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How Anonymous Saved America and the World

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Thank You Anonymous Headerby Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

How Anonymous Saved America and the World

Those of us who’ve been paying attention to our electoral process have noticed some very disturbing trends and subsequent anomalies. I am probably giving some indication of my age, but I grew up in the era of real voting booths, curtains, tabs and levers.

Pulling that voting lever

One of the most important levers you will ever pull.

I remember as a child holding my mother’s hand in a voting booth and watching her flip the little tabs and then pull the lever which opened the curtains and registered her vote. My personal belief is that all parents should take their children to vote with them. It is good training and exposes them at an early age to the most important of our civic responsibilities.

I am not a technophobe. I fully appreciate progress and the role technology plays. Our population is growing, more and more people are voting and we still expect to know the outcomes of our elections on election night. The notion that we could count these votes by hand and still have timely results has become an unreachable proposition.

Enter Computers

Using computers to record and count the votes makes receiving timely results easy. If properly deployed, you could know the final count from any precinct the moment the last person in line votes. Computers are machines, they’re non-partisan and they’re extremely efficient crunching numbers.. or are they?

Computer Scientist Ed Felton at work

Computer Scientist Ed Felton uncovering a computer flaw in a New Jersey voting computer.

The facts are, computers have vulnerabilities too. For one, they will do whatever they’re programmed to do. If the person programming them is partisan, computers can be programmed to return partisan results. Computers can also be hacked. They can be given a virus which rewrites their code. I can look at another human being and tell if something is wrong with them. They may appear feverish, sluggish, their speech may be slurred, their eyes may be red. There are thousands of subtle signs we pick up allowing us to know that one of our fellow human beings is just not right. Computers? Not so much.

A computer can be programmed to switch votes to any candidate a programmer, hacker or virus writer chooses and the persons casting their votes would be none the wiser. In many jurisdictions which have now gone to all electronic voting, they have also passed laws mandating the destruction of the paper trail. Those places that use paper ballots where you darken in a circle beside your choice, feed them into an optical scanner, many of those jurisdictions have passed laws mandating the immediate destruction of the paper ballots. The question is why?

Hacking Democracy

Joseph Stalin On Voting

This has always been the hard reality of democracy.

In the words of Joseph Stalin, “those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything.” The way things work today is, you cast your vote either using a “touch screen” computer system or a paper ballot you’ve filled out and fed through an optical scanner. At the end of voting those electronic votes are sent over the internet to a central computer where the votes from all the precincts are tabulated and the election results are published.

Sounds simple enough. However, there are problems. As I’ve  pointed out, what if some or all of the precinct computers… or, for that matter, the main frame computer doing the final tabulations gets hacked or gets a virus? What if the data is intercepted and changed while being transmitted to the central computer?

Manufacturers of these voting systems have gone to great lengths to assure the public of the security of their systems. They have lied! Bev Harris of Black Box Voting.Org has gone to great lengths to highlight and document these problems. No matter whether you are a Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Liberal, Libertarian or Independent, your vote matters and your vote should count. Our democracy is no stronger than the confidence our citizens have in our electoral process. How difficult is hacking some of our voting machines? Would you believe me if I told you it was so easy a Chimpanzee could do it?

If this disturbs you? It damn well should! What Baxter the Chimp just did was edit or alter the audit log on a Diebold GEMS voting system. Why is this important? According to Diebold for one, this is supposed to be impossible. Clearly a flat out lie. For two, this is one of their security selling points. They claim that should anyone attempt to alter the results of the votes, it would be caught in their audit log. Thus if you could edit the audit log, you can go in and change votes at will, then go back to the audit log and delete any evidence that you’d done anything. Think, stealing the “Hope Diamond” and replacing it with a cubic zirconium replica. The guards, the people filing by the display case would never know the difference.

The Man In The Middle Attack

Suppose you and I were working for an advertising agency and we were competing for the same client. However, unbeknown to you, I had hacked both the email account of the client and your email account. Not only could I read the mail going back and forth between you, I could intercept it and change it.

Man in the middle attack

Bilateral communication between the server and the victim is actually being routed through a third party, unbeknown to either of them.

Imagine if the client sent an e-mail inviting you to a lunch meeting at “Joe’s Bistro” at 1pm. I intercept his e-mail and change the time to 3pm. You get an email you believe to be from the client inviting you to a luncheon meeting at 3pm. I show up at 1pm, close the deal and steal the client. You show up at 3pm and of course, the client is not there. This is a minor variant of the “Man In The Middle” attack. It is very powerful and difficult to detect.

Now let’s apply this to electronic voting. Suppose I have a server set up in… I don’t know, let’s say Tennessee. I hack into your voting system and reroute all precinct votes to my server in Tennessee where I massage them and then send them on to your “voting central” computers. You believe you’re getting them directly from your precincts when in truth, they’re coming from my servers in Tennessee.

The beauty of this approach is, I don’t have to hack any of your voting machines. I merely have to hack into your network or your routers. In so doing, I’ve compromised all the computers in your network from a safe distance and if I do it right, I’m going to be difficult to detect and trace. Has anything like this ever happened? As it turns out, yes it has. There is evidence it happened in 2004. Thom Hartmann gives a very clear presentation on his radio progam.

Those of us who remember watching the election returns back in 2004, may recall that fateful night when it appeared that Kerry was winning. Then suddenly the numbers shifted and the news agencies calling the election simply attributed the sudden change in numbers, to uncounted precincts dumping their numbers all at once. We had no idea that the servers had gone offline for better than 60 seconds. Some of us, had we known, may have become suspicious back then.

Did Karl Rove Try To Steal The 2012 Elections?

I thought about this one long and hard… well, for about 10 minutes, before the evidence convinced me. I was not at all surprised by the election results because I do not get my news from Fox News, and I follow Nate Silver’s 538 blog. Nate has been the most accurate pollster out there for the past several election cycles. If I know this, Karl Rove and the rest of the Republican political strategist certainly know it as well. This brings me to my first point.

Come to find out, on the night of the election, Mitt Romney had not even prepared a concession speech. Yes, I know everybody believes they will win, however prudence demands that we prepare for all eventualities. You cannot become successful in business and rise to the top of the corporate arena without understanding fully how to implement a “Plan B” in the event your first plan doesn’t pan out.

It bothered me that Mitt Romney was so sure of winning what in his own words, he admitted would be an extremely close race, yet he did not prepare a concession speech. This really surprised me. Did he know something, none of the rest of us knew?

When I saw Karl Rove begin stuttering and disputing the election results for Ohio, this clinched it for me. There were two things to note about this. The first is, Mr. Rove seemed to have no problem with the returns in Florida or any of the other States for that matter. Why Ohio? As it turns out, President Obama could have lost both Ohio and Florida and still won the election. Given these facts, why would Mr. Rove nearly lose his composure over Ohio? If everything is fair and in the hands of the voters, why would you dispute the results unless, you believed you had some form of control over those results? Perhaps the truth is finally coming out?

Enter The Hacker Group Anonymous

There exists a group of elite hackers who goes by the name “Anonymous.” Nobody knows who they are. They seem to be distributed world wide so nobody knows where they are. The term “Hacktivist” was invented for Anonymous. It is beyond the scope of this piece to regale you with tales of their exploits, but suffice it to say, they’ve got skillz!

It seems that they have been watching our political system and in particular our elections. On October 22, 2012 a message to Karl Rove and his compadres from Anonymous, was posted on YouTube. Either Karl didn’t see it or didn’t take it seriously.

After the election,  the following letter was released, presumably from the group, “Anonymous.”

Letter supposedly from anonymous

This is a letter supposedly released by Anonymous following the elections explaining what they did and why.

Our Elections Affect The World

Whom we elect to the office of President of these United States, affects the World. Is there any doubt had Al Gore prevailed and George W. Bush not been appointed President by a U.S. Supreme Court, stacked by his daddy or if John Kerry had been elected, that our world would be different? With intelligent, competent leadership from a United States President, we would not have had an economic meltdown. Our housing market would not have crashed, causing world wide repercussions.

The integrity of our electoral process is not just of concern to each United States Citizen, our election outcomes also affect the rest of the world. Did Anonymous protect our elections? Personally, I believe they did. They identified the problem in advance, – October 22, 2012 – they posted a YouTube video announcing their intentions to prevent any attempted election fraud.

We know the night of the election, Mitt Romney and his wife Ann were nearly in “shell shock.” If I didn’t know that Mormons abstain from liquor, I would have bet that Ann Romney had one drink too many. I base this on the way she was moving when she finally joined Mitt on stage that night. She had that doe in the headlights look in her eyes.

Mitt had the foresight to have his transition website up and running, but no concession speech? Really? That showed a supreme amount of confidence in what should have been an unknowable outcome. When you add in Karl Rove’s reaction to losing Ohio, it all fits the claims of Anonymous. Karl Rove thought he was flipping a coin with two heads. He was smug as he called “heads.” When the coin came up tails, you could have bought him for a penny.

