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Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Polygamy, Polls, and PowerPoints - Oh my!

posted by Justin Hart | 5:59 PM | permalink

Man this has been a busy week. We have so many great discussion points we almost need a mid-week review. So...

Polygamy in Spades
Jon responds to the AP hit piece early Monday.
Justin responded here noting that 3 generations does not a closet make.
(Both juicy with satire!)

Polls
What us worry... no way! 5 Reasons not to worry:
Ben Wren looks deeper into the Pew Polls
Romney still rules the endorsement race
Jason likes what the Hotline likes

PowerPoints
Here we point out the silliness that is the Boston Globe

Elsewhere...
Romney rakes in the DC dough
Sheriff Joe likes pink underwear and Romney!
Are you going to be at CPAC, let us know?

And of course - the MittCast rolls on... are you a subscriber (FREE)?

Oh... and these guys are going to vote for who again?

Labels: AP, cpac, mitt romney, mittcast, Polls, polygamy

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	2 Comments: I don't see what the big whoop is about whether or not his grandparents were "poly" or not. If you look at it from another angle, in today's "MTV culture' of being a teenager till you're 35, more people not wanting to have even one family, and glorified selfishness, in my humble opinion being descended from people who welcomed more responsibility ( more family,people to take care of) is not something to be ashamed of or apologized for. By SFBayAreaMomof2, at March 11, 2007 3:18 PM The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) is often misunderstood. Some accuse the Church of not believing in Christ and, therefore, not being a Christian religion. This article helps to clarify such misconceptions Baptism: Early Christian churches, practiced baptism of youth (not infants) by immersion by the father of the family. The local congregation had a lay ministry. An early Christian Church has been re-constructed at the Israel Museum, and the above can be verified. http://www.imj.org.il/eng/exhibitions/2000/christianity/ancientchurch/structure/index.html The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) continues baptism and a lay ministry as taught by Jesus’ Apostles. Early Christians were persecuted for keeping their practices sacred, and not allowing non-Christians to witness them The Trinity: A literal reading of the New Testament points to God and Jesus Christ, His Son, being separate, divine beings, united in purpose. . To whom was Jesus praying in Gethsemane, and Who was speaking to Him and his apostles on the Mount of Transfiguration? The Nicene Creed”s definition of the Trinity was influenced by scribes translating the Greek manuscripts into Latin. The scribes embellished on a passage explaining the Trinity, which is the Catholic and Protestant belief that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The oldest versions of the epistle of 1 John, read: "There are three that bear witness: the Spirit, the water and the blood and these three are one." Scribes later added "the Father, the Word and the Spirit," and it remained in the epistle when it was translated into English for the King James Version, according to Dr. Bart Ehrman, Chairman of the Religion Department at UNC- Chapel Hill. . . .He no longer believes in the Nicene Trinity. The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) views the Trinity as three separate beings, in accord with the earliest Greek New Testament manuscripts. The Cross: The Cross became popular as a Christian symbol in the Fifth Century A.D. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) think the proper Christian symbol is Christ’s resurrection, not his crucifixion on the Cross. Many Mormon chapels feature paintings of the resurrected Christ or His Second Coming. Christ's Atonement: But Mormons don”t term Catholics and Protestants “non-Christian”. They believe Christ’s atonement on the Cross covers all mankind. The dictionary definition of a Christian is “of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ”:. All of the above denominations are followers of Christ, and consider him divine, and the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. It”s important to understand the difference between Reformation and Restoration when we consider who might be authentic Christians. If members of the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) embrace early Christian theology, they are likely more “Christian” than their detractors. * * * And the 2005 National Study of Youth and Religion published by UNC-Chapel Hill found that Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) youth (ages 13 to 17) were more likely to exhibit these Christian characteristics than Evangelicals (the next most observant group): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . LDS Evangelical Attend Religious Services weekly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71% . . . . 55% Importance of Religious Faith in shaping daily life – extremely important .. 52. . . . . . . 28 Believes in life after death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 . . . . . . 62 Believes in psychics or fortune-tellers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . 5 Has taught religious education classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 . . . . . . 28 Has fasted or denied something as spiritual discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 . . . . . . 22 Sabbath Observance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 . . . . . . 40 Shared religious faith with someone not of their faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 . . . . . . 56 Family talks about God, scriptures, prayer daily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 . . . . . . 19 Supportiveness of church for parent in trying to raise teen (very supportive) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 . . . . . . 26 Church congregation has done an excellent job in helping Teens better understand their own sexuality and sexual morality . . . . . 84 . . . . . . 35 By Anonymous, at May 14, 2007 3:03 PM Post a Comment

