Bush and the Mormons (& Caterair) - New Expose By Suzan Mazur

[althecat]

Bush and the Mormons
By Suzan Mazur

Dan Briody, The Iron Triangle: "So in 1989, when Mr. Marriott made it known that his company's airline catering division, then known as Marriott In-Flite Services, was on the block, one had to suspect that he knew something the rest of the world didn't know."

That's Mr. Bill Marriott, one of the world's most successful businessmen. He's also one of the most celebrated members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- the Mormons.

While we know about George W. Bush's popularity with the American electorate who consider themselves Evangelical born-again Christians (42% - Gallop Poll) - this does not account for the Mormons, who are a significant part of Bush II's base.

Mormons tend to vote Republican. They run the biggest and the best gun shows nationwide. And the LDS Church is rich, because it asks its 11 million members to tithe 10% of their annual income to the church.

Anthropologist Tom Murphy at Edmonds College in Washington state has dissected Mormon scripture and told me by phone that Mormons are definitely not Evangelical Christians. Murphy sees the Mormon Church as "leaning more towards Christianity," but says that as long as the religion includes Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon, it really cannot be considered Christian.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0410/S00296.htm

(NOTE: I would have posted this in LBN except that according to the Mods Scoop is not an authorised LBN news source. Which to tell the truth kinda pisses me off.. when we post scoops like this and those of Jason Leopold.... but hey that's life & keeping DU online & defeating * is probably taking up Skinner's time these days.)

[aquart]

1. I've always thought Joseph Smith was a reincarnation of Mohammed.

But that's just me.

[kokomo]

2. The "village idiot" of Palmyra, New York probably never heard of Mohammed.

The Book of Mormon is the story of Jesus who instead of going to heaven in the assumption as described in the New Testament, took a detour to North America and lived with, was a Rabbi to Native Americans who Mormons call Lamanites, allegedly descendents of ancient Jews.

The religion was actually dreamed up by Oliver Cowdery, a schoolteacher who was aware of Indian legends and earlier books relating American Indians to a "lost tribe" of Jews. Cowdery "translated" and wrote the Book of Mormon that was dictated to him by an illiterate Joseph Smith. Cowdery wrote the book in Elizabethan English so as to sound like the King James Bible but that was not the dialect of upstate New York in the 19th century but it made folks feel the Book of Mormon was "religious"! The Mormon ritual itself is really plagiarized from Masonic rituals.

For Cowdery's plagiarism:
http://trialsofascension.net/mormon/plagiarism.html

Mormonism is one of the great frauds in American history, but now has 11 million duped members.

http://www.antimormon.8m.com/beadlechp1.html

Mormon "urban legends"
http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon060.htm

[Sugarbleus]

4. That took courage...

LOL. I've known this stuff for years but I never felt like I could "discuss" it in public. There are many lovely Mormon folk, very kind and charitable...then there are those who are not. But that could be said about any sect.

Yes, very conservative and interested in gathering wealth, without respect to where it comes from. Mormons will work in Neveda gaming, for example, (mob related stuff comes to mind) with religious impunity where a die-hard baptist wouldn't. It's really strange. Their power is huge especially in the west rocky mountain states.

They DO have an excellent geneology library.

[kokomo]

7. I lived in Park City, helped build the first condos at the Canyons in 1974

Had several "good" Jack Mormons (no longer "Temple" Mormons due to not paying 10% to the church, drinking, drugging, deviating from the "missionary position" etc) who worked for me. They were a hard-working, hard-drinking group of great guys. Learned all about Mormonism, including tales about their "magic" religious underwear that keeps them safe from all harm. O8)

I am not afraid to tell the world that Mormonism, Scientology, Moonies, etc. are frauds. They do have a great geneology library because they believe in baptizing the long departed. I probably will be "baptized" a Mormon after I die against my will by a zealous Mormon convert descendent at some future date. We all probably will be "Mormons" someday.

[notadmblnd]

17. I always had the impression that he was just a snake oil salesman

just looking for his piece of the carnaval side show.

[bobbieinok]

3. my ex and his family moved to Utah when he was in 7th grade

One of his favorite stories.....

