Selling the Fear: The Fortis Prediction Hoax
by Paul Haughey
The forwarded story led me to a blog, not a news site, which alleged to provide a one paragraph abbreviation of the story, introduced by the statement “I was shocked to read the following, which was posted 4 hours ago…”.
The article alleges that Fortis chairman, Maurice Lippens, expects 6,000 US banks to file for bankruptcy in coming weeks. It mentions that even large financial institutions, such as Citigroup and General Motors, will also be affected, and these events will start a complete financial meltdown in the United States.
STORY DOES NOT HOLD UP TO SCRUTINY
My first reaction to the story was that it contained all the elements of a net rumor or an urban legend, the kind my grandfather likes to forward to me: Bill Gates will give you $1,000 for forwarding his email; Obama isn’t really a US citizen; undocumented Mexican laborers are going to get $1 trillion in free US health care but you are not; car jackers are going to steal your car by putting a flyer on your window; etc.
I next searched every legitimate news site I could think of, including press release sites, blogs or personal web sites by Fortis directors or employees, interviews, oral or written public statements, etc. I found no predictions of 6,000 bankruptcies.
In early June, financial genius and progressive activist George Soros testified before Congress that oil prices have reached an artificial high of $140 per barrel. His opinion, and the opinion of experts throughout the industry, is that the price has been driven up artificially by futures market and other speculators, and just like the tech market correction/crash of the late 1990’s, the oil market will soon correct itself down to the real price of $80-90 per barrel. This will most likely result in a price reduction at the pump, possibly a dollar per gallon or more.
Additionally, oil consumption has been slowing down over the past months, and for the first time in years, demand is lower than supply. Fortis’s efforts have been simply to raise real money, to protect itself against artificially overpriced hedge funds.
THE ANATOMY OF AN URBAN LEGEND
-It feeds on existing fears and insecurities
-A slight basis in the truth
After a few days of research, my team was able to pinpoint the first time the net rumor was posted. One person, an alleged professor at a state university, authored and posted the story on roughly 50 web sites in one day, then let the rumors fly.
We decided to take it a step further, and try to find a real name to go along with the pen name. This is usually not possible, but since the author identified himself with a state university, we made dozens of phone calls to the university until we tracked down the author. The poster was a 40-something janitor at the state university (not a professor), a self-identified Rush Limbaugh fan, who was fired for exposing himself to female students. We subsequently learned that he had been banned from several web sites for posting nude photos of himself in discussion boards as well. *(We still have some of these nude photos - feel free to contact me and I’ll share them, although I warn you, they are not pretty.)
We typically don’t think of urban legends as a tool for right-wing, regressive thinkers. But in many cases, fear appears to be a central theme. The reader is encouraged to fear *everything*, even the most mundane of daily activities (i.e., a flyer on your window). Lack of fear will leave you susceptible to being ripped off, carjacked, murdered, etc.
Fear-based stories have been used throughout history to manipulate children, to keep people paralyzed from enacting social change, to prevent action and activism, and to prevent change. Fear of racial minorities, for example, keeps us divided and prevents us from uniting for change.
Fear also keeps us focused on protecting ourselves, our homes, our loved ones, our families…and takes our focus away from systemic problems, from the environment, from our larger communities, from our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, and it certainly keeps us unaware of the ripple effects of our actions (and the actions of our country). For example, if we are preoccupied with fears of being carjacked at the gas station, we certainly do not have any time or energy to question the logic or ethics of our invasion and occupation of Iraq.
I have often said that while fear sells better, hope lasts longer. The lesson to be learned, of course, is to be weary of any information, regardless of the source, that tries to scare you into non-action. The world needs our hope and our activism. To quote the articulate George W Bush: “Fool me once, shame on … shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on… if fooled… if you’re fooled, you can’t get fooled again.”
http://BooksforthePlanet.org
Paul Haughey is the director of Books for the Planet, a not for profit organization which supports literacy, the environment, and social responsibility through education and programs. Its programs promote reform and environmental practices in the publishing industry, and helps libraries, businesses, schools, publishers, and other organizations develop recycling programs for their books, literature, and other items. Books for the Planet has recycled over 1 million books, and has built libraries for underprivileged communites in the US and abroad. Its board of directors includes a varied and impressive array of experts from a variety of fields. Books for the Planet founder, Paul Haughey, is an educator, consultant, author, speaker, and has received numerous awards for his writings, speeches, leadership, and his environmental activism.
Obama to ‘refine’ Iraq plan
By MIKE ALLEN | 7/3/08 4:16 PM EST Updated: 7/3/08 5:55 PM EST
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Thursday backed off his firm promise to withdraw combat forces from Iraq immediately and instead said he could “refine” his plan after his trip to Baghdad later this month.
Earlier, a top Obama adviser had said that the senator is not “wedded” to a specific timeline.
Obama told reporters in Fargo, N.D., that he is “going to do a thorough assessment.”
“When I go to Iraq and I have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I’m sure I’ll have more information and will continue to refine my policies,” he said, according to CBS News. “I have been consistent, throughout this process, that I believe the war in Iraq was a mistake.”
Obama later said at a second news conference he still intends to stick to the timeline.
The original Obama plan, still on his website, promises: “Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months.”
In a separate six-page Iraq plan, he says in a section headed “All Combat Troops Redeployed by 2009”: “The best way to protect our security and to pressure Iraq’s leaders to resolve their civil war is to begin immediately to remove our combat troops. Not in six months or one year — now.”
David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, began backing off during remarks Wednesday on CNN’s “Situation Room,” telling guest host John Roberts that Obama has actually advocated “a phased withdrawal, with benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet, that called for strategic pauses, based on the progress on these benchmarks and advice on the commanders on the ground.”
“He’s always said that he would listen to the advice of commanders on the ground, that that would factor into his thinking,” Axelrod said. “He’s also always said that we had to be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. So he’s been very consistent on this point. …
“I think he will take the advice, not just the advice of the commanders on the ground but his general assessment of conditions on the ground in calibrating that withdrawal. He said he thought we could get one to two brigades out a month. But he’s not wedded to that in the face of events. No president would be. And he’s always said that he’s never said that this withdrawal would be without any possibility of alteration based on events on the ground. That would not be a prudent thing to do for any president.”
The Republican National Committee plans to make an issue of the evolving statements and has posted “Obama’s Iraq Guessing Game,” rounding up various statements on Iraq by the senator, his aides and surrogates.
[DOESN'T REALLY SOUND LIKE CHANGE DOES IT? SOUNDS LIKE MORE OF THE SAME. BWT]
Pray at the Pump: It’s the dollar stupid!
Just came across this gem. Some geniuses have figured out what is driving the high oil prices: Saudi Arabia
“The Pray at the Pump Movement, founded by Rocky Twyman, has been holding prayer vigils at gas stations across the country. On Monday, Twyman decided to take his movement from Exxon and Shell stations straight to the steps of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C., hoping to encourage the oil-rich country to raise the amount of barrels they release each day from 200,000 to 1.2 million. ” [1]
This is an amazing feat of stupidity. I hope these people are purposely perpetuating false information and that they really don’t believe in what they are doing. I want to have faith in humanity, but things like this make it difficult.
