Rep. Harold Ford (D-TN) on SS Wall of Shame ?

[kentuck]

http://www.atrios.blogspot.com/

He's too young to know very much about SS, it seems. And he's been raised in a life of privilege. And he obviously believes the marketplace can do better than the present SS System? Sounds like a true Republican to me...He just doesn't know it, yet.

[T Roosevelt]

1. From talkingpointsmemo.com

An update on the Democrats' 'Fainthearted Faction'

That takes the number of members of the Fainthearted Faction down to ten. But we also have a new member joinging the Faction, Congressman Harold Ford of Tennessee, who brings the number back to eleven. We're adding Rep. Ford to the list because of an exchange a reader sent us between Rep. Ford and Mort Kondracke at a panel meeting on capitol hill last March sponsored by Centrists.Org, The Concord Coalition, The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget at the New America Foundation, and The Alliance for Worker Retirement Security.

When Kondracke asked Ford whether he could support Sen. Lindsey Graham's private accounts bill (Graham was the other member of Congress on the panel), Ford responded ...

Yes, I would, provided we could pay for the transition costs without running up bigger deficits. I’m not an expert on all the details, but I think his bill has good anti-poverty protections, and matching funds for lower-income workers. The personal accounts are progressive, which is good. And in the long run, it keeps Social Security costs down to about where they are now, which we can afford. In this budget environment, however, it will be very hard to pay for the transition costs of the accounts.

MORT KONDRACKE. Is there a caucus for entitlement reform among Democrats in the House? Realistically, how many House Democrats do you think would be interested in discussing Social Security reform and personal accounts?

REPRESENTATIVE FORD. I think there is a group who would be willing to work constructively. Maybe 50 or 60 members. Certainly, Charlie Stenholm has been an extraordinary leader on this. Charlie has been explaining this issue to voters for many years, and he is a very influential leader on budgets and entitlements.

So Congressman Ford enters the Faction. And that leaves us with the following updated list for the Fainthearted Faction ...

Also this entry:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_12_19.php#004292

[Gloria]

3. I recall seeing him on TV quite a while back and deciding that

I was NOT impressed at all! He has become a huge disappointment and it looks like he's growing further into the role of Republican-lite. How anyone can view dealing with Republicans on this issue as "constructive" is beyond me. Anything Republicans touch is largely DESTRUCTIVE.

[chomskysright]

4. GET BUSY AND WRITE THESE PEOPLE....

here is my letter to Congressman Ford: I forwarded it to people I know in TN:

here is his e mail address: [e-mail]

December 24, 2004

Dear Congressman Ford:

First of all, thank you for having such a handy e mail address system. It is very tiresome corresponding with congressional people that require you to move through a series of web pages.

I understand that you stated this as associated with Sen. Lindsey Graham's private accounts bill : "Yes, I would, provided we could pay for the transition costs without running up bigger deficits. I’m not an expert on all the details, but I think his bill has good anti-poverty protections, and matching funds for lower-income workers. The personal accounts are progressive, which is good. And in the long run, it keeps Social Security costs down to about where they are now, which we can afford. In this budget environment, however, it will be very hard to pay for the transition costs of the accounts."

First of all, SS is the most efficient system that the US government has ever had.

Here are 10 'talking points' re: Social Security. I hope that I hear that you will NOT be supporting the privatization of SS. We do not need it; we do not want it; we are very determinedly against it. My mother and sister and her family live in TN. She is forwarded this information.

Thanks for listening, Representative Ford.

Sincerely, Marsha Hammond, PhD

TEN REASONS WHY PRESIDENT BUSH'S PLAN FOR SOCIAL SECURITY IS A BAD IDEA

1. WHO WANTS THE CHANGE? Wall Street wants privatization in order reap a windfall profit. Everyone else should be very suspicious. If the stock market goes down, your benefits go down.

2. WHY DOES WALL STREET WANT THE CHANGE? In the background, beyond private accounts, are various proposals to cut guaranteed Social Security
benefits in the future.

3. BUT WE WILL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER DEPRESSION AS IN 1929: wrong: In 1973-74, the stock
market lost 48 percent of its value. The stock market is a very dangerous place to put money

4. WHO DOES NOT WANT THE CHANGE? AARP, the nation's largest seniors organization, is coming out
strongly against President Bush's plan to allow private individual accounts
within Social Security.

5. HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST TO PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY? transitioning to private accounts could cost $2 trillion.

