Where in Washington, D.C. is Reverend Moon?: Democrat, Republican push Moon's dreams on the floor of Congress

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4/19/2004

Democrat, Republican push Moon's dreams on the floor of Congress

Let's see if I have this right. Washington Times owner Sun Myung Moon's latest dream is a "peace U.N." -- an alternate version of the United Nations. He would be in charge, of course. It would connect religions, not countries. In a weird nod to the Garden of Eden, he calls it the "Abel U.N.", which makes Kofi Annan Cain. In America, only Moon's own UPI and Times have covered this unlikely initiative (doing God's journalistic will, he says.)

In the same breath as his demands to destroy homosexuality and crush the individual, he's called for his minions to push this scheme, and they have, worldwide. It's been treated respectfully in the legislative bodies of a number of Third World countries. But I never thought it would make it to the floor of the same U.S. Congress that probed Moon for fraud 25 years ago.

Last year, Moon issued a call to "tear down the cross" at a number of "Ambassadors for Peace" events. The schtick was "reconciliation" -- that urban black pastors would delete the symbol of Christianity, and instead unite with Moon's "inter-religious" faith (he claims to be the Messiah.) Now the Ambassadors for Peace -- who in the past have included a Neo-Nazi -- have been honored in the Congressional Record by two representatives.

We've been looking at this week at how Moon has made friends in the Congressional Black Caucus. "Charlie Rangel's staff must have slipped up," a lot of people are saying. Well, I looked through the Congressional Record and found that in the summer of 2003, another member of the caucus, Rep. Danny Davis, joined white conservative Rep. Curt Weldon in presenting Moon's ideas to Congress. (There's no permanent link, but you can find these remarks in the Thursday June 19 record, by surfing to the Library of Congress Web site.)

Said Davis:

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my commitment to world peace and to stress the importance of establishing dialogue and understanding among all people. It is in recognition of this need that on Tuesday, June 24, at 6:30 p.m. in the Rayburn Room B338-340, the American Leadership Initiative will hold a special awards ceremony to honor great Americans from all 50 States who have demonstrated a commitment to peace. Many of my colleagues will join me and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), co-chair, in giving tribute to some of the outstanding Americans from our districts. Members of the clergy, legislators, educators, business and community leaders will be among those honored with the ``Ambassadors for Peace Award-Excellence in Leadership.'' These committed citizens have been working to renew and strengthen our families and marriages, restore our communities, and rebuild our Nation and indeed our world. We are grateful to the founders of Ambassadors for Peace, the Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung [Moon], for promoting the vision of world peace, and we commend them for their work.

These Ambassadors for Peace have become increasingly effective and relevant in their communities since the tragedy of 9-11. They have been working together to promote understanding among all faiths, particularly with Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders. With the realization that many of the tensions currently facing the world cannot be addressed without consideration of the religious implications involved, the Ambassadors for Peace have formed an American Interreligious Council. This council seeks to support and advise our Nation's leaders concerning the issues and challenges of seeking lasting peace. The American Interreligious Council is also part of the effort to create an international council of religious leaders. The members of this council will support the leaders of the United Nations as they work to resolve conflicts throughout the world. This body will provide a direct link between international leaders and the various religious peoples in their constituencies.

And this article makes the astonishing claim that John Negroponte (the U.N. ambassador who will now be our envoy to Iraq) and George W. Bush promised to endorse/discuss the plan.

(Updated)

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"John Gorenfeld: The first man on the Moon"
-- Ana Marie Cox ("Wonkette," Time.com Washington editor)

"Thanks to the superb reporting of John Gorenfeld on Salon.com and his indispensable Web page, Moon's shenanigans are routinely scrutinized. Maybe some of Gorenfeld's discernment will rub off on preachers and politicians."
-- Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist

"The scene summoned the moment in Robert Graves's "I, Claudius" when Emperor Caligula declares himself a god in the Roman Senate; a fawning solon instantly offers a prayer."
-- New York Times editorial on the Crown of Peace scandal

"I am happy that our work is being challenged and improved in consistency, openness and coordination, by the accountability your spotlight demands. I am not talking about simply removing stuff from websites..."
-- Moon spokesman the Rev. Phil Schanker

"Instead of welcoming Reverend Moon, this government put me into prison. History will reveal the truth in the future and the American government and people will realize what an evil thing they did. What will they do then? They will bow down. Again, that is the way of natural subjugation." -- Moon in 1987

"A political movement basing its appeal on old fashioned patriotism and family values simply cannot justify an alliance with a cult that preys on the disintegration of the American family and advocates allegiance to an international social order operating with cell-like secrecy."
-- Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA)