Quotes from the Conservative Principles PAC Conference

On Saturday, March 26th, the Conservative Principles Political Action Committee held a day-long conference in Des Moines, Iowa. Featuring prominent conservative figures such as Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachman, and Rep. Steve King, as well as representatives of right-wing organizations such as the National Organization for Marriage, Family Research Council, and Susan B. Anthony List, the gathering was infused with conservative themes. For your edification, below are a few quotes from the Conservative Principles PAC conference. (To watch C-SPAN's video recording of the event, click here.)

News Tidbits

Philadelphia Weekly: Anti-Abortion Radicals Coming to Philly

Reuters: Vatican tells U.N. that critics of gays under attack

The Advocate: New York Archbishop Compares Marriage Equality to Incest

The Advocate: Chick-fil-A's $1 Million Antigay History

Anchorage Daily News: Sex outside marriage should be illegal, says Parnell nominee

Iowa Independent: Sioux City pastor: ‘It’s not about hate, it’s about natural law’

BBC News: Religion may become extinct in nine nations, study says

American Independent: Michele Bachmann goes on Bryan Fischer’s show after he claims Muslims have no First Amendment rights

USA Today: Poll: Most in U.S., except evangelicals, see no divine sign in disasters

Minnesota Independent: Watchdog group sends letter to Senate leaders over Campbell prayer

Pink News: Christian publisher forced to cancel launch of ‘gay cure’ book/

Womens eNews: Anti-Choice Religious Bloc Began With Tax Battle

CBS New York: Controversial Anti-Abortion Fliers Spark Campus Outrage

Commentary Tidbits

Christian Ethics Today: Why the Religious Right Will Dominate

People for the American Way: How Not to Respond to Political Bullies: Lessons from the Smithsonian’s Response to the Manufactured Right-Wing Controversy Over Hide/Seek 

Akimbo: Conservatives Target Women and Girls at UN’s 55th Commission on the Status of Women

Politics Plus: The Jewish Alternative to AIPAC

God Discussion: Christian Dominionists Plan to Transform the World During "4/14 Window" by Focusing Prayers on Children

Talk to Action: Japan's Disaster Is Goldmine for "Armageddon Entrepreneurs"

Talk to Action: NAR Apostles' Brand of "Transformation" to be Promoted at Conference at Harvard

RH Reality Check: What Are They Doing Out There? Misguided, Sometimes Dangerous "Prayer Warriors" Abrogate Human Rights

Religion Dispatches: Hypocritical Freakout Over Shari'ah, But Not Biblical Law

Media Matters: Beck: Islam's 12th Imam "Really Is The Biblical Antichrist"

Right Wing Watch: FRC Outraged That US Opposes The Criminalization Of Homosexuality

Feministing: Not Oprah’s Book Club: The Flipside of Feminism

Mother Jones: 9 Bills That Would Put Creationism in the Classroom

Lou Engle, Race, and Abortion at Firestorm 2011

Life Center Ministries in Harrisburg, PA held its Firestorm 2011 revival on March 2-5, with Lou Engle among its inspirational speakers. Engle, a prominent New Apostolic Reformation speaker, is the founder of TheCall and a member of the International House of Prayer leadership team. Known for his opposition to abortion and homosexuality, Engle has drawn controversy for promoting homophobia in Uganda, where a draconian anti-gay bill is being considered by Ugandan parliament. Although I could not attend Firestorm 2011 myself, I secured a DVD recording of Lou Engel's March 4th talk, which was heavily laden with messages about abortion, gender, and race.

Commentary Tidbits

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: The Real Fundie Lesson of the Japanese Earthquake

Right Wing Watch: So Much for the New Scott Lively

The Faith Divide: Christian Right's Attack on Rights

Tikkun: Christian Right Calls Christian Left "A Rising Power"

George's Blog at Jamaicans: The "White Sepulchres" of the Religious Right

News Tidbits

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Arlington lawmaker's bill would protect questioners of evolution

Statesville Record & Landmark: Huckabee: Leaders Need Biblical Worldview/

CBC: Florist refuses to outfit same-sex couple's wedding

Washington Post: Ohio, Florida police recommended charges in case of runaway Muslim-to-Christian convert

The Advocate: Ex-Gay App Draws 90,000 Complaints (And Counting)

365 Gay: Growing evangelical clout shaping debate

San Diego Gay and Lesbian News: Uganda lawmakers to revive “Kill the Gays” bill

Comic Relief for the End Times

Sometimes, all the apocalyptic rhetoric coming from right-wing commentators and end times preachers gets annoying. For comic relief, here is some apocalyptic humor from Tallahassee comedian Hearty White.

Commentary Tidbits

Think Progress: Family Research Council Blames Unmarried Fathers, Postmodernism for Child Sex Trafficking

Think Progress: Jim DeMint's Theory of Relativity: "The Bigger Government Gets, the Smaller God Gets"

Right Wing Watch: Glenn Beck: Religious Right Friend or Foe?

Media Matters: Beck On Japan Earthquake: "There's A Message Being Sent" From God

Religion Dispatches: Jesus Hates Taxes: Biblical Capitalism Created Fertile Anti-Union Soil

RH Reality Check: Anti-Choice Forces Adopt In-Your-Face Tactics and the Danger to Women is Real

Box Turtle Bulletin: Christianity Today: 2009 Kampala Anti-Gay Conference Goals Were “Therapeutic”

Mother Jones: Gingrich Courts Incendiary Pastor Renounced by McCain in '08

Talk to Action: Rushdoony's Theocratic Libertarianism at Work in the Nation's Statehouses

Psychology Today: "E Pluribus Unum" becomes controversial
(Hat tip to Freak Out Nation)

News Tidbits

The Baltimore Sun: Prayer Service at City School Called Improper

Des Moines Register: Gay marriage critics rally in Des Moines

Newser: Evangelicals Slam New Gender-Neutral Bible

CNN: House panel considers 'In God We Trust'

Uganda Pulse: Ugandan MPs to discuss anti homosexuality bill

GoErie.com: Racist language targeted in Alabama Constitution

Washington Examiner: Religious objections kill Maryland gay-marriage bill

The Tennessean: Nashville's anti-gay discrimination bill divides clergy

WDBJ 7: Students walk out of high school to bring Ten Commandments back in

CBS: Gingrich sends $150K to Iowa through aide's group

Texas Independent: Nearly all of Texas’ anti-abortion subcontractors are Christian groups

Minnesota Independent: Pastor who gave controversial Senate prayer bought anti-Muslim ads

The Advocate: Antigay Forces Run for El Paso Council

The Advocate: Michigan AG Supports Antigay EMU Student

Newsday: Hundreds of worshippers dying as West African churches ban HIV and AIDS medication

San Francisco Chronicle: Man arrested in attacks on California clinic, mosque

Beliefnet: Court Rejects Mother's Religious Home-School Arguments 

Pennlive: Pennsylvania man stoned friend to death because of homosexuality, police say

The King Hearings Stir Heated Discussion about Islam in America

On Thursday, March 10th, the Congressional Committee on Homeland Security held the first in a series of hearings on the radicalization of Muslims in America, led by Rep. Peter King (R-New York). At a time when several states are considering legislative bans on Shariah law, mosques and Islamic community center projects are meeting with strong resistance, and aggressive anti-Islam rallies have drawn national attention, the King hearings have been interpreted by many progressives as another attack on Muslim Americans. However, Rep. King insisted that the hearings are meant to "inform and not to inflame", highlighting several prominent cases of extremist radicalization in the U.S. (To watch the hearings, visit the C-SPAN archive here.)