You can pray at the Saudi Arabia Embassy for the rest of the year, but it isn’t going to accomplish anything. Or you could try doing something constructive like finding out what the real cause is.
You can read the full report here:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200807/NAT20080703a.html
Don’t bomb Iran, Bush warns Israel
Wednesday, July 2nd 2008, 9:47 PM
WASHINGTON - President Bush and the top U.S. military commander warned Israel Wednesday against bombing Iran, suggesting the U.S. doesn’t want to get involved in a third war.
“This is a very unstable part of the world and I don’t need it to be more unstable,” Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, said at a briefing.
Bush said, “I have made it clear to all parties [including Israel] that the first option is diplomacy,” in getting Iran to stop enriching uranium that could be used for a nuclear weapon.
The warnings came after the disclosure that Israel had conducted air operations over the Mediterranean that could simulate a strike on Iran.
Groups Sue U.S. for Data On Tracking By Cellphone
By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 2, 2008; A02
Two civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government yesterday, seeking records related to the government’s use of cellphones as tracking devices.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the government in federal court in Washington under the Freedom of Information Act. Last November, the ACLU had filed a FOIA request with the Justice Department for documents, memos and guides regarding the policies for tracking people through the use of their cellphones.
The groups also want to know how many times the government sought location information without first establishing probable cause that a crime was taking place.
Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd declined to comment on the suit. But with respect to cell-tracking data in general, he said, “It is important to remember that the courts determine whether or not cell-site data or more precise cell location data can be turned over to law enforcement in a particular case.”
Boyd added that “law enforcement has absolutely no interest in tracking the locations of law-abiding citizens. Instead, law enforcement goes through the courts to lawfully obtain data to help locate criminal suspects, sometimes in cases where lives are literally hanging in the balance, such as a child abduction case or a serial murderer on the loose.”
The ACLU’s FOIA request was made after an article in The Washington Post last fall revealed that federal officials were routinely asking courts to order cellphone companies to furnish real-time tracking data on individuals and that courts sometimes have ordered the data released without first requiring a showing of probable cause.
Ron Paul Says Something Big is Going On
The following statement is written by Congressman Paul about the pending financial disaster. He will introduce this statement as a special order and insert it into the Congressional Record next week. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to debut it first on the Campaign for Liberty blog. It reads as follows:
I have, for the past 35 years, expressed my grave concern for the future of America. The course we have taken over the past century has threatened our liberties, security and prosperity. In spite of these long-held concerns, I have days—growing more frequent all the time—when I’m convinced the time is now upon us that some Big Events are about to occur. These fast-approaching events will not go unnoticed. They will affect all of us. They will not be limited to just some areas of our country. The world economy and political system will share in the chaos about to be unleashed.
Though the world has long suffered from the senselessness of wars that should have been avoided, my greatest fear is that the course on which we find ourselves will bring even greater conflict and economic suffering to the innocent people of the world—unless we quickly change our ways.
America, with her traditions of free markets and property rights, led the way toward great wealth and progress throughout the world as well as at home. Since we have lost our confidence in the principles of liberty, self reliance, hard work and frugality, and instead took on empire building, financed through inflation and debt, all this has changed. This is indeed frightening and an historic event.
The problem we face is not new in history. Authoritarianism has been around a long time. For centuries, inflation and debt have been used by tyrants to hold power, promote aggression, and provide “bread and circuses” for the people. The notion that a country can afford “guns and butter” with no significant penalty existed even before the 1960s when it became a popular slogan. It was then, though, we were told the Vietnam War and a massive expansion of the welfare state were not problems. The seventies proved that assumption wrong.
Today things are different from even ancient times or the 1970s. There is something to the argument that we are now a global economy. The world has more people and is more integrated due to modern technology, communications, and travel. If modern technology had been used to promote the ideas of liberty, free markets, sound money and trade, it would have ushered in a new golden age—a globalism we could accept.
Instead, the wealth and freedom we now enjoy are shrinking and rest upon a fragile philosophic infrastructure. It is not unlike the levies and bridges in our own country that our system of war and welfare has caused us to ignore.
I’m fearful that my concerns have been legitimate and may even be worse than I first thought. They are now at our doorstep. Time is short for making a course correction before this grand experiment in liberty goes into deep hibernation.
There are reasons to believe this coming crisis is different and bigger than the world has ever experienced. Instead of using globalism in a positive fashion, it’s been used to globalize all of the mistakes of the politicians, bureaucrats and central bankers.
Being an unchallenged sole superpower was never accepted by us with a sense of humility and respect. Our arrogance and aggressiveness have been used to promote a world empire backed by the most powerful army of history. This type of globalist intervention creates problems for all citizens of the world and fails to contribute to the well-being of the world’s populations. Just think how our personal liberties have been trashed here at home in the last decade.
The financial crisis, still in its early stages, is apparent to everyone: gasoline prices over $4 a gallon; skyrocketing education and medical-care costs; the collapse of the housing bubble; the bursting of the NASDAQ bubble; stockmarkets plunging; unemployment rising;, massive underemployment; excessive government debt; and unmanageable personal debt. Little doubt exists as to whether we’ll get stagflation. The question that will soon be asked is: When will the stagflation become an inflationary depression?
There are various reasons that the world economy has been globalized and the problems we face are worldwide. We cannot understand what we’re facing without understanding fiat money and the long-developing dollar bubble.
There were several stages. From the inception of the Federal Reserve System in 1913 to 1933, the Central Bank established itself as the official dollar manager. By 1933, Americans could no longer own gold, thus removing restraint on the Federal Reserve to inflate for war and welfare.
By 1945, further restraints were removed by creating the Bretton-Woods Monetary System making the dollar the reserve currency of the world. This system lasted up until 1971. During the period between 1945 and 1971, some restraints on the Fed remained in place. Foreigners, but not Americans, could convert dollars to gold at $35 an ounce. Due to the excessive dollars being created, that system came to an end in 1971.
It’s the post Bretton-Woods system that was responsible for globalizing inflation and markets and for generating a gigantic worldwide dollar bubble. That bubble is now bursting, and we’re seeing what it’s like to suffer the consequences of the many previous economic errors.
Ironically in these past 35 years, we have benefited from this very flawed system. Because the world accepted dollars as if they were gold, we only had to counterfeit more dollars, spend them overseas (indirectly encouraging our jobs to go overseas as well) and enjoy unearned prosperity. Those who took our dollars and gave us goods and services were only too anxious to loan those dollars back to us. This allowed us to export our inflation and delay the consequences we now are starting to see.
But it was never destined to last, and now we have to pay the piper. Our huge foreign debt must be paid or liquidated. Our entitlements are coming due just as the world has become more reluctant to hold dollars. The consequence of that decision is price inflation in this country—and that’s what we are witnessing today. Already price inflation overseas is even higher than here at home as a consequence of foreign central bank’s willingness to monetize our debt.
