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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWilliam Barr Is A Member Of Opus Dei
As with many other Americans, I was dismayed in watching Attorney General William Barrs performance two days ago before the U.S. Senate Judicial Committee. When questioned about his famous four page memo and repeated mischaracterization the Mueller Report, time and again, Barr obstructed, bobbed and weaved all while refusing to answer basic questions put forth by the Democratic Senators.
We now also know that Barr gave misleading testimony before the House Appropriations Committee this past April 9, 2019. When asked by Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) if the A.G. knew why members of Muellers team were frustrated by his characterization of the Special Counsels report, Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.that he did not. Speaker Pelosi has even accused the A.G. of criminality, saying that he lied to Congress.
But recently, we learned that the current Attorney General has some links with highly secretive, ultra-conservative Catholic group Opus Dei. This relationship may help explain his apparent ends justifies the means strategy.
Just to recap, Opus Dei, literally meaning, "The Work of God" was founded in Spain 1928 by the priest Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer. He based its mission upon the idea that lay Catholics could achieve holiness without entering a religious order. It is a personal prelature meaning that, unlike a diocese, is not territorial but is a combination of laity, clergy and prelates who undertake specific pastoral activities. It is known for recruiting very influential members, especially those simpatico with culturally conservative causes. To describe its many wealthy and powerful leaders as economic royalists would be an understatement.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/5/3/1855095/-Did-Opus-Dei-Teach-A-G-Barr-to-Puts-Away-His-Scruples
Other notable members of Opus Dei can be found at Link below. Youll find, the traitors cabinet riddled with members, as well as the SC and other branches of of government. It is one of the evils that is hidden with and works to destroy and distort. Interestingly, spy for Russia Robert Hansen is/was also a member.
http://churchandstate.org.uk/2019/03/opus-deis-influence-on-the-u-s-judiciary/
DURHAM D
(32,609 posts)Opus Dei and The Federalist Society.
Mulvaney, Kudlow, Supremes and so on. What struck me SDNY. So much damage. The Cathoic church has so much harm to answer for.
H2O Man
(73,536 posts)and wish I could recommend your post. The perfect answer.
Paladin
(28,252 posts)Barr and Opus Dei are a perfect fit.
FakeNoose
(32,633 posts)Another $5 says he doesn't give a rats-ass. Chump's son-in-law may be up on conspiracy theories, but only as a way to keep the rubes in check. Mike Pompeo is another one, they're playing some Armageddon game and they think Putin is the anti-Christ. Or maybe they think he's the "Messiah," I don't know.
Me.
(35,454 posts)I'm not sure who suggested him but I think it was McGHan who is a Catholic Member of the Federalist Society
So we're dealing with the mob, the Russian mob and the Catholic mob
Stinky The Clown
(67,790 posts)JDC
(10,125 posts)B Stieg
(2,410 posts)Whole lotta crazy in OD.
DURHAM D
(32,609 posts)Me.
(35,454 posts)one of the members of the FBI who didn't like HRC
DFW
(54,344 posts)I developed an undying hatred of Opus Dei and anyone associated with it.
Remember that after the Spanish Civil War about 350,000 Leftists and Progressives were taken out and shot and put in mass graves. A sad reminder. Today their descendants are digging up those graves and identifying bodies. They were killed for their political beliefs that are not much different from those held at DU.
Hekate
(90,645 posts)UTUSN
(70,683 posts)In the late '90s/early '00s, there was a stampede of wingnut FBI & spooks & Robert NOVAKula & Laura INGRAHAM converting to "Catholicism" via the Opus deal.
When Teh INGRAHAM supposedly became a "christian" she dropped out of sight for a couple of years (cancer? adopting orphans?) and when she surfaced again I strained at the t.v. monitor to detect what spiritual change she evinced. For a year or two she toned down a teeny bit of her vitriol, vehemence, hate, contempt. She had begun wearing the gold cross below, and I tracked down The Little Sisters of the Poor, who her website said were beneficiaries of some of the proceeds for the sale of the same cross, to ask whether converts might show some signs of "imitating Christ" through humility, gentleness, turning cheek or things like that. The Mother Superior who answered said that she had never heard of INGRAHAM, knew of no designated donations from her, indeed had never heard of her.