I am not a religious man, but in this instance I will have to say, “thank God for Anonymous.” I’m glad they were flying cyber- cover for this election. In a democracy, we say that people get the government they deserve. That is only true if their elections are untainted. Getting a government I deserve, I can live with. Getting a government given to me, is intolerable.

FOUR MORE YEARS!

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99 Problems but Mitt Ain't One!

Do you feel me?

by Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

FOUR MORE YEARS!

The lessons of this election? RACISM NO LONGER WINS ELECTIONS! You cannot simply play to white people and ignore all the other groups in our multicultural nation. Non-racist white people are cool with this because they see themselves as Americans FIRST. They embraced their brothers and sisters of all races and sent a powerful message to the less enlightened. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER! We must never forget this simple truth.

Mitt Romney believed he did not have to release his tax returns. He believed he did not need to give any specifics on any of his plans to actually fix the economy. He did not lay out any foreign policy agendas. He promised 12 million new jobs – ironically the same number economist forecast would be created if we simply continued on the path we’re on – but gave no specifics as to how he would create these jobs. He said he would repeal “Obama Care,” – a program growing more popular by the day – without saying what he’d replace it with… if anything!

He promised a $5 trillion dollar tax cut. Again no specifics about how he would actually achieve this figure or how it would be paid for. Evidently the”peasant class” doesn’t need to know these things?

Mendacity aka Lying!

Mitt and the truth evidently are not even passing acquaintances. I’ve been around for 55 years now and I’ve seen a few election campaigns. I am familiar with the fact that lying and politics is like ham and eggs, peanut butter and jelly or smoke and fire. When you see one, you assume the other is in the immediate vicinity. However, Mitt Romney’s campaign took things to a whole other level! In fact, there is strong evidence it may have been the “bridge too far,” “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

In 2008 when our economy was in free fall and our automotive industries were on the verge of collapse, Mitt wrote an “Op-Ed” entitled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” Without going into the mechanics of the theory of how in certain cases, bankruptcy could be a good thing. I will say, for there to be any chance of a bankruptcy leading to a positive outcome, there has to be some entity out there willing to buy the distressed company, reorganize it and take on it’s debt. Suffice it to say, there were no entities capable of doing this for our automotive industries. Thus, what Mitt was proposing would have been the total end of the American automotive industries. Not just the “Big – 3,” but all the other industries that support and rely on our automotive industries. Put another way? He was proposing manufacturing Armageddon for the United States.

Fortunately, President Obama took a different approach and the United States Government stepped in to save our Automotive industries. Mitt’s big lie came into play when he attempted to take credit for what happened by pretending that what the President did was exactly what he was suggesting. No it wasn’t! Mitt never suggested that the Government bail out the Automotive industries.

The lies continued. When our embassy in Libya was attacked, Mitt tried to get as much mileage as he possibly could from it by claiming that the President – yeah, the same President that killed Osama Bin Laden – was either too inept or trying to cover up something, to call it an “act of terrorism.” I’m not sure what he was trying to get at. Perhaps he was trying to say that the President has been faking it with regard to our successes taking out Al-Qaeda’s leadership? Nevertheless, he was severely embarrassed in the 2nd Presidential debate when he was “fact-checked” in the middle of his lie. Turns out there is video tape of the President calling the attacks terrorism the very next day in a “Rose Garden” press conference.

Mitt’s most egregious lie had to be his “Hail-Mary” pass at the end of his campaign where he claimed that Chrysler was secretly going to move the production of Jeeps to China. He released television and radio ads to this effect based on – far as I can tell – absolutely nothing! What he did was force Chrysler to weigh in and call his ads a lie!

October Surprise!

This years October surprise was delivered – if by anyone – God! Although tragic, Hurricane Sandy revealed all the lies the Republicans have been telling. The American people saw a President extend his hand in a bi-partisan way to a Governor who was one of the leading attack dogs for the Mitt Romney Campaign. Governor Christie did not have the luxury of playing partisan politics and showed himself to be grateful and appreciative of the Presidents competent handling of the disaster.

Barack Comforts Lady

A Real President

One of the many lies told by certain Republican nitwits was that the President – who’s mother was white – doesn’t like white people. The American people saw our President holding and comforting a white lady who’d lost everything in the storm and promising her that he personally and the Federal Government would be with her and all those who suffered catastrophic loss, every step of the way until they recovered. This is the way things should be and the way they’re supposed to work.

