NYT reports on lobbyists selling National Prayer Breakfast tickets to foreign leaders for as much as $220,000. Yay, NYT! As I wrote in THE FAMILY. Trying hard not to say “Told ya so.” And failing. https://t.co/NCHX25CDtc
— Jeff Sharlet (@JeffSharlet) July 27, 2018
With a lineup of prayer meetings, humanitarian forums and religious panels, the National Prayer Breakfast has long brought together people from all over the world for an agenda built around the teachings of Jesus.
But there on the guest list in recent years was Maria Butina, looking to meet high-level American officials and advance the interests of the Russian state, and Yulia Tymoshenko, a Ukranian opposition leader, seeking a few minutes with President Trump to burnish her credentials as a presidential prospect back home.
Their presence at the breakfast illuminates the way the annual event has become an international influence-peddling bazaar, where foreign dignitaries, religious leaders, diplomats and lobbyists jockey for access to the highest reaches of American power…
Lobbyists say the event has become even more of a coveted invitation in the Trump era, as foreign politicians scrambled to forge connections with a president who swept into office with few ties to the international community or Washington’s hierarchy of established foreign access brokers.
With its relative lack of diplomatic protocols and press coverage, the prayer breakfast setting is ideal for foreign figures who might not otherwise be able to easily get face time with top American officials, because of unsavory reputations or a lack of an official government perch, according to lobbyists who help arrange such trips. They also contend that it is easier to secure visas when the breakfast is listed as a destination.
At last year’s breakfast, Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, posted a photo on Instagram of himself seated next to Andrei Makarov, a member of the Russian Parliament who had pushed for tax breaks for Russians who faced sanctions. A spokesperson for Mr. Grassley said that the senator poses for many photos with people he meets at a range of events…
[Is it *my* fault there so many grifters, crooks & criminals hanging around the GOP?, asks Chuck.]
The congressional co-chairmen of the 2019 National Prayer Breakfast, Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, and Senator James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, praised the gathering as one of the most important annual events in Washington.
“It is unfortunate that some have attended the Breakfast in the past for the wrong reasons,” they said in a statement to The Times. “Nevertheless, we’re as committed as ever to ensuring that the 2019 National Prayer Breakfast is a success and follows the tradition of being nonpartisan and unifying.”…
Yes, there are Democrats involved with The Fellowship as well, more shame to them — although it can be argued there’s a considerable distinction between Yulia Tymoshenko and Mariia Butina. We really do need to pull back the tax exemptions for “non-profit” quasi-religious groups like this, and I say this as a person of faith.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
Wrong answer, Senators.
Suzanne
So this week is the 32nd anniversary of R.E.M.’s album “Life’s Rich Pageant”, which is feeling exceptionally pertinent to me this summer, considering how we are currently being monstrous YET AGAIN to Guatemalan (and Salvadoran and Honduran) asylees.
As a lifelong R.E.M. fan, I always struggled with ranking their albums. Here’s the ranking I did in 2014. I’d already change it. Would love to hear your thoughts.
From best to worst:
Automatic For The People
Life’s Rich Pageant
New Adventures In Hi-Fi
Murmur
Document
Reveal
Accelerate
Fables Of The Reconstruction
Monster
Reckoning
Up
Collapse Into Now
Out Of Time
Green
Around The Sun
Amir Khalid
@Suzanne:
As a Springsteen fan, I have never tried ranking his albums. I have absolutely no idea on what basis to compare The Rising to The River, or either to any of his acoustic and folk albums.
Jay
Yeah, I saw REM at the UBC War Memorial Gym, in ’86,
No need for ranking, it’s all good.
agoqthe_bago
Jeff Sharlet’s “The Family” is a deep dive into these people. He went undercover.
https://www.amazon.com/Family-Jeff-Sharlet-ebook/dp/B000SFZK3Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532922941&sr=8-1&keywords=jeff+sharlet
Suzanne
@Amir Khalid: I only ranked them as an exercise after Mr. Suzanne, who is a big ranker of things, encouraged me to think about it. For him, ranking things is a framework for examining and remembering. I have also enjoyed the brackets framework. It’s not something that I do, as a rule, but I have to admit that it made me think about the albums slightly differently than I typically do.
