Dominionism is alive and well, at least in OH, USA.

[Rich Engle]

Hello, All-

As you know, OH was the major "swing state" in the last presidential election. This swing in favor of GWB was heavily dependent upon the work of a very disturbing and well-developed evangelical movement called The Ohio Reformation Project www.reformationohio.org

They were also instrumental in putting through a gay marriage ban in OH.

These folks are now positioning OH sec-of-state Ken Blackwell for the governor's spot, and riding in on a blaze of fire and brimstone. They are highly mobilized and effective. The head misguided Christian brother behind all this is named Rod Parsley, here are a couple scary sites to enjoy: www.centerformoralclarity.net and his yet scarier

www.breakthrough.net

The rhetoric of dominionists is very frightening. They have no desire to "rehabilitate" the existing structures, but rather have every intention of tearing them down.

I bring all this up because this movement is not limited to OH, by any means.

When talking about activism, this is on the short list, and any kind of work is good work.

For any Objectivists or Libertarians who have freethinking Christian friends, one tangible thing you can do is very simple: have them visit the Christian Alliance for Progress site (www.christianalliance.org) and, if they agree with it, sign their "Jacksonville Declaration". This is a key way of getting grass roots presence in various states.

Take a look at the sites I provided, they are chilling. Everything is about fighting the devil (that would be you).

best,

rde

[Reidy]

Sounds like ARI.

Peter

[Roger Bissell]

Peter Reidy -- what you say suggests that there is some kind of parallel or similarity between ARI and the fundamentalist religionists who want to wipe out the personalities and values and ideas of those they disagree with, as the Taliban did with the giant Buddha statues in Afghanistan or the Catholic priests accompanying Cortez did to the Mayan records during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. What you say suggests that ARI, like those others, wants to re-write reality and send offending historical records down the memory hole and....oh, I get it. :-)

REB

[Rich Engle]

Fundies are fundies, it's always the same out of them.

I had some Mormons call at my door Sunday, and they got very confused when I told them I already belonged to the Unitarian church. Of course first out of the gates was the well-worn "You are the folks who believe in anything." Answer, of course, "I don't believe in Nazi Skinheads, so no."

I used the word "theology" once and I got the dazed look of non-understanding.

On and on, circle after circle. They gave me a little Jesus tarot card and left.

Ever notice how they always pair up a real hot babe with a not-hot one? What's that all about?

[Roger Bissell]

Rich wrote about the Mormons:

Ever notice how they always pair up a real hot babe with a not-hot one? What's that all about?

I don't think this tendency is peculiar to Mormons. I remember going to meetings at Nathaniel Branden's place, and this really hot Objectivist babe, Carolyn Ray, was hanging out with [can I say her name here?] the gal who now runs Noodle Food. They used to be partners in a pretty interesting operation in the San Diego area called Enlightenment. I think a lot of the content is still online, for those who are interested.

REB

[Rich Engle]

Yeah, it's like the female version of "wing man"

Now, JW's, they do it overt. A primary modus operandi is to case the neighborhoods out with the grunt troops first. Then, wherever there are young guys, they come back for a second pass, but it's the old lady and the totally hot babe team, the older lady's purpose being to make sure things don't get jiggy. Basic show business- hey, I have great players in my band, but it doesn't hurt that two of them are major hotties. It definitely helps my bookings- I'm booked out through Sept...

But it's good with the JW's because if you ask you get one of those cool comic books they hand out. Reminds me of the old joke where they talk about how if there is an earthquake, a safe place to be is under a doorway, which means if it's bad, pretty much all that's going to be left are JW's and vacuum cleaner salesmen.

rde

You want male pig I'll show you male pig.