Photo: The Washington Independent

At least 10 individuals attending Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “House Call” event to protest health care reform have been arrested outside an office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The protesters were among the several thousand Tea Party activists that Bachmann invited to storm the Capitol on Thursday.

“They were inside an office and didn’t leave,” Sgt. Kimberly Schneider of the Capitol Police told the Washington Post. They were being charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful entry.

Talking Points Memo contributor Christina Bellantoni described the “strange scene” where the the protesters were being loaded into transport vehicles.

Like a bad game of telephone, the crowd spread rumors without anyone having witnessed exactly what happened.

Several people said the group had been arrested for praying. Others said the group was arrested for ripping up pages from the nearly 2,000-page health care bill.

“This is America, this is not the Soviet Union,” one woman said.

That woman later told the officers, “I know you guys are just doing your job but don’t you hate your job?”

“I’m embarrassed,” another woman told her friends.

“Read your history books,” another woman shouted at the officers.

“Thugs from Chicago,” a man shouted at police.

“Arrest Nancy Pelosi for treason. You’re arresting the wrong people,” another shouted.

“If the Republican party wants to make Michele Bachmann the voice of the party, that’s more than fine with us. We’ll help circulate the petition,” the DNC said in a press release on Thursday that continued:

But it is surprising that after Congressman-elect Owens won a special election by supporting the President’s agenda in a New York district that hasn’t elected a Democrat since Benjamin Harrison was President, that the Republican party would continue to allow itself to be led around by nose by the likes of Bachmann, Beck, Limbaugh, Palin and the rest of the extreme tea party crowd. It’s their extreme right-wing, rigid ideological agenda that has Americans leaving the Republican Party in droves — and so, if displays like today are what they think is a smart political strategy, all we can say is: go for it.

Jason Isaacson, manager of Reed’s campaign to unseat Bachmann, tied Bachmann’s rally to the health insurance lobby:

Bachmann claims her rally is to remind Congress of the town hall meetings over the summer, but those meetings were orchestrated by insurance companies opposed to meaningful reform from the start. One insurance company in particular was caught urging employees to attend tea parties and has already spent $3.5 million this year lobbying Congress.

Michele Bachmann shouldn’t be defending her political contributors who have reaped billion dollar profits last quarter — she should be focused on helping the hard working families and small businesses of Minnesota’s Sixth District that need health care reform now.

Reed’s campaign noted that Bachmann has accepted $206,900 in campaign contributions from the health care industry.

Bradlee Dean. Image: YouTube

The two leaders of evangelical ministry You Can Run But You Cannot Hide (YCR) have chastised President Obama twice in the past two weeks for appearing at public school assemblies in Chicago while he was a U.S. senator. Bradlee Dean and Jake McMillian complain that Obama used high schools to campaign. But they praise their own ministry’s efforts to bring evangelical Christianity to assemblies at schools — many public — in Minnesota and throughout the Midwest.

On his Oct. 24 radio show, Bradlee Dean talked about his new employee — Dean refers to him only as “Pig Squeal” — who says he attended a public school assembly with Obama when he was a junior in high school four years ago.

“The fact of the matter is, he was in public school in Chicago, folks, and guess who shows up. … Remember what Roosevelt says: ‘Nothing happens in politics that wasn’t first planned’?”

“Isn’t that interesting? [Obama] was doing an assembly for 400 kids in this kid’s school. … I asked [Pig Squeal] so what was he teaching people? He goes, ‘I didn’t really feel right about it.’”

Dean continued: “The point is this guy was doing high school assemblies in public schools in Chicago and why did they specifically target the juniors? Because they are going to be the voters and people didn’t do the math.”

McMillian chimed in, “Just imagine if the church was going into high schools and doing assemblies.”

Dean responded, “Well, that’s what they should be doing and that’s what we have been doing.”

In the same broadcast, Dean offered a challenge to Obama: “And by the way we have a phone on our desk waiting for the president to respond because I think he doesn’t like what is coming out of our hearts.”

On a Saturday show with radio host Mitch Berg, YCR touted their upcoming fundraiser featuring Rep. Michele Bachmann and explained their ministry to listeners. McMillian said, “Basically, we have been doing high school assemblies since 1998 and where a lot of folks say ’separation of church and state’ or ‘you can’t go there,’ that’s where we have made our careers, going to those that need the knowledge between good and evil.”

