Mormon Prophecy Behind Glenn Beck's Message

This comes from an article by Dana Milbank of the Washington Post, however he posted this piece at Huffington.

But before I post it, I want to share with you what I learned years ago. At the church I attended we did a study of cults and other religions. One of the ones we talked about in depth was the Mormons.

We did this because there is a strong presence and history of the Mormons here. Mostly we have the RLDS now, and the Restoration Branch of the LDS, however we (the state) did play a huge role in sending them off to Utah.

One of the things we talked about was the huge presence of Mormon's in businesses and in government and how it is growing. People do not realize how huge the "Corporation of Mormonism" is. They own most of at least 4 states, between government representatives and just land and business.

So, when I read this piece by Milbank it brought back what I had learned and what scares the Evangelical Christians when it comes to Mormonism. There is a belief they will take over the entire process of the Federal Government in time. This ties into what Milbank wrote.

From the Huffington Post, please go read the entire piece it is worth your time:

I

n one of his first appearances on Fox News, Glenn Beck sent a coded message to the nation's six million Mormons -- or at least those Mormons who believe in what the Latter-day Saints call "the White Horse Prophecy."

"We are at the place where the Constitution hangs in the balance," Beck told Bill O'Reilly on November 14, 2008, just after President Obama's election. "I feel the Constitution is hanging in the balance right now, hanging by a thread unless the good Americans wake up."

Some of the emphasis is mine... but I wanted to make sure you saw this line:

The Constitution is hanging by a thread.

According to Milbank, this is the Call to Arms, so to speak. He goes on to say:

The phrase is often attributed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church. Smith is believed to have said in 1840 that when the Constitution hangs by a thread, elders of the Mormon Church will step in -- on the proverbial white horse -- to save the country.

"When the Constitution of the United States hangs, as it were, upon a single thread, they will have to call for the 'Mormon' Elders to save it from utter destruction; and they will step forth and do it," Brigham Young, Smith's successor as head of the church, wrote in 1855.

He goes on to show how other members of the Mormon Church have backed Beck up when talking.

Was it just a coincidence in wording, or was Beck, a 1999 Mormon convert, speaking in coded language about the need to fulfill the Mormon prophecy? A conversation on Beck's radio show ten days earlier would seem to rule out coincidence. Beck was interviewing Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, also a Mormon, when he said: "I heard Barack Obama talk about the Constitution and I thought, we are at the point or we are very near the point where our Constitution is hanging by a thread."

"Well, let me tell you something," Hatch responded. "I believe the Constitution is hanging by a thread."

Days after Beck's Fox show started in January 2009, he had Hatch on, and again prompted him: "I believe our Constitution hangs by a thread."

I thought this part was very interesting, however since I don't listen to Beck I had never thought much of it.

In addition to the coded allusions to the White Horse Prophecy, he often brings Mormon theology into his broadcasts (he touts the thinking of late church president Ezra Taft Benson and he frequently promotes the work Mormon conspiracy theorist Cleon Skousen) but without identifying them with the LDS church.

Then he uses history to teach us more...

Before the Mormons went west, Smith traveled to Washington seeking help for his oppressed followers and received nothing but frustration. Rather than turning on the government, however, "They considered themselves the last Real Americans, the legitimate heirs of the pilgrims and Founding Fathers," Pat Bagley wrote in the Salt Lake Tribune. "And, they believed, the very survival of the Constitution depended on the Saints. From Smith on, LDS leaders prophesied the Constitution would one day hang by a thread, only to be saved by Mormons."

A compilation of church leaders' statements over the years by the journal BYU Studies shows this strain of thinking. Though there are doubts about whether Smith actually wrote the phrase "hang by a thread," his successors left no doubt about the theology behind it. Orson Hyde, a Smith contemporary, wrote that Smith believed that "the time would come when the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow; and said [Smith]: 'If the Constitution be saved at all, it will be by the elders of this Church.'"

As you can see, this should be worrying. It is one thing for the Christian right to try to take over, at least they are out in the open about it... But the Mormons are trying to do it while not bringing public attention to what they plan.

Milbank finishes this piece by saying this:

But there is a Beckian twist in his version of the prophecy. Unlike the church leaders' versions, Beck's vision carries the possibility of a bloody end. On the night of Feb. 24, 2009, Beck outlined this prospect for his viewers. People who "don't trust the government," he said, would "see the government as violating the Constitution, and they will see themselves as defenders of the Constitution. Not a good mix. Then they take matters into their own hands."

It was Glenn Beck in a nutshell: White Horse Prophecy meets horsemen of the apocalypse.

