California congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon is the next chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He doesn't have any military experience -- he spent the Vietnam era on a Mormon missionary retreat and a twenty-nine year quest (1956-1985) for a BA from Brigham Young -- but he did bankrupt his family's western wear company, so he knows how to order shirts no one wants.
You can see why he's the perfect man to oversee America's trillion-dollar defense budget.
Granted, he's a coward, a hypocrite and an incompetent. What's important is that Howard "Buck" McKeon has a vision. He knows why we're spending all that money, and why we're in Afghanistan and Iraq. (And by "we" I mean, "people other than Howard "Buck" McKeon.")
We're in Afghanistan and Iraq because of a Mormon Holy War that started in 1775.
We're in Afghanistan and Iraq to fulfill Mormon prophecy, to protect the home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints, and to guarantee its freedom to send missionaries around the world.
And again, by "we" I mean "not Howard "Buck" McKeon."
Let's let Howard "Buck" McKeon explain:
(You can jump to the two minute mark, if you want.)
"(The Battle of Lexington and Concord) began what gave us the liberty, the freedom that we now enjoy, to where we can congregate together like this, we can talk about things, we can have free elections. We've been able to have real freedom and liberty, which is what the Lord, many, many years ago said that this land was set aside for. About a little over a year later, on July Fourth, 1776, the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence, which states that we would be free to pursue life, liberty and happiness. That's what the Lord said that this land was set aside for, so that battle began the fulfillment of the prophecy. Now there's no guarantee that those freedoms are always to be here. We've continued and fought for years. Hundreds of thousands have given their lives so that we can continue to enjoy those freedoms, and that fight goes on, on a daily basis. In discussions that you hold. In the people that are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan right now. Afghanistan was where the planning, the kick-off of the attack on us on 9/11 took place. That's why we're there. To prevent that from happening again. It's better that we fight there, than on the streets of New York, or downtown Valencia. I just pray that we always will be able to hold those freedoms. Elder Ballard, a few years ago, visiting with the members of the Church in Washington in the Congress, said that it's important that we always keep this land free, because it's the cradle of the Church. It's where from here we send our missionaries around the world. We need to have freedom to do that. It's my prayer that we might always retain that freedom, and I wish we could do it without continued loss of treasure and blood, but it seems that that's the world we live in.
I think that should clear up just about everything.
Feel free to tell all your Muslim friends and the relatives of the coalition dead.
They didn't die for nothing. They died to protect New York, downtown Valencia, and all of America. Which was promised by Jesus to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Shira Hirschman Weiss: Mormon, Single and (sort of) Ready to Mingle
McKeon was born in 1938, graduated High School in 1956, and would have been eligible to serve an LdS mission in September of 1957. They lasted 30 months, back then, which puts him off his mission and back at BYU in 1960.
The "Vietnam Era" is considered, by the US Department of Veterans Affairs to be 1964 to 1975 - so he could not possibly have spent it at a "Mormon missionary retreat." He would have been 26 when it started, 37 when it ended, a bit older than the draftees being went to Indochina.
More importantly, his attitude regarding America's role in world affairs certainly did not originate with the Mormon church. John Winthrop's "City on a Hill" sermon in 1630 and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" in 1776 both predated the Mormons. John L. O'Sullivan was the first to coin the term "Manifest Destiny" in 1845 (although he used the concept in an earlier 1839 paper), and Abraham Lincoln, in his 1862 message to Congress also used the idea (the US as the "last , best hope of earth").
As I recall, that Lincoln feller didn't do any military service, and had a couple of business fail. How did a fool like that get elected?
The draft was in effect all through the 50s-- no explanation of how he escaped it due to mission, college and marriage (presumably).
His view of America's role was similar to George W Bush's --- all that old stuff you mention
EXCEPT--
GWB wanted to make his oil friends richer
McKeon wants to make his church richer
NEITHER seems aware that the rest of the world hates us for it, nor seems to care much about the many thousands of lives, and the ruining of our economy.
"Mormon bashing" is sort of a poor consolation prize. We would gladly give up mentioning or even thinking about mormons,
IF YOU WOULD STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES
No explanation except ... Korea had wound down and Vietnam hadn't started yet, so we didn't need a lot of soldiers. Didn't do a lot of drafting. America doesn't need a large army during peacetime.
But don't let me stop you from characterizing this as "escaping the draft." I know you're not one to be confused by facts once your mind is made up.
"Stay out of our lives" - by which, of course, you mean "give up our constitutional right to free speech."
"I am quite aware how easy it is for one person's faith to be another's heresy. Indeed, that was the basis of my early work on religion and anti-Semitism. Nevertheless, one does not expect to find hardline particularism among scholars of religion. Thus, I continue to be astonished at the extent to which colleagues who would never utter anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic, or even anti-Moslem remarks, unself-consciously and self-righteously condemn Mormons. It is time we did better."
This, from a non-Mormon scholar. I say, "if the shoe fits, wear it."
I live among southern Baptists. After Bush's appointment, when the screw-ups became frequent, I suggested keeping religion out of politics. No one agreed.
I recall Bush saying he talked to God, sounding as if they have have a chat each day, with Bush and God responding to one another's comments. If true, then Bush didn't understand God's english, or God doesn't have a clue,how to run these wars, and our government.