********QUOTE**********
http://www.lauraingraham.com/p/Jewelry/4-Way-Cross-Necklace/23125.html?dispid=214
59.95
This is a replica of the one Laura wears.
All net proceeds go to support the work of The Little Sisters of the Poor.
Yearly Premium Member's Price: $53.96
(A savings of $6.00)
********UNQUOTE*********
japple
(9,821 posts)Or is this just a fucking social organization that has a grand gala every year to collect funds to support their grand galas?
Peregrine Took
(7,413 posts)They took in my blind, wheelchair bound 95 year old sister in law last year.
She had outlived her money (SS and pension) and had nowhere to go.
We got her on Medicaid and, in turn she signed over her SS and pension towards her monthly care and they give her wonderful care.
She has a large private room, more like a suite, and all kinds of personal care, meals, doctor visits (plus transportation to her specialists) and do so with love and respect . .
The Little Sisters have a special ministry for dealing with the indigent and poor of moderate means and so so with grace and kindness.
My other SIL ( 88) pays over 11k a month in a private senior home and, other than have a grand piano, a fireplace and a fancy dining room there isn't much difference except the 95 year old gets more personal care, help going to the bathroom, gets meds delivered every few hours by nursing staff, getting into bed, etc.
Me.
(35,454 posts)McKim
(2,412 posts)Thank you so much for this valuable information. This does explain where he is coming from. The fascist mindset has a long history. I wonder if someone has done more research about which cabinet members are members of this archaic organizaiton
backtoblue
(11,343 posts)It doesn't list any current info, but if ya want to go down a rabbit hole there's alot of names to follow up and see if there's any correlation.
This one is more recent, not sure about the site.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/opentabernacle.wordpress.com/2018/11/13/opus-deis-influence-on-the-u-s-judiciary/amp/
Me.
(35,454 posts)backtoblue
(11,343 posts)Mulvaney met with few, if any, consumer groups. Thats in contrast to President Barack Obamas first OMB director, Peter Orszag, whose visitor logs show meetings with both a long string of corporate executives as well as philanthropic and consumer representatives.
Among the more surprising visitors to Mulvaney was Jeff Bell, a former Reagan aide who is marked on the calendar as being with the Catholic group Opus Dei. Bell told ProPublica that his March meeting with Mulvaney, a Catholic, covered religious and political matters but declined to comment further.
Snip
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.propublica.org/article/whos-dropping-in-on-trump-budget-czar-mick-mulvaney/amp
Me.
(35,454 posts)to put the words Opus dei on his calender
Me.
(35,454 posts)Last edited Sat May 4, 2019, 06:38 PM - Edit history (1)
Just today I read that Estee Lauder was one
MBS
(9,688 posts)with that ultra-far-right group of so-called "Catholics," who make as much trouble within the Catholic Church as they do outside of it.
The Dark Side, for sure.
marble falls
(57,077 posts)stuffmatters
(2,574 posts)elleng
(130,865 posts)October 27, 1992
Attorney General William Barr is the Best Reason to Vote for Clinton
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016231482
Me.
(35,454 posts)I found his description of Barr very worrying not to mention surprising. I've looked and can't find if Safire was a member of either group. You don't have to be catholic to be a fellow of Opus Dei, I believe.
elleng
(130,865 posts)I think Lawrence mentioned it recently.
'Safire was born William Lewis Safir in New York City, New York the son of Ida (née Panish) and Oliver Craus Safir.[3][4] His family was Jewish, and originated in Romania on his father's side.[5] Safire later added the "e" to his surname for pronunciation reasons, though some of his relatives continue to use the original spelling.
Safire graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, a specialized public high school in New York City. He attended Syracuse University but dropped out after two years. He delivered the commencement address at Syracuse in 1978 and 1990, and became a trustee of the university. . .
