, The Family, Harper Perennial (2009), pp. 57-8.
[33] Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, an American cable television network, is dedicated to airing non-stop coverage of government proceedings and public affairs programming as a public service. It accepts no outside advertising whatsoever and, according to its mission statement, C-Span’s prime objective is to be balanced and impartial in its format and content... C-Span’s accommodation of this private right-wing religious/political event [the National Prayer Breakfast] that is sponsored by the Family, as if it were an official government activity, is baffling. Furthermore, the address of the President of the United States of America at this gathering is reprehensible; however unwittingly, it underpins the semblance of assumed governmental auspices, which is derived surreptitiously from the President’s address and the use of “National” in this get-together’s name. William Tells surmises that the former use of “Presidential” (supra note 21) was changed to “National” to clarify that the President has nothing to do with the organization (the Family) or the hosting (members of the Family who are in Congress) of this event.
[34] Conrad Hilton hosted “what would become an annual political ritual, the [first] Presidential Prayer Breakfast (later to be renamed the National Prayer Breakfast)… presided over by [Senator Frank] Carlson, [Republican of Kansas,] blessed by [the Reverend Billy] Graham, and sanctified by Ike’s blandest speech yet...” Ibid. The Family, p195.
[35] On December 27, 2007, Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of an Islamic state [two non-consecutive terms in 1988 and 1993] and the leader of the PPP (Pakistan People's Party), was assassinated while she was campaigning in Rawalpindi [Pakistan’s fourth largest city in the Pothohar (a/k/a Potwar) Plateau near the capital city of Islamabad, Punjab province] during the 2008 election campaign. She had returned from self-imposed exile in October 2007 after entering into a power-sharing agreement and amnesty accord (that covered the court cases she was facing) with Pakistan’s tenth President Pervez Musharaf. He had seized power as Chief of the Pakistan Army on October 12, 1999 after a bloodless military coup d'état that ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, a populist politician, businessman, head of the PML (Pakistan Muslim League) who is best known internationally for ordering the 1998 nuclear tests in response to India’s nuclear capability. Under pressure of impeachment, President Musharaf resigned on August 18, 2008. Benazir Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardan, was duly elected as Pakistan's eleventh President on September 6, 2008. BBC News. South Asia. November 87, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from http://new s.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7161590.stm
[36] Representative Don Payne (D-NJ) who chairs the House Committee for Foreign Affairs' Africa and Global Health Subcommittee said: “one Sudanese official who has been directly tied by human rights groups to the genocide, Ali Ahmed Karti, is scheduled to travel to the United States next month to attend the National Prayer Breakfast, a private event sponsored by a Christian nonprofit group. ‘The sponsors of a prayer breakfast should not invite a man who has blood on his hands to pray with those same hands,’ Payne said. ‘It's wrong.’ Karti, a former general who serves as Sudan's deputy foreign minister, traveled to the United States last year as well, when he reportedly attended a similar prayer breakfast.” Scherer, Michael. Congress steps on Bush's Darfur applause line The day after Bush got cheers for mentioning Darfur (January. 25, 2007). Retrieved December 27, 2009, from http://www.vegsource.com/talk/flame/messages/8239.html
[37]10 Basic Facts about Darfur
1. Sudan is located in North Africa, south of Egypt.
2. Khartoum is the capital of Sudan.
3. The president of Sudan is General Omar al-Bashir.
4. Darfur is a region in western Sudan, about the size of Texas.
5. Most of the residents of Darfur are Muslims.
6. Some Darfurians speak Arabic and identify as Arabs; others speak African dialects and identify as Africans. Many of the African Darfurians belong to the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa tribes.
7. The conflict in Sudan was sparked when rebels from Darfur attacked a government air force base in 2003. The rebels are mostly people from the Fur, Massalit and Zaghawa tribes. For years they have felt ignored by the central government in Khartoum.
8. In retaliation for this attack, Sudan’s military and the government-backed militias, the Janjaweed, have attacked the African residents of Darfur. Reports indicate that they have burned villages, murdered and maimed residents, poisoned wells, raped women, stolen animals and other valuables, and kidnapped children.
9. The United Nations estimates that since 2003 at least 200,000 Darfurians have been killed.
10. The United Nations estimates that since 2003 at least 2.5 million Darfurians have been forced to leave their villages due to the violence in the region. Most of these people live in IDP [Internally Displaced Persons] camps in Darfur or refugee camps in Chad.
Darfur Dream Team. Ten Basic Facts. 2009 Center For American Progress, Enough—a project to end crimes against humanity. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from http://www.darfurdreamteam.org/node/109
[38] Under the label ROCKET MENSCH, Rachel Maddow interviewed Tracy Mc Grady, 7-time NBA All-Star, Houston Rockets shooting guard/small forward, and John Prendergast, human rights activist, author and film maker about the Darfur Dream Team’s three point documentary. They co-founded, together with former African based journalist and expert Gayle Smith, the Enough Project, a Center For American Progress (a progressive think tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action) initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity. During the Clinton administration, Mr. Prendergast served as a special advisor to Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and was involved in a number of peace processes in Africa.
NBA. Players/Tracy McGrady. 2009 NBA Media Ventures. Retrieved on September 24, 2009, from http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tracy_mcgrady/bio.html
MSNBC, 2009. The Rachel Maddow Show’s Wednesday, September 9, 2009 transcript. Shining celebrity light on Darfur [as seen on TV]. Retrieved on September 24, 2009, fromhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#32994603
Center for American Progress. 2009. About us/Enough. Retrieved on September 24, from http://www.americanprogress.org/aboutus and http://www.enoughproject.org/
[39] Jeff Sharlet, The Family, Harper Perennial (2009), pp. 22-3.
