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Ted Cruz, Glenn Beck, and Cult-Like Religion
Freeper Editorial | 1/03/2015 | GPH

Posted on 01/03/2016 5:07:32 AM PST by Greetings_Puny_Humans

Sundance at The Conservative Tree House has written posts commenting on Ted Cruz's proselytizing as an electoral campaign strategy. Freepers have seen at least a couple of examples of this strategy recently, with threads being posted about Cruz calling on supporters to "don the full armor of God" to resist "incoming attacks" (presumably from dark forces!), or that the "Body of Christ" must be energized to gain the victory.

This type of rhetoric is also heavily prominent in his campaign fund raising. One of the more epic and cringe inducing examples comes from an apparent leak by the Cruz campaign of hours and hours of videos to Youtube, apparently done to get by laws that forbid cooperation between SuperPacs and the campaigns they support.

In these examples here and here, we get to see the Cruz family do multiple takes to get the candid-camera family prayer just right, and we also get to see his mother cringe after Cruz states that she spends "hours" praying for him every day.

It's entirely incomprehensible to me why a campaign would allow such uncomfortable and damaging footage to ever see the light of day, but it does help me illustrate just why the Cruz campaign is so vulnerable outside of the primary season. No, it's not because the general electorate is anti-Christian. It's that most normal people, including Christians, recognize at first glance that praying in public-- or implying that God supports your campaign as you beg for more money-- is extremely artificial and painfully obvious pandering.

On top of that, besides the pandering, which is bad enough in and of itself, the type of so-called "Christianity" he associates with isn't exactly the religion of Charles Spurgeon or Jonathon Edwards. Nope, it is the lowest of the low of New Age/Eastern Mysticism and Dominionist theology that is, unfortunately, invading huge swathes of Christendom today. And Cruz's deep connections with these types of people are extensive, beginning with none other than his own father, Rafael Cruz.

Rafael Cruz, Larry Huch & 7 Mountains Theology (Dominionism.Kingdom Now)

First, a brief explanation of what Dominionism/Kingdom Now theology even is. It is a very theologically diverse movement. It is not a denomination. It started from the weirdo confines of the New Apostolic Reformation, where self-proclaimed "Apostles" and "Prophets" declared a latter rain revival/revolution. However, there are Baptist "Dominionists," there are Roman Catholic "Dominionists," there are leftist "Dominionists," and people who are greatly influenced by their teachings but differ in some ways, or perhaps are not as extreme in their Charismatic "spiritual gifts" and "health and wealth" Gospel as other Dominionists are. In general, Dominionists believe that a great end times army of super Christians will take Dominion over the Earth and bring about the Kingdom of Christ, no longer a Kingdom "not of this world," as the Gospel teaches, but one which begins here on Earth and must precede the coming of Christ in order for Him to arrive. Total physical unity of "Christians" is necessary, which is why a large number of Dominionists are also heavily involved in the ecumenical movement. Some of these people are more covert in their beliefs than others, but generally they all work together for the same goals.

As time has passed, this very diverse Dominionist movement has become increasingly mainstream among Evangelical or conservative circles (I highly recommend you read that link in its entirety), so much so that many people probably don't even notice when 7 Mountains theology gets slipped in or the weirdos of the New Apostolic Reformation trot on out. The problem is so bad, in fact, that I call the unnoticed infiltration of Dominionists into GOP/Conservative politics the "dirty little secret" of our movement, and one which should be recognized and dealt with. These "Dominionists" have managed to get into prayer meetings or religious events all over, meeting with members of the GOP and pretending to represent mainstream Christendom, including with candidates like Newt Gingrich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Perry, Huckabee, Trump (in one meeting with the odious Copeland, among others) and on and on and on, who have all received hands on prayer by Dominionists and other errant pastors. However, no other candidate in this election has the ties Cruz has with the Dominionist movement.

Sometime in 2012 the Cruz campaign was apparently soliciting the endorsement of the megachurch Dominionist pastor, Larry Huch. Besides being a Dominionist, Huch is the kind of guy who sells CD Collections explaining how Christ's blood won back our "willpower... prosperity... health... Dominion over the things we touch...[and] Dominion over the places we walk." In other words, this is typical prosperity gospel and Dominionist materialism.

Huch remarked, during a sermon he was preaching along side Rafael Cruz, that he had received a phone call from the Cruz campaign to meet with them to see if he would be willing to "get behind" Cruz's run. Evidently the meeting bore fruit for the Cruz campaign, as it not only won an endorsement from Huch, but Rafael Cruz also came and preached at his church.

As you will see in this link, (in the link I provided just before this one, there is a transcript of this same event. I provided this second link because the commentary surrounding the video is useful) Rafael Cruz taught the congregants about how God has anointed two types of Christians: Kings and Priests. It is the job of the Kings to take control over the "market place" in order to bring the wealth back to the priests. According to Rafael, the "wealth of the wicked" belongs to the church, and God has anointed the "Kings" of the Christian church to go forth and initiate the great transfer of wealth from the "wicked" to the "righteous" as part of the end-times establishment of the kingdom. (Notice how heavily materialistic all of this is.)

Keep in mind, this wasn't Rafael Cruz just showing up at random at some church. Rafael is here operating as part of the Cruz campaign, selling to the congregation that Cruz believes the same things they do.

The Shady Background of Rafael Cruz

It is worth noting at this point just how shady Cruz's father is. Virtually every part of his biography has been disputed based on the facts.

For example, the True the Vote Summit website listed Rafael Cruz as "Director of Purifying Fire Ministries, ministering in the U.S., Mexico and Central America. He is also a professor of Bible and Theology, and the president of Kingdom Translation Services." This is a common bio you will find provided on many websites or speaking events Rafael has attended, though sometimes differing in details, such as in spelling or names. Sometimes he is a "pastor" of a Dallas church, other times that is not mentioned.

First:

There was no Purifying Fire Ministries that he was "director" of. It does not exist anywhere. There is no location for it anywhere. There are no remnants of a website somewhere. There is the Purifying Fire Ministries that was operated by Suzanne Hinn (the ex-wife of Charismaniac Benny Hinn), but the Cruz campaign has denied any connection with them, claiming that he "only used the name" for a little while before dropping it. Keep in mind, this "dropping" would have to have been pretty recent, because Rafael Cruz was being identified as "Director" of Purifying Fire Ministries as recently as January of this year.

Bizarrely, the Suzanne Hinn affiliated website was actually identified as belonging to Rafael Cruz in this speech he gave, despite the denials of any connection with the Purifying Fires franchise. That same website actually came down sometime after February of 2015, possibly in May (I see dates listed in May on the wayback machine, but cannot view them), and you can only view the about page mentioning Suzanne Hinn via the way back machine.

Of course, Rafael Cruz has no church in Dallas either. He is a "one-man" pastor, which the campaign admits.

We find similar problems when we examine his "Presidency" at Kingdom Translation Services. It is a real business, it seems, where he is listed as both Director and President, (I'd have gone with Supreme Chancellor and Senate) and, in the past 3 years since it was founded, has only put out an audio bible of Rafael Cruz reading the Bible in Spanish. The address associated with this business takes you to a residential address--- which all leads me to believe that Rafael Cruz is the Director and President of a business with probably just one employee, himself, a sort of Trinity at least. The writer of this blog claims that it is indeed a one-man show, but I wasn't able to verify that independently, only deduce it.

Moving on: Rafael Cruz's claim of being a Professor of Bible theology. Well...(from the same link as above):

"He's also claimed to be President of Kingdom Translation Services (another one-man gig that he started a year ago), and a "professor of Bible and Theology", first at Advance Institute, then Advanced Bible Institute, neither of which can be found... anywhere..."

All of this is just the tip of the iceberg. Cruz's immigration story (he might either have broken immigration law or embellished his story), his life in Cuba, his "fire bombing" for Castro, of having witnessed certain revolutionaries die (when they were on the other side of Cuba), and so many other details, are all contradicted.

See here and here for examples.

Glenn Beck & the Dominionist Axis-Power

Ted Cruz's ties with Dominionism do not end with his dad or this pastor. Cruz is also supported by David Barton who leads Cruz's Keep the Promise SuperPac. Barton is also a Lecturer for Beck's "online university," is the Chairman of Beck's Mercury One charity, and his work is featured heavily by Beck's program. It is also reported that Beck has raised millions for Keep the Promise via Barton. Like Ted Cruz himself, Barton is heavily promoted by Glenn Beck, though Beck performs virtually no vetting of this man whatsoever.

As an example, Barton's historical work tracking the Christian roots of the nation are apparently plagued by exaggeration and poor scholarship. I didn't have time to do a full scale study on the issue of the accuracy of Barton's historical claims, but there are enough examples of misquotes available that makes you doubt Glenn Beck's assertion that Barton is the "Library of Congress in shoes." Ted Cruz has said something similar, describing Barton as a "good friend" and a fantastic scholar.

The blogger at Fanatic for Jesus blogspot describes Barton, as of 2011, as tending "to keep his ties to the Dominionists under wraps, and no one has heard him explicitly advocate Seven Mountains Dominionism ... until yesterday on his radio program (4/4/11)." The blogger then goes on to quote him thusly:

"Barton: That's right. Christians got to get involved. And there's a Scripture they used that came out of Isiah 2:2 and it says "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains," so this is now called the Seven Mountain Prophecy, there's a book out by that name. It says the Lord's house is going to be established on top of the mountains and these are the seven mountains. If you're going to establish God's kingdom, you've got to have these seven mountains and again that's family, religion, education, media, entertainment, business and government. Now that's what we believed all along is you got to get involved in this stuff. Jesus said "you occupy 'til I come." We don't care when he comes, that's up to him. What we're supposed to do is take the culture in the meantime and you got to get involved in these seven areas."

This is a pretty clear declaration of Dominionist teaching. The book he mentions is by Johnny Enlow, a Dominionist author who has called for "superimposing" a "virtual theocracy" onto the United States government. Interestingly, Enlow describes himself as a "social reformer," a red flag for a social just warrior, and on his website he rails against Donald Trump's appeal to "White man's pride." Here's a larger quote:

"I believe we are witnessing a phenomenon in the present political landscape, as Donald Trump is directly appealing, to what I sense God is presently judging in America- white male pride... what I sense from the Lord is that He is actually confronting and judging our white male pride (WMP). This is a kind of pride that blinds you from realizing that it is God Himself that has drawn a line in the sand and determined to bring a necessary correction. You can be a white female and also be affected by this pride, but I believe it’s primarily something that a significant portion of white males deal with... Donald Trump has stirred and blown a trumpet that is awakening WMP on a mass scale. His political platform has been horribly divisive and polarizing..."

As I said, Dominionism is a strange world where many different people with different visions of what a Christian nation should look like can all meet together under one tent.

Even Glenn Beck is not an unwelcome member of the Dominionist movement. David Barton defends Glenn Beck's Mormon faith (the LDS is polytheistic and pelagian in nature, thoroughly heretical) as being Christian, though this probably also has something to do with Dominionism's Ecumenical efforts.

Barton's ties with other Dominionists are also quite extensive, including with Kenneth Copeland, who, besides his Dominionism, pushes New Age/Eastern mysticism. He also says things like this:

"You're all God. You don't have a God living in you; you are one! ... When I read in the Bible where God tells Moses, 'I AM,' I say, 'Yah, I am too!'" ("The Force of Love," Tape BBC-56).

This same Kenneth Copeland managed to land a 3 hour meeting with the Pope due to the sheer level of his popularity, which, perhaps, is less a condemnation of the Pope not vetting him, but more a problem with the American Evangelical movement that really does give more honor to guys like Copeland than is deserved.

