Prior to the 2008 election most people in the lower 48 had never heard of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Now, following her Vice Presidential run with John McCain Palin she has made her mark on the United States.  Some would say a very negative impression but she does have her rabid followers that will follow her no matter what “word salad” comes out of that mouth.  It is hard to believe today that at one time Palin was viewed favorably by 58% of American voters. The self-described hockey mom’s poll ratings are now in the crapper, probably where they should have always been.  She has fooled many a good man or woman so the idea that she had to have nation-wide exposure to show how incredibly ignorant she is is not surprising. The same Bush-Cheney propaganda apparatus that made the nation believe that Saddam Hussein was the new Hitler and that Georgia was a helpless victim of ruthless Russian aggression after August 8, 2008 was clearly behind one of the most impressive media propaganda efforts in recent history—the effort to package Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska for less than 19 months, to be the American dream candidate. Her religious roots are something she has been deliberately vague about. But they are worth a much closer look.

Over the past three decades since the early 1970’s, there has been the deliberate manipulation of significant segments of the population, most of them undoubtedly sincere believing people, around the ideology of ‘born-again’ evangelical Christian Fundamentalism to create what we now refer to as the Christian Right or Dominionists. Within the broad spectrum of fundamentalist denominations there are some currents which are particularly alarming. Sarah Palin comes out of such a milieu.

The phenomenon of the rapid spread within the United States since the 1980’s of evangelical Pentecostalism is a political phenomenon which has become so influential that the two elections of George W. Bush as well as countless races for Senate or Congress often depend on the backing or lack of it from the organized Religious Right.

The spawning of some Christian Right sects also creates an ideology to drive the shock troops willing to literally ‘die for Christ’ in places such as Iraq or Afghanistan, Iran or elsewhere that the Pentagon needs their services.  We have seen the fight that Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation has sustained for years regarding Biblical training of our troops, tracts passed out in Muslim countries and biblical verses on military hardware. That same militant ideology has been used to build a fanatical activist base within the Republican Party which backs a right-wing domestic agenda and a military foreign policy that sees Islam or other suitable opponents of the US power elite as Satanism incarnate. How does Sarah Palin fit into this?

The CNP: manipulating religion to political ends

The Council on National Policy (CNP) has been described by The New York Times as a “little-known group of a few hundred of the most powerful conservatives in the country,” who meet three times yearly behind closed doors at undisclosed locations for a confidential conference. Nation magazine has called it a secretive organization that “networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy.” CNP was founded in 1981 by Tim LaHaye as a forum for conservative Christians seeking to strengthen the political right in the United States.  The image above is from center to right: Don Wildmon, JC Watts, Jim Garlow and Chuck Norris/From center to left Tim LaHaye, Beverly LaHaye, Matt Staver and George Barna.  Newt has not shown up as a member of CNP however he and the people pictured here are all part of the Dominionist faction.

The CNP describes itself as “an educational foundation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We do not lobby Congress, support candidates, or issue public policy statements on controversial issues. Our over 600 members include many of our nation’s leaders from the fields of government, business, the media, religion, and the professions. Our members are united in their belief in a free enterprise system, a strong national defense, and support for traditional western values. They meet to share the best information available on national and world problems, know one another on a personal basis, and collaborate in achieving their shared goals.”

Contrary to this statement, the CNP is is the nexus for several odd and quite powerful organizations.  Many of the religious evangelical groups in America are coordinated top-down by this organization. Former close Bush adviser, Rev. Ted Haggard, was a member of the Council on National Policy until a sex and drugs scandal forced him out in late 2006.

Haggard was Pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs described as the ‘evangelical Vatican,’ and was head of the National Association of Evangelicals. Ted Haggard was also a member of a highly significant and little-understood sect known as Joel’s Army or the Manifest Sons of God, the same circle that spawned Sarah Palin.

Another noteworthy member of the CNP is Grover Norquist, the man once described as the ‘Field Marshall of the Bush Plan.’  Other CNP members include names such as General John Singlaub, shipping magnate J. Peter Grace, Texas billionaire Nelson Bunker Hunt, Edwin J. Feulner Jr of the right-wing Heritage Foundation, Rev. Pat Robertson of the Christian Broadcasting Network, (the late) Jerry Falwell, Tim LaHaye and Foster Friess. It has included prominent politicians including Senator Trent Lott, Senator Don Nickles, former Attorney General Ed Meese, Col. Oliver North of Iran-Contra fame, and Right-wing philanthropist Else Prince, mother of Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater the controversial private security firm.

CNP members have also included Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church, definitely a bizarre formation whose founder openly states that he is superior to Christ. The CNP as well reportedly includes the Church of Scientology.

Religious researchers Paul and Phillip Collins describe the CNP as follows:

‘The CNP appears to be a creation of factions of the power elite designed to mobilize well-meaning Christians to unwittingly support elite initiatives. The CNP could also be considered a project in religious engineering that empties Christianity of its metaphysical substance and re-conceptualizes many of its principles and concepts according to the socially and politically expedient designs of the elite. These contentions are supported by the fact that many CNP members are also members of other organizations and/or criminal enterprises that are tied directly to the power elite.’

It is said that in order to shape public debate over the course of national military and foreign as well as domestic policy, the Rightwing Elite had to create organizations to manipulate public opinion in ways contrary to the self-interest of the majority of the American people. The Council on National Policy was formed to be a central part of this manipulation.  So when you wonder how the right is so easily manipulated, think of the CNP.  They are saturated with it in their churches, the stuff they read, the news organizations they subscribe to, it is everywhere in their lives.  Like Joseph Goebbels once said: “Tell a lie enough times and it becomes the truth”.  I would not be surprised if some of the elite have read and studied how the Third Reich achieved their goals in such a relatively short timespan.