[40] “In 29 countries on five continents/132 generation plants, including/15 facilities at integrated utilities/14 utilities/$16 billion annual revenues A global workforce of 25,000” [diagonals separating listings supplied]
The AES Corporation. 2009. About Us. Retrieved on September 24, 2009, from http://www.aes.com/aes/index?page=about_us
[41] President Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986. The doors of the White House have been opened for him: President Reagan invited him to visit in October 1987 and twenty years later, on October 30, 2007, President George W. Bush thanked him there for joining the United States in fighting terror. Internationally he has been hailed as a star among “a new breed of [“uncorrupt”] African leaders” that govern “democratically”. Maintaining Museveni’s good governance image has been entrusted to the US-based Whitaker Group, Uganda’s registered foreign agent, allegedly for the sum of two billion dollars. The Uganda Spring 2009 Update that is prepared by the Whitaker Group paints a rosy future: “With the strong support of the Government of Uganda and the imminent arrival of global connectivity via the SEACOM fiber optic undersea cable, Uganda is poised to make a serious bid to become the business process outsourcing (BPO) hub of East Africa. The country, blessed with political stability, a population proficient in English, a large and inexpensive labor pool with information technology (IT) skills and an attractive business environment, is well positioned to provide a host of services to a global clientele.” Needless to say, there is no mention of genocide or human rights violations in this Whitaker Group publication. Notwithstanding, a posting on UWIRE, a wire service powered by student journalists attending colleges and universities across the United States, which was distributed to Yahoo and other professional media outlets, claims that “under President Museveni’s guidance, horrific war crimes have been committed in the Great Lakes region, and continuing human rights violations in Uganda are slowly claiming the lives of millions. Sadly, the international community seems to pick and choose which leaders it will call dictators, and which countries it will support, no matter the suffering of a particular nation’s people… President Museveni is responsible for orchestrating genocide in Northern Uganda, where nearly two million people were forced into concentration camps, euphemistically known as “protected villages.” In 2005, the Ugandan government was indicted by the International Court of Justice for committing grave war crimes in the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] , including: mass rape, the invasion[,] …plundering of the natural resources… and of fomenting ethnic cleansing. Uganda was ordered to pay the DRC $6-$10 billion… Under Museveni, Uganda is on [sic] of the most corrupt countries in the world. Yet, countries including the US, have financed Museveni’s regime without holding it accountable for corruption and mismanagement of funds.” The Whitaker Group’s Uganda Update Spring 2009. Economic Resilience Ugandan Economy to be among Africa’s Strongest in 2009. Retrieved on September 24, 2009, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/16324373/Uganda-Update-Spring-2009- UWIRE. July 21st, 2008. Fact Sheet on Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni. Retrieved on September 24, 2009, from http://ugandagenocide.info/?p=192 Scribd. June 11, 2009.
[42] Ibid. The Family, p. 23.
[43] “During the 1960s the Family forged relationships between the U.S. government and some of the most oppressive regimes in the world, arranging prayer networks in the U.S. Congress for the likes of General Costa e Silva, dictator of Brazil; General Suharto, dictator of Indonesia; and General Park Chung Hee, dictator of South Korea. ‘The Fellowship’s reach into government around the world,’ observes David Kuo, a former special assistant to the president in Bush’s first term, ‘is almost impossible to overstate or even grasp.’ In 1983, Doug Coe and General John W. Vessey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed the civilian ambassadors of the Central American nations that the Prayer Breakfast would be used to arrange ‘private sessions’ for their generals with ‘responsible leaders’ in the United States…” Ibid. The Family, pp. 24-5.
[44] TIME. Posted January 30, 2005. Religion: The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America [Photo Essay: Brian McLaren]. Retrieved on September 25, 2009, from http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/photoessay/4.html
[45] Ibid. The Family, pp. 223-225.
[46] Ibid. p. 223.
[47] Ibid. p. 328.
[48] Hitler’s party was the National Socialist German Workers Party, commonly known as the Nazi Party. Museveni chairs the National Resistance Movement, the political wing of the National Resistance Army. Wikipedia (The Free Encyclopedia). Yoweri Museveni [and] Adolph Hitler. Respectively, retrieved December 31, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museveni
[49] “Northern Uganda is home to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. For the past 20 years, the region has been ravaged by a violent civil war in which over 30,000 children were abducted to be used as child soldiers and nearly 2 million people have been forced from their homes into Internally Displaced Persons [IDP] camps. The results of this war have been devastating. The Acholi tribe makes up nearly the entire population of Northern Uganda. After two decades of displacement and violence, their traditional agrarian culture has been all but decimated. At one point, nearly 90 percent of the population was living in displacement camps where they were entirely dependant on the U.N. World Food Programme [sic/British variant] to sustain them. Despite these facts, none of these statistics really seem to be news to anybody. People in the west are bombarded by tragic numbers from Africa constantly. This is nothing new. Northern Uganda has received a large amount of international attention through several Documentaries and social justice movements. These programs have chosen to highlight past atrocities in the region in an effort to raise awareness for the problems the population is facing. While there is truth in the past, there is hope in the future.” Anderson, Nick. Acholi Crossroads (January 2009). Vimeo. Retrieved December 29, 2009, from http://vimeo.com/channels/acholicrossroads#3177949
[50] Genocide in Comparative Perspective: the Jewish and Acholi Experience (Published July 4, 2006). Friends for Peace in Africa 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2009, from http://www.friendsforpeaceinafrica.org/
[51] Ibid. The Family, pp. 44-5.