If the religious business becomes the way our country operates, most of us are in for something we didn't sign on for. I don't want the Baptists telling me as a citizen, how I should live. Nor the Catholics , or Mormans, or Seventh day Adventists, or my church. If this becomes why we vote, , one church will be running the show. Remember the Church of England ? Or the Jews, that are 3.5 % of our population, run the Federal Reserve Bank, own the media, clothing industry, & have a banking majority.In ten years, I haven't seen intelligent decisions come from them. Their activity nearly bankrupted us, Then factor in Bernie Madoff, AIG, & the savings/loan scandal of the 80's., & major Wall Street firms. They will say that this is not because of religion. Maybe not .You don't hear the Presbyterians ruining the country, or telling us all, how we should serve God, & later show up in the news as a child molester, or tap dancing in the stall of men's
For example: the 'truth' about the origin and history of the Mormon church is pretty ridiculous and yet it continually gets forgotten or set aside while the 'lie' lives.
As for California's Prop 8, both the Catholics and the Mormons put big bucks into getting it passed, and the Mormon church seems to be the one getting the bloody nose over it. Anyone care to throw a few brickbats at the Pope, or the Baptists? Just to even things out?
The VAST MAJORITY of the Prop 8 funding, planning, organizing, and the hateful TV commercials
are attributable to our "nice" folks in SLC, plus their CA people.
The Catholics were the 2nd largest -- one hears that the out-of-state Knights of Columbus were invited in by the mormons. Without the TV commercials, phone banks, etc, set up by the mormons, their influence would have been minor, as Catholics are used to disregarding the church.
The Baptists, etc, preached for 8, partially coached by the mormons
There are roughtly 1/8 the mormons, including kids, as there are Gay adults in California. The State is about 40+ per cent Latino, of whom most are from Catholic families.
One EXPECTS the local Catholics to object, but at least they have a major constituency.
MORMONS MESSED WITH CALIFORNIA, WITH THE IOWA JUDGES, IN MAINE, ETC
The 'Pugs introduce a bill at least once a year to repeal the 1st amendment so they can proceed their antisecular agenda.
Although it may seem largely a symbolic gesture, the radicalization of the religious right wing makes the repeal a distinct possibility. It would be a top priority if Palin got her way.
How do you figure that?
McKeon just happened to be speaking here to a group of Latter-day Saints and used that context (completely ripped OUT of context here) to make this simple point about universal freedoms.
Don't focus on the "missionary" freedoms of the LDS Church. You can apply ANY American past-times to this principle of we we defend our country.
You may not know why we are i Afghanistan. But many of us do.
Mormons do believe that America is a special place and that modern events prior to the Church's founding (going all the way back to the Protestant reformation, incidentally) brought about the conditions under which it could be founded (or re-founded, from their point of view). You may not believe any of this, but the idea that certain places are important to certain religions seems a fairly common element of belief (Jews and Israel, Muslims and Mecca, Catholics and Rome/Bethlehem, etc.)
McKeon (apparently) believes that the military is fighting in the Middle East to protect America from forces that would erode its liberty, and that he'd rather the U.S. fight there than in Valencia, California. I've heard lots of people say that without any Mormon context to it. Again, you may not agree with him, but the idea is certainly not unique to McKeon.
.......freedom to tell other people about your religion, which (from a Mormon's point of view) is pretty important
From OUR point of view
--- going out and searching people to tell IS RUDE, VULGAR, PUSHY, & SELF-AGGRANDIZING
--- going to another country, with other traditions, where the people are all of one religion, completley steeped in its culture, etc --- is RACISM DISGUISED AS RELIGION
(go to a mormon "visitor's center --sales office to me -- and see the brown people smiling so happy to imitate whites and think you value them the same)
MOREOVER -- "freedom to practice", to mormons, means "freedom to make you live the way I think God wants you to" --- VERY VERY UNAMERICAN
NO MORMON should even open his mouth -- or keyboard --- until there is a mass atonement by you for the Prop 8 lying, mean TV commercials, for the continued messing in others lives,
meant ONLY to keep your kids from seeing temptation to leave the "church"
--- and until you acknowledge that Boyd K Packer is about halfway to Adolf H
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zZ5YYfuSZQ
SORRRY, HAVE A NICE DAY -- GOD LOVES YOU
Very well said.
Mormon "missionaries" have not served the nation and a "mission" shilling for the cult is in no way equivalent to serving in uniform.
I collectively give all Mormons the Finger!
The various Christian religions that are part of this Christian industry make money from Sunday donations; grade school, high school & college tuition; real estate & other sources.
Catholic & Protestant religions have brought into their flocks as many members that can be extracted from North America.
Therefore, these Catholic & Protestant religions realize that the only places where they will find more members is in non-Christian countries such as the Middle East, Africa & China.
The Vatican & Protestant religions have plenty of influence within the U.S. government.
The religions that make up this Christian industry scare their members & their potential members into thinking that if they don't believe in Jesus they won't spend eternity in heaven with Jesus & Saint Peter. This fear of not spending eternity in heaven with Jesus causes them to become Christians, to remain Christians & to put money into the Sunday basket.
If the USA conquers Afghanistan, some of the people who will flood into Afghanistan will be reps - also known as missionaries - from the Protestant & Catholic religions. These missionaries - reps - will tell the Afhgan men, women & children that have been maimed & traumatized by the U.S. military & sadistic Islamic men that if they believe in Jesus, the suffering that they experienced will be rewarded with eternal serenity in heaven with Jesus. But it's better than Islam.
The
Congressman McKeon and the Republicans have shaped what is wrong with America. They have shaped the economic decline of America and of her middle class while enriching the already obscenely rich. They have shaped the great robbery that has just occured as Wall Street and the banks just robbed each and every tax payer and investor.
Just remember, and be comforted as we have the constitutional right to die in the streets just like they do in other countries.