Rafael Cruz has also echoed concepts repeated by David Barton, such as the concept of a "black robe regiment" of Christian pastors.

Moving on: Glenn Beck himself, not surprisingly, also brings up the "7 Mountains" of society, mouthing the same talking points that first originated with hardcore Dominionists years ago.

In case you think that maybe Glenn Beck doesn't know the full implications of what he's saying, Chuck Pierce, a radical Dominionist and self-proclaimed prophet of the crazy New Apostolic Reformation, gave Glenn Beck a holy "mantle of the future". To help you understand that, think of the Roman Catholic concept of Apostolic succession, then insert lunacy, mix it up, and drink till you pass out. The New Apostolic Reformation believes they are the restored Apostles and Prophets of God, basically like the return of saint Paul or saint John, and they have all the authority implied therein, though they use it mostly to rake in donations from the faithful.

The blogger at Spirit of Error noted that the timing of Chuck Pierce's granting of the prophetic mantle to Mormon Glenn Beck was interesting. He writes:

"With the presidential election around the corner, the timing of Pierce's mantle-giving is no coincidence. Beck didn't just happen to stop by Pierce's church last Sunday morning. Pierce didn't just happen to present Beck with a mantle–out of courtesy for his high-profile visitor. This event was orchestrated. Think about it. Pierce gives a mantle to Beck–and, as a result, people in the NAR movement will now listen to Beck when he speaks in support of a presidential candidate. Who will he speak in support of? He's thrown his support to Ted Cruz, who, just yesterday, announced that he’ll run for the Republican Party nomination for 2016.

Ted Cruz's ties with Glenn Beck should be well known to all at this point, but is worth summarizing with a few bits of new information. Cruz, of course, joined up with Beck to hand out Teddy bears to illegal alien children awhile back. He is a frequent topic on Beck's programs and appears often. He has praised both Barton and Beck as good friends and patriots. Through David Barton, Beck also is involved with Ted Cruz's superPAC Keep the Promise, and Beck's support for Cruz is blatant. Beck in November declared he is currently working on a documentary about Ted Cruz (I do not know if he's finished it and has already aired it on his irrelevant internet TV show), and has declared that Ted Cruz has been "supernaturally" raised to lead the country. (Cruz has been implying the same thing over the past month, which makes me wonder whether this is a combined effort to create a "Savior" narrative.)

Cruz's Church

Currently, Cruz attends Houston’s First Baptist Church. The senior pastor is Gregg Matte. He was one of the pastors associated with Rick Perry's controversial prayer meeting with prominent "Evangelical" leaders. Here is Martha West explaining the problem:

"In my article series "The Religious Right uniting with Religious Renegades" I expressed alarm over some or our Christian leader's decision to attend Gov. Rick Perry's The Response: A call to prayer. Many evangelicals were distressed that respected leaders would be standing shoulder to shoulder with folks who are associated with fringe groups such as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), the International House of Prayer (IHOP) and the Word of Faith (WoF). These groups hold many of the same unbiblical beliefs such as "positive confession."

Evidently these warnings went unheeded, and Gregg Matte was among those standing side by side the weirdest weirdos of the Dominionist movement. Gregg Matte has also had David Barton as a guest speaker at his church, as seen here. Beyond this, Barton's sermons that I have seen were bland enough that I didn't notice any problems, except, perhaps, for a hint that he believes God speaks to men audibly, but not clear enough for me to be sure. There was no other information on him. I suspect it's because he just isn't that famous.

Beth Moore, on the other hand, is a different matter. She has taught at Houston's First Baptist Church for more than two decades, producing Bible studies and giving sermons. She believes that God speaks audibly to her, in "full sentences," and that, while writing her book, she had supernatural experiences accompanying it. She has also taught "contemplative prayer" and is close to the Osteen family. Besides this, she is also tied to Dominionists like Joyce Meyer, with whom she has done work promoting Ecumenicalism. According to Beth, she has had supernatural visions where Roman Catholics are also members of the body of Christ (controversial for the average Baptist, but a regular theme with most Dominionists).