The Council on National Policy is a vital link between multi-billion dollar defense contractors, Washington lobbyists like the convicted felon and Republican fundraiser, Jack Abramoff, and the Christian Right. The CNP was and probably still is, at the center of Karl Rove’s carefully-constructed political machine. Few details about the organization are leaked to the public. As secretive as the Bilderberg Group if not more so, the CNP releases no press statements, meets in secret and never reveals names of its members willingly.  In fact Foster Friess, in addressing the group told the members, “You are not supposed to be here”.
This elite group has crafted an extremely powerful political machine using the forces and energies of the Christian Right and millions of American Christians who are most likely unaware of the darker manipulations.

And Sarah Palin is a part of such darker manipulations.

Sarah Palin and Dominionism

Sarah Palin it appears now, was chosen very carefully as she comes out of the very fundamentalist evangelical circles that the CNP uses to mobilize and shape America’s political agenda.

Palin reportedly drew early attention from state GOP leadership when, during her first mayoral campaign, she ran on an anti-abortion platform. Normally, political parties do not get involved in Alaskan municipal elections because they are nonpartisan. But once word of her evangelical views made its way to Juneau, the state capitol, state Republicans put money behind her campaign. According to researcher, Charley James, “Once in office, Palin set out to build a machine that chewed up anyone who got in her way. The good, Godly Christian turns out to be anything but.”

The religious background of Sarah Palin is not unrelated to her bid to take the nation’s second highest office. She herself has been extremely vague about that background. Given the details, it becomes clearer perhaps why.

Sarah Palin has spent more than two and a half decades of her life as a member of an Alaska church which is part of a fanatical Christian-named cult project that is sweeping across America. Palin comes out of the most radical stream of US Born-Again Evangelism known as ‘Joel’s Army,’ an offshoot of what is called Dominionism and sometimes also called the Latter Rain cult or Manifest Sons of God. The movement deliberately attempts to remain below the radar screen.

If you have read some of my articles, then you are familiar with these Dominionists and believe it, Sarah Palin is a product of that movement.  Palin was a member of Wasilla Assembly of God with Senior Pastor Ed Kalnins. The excesses of this movement were declared a heresy in 1949 by the General Council of the Assemblies of God, and again condemned through Resolution 16 in 2000.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7-1TGmwdK4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=k84m2orSOaM

Dominion theology is a heresy. As such it is rarely presented in an open manner. Outside of the Reconstructionist camp, evangelical dominionism has wrapped itself in slick packages – one piece at a time – for mass-media consumption. This has been a slow process, taking several decades. Few evangelicals would recognize the word ‘dominionism’ or know what it means. This is because other terminologies have been developed which soft-sell dominionism, concealing the full scope of the agenda. Many evangelicals (and even their more conservative counterparts, the fundamentalists) may adhere to tidbits of dominionism without recognizing the error.  And to most effectively propagate their agenda, dominionist leaders first developed new ecclesiologies, eschatologies and soteriologies for targeted audiences along the major denominational fault lines of evangelical Christianity. Then the 1990s Promise Keepers men’s movement was used as a vehicle to ‘break down the walls’, i.e., cross denominational barriers for the purpose of exporting dominionism to the wider evangelical subculture. This strategy was so effective that it reached into the mainline Protestant denominations. Dominionists have carefully selected leaders to be trained as ‘change agents’ for ‘transformation’ (dominion) in an erudite manner that belies the media stereotype of southern-talking, Bible-thumping, fundamentalist half-wits.

C. Peter Wagner’s spiritual warfare teachings have been widely disseminated and as an organization they adhere to the Lausanne Movement.

C. Peter Wagner said this about the direction of their movement:

‘Since 2001, the body of Christ has been in the Second Apostolic Age. The apostolic/prophetic government of the church is now in place. . . . We began to build our base by locating and identifying with the intercessory prayer movements. This time, however, we feel that God wants us to start governmentally, connecting with the apostles of the region. God has already raised up for us a key apostle in one of the strategic nations of the Middle East and other apostles are already coming on board. Once we have the apostles in place, we will then bring the intercessors and the prophets into the inner circle, and we will end up with the spiritual core we need to move ahead for retaking the dominion that is rightfully ours.’-- C. Peter Wagner

Palin was carefully selected by the leadership of the Bush-Cheney-McCain Republican party to galvanize the Party’s activist Evangelical base, something McCain had been unable to do.

Some theological and political background to the Joel’s Army or Third Wave movement as it is also known, is instructive. It teaches a radical fundamentalist creed that its adherents must actively engage in politics, to become what they term, ‘soldiers in God’s Army.’  And Sarah Palin was the tool they used in 2008 to try to make inroads into the most well known house in this country, The White House.  You may be asking what the CNP has to do with all of this, well Sarah Palin IS a member.  Oh there are many other members but no one has gotten as close as she to that house in DC, at least no one who was a true believer.  George Bush does not count as he was the frat boy playing “holy” and I believe they used him to test their theories, never believing it was time to fully implement them, I would consider him a test run.

But before I go on, don’t get too comfortable thinking Mitt Romney is a dark horse to them.  First of all Mormons are also members of the CNP as are Catholics.  Through the ages, religious movements have used whatever means are necessary to fulfill their fanatical fantasies and Romney would be the perfect puppet for these people.  If he goes along, they reward him with public support, if he does not, they will manufacture not only crisis for him but will turn on him faster than it would take you to blink both eyes.  These people turned against Jimmy Carter so you can see from historical purposes just how badly it would go for Romney.  Besides we all know Romney has no core, no principles, no character.  He will be easy to manipulate as his total shift to being so far right is any indication.

So what about the activities of the CNP?  Well they meet three times a year and if you are curious about what they ACTUALLY release to the public (not the exact words used in the original speech), you can visit their website. In 1999, a speech given to the CNP by Republican candidate George W. Bush is credited with helping him gain the support of conservatives in his successful bid for the United States Presidency in 2000. The content of the speech has never been released by the CNP or by Bush. I would love to know what he promised them.  Anybody in for a little Watergate activity on a trip to Fairfax VA?