Printing dollars over long periods of time may not immediately push prices up–yet in time it always does. Now we’re seeing catch-up for past inflating of the monetary supply. As bad as it is today with $4 a gallon gasoline, this is just the beginning. It’s a gross distraction to hound away at “drill, drill, drill” as a solution to the dollar crisis and high gasoline prices. Its okay to let the market increase supplies and drill, but that issue is a gross distraction from the sins of deficits and Federal Reserve monetary shenanigans.
This bubble is different and bigger for another reason. The central banks of the world secretly collude to centrally plan the world economy. I’m convinced that agreements among central banks to “monetize” U.S. debt these past 15 years have existed, although secretly and out of the reach of any oversight of anyone—especially the U.S. Congress that doesn’t care, or just flat doesn’t understand. As this “gift” to us comes to an end, our problems worsen. The central banks and the various governments are very powerful, but eventually the markets overwhelm when the people who get stuck holding the bag (of bad dollars) catch on and spend the dollars into the economy with emotional zeal, thus igniting inflationary fever.
This time—since there are so many dollars and so many countries involved—the Fed has been able to “paper” over every approaching crisis for the past 15 years, especially with Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, which has allowed the bubble to become history’s greatest.
The mistakes made with excessive credit at artificially low rates are huge, and the market is demanding a correction. This involves excessive debt, misdirected investments, over-investments, and all the other problems caused by the government when spending the money they should never have had. Foreign militarism, welfare handouts and $80 trillion entitlement promises are all coming to an end. We don’t have the money or the wealth-creating capacity to catch up and care for all the needs that now exist because we rejected the market economy, sound money, self reliance and the principles of liberty.
Since the correction of all this misallocation of resources is necessary and must come, one can look for some good that may come as this “Big Even” unfolds.
There are two choices that people can make. The one choice that is unavailable to us is to limp along with the status quo and prop up the system with more debt, inflation and lies. That won’t happen.
One of the two choices, and the one chosen so often by government in the past is that of rejecting the principles of liberty and resorting to even bigger and more authoritarian government. Some argue that giving dictatorial powers to the President, just as we have allowed him to run the American empire, is what we should do. That’s the great danger, and in this post-911 atmosphere, too many Americans are seeking safety over freedom. We have already lost too many of our personal liberties already. Real fear of economic collapse could prompt central planners to act to such a degree that the New Deal of the 30’s might look like Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
The more the government is allowed to do in taking over and running the economy, the deeper the depression gets and the longer it lasts. That was the story of the 30ss and the early 40s, and the same mistakes are likely to be made again if we do not wake up.
But the good news is that it need not be so bad if we do the right thing. I saw “Something Big” happening in the past 18 months on the campaign trail. I was encouraged that we are capable of waking up and doing the right thing. I have literally met thousands of high school and college kids who are quite willing to accept the challenge and responsibility of a free society and reject the cradle-to-grave welfare that is promised them by so many do-good politicians.
If more hear the message of liberty, more will join in this effort. The failure of our foreign policy, welfare system, and monetary policies and virtually all government solutions are so readily apparent, it doesn’t take that much convincing. But the positive message of how freedom works and why it’s possible is what is urgently needed.
One of the best parts of accepting self reliance in a free society is that true personal satisfaction with one’s own life can be achieved. This doesn’t happen when the government assumes the role of guardian, parent or provider, because it eliminates a sense of pride. But the real problem is the government can’t provide the safety and economic security that it claims. The so-called good that government claims it can deliver is always achieved at the expense of someone else’s freedom. It’s a failed system and the young people know it.
Restoring a free society doesn’t eliminate the need to get our house in order and to pay for the extravagant spending. But the pain would not be long-lasting if we did the right things, and best of all the empire would have to end for financial reasons. Our wars would stop, the attack on civil liberties would cease, and prosperity would return. The choices are clear: it shouldn’t be difficult, but the big event now unfolding gives us a great opportunity to reverse the tide and resume the truly great American Revolution started in 1776. Opportunity knocks in spite of the urgency and the dangers we face.
Let’s make “Something Big is Happening” be the discovery that freedom works and is popular and the big economic and political event we’re witnessing is a blessing in disguise.
Provocateurs Planning Violence At DNC
TruthAlliance.net | July 2, 2008
We Are Change Colorado has now become aware that another group, Unconventional Action, is planning on being violent at the DNC protests. Violence is a broad term. Some argue that property damage is violent, others might tell you it sends a message. To most of the Truth Alliance and We Are Change Colorado activists, there is no message to property damage and is in fact, a form of violent behavior. In the eyes of the law, property damage is completely, without debate, illegal.
To make the long story short, Unconventional Action seems to be open about their plans for the DNC. Their website, which can be found here: http://www.unconventionalaction.org/ has one link which is pretty disturbing.
Under the link, “The Strategies: How We Win,” a section titled: Denver: Disrupt the DNC, clearly outlines for “Anarchists and Anti-Authoritarians” to “join (them) in Denver, Colorado, August 24th-28th as (they) engage in coordinated Direct Actions against the Democratic National Convention, its corporate sponsors, and the military/police occupation of public space.”
Direct Action is further defined on their website as getting directly involved rather than relying on a representative to do the framework. Their website goes on to further state that they are:
“currently organizing meetings, propaganda, and consultas in our communities and encourage those in other regions to do the same.
(They) aim to organize militant direct action that manifests opposition to both the Democratic and Republican Parties. As anti-authoritarians, (They) oppose so-called representational politics, but even those who still believe in it must understand that we can only have leverage over our rulers by showing our own power, that we must back our demands by demonstrating that we can interfere with their business as effectively as they interfere with our lives”
This can all be found on their website at the top link titled, What Is Unconventional Action?
Unconventional Action was attending the Alliance for Real Democracy meeting which is a new group that has formed in light of the information that was presented here on Truth Alliance about Re-Create 68. Many members of Re-Create 68 have broken away from the group and saw that the intentions of R-68’s demonstrations held no message and potentially could get protesters arrested, agitated and/or violent, aside from the fact that Truth Alliance got direct verbal confirmation that there is violence in the planning of some of the demonstrations. Read both of the articles of information about Re-Create 68 at these links:
ReCreate 68 Starting to Look Like a Threat to Peaceful Activist Groups
More Information Develops on ReCreate 68 and Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement
Alliance for Real Democracy is made up of Ex-ReCreate 68 members who wanted to make clear that they are not planning violent demonstrations at the DNC. While clearly admitting that they needed to separate themselves from R-68, they banned We Are Change from being one of the groups that would be allowed in “Alliance for Real Democracy.” The reason for this is still unclear.
Unconventional Action is attending and apart of Alliance for Real Democracy. A member of Alliance for Real Democracy contacted Truth Alliance and described that Unconventional Action is planning property damage as their attempt to send a message. This is not just illegal but something that will get all of the activists labeled by the police as violent. This is exactly what we DO NOT want.
We want peaceful demonstrations with a fair, united presence. Alliance for Real Democracy states on their website found here, http://realdemocracy2008.org/, that they are “a nonviolent, transparent coalition of progressive and radical groups that will organize global justice and peace events and protests at the Democratic National Convention in August 2008.”
