Go to Enlightened Cynic and read. Follow the links and read. IT'S MANDATORY. Then throw-up and then read some more, if you can stomach it.
From the Omaha World Herald:
WASHINGTON - More than a dozen lawmakers attended a congressional reception this year honoring the Rev. Sun Myung Moon where Moon declared himself the Messiah and said his teachings have helped Hitler and Stalin be "reborn as new persons." At the March 23 ceremony in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., wore white gloves and carried a pillow holding an ornate crown that was placed on Moon's head. The Korean-born businessman and religious leader then delivered a long speech saying he was "sent to Earth . . . to save the world's six billion people. . . . Emperors, kings and presidents . . . have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Rev. Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent." Details of the ceremony - first reported by Salon.com writer John Gorenfeld - have prompted several lawmakers to say they were misled or duped by organizers. Their complaints prompted a Moon-affiliated Web site to remove a video of the "Crown of Peace" ceremony two days ago, but other Web sites have preserved photos. Moon, 85, has been controversial. Renowned for officiating at mass weddings, he received an 18-month prison sentence in 1982 for tax fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Among the more than 300 people who attended all or part of the ceremony was Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., who now says he was honoring a constituent receiving a peace award and did not know Moon would be there. "We fell victim to it, we were duped," Dayton spokeswoman Chris Lisi said Tuesday. Other lawmakers who attended or were listed as hosts felt the same, she said. "Everyone I talked to was furious," she said.
AHEM.
We don't crown people in this country. I don't care if they're religious leaders, politicians, or scions of political dynasties. WE DON'T HOLD CORONATIONS FOR ANYONE IN A SENATE OFFICE BUILDING.
Congressmen from Illinois are not pages in the Reverend Moon's court.
They do not carry crowns for coronations. He is supposed to be an
elected representative of the people who live in his district. He is not
supposed to be a crown-carrying lackey for a religious nutjob. Most
importantly, however, we do not do these things because The United
States of America is a Republic. Millions of men and women have given
their lives so that we will never have to bow down and be beholden to a
king or someone who is trying to pass themselves off as one. Remember
the "Divine Right of Kings" from grade school history class? That's the
theory that says that God put some random king on some random throne
and that action was the source of his moral authority to lead his
people. We fought a war to tell England that we weren't going to be
beholden to their king any longer. It was called The Revolution and it
was indeed revolutionary for its time. It was the result of this big
idea: that all men are created equal and are capable of governing
themselves. They don't need a king to do it for them. Men and women
died for this ideal. They gave their lives for freedom. And these
congresspeople don't seem to care that this ideal was trampled on. They
just don't care about it. Sure they're "furious." Of course they're
"livid." Of course they feel as if they were "duped." But the simple
fact that not one of them stopped
this coronation from taking place speaks volumes about how little they
think of this ideal upon which our country was founded. It's too far
removed from their petty little squabbles over pork for them to care.
Has Congress no shame? How could they allow something like this to
happen on government property? Property that I paid for. Property that
you paid for. Property that we all paid for. Not only with money, but
with blood. How could they allow something like this to happen in our
country, let alone in A SENATE OFFICE BUILDING? Let me write it again
just in case you didn't get it the first few times I wrote it: WE DO
NOT CROWN ANYONE IN THIS COUNTRY
Oh, I am just livid. Senator Dayton is getting a phone call from this
constituent today. Guaran-fucking-teed.