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talkpoliticsWhen I was a wee lass I heard tell of a nefarious organization of rabid right wing political activism named after some sort of toilet tree. At least that is the kind of association that a child's mind makes when she hears the words john and birch mentioned by adults. The John Birchers earned a reputation similar to the Satan worshipers portrayed in an Ira Levin novel. I ran into them again during the Mitt Romney campaign when I learned that Romney was a big fan of Cleon Skousen who had investigated the semi-secret John Birch network for the FBI. Even more recently the Birchers have been spotlighted for their association with Ron Paul and "Father" Nicholas Gruner.
Mr. Paul was featured as the keynote speaker last week at Gruner's Fatima Center. Gruner is a defrocked Catholic priest who promotes the New World Order conspiracy theory of Jewish global domination. Some of his associates have even been accused of advocating a static Earth paradigm. The Masons are a critical part of this conspiracy theory. One of the sins of the Masons is that they initiate Jews without requiring conversion to the Roman religion. Imagine a fraternity that does not exclude Jewish members. Gasp! Horror! (Like the Vatican, though, the Masons only include women as auxiliary members.)
Gruner, Paul, and the John Birchers all oppose the United Nations. They see it as a threat to all of the mom and apple pie freedoms: denying poor women access to reproductive health services, obtaining firearms without a license, spewing pollutants into the environment, bringing other species of life to the brink of extinction, consuming fossil fuels at a profligate rate. These are the things that made America what it is today and the UN poses a threat to all of them, at least in the minds of the Birchers of the world.
I am not happy with the performance of the UN either, but not for the same reasons cited by the likes of Ron Paul. The UN has served as a pawn in the hands of cowboy capitalists who used it to rationalize the invasion of Iraq. The UN weapons inspection effort in Iraq was resisted by the Iraqis but it was also sidetracked by Western intelligence players. Still, I keep my fingers crossed that the Russians and Chinese can use the UN to slow down the push to escalate the conflict in Syria.
Does it surprise you that Ron Paul agreed to speak to a group of infamous anti-Semites? What do you think of his excuse of trying to convert them to his way of thinking?
Links: Chris Gentilviso on reaction to Ron Paul's appearance at the Fatima Center. Nicholas Gruner on the New World Order conspiracy theory. John Birch Society video on the horrors of the UN. Cleon Skousen's report on the John Birch Society. Scott Ritter on the Iraq weapons inspection debacle.
Mr. Paul was featured as the keynote speaker last week at Gruner's Fatima Center. Gruner is a defrocked Catholic priest who promotes the New World Order conspiracy theory of Jewish global domination. Some of his associates have even been accused of advocating a static Earth paradigm. The Masons are a critical part of this conspiracy theory. One of the sins of the Masons is that they initiate Jews without requiring conversion to the Roman religion. Imagine a fraternity that does not exclude Jewish members. Gasp! Horror! (Like the Vatican, though, the Masons only include women as auxiliary members.)
Gruner, Paul, and the John Birchers all oppose the United Nations. They see it as a threat to all of the mom and apple pie freedoms: denying poor women access to reproductive health services, obtaining firearms without a license, spewing pollutants into the environment, bringing other species of life to the brink of extinction, consuming fossil fuels at a profligate rate. These are the things that made America what it is today and the UN poses a threat to all of them, at least in the minds of the Birchers of the world.
I am not happy with the performance of the UN either, but not for the same reasons cited by the likes of Ron Paul. The UN has served as a pawn in the hands of cowboy capitalists who used it to rationalize the invasion of Iraq. The UN weapons inspection effort in Iraq was resisted by the Iraqis but it was also sidetracked by Western intelligence players. Still, I keep my fingers crossed that the Russians and Chinese can use the UN to slow down the push to escalate the conflict in Syria.
Does it surprise you that Ron Paul agreed to speak to a group of infamous anti-Semites? What do you think of his excuse of trying to convert them to his way of thinking?
Links: Chris Gentilviso on reaction to Ron Paul's appearance at the Fatima Center. Nicholas Gruner on the New World Order conspiracy theory. John Birch Society video on the horrors of the UN. Cleon Skousen's report on the John Birch Society. Scott Ritter on the Iraq weapons inspection debacle.