Doug R
Matthew 21:12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
Brachiator
Too late. With the blessing of the Koch Brothers, the IRS has been instructed to relax regulations involving politicking by tax exempt organizations.
Much to be done if we can retake the Congress and the presidency.
Quaker in a Basement
Den. Of. Vipers.
The Nazarene would be going for the whip about now.
Raoul
Oh hell no, Chris Coons. This prayer breakfast is a fundamentalist dog n pony show. I felt great distaste that Obama attended. It sends a terrible message to our polyglot, poly-religious (and humanist and atheist!) nation.
Brachiator
Seems like only yesterday when GOP hypocrites were wailing about supposed influence peddling by the Clinton Foundation.
scav
A gathering of Mammon and outright political maneuvering. Sounds like the classic ‘Merkan Eeeevangelical Jeeebus moment to me.
Suzanne
Damn these video ads in the corner of the page all to hell.
Mai Naem mobile
Jeff sharlet has a Twitter thread today about his return border crossing from Canada. I hope one of the front pagers posts it. Kind of scary and makes you think.
EZSmirkzz
Well AL, since I’m burning the midnight oil tonight let me say I agree with you a hundred percent. In fact if the churches have to hide behind the thin reed of man’s governments to survive maybe we tax them too. After all what has light to do with darkness? If something Holy touches something defiled does the defiled thing become Holy? No wonder people are leaving the churches in droves.
Good night all, have a good week if you can. Speaking of can, Canned Heat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGGW4IezbC4
Mary G
@Mai Naem mobile: I read that. It’s heartbreaking how his 9-year-old daughter reacts. I hate that she had to be so smart about the world at such a young age.
Amir Khalid
I’m surprised that tickets to the National Prayer Breakfast are transferable. The Administration should deal with touting by making the tickets non-transferable and printing the guest’s name on them. You know, like they do with tickets to sports events and rock concerts.
L85NJGT
@Doug R:
Now that I’ve served my sentence, and accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and savior, all that crazy shit I got up to during the Trump administration has been absolved. Let us never speak of it again.
The Pale Scot
Where”s a sandal wearing long haired rabbi when you need one
Mel
@Suzanne: They’re driving me a little bit bonkers, too.
I keep my pop-up blocker on, and they manage to slither through.
Also, it might be my clumsy fingers that are the problem, but every time I click to close them, TA DA! they pop open instead.
Yarrow
@Suzanne: Agreed. They’re awful and very hard to close.
Mary G
@Mai Naem mobile: @Mary G: Here’s a link to a roll-up of Jeff Sharlet’s thread about crossing the border. Highly recommended:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1023612034871685120.html
westyny
@Suzanne: You left out Chronic Town, unless I’m going blind. I know it was an EP, but it had the impact of a full set.
Mike J
@Suzanne: I first saw them on the Reckoning tour at Wash U. Then on the Fables at Mud Island. Then on Life’s Rich Pageant at the Orpheum in Memphis. The dB’s Peter Holsapple (whose new album came out last Friday) taught Peter Buck how to play Television’s See No Evil on stage during the encore. The best show ever, possibly aside from when I saw REM at the 40 Watt playing backup for Vic Chesnutt and then for Robyn Hitchcock).
When they recorded Green in Memphis, they would play at the Antenna club under the name The Corn Cob Webs. My friend Bill who was in the band the Penetrators (he was dating the older sister, I the younger) had the Replacements and REM come into the Antenna club on random Tuesday nights and ask to play while they were on stage. REM were sober and stood upright. Neither were true of the mats.
Duane
@Doug R: There’s another part of the New Testament Republicans seem to misunderstand.