[52] The Prayer Breakfast Network [a/k/a/ the Prayer Builds a Nation Network] (PBN), a member of EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America), an association of more than one thousand five hundred autonomous and interdependent churches/church plants, which are spread throughout more than fifty countries, is “united by a mutual commitment to serve our Lord Jesus Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the Word of God” piously pitches its Cities of Distinction Program. Kermit Sutherland (Placentia, California), PBN’s CEO and President, extols this Programs, which claims that: “Prayer Breakfasts are one of the most effective ways of reaching any community and penetrating its leadership with the positive proclamation of the Good News.” PBN’s website pushes the Cities of Distinction Packet that sells for $100.00. This Packet includes Prayer: “Breakfast Vision Video, Organizational Manual, City of Distinction Presentation Award, Speakers Bureau access, Website Link (www.pbnet.org), Breakfast Flyer Template, National Registry as City of Distinction, Network Newsletter [and] Event Consultation.” [Did PBN’s CEO mean Racket instead of Packet?] PBN’s website also proclaims that: “Politicians, professionals, and business leaders are eager to attend a well-planned Prayer Breakfast Built on local leadership and Non-Denominational.” PBN’s “OBJECTIVE is to Pray for all in authority, that we might live Godly lives. [It is all about elite fundamentalism and crony capitalism.] PBN’s website’s request for a “Financial Commitment” reads: “Yes, I want to be a Ministry Partner and help reach our country! I want to pray for the financial health of Prayer Breakfast Network and contribute to the needs of PBN through a contribution in one of the following ways: For your convenience, PBN has Automatic Electronic Transfer Ability to contribute from your checking account*, major credit card, or debit card.” Cities of Distinction. Prayer Breakfast Network. Retrieved January 6, 2010, from http://www.pbnet.org/default.asp
[53] “President Barack Obama will attend the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast on Friday [June 19, 2009]. The event is one of many religio-political breakfasts held around the country—like the Greater Chicago Leadership Prayer Breakfast in December, the Minnesota Prayer Breakfast in April, and, most famously, the National Prayer Breakfast in February, attended by every president since Eisenhower. Why so many prayer ‘breakfasts’—rather than prayer lunches or teatimes? Tradition. The prayer breakfast got started in mid-1930s Seattle, where traveling preacher Abraham Vereide held morning meetings for politicians and businessmen to pray… The many present-day prayer breakfasts are modeled on the national one and thus play on the title, although the National Prayer Breakfast, the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast, and other large breakfasts [for example, the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast] are really conferences that can last two or three days—not just quick a.m. snacks. The main events at these conferences do tend to be morning meals, during which speakers address the crowd…” Lapidos, Juliet. What's With All the Prayer Breakfasts? Why can't they do a prayer lunch instead? (Posted Tuesday, June 16, 2009). Slate. Retrieved January 7, 2010, from http://www.slate.com/id/2220599/
[54] This infamous Bill is often alluded to internationally as the “kill-the-gays” bill and is referred to herein as The Anti Homosexuality Bill.
[55] This Playbook has also been generically referred to as the Republican playbook, the GOP playbook, the Karl Rove—Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until he resigned in disgrace—playbook, the Discovery Institute playbook, the Evangelical playbook, the “family values” playbook and the social conservative playbook—Take your pick!
[56] Associate Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer joined in the Court’s opinion. Associate Justice O’Connor filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Associate Justice Scalia filed a dissenting opinion, in which Chief Justice Rehnquist and Associate Justice Thomas joined. Associate Justice Thomas also filed his own dissenting opinion.
[57] John Geddes Lawrence and Tyron Garner were accused of the crime of “deviate sexual intercourse, namely anal sex, with a member of the same sex.” The applicable state law was Texas Penal Code Annotated §21.06(a) (2003). It provides: “A person commits an offense if he engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex.” The statute defined deviate sexual intercourse as follows: “(A) any contact between any part of the genitals of one person and the mouth or anus of another person; or (B) the penetration of the genitals or the anus of another person with an object.” §21.01(1). These identical forms of sexual intercourse with an individual of the opposite sex were legal in Texas at the time—when police entered Lawrence’s apartment in response to a “reported” weapons disturbance and observed him and Garner engaging in a consensual sexual act in the privacy of the home. They were arrested, held in custody over night, charged with deviate sexual intercourse under The Texas Homosexual Conduct Law and convicted before a Justice of the Peace. The petitioners exercised their right to a trial de novo in Harris County Criminal Court. They challenged the statute as a violation of the Equal Protection Clauses of United States and Texas Constitutions. Those contentions were rejected. On appeal the Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals considered their federal constitutional arguments under both the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. After hearing the case in banc, the majority rejected the constitutional arguments and affirmed the criminal convictions. The petitioners filed a Petition for Certiorari before the United States Supreme Court. Upon review, the majority reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remanded the case for further proceedings not inconsistent with their opinion.
[58] “Despite historical evidence of homosexuality in Africa long before the Europeans arrived, most conservative African religious and political leaders now view homosexuality as a Western export, and a form of imperialism and neocolonialism. And of course, U.S. conservatives exploit and encourage this belief. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, whose wife is a close ally of [Reverend] Rick Warren, warned, ‘It is a danger not only to the believers but to the whole of Africa. It is bad if our children become complacent and think that people who are not in order [code for: homosexuals and lesbians] are alright… These foreigners should go and practice their nonsense elsewhere.’ [Milton Olupot and Daniel Edyegu, Museveni backs church against gays, Sunday Vision, August 17, 2008]. Because Africans are sensitive to neocolonialism, the conservative claim that homosexuality is part of a "Western agenda" gives African church leaders ammunition to demand greater influence and power in the affairs of the church. Denouncing homosexuality is Africa's way of claiming power over the western world. In this regard, when Africans claim that homosexuality is un-African, they are pointing to a politics of postcolonial identity. [Miranda K. Hassett, Anglican Communion in Crisis: How Episcopal Dissidents and Their African Allies Are Reshaping Anglicanism, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007), p. 13.] This history gives the struggle greater depth and tenacity, and for that reason, African involvement in U.S. church issues will continue. Moreover, rejecting what is claimed to be an imposition from the West gives them power both within the African context and with American conservatives of all persuasions. Ironically enough, although American conservatives repeatedly accuse progressives of being imperialist, it is their dealings with Africa that are extremely imperialistic. Their flow of funds creates a form of clientelism, with the expectation that the recipients toe an ideological line.” Kaoma, Kapya. The U.S. Christian Right and the Attack on Gays in Africa. Political Research Associates. Retrieved on January 4, 2010, from http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v24n4/us-christian-right-attack-on-gays-in-africa.html
[59] Ibid.
[60] “An important part of the rogue state formula developed by policymakers over the recent decades is the expectation that such states represent dangers to international peace and stability. Focusing on the recognized international human rights norms of non-discrimination and security of person, and informed by the causal mechanisms inherent in the normative explanation for the democratic peace… human rights rogues are more likely to become involved in militarized interstate disputes in general, and violent interstate disputes specifically, than other states… suggesting that policymakers must keep a close watch on serial human rights abusers, while seeking to identify future threats to international security.” Caprioli, Mary (Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota, Duluth) and Trumbore, Peter F. (Department of Political Science, Oakland University). Human Rights Rogues in Interstate Disputes,1980–2001. 2006 Journal of Peace Research, vol. 43, no. 2, 2006, pp. 131–148 (Sage Publications: London, California and New Delhi). Retrieved on January 3, 2009, from http://www.sagepub.com/Martin2Study/pdfs/Chapter%204/Caprioli%20&%20Trumbore.pdf
[61] Ibid. Kaoma, Kapya.