I firmly believe the words of Beck carry with them a danger and a chilling reach to violence. Note the other TeaBaggers who have also called for violence. Angle, asking for 2nd amendment remedies, taking out Harry Reid... all those are attributed to her. Then there is the candidate who says he confused his names the other day, calling for the assassination of Obama, not once but several times, then later saying he meant Osama... Yeah right.

We know the likes of SP, she who will not be named on this blog, who is also advocating violence and wishes for End Times to happen soon. Matter of fact, all the so called Religious Right have done the same. They all want the world to end so they can be lifted up to Heaven with their Jesus.

I must say, their Jesus and my Jesus are two very different people.

So what do you think.. Does Dana Milbank have a point. He has just published a book about Beck, called
Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America, a fitting title don't you think? I am going to have to get this book. Then I will let you know what I think.

Let me know how you feel about this, and again, just another thing to worry about from the Right WingNuts of America.

Treason and Sedition

This is from my friend Matt and was posted at the Huffington Post. Now I normally don't read much there.. but I do have a few bloggers from there I read.. Matt, Bob Cesca and a few others.

This is a great piece and if you don't read Matt's writings.. well shame on you...lol Matt also writes at his own little spot called Osborne Ink.

In his post at Huff Post yesterday he is talking about several times that things have been said by members of Congress and by others which are undermining to the United States Government. But my words do it no justice..Here is Matt:

Article III of the Constitution defines treason against the United States in three ways: levying war against the country, adhering to the country's enemies, or giving aid or comfort to enemies. The punishment for treason is death, but the article requires a high burden of proof. It is the only crime defined in the Constitution.

Sedition, on the other hand, is defined by statute and has a lower burden of proof. Sedition is an attempt to disrupt or overthrow the constitutional government of the United States or incite resistance to lawful authority.

Jumps right into it doesn't he...lol

He then cites the relevant passage from the US Code.

After that he has a video from the "National Association of Rural Landowners -- one of the sponsors of the 9/12 "tea parties." That's how far this kind of un-American rhetoric has penetrated the mainstream conservative movement." That's directly from the article by Matt.

Once again, these videos are chilling, yet funny in a way.. As I pointed out yesterday, NO ONE in the mainstream of the republican party, is willing to stand up to these fringe groups and tell them to cool it. William Buckley did that to the Birch Society and it stopped. But no one has that kind of guts or that kind of authority now.

Rushbo has gotten so large.. not in size either, I am talking his voice and his authority that no one seems to be able to shut him up. He is pumping the rhetoric. Just as is Glen Beck and several other talk show entertainers. They don't care if something happens.. to them it is all about the money and the ratings.

After that video, Matt goes on to remind us of the Robert Perry story at NewsMax.Com that TomCat did such a wonderful write up about. Matt wrote it up too and thanks to all the publicity it got NewsMax did have the sense to pull the article. But the damage was done.

Sorry, I won't link to NewsMax.. if you want to read a Right Wing site, you can search for it...you won't get there from my site.

That story or article, whatever you want to call what Perry wrote.. it was at the least SEDITION. That's why they took the story down. If the truth was known they may have gotten a little phone call or a visit from someone..lol which is a good thing if you ask me. I hope Mr. Perry got a visit too.

The entire article is great, as are all of Matt's articles. Please go here to check it out and read and watch the videos, and if you haven't gone to Matt's place at Osborne Ink, please go by there too.

Edits of Videos.. Don't Like it When FOX Does it, Don't Like it When the Left Does it

Last night and this morning, as I was browsing some news before I left to help my mom, I saw a little article I was not too happy about. It seems Glenn Beck has been at it with his edit button again..

This time he is taking the President's words where he has been talking about the Constitution and leaving out passages and changing the entire meaning of what he is saying.

Here is what then IL State Sen. Barack Obama had to say.. This was September 2001 in an interview with radio station WBEZ in Chicago.

HOST: Barack Obama, what are your thoughts on the Declaration and Constitution?

OBAMA: Well, you know, I think it's a remarkable document. I think --

HOST: Which one?

OBAMA: The original Constitution, as well as -- as well as the Civil War amendments, but I think it is an imperfect document, and I think it is a document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture -- the colonial culture nascent at that time.

African-Americans were not -- first of all, they weren't African-Americans. The Africans at the time were not considered as part of the polity that was of concern to the framers. I think that, as [program co-panelist] Richard [John] said, it was a nagging problem in the same way that, these days, we might think of environmental issues or some other problem that, where you have to balance, you know, cost-benefits, as opposed to seeing it as a moral problem involving persons of moral worth.