Safire described himself as a "libertarian conservative." A Washington Post story on the ending of his op-ed column quotes him on the subject:
I'm willing to zap conservatives when they do things that are not libertarian. [After the 9/11 attacks,] I was the first to really go after George W. on his treatment of prisoners. . .
Safire was staunchly pro-Israel. He received the Guardian of Zion Award of Bar-Ilan University in 2005. President George W. Bush appointed him to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Safire
Me.
(35,454 posts)yaesu
(8,020 posts)patphil
(6,169 posts)Unfortunately, their God is Satan.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)They are all satanic. "Work of God", my ass.
underthematrix
(5,811 posts)until Trump was also a member of Opus Dei
Me.
(35,454 posts)underthematrix
(5,811 posts)I have long suspected Trump is a Russian citizen, which I base in part on his birtherism conspiracy.
Me.
(35,454 posts)and he's there in the research but you have to look.
underthematrix
(5,811 posts)dawg day
(7,947 posts)I didn't see any mention of the most famous Opus Dei member, the FBI traitor spy Robert Hanssen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hanssen
He was another weird rightwinger like Manafort who is "conservative" but sells out his country, and most weirdly, got totally off on "sharing" his wife-- Hanssen allegedly taped them having sex and enjoyed watching the tapes with his best friend.
It all goes well with that twisted corrupt religiosity of these secret societies.
One tenet of these societies is often that it's right to lie, and another is that you should if you can enter politics and government to secretly corrupt it in a "holy" direction.
Hekate
(90,645 posts)Perseus
(4,341 posts)I strongly believe that mentality is more associated with criminal minds. Criminals have a goal and what happens between the moment they make the decision to pursue that goal and the moment they reach it, anything that happens in between is meaningless to them, they have no concept of consequences (worst attribute the buffoon has), and whether people died or suffered in the process of reaching that goal is irrelevant to them.
These people posses a criminal mind, whether they belong to Opus Dei, Evangelical sect, any other religion, or no religion, it is just a criminal mind that works very different than normal minds, that is why it is so hard for normal people to understand why these people do what they do.
Grasswire2
(13,568 posts)I'll bet Kavanaugh is, too.
backtoblue
(11,343 posts)Me.
(35,454 posts)dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Appears that trump is a willing puppet for their taking over the political right.
coeur_de_lion
(3,676 posts)It fits. He's fanatical about protecting an evil toddler liar, why not Opus Dei?
He's a very strange man. I was listening to his testimony thinking to myself that he's totally crazy.
This is just more proof.
DURHAM D
(32,609 posts)Opus Dei Nazis without offending regular Roman Catholics.
Anon-C
(3,430 posts)Me.
(35,454 posts)"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together"
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)Gothmog
(145,129 posts)Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(107,920 posts)The Opus Dei people care the shit out of me.
Chin music
(23,002 posts)Gotta let that one sink in. Did he have his nutz in a vice when he was testifying? Flagellation at lunch?
CrispyQ
(36,457 posts)As our species stands on an ecological brink brought about by their greed-motivated policies, they still believe in their superiority.
Makes me think of the one thin mint in a Monty Phyton movie. Greed and money gluttony in a situation where one thin mint of climate disasters could blow everything up
CrispyQ
(36,457 posts)Needed the laugh.
Response to Me. (Original post)
StevieM This message was self-deleted by its author.
no wonder he did his hit on HRC
Delphinus
(11,830 posts)I didn't think one could leave ...
FakeNoose
(32,633 posts)Unless you have a really good source for this info, maybe you should consider deleting it for now.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)and us oldies who need to refresh our memory banks...
Me.
(35,454 posts)but yes, it won't hurt to refresh our background on him
Me.
(35,454 posts)I've had posts from 2016 pop up, but maybe only the author of the OP can see them....
In any event, this is an excellent OP, there has been so much happening so fast that it is impossible to keep up with it
all.