6. WHERE WOULD THAT MONEY COME FROM? our taxes will have to be increased to make Bush's proposed plan work.

7. HOW EFFICIENT IS THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM NOW? More than 99 percent of Social Security's revenues go toward benefits, and less than 1 percent for overhead.

8. OTHER COUNTIES MUST HAVE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MAYBE THOSE ARE BETTER? wrong: Chile's system, management fees are around 20 times as high. A privatized system will take money from your Social Security check.

9. SHOULD YOU BE WORRIED THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE SOCIAL SECURITY? Nothing is going to change, in terms of benefits, for people near your retirement age.

10. WHO TAXED SOCIAL SECURITY TO BEGIN WITH? Ronald Reagan, a Republican, began the taxation on Social Security in 1983.

There is no Social Security crisis, just as there were no weapons of mass destruction. Social Security has provided a lifeline to millions of Americans with
millions of checks, and in more than 60 years has never missed a payment—and this track record can continue. Social Security is basically a sound system
that can meet 100 percent of its obligations for the next 39 years, and with responsible changes it can continue to do so indefinitely

[Pepperbelly]

20. Gee i don't know... Morton is a piece of shit. I hate to depend on him. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. A Republican(D) supports a Republican(R) SS plan.

I expect the pablum wingers to be along soon to tell you how important it is to have a Republican(D) rather than a Republican(R) congressman in Tennessee and how "unrealistic" you are to think he might have the courage to behave like a Democrat.

[kentuck]

5. How many "centrists' here on DU agree with Rep Ford??

I wonder??

[blackangrydem]

28. Somewhere right now Karl Rove is laughing

as we feast on our young.

[American Tragedy]

6. "provided we could pay for transition costs without running bigger

deficits."

That's the point, Harold. Unless you've got about a trillion dollars hidden under your mattress that you'd like to donate, you can't cover the transition costs without running bigger deficits!

[dogman]

7. I see he says he would support Graham's proposal which B$$$co says is

not acceptable. Obama has said he is willing to look at this option also. I don' care how they work it, it will be a rip-off. We have to stop this in it's tracks. Remember the B$$$-Gore debates when everyone laughed at Gore's lockbox? The MSM and the GOP are determined to rob the working person of every last penny.

[ShaneGR]

8. Cracks me up when people expect a Tennessee Dem to act like...

he's from San Francisco. If he acted like that, he wouldn't be the Democrat from Tennessee. We'd have the hardcore rightwing god nut Republican from Tennessee. Oh yeah, he'd be white.

[politicasista]

9. They haven't been kind to him down here

He would make a good senator and a bookend to Obama.

[kentuck]

11. Silly argument...

It doesn't matter if he's from Bangladesh - there's no reason to support George W Bush's plan to destroy SS....I'm scratching him off my list....right now.

[Pepperbelly]

14. Where did he say that in the link?

I found squat there.

[Radical Activist]

12. Not all TN Dems are that bad

Maybe the fact that they act like corporate servants and good ol boys is the reason they aren't in power. The Republicans have sense enough to be populists in Tennessee but the Democrats are still afraid of doing the same.
I don't think we need a black Democratic Senator that acts like a white Republican.

[robbedvoter]

16. Why? Tennessee doesn't believe government can help? Gore did.

GOP only sees the government as a tool of repression. If Tennessee is on that boat, it shouldn't put up "dem" reps.
When we start questioning FDR, you are not "San Francisco" you are conservative. Not even GOP. Neocon.

[Pepperbelly]

10. What did he say? The link sez nothing about him. ny

[GetTheRightVote]

13. I believe any elected official who goes along with * is not a Demo

SSN is FDR legacy to us and has save many elderly from a total life of poverty. It must stand as a shining example of what is good in this country. The finicial world would destory it similiar to that of the Chile countries finicial markets. They made 20% while their country's elderly have no retirement funds to live on. That is one of reason why the citizens of that country hate * so much. We do not need that in our country. Remember one thing, this ideal came from the * and company so it can mean nothing but bad for the people that live here.

[chiwawamom]

15. as someone from TN...

he's an idiot. He and his whole family are a joke.

[Wiley50]

21. His Dad (state Senator) was charged with Road Rage

a while back shooting at people along I-40.
It's just the good old boy politics we're used to down here only with black skin. Same Book. Different cover.

[kentuck]

24. Who are you talking about ??

Harold Sr was a respected member of Congress for many years...??

