Mainstream Media Forced to Take Ron Paul Seriously :CNN: Santorum a conspiracy theorist?

If Ron Paul wasn't such a staunch libertarian his foreign policy could be appealing to Americans across the board.
For some Americans they have already decided to embrace Ron Paul's anti-war anti-military interventionism though they may not care for some of his other policies.
The problem with the other Republican presidential wannabe is that all of them are in favor of the same old same old American foreign policy of gun boat diplomacy and secretly engineered Coup d'etats while supporting various friendly fascistic or authoritarian style dictatorships or monarchies crushing any and all forms of democracy when it is not in America's interests.

Being rather cynical when it comes to foreign policies and the treatment of POWs or the use of Drones to massacre innocent civilians the Republican candidates are in agreement with President Obama that the more wars the better while treating the whole world as potentially hostile to the USA.
President Obama like these GOP nutjobs sees the United Nations or the Red Cross , or the International Court or the International Atomic Energy and other NGOs committed to human rights as all being in cohoots to undermine America's influence, power and status.
And like all other Presidents before him Obama has been far too pro-Israel than he should be . Though the Republicans and the Religious Right and the Israelis may criticize Obama as not being more of a booster for Israel . This might be true to some extent because the GOP and the religious Right believe America must support Israel no matter what it does.
Anyway none of theses candidates or President Obama can in any way be construed as being anti-war except for Ron Paul.

President Obama may in fact start committing himself to substantive actions at least in his speeches in order to once again con progressives and liberals into voting for him come November .

#OWS TYT's Cenk Uygur "Santorum Attacks Obama's Religion, 'Earth Worship' "

Cenk Uygur at The Young Turks notes that Rick Santorum and other GOPers question Obama's religion They wonder out loud if Obama is a true Christian because Obama also believes in protecting the environment and they claim no real Christian is concerned about the environment . Besides Rick Santorum says that environmental issues ie global warming ,pollution , smog , people's health being affected by the environment which is polluted through industry is a lot of nonsense.
Radical environmentalists are really just out to undermine Industry and the capitalist system and to undermine America.
So Santorum and others say Obama is not a real Christian or a loyal American because his allegiance is to protecting the earth .
Then when Santorum and others are questioned about their statement criticizing Obama they back-pedal and claim the media is deliberately misinterpreting what they actually said.
So we are back where we were in 2008 when Sara Palin and John McCain were accusing Obama of not being a "real American" because of his policies or his religion or whether he was born in America or is a sleeper agent for Radical Muslims.

What Santorum and other Republicans Uberconservatives and the Religious Right are still questioning Obama's motivation and suggesting that Obama is part of a fifth column made up of Environmentalists, liberals, atheists, secular humanist,socialists ,Communists and Muslims and so forth.

This notion of a fifth column or the notion of the Enemy Within who are working for some sort of secret cabal or even knowingly or unknowingly working for the Anti-Christ or "The Father of Lies" Satan we can trace not merely back to the McCarthy witch hunt of the 1950s but back to the early settlers of America in the 16th and 17th century the Puritans who believed that the forces of darkness were all around them . They believed the Native Americans were idolaters and devil worshipers who were were acting as minions for Satan to destroy the Christians. They further believed there were those amongst them who were on behalf of God testing them or were out to cause dissension and defeat the Christians to give Satan complete and absolute dominion over humankind.
So the Puritans viewed those who held what they considered to be heretical views were not merely the representatives of a slightly point of view but rather were radicals and extremists such as The Quakers and Catholics et al who were in fact at war with true Christianity which is represented by the "Visible Saints" of the Puritans.

What Garry Wills illustrates that this sort of fear and paranoia of the enemy without and the enemy within goes back to the early settlers of New England.

For More see : Garry Wills Head and Heart ,Pub. 2007.

#OWS: Echoing The Puritans Rick Santorum: "I Don't Believe in an America Where the Separation of Church and State is Absolute"

As for the Separation of church and State and the Founders of the American colonies they were against the notion of a separation or the tolerance of other religions or Christian sects besides their own .As relious historian Garry Wills in his book Head and Heart: American Chistianities,(pub. 2007) points out:

The Founders of the New England colonies did not come to America to protect any variety in religious practice, or to assert the primacy of the individual's conscience. Far from it. They came to set up the one true faith where corrupt versions of it could not intrude. The only religion recognized as authentic, as what God wills, was the Covenant of Grace, under which God's chosen were predestined to salvation, making their church a collection of "visible Saints." Those not consciously saved in this way could not be communicating members of the church, nor could they be voting members of the community. These outsiders had to attend and support the true church even if they were not full members of it . As Samuel Willard wrote in 1681 against baptists claiming that New England should be a haven for religious freedom:

I perceive they are mistaken in the design of our first planters whose business was not tolerating but were professed enemies of it, and could leave the world professing they died no libertines. Their business was to settle and ( as much as in them lay) secure religion to posterity to posterity according to that way which they believed was of God.