Joyce Meyer, as mentioned, is a Dominionist, and also gives to her congregations pretty little gems like this:

"The Lord recently showed me that we can bless or curse the financial seed we sow. We can speak positively about our financial future, or we can say things like, 'I can't afford it' . .. 'Every time I turn around something happens to take my money'. . . . We should water our giving with the water of His word and expect an abundant harvest. Sow your seed and speak prosperity scriptures over your finances" (Joyce Meyer, "Your Mouth is a Weapon," Life in the Word March 1997, p. 4.)

And as an explanation of why this sort of doctrine is so popular:

"While Meyer's previous salary is unknown, a recent series of investigative articles in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch revealed Meyer's ministry purchased for Joyce and Dave a $2 million home, a $10 million private jet, and houses worth another $2 million for the couple's children, who also work for the ministry. The articles also outlined Meyer's recent personal purchases, including a $500,000 vacation home. Meyer, 60, lives in Fenton, Missouri, near St. Louis." (1/1/2004, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/januaryweb-only/1-19-13.0.html)

Is it any wonder why con men are so drawn to the "Christian" Evangelical/Charismatic scene? It is insanely profitable, provided you have the right message. That is probably part of the reason for Beck's downward spiral into Dominionist theology-- it's to get at the money while his original audience shrinks into nothingness. At the same time, however, Beck really does seem to think he has some kind of Messianic mission. You see this in the way he talks and how he seems to be having "prophetic" inspiration when he declares Cruz to be supernaturally-sent. The fact he's working on a documentary for Ted Cruz was also quite a bizarre revelation for me. There's not exactly that much to talk about.

Returning to Moore, the blogger at "The King's Dale" did an extensive study on her (he read all three of her books), concluding, among other things, that she preaches a "false Gospel of pragmatism, self-improvement and prosperity." Or, in other words, the usual "believe it and claim it" materialistic pablum that is omnipresent among these people. Beth Moore has also preached sermons with common New Apostolic Reformation themes, such as this one at James Robison's church. Robison himself is a hyper-Charismatic who has featured Dominionists like John Wimber, and has done ecumenical work. Also note this from the same link:

"In the November/December 1986 issue of Day of Restoration, James Robison wrote that the miracle of Christmas is "that Christ is formed in you;" that "our actual purpose in this world: receiving and expressing the fullness of the life of Jesus." He goes on to say that "God wants us to see Jesus as merely the big brother in a huge family of brothers and sisters like Him." Further, he states that II Corinthians 5:17 means that we "have the divine nature, the eternal life of God." Still Christ must be "formed in you." He goes on to say that Jesus was a pattern; that "Jesus Himself pioneered the process He is putting us through." He claims that "God reveals that Christ had to be formed even in Jesus. ... That same Jesus also will be formed in you -- in anyone who will receive the light of this truth."

For those of you familiar with Mormon doctrine, you'll notice that a lot of Dominionist thinking has a strong Mormonic flavor. The LDS believes that men are gods in seed form. If they perform all the duties of a Mormon, they will graduate to full fledged Godhood in the Celestial Kingdom. It makes sense then why a lot of Dominionists, such as those in the NAR, are willing to declare him to be a prophet. Though, they probably like the prospect of money, publicity and power as well.

So there you have it folks. Here are Ted Cruz's ugly ties with cult-like religion, as well as Beck's descent into Dominionist madness. I could keep going, and there is much more research to be done. However, this is as much as you'll get for now.


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To: Jane Long

“Stoppin’ by,” young’un?
Been here a sight longer than you, but with less vitriol.
So do you agree that there are significant dangers inherent with parody and smears within the conservative ‘big tent’? Circular firing squad and all? Adding to the narrative of the leftist opposition?