In 2008, leading members of the CNP voted in a meeting at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, on September 29, 2007, to consider launching a third party candidate if the 2008 Republican nominee is a pro-choice candidate. (This was an implicit reference to Rudy Giuliani, whose liberal opinions on several social issues, such as abortion, gay rights and gun ownership have disturbed the Christian right.) The CNP’s statement read, “If the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate, we will consider running a third-party candidate.” Attending the meeting were notable social conservatives, including James Dobson, Richard Viguerie, Tony Perkins and Morton Blackwell.

CNP members have taken millions of dollars from Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church and the conservative Washington Times newspaper, and are aligned with various other groups supported by him such as CAUSA International. I guess in lieu of the money they overlook Moon’s religious message which places him as superior to Jesus Christ. In fact, Moon was crowned “King of Peace” in a ceremony in the United States Senate Office Building, (not before the actual United States Senate). CNP members have also supported legislation proposed by the Church of Scientology.

CNP also has membership links to the World Anti-Communist League, whose many other members included, among others, the Unification Church and backers of rightist paramilitary death squads in Latin America, particularly during the 1980s.

As of February 2007, the organization was planning involvement in the 2008 presidential election campaign, and actively looking for a candidate to represent their views. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney[15] and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney[16] spoke at a four day conference they held in Salt Lake City, Utah during the last week of September 2007. The Council for National Policy scheduled a conference in late October 2007. Most Republican presidential candidates pledged to appear, with the exception of Rudy Giuliani.  Remember the words of Sarah Palin regarding the convention this summer:

“Anything is possible. I don’t close any doors that perhaps would be open out there, so, no, I wouldn’t close that door,” Palin said after casting her vote in Alaska’s Republican caucuses. “My plan is to be at that convention.”

Does she know the CNP will have the final word?  Is Ron Paul disrupting state conventions for a good reason?  I don’t know but I do know I never underestimate these people for one minute.

Past and present members of CNP include, Cleon Skousen, a prominent Mormon theologian and founder of the Freemen Institute; Paul Weyrich; Phyllis Schlafly; Robert Grant; Howard Phillips (a former Republican now affiliated with the Constitution Party); Richard Viguerie, the direct-mail specialist; and Morton Blackwell, a Louisiana and Virginia activist who is considered a specialist on the rules of the Republican Party. The council employs about eight people. Its first executive director was Woody Jenkins; later, Morton Blackwell served in this role, which is currently held by Steve Baldwin (b. 1957), not to be confused with actor Stephen Baldwin. Presidents have included Nelson Bunker Hunt of Dallas, Amway co-founder Richard DeVos of Michigan, Pat Robertson of Virginia Beach, Paul Pressler of Houston, and former Reagan Cabinet secretaries Ed Meese and Donald Hodel, as well as current president Kenneth Cribb.

In order to get a feeling for how these people interact take a look at this wiki page with information on Paul Pressler of Houston(named above) and find out who he associates with.  It should put some pieces of the puzzle in place for you.  As an investigator this is part of my job, to validate the information I write about and this will give you the connections.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Judge_Paul_Pressler

The Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy at Cornell University considers the Council for National Policy a leading force in the Dominionist movement. TheocracyWatch, a CRESP project, describes it as “an umbrella organization of right-wing leaders who gather regularly to plot strategy, share ideas and fund causes and candidates to advance the theocratic agenda.”  I would agree with both opinions.  But read for yourself, go to the link I have added below(SourceWatch Wiki) and take a look at their members.  And just in case it freaks you out, the HL Bill Richardson on the list is not our esteemed Democratic Governor.  I doubt you will be surprised by most members but I also bet you will be surprised about some.  It remains to be seen what influence they will wield over the upcoming elections but I have seen enough activity not including elections to be worried and watchful, like a hawk.

Wasilla Alaska Assemblies of God Masters Commission

http://www.democrats.com/sarah-palin-and-the-assemblies-of-god-masters-commission

Master’s Commission actual website (bringing up new Joel’s Army recruits)

http://www.masterscommission.com/classroom.html

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_for_National_Policy

http://watch.pair.com/cnpdbase.htm

When faced with an unrelenting media that was convinced that it had cornered President Obama in a compromising position on gay marriage, President Obama responded with the cool, class and principle that he typically demonstrates and made it clear that he does indeed support marriage equality for all Americans, including those in the LGBT community.

It is poignant that the first African American president of the US has also been the first one to state that he believes all American men and women are entitled to the right to marry another who they love without exception.

However, Barack Obama was already on record as supporting gay marriage when he ran for Senator. It was only when he ran for President that he modified his public opinion to that of supporting civil unions but not gay marriage. Considering that the 2004 election was heavily swayed against John Kerry and Democrats by Karl Rove’s hammering on gay marriage as a divisive issue, one might say that it would only be prudent not to invite the same hateful campaign and potential results by openly supporting gay marriage in a 2008 Presidential campaign. Some may find that as not being courageous but others may argue that it is more pragmatic to hold back such an opinion in the short term to be able to help the LGBT community in the long term than to announce it and possibly lose the White House to an anti-gay Republican who would harm the LGBT community.

In a purely factual sense, did anything really change yesterday? Did President Obama really change his mind on gay marriage or was his explanation of evolving on it just being diplomatic? Admittedly, only Barack Obama knows what he thinks so it must be stipulated that this is all supposition.

We do know that President Obama has always supported gay rights as President, through hate crime legislation, repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) and not defending The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) from legal challenges. There doesn’t seem to be any specific item that benefits the LGBT community that Obama hasn’t already been supporting. So though yesterday’s statement was a change in rhetoric, it doesn’t seem to be a change in Obama’s absolute support for LGBT issues.

The instigation for all of this was an interview on a news media show, NBC’s Meet The Press. A guest on the show, Vice President Biden was asked if he supported same sex marriage and he explained that he did. This was not news, Biden has been a supporter of gay marriage for some time. Yet, his expressing an openly known view on this was apparently, just the opening the Mainstream Media was looking for.

The MSM treated that statement of well established fact as if it was a big scandal which it wasn’t. They seemed very energized about having a juicy hot button issue with which to go after Obama. Their incessant pounding on this finally bore fruit yesterday with Obama’s declaration.