“Obama, when he was a senator in Illinois, he was campaigning in high schools before he ran for the presidency. He was going to the right target audience, that gave him the victory again that he embraced in this last election.”

“We’ve been doing the same, screaming from the rooftops, ‘Hey, we are down here. We are reaching the youth.”

Rep. Michele Bachmann will be raising funds for the ministry on Nov. 12.

Related:
‘You Can Run’ may be running afoul of the Constitution
Bachmann’s punk-rock benefactor says Obama ‘unpatriotic to the max’

Image: Ben McLeod

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State is urging the Internal Revenue Service to fix problems with its enforcement of laws against churches endorsing political candidates. In January, a Minnesota District Court judge ruled that the IRS did not have the proper procedures in place to investigate Living Word Christian Center, an investigation involving controversial church finances first reported by the Minnesota Independent in 2007.

“Given the pervasiveness of church politicking violations, as well as efforts by some organizations in recent years to encourage houses of worship to blatantly violate federal law,” the AU wrote to the IRS, “having a clear and valid enforcement regime is absolutely essential for the ongoing protection of religious liberty.”

Besides LWCC — whose pastor, Mac Hammond, endorsed Rep. Michele Bachmann from the pulpit in 2006 — another Minnesota church has been under investigation, but that probe was dropped this year due to enforcement problems.

Warroad Community Church pastor Gus Booth twice endorsed Sen. John McCain in 2008. Because the IRS did not have proper standing, the agency was forced to cease its investigation.

Americans United’s letter told the IRS that the ability to investigate churches for unlawful politicking is vital to the health of religion in the United States:

Americans United has long recognized that religion flourishes best when the wall between church and state is vigilantly maintained. Church politicking embroils houses of worship in divisive battles, pitting congregants against each other and their clergy.

The IRS limitation on partisan politicking is an important legal requirement that ensures that houses of worship, like all other non-profit organizations, do not embroil themselves in partisan disputes.

MnIndy file photo

An aide to Rep. Michele Bachmann quit her communications position, Politico reported on Wednesday. Michelle Marston had been responsible for helping Bachmann get a copious amount of air time on cable news shows.

While Marston didn’t have much to say on the topic, an unnamed conservative Republican House member told Politico, “When your captain’s crazy, it’s time to find a new ship.”

For her part, Marston said in an email to Politico, “I’m just not talking about it, and frankly I don’t think there’s a story here.  Now, the thousands of people calling our office to tell us [they’re] coming to Capitol Hill tomorrow – that’s a story.”

Bachmann is hosting a “House Call” and urging Tea Party activists to storm the Capitol on Thursday to oppose health care reform.

Bachmann’s office has seen a fair amount of turnover since she arrived in Congress in 2006, losing more than a dozen staffers in her first two years.

A photo from Rep. Ellison's Feb. 2009 trip to Gaza, via Flickr

Rep. Keith Ellison is urging members of Congress not to scrap the Goldstone report (pdf) on war crimes allegedly committed during the conflict culminating in December 2008 and January 2009 between Hamas and Israel. A resolution in Congress, backed by Republicans, would condemn the report, written by UN investigator Richard Goldstone, as unfriendly to Israel. Ellison penned a column in Politico on Tuesday saying the Goldstone report is as fair as can be expected considering the difficult circumstances in the region.

The report states that both sides — Hamas and Israel — should be investigated for war crimes in the conflict when Hamas launched missiles into Israel and Israel implemented a crippling blockade on the people in the Gaza strip.

In defending the report, Ellison recalled the situation he saw when he visited the region last winter.

I visited Sderot in southern Israel and saw the havoc and trauma created by Hamas rocket fire. Israelis there live with fear. I have condemned these attacks as war crimes and will continue to do so.

I also visited Gaza and witnessed the devastation wreaked by the recent war. I toured an American school and medical clinics devastated by Operation Cast Lead. A blockade keeps out items such as paper for textbooks and nutritious food. Gazans live in poverty, and most cannot drink their own water. These are cruel violations against the people of Gaza, 56 percent of whom are children.

Ellison says that Goldstone is a staunch supporter of human rights, and it’s dishonest to claim that Goldstone has a bias against Israel — he’s a self-proclaimed Zionist.