Monday, February 26, 2007

The MittCast - Skeletons in Mitt Romney's Closet?

posted by Justin Hart | 9:00 AM | permalink

The press finally finds a skeleton; 5 Reasons not to be worried; Brody on Mitt, Clift on Mitt, and Rudy on Mitt's religion.

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Labels: audio, mittcast, mormonism, polygamy, rudy

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	1 Comments: Jennifer Dobner and Glen Johnson had to dig back to Mitt Romney's great-grandfather and great-great grandfather to find polygamy. I look forward to their story about Barack Obama's polygamist FATHER! Yeah.. that will happen. When hell freezes over. When a politically motivated hit piece is this obviously biased, it is, fortunately, less effective. By Anonymous, at February 27, 2007 11:33 AM Post a Comment

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Polygamy In Spades

posted by Jon | 10:05 AM | permalink

The Associated Press’ Jennifer Dobner and Glen Johnson are loving life. They did some digging under Mitt’s Family Tree and found [drum roll] Polygamy. I know you must be shocked. The MSM was. Dobner’s and Johnson’s piece was picked up by no fewer than sixteen media outlets who think this revelation is newsworthy.

What’s the matter, boys and girls? Slow news cycle? Before people get too wrapped up in this, realize that Ms. Dobner and Mr. Johnson had to dig back to Mitt’s Great Grandfather Miles Park Romney and Great Great Grandfather Parley Pratt to find this information. How many of you (Mormons excluded) can name your Great or Great Great Grandaddy? Do you know anything about them? Are you responsible for their actions?

Get back to me when you can answer those questions. Till then, stuff a sock in it. Yes, I’m a bit perturbed because you don’t have to shake my family tree too hard before the polygamists start falling out. If we’re going to start this with Mitt, then I suggest each presidential candidate submit a seven-generation ancestry chart complete with family history so we can see exactly what his/her ancestors were up to.

As every family tree has some strange branches in it - especially when you look at history through the politically correct lens of today. I think some candidates would be surprised by what's in their tree. Hillary might find her forebearers practiced something worse than polygamy. Some of them were no doubt [gasp] Republicans.

Labels: Glen Johnson, Jennier Dobner, LDS Mormon Romney, mitt romney, Mormon, polygamy, religion