Is this a case of the media creating an exploitative story for financial and/or political benefit or were they just doing their job and holding a politician’s feet to the fire? One might consider the MSM’s simultaneous lack of interest in holding Mitt Romney’s feet to the fire on claiming credit for the GM bailout, something he flatly opposed and is an enormous lie or his weaseling around on immigration, now claiming he is trying to figure out his position even though he has stated his anti-immigrant “self-deportation” mentality in front of the whole nation.  The MSM doesn’t seem to pursue this ongoing gusher of Romney lies with much fervor. However, if Barack Obama had lied or flip-flopped about supporting gay rights, the resulting firestorm could easily be envisioned.

On the down side, “news” and conflict was once again manufactured by the MSM. On the up side, the  LGBT community now has their President clearly expressing his support for marriage equality. There is good that has come out of this but that does not appear to have been the intention.

The media coverage of Obama was particularly rough at the beginning of the year, with an average of nearly 47% negative stories compared with slightly more than 15% positive stories during the first four weeks of January, Pew found. As the economy and his poll numbers improved in March, so did the favorability of his media coverage, but the president still has yet to see more positive coverage than negative in 2012.

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/23/news/la-pn-obama-suffers-more-negative-press-than-gop-pew-study-shows-20120423

There is a clear and distinct pattern in the MSM of promoting negativity towards Obama as the above study reflects. This is not to say that Obama expressing support for same sex marriage is a negative thing but the reality is that it may alienate some voters in swing states. Understanding that right now the country is evenly divided on the issue of gay marriage and knowing its track record in being used against Democrats to defeat them, it seems more intuitive to view the MSM as knowing that blowing this up into a huge story could have been damaging to Obama’s campaign hopes.

What if they threw a scandal and nobody came? Unfortunately for the MSM, this is what they’re having to scramble over today. In the aftermath of President Obama’s announcement, the outrage has been narrowly limited to the usual suspects, right wing evangelical homophobes and Republicans in the House…if there’s a difference. The media continues trying to fan the flames this morning with little oxygen being added, the surprise and disappointment is palpable. So, the principled MSM has pulled a Romney and is now spinning to the memes, “It will be a wash,” and “This could mainly benefit Obama with his base.” What a difference a day makes in the world of failed MSM memes.

Meanwhile, staying true to form, the House Republicans have leaped over helping the economy and Americans once again to pass today a bill that would prohibit the Department of Justice from using taxpayers dollars in any future fight against DOMA. Now that should create a lot more jobs and freedom!

It’s pretty much a moot point now to question whether this statement from Obama should have been positioned as “earth shattering” since the MSM’s pronouncement of it being so makes it so. But it remains a meaningful question to ask if our corporate media is meddling in our elections and democracy to benefit themselves. After all, a closer race means more avid viewing of their networks and greater ad revenue. What is also unavoidable is that the corporations which own the news networks would realize big financial gains from the tax cuts proposed by Romney and the GOP. Since all corporations have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to provide the greatest revenues possible to them, how are these corporations not obligated to support the politicians and party that will allow them to do so?

Is the corporately-owned media actually in the business of dictating what happens day to day in our democratic campaigns and possibly even the results? Are they deciding what issues will be debated and which ones won’t? Or are they just reporting what they should and what Americans are most interested in…or what will lure in the most viewers and ad revenue?

There are so many critical issues right now in this nation, the economy, health care, energy, entitlements, class warfare, women’s rights and on and on. Yet, for whatever motivation, the MSM often elevates the more emotional and superficial edges of issues than the core of issues.

If the MSM truly is creating news instead of reporting it, if the corporations that own the media can hobble the candidates they don’t support and promote the ones they do, we are living in dangerous times indeed.

There has been declining trust in the MSM as a news source, more and more people are turning to other sources, especially blogs and other internet resources. This is a positive trend and one that should be promoted. It makes sense to remain aware of what the MSM is pitching day to day so a complete boycott would leave one under-informed though reducing one’s viewing of corporate news outlets is one sure way to hit them where it hurts and weaken them.

“Free Press” used to be descriptive, now it’s a demand and one that if more realized, will empower Americans and their democracy far more.

Mr. George W. Bush showed us what that was all about in 5 easy steps.

1) Fly in Air Force One to California.

2) Leave Air Force One at an AFB, don a flight suit, get on a fighter jet.

3) Fly just 30 miles off shore, as a passenger, on that jet to the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier (nicknamed “The Liberator”), instead of taking your ready to use and in range helicopter, Marine One, or waiting for the carrier to dock. The ship, just returned from its mission in support of the Iraq War is a perfect setting to celebrate a victory especially if it is still under way “at sea”. Even better your jet is accompanied by three other escort jets so the flight deck fly-by is impressive.

4) Land on the deck, climb out of the cockpit in a flight suit carrying your helmet, and waving at the TV cameras and “your comrades in arms”. As you stroll across the flight deck packed with several thousand crew greet them warmly, shake hands and pose for lots of pictures. Eventually go to a ready cabin to change into business attire. (When the cameras move away the pilot of “your” jet climbs down and moves quickly below decks.”)

5) After changing clothes deliver a full-throated 35 minute victory speech saluting the ease with which our forces won the Iraq War as a HUGE, White House ordered banner waves in the background announcing: “Mission Accomplished.” The banner’s display motif is that of a U.S. flag. Begin your speech with these words: “In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.”

NOW THAT’S SPIKING THE BALL…but as it turned out it was more like spiking the ball at your own 10 yard line with 90 yards still to go.

When Bush’s jet landed on the aircraft carrier, American casualties stood at 139 killed and 542 wounded. That was over 4100 US fatalities and 17000 wounded ago. 100,000 Iraqis would be casualties in a war that had 9 years to go before the U.S. exited. It would cost the U.S. more than one trillion dollars in immediate expenses to prosecute the war and more than two trillion when the services to returning troops are added in and more than three trillion when we add in the cost of aid to Iraq and the cost of maintaining a presence in the country. What did we get? A further destabilized Middle East, an emerging Iran no longer balanced by a stable Iraq, a broken and exhausted army accompanied by a record number of soldier and veteran suicides, no oil bonus, and lots of disrespect from the world community.