921 posted on 01/04/2016 6:50:09 AM PST by ColoCdn (Neco eos omnes, Deus suos agnoset)
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To: FreeReign

Show me the vid or the tweet.


922 posted on 01/04/2016 7:06:09 AM PST by Lagmeister ( false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders Mark 13:22)
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To: odawg

TPP hasn’t been brought to the he vote, hasn’t passed, is not law. TPA gave fast track powers same as other GOP presidents had. Cruz is fiercely opposed to TPP. That’s what counts.


923 posted on 01/04/2016 7:11:44 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: itsahoot

Obama was going to make the US a signatory to the deal without Congressional input. Read the link I posted to you.


924 posted on 01/04/2016 7:16:27 AM PST by brothers4thID ("We've had way too many Republicans whose #1 virtue is "I get along great with Democrats".")
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To: odawg

1. Ted Cruz is a Reagan Republican: he believes in free trade as a powerful weapon to spread democracy and increase American influence— but he wants Congress to have a role in trade agreements. TPA has been used by every President for the past 50 years to expedite the negotiation of trade deals. Our allies, and enemies, know that the US Congress is a fickle beast that just loves to tack on poison pill amendments in order to kill a bill/treaty. TPA sets a time period and the mandate of an up or down vote— no amendments, no denial of cloture, no foot dragging. If Congress members do not like the details of the bill, they have to vote no and send it back to the drawing board. Furthermore, unlike the Constitutionally mandated treaty process, TPA allows for the House of Representatives to get a vote on a trade bill. (The Constitution says that the Senate must ratify a treaty— the House gets no vote.)Now I think we would all agree that Congressmen who have to be re-elected every 2 years are far less likely to sign onto a damaging treaty than Senators, who are only elected every 6 years— so letting the House have a vote is a good idea.

2. The TPA bill that originally hit the Senate floor was all but identical to the TPA used by the aforementioned Presidents of the past half-century. Senator Sessions was (rightly) concerned that immigration language would be added to the bill in the House, but no such language existed in the first Senate version. Conservatives were further worried that TPA would be used to re-authorize the Export-Import bank. McConnell gave assurances that the Export Import bank not only would not be added to the TPA, but that it was dead for the rest of the legislative year.

3. To end debate on any bill, that does not fall under specific budget rules, in the Senate you need unanimous consent OR 60 yes votes during what is called a cloture vote. When the cloture vote for TPA—the Senate version— was held there were 62 yes votes. Cruz did not cast the 60th, 61st, or 62nd vote. In fact, he had already voted yes to end the debate because he had been assured by House and Senate leaders that immigration codicils would not be added and that Ex/Im was dead. Then McConnell, realizing he would not get cloture (he only had 54 votes) made a deal with 8 Senators to put Ex/Im on another bill. You can read about those shenanigans here: http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/trade-promotion-authority-senate-roll-call-vote/

4. After cloture was obtained the deal McConnell made became public and Cruz was pissed as hell. To make matters worse, the House TPA bill included the very immigration language Sessions warned about. So, both Boehner and McConnell lied to conservatives (not just Cruz) in order to garner support. Because the House and Senate bills were different, they had to be combined in what is called a “Conference Committee”. That bill then had to be passed by both the House and Senate.

5. It was during the vote for cloture on the newly edited joint bill, (TPA-2 if you will) that Cruz and several others rebelled and voted no. Cruz has explained that the version of TPA that was passed was not the version supported by Reagan conservatives and he could not, in good conscience, vote for it.

6. The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)deal has been sent to Congress to vote on under the rules outlined in TPA. This means that TPP cannot be amended or filibustered. All members of Congress will have a chance to vote and must either vote yes or no.


925 posted on 01/04/2016 7:18:58 AM PST by brothers4thID ("We've had way too many Republicans whose #1 virtue is "I get along great with Democrats".")
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bump!


