True Believers or Hucksters?
Just to remind everybody, myself included, because Republicans continue to blur the line between church and state whenever they need more blur …
“I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Danbury Baptist Association (January 1, 1802)
There’s a new Trump & Company Super PAC called “Preserve our Rights.” There might be just a little tax problem with this new PAC.
The website doesn’t tell you diddle squat about what they want to preserve – they just ask for your email address and then to donate some money to them. Personally, I wouldn’t give them either. They could be for beheading baby kittens for all I can tell by their website.
Whose rights are they talking about, exactly?
Their filing at the FEC does tell us this:
Best I can tell, their PAC is located at a UPS Store and the Suite 395 is a post office box in the metropolitan area of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Here ya go to see for yourself. Now, there’s something else you’re gonna find out about this location in a minute.
The PAC treasurer, Craig Hagin, is the associate pastor of an Evangelical mega-church in Oklahoma.
And his parents, Kenneth and Lynette Hagin, are the seniors pastors.
As I mentioned before, the Super PAC makes it easy for the faithful to give online.
And so does their church.
Remember how I promised you some fun about where the UPS store is located? Honey, it’s just down the street from the church.
Now let me tell you about what kind of Christians they are. They held a conference last year at the church / Bible College.
More than 4,000 people packed an auditorium at Rhema Bible College near Tulsa, Oklahoma, last weekend for the Health and Freedom Conference—an event mixing Christian worship, promotion of QAnon, and messages decrying COVID-19 “fear porn.”
Leaders speaking at the conference included General Michael Flynn, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, several pro-Trump pastors, an assortment of doctors, and many others.
And here’s a sample of what was said there. This is Lin Wood at the Bible College.
https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1383709884114341892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1383709884114341892%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fjulieroys.com%2Fcovid-19-conspiracy-conference%2Fcomment-page-1%2F
I think they’re preserving the right to execute me. I could be wrong.
Now you’d think they’d have a problem with the IRS. They don’t because they are getting bolder. When you start saying that people need killin’ in a tax-free building, you’d think that would be the end of the line, but apparently it ain’t.
“….Super PAC called “Preserve our Rights.” …” The right to be bigots, the right to be anti-LGBT, the right crap on women, the right to not tax the rich, the right to tax the crap out of lower classes, the right to convince really not-too smart that its all ok because -cheesus!!!!
1So much for democracy. The crazies are going to kill us all.
2More than 2,300 Ukrainian children have been kidnaped to Russia. Why isn’t QAnon screaming about that?
You don’t suppose Q was invented in a Russian bot-farm, do you?
3This murderous Trumpian mess is run by/promoted by/supported by a Christian mega-church and their pastors? Whatever they’re worshiping, it ain’t Jesus. Trump, maybe? Cthulhu?
4On the Creep scale of 1-10 I rate Craig Hagin a 45. On the Crooked AF scale of 1-10, at least 29.
5thatotherjean @4,
Maybe bath salts in the communion wine? A little lead in the wafers?
6RA @ 5,
You’d think that Twitter would pull his account.
7ahem, If y’all peek at that FEC link and check out Craig baby’s [don’t he look like a ‘winner’..] home addy– per Trulia:
in a tony area near Tulsa, not too old, 5.3Ksqft, valuation ~$725K in 2020 [RE tax only ~$10K, quite low, but it’s OK, so…], usual amenities…
Being a ‘prosperity gospel’ Junior Pastor sounds like a pretty good racket to be in, eh?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_E._Hagin#Rhema_Bible_Training_College
Grandpop’s spinoff org:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_of_Faith#Prosperity
Very similar to the Rev John Hagee Cornerstone mega$ nepotism operation in San Antonio.
Oklahoma’s just eat up with preachers. One that I see on early morning teevee sometimes is Les Feldick, some real whack ideas.
8Papa @ 7, they should. I suppose it depends on how much of a cash cow his account is. And, there are so very many of these Holy Hypocrites R Us it’s hard to keep track of all of them.
9Shades of Leroy Jenkins.
10You would think, at some point, even the wackiest idiot would stop and perhaps wonder, why no one has ever been named, much less arrested and convicted for any of these so called crimes. What mental (genetic?) defect causes all logic and reason to disappear? The movie “Idiocracy” must be a documentary.
https://tubitv.com/movies/655136/idiocracy
11Hucksters. Definitely.
12But after so long inhabiting the fantasy they’ve created,
and converted so many that there’s a multitude of “sources and ‘journalists’ ” to reinforce their crazy, they believe their own crap.
Also, Son House had a purty good take on preachers.
These ladies do a great job of it IMHO.
https://youtu.be/cEWiJR9qeoc
13Don’t look now, but mike evangelical pence is looking to run for president in 2024. If you want to see a candidate that wants to force his religious beliefs on you, look no further. There would be no separation of church and state if he were president. As if there is now.
14WE WANT YOUR MONEY !
15At a recent rally for TFG in Michigan the “opening prayer begins with their belief that Trump is the current president” — a full-throated acceptance of The Big Lie, while also fully embracing theocratic government; (as long as they as “Christians” control the levers of power anyway).
https://twitter.com/i/status/1510364270441107463
16Scary sh*t!
Republicanism – ‘A poisonous blend of religious extremism, white supremacy and Corporate Fascism (control, power and greed)’
This has been going on for years and they have enormous influence, power and control. Remember Bush stacked the government etc. with religious extremist Liberty University graduates.
American Taliban
https://twitter.com/Pawlectro/status/1428159008398090241
‘Where Things Stand: New Report Shows Expansive Role Christian Nationalism Played In Jan 6’
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/where-things-stand-new-report-shows-expansive-role-christian-nationalism-played-in-jan-6
‘A new Christian nationalism movement wants to take over the country for God to rule: report ‘
17https://www.rawstory.com/christian-nationalism-trumpism-movement/
Monty Python-Holy Hand Grenade
18https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOrgLj9lOwk
I’m pretty sure that “The Righteous Gemstones” is based on the Hagin family after looking at that motley crew of flock fleecing hucksters.
19Was perusing the various fundraising rackets of these “fine folks” and came across something on the donation page for the Rhema Bible Church. At the end of the pledge page, just above the “submit” (how fitting) button, the following appears “Please wait five minutes between transactions made with the same credit card”. I have no idea what this is for, but I wonder if I would blow up mastercard if I put in my two cents worth and 2 cents a pop, every 5 minutes, for say 4 hour (.02 X 12/Hr X 4 hrs =$.96). I wonder if I could blow up their fundraising efforts for under a dollar……I just wonder
20I’ve been seeing bumper stickers around the Galleria that say “Humans Against Ted Cruz.” Apparently, it’s an actual website even though we don’t have a chance to rid ourselves of him until 2024.
21And today franklin graham is calling for regime change in the US over Biden’s support for LGBTQ rights. I think I’m going to contact the local teevee station websites and ask them to take his commercials (which I always mute) off their stations unless they too support this sort of talk.
22When did evangelical pastors begin appearing in public in pajamas?
23