Mr. Bush….“History is a cruel judge of overconfidence.”
Mr. Obama is not prone to overconfidence.

This is a re-post of an article I posted to God’s Own Party website.  For this posting I have added information I found after the original post and I have also re-written some portions.  With the exception of new information discovered after the original posting, all information remains the same.  I went to some dark places the day I was researching all of this and had a strange dream that night.  These people just keep multiplying their organizations.

A few months ago I decided to get up very early on a Sunday morning to view a relatively new program on MSNBC, Up With Chris Hayes.  I had seen Chris in various political pundit situations and was somewhat impressed with his quiet way of speaking the truth so I was curious to see what his show was all about.  For the most part the discussion was pretty general about politics and the coming election.  Then the subject changed to Latinos and their role in the coming election.  Chris Hayes had invited Pastor Samuel Rodriguez to participate in the discussion.   Knowing what I know about Dominionists I immediately perked up.  First of all, how did Chris Hayes find this guy?  Did he do any back-check on the man at all, or did he just see the title, National Hispanic Chrisitian Leadership Conference(NHCLC), and go all out?  I listened to the conversation and Mr. Rodgriguez does make for a good conversationalist, however I was struck at how one can be lulled into thinking a person (who would not know anything about Rodriguez) could think, hey, this guy is representing Latinos and the issues they have with the GOP obvious disdain for them.

Unfortunately for Chris Hayes I knew who Rodriguez is and I was disturbed that he would produce this man as some harmless Latino pastor.  Any google search would have proven to Hayes there was more to this guy than NHCLC.  By not vetting this guy completely, he left his public and his guests with the impression Rodriguez spoke for a majority of Christian Latinos.  I don’t usually do this, but I wrote Chris Hayes an email explaining my disappointment of his lack of vetting which should be expected from any “journalist.” Validating his guests should be the least he does prior to introducing them.  I told him how he deceived his audience by portraying this guy as some social justice warrior for Latinos purportedly based on the name of his organization.  Hayes never responded to my email.  I guess he was not concerned that I might relay my experience to others who now may question his due diligence as well.

So you might be wondering why Samuel Rodriguez might warrant such a spirited response from me and it is because he is involved in The Oak Initiative.  The Oak Initiative is really just another dimension of the myriad groups of followers of C Peter Wagner of the 7 Mountains Mandate.  To be quite honest, I seriously doubt that a majority of Latinos have never heard of this organization, but rather are familiar with him in his role with the NHCLC and you may not either so I will tell you about the Oak Initiative.

You can best understand who they are by knowing what their purpose is although intentionally they will describe themselves as pretty bland.  Only by knowing their background would one know their true purpose:  To dominate all the nations of the world for Jesus Christ.  The following is their purpose statement, but make no mistake it falls under the umbrella of the 7 Mountains mandate:

“Our Purpose

America is in crisis, possibly the greatest threat to its continued existence yet. However, we can do something about it, and that is the Purpose of The Oak Initiative.

Along with a political and spiritual shift we find our self in need of a shift in our core values and there are signs that this shift is happening. Unlike many other groups, our goal is to see the development of leaders and leadership skills in our members so that along with a shift in the spirit of America, we are ready to champion the core values that are based on biblical or kingdom principles and wisdom. Then it will be the blend of a spiritual awakening with sound wisdom that will lay a foundation for lasting results…

For us, it is not simply about measuring, evaluating, or responding to the change around us but rather being change-agents and facilitating change in every aspect of our culture as we, the Oak Initiative, become infused into the areas of social, cultural, and political impact wherever we find ourselves….

For us, it is not just about less taxes, correction in government spending, large or small government, liberal or conservative agendas, or correcting the balance of power in our legislative branches at local, state, and federal levels….

For us, it is about awaking our people to the voice of our Founding Fathers recorded in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It’s about bringing wisdom, which we have gained from our personal relationship with the Lord and study of His word, into the market place at every level of social, cultural, and political expression.

Our goals will not have been accomplished when we simply provide solutions that impact today’s problems but will only be accomplished when we have been a part of a spiritual awakening that lays a foundation for course correction in the future of America.

For us, it is not just a voting ballot or a single set of issues – it’s about being a part of an historical shift in a nation that is called to a destiny by God to disciple other nations…

We are The Oak Initiative“

So, there you have it, they are in the business of bringing lasting change to America/The World and only a biblical resolution will be the successful conclusion of that change.  They named themselves as a result of their interpretation of Isiah 61:3:

“and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.’

According to Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible:

“that they might be called trees of righteousness; that is, that the mourners in Zion, having all these things done for them, and bestowed on them, might be called, or be, or appear to be, like “trees” that are well planted; whose root is in Christ, whose sap is the Spirit and his grace, and whose fruit are good works; and that they might appear to be good trees, and of a good growth and stature, and be laden with the fruits of righteousness, and be truly righteous persons, made so by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to them: “the planting of the Lord”; planted by him in Christ, and in his church, and so never to be rooted out”

In actuality, all they really did is search the Bible for a verse that would fit their agenda and then take up that mantle, I doubt God spoke to them and offered it to them. These are their stated beliefs in a nutshell:

“They believe in charity, but only at the local/non-government level.
They claim they want to defend individual freedom but hold “Awakenings” around the nation to turn Muslims to Christ and that freedom is based upon eternal law that God is sovereign and grants all rights.
They claim to defend political freedom but their website is geared toward Republican voters.
They will establish, maintain and defend religious liberty and challenge attempts to inhibit such liberty
Their conviction is that the development of the Constitution and Bill of Rights of the United States were guided by biblical principles and morality. These are the basis of legitimate government of the United States, and any who seek to void or circumvent these must be opposed.
The (claim) to seek resolutions for healing moral offenses, prejudices and justice(except if you are a Muslim so their all does not really mean all)
They are pro-life except when the state decides to kill someone
And they are guided by The Lausanne Covenant (you can read about this covenant at http://www.lausanne.org/covenant)”

“The Church must be in the world; the world must not be in the Church.”  I found that statement in one section of The Lausanne Covenant and thought it rather strange.  To me it means, no matter what they do in the world, the world will never be able to enter their realm.  Perhaps that is somewhat simplistic but knowing these people I just thought it strange for them to claim dominion over the world but tell the world “you have no say in what we do.”