First of all, why have they banned We Are Change when they have invited so many other groups to be apart of this “umbrella” group? Second, the battle of the New World Order is that there is a two party, divide and conquer, agenda that has been used against the people to get different puppets into the White House to push the same exact agendas? Obama has recently stated that he supports war with Iran, among many things, his support for the FISA bill and spying on Americans. After attending the Bilderberg meeting, it seems Obama sold out quick. McCain is a joke too. McCain not only supports war with Iran but wants to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years! McCain, when asked about the price of oil, stated that he really didn’t think it mattered. McCain is clearly one of the worst people to even enter politics and Obama seems to be selling out just as quick.
Aren’t these the real issues? The economy, the war, the falling dollar, false flag terrorism and real terrorism (which has been proven that some terrorist groups are trained, protected, financed and supported by the US Government), the Federal Reserve System, the still unresolved assassination of President John Kennedy, the continued Iran-Contra network which is still operating today, the completely illegal “drug war,” the prison system, 9/11 investigations, and so many more which seem to many as the real issues, since they single handedly represent the fact that there is a completely totalitarian system in place which uses the media to propagate its lies and the left/right paradigm to conquer the system in place. It seems that people want others to come forward as the “savior” to fix everything and get behind a party of a candidate and that is not, has not, and will not be acceptable anymore.
The citizens of the United States have to take back the government and hold politicians accountable for their actions and quit giving “Free Rides” to corrupt businesses, corporations, politicians and others if they want to see some REAL change.
False Flag?
As if this wasn’t enough to report on, it seems the Denver Office of Emergency Management is planning for mass evacuations of the city during the week of the DNC. Does this mean that there is intel on a threat or that a flase flag is coming? Perhaps this is evidence of just a mere excersize to plan for the worse. You decide.
A member of We Are Change Colorado overheard a conversation by some people who worked for the Office of Emergency Management of Denver at a Denver restaurant where they work in waiting tables. They discussed multiple detention facilities that had already been acquired as well as others that were still in the process of trying to be obtained. Some facilities mentioned were “already a done deal” were “DPS (Denver Public Schools) facilities for Detention and because of their use as viable LZ’s” (which we are assuming means landing zones). They also stated that DPS knew of some of these facilities and some they didn’t know about” It was a noisy environment and the We Are Change Colorado member may have not heard everything in their conversation correctly. They also discussed the “FBI securing Coors Field for “their assets”” as well as the use of Invesco Field and the Denver Coliseum as ” Fully Equiped Decon facilities” (Again, we are assuming that this means decontamination). One said something to the effect of “these 3 decon facilities would not be able to support the number of people in Denver but in a lot of circumstances most die before they can reach a decon facility anyway so the numbers who actually make it should not be to many.”
The DNC convention was specifically mentioned several times and the Change Colorado member is 100% confident that is what all of these subjects pertained to. They discussed logistics of both getting emergency vehicles into the city in an emergency as well as the logistics of “evacuating the entire downtown metro area of Denver and the difficulties of such.” During this conversation with members who wore shirt identifying that they were members of Denver’s Office of Emergency Management, they discussed that approximately 20,000 people would die from the event of this “pandemic biological attack.”
Denver recently held a pandemic drill where vaccinations were offered at sites around the city. The drills were set up to specifically treat 20,000 victims. Could this be a coincidence?
Third person charged in satanic rituals case
, Staff Writers
DURHAM - Another local Democratic official has been charged in a criminal case that includes allegations of sexual assault and satanic rituals.
Diana Palmer, first vice chairwoman of the Durham County Democratic Party, turned herself in to Durham police this afternoon. Palmer, 44, of Cottage Woods Court, was charged with one count of accessory after the fact of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.
Bill Thomas, a defense lawyer in the Duke lacrosse case, is representing Palmer and is disturbed by the accusations.
“Ms. Palmer vehemently denies any association whatsoever with a satanic cult,” Thomas said this afternoon while his client was being processed at the jail. “She further denies any knowledge of a crime being perpetrated by the persons previously arrested.”
Joseph Scott Craig, 25, and Joy Suzanne Johnson, 30, both of 2305 Albany St., are in the Durham County jail.
Craig, a dispatcher at Allied Waste Industries, has been charged with second-degree rape, second-degree forcible sexual offense, three counts of second-degree kidnapping and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Two of the kidnapping charges were filed Tuesday.
Two charges of aiding and abetting filed against Johnson on Tuesday reveal new details of what the woman in their house alleged.
The warrants accuse Johnson of “instigating and encouraging” her husband as he handcuffed a man and forced him “into a dog cage, leaving him there for hours, terrorizing him.”
Johnson was charged Friday with two other counts of aiding and abetting. The charges stem from accusations by a woman who listed the couple’s home as her address.
The man who police say was caged also lived at the house.
“The Durham Police Department has knowledge that my client was not present and did not have knowledge of crimes for which others have been arrested, and I hope the investigator will share this with the public,” Thomas said Wednesday.
In a city where an escort service dancer’s highly publicized accusations of gang rape were dismissed as phony allegations in the Duke lacrosse case, many are reserving judgment in the satanic ritual case until more facts are disclosed.
With prosecutors are divulging little information and newly appointed public defenders are not yet up to speed on the cases, the only details available are in arrest warrants.
The News & Observer does not generally identify people who have filed complaints of sexual assault.
The incidents, according to warrants, occurred in December 2007 and in January and May.
Palmer was a partner with Craig and Johnson in a company called Indigo Dawn. The company’s Web site says Indigo Dawn offers products and services “to promote enlightenment and assist in the development and self-empowerment and divine potential.”
Among the services offered, according to the Web site, are “intuitive guidance, past-life regression, spirit guide communication and healing and cleansing.”
Police continued their investigation today. They executed a search warrant at the Albany Street home.
Durham animal control officers were at the couple’s Albany Street home today with pet abandonment notices.
The couple has two dogs, according to neighbors, a small chihuahua named Pebbles and a white pit bull terrier named Tia. Neighbors said they thought the smaller dog had been taken out of the home and was being cared for by a friend.
The larger dog was in the backyard, but a neighbor had been feeding and taking care of him since the arrest.
Johnson and Craig have been in the Durham County jail since Friday.
Final thoughts on Todd Bentley, Kenneth Copeland and Senator Grassley.
Kenneth Copeland is right, well sort of.
I am very human. My thought processes are in a constant state of flux. Hopefully, my thoughts evolve as I gain more understanding on an issue. In the past few days, I have changed my opinion of Senator Grassley’s investigation of Kenneth Copeland. And no, it has absolutely nothing to do with the drones over at Eagle Mountain international churning out prefabbed comments. It has a lot more to do with Senator Grassley.
When I first wrote on the subject of Grassley’s investigation, I stated that I didn’t have an opinion on Copeland’s guilt or innocence, but I thought he should follow Benny Hinn’s lead and submit to the Committee. I was attacked by employees of KCM ministries, and that became a starting point. The more research I did on the subject, the more opinionated I became.