In a letter to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, on which Ellison sits, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee urged the committee to reject the Goldstone report.

“The notoriously anti-Israel U.N. Human Rights Council commissioned and subsequently adopted this report which, according to the administration, had a mandate that was ‘unbalanced, one-sided and basically unacceptable,’” the letter stated. “This report falsely charges that Israel committed war crimes and purposely targeted civilians.”

But, Goldstone and human rights groups say that’s not what the facts say. Human Rights Watch says that the resolution contains false information. Specifically, members of Congress claim that the report does not mention possible war crimes committed by Hamas. Goldstone points out that his report clearly does.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch urged Congress to support the Goldstone report. “Instead of denouncing the report, the US Congress should urge Israel and Hamas to break the cycle of abuse and impunity, which for too long has fueled hatred and hindered efforts at peace.”

Ellison echoed a similar sentiment. “The Goldstone report does not assign blame. It lays out the facts, as best as Goldstone could ascertain them, and offers recommendations for the future,” wrote Ellison. “Congress should use this report as a resource to understand a critical part of the world and to grasp fully the devastating human costs of the status quo.”

He continued, “Instead, Congress is poised to oppose the Goldstone report without holding a single hearing on a document that few members of Congress, if any, have read.”

Image: Glen, Flickr

Friday was historic for LGBT Americans as President Obama signed into law a hate crimes bill that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. But some among Minnesota’s religious right didn’t receive the news warmly, saying the law will bring the wrath of God down on America, that Obama is an “anti-Christian radical” and that the bill was a plot by “homosexuals” to silence Christians.

Bradlee Dean of You Can Run But You Cannot Hide ministries in Annandale, a group that brings its message of Christianity and morality into public high schools, slammed the passing of the hate crimes bill on his Saturday radio show, the School of Hard Knocks Roxxs. “If you grab the bull, you are going to get the horns. I want you to listen to me carefully,” he said. “America, as this is being passed again against the majority, I guarantee you that judgments are going to increase in our country… When you begin to pass laws against what God’s words say, God promises to turn that nation into hell that forgets him and if you want to go ahead play the Lord on a national level… Folks, just sit back because it’s only beginning right now.”

Dean repeatedly called gays and lesbians criminals, a familiar theme on his show. The bill, he said, is “there to protect the homosexuals that are perpetrating crimes against the righteous, and you need to understand that Obama’s calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality and he is calling for the criminalization — without saying it — of you.”

On gay marriage, he said, “So the homosexual communities are asking the government for help legalizing that which is illegal. They are also asking for a health care plan to help cure their AIDS from that same government that said it’s okay go ahead and do it.”

He continued, “Rest assured those ignorant homosexuals out there are working overtime to silence the dissent. They want to shut you up.”

Meanwhile, Jan Markell of the Maple Grove–based Olive Tree Ministries, condemned the bill on her popular “end times” radio show on AM 980 KKMS.

“I think that Christians who dare to tell the truth — including this program — about the social, moral, spiritual and health consequences of illicit homosexual acts are accused of hate speech and intimated into silence with threats of fines or jail,” she said. “I think this: The fact that the hate bill had to be passed in such an unscrupulous and cynical manner — which means attaching it to the Defense Authorization Act — reveals the depth of President Obama’s commitment to a radical anti-Christian agenda. I think he will stop at nothing to undermine the will of the majority of Americans to pay back militant homosexual activists who raised millions of dollars for him.”

She continued, “It shows the level of contempt President Obama has for the majority of Americans who oppose the homosexualization of marriage, the military and public education… We really have our work cut out for us.”

Although it has spoken out against the bill in the past, the Minnesota Family Council has been uncharacteristically silent on the bill’s passage and did not reply to a request from the Minnesota Independent. The group’s website says the bill will impose “fines or jail time if you publicly speak out against homosexual activity — even on moral or religious grounds — and a court determines your message might arouse people to hate homosexuals.”

Nationally, religious right leaders were livid. “Public school curriculum could be built entirely on the idea of what is illegal hate in our culture,” said Craig Parshall, chief counsel for National Religious Broadcasters (NRB). “And our children could be indoctrinated [to believe that] if you criticize another religion or mention Jesus as being the only way, that’s hateful— [or] if you say that homosexuality is a sin, that’s hateful.”