[62] “If the law passes there could indeed be far-reaching implications for more than just Uganda’s gay and lesbian population. As Spectrum Uganda activist Sam Ganafa declared, ‘The new bill will instill [sic] fear because it touches almost everybody. Even a journalist now asking me about this, after it passes will not be able to do it. You will be discussing a subject that must not be discussed at all. Your family will be compelled by law to turn you in.’ Furthermore, human rights advocates and lawyers have already asserted the purported illegality of the bill saying it attempts to circumvent and thus nullify the numerous international treaties and covenants already ratified by the country. On a recent radio debate, Christine Butegwa, regional coordinator for Akina Mama wa Afrika, one of the 23 organizations partnering in opposition to the bill, asserted that ‘the bill has nothing new to offer. It is indeed a waste of tax payers’ money because the majority of the provisions in the bill are actually provided for in other laws already in existence in Uganda.’ Furthermore, as Makerere law lecturer Dr Sylvia Tamale noted, it is clear the author of this bill was no lawyer because it is in direct violation of numerous tenants of the 1995 constitution and legally Parliament has neither the power to nullify treaties or constitutional provisions. Indeed, one of the key consultants of the bill is not a lawyer at all, but prominent “pro-family” pastor, Martin Ssempa [Rick and Kay Warren’s “brother” and “indispensable sidekick” in their Global AIDS Initiative in Uganda (infra)]. On the same radio broadcast last week, Ssempa repeatedly touched upon the overarching threats he believes this bill is attempting to remedy: the assault upon African culture and the erosion of family values alongside fears of increased incidences of homosexual recruitment and defilement and their seeming lack of legal consequences. Ssempa argued that, contrary to criticism that the bill unfairly targets homosexuals, it would in effect bring about equal protection under the law for both boys and girls, who are the prime targets for molestation and defilement. In a recent interview, Ssempa went much further, ‘I think it is important to understand what sodomy is. It is inherently unhealthy, a sexual lifestyle that involves unmentionable acts.’ He went on to note that ‘by and large many boys and men have been infected and had permanent damage from homosexual behavior. And homosexual men have a higher risk for disease.’… Ultimately, the fear for many human rights defenders is the erosion of a human rights culture in Uganda and the broad ways in which this bill can be used to target many more than just the small gay population. As Val Kalende, a journalist and activist for SMUG (Sexual Minorities Uganda) noted, ‘This is not all about sex. We are talking about the right for people to be employed, the right to access services equally, the right to justice and the right to freedom of speech and expression.’ Pastor Ssempa and MP [Member of Parliament] Bahati (supra/infra) however think otherwise, both deeply worried about the undue influence… of Western decadence and permissiveness seen as decimating African culture and tearing apart the moral fabric of society.” Rubin, Ariel. Anti-gay bill opens a Pandora’s Box (November 10, 2009). The Independent. Retrieved January 8, 2010, from http://www.independent.co.ug/index.php/column/comment/70-comment/2092-anti-gay-bill-opens -a-pandoras-box
[63] According to Jeff Sharlet, David Bahati “was thinking about [his intent to introduce the “kill the gays” bill] as far back as October 2008 Ugandan National Prayer Breakfast—where he floated the idea at a meeting. There was some pushback… it’s important to acknowledge that members of the Family sort of expressed some disapproval of it, but in the balance, as one Family associate explained to me, there’s always a balance between access and accountability, access to power and holding power accountable. In that instance, they [the Family members present] seemed to prefer continuing the access to power of these Ugandan officials rather than stepping in and nipping that thing [the “kill the gays” bill] in the bud.” Rachel Maddow interviewed Family expert Jeff Sharlet about the Uganda National Prayer Breakfast and its Family ties. MSNBC, 2009 (updated December 10, 2009). The Rachel Maddow Show’s Wednesday, December 9, 2009 transcript. Retrieved on January 3, 2010, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34362943/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/
[64] Rachel Maddow interviewed investigative reporter Mark Benjamin, national correspondent for Salon.com, who in 2005 assumed the identity of a gay man for the purpose of exposing the ex-gay myth—the religious right’s agenda to deny gay and lesbian identity through the pretense that sexual orientation is “chosen” and “changeable—and its concomitant multi-million dollar reparative therapy industry that maliciously depicts gays and lesbians as “sick” and "sexually broken". The following excerpt from the interview is very revealing:
MADDOW: “So, you wrote this four-part series about so-called reparative therapy for Salon. In the second part of the series, you actually pretended to be gay and sought counseling. What sort of therapy or counseling did you get?”
BENJAMIN: “Well, this reparative therapy comes in a number of flavors. I attended two times [sic] of conversion therapy sessions. One was free, it was held in the basement of a Christian church where there was a lot of praying, you know, group hugs and prayers. And they essentially cast the devil out of you, and they tell you if you still feel gay, you just basically not praying hard enough. The other was a sort of more advanced… kind of therapy where I went to a licensed counselor‘s office, sat in a comfortable chair, and met with this counselor. The basic supposition of this conversion therapy was that as a child—it was sort of Freudian in a way—… I apparently hadn‘t developed close enough or meaningful relationships with other males, and my sub-conscious later in life turned that into the desire to want to have sex with males. It was also fraught with a lot of bizarre stereotypes. For example, I was told that there was a correlation between poor eye-hand coordination and being gay. So, it was a very bizarre session.”
MADDOW: “Which… opens up a whole realm of videogame marketing presumably? In reporting this series, Mark, I know you also talked to a lot of people who had been through this sort of reparative therapy, not in an investigative way, but because they really did want to not be gay any more. Did you find any evidence, any people that suggested to you that it actually works?”