FEMA

Ironically, during his primary campaign, the question of FEMA and “Disaster Relief” came up. Mitt’s Response? “We should do away with FEMA and send it back to the States and if possible privatize it. As you might imagine, Hurricane Sandy put Mitt’s position on FEMA front and center. Instead of giving a response or answering the questions, Mitt chose to duck, avoid and ignore the questions of the American People. Evidently, In Mitt-land, we don’t deserve any answers from his majestic presence.

I’M THE WHITE GUY!

When you add it all up. The only real argument Mitt Romney’s campaign delivered was, vote for me, I’m white and wouldn’t you really rather have a white president? That message may have been enough 10 years ago. However, America is different. It is more mature. It is definitely more brown and we are much more sophisticated. You can no longer simply assume that because someone is white, they share your views on race.

I am pleased to report, we have finally reached the place where many white people are not only put off by racism, they’re not afraid to call other white people out for it! If I must say so, the future of our nation is looking very bright indeed. When we all come together, there is absolutely nothing we cannot achieve.

When Racism Trumps Christian Faith

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When Racism Trumps Christian Faith

Strange Bed fellows

by Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

Disclaimer

First let me say by way of disclaimer, I am a devout Agnostic. You might say, “then you have no dog in this fight?” In one sense, that would be true. However although I do not subscribe to any system of belief, I live in a country where those in government not only do subscribe to systems of belief, but invite us to form opinions regarding their integrity and fitness for office based on their particular brand of faith. Since we are invited to use their professions of faith as a measuring stick for their fitness to lead us, it is only fair that we oblige them and examine, not only their beliefs, but how ardently they adhere to those beliefs. Likewise when people with the title of Evangelist share their faith with us, it is not beyond the pale to observe and examine their actions to determine if they actually believe in what they’re selling.

When Racism Trumps Christian Faith

Billy Graham meets Mitt Romney

Strange Bed Fellows Indeed

This past week “Evangelist to the Presidents,” Billy Graham and the heir to his ministry, Franklin Graham sat down with Governor Willard Mitt Romney. Mr. Romney is running for the office of President of these United States, so on the surface there is nothing strange or unusual about their meeting. Indeed the 93 year old Rev. Graham has met with every President since Eisenhower. What is unusual is what happened following that meeting.

On Rev. Graham’s website at that time there was a list of religious groups he considered to be “cults.” Mormonism was on that list along with Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Church of Scientology and others. Following that meeting, Mormonism was removed from that list. Why? What happened? What changed? When things seem unusual, it is often best to dig a little deeper. First, we need to take a step back and get a perspective on some things.

Moses Bringing Down the 10 Commandments

Moses Brings Down the Ten Commandments

Christianity has been a “no compromise” religion. If you trace it back through it’s roots in Judaism, the Christian God wrecked genocide on groups of people who did not believe in or worship him. The Old Testament of the Bible is rife with wars of aggression being waged against people for whom there was precious little mentioned in the way of provocation. You must remember, if you believe the whole “10 Commandments” thing with Moses, a mountain and God, the “10 Commandments” were given to the Jews, not the rest of the world. Thus, to punish people for not living up to a law they were never given in the first place, seems a bit peculiar does it not?

The Walls of Jericho coming down

The Walls of Jericho Coming Down

It would be sort of like driving through a town in your shiny black truck, being stopped by the police, pulled out of your truck and then summarily shot! Why? Because driving a black colored vehicle is a crime punishable by immediate death in the town you’re driving through. Might have been nice to have known that before hand wouldn’t it? Remember the famous battle of Jericho? You know? Probably heard about it in Sunday School? People marched, trumpets blew, walls came crashing down, slaughter ensued… What did those people ever do to deserve what happened to them? If we’re going by the Biblical accounts, not a thing.

The Crusades

Saladin

Saladin

Fast forward in time to the “Middle Ages.” You have the Crusades. If you drill down an actually analyze the issues, Saladin the Muslim Sultan of Egypt and Syria was an admirable person. He had no problem with Christian pilgrims coming to the “Holy Lands.” The problem was, the Roman Catholic Church simply could not abide the fact that Jerusalem was being controlled and run by people who were not Christian. Never mind the fact that the sites they considered holy were not being defiled but were equally revered by the Muslims. They had to go to war. Thousands of innocent people – civilians if you please – lost their lives for no good purpose. The wounds inflicted during the “Crusades” still haunt us today and influence the relationship between Islam and the West. Why all the bloodshed? Muslims believed differently than Christians. Same God. Same patriarchs but a different spin on things. Christians, Jews and Muslims all claim to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Odd that with so much in common, they simply cannot get along.