I accidently discovered Todd Bentley. I was so shocked with the stories of 28 being raised from the dead, the third heaven, and the disgusting cast of characters he surrounds himself with, I forgot all about Kenneth Copeland. The carnival Bentley has created in Lakeland Florida profoundly disturbs me, as does the blind allegiance of Bentley’s followers.
There is no reasoning with someone who believes that a child molester, whose spiritual advisers Bob Jones and Paul Cain, were drummed out of the ministry for sexual misconduct, raised 28 people from the dead. They are fumbling around in the darkness grasping at anything in the name of God.
It was recently reported that in a matter of months, 400, 000 people have made the pilgrimage to Lakeland to see the Bentley freakshow . What does that tell me? We are in big trouble if 400k in three months made the pilgrimage to see Todd Bentley.
So who is responsible for protecting the masses from Todd Bentley? No doubt. The cash is pouring in. Bentley can tell Geraldo where the money goes, but the truth be told, there is no way to account for the cash. It could be spent on Paul Cain’s cabana boys or Patricia King’s Xanax. We just don’t know. Who is accountable for this malfeasance? The people who are stupid enough to give it to them.
The notion did pop into my mind that some people need to be protected from themselves. Even the Copeland supporters told me, “no one asked those people to give to Copeland’s ministry.” They are correct, the blind following the blind are responsible for their own stupidity. And to be fair, after looking at it, Copeland is no Todd Bentley.
Kenneth Copeland has a carefully crafted brand of word faith that has served him well over the years. He is a long way from claiming to raise people from the dead. And before this came up, I would have never had an ill thought about Copeland. I would have never put him in the same category as a Benny Hinn. The irony is that Benny Hinn has been the most forthcoming with Senator Grassley’s investigation. My thoughts are that Benny Hinn expected someone was eventually going to come after him, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar did not.
Yet, the protesting and the excuses Copeland has done comes across as cheap and petty. Copeland has never, until now, seemed cheap or petty. He comes across like the guy who might be the president of a bank, not someone who is making intellectual arguments about our personal liberties to protect himself from a Senate Committee. The whole thing is disappointing.
The argument comes up over and over again, “this is about our freedoms. If this battle is lost, all is lost.” I call bullshit on that argument. And, yes, I said bullshit, because that is exactly what it is. Think about it this way, I have cars coming in and out of my house all hours of the night, strange things are going on. People start getting suspicious. Finally, my neighbors call the police. The police come out, and they ask if they can come in and look around. I say “absolutely not. You can take me to jail but you will not come in my house without a search warrant. It is a matter of all of our personal freedoms.” No, it isn’t about all of our freedoms, it is about me not wanting the police to see what I am up to. Otherwise, I would want to clear it up, bring them in and set everyone’s mind at ease. It was never about our personal liberties. It was about Copeland’s desire to conceal something.
The thing I have come to understand in the last few days, however, is that Copeland is partially right. My thinking was not swayed by Copeland, but by Senator Grassley himself. I read about the new draconian legislation that Grassley is proposing that would require Ebay and Paypal to turn over all of the personal records of all of their transactions to the Federal Government. Basically, if you buy something on ebay, all of your personal transactions are turned over to the governement. I would suggest everyone doing their own research on this legislation. Grassley is the problem. He is a part of a system that is a much greater problem than Kenneth Copeland. The problem is that, going forward, this fight is going to become greater, as the government continues to push down into every aspect of our lives. One day we are going to wake up and realize we have signed away all of our rights in the name of fighting an unnamed enemy. The fight to preserve our individual freedoms will be a major issue in our lives moving forward. I am inclined to think Kenneth Copeland will not be leading the fight. I would bet the house that as soon as this investigation is over, Kenneth Copeland will concentrate his energies on airplanes and golf.
So however anyone wants to oblige the ministries in question is their business and not the governments. We have a lot bigger fish to fry, and for the time being, I think I am on the side of Kenneth Copeland, as much as I hate to say it. As for Todd Bentley and the Lakeland bunch, that is for God to sort out. It will all be resolved. It is only a matter of time. The truth will reveal itself. As for his followers, if a person can’t discern that there is something terribly wrong with the Bentley, they don’t deserve to hold on to the money they got. As for me, it is back to focusing my energies on the things that really matter.
Comments are greatly appreciated.
OPEC Leader Khelil Says Dollar Will Drive Oil to $170
By Ahmed Rouaba
June 28 (Bloomberg) — OPEC President Chakib Khelil predicted that the price of oil will climb to $170 a barrel before the end of the year, citing the dollar’s decline and political conflicts.
“Oil prices are expected to reach $170 as demand for fuel is growing in the U.S. during the summer period and the dollar continues to weaken against the euro,” Khelil said today in a telephone interview. The leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries also serves as Algeria’s oil minister.
Political pressure on Iran and the depreciation of the U.S. currency have caused a surge in oil prices, Khelil said. New York- traded crude has more than doubled in a year and touched a record $142.99 a barrel yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
OPEC ministers generally say that oil output is sufficient, even as Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer, pledged to pump an extra 200,000 barrels a day next month to calm the market. “The market is completely supplied,” Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said yesterday. Libya announced possible production cuts, calling the market oversupplied.
The rising cost of crude is not linked to supply, Khelil said today. “There is more than enough oil in the market to meet the international demand,” added the OPEC president, who will take part June 30 in an international energy forum in Madrid.
Prices, which are up 38 percent this quarter, are heading for the biggest quarterly gain since the first three months of 1999, when oil traded between $11 and $17.
Declining Dollar
“The decisions made by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank helped the devaluation of the dollar, which pushed up oil prices,” Khelil said.
Oil may extend gains if the ECB boosts rates on July 3, further weakening the U.S. currency. The dollar has declined 15 percent against the euro in 12 months.
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet reiterated June 25 that policy makers may increase the main refinancing rate by a quarter-percentage point next month to contain inflation. The Federal Reserve left the benchmark U.S. rate at 2 percent on June 25. On Sept. 18 the Fed began cutting rates to bolster an economy already reeling from the credit crisis.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ahmed Rouaba in Algiers at arouaba@bloomberg.net
Todd Bentley: The straw that broke the camels back?
Not a great time to be a charistmatic. It has been one embarrassing episode after another. Here is a list of some over the controversies over the last year or so.
1. Grassley Investigation. Senate Finance Committee investigation six leading television ministries, including Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland.
2. Scandal at Oral Roberts University. President Richards Roberts is forced to resign after numerous lawsuits are filed by former employees. Roberts is disgraced and most of his board of regents are also forced to resign after details of lawsuits become public The board included Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and others.
3. John Hagee is repudiated by John McCain after an audio tape surfaces in which Hagee says Hitler was doing God’s will in persecuting the Jews. Rod Parsley also had his endorsement rejected because of inflammatory statements he made about Islam.
4. Lakeland Revival: emergence of Jeff Bentley. Bentley explodes on the scene with his ridiculous assertions of 20 people being raised from the dead. He brings in Bob Jones, and Paul Cain as spiritual mentors. Bob Jones had several years before admitted to using the holy spirit to get woman to disrobe in his office. Paul Cain was drummed out of ministry because he admitted to immoral acts, stating that he had toiled with homosexuality and alcoholism.