[InvisibleBallots]

17. There goes his career

[jarab]

18. As others did with the "war" issue ...

he's jumping on the bandwagon for SS.
He simply looks at the numbers (in congress) and his own future ... weighs the two .... and leaps.

Sad to say, he probably is on the side which will make wholesale changes in SS.

I'm pissed at him, but I saw this from him early on. Congressmen don't need SS. They need this or a better job in "public service". That's not too hard to conclude when one stops worshipping the ground these people walk on - whore worship. They're not our servants; we're their slaves. And, we will be obedient ... or else.

...O...

[Tinoire]

22. Ford jumped on the war issue too.

Titre : Congressional Letter on Iraq, Project Memorandum, William Kristol, December 6, 2001
Source : Project for a New Amerian Century (PNAC)
Date : 6 décembre 2001
Langue : Anglais
Thème(s) : Armes de destruction massive, Désarmement de l'Irak

Congressional Letter on Iraq, Project Memorandum, William Kristol, December 6, 2001

December 6, 2001

MEMORANDUM TO : OPINION LEADERS

FROM : WILLIAM KRISTOL

SUBJECT : Iraq

Yesterday evening, nine leading members of Congress sent a letter to President Bush calling for Saddam Hussein's removal from power. As they note, Saddam "cannot be permanently contained." As long as he is in power, "he will seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction....We have not doubt that these deadly weapons are intended for use against the United States and its allies."

In recent weeks, the president had made it clear that the "war on terrorism" is made even more urgent by the fact that terrorist states such as Iraq are actively developing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. The nexus of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction makes the removal of Saddam key to success in the overall war on terrorism, and a matter of considerable urgency. This letter should reassure the Bush Administration that there will be bipartisan politcal support for the president when he moves on to the next crucial phase of the war.

Congressional Letter on Iraq
December 5, 2001

Dear Mr. President :

The events of September 11 have highlighted the vulnerability of the United States to determined terrorists. As we work to clean up Afghanistan and destroy al Qaeda, it is imperative that we plan to eliminate the threat from Iraq.

This December will mark three years since United Nations inspectors last visited Iraq. There is no doubt that since that time, Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf war status. In addition, Saddam continues to refine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies.

For much of the last year, the Administration has struggled to plug loopholes in the international sanctions against Iraq. Unfortunately, efforts to coopt Saddam's illegal trading partners -- particularly Syria -- have failed. In the meantime, the illegal oil trade from Iraq has flourished, and Saddam now earns an estimated $2 billion annually, much of which he has devoted to his military and his illegal weapons programs.

If we have learned one thing from the ongoing battle in Afghanistan, it is that working effectively in coordination with locals on the ground can significantly leverage our own use of military force. While we have no doubt that in the long run, the United States will always prevail in battle with the likes of the Taliban (not to speak of Saddam Hussein), we also know that we can minimize casualties and shorten conflict by cooperating with opposition forces. That has been a key element of US strategy for several decades.

Since the passage of the Iraq Liberation Act three years ago, we have fought to provide support for Iraqis inside Iraq. The Iraqi National Congress (INC), an umbrella group of all the significant anti ?Saddam forces inside Iraq, has consistently requested Administration assistance for operations on the ground in Iraq ranging from the delivery of humanitarian assistance and information-gathering to military and technical training and lethal military drawdown.

Despite the express wishes of the Congress, the INC has been denied U.S. assistance for any operations inside any part of Iraq, including liberated Kurdish areas. Instead, successive Administrations have funded conferences, offices and other intellectual exercises that have done little more than expose the INC to accusations of being "limousine insurgents" and "armchair guerillas." We note the troubling similarity of these accusation to charges made against the Afghan guerillas now helping us win the war against the Taliban.

The threat from Iraq is real, and it cannot be permanently contained. For as long as Saddam Hussein is in power in Baghdad, he will seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. We have no doubt that these deadly weapons are intended for use against the United States and its allies. Consequently, we believe we must directly confront Saddam, sooner rather than later. Without allies on the ground inside Iraq, we will be handicapping our own efforts. Each day that passes costs us an opportunity to unite and professionalize the Iraqi opposition, thus ensuring it will be less capable when the conflict begins.

Again, we can learn from our experience in Afghanistan. We cannot be drawn into the ethnic politics of any particular nation, but should find a way to work with all the opposition in a unified framework. The Iraqi National Congress is the only umbrella organization comprising all elements of the Iraqi opposition. No one group is excluded, no one group is favored.

