An introductory post on steeplejacking in Singapore after the attempted takeover of a woman's NGO and a summary of recent updates.

In recent weeks, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has stood back and watched while both the Louisiana House and Senate wrestled with his original budget proposal to cut $219 million from Louisiana public higher education. Both the Louisiana House and Senate responded with plans to restore roughly half of these cuts back--still draconian, but not completely debilitating. But Jindal said no, they face certain veto. Why does this former head of the University of Louisiana System seem hell-bent on destroying the state's higher ed institutions? Could it have something to do with his neo-Catholic religious beliefs and those of the Protestant dominionists who form his political base?

No, it's not a plot for a bad sci-fi movie, it's....






"The Three Greatest Issues Facing the Men of New Zealand"

....and the first wave of the "invasion" has already hit the island, just over a month ago:






"A group of 15 Christian home educating fathers is coming from the USA to investigate New Zealand as a possible place to which to re-locate their families.

They are eager to meet with other men living in New Zealand to learn about the country, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, financial institutions, health and welfare issues, how home education works here and what the home education community is like.

Four public meetings are planned in order to facilitate this, and each meeting is also featuring a formal talk by either Geoff or son Isaac Botkin. These should be of particular interest and benefit to New Zealand Christian home educating fathers, as well as mums, to enhance and encourage their own vision for what home education can and will do for their families, the Church and society as a whole.

The Botkin family lived near Snells Beach and then in Christchurch for six years, making it their business to meet and get to know as many leaders as they could in the Church, the media, economics, politics, home education, etc. Do strive to come to whichever of their meetings you are able.

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""``

Veteran producer and IT pioneer Geoffrey Botkin serves as an advisor to the Western Conservatory of the Arts and Sciences. He has written and directed some of the most controversial and widely watched public affairs films of the last twenty years, reaching viewers across the U.S., Russia, Europe, and Australasia. He has produced or executive-produced more than one-hundred documentary films, television productions, and other media projects.

In addition to time spent as CEO of an experimental international print/broadcast/Internet media conglomerate, Mr. Botkin has invested many years into the training of young media professionals, primarily at Deerwood Studios in the U.S. and the Family Television Network of New Zealand.

Mr. Botkin has lectured on philosophy and history at Hillsdale College, on politics at the Heritage Foundation, and on theology at worldview conferences in the U.S. and New Zealand. With his wife and seven children, he is currently researching the future of the feature motion picture."

Thanks to a few Singaporean friends (who shall remain anonymous), I had become aware of a disturbing development--an attempted hijack of a major women's NGO. Through those same folks and Fred Clarkson's post on the AWARE EGM vote, I also found that the takeover of AWARE--something I describe as a "steeplejack" because of its similarities to hijacking-from-within of churches--would seem to have been averted for now. (Unfortunately, I've also read via various Singaporean sources that the same folks in question seem to be attempting to challenge AWARE's educational programs in the schools in a remarkably identical manner to how US groups like FotF operate.)

Several of us in the general anti-dominionist  community here in the States have founded a bit of a research group on "Joel's Army" groups (also known as "Elijah's Army" or "New Apostolic Reformation" or "Third Wave" groups), and we'd noticed something was odd in Singapore.

The AWARE steeplejacking scandal has brought some new, and distressing, info to the surface--namely, that a Joel's Army insurgency has been festering in Singapore for at least thirty-five years and possibly closer to 45...and it is being aided and abbetted primarily by groups from the US, South Korea, and Australia.

by Pam Chamberlain

[On The Issues Magazine] When I was in college, a group of radical women dressed as witches ran around major U.S. cities doing zap actions, placing hexes on male-dominated institutions like Wall Street, the courts, even wedding fairs. I really didn't get what W.I.T.C.H., or the Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell, was trying to say, and it made me nervous. I'm happy to report that forty years later, they make perfect sense to me. Their brand of in-your-face political work was all about sticking to principles.

Recent inside-the-Beltway behavior has caused me to think again about the value of drawing a line in the sand. We are told, often with a patronizing tone, that stubborn entrenchment blocks reform. But compromise can lead to unintended consequences.

There are two news articles in today's Ledger that are of concern.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20090424/NEWS/904259979/1003/NEW S00?Title=Jesus-License-Plate-Could-Come

The new license plates come up for a vote this year.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20090423/NEWS/904235098/1005/NEW S02?Title=Bill-Would-Strengthen-Voucher-Program

This bill, also possibly up for a vote this year, would among other things allow businesses to contribute to the vouchers.

Much to the dismay of theocratic Christians, humanists claim that ethics can be understood without resorting to the supernatural or alleged divine authority from religious texts.  Christian theocrats say this is hubris.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20090330/NEWS/903305040/1003/NEW S00?Title=Schiavo-Anniversary-Mass-Planned

Another move by the religious right- rather than letting Terry go (after an autopsy PROVED that she had severe and irreversible brain damage), they're dragging her up again.

WorldNetDaily has been spinning ridiculous yarns about Barack Obama since last year's presidential campaign, particularly about the idea that he's a foreign-born usurper to the Oval Office. Now you can own a peice of paranoia and slap it on the back of your car, for $5.95!

When I found out that an Arkansas state rep is trying to repeal a provision in his state constitution that bars atheists from holding office, I remembered that, sadly, North Carolina's constitution has a similar provision.

Article 6, Section 8 says that anyone who "shall deny the being of Almighty God" can't hold office in the state. And here's another kicker--this provision was carried over verbatim from the 1868 Constitution even though SCOTUS threw out a similar provision in Maryland just 10 years before the current constitution was adopted.

I'm starting to wonder if the American Family Association has a moleat the Associated Press. That's the only plausible explanation for an AP story about a possible referendum about removing constitutional restrictions on atheists and agnostics' political rights.

An Arkansas legislator has proposed letting voters decide whether to lift the state's constitutional restrictions on atheists.

Amendment 19 of the Arkansas Constitution says "No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this state, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court."

Some quick digging indicates that this is actually referring to article 19, section 1 of the state constitution. But to my mind, that's not as egregious an error as leaving out something anyone with a ninth-grade education should know-- under the 1st and 14th Amendments to the federal constitution, these provisions are almost certainly unenforceable.

(cross-posted at dKos)

Looks like the creationist crowd is trying a new tack to try and get a toe in the evolution debate. Apparently shutting out discussion of creation amounts to a denial of academic freedom.

Today (February 12) is Darwin Day, proclaimed by its celebrants as "an international celebration of science and humanity." The observance, according to the event's website, "expresses gratitude for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge, acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity, has contributed to the advancement of humanity."

The same day, a counter-celebration -- Academic Freedom Day -- is being observed, encouraging students across the U.S. to defend their right to debate the evidence for and against Darwin's theory of evolution. John West, a senior fellow with the Discovery Institute, explains that the idea for Academic Freedom Day came from evolutionary critics who believe the pros and cons of evolution should be discussed in public school classrooms.

The Discovery Institute is the same outfit that helped touch off the Dover controversy--and had its head handed to it in that case when the judge all but said it was trying to get creation through the back door.