There is a disturbing pattern here. The question is if Charismatics are not able to govern themselves, should the government step into protect the weak from these people? Is there a scenario as the government moves into its brave new world, that they would outlaw charistmatics and scientologists? Is it the governments job to protect those who are being targeted by these ministries from themselves? I don’t have the answers, but something has to be done. Is it possible that the prosperity gospel could be outlawed, along with faith healers?
http://startnow72.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/final-thoughts-on-todd-bentley-kenneth-copeland-and-senator-grassley/
John McCain “did not tell the truth” about captivity
‘When John McCain was my captive’
By Andrew Harding
BBC News in Haiphong, Vietnam
“McCain is my friend,” said 75-year-old Mr Duyet as he feeds the caged birds he now keeps in his garden in this coastal city.
“If I was American, I would vote for him.”
Informal chats
Navy pilot John McCain was shot down during a bombing raid over the North Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, in 1967.
He ejected from his aircraft and parachuted into a city lake - only to be dragged out by an angry crowd, barely conscious, and with two broken arms and a broken leg.
From there he was taken to Hoa Lo prison, known to its American military inmates as the “Hanoi Hilton”.
“But I can confirm to you that we never tortured him. We never tortured any prisoners.”
Mr Duyet reminisces instead about how he often summoned the future US presidential candidate to his private office for informal chats.
“We used to argue about the war - about whether it was right or wrong,” he says.
“He is a very frank man - very conservative, and very loyal to his country and the American ideal.
“He had a very interesting accent and sometimes he taught me words in English and corrected my accent. I have followed his career since he left prison.”
Rapprochement
So is Mr Duyet implying that that Senator McCain lied about his treatment at the Hanoi Hilton?
“He did not tell the truth,” he says.
“But I can somehow sympathise with him. He lies to American voters in order to get their support for his presidential election.”
Mr McCain played a crucial role in bringing about that initial rapprochement - a fact which helps explain Mr Duyet’s enthusiastic support for the McCain presidential campaign.
“I wish him success in the presidential election,” he says.
“Of course the Americans started the war in Vietnam and killed so many people - but now we want to leave the past behind.
“So now I consider John McCain my friend because he did much to mend relations between our two countries. And if he becomes president he will do more to improve those ties.”
Published: 2008/06/23 16:59:19 GMT
Blond, white schoolboy is al-Qa’eda extremist, say police
A schoolboy aged 12 has been identified as an al-Qaeda inspired extremist after sending beheading videos to his classmates, police have disclosed.
Anti-terrorism chiefs have said the example revealed how violent extremism is spreading “like a virus infecting young minds”.
The blonde, white schoolboy from West Yorkshire is among 120 people being dealt with by police in a new anti-terrorism scheme targeting al-Qa’eda inspired youths.
He has been identified only by the initials BC and was reported by his school after he was found circulating video clips of terrorists beheading Westerners.
Sir Norman Bettison, Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, said: “That was bad enough, but he also has an unnatural interest in guns and weapons.
“He spoke openly of his wish to be a sniper and spoke of his curiosity of what it would be like to kill someone.”
Sir Norman described him as an “angelic looking boy” whose police mugshot showed a fair-haired child so short that his head was barely in the frame of the camera.
“He is at risk of being a violent young man and a threat to society,” the chief constable said.
“He is not a Muslim. He is not driven by ideology – he is too young to spell the word.
“But he is being influenced and intoxicated by the imagery and appeal of Jihadist and other internet violence.”
Sir Norman, speaking at a conference of police chiefs in Liverpool, said that the internet helped to peddle the “virus”.
He added: “We know that there is a latent sense of grievance in the minds of many young people which, in the right conditions, can lead to the desire for violent expression.
“What happens if they learn how to build and deploy an explosive device that will cause mass casualties? Or if core al-Qa’eda can get their hands on these people to act as mules for a more sophisticated attack?”
The police chief urged every parent – particularly Muslims – to address the issue of extremism with their children.
“The al-Qa’eda brand of violent extremism continues to spread like a virus infecting young minds,” he said.
“Every young Muslim will be introduced to ideas around al-Qa’eda and a ‘global struggle’. I don’t see how you can avoid it in 2008.”
The 12-year-old boy arrived in Britain as an asylum seeker in July 2005, and at the age of eight allegedly assisted a nine-year-old and a 12-year-old boy in the forced rape of his sister, although he was never prosecuted, police revealed.
He is now being handled under a scheme known as the Channel Project, which has been running for the past nine months.
The number of suspects uncovered so far – 124 - was “higher than expected”, Sir Norman added.
They have been referred to the police and other agencies by schools, community leaders, mosques and others.
“We are trying to intervene early. We are trying to snuff out violent extremism,” said Sir Norman.
Sir Norman said none of the referrals had been prosecuted because officers were attempting to avoid using anti-terror laws against anyone identified by the scheme.
“Throwing the book at them in terms of the Prevention of Terrorism Act would be complete overkill,” the chief constable said.
“We are not talking about criminal actions. We are talking about vulnerable kids.”
Two other cases highlighted by the senior policeman were Muslim youths, known only as NH and YH, who were both 15 when they were reported by their communities because they were showing extremist and racist tendencies.
New figures revealed that 36 people were convicted of terror-related offences last year and 31 have been convicted already this year, with several trials ongoing. Around 140 are on remand awaiting trial.
Bob Quick, the head of Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “The threat has not lessened in any way to that we have seen in the past four summers.”
[Once they establish the notion that anyone can be al-Qaeda, everyone is suspect. They can curb everyones rights to protect us from the threat. Don't feed into this nonsense. This child obviously has psychological problems and is identifying with the most evil thing he knows of.]
How much does Paul Crouch Jr. thinks Grassley is the problem.
Last year, the Charisma magazine editor wrote a piece about the Grassley Investigation.
Integrity, Accountability and the Grassley Investigation
By J. Lee Grady
Six charismatic ministries are under the microscope as a U.S. Senate committee scrutinizes their spending practices. Is this from the devil—or God?
Depending on how you look at it, Sen. Charles Grassleyis either a crusader for righteousness or a devil with horns.
Some Christians feared he was the latter this week when the Iowa lawmaker, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, announced that he has launched an extensive investigation into the spending practices of six prominent charismatic ministries. As soon as news of the probe broke on Tuesday, I started getting calls from people who are worried that Grassley is plotting to take away the tax-exempt status of all evangelical churches in America.
I have been assured by one of Grassley’s top associates that he does not have a hidden agenda, and he is not conspiring to deny anybody of religious freedom. What the senator does want is assurance that these six organizations are not taking money that was donated to charity and misusing it to buy mansions, plastic surgeries and other lavish perks.
In letters that were made public on Tuesday, Grassley told Kenneth and Gloria Copeland; David and Joyce Meyer; Randy and Paula White; Creflo and Taffi Dollar; Eddie Long; and Benny Hinn that they have four weeks to send him a boatload of paperwork to provethey are in compliance with U.S. tax laws.