Mr. President, all indications are that in the interest of our own national security, Saddam Hussein must be removed from power. Let us maximize the likelihood of a rapid victory by beginning immediately to assist the Iraqi opposition on the ground inside Iraq by providing them money and assistance already authorized and appropriated.

We look forward to working with you on this most important matter.

Sincerely,

Sen. Trent Lott

Sen. Joseph Lieberman

Sen. John McCain

Sen. Jesse Helms

Sen. Richard Shelby

Sen. Sam Brownback

Rep. Henry Hyde

Rep. Harold Ford, Jr.

Rep. Benjamin Gilman

http://www.gulfinvestigations.net/document499.html

[Pithy Cherub]

19. Ford is exceedingly articulate, however his ideas are

hybrids of others. He is not particularly innovative or inviting. What has been his signature issue? Still searching...

[redstateblues]

23. News Flash- Ford has no chance to be Senator from TN

He's no Phil Bredesen. It took Phil several failed attempts at statewide office, and then two very successful terms as mayor of Nashville to figure out how to build a base of support in a red state. Ford, while a "fresh" face on the national scene, has no statewide support- he really hasn't done anything. Tennessee in default mode will put another R in the Senate unless someone with more stature runs for the Dems- Former Gov. Ned Ray McWherter could do it if he wanted to.

[Tinoire]

25. Harold Ford... Part of the Moon as "Messiah of Mankind" Coronation Host Gp

http://www.gorenfeld.net/blog/2004/05/back-from-memory-hole.html

"We have no king but Jesus." -- John Ashcroft (quoting someone else)

That didn't take long. After members of Congress invited Sun Myung Moon into the Dirksen Senate Office Building Mar. 23 (as covered exclusively on this blog; here's the impressive guest list), where he was crowned the Messiah, his movement was quick to incorporate images of the event in this movie about Moon's accomplishments. It's the best footage yet of this remarkable Washington Times event. (This Quicktime movie in English is also excellent, and more accessible.)



===

Moon Over Washington
Why are some of the capital’s most influential power players hanging out with a bizarre Korean billionaire who claims to be the Messiah?
by John Gorenfeld, Contributor
6.09.04

Should Americans be concerned that on March 23rd a bipartisan group of Congressmen attended a coronation at which a billionaire, pro-theocracy newspaper owner was declared to be the Messiah – with royal robes, a crown, the works? Or that this imperial ceremony took place not in a makeshift basement church or a backwoods campsite, but in a Senate office building?

====

Here's Charlie Rangel's signed proclamation on his letterhead honoring Sun Myung Moon, who's called for the U.S. Constitution to be scrapped and American individualism squashed -- a gentleman identified in Time magazine as a "megalomaniac," and known for public speeches with such sentiments as, "Satan is clinging to our sexual organs," and calling gay people "dirty dung-eating dogs."

...Um, this is what Congressman Charles Rangel writes to him:

Be it known...I, CHARLES B. RANGEL, Member of Congress, 15th Congressional District, by the power and authority vested in me, this 16th day of April, 2004, do recognize you as "True Parents" exemplifying self-giving service and leadership and of "King of Peace" in the key areas of reconciliation and peacemaking over fifty (50) years.
I'm not kidding. Here, read this.



...The significance is that the Moon movement is actively pursuing the black caucus, as part of a campaign tying in with last year's "tear down the cross and worship me instead" antics aimed at wooing the African-American clergy. Until recently, they were known mainly for their stable of white conservatives.


...Also, the "ambassadors for peace" group honoring Rangel and other members of Congress has previously endorsed a Neo-Nazi


...One more thing. If you're new to this subject, "True Parents" is Moon's traditional way of describing himself (and his wife) as the Messiahs of humanity. The idea is that mankind's "lineage" has been soiled, and the only way for people to avoid hell is to unite with "The True Father" via his sex ritual (for couples matched psychically in his mass wedding ceremonies.)

http://www.gorenfeld.net/blog//2004_04_01_barchive.html


Not sure what to think of Moon and those who associate with him yet? Here is a disturbing video of a Moon event where ex-President Ford, Maureen Reagan, ex Heads of State etc spoke when Clinton was President. It's alllllll about "the family" Moon -style. I couldn't watch it all. Urgh.