And, in that sense, I think we can say that the Constitution reflected a enormous blind spot in this culture that carries on until this day, and that the framers had that same blind spot. I don't think the two views are contradictory to say that it was a remarkable political document that paved the way for where we are now, and to say that it also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.

Now, here is how Beck treated it on his program the other day.

OBAMA: The original Constitution [edit] I think it is an imperfect document, and I think it is a document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture -- the colonial culture nascent at that time. [edit] I think we can say that the Constitution reflected a enormous blind spot in this culture [edit] and that the framers had that same blind spot. [edit] It also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.

Here is the video also so you can see I am not making this up.



Quite a difference there.. He cuts quite a bit out of what the then Senator said.. and changes the meaning completely.

As Media Matters says..

Does Beck really believe that such original elements of the Constitution should not be considered imperfections -- imperfections that were indeed the product of a cultural "blind spot" shared by the 18th century individuals who authored it?

Even if he doesn't, the intent of a segment such as this one is still clear. Beck isn't interested in seriously examining the Constitution, nor does he care to honestly reflect on race in America. Instead, he wants to portray Obama as a man who harbors a generalized and racially motivated resentment toward the Founding Fathers and the document they authored -- exactly the kind of person who would seek to exact race-based justice through reparations, which Beck has already declared to be at the heart of Obama's entire agenda.

This isn't the first time that conservatives have deliberately distorted this interview to make the exact same point. Rush Limbaugh did so last October, and the RNC did it again in May. It's the sort of willfully ignorant, historically inaccurate, deliberately deceptive, and racially provocative argument that has become common in the modern conservative movement. And it shows how untrustworthy individuals like Beck truly are.

Now, for the second part of this.. the left side of my argument..

I am so tired again of reading crap like this from some of the people on the left and the media.. President Obama has come out stronger for the Public Option in the last 3 weeks than he has before, yet this is what I found on Huffington Post.

President Obama has been desperate to ditch the public option for weeks.

-snip-

But every time they tried to jettison the public option through surrogates like Kathleen Sebelius or "senior White House officials" speaking anonymously to media outlets, the base went haywire and Obama's poll numbers started tanking.

This is written by none other than Jane Hamsher.. of course she has never been a fan of Pres. Obama. So it really doesn't surprise me that she is criticizing him but the dishonest way she is doing it is beyond belief. Look at this and you will see what I mean.



Because they used an edited video, which didn't include a part of the speech where he said "Public Option" but did include his trademark (so to speak) "Fired Up, Ready To Go", and this ad was put out by the DNC, she is using this as her basis for saying he is dropping the PO and has been for weeks.

That's just dishonest, and is really I would say a lie.

That's just as much a lie and just as dishonest as Glenn Beck is being with his edits of the Obama interview from 2001 in my opinion.

You can see the entire post by Jane, at Huffington Post.

Maybe I am off base.. you can let me know.. but it just didn't seem right to me for her to say this.. I could be running around with my head in the sand as I have been told. But to me it seems she is just being dishonest, just as the ones on the right are being by editing the videos and the speeches of Pres. Obama from his earlier years.

Maureen Dowd, Plagiariazing Someone? UPDATED!!!

Maureen Dowd Plagiarized TPM's Joshua Marshall??

It sure looks like it...lol

Talking Points Memo

One paragraph was the same except for just a couple of words. Josh right now is laughing, but he may not be laughing for long. This may be a signal for others to look at their work.

Back in 1987, Dowd herself is the one who exposed then-presidential candidate Joe Biden's plagiarism of British politician Neil Kinnock's speech. Isn't that just the height of hypocrisy?

*************************************************************************************
UPDATE!

Dowd has issued a statement and an apology of sorts.

She sent an email to Huffington Post with this statement. Read the full story at the link.

josh is right. I didn't read his blog last week, and didn't have any idea he had made that point until you informed me just now.

i was talking to a friend of mine Friday about what I was writing who suggested I make this point, expressing it in a cogent -- and I assumed spontaneous -- way and I wanted to weave the idea into my column.

but, clearly, my friend must have read josh marshall without mentioning that to me.
we're fixing it on the web, to give josh credit, and will include a note, as well as a formal correction tomorrow.

As you can see, she is still not saying she did wrong, and in the editorial she wrote she still never gave anyone else credit for the statement. But, how can she not say, yes I screwed up and not say, I am as bad as everyone else I have painted with the same brush.

Is this not what she did to Joe Biden? She flamed him for weeks over that, because he didn't site his source, will someone do her the same way?

Sunday Morning Talking Heads.. Bobble Heads.. Call It What You Will

If you don't want to watch the Sunday Morning Talking Heads.. but would like a review of what they have to say, with a humorous bend to it, you need to read Jason Linkins.