Grassleyhas been applauded in the past for blowing the whistle on financial abuses among secular nonprofit organizations including the American Red Cross. Now, because of complaints he has received from the public, the senator is turning his attention to these six ministries, demanding that they send him receipts for expensive purchases, minutes from board meetings, audited financial records and detailed compensation figures, among other documents.
Each of the ministries received a letter asking about specific expenditures or questionable practices. Among Grassley’s requests:
** A receipt for the Bentley convertible that Florida-based television preacher Paula White reportedly gave to Texas pastor T.D. Jakes
** Information from Bible teacher Joyce Meyer about expensive furnishings in her Missouri headquarters—including a $30,000 malachite table, a $23,000 toilet with a marble lid and a $19,000 pair of Dresden vases
** Paperwork explaining how Benny Hinn’s ministry purchased his $3 million home in Dana Point, Calif.
** Receipts and other records explaining how Eddie Long paid for his $1.4 million estate on 20 acres in suburban Atlanta
** Records about vacation trips to Hawaii and Fiji that Kenneth and Gloria Copeland took using their ministry plane
** Clarification from Atlanta faith preacher CrefloDollar about his role in raising a hefty portion of a $2 million gift donated to Kenneth Copeland.
We charismatics certainly are in an awkward spot these days. At the same time that Oral Roberts University (ORU) is under the microscope for alleged financial mismanagement, some of the biggest names in our movement are now accused of bending tax rules and spending God’s money on themselves.
I am not going to rush to judgment in this case. I know that Meyer pumps hundreds of thousands of dollars into missionary outreach projects in many parts of the world, and the IRS recently notified her that Joyce Meyer Ministries is operating in compliance with tax rules. Hopefully her answers to Grassley’s questions will satisfy the Senate committee so she can continue her programs without interruption.
At the same time I can’t understand how some preachers can take their offerings with a straight face. How can anyone, for example, think that it is a wise use of God’s money to pay $10,000 a night for a hotel room on the way home from a foreign ministry trip?
Something needs to be said. Questions need to be asked. That’s why I refuse to demonize Grassley for launching this probe.
What is unfortunate about this investigation is that it had to be initiated by someone in the federal government. The Christian public should have demanded a higher level of accountability a long time ago. Why have we been silent when we know certain ministries are operating without a proper board of directors or without any accountability?
I’ve been praying about all the uncomfortable shaking that is taking place in the church today—from the embarrassing moral failures to the cavalier ministry divorces to the ORU scandal—and I sense that God is the one who is orchestrating these events.
I believe He is raising His holy plumb line over the church today. He is demanding that we come in line with His higher ways. He is decreeing: “I will have a holy people. I will expose greed, arrogance, larceny and corruption, and I will correct theological error that has led My people into materialism, selfishness and idolatry. The process will be painful, but in the end My people will be purified.”
I hope every one of these ministries can prove they’ve done nothing wrong. But if God wants to use a senator to help the American church clean up its act, then I say bring on the reformation.
J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. You can read a summary of Sen. Grassley’s report and the six letters HERE
Sounds reasonable. Right is right, wrong is wrong.
Yet, Paul Crouch Jr. chimes in with an open letter to Mr. Grady, rebuking him for questioning the integrity of these ministers. Paul Crouch Sr. paid 425 thousand dollars to Enoch Lonnie Ford to settle a lawsuit, in which Ford asserted he was forced to have sexual relations with Crouch. The assertion by Crouch was that the money spent to quiet Mr. Ford came from his own personal wealth. Does Paul Crouch Jr. think this is proper stewardship of a ministry?
Here is Crouch’s letter.
November 12, 2007
An open letter to Charisma Magazine, J. Lee Grady and the body of Christ as a whole:
After finally getting over my shock at J. Lee Grady’s editorial from a few months ago titled, “Christian TV Needs an Extreme Makeover,” I see that Mr. Grady is once again heading into treacherous waters. His recent editorial about U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley’s call for an investigation of the finances of several prominent television ministries is something that could not only harm the church as we know it today, but the body of Christ as a whole.
On the surface, the Senate Finance Committee’s investigation (and let’s call it by its real intent: an inquisition) headed up by Senator Grassleymight sound logical, and to some Christians maybe even a good idea. But the long term effects of this investigation could be devastating. Put aside your personal opinions about any of the six ministries being targeted, and forget how you feel about Christian television as a whole. The much bigger questions we should all be asking are: Do we want the government deciding anything when it comes to the faithwe all hold dear? Should government be allowed to dictate what kind a car a minister can drive, or how large a house is permissible and even how much a minister may receive as a salary? Do we want to establish another Church of England, or was that why our forefathers came to this nation in the first place? Separation of church and state is a foundational principle guaranteed in our Constitution, and Mr. Grady’s editorial seems to be ignorant of that fact!
Also, let’s look at the “source” of Senator Grassley’s information. Ole Anthony, head of the Trinity Foundation, has been around for over twenty years as a self-proclaimed “reformer of the church” and “watchdog for the body of Christ.” Well, it doesn’t take more than one or two Google searches to find out that Ole Anthony’s claim to being the watchdog of Christian ministries is a little like the “fox guarding the chicken coop,” and brings to mind Matthew 7:3 where Christ said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Read a book by Wendy Duncan called, I Can’t Hear God Anymore. Enough said….) Why Ole mainly focuses in on “televangelism” is interesting to me, and obviously the senator is playing right into his hands. Why aren’t other faiths or, for that matter, other 501(c) (3) nonprofit organizations being questioned? What about the Catholic church, Jewish organizations, or even the Muslims? You get my point.
Martin Luther brought reformation to the church in 1517 with his “95 Theses” nailed to the Wittenberg door, but his actions were directed at the church itself and not with the prevailing government of the day! The body of Christ and God himself will deal with anyone not doing the right thing or compromising any ministry. We don’t need the government to step in and regulate anything when it comes to our faith or the church.
Scripture gives us the criteria by which we may judge fellow Believers. The Bible says in Matthew 7:20, “Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” Are none of these ministries “bearing fruit?” I submit that the true test of a ministry can be determined by asking these questions: Are people getting saved, lives being touched and faith restored? Is the Word being communicated? How many suicides have been prevented? How many people have been delivered from drugs or alcohol and how many children put up for adoption as opposed to abortion? Are other benevolent works taking place such as feeding programs, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless? How many people havebeen guided off of welfare rolls? Or how many people will not be returning to jail and, instead, become positiveinfluences on society, because of their faith? Case in point: Just this past week, a viewer called our prayer lines to report that she was about to commit suicide, but then saw Bishop Eddie Long—one of the ministries targeted by Senator Grassley—preach a message that literally saved her life and brought her to faithin Jesus. Mr. Grady didn’t bother to mention any of the good works these ministries are doing. So how much is a soul worth? Maybe we should direct some of these questions back on Senator Grassley and demand his responses by December 6th!