BENJAMIN: “I did not. I found people who claimed that it works, but they were all in the business. In other words, they were selling books. They were doing… work, like Richard Cohen does… allegedly, that it‘s to show that it works. So, I found people that were making money off it saying that it works, but what I did find was a lot of people who spent a lot of money and many, many years trying to reconcile their Christianity and the fact that they were homosexual… And there‘s a lot of… pain out there… [O]ne of the reasons I went undercover in the first place, it‘s the only time I‘ve ever done it in my career, [is] because I think there‘s a death toll here... I came across people who attempted suicide, and people who I was told who did commit suicide, because they tried and tried and tried to not be gay and they couldn‘t. And eventually, they didn‘t see any other way out. It‘s very, very troubling.”
MSNBC, 2009 (updated Wed., December 9, 2009). The Rachel Maddow Show’s Tuesday, December 8, 2009 transcript. Retrieved on January 3, 2010, fromhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34345821/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/
[65] Wikipedia (The Free Encyclopedia).Richard A. Cohen. Retrieved January 4, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_A._Cohen
[66] The American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Psychological Association, the National Psychoanalytic Association, the National Association of School Psychologists do not support efforts to change people's sexual orientation through reparative therapy and have raised serious concerns about its potential to do harm. Reparative Therapy: Statements by Professional Associations. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Retrieved January 4, 2010, from http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_expr.htm
[67] International Healing Foundation sent Caleb Brundage—who shared his story about changing from being homosexual to heterosexual—to the Family Life Network's Seminar on Exposing the Homosexuals' Agenda to participate alongside U.S. hatemongers, Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively and Dan Schmierer of the ex-gay group Exodus International. Scher, Abby. Rick Warren Must Denounce Antigay Bill in Uganda (October 29, 2009). Reclaiming Citizenship History and Faith. Retrieved January 3, 2010, from----------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/10/28/1802/9982/Front_Page/Rick_Warren_Must_Denounce_Antigay_Bill_in_Uganda
[68] Ibid, Rachel Maddow (Tuesday 12/08/09 MSNBC).
[69] Ibid.
[70] Ibid.
[71] The following excerpt from a transcript of Terry Gross’ interview of Jeff Sharlet, which was heard on Fresh Air from WHYY, explains the Pitts/Stupak relationship:
GROSS: “So let's look at the Stupak-Pitts Amendment and its connection to The Family. This is the amendment to the House health care reform plan, and it prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion.
So describe to us how Bart Stupak [Catholic] and Joe Pitts [Evangelical Christian] are connected to The Family.”
Mr. SHARLET: “Well, Bart Stupak is an interesting Democrat from Northern Michigan, and he—conservative in some ways, not as conservative in other ways, but on these family issues, he is. He's been living at what The Family calls their C Street House on Capitol Hill at least since 2002, when he told the Los Angeles Times—the Los Angeles Times was investigating The Family—he told them that he would not talk to the press about the house. That it was sort of secret. When I was living with The Family, which is sort of how I came to this whole story is by sort of reporting from within the group, Stupak was spoken of quite often as an ally of Joe Pitts; these are two guys who work well together… Stupak continues to live at the C Street House, although more recently, coming under scrutiny for that, he is trying to claim that he just rents a room in this house and doesn't know anything about the activities, despite the fact that the house is registered as a church.”
GROSS: “Although that status was just changed, wasn't it?”
Mr. SHARLET: “It was, it was. I think maybe as a result of some of the scrutiny this summer, a citizen of Washington, D.C., called the local tax office and said: Why is this $1.8 million townhouse being used to provide below-market housing for congressmen, basically to give them gifts and to, in an unofficial way, lobby them. Why is that tax-exempt and protected under a church [exoneration]? The tax office looked at it and agreed that 66 percent of the building was not properly tax-exempt. And so that portion, which includes Bart Stupak's room, was removed from that tax exemption.”
GROSS: “So what about Congressman Joe Pitts? What is his connection to The Family?”
Mr. SHARLET: “Joe Pitts has a much deeper and longer connection, going back to the 1970s, the early 1980s, when he was a state legislator in Pennsylvania, and he was a leader of the national state legislators’ anti-abortion organization. He has been a guy in the trenches of the abortion wars for 30 years. He is one of the strategists. He's one of the guys who helped sort of recruit Mother Teresa to the cause of American abortion politics, and he did that through The Family, actually, reaching out through the leader of The Family, a man named Doug Coe. Pitts is what The Family calls a core member. They have a very unusual theology in the sense that they think that Christ had one message for an inner circle and then a kind of different message for a sort of slightly more outer circle. And then the rest of us, Christ told us little stories because, frankly, we couldn't handle the truth. And the core members are those they think are getting the real deal. Pitts is part of that core of The Family that has been steering it and setting its agenda, if you want to put it like that, for many years.” Gross, Terry (host). The Secret Political Reach of ‘The Family’ :NPR (November 24, 2009). National Public Radio. Retrieved January 7, 2010, from http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=120746516
[72] 1. "2009: John Ensign (R-Nev.), a Christian conservative who once said he would have resigned if he were in Larry Craig's* position turned a tawdry affair with campaign staffer Cynthia Hampton into a possible crime when he did not report paying her and her husband $96,000 to go away. The husband, Doug Hampton, worked for Ensign as a Senate aide. He said Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) encouraged Ensign to end the affair and compensate the couple so they could relocate. The case is still under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee."
