From 2018: THEOCRATIC MERCENARY ERIK PRINCE AND THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT.
"President Donald Trumps election allowed the Christian right to achieve a new level of domination in the US government. Since the 1960s, the #ChristianRight has become the loudest voice in the Republican Party, moving their message from the revival tents and into the political arena. Continuing this tradition, Erik Dean Prince, founder of the private security services firm RBlackwater, embodies the values of a heavily financed movement in American politics, combining elements of corporate greed, pro-war fanaticism, and religious fundamentalism. Prince has been eyeing a run for political office, which would enable him to help legislate his proposals and build momentum for his fellow travelers to achieve the same in the 2018 and 2020 elections.
A Son is Born
"Erik Dean Prince was born in Holland, Michigan, on June 6, 1969, the youngest child and only son of Edgar and Elsa Prince, who also had daughters Betsy, Emilie, and Eileen. As documented by author Suzanne Simons in her 2009 book Master of War: Blackwater USA's Erik Prince and the Business of War, Prince grew up in a religious household and attended Christian schools; the Princes were members of the Reformed Church in America, a conservative Christian sect that follows the philosophical template of theologian John Calvin.
"Edgar Prince worked as a die caster and then chief engineer for the die cast machine manufacturing outfit Buss Machine Works after serving in the US Air Force. In 1965 he and two co-workers struck out on their own to establish Prince Manufacturing. By the 1970s the company expanded its operations and became financially successful, as did the Prince family. Edgar Prince died of heart failure in 1995, and the company was sold to Johnson Controls for over $1 billion.
"Surrounded by those who share their belief in Christian-based politics, the Prince family has used its fortune to help build the conservative Christian movement. Focus on the Family founder #JamesDobson and Richard Nixon's disgraced former special counsel Charles Colson (who became a born-again Christian after serving seven months in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal) were family friends. Edgar and Elsa Prince were major contributors to the Family Research Council and founded the nonprofit Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation in 1979, substantial funds from which have gone toward the effort to abolish the legal wall separating church and state. lhe Prince family also has deep ties to the Council for National Policy (#CNP) which, according to its vision statement, supports 'a united conservative movement to assure, by 2020, policy leadership and governance that restores religious and economic freedom, a strong national defense, and Judeo-Christian values under the Constitution.'
"From Reverend Billy Graham's "spiritual counsel" to twelve US presidents, to Reverend #JerryFalwell's #MoralMajority movement of the 1970s and '80s, to Marion Gordon #PatRobertson's #ChristianCoalition (now the Christian Coalition of America), the movement to push a fundamentalist 'Judeo-Christian' agenda into the public sphere has been an ongoing crusade. Keeping with family tradition, #ErikPrince's sister Betsy married fellow Christian right figure Dick DeVos, whose father is the founder of Amway and the past president of the CNP from 1990-1993. #BetsyDeVos served as the chair of the Michigan Republican Party and now serves as US Secretary of Education under Donald Trump. The DeVos dynasty, labelled a 'family of extremists' by the Center for American Progress, is undoubtedly having an influence on the Trump White House.
"As many readers of this publication [#TheHumanist] likely know, the Christian right calls for: mandatory prayer in school, the abolition of #ReproductiveRights and bans on #SameSex marriage, persecution of #minority groups, and funding of #pseudoscientific studies (such as those that deny #ClimateChange and promote intelligent design). Recently, Secretary DeVos instructed her office to remove guidelines protecting the #CivilRights of #transgender students. This is only one of many ways that she and her #Trumpian cohorts are ignoring the will of the majority in favor of the #theocratic #tyranny of the few. By contrast, DeVos's brother Erik, characterized by critics as a 'mercenary' and '#WarProfiteer,' made his mark on US policy through his controversial outfit Blackwater. "
Read more:
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/THEOCRATIC+MERCENARY+ERIK+PRINCE+AND+THE+CHRISTIAN+RIGHT.-a0545669941
#USPol #TrumpSucks
#Authoritarianism #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal #ErikPrinceColonialism #ChristoFascism #Fascism
"He sold love away from his children's hearts
And told them it was sin
Now we're all at the mercy, we're all at the mercy
Of that little man within..."
- #KarlWallinger, #WorldParty, 1986
Can #empathy lead to sin? Some #ConservativeChristians argue it can
By TIFFANY STANLEY
Updated 5:20 PM EDT, August 21, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — "Empathy is usually regarded as a virtue, a key to #HumanDecency and #kindness. And yet, with increasing momentum, voices on the #ChristianRight are preaching that it has become a vice.