So, who are these people?  If you have followed the Dominionist movement you will recognize their names.  They do not list Samuel Rodriguez on the website any longer but there is also a reason for that.  He was questioned by Faith2Action – Rachel Tabachnick and he claimed he did not belong.  She questioned why he was named as a VP on their site and they promptly removed his name.  She had gotten a screen capture and confronted them again at which time both Rodriguez and Rick Joyner assured Rachel he was leaving the group.  Sure he did, but of course he did not, he just took on another role as a steering committee member and attended their recent “Awakening 2012” as a speaker.  So that would bolster my discomfort with his original appearance on Up With Chris Hayes.  But to continue, sometimes even if you have followed them, new names will still pop up, as it did for me. I will add comments below but I urge you to read their full bios, there are some surprises there, like no religious background asserted?  So who else is involved?  Read on:

Chairman: Marc Nuttle is an attorney, based in Norman, Oklahoma, who represents corporations, business projects and political entities nationally and internationally.  He is managing partner of Oklahoma Sovereign Development, LLC (OSD), an Oklahoma based industrial development company.

They make no mention of his religious leanings but this man is well versed in political campaigns.  Of course, being the defenders of political rights that they are, he has only helped Republican candidates.

President: Rick Joyner is the Founder, and Executive Director of MorningStar Ministries, which includes MorningStar University, and The MorningStar Fellowship of Churches, as well as Heritage International Ministries, the restored Heritage USA Grand Hotel and Conference Center. He is the author of more than 30 books, including The Final Quest Trilogy, There Were Two Trees in the Garden, and his latest, I See A New America. Rick and his wife, Julie, live in South Carolina with their five children: Anna, Aaryn, Amber, Ben and Sam.

He also believes that Sarah Palin was anointed to be the leader of our “great nation” and that her turn would come.  Of course if that failed he has Michelle Bachmann waiting in the wings.  Sadly, this year, that failed as well.

Lt.Gen. (U.S. Army Ret.) W.G. “Jerry” Boykin was one of the elite warriors chosen in 1978 to make up the first unit in America’s ultra-secretive and deadly Delta Force. He then became commander of the unit, and later still, commander of all U.S. Army Special Forces. His thirty-six years in the military included a tour at the Central Intelligence Agency and clandestine missions around the world. Jerry retired in 2007, serving his last four years as the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence.

Don’t let the intelligence function fool you, this man is more delusional than Dick Cheney or George Bush, in fact even George Bush had to reprimand him for describing military efforts as a holy war against Islam while in uniform.  As a matter of fact Boykin has all sorts of conspiracy theories he is more than happy to expound on to anyone who will listen.  Sadly, many do.  Boykin is also a member of the Knights of Malta, a Catholic organization seen by some as a dangerous group.  I will include some links below written by people who have done research on them.  Some claim Catholics, Mormons and Evangelicals have all joined together in the United States because of their joint hatred of Islam.  Also surprise Boykin supported Rick Santorum

Why Boykin supported Rick Santorum
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/organizations/oak-initiative

Bishop Larry Jackson is the founding pastor of Bethel Outreach International Church in Charlotte, NC.  He currently serves as a regional bishop for the Fellowship of International Churches (Bishop Wellington Boone, Founder and National Bishop) in the southeastern region of the United States and the Vice President of Strategic Planning.

Bishop Jackson is one of their media people, he has founded Shachah Records, a newly formed Christian record label; Kindgom Writers and Music Association, established to facilitate the advancement of new and independent artists while at the same time serving as a vehicle to unite them; and Kingdom Distribution Network, a distribution company that distributes Christian products directly to the public.

Cindy Jacobs is a respected prophet who travels the world ministering not only to crowds of people, but to heads of nations.  Perhaps her greatest ministry is to world influencers who seek her prophetic advice. She and her husband Mike have founded Generals International. The heart and mission of Generals International is to bring Godly transformation to the societies and nations of the world through intercession and the prophetic. More…

Cindy Jacobs is a longstanding member of the 7 Mountains organization.  She specializes in prophetic intercession. The ministry, now known as Generals International, was founded as Generals of Intercession.  Intercession is still a major thrust of the ministry as they have “generals” around the world who are starting prayer networks in regions such as Central Asia and Turkey.  Here he is attending an Knights of Malta event with Jerry Boykin(in fact he brought Boykin in to the group) H.S.H. Nicholas F.S. Papanicolaou GB.GCSJ(H)

Nicholas F. Papanicolaou was born in 1949 in Athens, Greece.
He was educated at Williston Academy, Easthampton, MA where he graduated cum laude in 1967. He then earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics at Harvard University from where he graduated with advanced placement in 1970, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Columbia University in 1972.

Nicholas’s father, Georgious, discovered the Pap Smear, unfortunately Nicholas has pursued a far darker path than his esteemed father.  Nicholas is a Grand Master in the Knights of Malta with a title of H.S.H. Nicholas F.S. Papanicolaou GB.GCSJ(H).  I searched the net for a wiki on him and found nothing.  Strange since he is an active member in the Oak Iniative.  There appears to be a dark connection between Nicholas and Boynkin, both are in the Order of Malta and both are virulently against Islam.  Here he is attending a Knights of Malta event with Jerry Boykin(in fact he brought Boykin in to the group) Pics are in the Gallery.  http://www.theknightshospitallers.org/leadership

Rev. Lou P. Sheldon is Chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, a lobby organization representing churches and the grassroots that works to preserve the Judeo-Christian ethics upon which America was founded. The Traditional Values Coalition, founded in 1980 by Rev. Sheldon, speaks on behalf of more than 43,000 churches across the United States regarding pro-family legislation and policy. With an emphasis on the restoration of the values necessary to maintain strong, unified families, TVC focuses on such issues as religious liberty, marriage, the right to life, the homosexual agenda, pornography, family tax relief and education. He is a familiar face and voice for the family before the U.S. Congress and the White House.