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said the bill is “part of a radical social agenda that could ultimately silence Christians and use the force of government to marginalize anyone whose faith is at odds with homosexuality.”

Of course, what the religious right doesn’t mention is that religion has been covered by federal hate crimes law since its inception in the 1960.

“I knew Nate felt strongly. I anticipated (his resignation), but it’s not what I wanted,” associate pastor David Sperstad told the Brainerd Dispatch. “I expected to work with him in ministry for quite a while.”

In early October, a Minneapolis church voted to leave the ELCA over the vote. And a number of churches throughout the state are considering the same.

The religious right has long railed against Halloween, condemning its pagan roots and claiming it promotes witchcraft and the occult. This year some groups are embracing the day as a time to reach kids with a pro-life and Christian message, while others use the day to burn “wicked” books and CDs. And one writer for Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network warns parents that witches curse Halloween candy.

“[M]ost of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches,” wrote CBN’s Kimberly Daniels. “I do not buy candy during the Halloween season. Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door to door or by purchasing it from the local grocery store. The demons cannot tell the difference.”

Daniels continued, “Halloween is much more than a holiday filled with fun and tricks or treats. It is a time for the gathering of evil that masquerades behind the fictitious characters of Dracula, werewolves, mummies and witches on brooms. The truth is that these demons that have been presented as scary cartoons actually exist. I have prayed for witches who are addicted to drinking blood and howling at the moon.”

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State took the opportunity to have a little fun at Robertson’s expense.

“I’ve heard of the devil being in the details, but to think he’s lurking inside a Snickers bar is a little too much,” said the Rev. Barry Lynn of Americans United. “Pat Robertson has always peddled some scary stuff, but this is over the top.”

He added, “I hate to see all of that candy go to waste. I wish Robertson would send it to me, because I’m throwing a Halloween party and could use it.”

A church in North Carolina has found a more proactive approach and is marking Halloween with a book burning. Called “Burning Perversions of God’s Word,” Amazing Grace Baptist Church will be torching books and CDs it deems evil. “We will also be burning Satan’s music such as country, rap, rock, pop, heavy metal, western, soft and easy, southern gospel, contemporary Christian, jazz, soul, oldies but goldies, etc.,” the church website says. “We will also be burning Satan’s popular books written by heretics. We will be serving fried chicken, and all the sides.”

But some groups are embracing Halloween as a way to reach children with the gospel. One anti-abortion group tells its members to make pro-life jack-o-lanterns with images of fetuses.

There are many opportunities to be a voice for the voiceless, and most of those opportunities require us to go to a public place. But, on the eve of All Saints Day, the public comes to us!

So, make a pro-life jack-o-lantern and send your photos to us. Be sure to include your name, age and address in the e-mail, and we’ll post the best ones on our home page!

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It could be as intricate as the design here or as simple as the word “Pro-Life.” Whatever your skill level, be creative and tell the world about the personhood of preborn babies.

For those who aren’t that crafty, the American Life League has pro-life pumpkin stencils.

One small business specializes in Christian pumpkins. For a broader religious right message on jack-o-lanterns, there’s Divine Carvings, a “Christian based watermelon and pumpkin carving kit that gives Christians a way to promote God in the work place, schools and on Halloween without actually saying any thing.”

Other religious right groups celebrate Halloween through educational offerings. Local religious right outfit the Minnesota Family Council is marking the day with a Family Conference dedicated to warning of the downfall of traditional marriage.

“Out of wedlock births, cohabitation, homosexual marriage and declining marriage and birth rates all point to marriage as an institution in crisis” will be the topic of the Halloween conference hosted by MFC at Bethel University.

CCHC’s fundraiser will feature Maria Anne Hirschmann. Hirschmann compared President Obama’s administration to the rise of Hilter’s Nazi Germany. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, Hirschmann has said, “Obama, like Hitler, is ‘a charismatic leader who promises full pocketbooks.’ Obama’s pro-choice stands, she writes, resembles those of Hitler, who ‘brought abortion to a systematic level and declared the killing of unborn babies a national duty.’”

Hirschmann also told the Gazette, “He could pave the way for a future Antichrist. Obama scares me because he has no record and people flock to him. Hitler also had no record, people flocked to him and both wrote a book. Christians laid flat and Hitler came to power, just like with Obama.”