Pete Downunder
Completely OT but have any of our Texas juicers heard of this guy? Andrew Morris running for the Texas lege. Profiled in UK edition of The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/28/andrew-morris-texas-british-politician-immigration” rel=”nofollow”
rikyrah
@Mary G:
Thanks for the link
Ruckus
I’m a heathen athethist and I’m against all tax breaks for any religion. Quasi religious groups should have to pay extra tax to exist.
Here’s my pledge. If you elect me for president I will not attend any religious event of any kind.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: So non-profit charities should also be taxed?
burnspbesq
@Brachiator:
Not so fast. There are some pretty good arguments that Rev. Proc. 2018-38 is invalid. The trick is going to be finding a plaintiff with standing.
smike
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
“So non-profit charities should also be taxed?”
I say if they are quasi-religious, why not? If they are for truly humanitarian purposes, then no problem. A true charity seeking state supplication needs no religious garb. I think there is something about that in the constitution.
Suzanne
I just had a flashback to the dearly departed (the blog, not life) matoko_chan. I kinda miss her bullshyt.
burnspbesq
ETA: it’s hornbook administrative law that a notice-and-comment regulation can only be withdrawn or amended through the notice-and-comment process. And Regulations Section 1.6033-2(a)(1)(I)(f), which Rev. Proc. 2018-38 purports to amend, is a notice-and-comment regulation.
batguano
@Suzanne: I’m running Chrome for Android, turning off autoplay stopped the ads. Settings > site settings > media > autoplay
You’ll need to restart chrome for the setting to update.
Stopped the annoying autoplay videos on cnn.com as well. I had to turn off data saver to disable autoplay for some reason.
Suzanne
@batguano: I’m on an iPad and apparently there is no way to deal with this in Safari.
Calouste
$200,000? Sounds like the national prayer is “Lord won’t you give me a Mercedes Benz?”
?BillinGlendaleCA
@smike: You might want to re-read the Constitution. Pay particular attention to the 1st Amendment.
Amir Khalid
@Suzanne:
I dunno. I feel kind of ambivalent about her.
Aleta
Interview at Vox with Jeff Sharlet, who wrote the books
The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and C Street.
Sharlet:
Amir Khalid
@Aleta:
It seems to me a lot of Christian would call the Family’s beliefs a perversion of Christianity.
joel hanes
@Doug R:
Beat me to it.
These aren’t Christians. Some of them are Christianists, and others are merely money-changers.
Aleta
@Amir Khalid: Whereas I would call them stone cold dangerously disturbed.
Ruckus
@Suzanne:
Here’s a link on setting preferences on an ipad
smike
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I’m not understanding your point. Organizations that are petitioning the state for forgiveness of obligations are not being punished by being taxed. They are still free to believe as they will.
“”Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
Seems to me that religious tax exemptions gained through congress making a law respecting an establishment of religion is rather suspect.
ruemara
It’s time for bed and in the interests of improving your early morning, here’s a train cat.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@smike: So you’re saying ALL non-profit entities should be taxed, or just religious oriented ones; because that’s what your comment seemed to say.
ETA: Religious organizations are not taxed because their not for profit organizations.
Millard Filmore
@Aleta:
Exactly like Stalin and Hitler were chosen by God.
Yutsano
@Amir Khalid: It seems to me more and more these days that Christianity means whatever the follower think will garner him/her the most wealth. At least as practised in the evangelical churches in North America.
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I’m still of the opinion that any non-profit organisation that wants to get involved in politics shouldn’t have the grace of not paying into the system they’re trying to influence. In other words, if they want to be political, they give up that exemption. Church or otherwise.
Ruckus
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
The amendment makes no mention of taxation. So why should churches be exempt from property taxes? Why should a church be exempt from income/corporate taxes? Would those taxes stop you from attending church if you desired? Would they stop you from putting money in the collection? Or giving to church group help organizations? Could the churches run as non-profit organizations and avoid a lot of that taxation?