Thirty Years War

Graph of European Involvement in the Thirty Years War

European Involvement in Thirty Years War

Fast forward again to the “Pre-Colonial” period. One of the longest lasting and most destructive wars in recorded history was what is known as the “Thirty Years War.” This was a war between Catholics and Protestants. It involved most of Europe at one time or another. Again, same God, same basic beliefs, but because one group had a different spin on things, they had to go to war and people had to die. The cost in lives and resources was tremendous.

Indeed, all the denominations we have today, your Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, all of them Protestants, could be said to have had their genesis in the “Thirty Years War.” It was this war that helped to solidify the lines as it were and the differences between these groups. The question I continually ask is, “how can all these people, reading from the same book, the “Holy Bible,” all come away with something different?

Mormonism

[KJV] Galatians 1:8

 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Mormon Golden Plates

No, these are not really them. This is an artists depiction of what they might have looked like had they actually existed.

Mormonism in the grand scheme of things is a brand new man made religion with little to no basis in reality. It lacks the historical context that the other religions point to. Other religions regardless of how they interpret the archaeological data, at least have archaeological data they can point to. Mormonism does not. Those “Golden Tablets” supposedly delivered to Joseph Smith by the “Angel Moroni?” Well, supposedly they were taken back to heaven. Thus, they don’t exist. Even before they were magically transported back to heaven, you couldn’t see them if you were not a true believer. I don’t mean they wouldn’t let you see them. I mean you could be looking directly into the box they were supposed to by lying in. Only those who truly believed could see them. A delusion induced hallucination by any other name.

Mythical Battle Between the Lamanites and the Nephites

Mythical Battle Between the Lamanites and the Nephites

There is no archaeological evidence for any of the supposed battles claimed to have occurred between the “Lamanites and the Nephites.” No weapons, arrowheads, swords, shields all the things that we find from the sites of battles many thousands of years more remote in their historical context. What’s worse is, the science of DNA disproves the seminal Mormon claim that the Native Americans are actually descendants of lost tribes of Jews. Of course, Joseph Smith didn’t know about DNA or the science of genetics when he was making up his religion. Who did back at that time? He had absolutely no idea that a time would come when with just a simple cheek swab, we could pinpoint a person’s ancestry to almost any point on the globe. Not only that, but using DNA you can pull out all the different ethnic contributions that make up who you are.

Mormon Jesus with the Lamanites and the Nephites

We know that this never happened

The bottom line? The Native Americans are in no way, nor have they ever been related to Semitic people. Thus, they’re not some lost tribe of Jews. Of course, one never asks, how exactly do you lose a tribe of people? Has this put the lie to Mormonism? Of course not! Some people simply do not want to be confused with facts. When it comes to Judaism, Christianity and to some extent Islam, much of their lore is simply uncheckable. Can we prove that Abraham existed? No we cannot. We also cannot prove that he did not exist. Science and archaeological evidence strongly suggests it is all a myth, however the events occurred so far back in time that we can never be absolutely certain as to what happened.

Tom Green poses with his five wives after being recently released from jail

Tom Green – Mormon Polygamist with his five wives

Unfortunately for Mormonism, this is not the case. We actually have the records of Joseph Smith’s run-ins with the law on fraud charges. We have records of how he actually died in a gun battle trying to escape from being lynched in jail. We have records of his numerous infidelities with the wives of other men. How surprising that the religion he founds has as one of it’s primary tenets of faith, polygamy. In fact to become a God with your very own planet to rule, you had to take many wives. The more the merrier as they say.

Irreconcilable Differences

The differences between Mormonism and orthodox Christian teachings, is simply staggering. Put another way, wars have been fought and thousands of people have died over disputes in theology that look specious by comparison. Christians teach that Jesus is the only begotten son of God. Mormons teach that not only did God have other sons, Jesus and Lucifer are in fact brothers. Thus all humanity is caught up in a family dispute over a difference of opinions.

Poor Joseph God Was A Hard Act To Follow

Poor Joseph, God would have been a hard act to follow.

Christianity teaches that God is a spirit and those who worship him, worship him in spirit and in truth. Mormonism teaches that God has a physical body with which he enjoys endless celestial sex with his numerous wives. Christianity teaches that Jesus was born of the “Virgin Mary” who conceived through a move of the “Holy Spirit.” Mormonism teaches that God – Elohim – came down in a physical body and had sex with Mary. Of course, if she were a virgin, she wouldn’t have been after that.