______________________________________________________________________________
*[Larry Craig, a former Republican politician (Representative from January 5, 1981 to January 3, 1991/Senator from January 3, 1991 to January 3, 2009) married Suzanne Thompson in 1983 and adopted her three children from a previous marriage; albeit he repeatedly and publicly denied being a homosexual, he was plagued with both official and unofficial accusations of sexual misconduct and lewd behavior with men throughout his adult life. The American Conservative Union rated his congressional voting record at 96 out of 100 points while the Human Rights Campaign gave him zero. He criticized President Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky scandal.] (bracketed widespread information was gleaned from Wikipedia, the Free Online Encyclopedia)
______________________________________________________________________________
2. "2009: Mark Sanford, Republican governor of South Carolina, took off for five days in June without telling anyone where he was, finally said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but turned out to be in Argentina visiting mistress María Belén Chapur on the taxpayers' dime. Sanford, who formerly [lived in the C Street house when he] represented his state's 1st Congressional District in Congress, humiliated his wife, Jenny Sanford, by blubbering to the press about Chapur being his "soul mate." Efforts to impeach him were voted down in committee. His wife filed for divorce in December." Top 10 Republican sex scandals of the decade (short list posted December 29, 2009). 2009 Craiglist, Inc. Retrieved January 4, 2010, from http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/rnr/1529275214.html
2. "2009: Mark Sanford, Republican governor of South Carolina, took off for five days in June without telling anyone where he was, finally said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but turned out to be in Argentina visiting mistress María Belén Chapur on the taxpayers' dime. Sanford, who formerly [lived in the C Street house when he] represented his state's 1st Congressional District in Congress, humiliated his wife, Jenny Sanford, by blubbering to the press about Chapur being his "soul mate." Efforts to impeach him were voted down in committee. His wife filed for divorce in December." Top 10 Republican sex scandals of the decade (short list posted December 29, 2009). 2009 Craiglist, Inc. Retrieved January 4, 2010, from http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/rnr/1529275214.html
[73] “The kind of the comparison that they like to use is King David, who they note is a sort of guy who, as a leader, actually does all sorts of terrible things—seduces another man's wife, has the man killed and so on—and yet he's still in power. It's because God has chosen to use this imperfect tool. And so they see the politicians that they work with as tools of God.” Ibid. The Secret Political Reach of ‘The Family’: NPR (supra note 71).
[74] Has Ensign used condoms? “Doug Hampton, the former co-chief of staff to Sen. John Ensign… (supra note 72) spoke exclusively to "Nightline," about the affair between his former boss and his wife, Cynthia "Cindy" Hampton, also a former Ensign employee. In the… interview, Hampton provides astonishing new details about the affair and its many repercussions, including the end of a close 20-year friendship between the two families and the loss of the Hamptons' jobs. ‘Lost my job. Lost my best friend. Nearly lost my wife,’ he said on the ripple effect of Ensign's affair. Hampton makes allegations of hypocrisy, hubris—cover-ups and maybe even crimes—that have destroyed lives and could destroy Ensign's political career.” McFadden, Cynthia; Arons, Melinda; and Sher, Lauren (November. 23, 2009). ABC News/Nightline. Retrieved January 4, 2010, from http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/doug-hampton-speaks-sen-john-ensigns-affair ethic/story?id=9140788&page=1
[75] MSNBC, 2009 (updated December 7, 2009). The Rachel Maddow Show’s Friday, December 4, 2009 transcript. Retrieved on January 4, 2010, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34312332/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/
[76] “Senator Russ Feingold, the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, has also condemned this bill. In a statement Friday, Senator Feingold said if enacted, “this inhumane bill would sanction new levels of violence against people in Uganda based solely on their gender or sexual orientation.” He warned that “its passage would hurt the close working relationship between our two countries, especially in the fight against HIV/AIDS.” Mpuga, Douglas. Ugandan MP Defends Controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill (December, 12 2009). Voice of America. Retrieved January 7, 2010, from http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/Uganda_Anti_Gay_Bill-79127677.html
[77] Senator Jim Inhofe has made more than twenty trips to Africa “as a mission that he frequently describes in religious terms.” According to the Senate Armed Services Committee’s records these “trips [that Inhofe has publicly alluded to as ‘a Jesus thing’] have cost taxpayers more than $187,000 since 1999.” He attributes his “commitment” to Africa to Doug Coe, the current head of the Family, who urged him to go. Charles Ssentongo, deputy chief of mission at the Ugandan Embassy in Washington, “said Inhofe has participated in prayer breakfasts in Uganda and that organizers of those breakfasts ‘have benefited from his… wisdom and the people in his office.’ Inhofe said he wasn’t trying to push a specific religious agenda in Africa and that he considered Jesus ‘a common denominator’ in his meetings with African leaders of different faiths… ‘I’m guilty of two things. I’m a Jesus guy, and I have a heart for Africa.’” Casteel, Chris. Inhofe’s trips to Africa called a ‘Jesus thing’ (Published: December 21, 2008). NEWSOK (powered by the Oklahoman, the States most trusted news). Retrieved January 7, 2010, from http://newsok.com/inhofe-trips-to-africa-called-a-jesus-thing/article/3331831
[78] Harmon, Andrew. Family Expert Jeff Sharlet on Uganda (Posted December 21, 2009).
The Advocate. Retrieved on January 4, 2010, from http://www.advocate.com/News/News_Features/Jeff_Sharlet_on_Uganda/
[79] Wikipedia (The Free Encyclopedia). Nicholas D. Kristof. Retrieved January 4, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_D._Kristof
[80] Ibid, Rachel Maddow (Friday 12/04/09 MSNBC).
[81] Earlier in the program she had said that “it is incumbent upon us to at least ask whether or not we can be so certain that these are clearly our enemies, that these targets are clearly not harming civilians in an important way, and that we‘re not undermining—not only Pakistani questions about the extent of their government‘s legitimacy but our own.” Ibid.
[82] Ibid.
[83] Blumenthal, Max. Rick Warren's Africa Problem (January 7, 2009). The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 8, 2010, from http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-01-07/the-truth-about-rick-warren-in-africa/full/
[84] Ibid.