926 posted on 01/04/2016 7:22:22 AM PST by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: brothers4thID
Wow! Thanks for quoting the Times(snicker/cackle). Fact: it would have taken 2/3 vote to pass the Senate, instant fail. The Corker bill reduced the vote to simple majority and forced the Senate to a 2/3 vote to stop it.

Cruz's comments about "slowing down" Obama and "chance to review" are beyond thin and feeble.

Not only that, but the Obama-will-do-it-anyway is the worst of the worst lame excuses. That is like saying... well, let's give illegals amnesty because Obama will do it anyway.

Or, how about... let's give Obama everything he wants because he will do it anyway. Come to think of it, the Republican establishment (and Cruz 500% incr. H1B/TPA/Corker bill) does that anyway.

927 posted on 01/04/2016 7:22:47 AM PST by Lagmeister ( false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders Mark 13:22)
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To: editor-surveyor
The requirements of the Corker amendment have not been met, thus the “deal” is null and void, and acting under it is a felonious act.

Did they get the $150,000,000,000.00?

928 posted on 01/04/2016 7:25:04 AM PST by itsahoot (Anyone receiving a Woo! Woo! for President has never won anything after the award.)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007
In particularly, with regards to how much of our culture's vision of a single, monolithic Inquisition was born of anti-Catholic propaganda.

The conventional wisdom or "Black Legend" has been discredited by modern historians.

The Real Inquisition --National Review

Despite popular myth, the Inquisition did not burn heretics. It was the secular authorities that held heresy to be a capital offense, not the Church. The simple fact is that the medieval Inquisition saved uncounted thousands of innocent (and even not-so-innocent) people who would otherwise have been roasted by secular lords or mob rule.

During the 13th century the Inquisition became much more formalized in its methods and practices. Highly trained Dominicans answerable to the Pope took over the institution, creating courts that represented the best legal practices in Europe.

As royal authority grew during the 14th century and beyond, control over the Inquisition slipped out of papal hands and into those of kings. Instead of one Inquisition there were now many. Despite the prospect of abuse, monarchs like those in Spain and France generally did their best to make certain that their inquisitions remained both efficient and merciful.

During the 16th century, when the witch craze swept Europe, it was those areas with the best-developed inquisitions that stopped the hysteria in its tracks. In Spain and Italy, trained inquisitors investigated charges of witches' sabbaths and baby roasting and found them to be baseless.

Elsewhere, particularly in Germany, secular or religious courts burned witches by the thousands. Compared to other medieval secular courts, the Inquisition was positively enlightened.

Protestants promoted and perpetuated the "Black Legend" for obvious reasons.
929 posted on 01/04/2016 7:26:55 AM PST by St_Thomas_Aquinas ( Isaiah 22:22, Matthew 16:19, Revelation 3:7)
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To: FreeReign
Trump started his response by saying that the criminals should be deported. He then avoided answering about the non criminals for a couple of minutes, and then finally he said that for the others, he would try to work something out based on merit. He said nothing about deporting them.

It's hard to nail Jello to the wall.

WWE level rhetoric is easier.

930 posted on 01/04/2016 7:34:19 AM PST by don-o (I am Kenneth Carlisle - Waco 5/17/15)
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To: Lagmeister

There
Would
Not
Have
Been
A
Vote
In
The
Senate
At
All


931 posted on 01/04/2016 7:36:42 AM PST by brothers4thID ("We've had way too many Republicans whose #1 virtue is "I get along great with Democrats".")
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To: SmokingJoe

“Cruz is fiercely opposed to TPP”

Not really. TPA was put forward specifically to enable TPP. He will never be able to put forth a good reason to vote for TPA. TPA was one of Obama’s favorite agenda items because it set the momentum to pass TPP, the target legislation that ends American sovereignty. That should have alerted sentient being to the perils of TPA/TPP.