Burned at the stake

Had Joseph Smith been around during the Inquisition his theology would have received a warm reception.

The most staggering problem with Mormonism and in essence, what ought to be the deal breaker for even serious consideration as a religion is this fundamental error in logic. According to Mormonism, Elohim was born a human being to as yet unknown, unnamed parents who were of course gods. Elohim was elevated to God status following his death because of his adherence to the teachings of Mormonism. Did you catch that? How could Elohim the supposed creator of this Universe and this planet have followed the teachings of Mormonism when Joseph Smith had not been born and of course had yet to invent Mormonism? You say it was given to him by the angel Moroni? Where did Moroni get it? The whole scam… er, scheme falls apart with the application of a few very simple questions. Had Joseph Smith lived during the time of the Inquisition – damn shame he didn’t – he would have been summarily burned at the stake.

When Racism Trumps Christian Faith

“In the face of a common foe, traditional enemies will unite.”

So what on earth could have bridged the gap between Christianity and Mormonism? Who could have brought these two diametrically opposed theologies together? Who is the “unite-er and not the divider?” Who on this planet has the power to upend 2,000 years of Christian beliefs? Beliefs held so strongly that people have been willing to die for them? Whom could possibly do this?

President Obama

President Barack Hussein Obama 44th President of the United States

There is but one man on this planet with the power to perform such a miracle. His name? President Barack Hussein Obama. Yes, his very presence, his very existence has caused racist white people so much distraught that possibly for the first time in recorded history, they’ve stopped fighting one another over the basis of their theological differences and have come together in unity to fight against the very thought of our first Black President having a second term in office. This phenomenon is one that should be studied for years to come. It should be of interest to political science students and theologians as well. When you look back over recorded history and realize how many wars have been fought and blood spilt over such minor issues as to whether or not  one group had their baptismal formula correct or whether or not one needed to be fully immersed in water or simply have water poured over one’s head.

Franklin Graham

“I am not at all bothered by the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon.”

The history of religion has been fraught with one war after the other over what a disinterested 3rd party would consider minor points of doctrine. After all, they all read from the same book, believe in the same God, who cares what comes first in a worship service? This is what makes these current events so damn miraculous! The differences between Mormon theology and Christian theology are not at all small. They’re huge! So, when Franklin Graham says he’s not at all bothered by the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon, there must be something else, some power working behind the scenes that can warp the very fabric of theological reality.

Racism

Klu Klux Klan attending a Sunday Morning Service

Racism has always been a part of Christianity

Our first clue to this mystery probably has to do with the fact that in spite of the fact that President Obama spent over 20 years in a Christian church, was baptized, there, married there, had his daughters Christened there, a portion of this nation still believes him to be a Muslim.  In point of fact, there would be nothing wrong with him being a Muslim, but why do they insist on making him something he is not?

Muslim Pilgrims at the Hajj

Islam is considered by many white people to be a religion for dark skinned people. Thus if they’re already racist, it carries a connotation when mentioned.

Islam is considered to be a religion for and of dark skinned people. When you say the word Muslim, in many white people’s minds, the word “Black” is inserted in front of it. Thus, Muslim becomes “Black Muslim.” The reality is, people of all races practice the Islamic faith. However, to know this, you’d actually have to study a bit and become familiar with what Islam is. There are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world today. You would think with that many people practicing a system of belief, you might want to know a little about what it is they believe.

Christian Pilgrims participating in a group baptismal ritual in the river Jordan

Christian pilgrims participating in a group baptismal ritual in the river Jordan. Of course they’re white people, but as with Muslims, they could have well been any race of people.

There are a little over 2 billion Christians in the world. The difference in those numbers is actually negligible in the grand scheme of things. When you have a billion people on the planet who think anything is important, it might be a good idea to become familiar with it. It is not so much what we say, not so much what people hear, the important things is what happens in their minds when they’re processing our words. Just as Islam is considered to be a religion practiced by dark skinned people, so too is Christianity considered to be the religion of white people. If I say to you, “he’s a good Christian man” when describing someone to you whom you’ve never met, what image pops into your mind? What race of person are you seeing? By the same token, if I were to describe someone as a good practicing Muslim, what image pops into your head? What is the race of the person you’re imagining?