[85] Uganda Pastors Chide Rick Warren; Defend Anti-Homosexual Bill, Demand Apology (Source: Kwon, Lillian/Christian Post/December 22, 2009). Retrieved January 8, 2010, from http://blackchristiannews.com/news/2009/12/uganda-pastors-chide-rick-warren-defend-anti-homosexual-bill-demand-apology.html
[86] Rick Warren Publicly Condemns Uganda's Anti-Homosexual Law that Was Associated with Him (Source: Gibson, David/Politics Daily/ December 11, 2009). Retrieved January 8, 2010., from http://blackchristiannews.com/news/2009/12/rick-warren-publicly-condemns-ugandas-anti-homosexual-law-that-was-associated-with-him.html
[87] For example, early in the morning on December 8, 2009, The Iowa Independent reported that “Des Moines-based One Iowa [Iowa’s largest gay-rights group] is conducting a petition drive demanding [GOP Senator Chuck] Grassley denounce and use his influence to stop it [The Anti Homosexuality Bill].” Hancock, Jason. Grassley asked to denounce anti-homosexuality bill (December 8, 2009). The Iowa Independent. Retrieved January 7, 2010, from http://iowaindependent.com/23169/grassley-asked-to-denounce-anti-homosexuality-bill
[88] Better late than never! After One Iowa (supra note 87) reported that more than seven hundred of its members had contacted Grassley’s office urging him to speak out against the criminalization of homosexuality in Uganda, his office acknowledged receipt of “about five” of these petitions “from Iowans” and the Senator (more than three days later) on Friday, December 11, 2009, “condemned [the] proposal in Uganda’s parliament to criminalize homosexuality, calling it ‘un-Christian and unjust.’ Grassley issued a statement late Friday saying he hopes parliamentarians in the East African nation drop the proposal that calls for life sentences for people convicted of sex with a [sic] same-gender partners and execution if convicted more than once. The legislation, which also calls for executing Ugandans who test positive for HIV, is inconsistent with his commitment to traditional values, ‘including how marriage is defined and respect for life’ …Grassley said he previously was unaware of the proposal ‘beyond the news reporters who asked about it and the few constituents who contacted me’… Bloomberg News reported Friday that Uganda may drop the death penalty and life imprisonment from the anti-homosexuality bill.” Lynch, James Q. Grassley condemns Uganda proposal (Posted on December 13, 2009). Quad-City Times. Retrieved January 7, 2010, from http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/97b88374-e795-11de-9051-001cc4c002e0.html
[89] “1. Dr. Scott Lively runs the California-based and aptly named ATM (Cashpoint?) or Abiding Truth Ministries whose entire existence is geared towards anti-homosexuality. An enthusiastic born-again Christian, Scott testifies in his presentation of having been an alchoholic (sic) and drug addict from the age of 12 until his miraculous deliverance during prayer at age 28. Note: California is home to more homosexuals than anywhere else in the world, so it is interesting that Dr. Lively has hardly any strong following in any part of California, his home state, preferring to take his crusades to Lithuania and Uganda. 2. Mr. Don Schmierer from International Healing Ministries has apparently deciphered God's mind. Among some of the truisms he utters is… the following quote: ‘Homosexuality results from the perception of rejection, real or imagined, by a child during his/her formative years. There is no gay gene! Homosexuality is not genetic, but a behavioral choice (though subconscious). The feeling of rejection as a human being comes in various forms - physical abuse, sexual abuse (including incest), verbal abuse, neglect (emotional abuse?), adultery, lack of affectionate touch, pornography, etc. Hormonal imbalance may also be a cause, though.’ So, those of you planning to attend beware. If you have ever been verbally or physically abusive, have committed adultery, failed to touch others affectionately or have hormonal struggles, you will likely have homosexual children if
you haven't got them already. 3. Caleb Lee Brundidge is a dreadlocked 'former' homosexual who claims he is cured and now works as a mentor of homosexuals looking for a cure. He lived 15 years in Atlanta, Georgia (gay population 10,000+), then he moved to New Jersey (gay population 10,000+) to pursue ministry and healing opportunities. Brundidge met Richard Cohen (Cohen was openly gay and had a boyfriend as an undergraduate, but spent years in intensive psychiatric treatment trying to change his sexual orientation) [International Healing Foundation (supra note 67)] at a NARTH conference (National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality). Being profoundly moved and impressed by Mr. Cohen’s teaching, Caleb began a mentoring relationship with him and eventually experienced freedom from unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA). Brundidge is also associated with Club Mysterio whose website says it is: ‘a club where people (mostly young) come together and experience Ekstasis worship/dance... to create a Christian rave experience. Club Mysterio is not a Night Club, it is a Light Club!’ Check out this Ekstasis workshop on You-Tube. And there you have it. For… $38… per head, prepare for the Ekstasis Christian rave experience at Hotel Triangle.” Sebas’ Space. Seminar Against Homosexuality in on [sic] Uganda (Posted February 22, 2009). AFROGAY. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from http://afrogay.blogspot.com/2009/02/seminar-against-homosexuality-on-in.html
you haven't got them already. 3. Caleb Lee Brundidge is a dreadlocked 'former' homosexual who claims he is cured and now works as a mentor of homosexuals looking for a cure. He lived 15 years in Atlanta, Georgia (gay population 10,000+), then he moved to New Jersey (gay population 10,000+) to pursue ministry and healing opportunities. Brundidge met Richard Cohen (Cohen was openly gay and had a boyfriend as an undergraduate, but spent years in intensive psychiatric treatment trying to change his sexual orientation) [International Healing Foundation (supra note 67)] at a NARTH conference (National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality). Being profoundly moved and impressed by Mr. Cohen’s teaching, Caleb began a mentoring relationship with him and eventually experienced freedom from unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA). Brundidge is also associated with Club Mysterio whose website says it is: ‘a club where people (mostly young) come together and experience Ekstasis worship/dance... to create a Christian rave experience. Club Mysterio is not a Night Club, it is a Light Club!’ Check out this Ekstasis workshop on You-Tube. And there you have it. For… $38… per head, prepare for the Ekstasis Christian rave experience at Hotel Triangle.” Sebas’ Space. Seminar Against Homosexuality in on [sic] Uganda (Posted February 22, 2009). AFROGAY. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from http://afrogay.blogspot.com/2009/02/seminar-against-homosexuality-on-in.html[90] “The proposed legislation has drawn criticism from domestic and international gay-rights activists, who argue that the law would promote discrimination and hatred toward the gay community. Buturo said today that any elected politician who opposed the legislation would lose their posts in next elections. A parliamentary and presidential vote is scheduled to take place in Uganda next year. ‘Supporting the homosexuals is political suicide,’ he said. ‘People can be given an opportunity to change to a better way of life [forced conversion a/k/a reparative therapy supra note 66]. I am personally looking after some people who have reformed,’ Buturo said, without elaborating.” Ojambo, Fred. Uganda to Proceed With Bill to Imprison, Execute Gays (Jan. 8, 2010). Bloomberg. Retrieved January 9, 2010, from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQpsig040aM0
[91] Ibid.