They were studying American history and the Indians...the teacher closed the book and said 'well, of course, we know that the Indians are the descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, etc, etc, etc'

He said, 'but that's just not true....where do you get this idea?...

Of course, she was repeating info from the Book of Mormon.

There was a meeting with the principal. As I recall, they agreed they would not teach Mormon doctrine when he was in class. Implied was that they knew they were right, but he wouldn't shut up.

[althecat]

5. The thesis in a nutshell.. Bush's nutty mormon benefactors are polygamists

Knowing the attention span of modern readers it is worth summarising some of the memes in this article.

1. Their are Mormon connections all over the Bush administration, not to mention the FBI.
2. Some monied mormons may have been tipped off about the 1st Gulf War.
3. Bush is tied into these very monied mormons via Caterair & Carlyle.
4. The QPQ of being reliant on the mormons is that polygamy and pedophilia remain legal in parts of the states. And if Bush is re-elected expect polygamy to remain effectively legal.


*****

To wit.

*****

Perhaps the best known LDS celebrity, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, chairs the Judiciary Committee that oversees the Department of Justice and the FBI. It is unlikely that any major breakup of the polygamist sects will occur on his watch as a result, and that government subsidies will continue.

Hatch announced last year at a town meeting in southern Utah, "I'm not here to justify polygamy. All I can say is I know people in Hildale who are polygamists who are very fine people. . . . I personally don't believe in polygamy. But I'm not going to judge others who feel differently."

So with no hearings scheduled on these cults anytime soon in the Senate Judiciary Committee, law enforcement is not pressed to do its job. Historically, FBI field offices nationwide have been "manned" by Mormons. Thus, the Mormon community has successfully contained the polygamy issue for the last 100 years.

Finally there's FBI Director Robert Mueller's selection of Darwin A. John as FBI Director of Information to reorganize the bureau's computer files. He was a direct transfer from the Mormon Church where he served as information director for a decade.

So what does it all boil down to? Despite a federal law outlawing polygamy and a Supreme court ruling - Tom Green, the only convicted polygamist in 50 years in America - is appealing his case to the US Supreme Court. If his case is accepted, it could lead to overturning the anti-polygamy law that Abe Lincoln championed.

Just a little something for American women to look forward to in a Part II/Bush II Administration, aside from threats of reversing Roe v. Wade and the further empowerment of faith-based over reality-based institutions.

[althecat]

6. P.S. And Karl Rove was raised among the mormons....

[DeepModem Mom]

8. That's interesting -- do you have more info, atc?

[althecat]

9. From the article

"And then there's Karl Rove ("Bush's Brain"). While he is not Mormon, Rove was nurtured in the Mormon Salt Lake City culture and educated at the University of Utah."

[Disturbed]

10. Howard Hughes

He only hired Mormons.

Besides the Moonies, Scientologists, the Mormons are the largest and wealthiest cult on this planet.

[greekspeak]

11. Compare Book of Mormon to 19th century scientific "moundbuilder" theory

Doing this little study will reveal a lot for you...

[elehhhhna]

13. The Garden of Eden is really in Jackson MO.?!!! What a hellhole.

[greekspeak]

15. Well, being a Missourian by birth, I guess I should rejoice at that

Of course, Missouri is no where near the Tigris and Euphrates river. So I do not really know how they determined Eden was there.

[elehhhhna]

12. Bush LOVES Mormons--they 'Bleed the Beast' almost as well as HE does!

[elehhhhna]

14. Theres' another thread about pitcairn Island & systemic child sex-abuse...

so what's the diff between that and marrying off 13 year olds to elderly men? And what's upwith the marrying DEAD people to other dead poeple (non-mormons to Mormons) so they can get into heaven? My oh my how convenient.

[notadmblnd]

19. They don't go to heaven.

they become gods and inherit their own planet. It's their job to populate it. Thats their reason for the plural marriages. At one time the Mormon church declared war on the US. When they decided it would be to their advantage to join the union they had to change their ways regarding plural marriages.

Joseph Smith also claimed that he was given the book of Mormon by two angles carrying golden plates written in ancient Egyptian. the plates conveniently disappeared after their translation by JS. When the Rosetta stone was discovered and deciphered this was totally debunked.