Mormonism

Mormon missionaries

Mormon Missionaries

The same is particularly true for Mormonism. If I told you to pick the Mormon out of a crowd, you would begin looking for a white person. Believe it or not, there are Black Mormons, nevertheless when you think of Mormons you do not consider Black people as being Mormon. The perception of a Mormon is a white male with no facial hair, wearing a white shirt, black slacks and a neck tie. If we were going to go all in on the stereotype, you’d be looking for a bicycle nearby. This is the image many people have of Mormons. At some point you were presented with it, probably can’t remember when or where and it’s been reinforced over time. Thus when you hear the word Mormons, that memory is automatically triggered.

Sister Wives

Mormon Sister Wives

Of course there is the other popular image and that is of a group of women – “sister wives” – all with their hair similarly arranged, uncut, wearing shapeless, straight dresses that could easily be made at home. These are images which automatically come to mind whenever we’re presented with certain triggers. Is this true? Is this factual? It doesn’t matter. We operate from our perceptions. Racism flows from our perceptions. Our perceptions is where latent and often overt racism resides.

When Franklin Graham opines that President Obama may secretly be a Muslim, on what does he base his opinion? President Obama is rather fond of beer. Muslims like Mormons abstain from alcoholic beverages. President Obama is married to only one woman and has only been married to one woman. Many Muslims around the world just as do many Mormons, practice polygamy. President Obama believes the same gospel Franklin’s father has been preaching for over 63 years. Mitt Romney does not. Yet we now find these two as the strangest of bed fellows. Why?

It is clear that racial hatred long buried and obscured by the façade of Christianity has revealed it’s self at last. For your racial hatred to be so strong it will allow you to embrace with open arms what heretofore on your own website you called a cult. It must be strong indeed. Let’s be clear. Prior to this unholy alliance, had you asked either of the Grahams if there would be any Mormons in heaven, without hesitation they would of told you unequivocally no! Further they would have told you that anyone teaching the false gospel of Mormonism was leading people straight to hell and imperilling their immortal souls. If this is suddenly no longer true, then perhaps we ought to question the entire gospel the Grahams have been preaching all these years. Were they only in it for the money?

If you want to know what Mormons believe and teach, watch the following video presentation prepared by ex-Mormons based on their own documentation. If after watching this you conclude that people who sincerely believe the Christian message as outlined in the Bible, can embrace Mormonism as just another branch or denomination of the Christian faith, then all bets are off and we need to dispense with the Bible because it’s become meaningless psycho-babble.

What the Mormons Teach and Believe

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You Might Be Following A Judas Goat

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At the slaughter house where sheep are processed, there is a goat

The Judas Goat at Work.

known as “The Judas Goat.” The Judas Goat’s job is to lead groups of sheep into the slaughter house where they are killed. Sheep have the peculiar habit of following any member of their herd who seems to know where to go. The Judas Goat is placed within the herd. It grazes with the herd, rubs shoulders with the herd and in all respects acts as though it is one of the herd. It is accepted by the herd. At the appointed time, it leads the herd to the slaughter. To be sure, eventually the Judas Goat will end up on a spit slowly roasting over the fires at a Greek restaurant being carved up for gyros. However, that is small consolation for all the sheep who willingly followed in his treacherous footsteps.

It seems the work of the Judas Goat is so effective it has been adapted to work on people. Just look around. During the last Presidential primaries, when Barack Obama was running against Hillary Clinton, Black pundits began pouring out of the woodwork in support of Hillary Clinton. Tavis Smiley embarrassed himself to the point he has not yet recovered. His purpose? To lead Black voters into the Clinton camp. At a time when all Black people should have rallied around one of their own, suddenly we were inundated with Black leaders – whom we had not elected – filling the airways to share their opinionated wisdom.

The networks dusted off faces I hadn’t seen in years. For a season, diversity was back on our televisions. This time it wasn’t “sit-coms.” Almost any network you watched, you could be sure of seeing several Black faces giving articulate opinions about the day’s events. I found it to be a refreshing change. However, it was not lost on me that over half of my newly discovered brothers and sisters were being used to further an agenda that was not my own. Obama won because of racism. Not the racism of Black people, we only make up 12% of the population. Obama won because of the racism of white people. The Republican war machine was all geared up to face Hillary Clinton. They had attack ads sitting on the shelf ready to go. They just knew Hillary Clinton would be whom they’d be facing in the general election.  After all, what were the odds that a relative unknown – dark horse literally – with a funny sounding name like Barack Hussein Obama would win in the primaries against the Clinton political machine? Did I mention that he’s Black? This is the United States of America founded on a history of Slavery. As far as they were concerned, there wasn’t a chance in the world he could win. They were caught flat footed with their britches around their ankles.