Cruz, in explaining his vote for TPA, would go off into a long spiel about how much we all depend on trade. Yes, we all should love trade, but these trade deals have resulted in the de-industralization of the American economy. American manufacturing cannot compete with slave labor wages in foreign counties. But there is very little about trade in TPP, according to the leaked copies, it is mainly about establishing a supra-national governing cartel. TPA and TPP was kept under secrecy until the last minute. Why?

TPA/TPP are favorite components of the Obama agenda. When has Obama advanced any program that furthered the interests of the United States?

Please cite just one.


932 posted on 01/04/2016 7:50:06 AM PST by odawg
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To: free_life
"I hope FReepers who are the most conservative people in the country will work harder to not tear ourselves apart at the seams and work to see either Trump or Cruz win the nomination and then the Presidency.

"Go Trump...Go Cruz 2016!"

My sentiments entirely! Cruz & Trump's candidacies complement each other nicely. One brings in the most philosophically Conservative; the other millions of patriotic main stream Americans, who are instinctively Conservative, but simply have not learned to explain their instincts philosophically.

If those who want to engage in promoting antagonism between natural allies succeed in efforts like this thread's initial smear by association & gross exaggeration, to divide those who must come together in November, 2016, to restore hope to America, succeed in dividing us further; the future will be bleak indeed.

William Flax

933 posted on 01/04/2016 7:51:45 AM PST by Ohioan
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To: Lagmeister
Show me the vid or the tweet.

You mean "please" show you the video, especially considering your last post.

SH

Link

934 posted on 01/04/2016 7:59:12 AM PST by FreeReign
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To: SmokingJoe
Cruz is fiercely opposed to TPP. That’s what counts.

Yep feelings trump reality every time.

935 posted on 01/04/2016 8:00:05 AM PST by itsahoot (Anyone receiving a Woo! Woo! for President has never won anything after the award.)
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To: brothers4thID
Obama was going to make the US a signatory to the deal without Congressional input.

Now I know how we keep losing.

936 posted on 01/04/2016 8:00:59 AM PST by itsahoot (Anyone receiving a Woo! Woo! for President has never won anything after the award.)
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To: brothers4thID

“Senator Sessions was (rightly) concerned that immigration language would be added to the bill in the House, but no such language existed in the first Senate version.”

Mark Levin interviewed Cruz and Cruz explained his vote for TPA, and his vote against it the second time.

According to Cruz, the immigration language was in the bill he voted on, but had been assured by “leadership” that it would be taken out after he voted for it. He said leadership lied, so he voted against it.

McConnell elaborated on how much power the bill would give to Obama. Cruz certainly knew that aspect.

TPP is not about trade. It is about establishing a supra-national trade cartel that would override the sovereignty of this country. That is why it has been kept super secret, and was why TPA was kept super secret.

Do you really believe Cruz, or any other politician other than Sessions, went down to the basement and read all those thousands of pages of the TPA bill? Or the much larger TPP bill?


937 posted on 01/04/2016 8:01:53 AM PST by odawg
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To: brothers4thID
All members of Congress will have a chance to vote and must either vote yes or no.

Under the rule they only have an opportunity to vote against it nothing more. If the have the guts to actually vote against it Obama will simply veto it and congress will never over ride it and any fool with more than two brain cells knows that. It was the plan from the beginning.

938 posted on 01/04/2016 8:04:15 AM PST by itsahoot (Anyone receiving a Woo! Woo! for President has never won anything after the award.)
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To: itsahoot

.
The money was their money, in their bank accounts, that Obama had already released before congress had any shot at it.

Your trolling is weak.


939 posted on 01/04/2016 8:08:15 AM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: itsahoot

No, TPP cannot be passed with a Presidential veto. The TPA language mandates an up or down vote for affirmation. A presidential veto does not apply to a confirmation or a treaty affirmation— or, in the language used in TPA, a trade deal.


940 posted on 01/04/2016 8:11:07 AM PST by brothers4thID ("We've had way too many Republicans whose #1 virtue is "I get along great with Democrats".")
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