Thursday, January 31, 2008


Right-Wing Politics and Religion:
The Unholy Alliance Exposed

By Henry Bechthold

What will you find in this book? Greed, sadism, gross financial abuse, blatant dishonesty and hypocrisy within the Christian right-wing. I would know, because I am a conservative, evangelical pastor. And, I am blowing the whistle on my right-wing colleagues.

My book leaves the Christian right-wing no place to run or hide. Their unethical and immoral conduct is proven beyond the shadow of a doubt. Their infidelity to their God and Bible, which they claim to love and revere, portends certain infidelity to our nation, government and Constitution.

What is specifically exposed in my book? I will share the following "talking points" appetizer regarding Christian right-wing leaders.

"They told you that our secular culture has morally degenerated, and that they have the solutions for its problems. However, they didn't tell you that recent surveys reveal that Christian right-wingers are likewise steeped in moral degeneracy. Pornography and other addictions saturate their ranks, and their divorce rate is actually higher than that of non-Christians. So much for Christian right-wing marriage and family advice. Dobson's "Focus on the Family" organization should probably spend more time focusing on Christian families, and less time scrutinizing on our government's judiciary and legislative branches."

"They have asked our secular society to honor the Ten Commandments by keeping them in our public buildings and monuments. Yet, they have willingly allowed and endorsed the removal of the Ten Commandments from the Christian Church. The new motto for the Christian right-wing should be, do as I say, not as I do."

"They condemn Hollywood for all of its violent entertainment, although they market a violent Christian video game within the Church, "Left Behind Eternal Forces", where Christian kids can blow away the infidels.

"They preach about mercy, grace and love, but they embrace horrific, sadistic torture. You will be shocked to see how distorted and warped is their concept of equitable justice."

"They told you that the gospel is God's free gift of grace. So, why do they employ 1000 to 2000 percent profit margins in their sales of gospel tapes, cd's and videos? Greedy, secular corporations would love to have the Christian Church's profit margins."

"They claim to be following Jesus, who spent His life ministering to the poor and destitute. Then, why are they spending multiplied billions of dollars on huge, ornate buildings with luxurious furnishings, while millions of children die from starvation and millions are homeless? You will be alarmed and disgusted to learn that they have the money to feed every starving child worldwide three meals a day throughout the year, and to build enough homeless shelters to house every homeless person in America. Evidently, " what would Jesus do", is just a catchy slogan to sell more profitable gospel merchandise."

"Their leader, President Bush, is a self-professed Christian who said that Jesus is his hero. Then, why did he kneel before an idol in the temple of another god? He knows that this is forbidden in the Bible for anyone who claims to be a Christian."

As these "talking points" clearly reveal, hypocrisy has become the calling card and earmark of Christian right-wing leaders. And, we've only scratched the surface of what's revealed in "Right-Wing Politics and Religion: The Unholy Alliance Exposed". After reading my book, your view of right-wing Christian leaders will never be the same.

Those exposed include George Bush, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and others. I have sent complimentary copies of my book to leading conservative pundits, and have repeatedly contacted them in an effort to dialogue. However, there has been no response. Why? Is it because I have factual evidence that they can not refute? I am making a public challenge to twelve of these famous conservative pundits to engage me in a discussion or debate regarding the issues raised in my book and in this blog, anytime and anyplace. Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Mike Gallagher, Michelle Malkin, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt, Michael Medved, Bill Bennett and Mark Levin, will you take up my challenge? If not, the American public now knows why.

My web-page for the book is www.howlingdogpress.com/rwpr.htm. Books can be ordered at this website at discounted prices. Books are also available at http://www.amazon.com/ and Barnes & Noble. My E-mail address is wbshlb@msn.com. My mailing address is, P.O. Box 14, Anoka, Mn, 55303.

Check out my "You Tube" video at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEbk-kk_Kbg

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

NEW WEBSITE

I have created a new website which will have daily blogs and podcasts. The website address is: http://www.rightwingexposed.com/.

Henry Bechthold

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Exposing The Right-Wing's "Just War" Lie, Used to Justify Our Invasion of Iraq

President Bush could not have invaded Iraq without the avid support of his Christian right-wing colleagues. They were there in unison declaring that a preemptive military strike against Iraq would meet the biblical criteria of being a "just war". They did not quote any New Testament scripture verses to support their declarations, but just assumed that their conservative, Christian sheep would accept and heed their shepherds' authoritative statements. And, indeed, the vast majority of Christian conservatives wholeheartedly supported our invasion of Iraq, trusting their leaders' wisdom and biblical integrity.

It is time for someone to address this great lie concerning supposed biblical, Christian "just wars". The truth is that there is no New Testament support for this "just war" doctrine advocated by Christian right-wing leaders. Jesus said that we are to love our enemies and do good to them, not bomb and torture them. The Apostle Paul said that we are not to repay anyone evil for evil; moreover, that we are not to avenge ourselves because vengeance is God's, and He will repay. When Peter attempted to use his sword, Jesus told him to put it away because all who use the sword will perish by the sword. And, Jesus stated that His kingdom is not of this world. He said that if His kingdom was of this world, then His servants would fight. However, He then restated that His kingdom is not of this world. Therefore, His servants do not fight.