"For them, empathy is a cudgel for the left: It can manipulate caring people into accepting all manner of sins according to a conservative Christian perspective, including #abortion access, #LGBTQ+ rights, illegal immigration and certain views on #social and #racial justice."
#WWJD #WWRWJD #WhatWouldJesusDo #ChristianCoalition #ChristianNationalists #Racists #Hatemongers #ProBirth
Some voices on the Christian right are arguing the virtue of empathy has become a vice. Those Christians claim empathy can manipulate people into accepting what they see as sins, like abortion access and LGBTQ+ rights. Conservative evangelicals Allie Beth Stuckey and Joe Rigney have written books within the past year criticizing certain forms of empathy. Stuckey's and Rigney's views have gained traction among President Donald Trump’s Christian base as his Republican administration enacts hard-line policies. Progressive Christian leaders emphasize empathy is central to Jesus' teachings, countering claims it's harmful or sinful.
GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH!!! #JamesDobson, influential founder of conservative Christian group #FocusOnTheFamily, has died
By MIKE CATALINI and HOLLY MEYER
Updated 10:33 AM EDT, August 21, 2025
"Dr. James Dobson, a politically influential child psychologist who started a radio show counseling Christians on how to be good parents, founded the conservative ministry Focus on the Family and was long a campaigner against #abortion and #LGBTQ+ rights, died on Thursday. He was 89.
"His death was confirmed by the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.
"Dobson started Focus on the Family in 1977, which had more than 1,000 employees at its peak and gave him a platform to weigh in on legislation, advise White House panels and advocate against laws to ban #ConversionTherapy to 'cure' gay people.
"He became a force in the 1980s for pushing conservative Christian ideals in American politics alongside fundamentalist giants like #JerryFalwell and #PatRobertson. He campaigned for bringing religious conservatives into the political mainstream, and in 1989, Falwell called Dobson a rising star. Decades later, he served on President #DonaldTrump ’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board."
https://apnews.com/article/james-dobson-obituary-focus-on-family-51a9dbf50e26eaee2ac01d457e9d46aa
#ChristianCoalition #ChristianNationalists #Homphobes #ProBirth #ChristianRight #Fundamentalist #HandmaidsTale #MAGADeathCult #ChristoFascists #ChristoFascism
James Dobson, a child psychologist who founded the conservative ministry Focus on the Family and was a politically influential campaigner against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, has died at age 89. Born in 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Dobson launched a radio show counseling Christians on how to be good parents and started Focus on the Family in 1977. He became a force in the 1980s for pushing conservative Christian ideals in mainstream American politics alongside fundamentalist giants like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. At its peak, Focus on the Family had more than 1,000 employees and gave Dobson a platform to weigh in on legislation and serve as an adviser to five presidents.
What do #VanceBoelter and #ErikPrince have in common? Quite a bit! But Prince prefers to farm out #Assassinations to his minions!
#Theocratic #Mercenary Erik Prince and the #ChristianRight
by Mike Kuhlenbeck • 19 June 2018
"Erik Dean Prince was born in Holland, Michigan, on June 6, 1969, the youngest child and only son of Edgar and Elsa Prince, who also had daughters Betsy, Emilie, and Eileen. As documented by author Suzanne Simons in her 2009 book Master of War: #Blackwater USA’s Erik Prince and the Business of War, Prince grew up in a religious household and attended Christian schools; the Princes were members of the Reformed Church in America, a conservative Christian sect that follows the philosophical template of theologian John Calvin.
"Edgar Prince worked as a die caster and then chief engineer for the die cast machine manufacturing outfit Buss Machine Works after serving in the US Air Force. In 1965 he and two co-workers struck out on their own to establish Prince Manufacturing. By the 1970s the company expanded its operations and became financially successful, as did the Prince family. Edgar Prince died of heart failure in 1995, and the company was sold to Johnson Controls for over $1 billion.
"Surrounded by those who share their belief in Christian-based politics, the Prince family has used its fortune to help build the #ConservativeChristian movement. Focus on the Family founder James Dobson and Richard Nixon’s disgraced former special counsel Charles Colson (who became a born-again Christian after serving seven months in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal) were family friends. Edgar and Elsa Prince were major contributors to the Family Research Council and founded the nonprofit Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation in 1979, substantial funds from which have gone toward the effort to abolish the legal wall separating church and state. The Prince family also has deep ties to the Council for National Policy (#CNP) which, according to its vision statement, supports “a united conservative movement to assure, by 2020, policy leadership and governance that restores religious and economic freedom, a strong national defense, and #JudeoChristian values under the Constitution.”