A non profit already has taxation differences. If it operates under the name or operation of a church why shouldn’t it be taxed if others without the affiliation are taxed? (Disclosure, I worked for a subsidiary of a non profit for over a decade. We had different reporting requirements as best as I could tell. I wasn’t privi to the taxation issues, this is just as I remember them from 13 yrs ago.)
There are lots of taxation issues that “reward” or exempt special groups that I feel shouldn’t be dealt with differently. It’s one reason that written down and stacked up the income tax regs are possibly taller than you are.
ETA I have to wonder about why I, a heathen atheist have to subsidize any one’s religion through government non taxation. I pay taxes on my income, even on my SS income. I paid taxes on my business income.
James E Powell
@Suzanne:
I don’t rank albums of bands that I love because I can’t. I just can’t. Nevertheless I have to say that your list is totally wrong. (jk!)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: See my comment above, churches receive the same tax treatment as other non-profits.
smike
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Just religious oriented ones. We were speaking in reference to Ruckus’ earlier comment. A religious organization need not seek shelter under religious cover if their cause is truly humanitarian.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@smike: So it’s OK to discriminate AGAINST and non-profit if it has religious ties?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@smike: So it’s OK to discriminate AGAINST a non-profit if it has religious ties?
sharl
Sorry to see that Sharlet’s work isn’t acknowledged or credited in the NYT piece, but nice to see him satisfied that attention is being paid.
This business with how Big Church is behaving long ceased being surprising to me, but it did give me a flashback to my pre-teen confusion and disgust when I saw the wonderful Jonathan Winters playing a really creepy dude in the 1965 The Loved One. In particular there was one scene that seriously weirded me out, and watching it again after all these years the Winters character seems like a merger of Franklin Graham and Jeff Bezos (or Elon Must).
John Revolta
@sharl: I love that movie, although I gotta say Robert Morse’s “English accent” is damn near a dealbreaker for me.
lowtechcyclist
@Doug R:
Yeppers.
boatboy_srq
@Quaker in a Basement: Whip? Oh hell no. HE would be reaching for the Holy Thermonuclear Hand Grenade about now.
boatboy_srq
@Aleta: SO VERYMUCH wrong with that.
So, in their search for a “steong man” they’ve been tricked into supporting a philandering, money-laundering who’ll owned subsidiary of the other team? If they are that easily fooled, why should want of the rest of us accept their interpretation of Scripture? Had Nietszhe written a Gospel and tried to pass it off as the Book of Barabbas the Reformed Criminal they would apparently have lapped it up, and the articulator of modern atheism could have laughed all the way to the bank.
If this steong man and Xtianist dominion theory of theirs is valid, then would not the primacy of the Vatican have fulfilled the millenia requirement? There were plenty of high ranking figures, from the various Urbans, Piuses and Innocents to Richelieu and Martin, who would meet their criteria quite well. I recall that somehow those figures didn’t achieve the Revelation and End Times the way the Family expects despite following their perspective. And don’t tell me that Catholicism was only in Europe: the rest of the planetmattered to Christendom then just as much as it does now to the Foly, else we wouldn’t have Walls® and tariffs and ISIL and… and… and…
A Ghost To Most
Christian fascism is a helluva drug.
evodevo
@?BillinGlendaleCA: The IRS and various organizations like the BBB monitor them now for signs of being a scam (more than 30% of your take going to “overhead” for instance – see the BBB’s publication “Wise Giving”). It would be relatively easy to separate the wheat from the chaff in granting 501c status – they are SUPPOSED to do it now, but Repub congresscritters put a stop to monitoring back when there was all that kerfluffle during the Obama years over politicking by winger non-profit “charities”. It COULD be done, but it won’t as long as you have fundie grifters in charge…
Steve in the STL
@Suzanne: it’s “Lifes Rich Pageant”—no apostrophe.
And your ranking is totally wrong!
chopper
@Brachiator:
it’s. always. projection.