====================
June 22, 2004

Lawmakers attend Moon ‘coronation’ in Dirksen
By James Kirchick

Coronations are not everyday occurrences on Capitol Hill — the Capitol being the people’s house, an indelible symbol of the republic, etc.

So it’s odd that a man was crowned in the Dirksen Senate Office Building earlier this year in the presence of several lawmakers and that the event is only now drawing attention.

(snip)

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, former felon and current owner of The Washington Times, was the man in the spotlight, declaring himself humanity’s “savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent.”

The event, which took place March 23, was sponsored by the Washington Times Foundation and the International Interreligious Federation for World Peace (IIFWP), a Moon-led group. Present at different points during the event were Reps. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Sen. Mark Dayton (R-Minn.).

(snip)

The invitation for the event lists Davis, Weldon and Bartlett and Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Chris Cannon (R-Utah) and Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) as “Congressional Co-Chairs.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Reps. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Phil Crane (R-Ill.) and GOP consultant Charlie Black were listed as members of the “Host Committee.”

(snip)

http://www.hillnews.com/news/062204/moon.aspx

((Once confronted with this, they all... back-pedaled and claimed not to have known- I call bull-shit... this was well-advertised and planned))

The Rev. Moon Honored at Hill Reception
Lawmakers Say They Were Misled
By Charles Babington and Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, June 23, 2004; Page A01


More than a dozen lawmakers attended a congressional reception this year honoring the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in which Moon declared himself the Messiah and said his teachings have helped Hitler and Stalin be "reborn as new persons."

At the March 23 ceremony in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) wore white gloves and carried a pillow holding an ornate crown that was placed on Moon's head. The Korean-born businessman and religious leader then delivered a long speech saying he was "sent to Earth . . . to save the world's six billion people. . . . Emperors, kings and presidents . . . have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent."

Details of the ceremony -- first reported by Salon.com writer John Gorenfeld -- have prompted several lawmakers to say they were misled or duped by organizers. Their complaints prompted a Moon-affiliated Web site to remove a video of the "Crown of Peace" ceremony two days ago, but other Web sites have preserved details and photos.

(snip)

But a key organizer -- Archbishop George A. Stallings Jr., pastor of the Imani Temple, an independent African American Catholic congregation in Northeast Washington -- said Moon's prominent role should have surprised no one. He said a March 8 invitation faxed to all lawmakers stated that the "primary program sponsor" would be the "Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP), founded by Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, who will also be recognized that evening for their lifelong work to promote interfaith cooperation and reconciliation." The invitation was signed by Davis and the Rev. Michael Jenkins, as co-chairmen of the IIFWP (USA).

The event's co-sponsors were the Washington Times Foundation, the United Press International Foundation, the American Family Coalition, the American Clergy Leadership Conference and the Women's Federation for World Peace, according to the invitation. Stallings, a former Roman Catholic priest who was married in Moon's church, said Moon's association with those organizations is well known.

"You'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not know that any event that is sponsored by the Washington Times . . . could involve the influence, or the potential presence, of the Reverend Moon," he said.

(snip)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61932-2004Jun22.html

====
==


Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon
Hail to the Moon king

The deeply weird coronation of Rev. Sun Myung Moon in a Senate office building -- crown, robes, the works -- is no longer one of Washington's best-kept secrets.

Article:
June 21, 2004 | You probably imagine your congressman hard at work in the Capitol debating legislation, making laws -- you know, governing. But your newspaper probably didn't tell you that one night in March, members of Congress hosted a crowning ritual for an ex-convict and multibillionaire who dressed up in maroon robes and declared himself the Second Coming.

On March 23, the Dirksen Senate Office Building was the scene of a coronation ceremony for Rev. Sun Myung Moon, owner of the conservative Washington Times newspaper and UPI wire service, who was given a bejeweled crown by Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-Ill. Afterward, Moon told his bipartisan audience of Washington power players he would save everyone on Earth as he had saved the souls of Hitler and Stalin -- the murderous dictators had been born again through him, he said. In a vision, Moon said the reformed Hitler and Stalin vouched for him, calling him "none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent." (snip)

(snip)
What, exactly, drew at least a dozen members of Congress to Moon's coronation? (By the Unification Church's estimate, 81 congressmen attended, although that number is probably high.) The event was the grand finale of Moon's coast-to-coast "tear down the cross" Moonification tour, intended to remove Christian crosses from almost 300 churches in poor neighborhoods -- the idea being that the cross was an obstacle to uniting religions under Moon. Yet the Dirksen ceremony was sold as a celebration of world peace.