With the election of President Obama, the Republicans decided they needed their own magic Black man. Of course, from their racist perspective, we’re all the same. To this end, they elected Michael Steele and we all know how that’s turned out for them. In two words, NOT WELL! Nevertheless, Michael Steele is a Judas Goat. His primary purpose is to lead Black people away from President Obama. There is nothing in the Republican platform that benefits Black people, other minorities or poor White people. As a matter of fact, if you do not have a net worth of at least 3 million dollars and an income in the high 6 figures, the Republican party doesn’t represent you. But I digress.

Judas Goats are pervasive in our society. Most commercials and ads contain Judas Goats. From the kindly old couple sitting around the table discussing health care myths, to the 3 hicks sitting in a diner sharing their opinions on high level economic issues. They all have one purpose and that is to lead people to vote against their own interests. Judas Goats may even be in your church pulpit.

Knowing how to recognize a Judas Goat is necessary for your survival. It always ends poorly for those who follow Judas Goats. Being informed is of paramount importance. The first thing you need to know is where your best interests lie. I am amazed at how many people have been deceived into supporting Republican tax polices. Most of these people, comparatively speaking, aren’t really paying any taxes. The simple facts are, the poorer you are, the more you tend to rely on the goods and services provided by tax dollars. Poor people are more likely to live in high crime areas. They are more likely to have homes who’s wiring is such that fires are likely. They often drive vehicles that don’t get around well in the snow, so they need their streets plowed. Those who do drive pick-up trucks often live in rural areas where even with 4 wheel drive, plowing the roads is still necessary. The poor quite often have little to no health insurance, so their primary care physician is whomever is the first doctor they see at the emergency room. Yet, because they’ve been duped into following a Judas Goat, you see them at “Tea Party” rallies railing against the very policies designed to benefit them the most. It would be hilarious if it weren’t so tragic.

When it comes to the church, particularly in the Black community, you have multi-million dollar edifices built and sustained by congregations who’s median incomes are barely above the poverty level. If you’re in a church and you know members in good standing who’s homes have been foreclosed on, and the church didn’t come to their aid, you’re probably following a Judas Goat. If your pastor lives in another county from the church because that is where the high dollar real estate is, you’re probably following a Judas Goat. If on Sunday morning, you can pick out the pastor’s car not just because of the monogrammed parking spot, but because it is the most expensive car on the lot, you’re probably following a Judas Goat. If in order for you to be a member or your church, you have to submit copies of your W-2 form, you’re following a Judas Goat. If the deacons, trustees, elders and auxiliary heads of your church also happen to be the most financially successful members of the church, you’re following a Judas Goat. If your pastor has to have an entourage of “armor bearers” doing everything from carrying his /her brief case to helping them dress, you’re following a Judas Goat. If you’ve been contributing to the building fund for the past 10 years and the church hasn’t built a thing, you’re following a Judas Goat. It might be time for you to come up out of the slaughter house.

God gave you a brain and the gift of reason. Don’t insult God by not using your gifts. Don’t just ask yourself what would Jesus do? Ask yourself, what would LOVE DO! The Bible says, “your bodies are the temple of God.” It also says that God does not dwell in temples made by men’s hands. The church was intended to be God’s store house for the benefit of the people in their time of need. It was never intended to be the private game preserve of a pastor or his ministerial staff. The trouble is, most ministries benefit the pastor and the church more than they benefit the community.

I have an acquaintance whom prior to the crash of he housing market, was making in excess of 300 thousand dollars a year. He was a devoted and faithful member at his church. He was a devout tither. This of course put him in line to be an official at his church. For over 5 years he tithed in excess of 30 thousand a year. This doesn’t include offerings and other monetary contributions. When the housing market crashed, he lost everything. He was married with two small children. The bank repossessed his Mercedes and his BMW. He needed 5 thousand dollars to save his home. He went to his pastor and explained the situation to him. He told him of his need. He had no one else to turn to. All he needed was 5 thousand dollars. This was the same church that over the course of the previous 5 years he’d given over 150 thousand dollars. What do you think the pastor did? The pastor told him that he would pray with he and his wife that God would deliver them. They lost their home. He had to move in with his mother-in-law. Because of he stress on the marriage he wound up getting divorced. Do you think he’d been following a Judas Goat? Well, he certainly got slaughtered.