When it comes to “accountability,” I also take issue with Mr. Grady. Whether you agree with the philosophy or theology of anyone in the pulpit or on Christian TV is not the point. It doesn’t matter if they preach the prosperity Gospel and live in mansions, or the poverty Gospel and are all beggars. We must keep the government OUT of the church, or everything our founding fathers fought for is lost! The concept that God would use a senator to “bring on a reformation,” as Mr. Grady proclaims, is scary and ignorant of the facts. We are dealing with spiritual warfare here, and we must fight back. None of these ministries are required by law to do anything in response to Senator Grassley’s investigation, and I hope they don’t. All of us in the ministry answer to the IRS, franchise tax boards, county taxing authorities, etc., and that is sufficient oversight. I don’t care if Benny Hinn flies in a private plane, or if Creflo Dollar drives a Bentley. That’s between them and God. We as Christians are required to give—it’s an intrinsic part of our faith. God gave his best to redeem our souls, his only Son, and we are to do the same.
I leaveyou with a quote from Martin Niemoeller who was a prominent German pastor put in a concentration camp by the Nazis in 1937: “In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
Need I say more?
Paul F. Crouch, Jr.
Chief of Staff
Trinity Broadcasting Network
According to Crouch Jr. it isn’t about the spending or the misuse of funds, it is about the government impeding on the rights of the ministries. This notion perpetuated by Crouch Jr. has been echoed over and over again. “Don’t you see, if we allow them to do this…” is all over the comments of every article addressing the issue. I am very cynical, but I have more faith in the government than I do any of these television ministers. And trust me I don’t have much faith in government, so that is not saying a lot.
http://startnow72.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/final-thoughts-on-todd-bentley-kenneth-copeland-and-senator-grassley/
Todd Bentley Money Machine
Same old scam?
June 23, 2008 07:12 PM EST
by Rusty Leonard and Warren Cole Smith — Even some Pentecostals are skeptical of Todd Bentley’s tent revival
Canadian Todd Bentley doesn’t look much like a minister. The 32-year-old has body piercings and tattoos on his arms and neck, and he often dresses in black.
But a minister of the gospel he is, or claims to be-and those claims have become the real story of a series of meetings Bentley is holding in Lakeland, Fla.
Bentley’s British Columbia-based Fresh Fire Ministries arrived in Lakeland on April 2 for five days of revival meetings at a local church. These services would be broadcast on God TV, a satellite network with a worldwide viewership.
The services were different in another way, Bentley claims: God showed up in a powerful way. A New York public relations firm was quickly hired to send out press releases claiming “documented healings,” and God TV relentlessly plugged its broadcasts of the services.
The services, now held in a huge air-conditioned tent, have gone on for months now, and as many as 10,000 people a night are coming. Bentley claims hundreds of people have been healed of everything from deafness to infertility-though he did admit that in the latter case we wouldn’t know for sure until the women actually got pregnant. As for the other cases, WORLD made repeated requests for documentation of healings, but claims of “privacy issues” were the only response.
A visit to one of Bentley’s services suggests that he is learning how to turn the big crowds into big money. ATM machines have been set up, providing attendees with ready cash for the offering plate and book purchases. The offering is now a significant part of the service, taking as long as 30 minutes. Bentley has not released financial information, saying he is “too busy keeping up with what God is doing” to pull the information together.
For see the rest of this article:
Pentecostal Group Backs Televangelist in Probe Protest
A group of Pentecostal ministers and churches have thrown their backing behind televangelist Kenneth Copeland and his refusal to cooperate with a Senate probe into his ministry’s spending.
Assemblies of God International Fellowship released a statement in their latest newsletter saying the current investigation, led by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), into the financial records of six prominent ministries “seems to be crossing a legal boundary.”
“Politicians enact laws to separate Church and State which many think to be unconstitutional and then try to intrude into Church affairs while denying the Church discussion of State (political) affairs. This sounds like a one way street in favor of the State,” the group said.
Grassley launched an investigation last November, requesting financial records and answers to questions regarding organizational and personal finances from ministries led by Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Paula and Randy White, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long and Benny Hinn. Each has millions of followers and collects tens of millions of dollars in donations a year.
The senate probe was prompted by media reports and ministry watchdogs that alleged opulent spending and possible abuse of their nonprofit status.
Copeland submitted limited responses to the Grassley office and recently launched a Web site, www.BelieversStandUnited.com, questioning and protesting the senator’s investigation.
The televangelist, who has said his ministry fully complies with all laws, believes the inquiry is a violation of religious freedom, an invasion of privacy and a threat to the separation of Church and State. He also raised suspicion over Grassley’s targeting of only Pentecostal churches that preach the “prosperity gospel” – a teaching that God wants his followers to be rich both spiritually and materially.
A Grassley spokeswoman told The Christian Post that it’s unusual for a tax-exempt group to take such action against an investigation. She noted that Grassley has looked at tax-exempt policy issues involving a variety of entities, including the Red Cross, the Nature Conservancy, the Smithsonian, non-profit hospitals and universities.
But some, including Assemblies of God International Fellowship, are backing Copeland and his questioning.
The fellowship believes that the IRS, created by the State, should be conducting an investigation, not the Senate.
“It seems that Rev. Copeland is right in ignoring the Senate’s investigation of Church affairs but pledging to fully cooperate with any investigation by the IRS,” the group stated.
In response, the Grassley spokeswoman stated, “Senator Grassley points out that the legislative branch writes the laws, and the executive branch enforces the laws. His responsibility as a leader (chairman and now ranking member) of the Senate committee with exclusive jurisdiction over tax policy is to evaluate the effectiveness of that policy.
“He looks at whether the law is weak in certain areas and allows people to exploit, say, tax-exempt groups for personal gain,” she continued. “He leaves the enforcement of existing tax law to the IRS, the executive branch agency with that responsibility.”
As of Friday, Joyce Meyer and Benny Hinn are the only two ministries that have submitted full responses for the Senate probe. Randy and Paula White have submitted partial responses, Eddie Long and Copeland have submitted “very limited responses,” according to the spokeswoman, and Creflo Dollar has submitted no requested information.
[The AG is going to have egg all over their face before it is over with. They are protecting the very people who would do them the most harm. Nothing changes, nothing changes.]
http://startnow72.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/final-thoughts-on-todd-bentley-kenneth-copeland-and-senator-grassley/
Kenneth Copeland: “I’m a billionaire!”
50,000,000 Benny Hinn Fans Can’t Be Wrong
Todd Bentley: What is going on in Florida?
Something is going on, what is it?
Paul Cain says he has been celibate, yet what he doesn’t say is that he was ran out of the ministry because he was caught in “immoral acts.” Later he admitted he had dealt for a long time with homosexuality and alcoholism.
Bob Jones, another one of Bentley’s spiritual mentors was also disgraced because of a moral lapse. There seems to be a pattern here. We now know that Bentley himself spent time in prison for molesting a boy. Very strange.
Are Jones and Cain pulling the strings? Do your own research of Bob Jones and Paul Cain.
And lets not forget Patricia King.
That video speaks for itself. Wooo…. It is one of the wooo….. strangest videos I have ever seen. She is what you would call wooo…. a crazy…wooo…. bitch