He writes at Huffington Post and every Sunday does a LiveBlog of the Talking Heads. This morning he has a great one up so far taking on Fox News Sunday and Face The Nation.

General Petraeus is on Fox, followed by Newt. Then on Nation is none other than our former VP Darth Cheney. However as someone pointed out the other day, even Darth reformed and said he was sorry at the end. So, maybe we should find another name for this piece of inhumanity.

The General is also on CNN, and James Jones, NSA Director for Pres. Obama is on This Week followed by none other than Sen. McCain. Why they keep putting these idiots on when no one really wants to hear from them is beyond me. All he did from what I heard was keep saying what Pres. Obama was doing that he wouldn't have done if he had been elected.

Well, if I had wanted McCain as President I would have voted for him, but I didn't and I didn't.. so go away.. why isn't he in Arizona with the mother of his children or his own mother for Mother's Day anyway?

So, go check out Jason's Live Blog and see what you think. Remember this is a weekly thing and is always a great read.

Jason is a regular writer and is also on Twitter if you use it.. you can follow him and get regular updates from him.

Check him out and see what you think. He will be updating for a while, so check back in a bit if he doesn't have all the shows up yet.

Enjoy..

An Officer's Obligation -- Say No to Torture

Matthew Alexander, Air Force officer, and leader of the interrogations team that located Abu Musab al Zarqawi, is very well respected. I have written about him before and he has been on with Keith and Rachel several times.

He is a wonderful, authoritative voice of reason in this discussion about torture. He has written a book called How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq.

He has a post up at Huffington Post that is a spanking to a certain extent to the other officers and military who let their values and their morals be compromised by the higher ups and by the Bush Mal-Administration.

The first thing he says is this:

As a former active duty military officer, it is troubling to me that other military officers followed unlawful orders to torture or abuse prisoners. Military officers have a sacred responsibility that is embedded in their oath of office: "I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same..."

He goes on to remind us all that in the 8th Amendment to the Constitution of our great Country we are told we must prohibit cruelty to ANY PERSON. Yet, our former president and vice president ordered this done.

As I said this is a good and scathing piece and Matthew (not his real name) does a great job. He also knows of what he speaks. When he wrote his book, he tried to get it approved by the Department of Defense and they redacted it so much he couldn't publish it.

Please take a few minutes to read what he wrote. It is at Huffington Post and is really a good read.

Morning Joke Tries to Cover His Butt

After Pat Buchanan made a really ignorant remark which showed how stupid the rethuglicans are getting, the Joke of the Morning just made it even better by helping him out. Watch this.. then I will show you how he tries to cover his Butt by trying to walk it back.. You are going to love his sorry excuse.



Now here is his statement that was also posted at Huffington Post to walk his statement back and excuse himself because he was tired and he wasn't using of all things... wait for it... a TELEPROMPTER.. yep.. for all the crap they have been giving Pres. Obama over his use of a teleprompter, now the Joke uses that as an excuse for making a stupid statement.

Earlier today on Morning Joe, a guest suggested that President Obama might shoulder the blame for any future terror attacks on the United States because the CIA would not be using enhanced interrogation techniques adopted following September 11th. I took that opportunity to defend Barack Obama by saying the CIA's counterterrorism program was compromised long before the President was inaugurated this year.

I stated that the blame for any future attacks on the United States by terrorists should not be blamed on President Obama, but instead on a reporter who revealed highly classified material regarding CIA counterterrorism programs beginning in 2004. I found the reporting of that classified material to be reckless and irresponsible. I also believe it compromised the CIA's ability to carry out its mission of defending our homeland while damaging relations with countries who dared to aid the United States in its war against al Qaeda.

Because I broadcast for five hours a day, five days a week, I sometimes phrase things in ways that I later regret. It is inevitable. Still, I have regularly used my TV and radio platforms to encourage members of both parties to tone down their rhetoric and speak responsibility.

For that reason, I feel a responsibility to correct my earlier statement.

If the United States is attacked in the future, it will be for a variety of reasons. Feckless politicians will share a greater responsibility for future loss of life due to terrorist strikes than a reporter who revealed the most sensitive of state secrets. After reading the statement I made earlier today, I realize it does not accurately reflect my feelings. I regret making that statement. Such are the dangers of discussing complex policies for five hours a day without the aid of a teleprompter.

This is who we need on MSNBC instead of the Joke

Image by BlastMagazine.com via Flickr

Carlos Watson is a fairly new anchor on MSNBC, but I really like him. He is a good counter to some of the ones they have on during the day. He holds his own with the Joke of the Morning too. He has a new piece up on Huffington Post that is a must read.