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	8 Comments: I posted this comment already on this blog, but I want to tie it to this particular post: I did a bit of background checking on these two AP journalists. Jennifer actually works out of their Salt Lake City office -- obviously not happy by her LDS surroundings. If you look at her story history, she reports on polygamy all the time. If anyone wants to contact her and call her out on this shameful story, email her at jdobner@ap.org; or call her at (801) 322-3405. Glen Johnson on the other hand, a known Romney basher, reported from Boston where they are looking for every possible way to smear their former governor. And he is always looking for ways to highlight the other candidates. Take a look at this glowing piece that Johnson did on Obama that doesn’t mention a negative thing in it, and of course doesn’t mention that Obama’s own father had multiple wives - http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/231641,3_1_EL27_A7OBAMA_S1.article. The editors and publisher of the Associated Press should be ashamed. By Anonymous, at February 25, 2007 2:33 PM Anyone have Johnson's email address? By Anonymous, at February 25, 2007 3:25 PM I just don't understand the relevance of what Romney's ancestors did more than 100 years ago. The piece talks about Romney condemning polygamy, but that his great-grandfather had multiple wives? How does the fact that his ancestor practiced polygamy negate Mitt's views on the matter?!? I'm sure that other candidate's ancestor's were slave owners. Does that mean they must condone slavery today, despite what they say? Sheesh! The press is so transparent--and STUPID--sometimes. Like anyone is going to care about this smear piece or give it one ounce of creedence. By Sara, at February 25, 2007 3:26 PM It is interesting how much the press is interested in, golly, the generations of Romney family...why, not even Lincoln, Washington, or Jefferson get this much attention to family history in the modern press. Yeah, yeah, anyway... If it weren't such a veiled hit piece (this is muckraking? This is all they can come up with?), it is interesting to see obscure Mormon history suddenly become so relevant to everything political. You'd think the press was genuinely threatened by Romney's ancestors, but no, they're just scared of Romney and his potential, so they have to create an asinine hit piece. Also, just to echo the commentary above, Romney wasn't the only person who had polygamist ancestors. See this post about Obama's daddy: http://tinyurl.com/38l6p9 So, where's the fair treatment? Sheesh. By Rhapsidiomite, at February 25, 2007 5:47 PM I find it more interesting to think about what the affect a Romney Presidency would have on the Mormon Church than what affect Romney being a member of the Mormon Church would have on Romney winning the Presidency. If Romney can’t win because of his faith that could mean a number of things including the possibility that Americans are still quite bigoted even with many important changes of the civil rights movement having taken place. It would take quite a bit of research to get to the bottom of such a question. But I’m not sure that the Mormon Church has fully considered what the affects of a Romney Presidency would be on it as an institution and its members and programs. It’s one thing to think about how much of an affect being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will have on Romney winning the Republican Nomination and possibly the Presidency. It is a totally different thing to think about how his being a Mormon might affect the LDS Church if he is President of the United States, the most powerful nation on Earth and thus “Leader of the Free World.” As such, he would be the world’s most watched person. Not a day or even an hour would go by without the media and the public wondering what President Romney will do in any situation or why he was acting in any given way. I can see a great potential of negatives for his Church if he is actually elected President. First of all, if Romney’s poll numbers go down, will that also result in a direct negative view of the Mormon faith? This may have happened in Arizona with Ev Mecham during the 1980s. The thought of a President Romney being designated to Mormons by the public as “their President” or “their Problem” is one that his Church is going to have to think about. It could easily affect the day-to-day activities of the Mormon Church. What happens to Mormon Missionaries who are sharing their message with a farming family in Iowa if President Romney decides that farm subsidies are out-of-control and severely cuts them? Do those Mormon Missionaries feel the wrath due to what “their President” did to hurt their family? This would be just one of thousands of potential examples. But any policy decision that Romney makes may have an affect on the lives of normal, everyday Mormons. The Church itself might have to defend itself every time Romney does something controversial or even on local issues that are not controversial with the entire nation but affect things in any given locality. “We, as a Church, do not take a position on farm subsidies…” How believable will that be? Then there is the other question. How does the Mormon Church continue to lead its own followers without looking like it is getting political? Will the Church, itself, feel the need to silence itself on important social issues because Romney is President, and it doesn’t want to appear to be affecting public policy? Up to 8 years could be a long time for any Church to not tell its followers what is right or what is wrong. What if Romney holds a policy view that is contrary to his Church? What if he holds a view that is identical to his Church? If Romney is seen as