[92] “Bloomberg is reporting that Uganda’s political leadership has decided to drop the death penalty and lifetime imprisonment… for gays in a refined version of an anti-gay bill expected to be ready for presentation to Parliament in two weeks, James Nsaba Buturo, the minister of ethics and integrity, said [t]he draft bill, which is under consideration by a parliamentary committee, will drop the two punishments to attract the support of religious leaders who are opposed to these penalties, Buturo said today in a phone interview from the capital, Kampala. But it looks like another idea taken directly from the three-day conference last March [the Family Life Network's Seminar on Exposing the Homosexuals' Agenda that Stephen Langa organized (supra note 67)] is finding its way into the bill — forced conversions: In addition to formulating punishments for the gay people, the bill will also promote counseling to help ‘attract errant people to acceptable sexual orientation,’ said Buturo.” Burroway, Jim. Bloomberg: Uganda To Drop Death Penalty, Add Forced “Conversions” (December 9, 2009). Box Turtle Bulletin. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2009/12/09/17606
[93]Olukya, Godfrey. Uganda's president urges lawmakers to remove death penalty provision from anti-gay bill (The Canadian Press: January 7, 2010). Retrieved January 9, 2010, from http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jT_InfnPQh8NeJiJ3ytKLU-Ve28Q [and] Does Museveni Oppose Death for Gays? (Posted January 07, 2010). The Advocate. Retrieved January 9, 2010 from http://www.advocate.com/News/DailyNews/ 2010/01/07/Ugandas_President_Opposes_Death_Penalty_for_Gays/
[94] The “[e]xisting… Uganda Penal Code Act of 1950 (Chapter 120) (as amended) [provides:]
'Section 145. Unnatural offences. Any person who--(a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; (b) has carnal knowledge of an animal; or (c) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for life. Section 146. Attempt to commit unnatural offences.
--Any person who attempts to commit any of the offences specified in section 145 commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years. Section 148. Indecent practices.
--Any person who, whether in public or in private, commits any act of gross indecency with another person or procures another person to commit any act of gross indecency with him or her or attempts to procure the commission of any such act by any person with himself or herself or with another person, whether in public or in private, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for seven years. The current anti-homosexual laws were originally imposed on Uganda by the British colonial administration in the nineteenth century, during
the period of imperial subjugation. They are not authentic Ugandan or African laws…” Tatchell, Peter. OutRage!* Briefing on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill *[a London-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights group]. Reproduced Cecconi, Maurizio/Causes. Support Decriminalization of Homosexuality at UN! (Bulletin posted January 11, 2010). Retrieved January 11, 2010, from http://apps.facebook.com/causes/posts/367006
'Section 145. Unnatural offences. Any person who--(a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; (b) has carnal knowledge of an animal; or (c) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for life. Section 146. Attempt to commit unnatural offences.
--Any person who attempts to commit any of the offences specified in section 145 commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years. Section 148. Indecent practices.
--Any person who, whether in public or in private, commits any act of gross indecency with another person or procures another person to commit any act of gross indecency with him or her or attempts to procure the commission of any such act by any person with himself or herself or with another person, whether in public or in private, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for seven years. The current anti-homosexual laws were originally imposed on Uganda by the British colonial administration in the nineteenth century, during
the period of imperial subjugation. They are not authentic Ugandan or African laws…” Tatchell, Peter. OutRage!* Briefing on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill *[a London-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights group]. Reproduced Cecconi, Maurizio/Causes. Support Decriminalization of Homosexuality at UN! (Bulletin posted January 11, 2010). Retrieved January 11, 2010, from http://apps.facebook.com/causes/posts/367006
[95] Ahmed, Saeed. Why is Uganda attacking homosexuality? (December 8, 2009). CNN World. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from http://www.cnn.com/2009/ WORLD/africa/ 12/08/uganda. anti.gay.bill/index.html
[96] The Associated Press. Uganda will ask lawmaker to withdraw anti-gay bill (January 7, 2010). Seattle Times Nation & World. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010726321_apafugandagaydeathpenalty.html?syndication=rss
[97] Lynch, Kelvin. US Christian leaders unite to officially denounce Uganda anti-homosexuality bill (December 8, 2009). The Atlanta Examiner. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from http://www.examiner.com/x-4107-International-LGBT-Issues-Examiner~y2009m12d8-Christian-leaders-unite-to-officially-denounce-Uganda-antihomosexuality-bill
[98] Tatchell, Peter. Ibid.
[99] Wikipedia (The Free Encyclopedia).Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda_Anti-Homosexuality_Bill
[100] The Advocate. Uganda 'Phobe to Attend Prayer Breakfast (January 16, 2010). Retrieved January 17, 2010, from http://www.advocate.com/article.aspx?id=105599
[101] Stein, Sam. Obama Takes on Birthers, Uganda Anti-Gay Bill at Prayer Breakfast (Posted February 4, 2010). The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 5, 2010, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/04/obama-takes-on-birthers-u_n_449087.html
[102] The Secretary of State, the keynote speaker at the 2010 National Prayer Breakfast, boasted that she has “attended this prayer breakfast every year since 1993, and I have always found it to be a gathering that inspires and motivates me.” During her address to the crowd, she honored the United States when she stated that “…we are also standing up for girls and women, who too often in the name of religion, are denied their basic human rights. And we are standing up for gays and lesbians who deserve to be treated as full human beings. And we are also making it clear to countries and leaders that these are priorities of the United States. Every time I travel, I raise the plight of girls and women, and make it clear that we expect to see changes. And I recently called President Museveni, whom I have known through the prayer breakfast, and expressed the strongest concerns about a law [The Anti Homosexuality Bill] being considered in the parliament of Uganda. We are committed, not only to reaching out and speaking up about the perversion of religion, and in particularly the use of it to promote and justify terrorism, but also seeking to find common ground. We are working with Muslim nations to come up with an appropriate way of demonstrating criticism of religious intolerance without stepping over into the area of freedom of religion or non-religion and expression. So there is much to be done, and there is a lot of challenging opportunities for each of us as we leave this prayer breakfast, this 58th prayer breakfast.”
[103] Ibid, Stein, Sam.
[104] Bolcer, Judy. Uganda Antigay Bill to Be "Changed" (Posted February 5, 2010). The Advocate. Retrieved on February 5, 2010, from http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/02/05/Uganda_Antigay_Bill_to_Be_Changed
[105] MacBride, Neil. Quoted by Jeff Sharlet, The Family, Harper Perennial (2009), p. 43.
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