(snip)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/06/21/moon/index1.html



http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/06/21/moon/


==================

John Gorenfeld notes that something has been pulled from a Washington Post article. I don't know if it was in any of the print editions or not, but here's the missing paragraph, pulled up from Nexis:


"The five great saints and many other leaders in the spirit world, including even communist leaders such as Marx and Lenin, who committed all manner of barbarity and murders on Earth, and dictators such as Hitler and Stalin, have found strength in my teachings, mended their ways and been reborn as new persons. Emperors, kings and presidents who enjoyed opulence and power on Earth, and even journalists who had worldwide fame, have now placed themselves at the forefront of the column of the true love revolution. ... They have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent."

-- Moon, founder of the Unification Church, in his address to a recent "Ambassadors for Peace Awards" ceremony at the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2004/04/down-memory-hole.html

===

"There will be a purge on God’s orders, and evil will be eliminated like shadows," the Unification Church leader Rev. Sun Myong Moon, the owner and primary funder of money-losing right-wing Washington Times, said last week. (The comments were posted online by Rev. Moon’s webmaster and picked up by blogger John Gorenfeld.)

"Gays will be eliminated, the 3 Israels will unite. If not then they will be burned. We do not know what kind of world God will bring but this is what happens. It will be greater than the communist purge but at God’s orders."

This isn’t the first time this madman–who owns UPI as well–has thundered against gays and others. You may remember these ditties from the Moonie in chief, which I reported last year:

"America is the kingdom of extreme individualism, the kingdom of free sex… The country that represents Satan’s harvest is America."

" those who go after free sex less than animals."

"If you misuse your love organ, you destroy your life, your nation, your world."

"If you stay away from having children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. You are bound to go to somewhere else—you can call it Hell."

These diatribes haven’t stopped Washington’s conservatives from getting in bed with Moon–whose goal is to create a global theocracy, a la Muslim fundamentalists–and elevating his and his paper’s stature in return for cold, hard cash for themselves and for their movement. George H.W. Bush took $100,000 from him in 1996 for a speaking engagement, praising the Washington Times as "a paper that in my view brings sanity to Washington, D.C." After Bush called Moon "the man with the vision," the reverend gave him $1 million for his presidential library.
(snip)

http://www.nypress.com/17/2/news&columns/signorile.cfm

"There will be a purge on God's orders, and evil will be eliminated like shadows," said the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the cult leader and owner of the Washington Times, in a recent speech. "Gays will be eliminated, the three Israels will unite. If not then they will be burned. We do not know what kind of world God will bring but this is what happens. It will be greater than the Communist purge but at God's orders."»

http://www.harpers.org/God.html

Anyway, I find this all very disturbing. Of course maybe I'm just naive. Maybe it's really common for our government officials to host coronations for cult leaders, I guess there's nothing to worry about. Yes. Of course. This is all perfectly normal. I don't know why it seemed odd in the first place. Congressmen bowing to Moonies. Congressmen crowning media moguls. Yes yes. Very normal.

The biblical warnings about "false messiahs" springs to mind.

[zann725]

26. If they're so intent on "privatizing" SS, let's "privatize" our taxes...

and EACH OF US choose the allocation of our tax dollars...i.e., infra-structure, schools, science, the Arts, Environmental Protection, etc.

Somehow THEY want control over how to spend and invest BOTH our Tax Dollars, AND our Retirement Moneys...as well as HOW to count our votes!

That'd wake them up real quick...if we started choosing (via a "cafeteria plan") how our tax dollar are spent. Actually not a bad idea...since each of us has slightly different priorities on what we think our tax dollars should be spent on (obviously some would be more concerned with Defense, while others would want Social Programs, or a focus on Eduction. All-in-all, there'd be A LOT less no-bid Government Contracts, a lot less wars, a lot less Presidential Yacht's, and pay increases for Congress (while NO increases in Minimum Wage).

Our Social Security dollars (ALL of them) are premiums in OUR retirement insurance policy, and are NOT theirs to steal or lie about. As Paul Krugman said, SS is solvent UNCHANGED until 2042; and after that can be kept at current solvency for quite a while longer by just setting a $200,000/yr. criteria before reducing monthly benefits only to those high-earners.

[blackangrydem]

27. Too young to know about SS?

What does age have to do with the ability to acquire knowledge?

If he doesn't understand it, it is not because of his age.