"From Reverend #BillyGraham’s “spiritual counsel” to twelve US presidents, to Reverend #JerryFalwell’s #MoralMajority movement of the 1970s and ’80s, to Marion Gordon #PatRobertson’s #ChristianCoalition (now the #ChristianCoalitionOfAmerica), the movement to push a #fundamentalist “Judeo-Christian” agenda into the public sphere has been an ongoing crusade. Keeping with family tradition, Erik Prince’s sister Betsy married fellow Christian right figure Dick DeVos, whose father is the founder of Amway and the past president of the CNP from 1990-1993. Betsy DeVos served as the chair of the Michigan Republican Party and now serves as US Secretary of Education under Donald Trump. The DeVos dynasty, labelled a “family of extremists” by the Center for American Progress, is undoubtedly having an influence on the Trump White House."
#ChristoFascists #ChristoFascism #Mercenaries #PrivateSecurity #MAGA #MAGADeathCult #RightWing #ViolentExtremists
President Donald Trump’s election allowed the Christian right to achieve a new level of domination in the US government. Since the 1960s, the Christian right has become the loudest voice in the Republican Party, moving their message from the revival tents and into the political arena. Continuing this tradition, Erik Dean Prince, founder of the […]
Marco Rubio's hunt for "#AntiChristian bias" is creeping #theocracy
In a new war on federal workers, State Department employees are told to snitch on people with #Pride flags
By Amanda Marcotte
Published April 15, 2025 6:00AM (EDT)
Excerpt: "Unsurprisingly, a deeper read of the cable shows that 'anti-Christian bias' is the cover story propped up to justify Rubio's actual assault on freedom of religion at State. He's giving Christian nationalists at the agency a tool to harass and even Rpurge people who don't share their #FarRight beliefs. The definitions of 'anti-Christian bias' throughout add up to outrage that conservative Christians are expected to treat people who believe differently with fairness and decency.
"For instance, the memo asks for reports of 'mistreatment for opposing displays of flags, banners or other paraphernalia,' specifically during Joe Biden's administration. It doesn't take a doctorate in bureaucratese to interpret this. Rubio is seeking stories where conservative Christians were told to mind their own business after objecting to a colleague putting up a #PrideFlag, a #BlackLivesMatter sign or perhaps a religious knickknack from a #NonChristian faith. This might be more comprehensible if, say, any Christians had being told they couldn't wear a cross or have a picture of Jesus on their desk. Instead, what Rubio is suggesting is that Christians have [the right to] prevent other people from having the freedom to express views and positions they dislike — and that it amounts to 'bias' if they can't control what others do or say. "
Read more:
https://www.salon.com/2025/04/15/marco-rubios-hunt-for-anti-christmas-bias-is-creeping-theocracy/
#ChristianNationalism #USPol #ChristoFascism #ChurchAndState #AntiGBLTQ #CharacteristicsOfFascism #HeritageFoundation #Project2025 #ChristianCoalition #MoralityPolice #HumanRightsViolations #GBLTQErasure #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #TrumpRegime
#UmbertoEco’s List of the 14 Common Features of #Fascism
in History, Literature, Politics | November 1st, 2024
"While Eco is firm in claiming “There was only one Nazism,” he says, “the fascist game can be played in many forms, and the name of the game does not change.” Eco reduces the qualities of what he calls “Ur-Fascism, or Eternal Fascism” down to 14 “typical” features. “These features,” writes the novelist and semiotician, “cannot be organized into a system; many of them contradict each other, and are also typical of other kinds of despotism or fanaticism. But it is enough that one of them be present to allow fascism to coagulate around it.”
1. The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”
2. The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”
3. The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”
4. Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”
5. Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”
6. Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”
7. The obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.”
8. The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
9. Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”
10. Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”
11. Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”
12. Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”
13. Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”
14. Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”
https://www.openculture.com/2024/11/umberto-ecos-list-of-the-14-common-features-of-fascism.html
#DoublePlusUngood #Authoritarianism #Project2025 #TechnoFacism #January6 #CharacteristicsOfFascism #MAGA #ChristoFascism #ChristianCoalition
#ChristianNationalism
#AntiGBLTQLegislation #PressFreedom #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #StopHR9495
Creative Commons image by Rob Bogaerts, via the National Archives in Holland One of the key questions facing both journalists and loyal oppositions these days is how do we stay honest as euphemisms and trivializations take over the discourse?
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