Rick Santorum says this speech on the Separation of Church and State by JFK made him throw up.

JFK when he was running for president there were those who feared that because JFK was Catholic that his first allegiance would be to the Pope and the Vatican rather than to America and its peoples. Santorum's belief is the direct opposite of that of JFK and this in fact should worry Americans.

JFK on the Separation of Church and State

Uploaded by JFKLF on Aug 1, 2007
Senator John F. Kennedy speaking before the Greater Houston Ministerial Association at the Rice Hotel in Houston, Texas on September 12, 1960.
Copyright: Kennedy Library Foundation

Rick santorum : "I Don't Believe in an America Where the Separation and State is Absolute"



So Santorum who like JFK is a Catholic assures Americans that in his running for the presidency he will not follow in the footsteps of JFK and reassert a belief in the Separation of Church and State.
Santorum's policies once in office will in fact reflect his theological views.


In this clip Santorum sounds like the Puritans during the colonial period of American history. The Puritans did not believe in the Separation of Church and State.
The Puritans left England not in search of religious freedom but rather to set up a community which reflected Puritanism' values and where no other religion or Christian sect would be permitted. The Puritans set up a state in which only Puritans who were the visible saints that is those who have been touched by God could hold public office.
Believing that only their sect was the only truly Christian sect the Puritans treated all who belonged to other Christian sects as heretics.

As Garry Wills notes these early New Englanders persecuted other sects such as the Quakers and it was the king of England Charles II who chastised the leaders of the colony in Massachusetts for their persecution of the Quakers.

What these Pilgrims and Puritans found abhorent about England was that there was at the time an insistence upon religious tolerance. They left England because the state refused to acknowledge the puritans sect as the only true Christian sect which they believed to be a return to the Early Church .

So abortion and all forms of contraception for instance are abhorrent to him .
Since the Bible and the church up until recently have condemned homosexuality and other in his view abnormal forms of sexuality then as president he will not shy away from his extreme and militant views on these issues.
The question becomes how far would he go as president of the United States. Would he in his view merely ban gay marriage or would he simply ban homosexuality and other forms of sexual activities which do not conform to Santorum's views on what heterosexual activities are permissible and what is not.
Given Santorum's stand on abortion and contraception it follows that any act preventing fertilization is a form of murder since he claims from the moment of conception the Zygote is to be considered a person .
This position leads to a some rather strange and extremists legal issue such as laws protecting the Zygote and fetus so if a pregnant woman is murdered for instance the courts would have to view this as a double murder.
If a pregnant woman does anything which causes a miscarriage or affects the health of the child to be then she is legally responsible for a charge of murder or at least reckless endangerment.
As for any woman who becomes pregnant by being raped she has no right to have an abortion.
And as for the rapist himself he could be viewed as giving the woman a gift from God-a human life.
For instance given these sets of beliefs to go a little further the rapist has committed a more moral righteous act than if he had worn a condom during the rape or if he had simply masturbated and thereby wasted God's seed as it were.

As Kate Harding at The guardian points out :

Rick Santorum thinks pregnancy through rape is God's gift? Seriously?
Invoking God's will as a supporting argument to his position on abortion hardly fits with the constitution he claims to uphold by kate Harding, Guardian.co.uk, January 25, 2012

There is a multitude of issues which would be affected by the religious beliefs of President Santorum .

For instance given Santorum's religious beliefs if he were president we can expect even more overt Christian proselytizing in the US military and elsewhere by those who adhere to a faith to which Santorum approves.

As for the Global War on Terror if Santorum or anyone with similar views were to become president would he or they drop all pretenses as it were and simply talk about and push for polices which would not simply be against Islamic radicals and extremists but rather against Islam itself. If he believes what he says he does then he would have to act accordingly . So if the current struggle in his view is one of God and his true believers against Satan and those who are merely whether they know it or not are minions of Satan which would include all non-Christians and those Christians who in their actions have repudiated true Christianity.

