This guy is pushing the so-called "Marriage Protection Amendment"...a gay-bashing diatribe. But here's the interesting part. He quoted a "study" done by a pseudo-academic organization called the Witherspoon Institute. Turns out, this group is closely tied to Opus Dei, the arch-conservative Catholic organization that Brown exposes in The DaVinci Code.
Read this article! It's fascinating, all the ties between top fundamentalist Christian organizations and several members of Congress. Brownback is actually quoting from the study done by these fanatics on the floor of the Senate! So much for separtion of church and state.
The article goes on to say that Brownshit (better yet!) has presidential aspirations. Here is his vision:
In a January 2006 Rolling Stone article, "God's Senator," Brownback is described as a religious zealot with a view for America's future that could almost be described as medieval.
"In his dream, America, the one he believes both the Bible and the Constitution promise, the state will simply wither away. In its place will be a country so suffused with God and the free market that the social fabric of the last hundred years -- schools, Social Security, welfare -- will be privatized or simply done away with," reads the article. "There will be no abortions; sex will be confined to heterosexual marriage. Men will lead families, mothers will tend children, and big business and the church will take care of all."
This guy is dangerous if he gets any more power than he has. Let's hope he doesn't.Here is the link.
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Comments: 25
Very interesting and disturbing post Bert.
Brownback is as problematic as Santorum and gets less attention from the media, etc. Kansas is still full of religious fervor and lunacy. Not much has changed since John Brown. It does not surprise me that Brownback hails from Kansas. (as a disclaimer, I have family that lives there. Not everyone from Kansas is religiously conservative. But it does seem to have it's share of the fringe. )
One of the areas of concern, for me, is the Dunkers. They are a sect of Anabaptists,(that my family is decendent of) who are almost like the Amish, except they drive cars and believe in some modern amenities. They are very conservative and have a lot of salt of the earth values.
There seems to be a tendency in their community to homeschool their chidren to keep their exposure to modern pressures at bay. While home schooling is not necessarily a bad thing, I see this as a problem because their kids are only taught what the religious leaders want them to be taught.
The Dunkers vote. Some Anabaptist sect don't. There aren't many of them anymore, but they do tend to have a pretty good foothold in certain counties. Although their numbers are small, they live in very rural areas in a state that is still very rural.
Kansas City is really the only large city in Kansas, and it is mostly suburban. Wichita, Lawrence, Manhattan and Topeka are really just small cities, at best. (I always think of them as big towns, with a few tall buildings.)
Have you read Thomas Frank's book "What the Matter with Kansas?" It's pretty good. Very insightful into what goes on in politics in Kansas. (He also hails from there.)
I know about the Dunkers...I grew up on a farm in Michigan, and northern Indiana has a sizeable Amish population, and Dunkers as well. In fact, one Dunker family drove up to our farm every year to buy a truckload of cherries for their community, so I saw their bonnets and long dresses at an early age. I always thought it was spelled Dunkard, but I just googled it and there is a Dunker church AND a Dunkard church.
I know about "What's the Matter with Kansas" but I have never read it.
I know there are other communities in other Kansas Counties, but I don't know where.
They are very peaceful and nice people. They are just very very conservative and have a limited world view. (not necessarily bad.)
If you have an opportunity to read Thomas Frank's book, it is worth a look to get some insight into Kansas politics. Kansas has had a lot of leaders in Congress and the Senate, and they tend to get traction, so ...
I honestly found the book to be a little off, but he made some good observations and raised some questions worth thinking about.
Both sides of the aisle cite impartial studies that appear to strengthen their stance. For example, Al Gore's movie omitted a lot of global warming data that conflicted with the message he was trying to send and included a lot of non-science that really has no bearing on global warming. When you want to make a point, you cite studies that support it.
Fact of the matter is I don't think the gay marriage ban should be passed, but I don't doubt it will be lobbed around quite a bit this election cycle.
I hereby appoint you the curator of this thread (grin).
That's a load of garbage. Opus Dei is NOTHING like that described in Brown's book. I dont know what you read, but I can tell you firsthand, Opus Dei positive, caring organization, not some SS cult of violence.
"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says ''Woe to Those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost Our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it
building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it
ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and
called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and
called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from
Every sin and set us free. Amen!"
Bill C.
On the other hand, if his constituency approves his performance, I would suggest that you need to acknowledge that fact.
Will we be expecting an article from you soon discussing the evangelical nature of Rolling Stone magazine?
Bill: I find your "prayer" objectionable, hateful and extremely judgmental.
A bad thing, only when others do it.
Thank you for helping to keep everyone focused on the importance of staying informed!
A few comments:
Isn't it great how Greg Schiller can be judgmental whilst bashing others for doing it? That takes chutzpah!
Regarding Bill's prayer. It is a not-so-clever distortion of moral values. Equating murdering of doctors at abortion clinics with a woman's right to choose is an example of how Religious Right fanatics think. "Rewarding laziness and calling it welfare"...unbelievable. No one is allowed to be poor in the eyes of these people. As for "pollution of the air with pornography and profanity" I would quote Thomas Jefferson: "It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." Jefferson was talking about freedom of religion, so I am not quoting him in context, but his meaning applies. If you don't like profanity, don't listen. If you don't like pornography, don't read it and don't go to those websites. We don't need fascist Christians telling us what we can say or write.