cross-posted on kos
It is time, boomen and women, to familiarize ourselves with HR 235, the “Returning Freedom of Speech to Our Nation’s Houses of Worship” act.  Not only is it a questionable breach of the Separation of Church and state (by removing the threat of the loss of tax-exempt status for churches that engage in too overtly political activity, thus allowing the GOP Political/Corporate machine to officially merge with the Religious/Social-Engineering puppeteer wing of the general “Conservative Movement”), but it also involves a cast of characters that lead to the most prominent (and mostly-hidden) GOP behind-the-scenes Christian Right Puppet-Masters.  You know, the folks that have been building and organizing the  network of Conservative religious personalities/celebrities (Falwell, Robertson, Dobson) that form the public face of this new crusade we’re seeing take shape.
First off, props to whoever first posted about this act on kos earlier today.  I saw their diary, but it disappeared from the database maybe a half hour later, so hopefully this can pick up where they left off.

So, here’s the official basis for the proposed legislation:

HR 235 was introduced to liberate clergy from the muzzle imposed by the absolute ban on all speech that may be regarded as “political,” and thereby enable them to speak out on all vital and moral and political questions of the day. It will free houses of worship from the fear and anxiety and uncertainty created by the threat that the IRS will impose financial penalties or revoke tax-exempt status altogether.

Not surprising, there are number of co-sponsors for this bill (the co-sponsors are listed in bold.  Notice a pattern? )

So, let’s ltake a look at the main active backers.  First off we have Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.).  In more recent history, Rep. Jones railed against what a supposed IRS threat to removes churches’ tax-exempt status if they prayed for the election of either Bush or Kerry.  The thing is, the IRS never made such a claim.  

Interestingly enough, the Washington Times continued upholding the fake IRS claim story even after it was refuted.  Now here’s where things get interesting:  

The Washington Times is owned by none other than the good Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the DC Power Broker/Global Billionaire/New Messiah that happens to be a major behind-the-scenes player in both the GOP and the politically active Christian Right Movement.  He’s like Jerry Fallwell, Dick Cheney, and David Rockefeller all rolled up into one Giant Ego.  He is also what you might call a senior to the Bush family (or at least co-equal) in the overall power structure of the US Political Establishment.  He’s ALSO a US media taboo topic, in that unless talk of him is force into the limelight, discussion of the good reverend and his global empire is mostly frowned upon.  If he wasn’t so scandalous we’d probably never hear about him.  

So, does the propagation of this Rep. Jones falsehood by the Moon-owned Washington times relate to good ‘ol HR235 beyond their obvious shared love of inspiring fear and action in the Christian Conservative Community (i.e. their flock)?  Well, it just so happens that HR235 is the reincarnation (check out the Hitler/Stalin stuff 😉  ) of a past bill, HR2357, proposed by Rep. Jones back in 2002.  It also turns out that the rally for HR2357 was heading by Rev. Walter Fauntroy of New Bethel Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., a man of the moonie cloth:

Supporters of the legislation arranged to have a black Baptist minister, the Rev. Walter Fauntroy of New Bethel Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., speak on behalf of the bill to create the impression of support in the African-American community. Fauntroy, who formerly served as D.C.’s non-voting delegate to Congress but now often works with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, several times invoked the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, insisting that pulpit endorsements are necessary to further the cause of social and economic justice.

Oh, and guess who presided over the infamous DC crowning-ceremony of our New Messiah:

The Rev. Walter Fauntroy, a Democrat who was the District’s congressional delegate for 10 years, was the event’s master of ceremonies and recipient of a “National Crown of Peace” award.

Well surprise surprise!

Time to study up on the Good Reverend Moon.  Moon is one of those figures that is so connected so high up in the power-chain that exposing his continuing influence is one of those moves that just might bring down this house-of-card we call the modern status quo.  Opportunities like this don’t come around every day.