As for education President Santorum would probably insist on the insertion of religion into not just the bedrooms but also the classrooms and the media in America.

see: Santorum Says Religion and Conservative Principles Are at Risk By KATHARINE Q. SEELY at new York Times, February 26,2012

Rick Santorum: Evolution Used To Promote Atheism In Schools by Doug Mataconis at Outside The Beltway February 22,2012

Santorum's Views on Sex and Religion Keep Him From Talking About the Economy by John Aloysius Farrell at national Journal, Feruary 22,2012

Rick Santorum defends comments blasting JFK over religion’s place in politics by Shira Schoenberg Boston political intelligence ,February 26,2012

Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who has made his conservative stance on religious and social issues one of the centerpieces of his Republican presidential campaign, today questioned the idea of a complete separation of church and state. Santorum stood by comments he made last year when he said after reading President John F. Kennedy’s famous 1960 speech about the separation of church and state, “I almost threw up.”

Santorum said his disagreement with Kennedy came from the line in Kennedy’s speech that read, “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.”

“I don’t believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute,” Santorum said today on ABC’s “This Week.’’ “The idea that the church should have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical of the objectives and vision of our country.”

Santorum’s conservative social views have come under increasing scrutiny as he has soared in the polls nationally and come to challenge former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. He has waded into battles over insurance coverage of contraception, federal support for education, and what he referred to as President Obama’s “theology” on the environment. Today, Santorum was forced to defend his views on college education and on the separation of religion and politics.

And for more on Rick Santorum's personal life and his commitment to his religious principles see:

Senator Rick Santorum: Religious Beliefs and Politics By DOMINI HEDDERMAN Source: St. Anthony Messenger magazine
Published: Thursday, February 16, 2012 at American catholic.org,originally published October 2005

also see Catholic organization the Santorum family are involved with:

Legionaries of Christ/ Regnum Christiwebsite

#OWS Santorum: Satan Attacking America! & Maddow VS Santorum Claims Netherlands Use Euthanasia To Kill Off the Elderly

Earlier this month, Santorum brought up the subject of euthanasia at a forum hosted by conservative leader James Dobson.
“They have voluntary euthanasia in the Netherlands, but half the people who are euthanized every year, and it’s 10 percent of all deaths, half of those people are euthanized involuntarily in hospitals, because they are older and sick,” Santorum said. “So elderly people in the Netherlands don’t go to the hospital. They go to another country. Because they’re afraid because of budget purposes they will not come out of that hospital if they go in with sickness.”
Santorum also said some Dutch wear bracelets saying, “Don’t euthanize me.”

From article at MSNBC Santorum comments on forced euthanasia cause stir in Netherlands At MSNBC Feb. 24,2012

First here Cenk Uygur 's take on Rick Santorum's "Satan is attacking America" statement.
Santorum: Satan Attacking America!



Santorum presumes to know that the USA is God's chosen nation.
" ....the father of Lies (Satan) has his sights on... A good decent powerful influential America."
According to Santorum America is being attacked by Satan because it was founded as a Christian nation but America has moved away from those earlier Judeo-Christian principles and is now in the hands of Satan. As Cenk points out in this video that Santorum believes Protestants no longer have a positive influence in the USA. So in his view only Opus Dei Catholics and those who adhere to Opus Dei principles are the "True Christians".
The other issue which I have with Santorum's statement is that if America is so pure and righteous it means no other nation is as pure and righteous as America. All other nations are already in the grip of Satan's influence.
Cenk argues Santorum in large part has strange and extreme ideas due his connection to the Catholic sect Opus Dei.

Franz Schaeffer at his website on the Catholic extremist sect Opus Dei breaks down what the issues are concerning Opus Dei . Opus Dei is somewhat disturbing because it operates in cult like fashion the leaders are authoritarian and believe their followers have no right to question these authorities. Their theology as such lends itself to a fascistic ideology.

The Unofficial Opus Dei FAQ Franz Schaefer, schaefer@mond.at

1. Q: What is Opus Dei?

A: Opus Dei a fundamentalistic sect which operates in a Catholic environment. Officially it is part of the Catholic church and so they claim that they are not a sect. Well, it all depends on how you define the word ``sect''.

6. Q: What are the negative things in Opus Dei?

A: In short:

The Fascist ideology in Escriva's teachings. The fundamentalism. The
Intolerance towards other religions.
The dishonesty.
The danger inherent in the undemocratic structure of blindly following orders.
The danger inherent in the psychological control they have of their members due to the ``weekly chat'' where they have to tell the innermost details of their souls to their spiritual leaders.
The aggressive and manipulative way in which they try to catch new members.
The evil character of the founder.
The fact that they do not reveal their true goals and keep a lot of material secret from the public.
The smug thinking of belonging to an elite.