[King Coal]

16. My pipe dream is that someone will do a movie about the true

story of the Mormons. They are a very anti-american group. Joseph Smith was a con artist who endorsed pologamy because he wanted a little strange stuff.

[elehhhhna]

18. Read UNDER THE BANNER of Heaven. Great recap. Shysterama!

[idiosyncratic]

22. I was also going to recommend "Under the Banner of Heaven"

Very, very excellent (although slightly disorganized) book by Jon Krakauer who also wrote the great book "Into Thin Air."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400032806/qid=1098830543/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-0140245-1797609?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I lived in Southern Utah for several years and learned all about the cult of Mormonism. Sorry, no other word can describe a "religion" that bases its beliefs on contradictory doctrines and tries to control every aspect of their follower's behavior.

The town I lived in was only 40 miles from the polygamist community of Colorado City that ABC's 20/20 featured in an expose last year.

Mormons are definitely NOT Christians!

[bryant69]

20. The Mormon Menace

In the interest of full disclosure I am a Mormon, I am voting for John Kerry, I know several other Mormons who are voting for Kerry as well. But many who are voting for Bush as well.

I'm not sure what the point to this article is; except a wink and a nod to those who are prejudiced against Mormons already.

I am pretty used to people explaining to me that I'm not a Christian; all i can say is that I believe in the power of Christ to heal those who have sinned - but if that's not what you think a Christian is, than I suppose there is little point argueing.

Mormons tend to be Republican for the same reasons lots of religious groups tend to be Republican; there is, accurately or inaccurately, a belief that the Democrats tend to be more hostile to religous organizations, as well as some hot button issues (Abortion, Gay Marraige) that tend to push Mormons to Republicans. I don't expect this to change much.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[althecat]

21. Thanks for checking in...

Your website looks cool. And it is good to see that there are mormons who can think for themselves. That said I don't think your characterisation of the article as a "wink and a nod to those who are prejudiced against Mormons already". Rather it is pointing out yet another area in which the Bush Administration seems to have friends in the shadows around whom it walks in soft shoes and for whom it seems to have no limits in terms of the hypocrisy that it will stoop too.

[Momgonepostal]

24. Thank you, Bryant

I've been seething, reading this thread.

This is one area in which DU manages to stoop to the level of FreeRepublic. Both sites have no shortage of hateful people who make blanket, often erroneous, statements about particular religions. I used to think if really Mormons stopped to think about what the reliogus right and the republican party really thinks about them, they'd leave the party in droves. Unfortunately, threads like this show me there are no open arms here either.

I'm also LDS, active, have served a full time mission, married in the temple, etc, and am a democrat voting for John Kerry. I park my Mormon-mobile minivan with it's Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker in the church parking lot every Sunday.

I wouldn't vote for George Bush if he were the only person running.

[ibegurpard]

25. I was raised Mormon

And my parents and older sister are still devout Mormons. I don't believe in it anymore but one thing that really disturbs me is seeing my mother echoing a lot of the same cultural hot button issues that the Christian fundamentalists harp about. This disturbs me because these particular Christian groups are as hostile to the Mormons (they think they're a dangerous cult) as they are to many other groups in society. I cannot see why more Mormons are not aware of this.

[Momgonepostal]

26. I'm sure George Bush believes that as well

...that mormons are part of a dangerous cult. I wish more church members would open their eyes.

Still, particularly outside of Utah, there are Mormon progressives. The whole Mormon world isn't Utah.

[ibegurpard]

27. You're right

And even when I attended BYU, I noticed a big difference between Utah and Idaho Mormons and those that came from other states. The Utah/Idaho people seemed to have the air of religious superiority that a lot of fundmentalists have.
I have found, personally, that many Mormons I encounter, although definitely conservative with belief systems diametrically opposed to my own, tend to be much more pleasant on a personal level than many of the fundamentalist Christians I encounter. Just a personal observation that may or may not have merit in reality.

[mitchum]

23. Mormons are crazyass grifters who come dangerously close...

to making Southern Baptists seem sane and honest