At first I did not recognize this man but when I read his full bio, I immediately recognized him and changed his name above from Louis to Lou.  This is Lou in a nutshell:

“A strong voice of the traditional values that have been the foundation of America’s greatness is essential if we are to have good government policy. We need to have these values expressed and no organization does that better in Congress than Traditional Values Coalition”
– John Ashcroft, Former United States Attorney General

Enough said about Sheldon.  He is there to lobby Congress and if Ashcroft thinks he is special, you know he is batshitcrazy when it comes to strict religious beliefs.  Ashcroft is the AG who went around DOJ covering the naked statues.

Bob Weiner was moved by God to found Maranatha Churches and Campus Ministries, now with locations on 150 campuses in 20 nations.  During the last 10 years, Bob trained 50,000 youth in Russia for ministry and covered all the training expenses for them.  God multiplied this ministry, and today many hundreds of thousands of youth have been saved, established in churches and cell groups by the thousands.

Weiner’s ministry in the 70’s and 80’ recruited young people mainly on college campuses.  It was reported to be a cult-like ministry with an authoritarian hierarchy where the individual was taught not to think individually but in groupspeak. Weiner’s main targets were the best and brightest on campus. Members were told to work hard, get the best grades, and look as good as you could in order to rise in the economic and political ladders of success to be next to influence decision-makers.  The Christian Research Institute said of Maranatha Ministries, “Until we have clearer understanding of the changes which MCM claims are being implemented, and until we see more discernible evidence of change in the lives of people being impacted by MCM, we would not recommend this organization to anyone.”

You can read for yourself all about Maranatha Ministries at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maranatha_Campus_Ministries but I find it strange that Weiner once issued an apology for his work with the ministry and now is right back in the mix.  I guess I should not be surprised.

Ardell “Danny” Daniels is an apostle and oversees Spoken Word Ministries with his wife, Kimberly Daniels, in Jacksonville, Florida. Together they travel the globe touching lives for Jesus. They have six lovely children that range from the ages of 11 to 30. Ardell is an ex-drug dealer and addict.  God has miraculously transformed and raised him up for the last days.

Not much is written on Ardell but Kimberly Daniels uses her strength and determination for another purpose. She’s known as the Demon Buster, the leader of a small army of deliverance ministers who are exercising spiritual authority through prayer to confront demons of drug addiction, violence and witchcraft in their community in Florida.

Janet L. (Folger) Porter is the President and Founder of Faith2Action – turning people of faith into people of action to WIN the cultural war TOGETHER for life, liberty and the family. She reports from the front lines of the cultural war on her nationally syndicated daily program, Faith2Action with Janet Folger, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST (heard on the VCY, REACH FM (Calvary Chapel), Bott Radio, National Pro-life Radio, and Christian Worldview Networks, as well as individual stations throughout the Midwest).  She also hosts a 60-second daily radio commentary which airs on more than 100 stations and at www.F2A.org.

“When the killing stops Operation Rescue and Troy Newman will be among the first to receive our thanks.” Janet Folger Porter.  Enough said about Porter.

Dr. Lance Wallnau  has been described by People For The American Way as the hidden architect behind the increasingly viral and politically potent seven mountain template for cultural impact. From forums at Harvard, to work with the United Nations, and training and serving on Ken Blanchard’s board, Lance has taught and shaped the contemporary worldview and strategy of leaders on a global level. Taking ideas rooted in the life labors of Abraham Kuyper, Francis Shaeffer, Lorren Cunningham and Bill Bright, Lance has reinvigorated and updated their relevance to a new generation of leaders wrestling with the complex business of societal transformation. For this reason Lance’s network spans a diversity of nations and spheres of influence including artists, business leaders, government officials and Universities.

All you really have to do is look at how his ideas were influenced and you know enough about him as well.  There are numerous pieces written about Wallnau on the internet and in order to give my son an idea about this movement I actually bought one of his books.  My son was getting involved in a “dominionist” church and now he has moved on.  Wallnau is bad news.

Dr. Negiel Bigpond  has been in ministry for over thirty years and has been both evangelist and pastor, evangelizing in over 143 native reservations and currently serves as Apostle of Morning Star Church of All Nations. He is an accomplished musician and singer and is also a certified drug and alcohol abuse counselor. Dr. Bigpond is a full-blood Euchee (Yuchi) Indian and a fourth generation minister of the gospel. He and his wife Jan have been married for 39 years and have 3 children, 2 sons-in-law, 1 daughter-in-law, and 6 grandchildren.

You can read more about Dr. Bigpond here:  http://www.sonstoglory.com/RoyMoore.htm

Thomas Hall  has worked for Lou Engle, the founder and visionary for TheCall and TheCall to Conscience.   TheCall is a ministry that has filled stadiums with youth crying out for the nation and for the ending of abortion, for seven years.  TheCall is divinely initiated by God and is multi-racial, multi-generational, and cross-denominational. On September 2, 2000, 400,000 youth gathered together to fast and pray for America. Since the year 2000 TheCall has touched hundreds of thousands of people all over the world through the power of prayer and fasting.

Thomas started his own company called Hall & Brown Associates, which offers event management, event production, marketing, etc.  With this company he is actively working with many organizations in the Political and Christian sectors to help mobilize young people across the nation.  How convenient for the Initiative right?

The basic strategy of The Oak Initiative according to them is to be a grassroots movement but I have to ask how can you claim grassroots with so many people who are have influence in high places in the Catholic Church or the Dominionist movement?  They claim they will find and help develop principled and effective Christian leaders who can mobilize and organize a cohesive force of activated Christians.  According to their website:

“These will be called to work on every level where government is found, from the most local to state and national levels.”