Meanwhile Santorum goes over the edge erroneously claiming that the government in the Netherlands is using euthanasia to get rid of its elderly.



Santorum comments on forced euthanasia cause stir in Netherlands At MSNBC Feb. 24,2012

A Dutch politician wants his government to publicly rebuke Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum for claiming that forced euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands and that the elderly are being killed against their will.
The Dutch Embassy in Washington has declined to comment on Santorum’s recent remarks, The New York Times reported this week. An embassy spokeswoman said the Dutch government wanted to stay out of the American presidential campaign, the Times reported.
On Thursday, Dutch Member of Parliament Frans Timmermans, a leading member of the opposition left-leaning Labor Party in The Hague, blasted his government’s silence.

...FactCheck.org, a nonpartisan project that monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by U.S. politicians, said Santorum “grossly mischaracterized” euthanasia practices in the Netherlands.
It said the former Pennsylvania senator overstated the rate of euthanasia. Government statistics show euthanasia is climbing but represented only 2.3 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands in 2010, it said.
FactCheck.org said Santorum’s claims that the elderly are being killed against their will and wear “do not euthanize me” bracelets are false.
Dutch euthanasia review boards found nine cases in 2010 where doctors “had not acted in accordance with the due care criteria,” mostly for how the procedure was performed — not because it was against anyone’s will, FactCheck.org said. It added that the Dutch government and medical association say no such “Don’t euthanize me” bracelets exist.

And update from Rachel Maddow on Netherlands Euthanasia:

Rick Santorum vs The Netherlands, on Rachel Maddow

Uploaded by RTLNY on Feb 25, 2012

Remarks by Rick Santorum that the Netherlands is euthanizing old people for budget reasons are obviously untrue. RTL News' Erik Mouthaan and Rachel Maddow try to explain the international diplomatic troubles that arose.

and so it goes,
GORD.

#OWS Gov't Peeks Into Citizens Hard Drives? Occupy Movement Credited With Wall Street Elites Echoing OWS Battle Cries

OWS UPDATE government spying on its own citizens:

Canadian Rick Mercer comments on Canadian bill to allow for the government to spy on Canadians via the internet and to scan hard drives for copy-rite material or anti-government activity.

Rick Mercer rants about the online spying bill



keith Olbermann comments on Elites now using Occupy talking points for PR purposes.
They say they no longer have a problem with raising taxes on the rich but are not agreeable as yet to more regulations or investigation of Wall St. hustlers and schisters and criminals.

Occupy Movement Credited With Wall Street Elites Echoing OWS Battle Cries



Surprisingly even Mainstream Media covering the unnecessary over inflated price of oil and gasoline.
The high prices are not the result of normal changes in supply and demand but are rather the result of wall street speculators and the Big Oil corporations.
The speculators are hoping things get worse and that the supply of oil from the Middle East will be interrupted ie by war with Iran or other catastrophes.
And yet the conservatives tell us these Wall Street speculators and traders and Big Oil are patriotic but they are only concerned with their own profits and not with the well being of American citizens.

Wall St. Causes High Gas Prices - ABC News Feb 23 2012.mp4

#OWS Cenk Uygur "Don't drill for more oil to lower gas prices, drill the oil speculators" & Thom Hartmann US Citizens Being Screwed

The issue of oil and gasoline prices being rigged is a concern for the Occupy Movement since it shows how these Greedy amoral unethical speculators have no regard for the average citizen .
And yet they claim they are patriots when they decidedly are not.

Question is can or will the US government reinstitute common sense regulations of the Oil companies and the speculators. Could Obama insist on a price freeze or even roll back prices since the prices at the pumps is not a result of the natural forces of supply and demand.
Demand has gone down yet the prices are sky-rocketing.
If as Republicans and others claim America is at war since 9/11 then this sort rip-off of consumers is in fact war profiteering and can be therefore ipso facto a matter of treason undermining the nation's economy during war time.

Cenk Uygur of TYT expresses his outrage over the unnecessary rising Oil and gasoline prices.
Once again the Wall Street gang backed the Obama Regime are displaying their Greed and their unpatriotic amoral attitude towards American consumers.
A bill was defeated by the republicans which would have required oil companies to sell oil drilled in the USA to American consumers rather than just sold to the highest bidder .
Speculators and corporations tal about a fair and open market place yet treat the markets and investments as a means for them to gamble turning Wall Street into a Casino for the 1% to play. They over inflate prices betting things will get worse and so artificially raise prices.

Cenk Uygur "Don't drill for more oil to lower gas prices, drill the oil speculators"