a Conservative, will his Church be seen as such? If he’s seen as a liberal, will that affect the way people view his faith? A lot of those things would be domestic policy concerns, but what about foreign policy? What if a President Romney is put in a situation where he is forced to declare war on a country where Mormons are allowed to practice freely? Do his coreligionists in that country get sent to internment camps or are they seen as spies because their “Mormon American President” has shown contempt to that foreign country? Mitt Romney spoke last week (and I’m putting this in my own words so forgive me) about a new tyrant in our hemisphere. Of course, he was referring to Hugo Chavez. Well, Chavez has already kicked Christian Missionaries from many denominations out of his country. The Mormon Church, from my understanding, then removed any foreign missionaries from preaching in Venezuela. Well, could a President Mitt’s actions to confront Chavez affect Mormons living or working in or native to Venezuela? Could his actions affect Mormon Church property or the ability to worship freely in Venezuela? What about if the US is forced to go to war with Iran? Does this make the Muslim world believe that the Mormon faith hates Muslims? These, of course, are all hypotheticals. But I think that more than the American people needing to know what they will be “getting into” with a Mormon President, the Mormon Church needs to consider what it will be getting into if the most famous and criticized person in the world was a member of their faith. Is the Mormon Church really ready for that kind of exposure and potential negative feedback, and what kinds of real life problems could that present for the operation of the Church? Most churches don’t have to worry about this kind of thing if their members ascend to the American Presidency and the title of “Leader of the Free World.” But Mormons, at least from what I’ve seen, are truly under a microscope. When Bush declared war on Iraq, did anyone ask: “What is wrong with Methodists?” “Why do Methodists hate Saddam Hussein so much?” or “Why do Methodists always go to war?” Well, maybe somebody somewhere did, but nowhere near the deafening level of what could possibly come up for Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith. It makes me wonder if the best thing would just be for Romney or another Mormon to be Vice President before a Mormon ever gets elected to the Presidency. It would be a baby step enough to get the general public comfortable with that person and his or her Mormon faith first. But it could also ease the way for the Mormon Church if it does not want to deal with the microscope that it would be put under without first preparing itself and the public. Anyway, I just thought that this subject is more interesting than Romney’s family tree and the fact that he himself is a Mormon, which comes up everywhere. In a feeble defense of this non-news AP article though, I’d say that it was informative and I didn’t go away with any negative feelings at all toward Mitt Romney because of the article. I’m not sure how others may have felt though. Maybe, I wasn’t the demographic targeted by that potential hit piece, I guess. The article did bring up again an interesting question that I’ve been wondering about though. If Romney’s father was born in Mexico, how could he have ran for President? Isn’t that the issue that Schwarzenegger is dealing with? I think that I recall hearing that McCain was born in Panama or something like that, but it was US controlled land? And if George Romney’s parents were expatriates living in Mexico when he was born, wouldn’t that have constitutionally disqualified him from the Presidency anyway? By 206isCancer.com, at February 25, 2007 6:28 PM Great editorial! AWESOME! Please post the email address of Johnson if you find it. Their reporting on this along with all the other "hangerson" is hillarious. Gotta love it. My grandmother (not Mormon) loved geneology as a hobby. I found out in my youth that I had a horse rustler for a g-g-g-grandfather in Arkansas or some place like that. They hanged the guy --- it is a good thing he had kids first tho. To 206's point: My personal opinion is that it doesn't matter what the church thinks on this; for Americans and me at least. The most important issue at hand is to get the most qualified and best person in the President's saddle (If that person were a Quaker, I would be doing what I could to help him/her). That person is MR, hands down. I am sure the people who run the Mormon church know what could be coming and are well prepared for it. And I doubt they are complaining about all the free publicity. By Free2Speak, at February 25, 2007 8:33 PM This is ridiculous. Why don't they find out which candidates had great grandfathers who were slave holders or something like that. I mean, c'mon By Anonymous, at February 25, 2007 8:35 PM It's all just too funny... I know who my great grandfather and my wife does too. Come to think of it, you may know her's as well... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_v._United_States His name is George Reynolds, and his case (albeit not completely correct in description on Wikipedia) is a cornerstone of current debate on marriage. My wife is a lifer and I'm a convert (6 years after being married to her from being an Agnostic). It didn't stop me from marrying her - we had common values, end of story. They (the AP) can't stand a discussion on real issues - sideshow antics are what keep them alive and selling papers. FWIW for 206: As a second-gen Arizonan, Ev Mecham was perceived as a nut, not for the Mormon angle but because he took a hard line on things rather than lay down like a nice politician. MD By Anonymous, at February 26, 2007 1:16 PM Post a Comment