Believing our strategy will only be effective to the degree that we have leaders and active members who are the most informed and best trained possible, a basic purpose of The Oak Initiative will be the development and dissemination of resources for the purpose of constantly increasing knowledge and upgrading skills to be effective citizens.

Action plans of The Oak Initiative may include everything from community service, promoting commerce, disaster response, as well as the evaluation, proposing, and when necessary, the challenging of government legislation and/or actions that are deemed immoral or hurtful.

The Oak Institute is being developed to raise up effective leaders for all of the dominant areas of influence in the culture, including: government, business, education, arts and entertainment, family services, media, and the church.

The Oak Initiative will help mobilize for and work with other organizations that share our common goals and values.”

If you doubt their purpose, then you have not been paying attention.  We have heard so much lately about these groups and their works, usually not in a good way.  What can appear to be innocent activity with these people is always not the case.

This info touches at the edges of the group and their activities.  Perusing the web you will find much darker information.

Identifies Rodriguez as a speaker and a steering committee member

http://freedomfederation.org/content/awakening_2012_speakers3

The Oak Initiative

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/organizations/oak-initiatThe Oak ive

Samuel Rodriguez

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/9/2/133338/8422

Samuel Rodriguez Claim to have left Oak Initiative

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/9/21/01935/7353

http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Samuel-Rodriguez-Extremism-and-the-Oak-Initiative-Greg-Metzger-09-14-2011-

Samuel Rodriguez – Washington Post – His story has now changed since he hooked up with the Oak Iniative

http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/samuel_rodriguez/2008/04/parsley_islam_mccain_and_21st.html

Note:  On the Greg Metzger blog I sent him an email showing Rodriguez was now a steering committee member and was attending “The Awakening 2012″ as a speaker.  He asked for clarification and I provided it.  I do not know if he has done an update but will peruse his site at a later date.

On the heels of the news that the Romney campaign’s foreign policy adviser, Richard Grenell, was forced out due to pressure from the Religious Right over his being gay, comes today’s revelation that Romney’s key strategic campaign adviser is an eight year old boy, Wyatt Dorfman.

Mitt Romney discovered Dorfman during a campaign stop in New Jersey when he caught him scratching a key into his limousine to write, “Kiss my but! (sic)”. Caught red handed by Romney in the midst of the act with the key in hand and scraped off paint on his sleeve, Dorfman proclaimed to Romney, “I didn’t do anything! It was already like that!”

“Something about that kid struck a chord with me, I’m not sure what it was,” Romney explained after forcing a chuckle for over a minute. “And by the time he got around to accusing me for having done it, and he was very convincing, he’d really won me over.”

Romney said that through this exchange, he was instantly convinced that he had found a diamond in the rough, the ideal person to be groomed as his campaign strategist. “A political campaign is just like a schoolyard fight and who better to have in your corner than a school boy?” Romney explained in a pleasant while detached voice.

Even though he’s only eight years old, Dorfman comes with quite a history. He’s been suspended from school half a dozen times for reasons that include stealing lunch money from kids, picking on smaller children, lying to his teacher and insider trading. Most of his classmates describe Dorfman unfavorably, as a bully, a liar and mean to girls. Dorfman’s best friends deny all of those charges and insist that they got all their noogies, wedgies and Wet Willies by accidentally falling down the stairs at home.

Romney swiftly brought Dorfman on board and the two became a solid team. When asked what initial political advice he had for Romney, Dorfman replied, “Um, first I told him that if you did something or said something that you’d get in trouble for, you gotta just smile and say you didn’t do it. Then I told him, if someone keeps calling you a liar, you just say, ‘I know you are but what am I?’ or ‘I’m rubber and you’re glue, what you say bounces off me and sticks to you!”

Romney chuckled, “It may sound silly at first but once we rolled it out, we were really impressed at how effective this strategy was. Oh, did I chuckle yet?”

Dorfman went on to describe his political strategies, “When you want kids to like you more than another kid, you gotta make up lies about him so everyone at school thinks he’s a jerk. And ya gotta do a lot of them so kids will think at least one of them’s gotta be true. Like, he wets the bed, he’s wearing girl’s underpants, he’s an alien, he eats bugs, he’s got an anti-colonial mentality, you know, that kinda stuff and you gotta keep it up every day. You also gotta make fun of everything he does. Like if he gets an ‘A’ on a test, you call him ‘Brown Noser’. If he gets and ‘F’, you call him, ‘Dumbo’. If he makes a good shot in basketball, you say, ‘What a show off!’ and if he misses a shot, you say, ‘Loser!’. The main thing is, no matter what he does, you say something bad about him every day and after a while, at least some of the kids will like you more just because they like him less. It works. that’s how I got kids likin’ me, even the ones I do titty twisters to!”

“He’s really brought our campaign up a notch, we’re running in a much more sophisticated way now,” Romney explains. “As Wyatt says, ‘A lie is only a truth that can’t be proven…and if it hurts people you don’t like and saves you from getting punished, how can it be wrong?”

As time has gone by, Dorfman’s role has expanded into advising on issues. He’s moved Romney to the position of girls having cooties and requiring girls to carry them to full term, calling people ‘gay’ as an insult (or letting others do so before firing them), stealing lunch money and grants from kids at school and supporting “Stand Your Playground” laws that protect bullies from being punished when they launch preemptive attacks against younger and smaller children who they believe could one day grow up to pose a threat to them.

There are complications that go along with having an eight year old as your campaign adviser, keeping a constant supply of chicken fingers and chocolate milk on hand, setting up playdates for him with Rick Perry and Herman Cain and having to discipline the adult staff to “act their age” so they’re on a par with him.

Some have called this inappropriate and even illegal child labor but Romney just laughs it off…though he does laugh before saying most things, “Either we want full employment in this country or we don’t. And full employment means ending age discrimination against children. Childhood is not for every kid, we should give them the freedom to decide what’s best for them. Except for the girls of course, we’ll decide that for them.”

Asked if he sees a Republican political office in his future, Dorfman responded, “I lie, I steal, I beat up on kids…and I can get paid for doing that when I grow up? Hells yeah!”