Let's Press Reset on Rush & Co.: We Need Practical Optimism from the Chattering Class -- Now

I have degrees from Harvard and Stanford, am an anchor on a major network, have a little money in the bank, and I'm young. By all accounts, I should be able to survive this recession. But even my confidence is shaken. We're not in a good place. The reality of the matter is, bad as things are, we all know they're likely to get worse. Much worse--both overseas and in the poorest areas here in the US.

It all comes back to 30-40: Our homes were overvalued 30-40%, our salaries are being cut 30-40% (if we still have them), our portfolios, when they finally rebound, will still be down 30-40%. Like any sane person in his 30s or 40s, I'm starting to wonder the obvious: What will it take to turn things around? One answer is signs--about 6-10 million of the "help wanted" variety. But another part of the solution just came to me last night.

The answer is Rush Limbaugh. Yes, that Rush, the Man from Missouri. Because what he reminded us of in the last few weeks is what will keep most of us down: negativity and mindless carping. Beyond a banking fix or a housing plan, our floundering $12 trillion economy needs a fundamental reset of the public commentator class. And I predict we will see that over the next six months, from YouTube to CNN, Twitter to the site you're reading. I genuinely think America is hungry for practical optimism. I know I am.

I know I am too...and I think most of us are ready for some optimism. That's what I have been saying all along. Yes, things are tough. But, come on, we can't just sit around and talk about how bad it is. We have to try to do something about it and look for the good parts. If all we are going to do is sit and talk about how bad it is we might as well be republicans.

He goes on to finish like this:

This new class of public commentators will be distinguished not by their ability to describe the depths of our pain, but by their capacity for offering clear, compelling, credible visions of how individuals, companies, governments, and groups can move beyond it. They will be people of accomplishment who can help us find practical ways ahead, entrepreneurs and writers who can both build a business and tell a good story. We'll respond to them because they are not hype entertainers, but sharp, clear, relatable visionaries who can help us see how we can truly turn things around in this challenging environment.

I like Suze Orman, but I'm not talking about her. I like Professor Nouriel Roubini, but I'm not talking about him. I'm picturing Steve Jobs and Lou Gerstner--imagine those two on a split-screen breaking down the economy. Think I'm joking? Then you're forgetting the outsized role that J.P. Morgan (the man, not his bank) played following the panic of 1907, or the role that the "new" Southern Governors played after the tumultuous 1960s, or the role that John Steinbeck played as we came out of the Depression. We need help turning the page. We need a dramatic revolution in our public commentators. We need Buddy Fletcher, Arte Moreno, Sheryl Sandberg, and others to become the next chattering class.

Who would you like to see on the airwaves? Let me know at twitter.com/carloswatson.

So, now is your chance.. let him know who you want to see on your TeeVee Machine.. I did.. I told him I would rather see him than the Joke of the Morning...lol

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• CNN's Hughley uspet Steele apologized to Rush: 'Why is his name Steele? You should call him aluminum.' (thinkprogress.org)

Republicans Unhinged, from The Huffington Post

This is from The Huffington Post and is just a continuation of the theme from Jon Stewart's program I posted below. It is also another part of the story I am still working on.

I am waiting on some emails I have out, in order to form my story. Once I get the answers I will be able to finish it, or at least I hope I will.

From the article at Huffington Post:

When Republicans suffered a disastrous beating in November's election, it would have been fair to assume that things could not get worse for them: the-most-liberal-Senator was to be president, Nancy-Pelosi-from-San-Francisco was going to lead a massive Democratic majority in the House, and assorted socialists were going to run things. That was bad, yes, but this week, just like the stock market (funny how that goes), Republicans hit yet a new low.

They call this "Worst Week Ever: Republicans Unhinged" I think that pretty well describes them. To say they are not going around the bend is to deny they even exist. They are still even questioning his birth certificate as is found in the article noted above, and then in this one noted here by none other than Jerome Corsi again.

"It is not going off the table because people care about the Constitution. And it is in the Constitution that a president needs to be nationally born," he replied. "It is not settled. Barack Obama has not released his natural birth certificate. I don't know what is on that document. I'm not a mind reader. But I know that politicians of note do not hide documents unless there is something embarrassing that they don't want seen. And a birth certificate should be a mundane certificate. Obama could make this issue go away."

Even though Pres. Obama has released his birth certificate and it has been verified numerous times, these wing nuts still persist in calling him on it.

I am interested to see what anyone else might think about these things. See what you think about what they are saying and how you feel about where they are headed. Let me know.