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Mitt Romney's Closet Finally Uncovered! 3 Generations Ago!

posted by Justin Hart | 7:23 PM | permalink

What do you get when you pair Jennifer Dobner (the LDS Church watcher) and Glen Johnson (the Romney basher) together on an article about Romney's Marmon family roots? A hit piece like no other.

Jennifer is fairly tame in her decidedly left-leaning muckraking, though at times she inserts some fun axiomatic assumptions into her pieces (implying that the Mormon church would "punish" a man who entered into a "legal, same-sex marriage"). Glen has cut his teeth far deeper than Jennifer implying disappointment that Governor Romney doesn't carry over his displeasure with the Mass. Supreme Court into the public arena (see here and here). With their dual agendas the path to literary sniping was almost inevitable.

Actually, I got a call from a friend this morning who indicated that reporters were poking around down in Mexico trying to interview some of the supposed long-lost polygamous cousins of Mitt Romney. It says something about the personal integrity of Governor Romney that his detractors have to scour back 3 generations to literally dig up a skeleton in a closet... since his closet is pretty darn clean.

You see the main problem with AP hit pieces is that they don't state their claims.... they simply insinuate. So the article starts out like this:

While Mitt Romney condemns polygamy and its prior practice by his Mormon church, the Republican presidential candidate's great-grandfather had five wives and at least one of his great-great grandfathers had 12.

This would be funny if it weren't so contorted. They set up the sentence as a dichotomy but can't quite come to the realization of what that dichotomy is. So we need some MORE insinuation:

Romney's father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney, was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, where Mormons fled in the 1800s to escape religious persecution and U.S. laws forbidding polygamy. He and his family did not return to the United States until 1912, more than two decades after the church issued "The Manifesto" banning polygamy.

So the whispering voices that Dobner and Johnson want you to hear is that Romney Sr. was possibly a closet polygamist himself, that his immediate kin were Mormon defilers for decades and that Mitt obviously must have polyamorous leanings.

What any of this has to do with Romney's presidential aspirations is unclear. Except this: Dobner and Johnson do not want you to vote for him. And nothing pulls on a voters heart strings like the strange estrangement and tears of Mitt's Great Great grandmother:

"I felt that was more than I could endure, to have him divide his time and affections from me. I used to walk the floor and shed tears of sorrow. If anything will make a woman's heart ache, it is for her husband to take another wife. ... But I put my trust in my heavenly father, and prayed and pleaded with him to give me strength to bear this great trial."

Again, I ask. What does this have to do with Mitt? This is agenda press politics at its best!

Labels: AP, family, Glen Johnson, Jennier Dobner, mitt romney, polygamy, press

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	2 Comments: Do we have email addresses for these two? I'd like to see a Brody-style flood of email sent to them. By Anonymous, at February 25, 2007 10:07 AM I did a bit of background checking on these two AP journalists. Jennifer actually works out of their Salt Lake City office -- obviously not happy by her LDS surroundings. If you look at her story history, she reports on polygamy all the time. If anyone wants to contact her and call her out on this shameful story, email her at jdobner@ap.org; or call her at (801) 322-3405. Glen Johnson on the other hand reported from Boston, where they are looking for every possible way to smear their former governor. And he is always looking for ways to highlight the other candidates. Take a look at this glowing piece that Johnson did on Obama that doesn’t mention a negative thing in it, and of course doesn’t mention that Obama’s own father had multiple wives - http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/231641,3_1_EL27_A7OBAMA_S1.article. The editors and publisher of the Associated Press should be ashamed. -Cory By Anonymous, at February 25, 2007 2:27 PM Post a Comment