There is no New Testament support whatsoever for this "just war" spiel. Right-wing, Christian leaders know this, so they refer to wars in the Old Testament that were ordained by God. And, it is true that God did ordain wars for Israel in the Old Testament. However, all of these wars were fought to either acquire, defend or regain the specific piece of land that God had promised to Abraham. God did not ordain wars for Israel to police the world.

America is not fighting in the Middle East to acquire, defend or regain land that God has supernaturally promised to George Bush or any of his right-wing, Christian colleagues. America's recent wars are efforts to police the world, which has no biblical basis or support whatsoever. And, Christian leaders should be fully aware that their claims of biblical support for this "just war" doctrine are false. I encourage my fellow Christian conservatives to stop this "just war" deception. Thousands of brave American soldiers are dead, and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have also perished in this unbiblical war. Enough is enough!

Check out my "You Tube" video at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEbk-kk_Kbg

Monday, January 28, 2008

Imminent Nationwide Terrorist Attack Will Expose Patriot Act's Futility

I would be remiss if I did not at least touch on one of President Bush's most controversial government policies, the "Patriot Act". Bush claims that his Patriot Act, combined with his invasion of Iraq, has kept America free from terrorism since the September, 2001, attack. However, I must disagree. I believe that we shall soon see that all of Bush's aggressive measures in Iraq and here in America with the Patriot Act, will not stop the massive, nationwide attack that is coming. I am convinced that Bush's wiretapping of telephone and internet communications will prove futile, because our enemy is not stupid. They are fully aware that such methods of communication can be monitored, and are probably only using them as decoys to divert our attention from their real operational plans.

We must remember that the 2001 terrorist strike against our nation had been in the planning stages for years. Our enemy is very patient. Bush's claims are premature, to say the least. I suggest that our current respite from terrorism is not due to Bush's aggressive, anti-terrorism offensive in Iraq or his vaunted Patriot Act. In fact, his aggressive efforts on Islamic soil have probably only increased Al Qaeda's desire to bombard our nation and bring us to our knees, and Osama bin Laden has threatened another catastrophic attack upon the United States as punishment for Bush's war on Iraq.

I believe that the primary reason for our brief respite from terrorist attacks in America is quite simply that our enemy is again patiently planning their attack; moreover, that their plans are much bigger and widespread than what we experienced in 2001. It is likely they are communicating and coordinating their plans via the slow but effective, old-fashioned method of "face to face" communications and hand-delivered messages, which is keeping their plans under the radar of Bush's vaunted Patriot Act's wiretapping.

I speculate that we are nearing an unprecedented, massive, nationwide terrorist strike on America that will prove that Bush's "war on terrorism" has failed miserably, and has only served to increase the hatred of our enemies toward us. I fear that the following scenario will take place in America in the near future.

This nationwide attack may eventually be called "Black Sunday", when many of America's largest cities will concurrently come under attack by perhaps a thousand radical, Islamic suicide bombers. I suspect that the terrorists will target buses, airline terminals, Amtrak terminals, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, amusement parks, sports stadiums and Christian megachurches. Sundays are huge attendance days for amusement parks, Major League Baseball and the National Football League, and are also the one day of the week when there are millions of Christians conveniently gathered tightly into megachurch buildings across America. Al Qaeda could not pick a better time to attack the religion, commerce and recreations of our nation.

Consider the impact of a thousand terrorists simultaneously detonating their "suicide bomb vests" in ten or twelve of America's largest cities, from the east coast to the west coast, including the normally peaceful cities in the heartland. Furthermore, consider the impact of the wide array of venues being hit. People will not feel safe in hotels or restaurants, sports stadiums or amusement parks. They will not feel safe patronizing shopping malls or attending church. They will fear utilizing any method of mass-transit, whether bus, train or airplane. The all-encompassing scope of the attack will certainly produce a nationwide panic. Most Americans will simply stay at home, which will compound the devastating effect upon our economy. This nationwide panic, our crippled economy and hundreds of thousands of casualties throughout America, will force our government to bring our troops home to protect our own cities. America's superpower status will be gone.

I strongly believe that a scenario similar to the one that I've described will soon take place. Why hasn't there been one single suicide bombing in America, while they are happening regularly throughout the world? Could it be because the terrorists do not want to "tip us off" in advance, so that we would be able to anticipate and prepare for such attacks? Is it not probable that they are waiting to deliver a surprise attack of monumental impact and repercussions, such as the one that I've described?

If I am correct, and I fear that I am, we will soon experience a "Black Sunday" in America that will eclipse every other national tragedy and disaster that our nation has ever experienced. In one fatal moment, Al Qaeda will deliver what they consider to be payback to George W. Bush and his supporters. There will then be an outcry across America for drastic changes in our national policies, but not until we have suffered an enormous loss.

Check out my "You Tube" video at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEbk-kk_Kbg

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Immediate Exit Strategy for a Peaceful and Stable Iraq

Is it possible to have a safe, free and peaceful Iraq? Can we exit Iraq with stability and dignity? We can if we're willing to abandon the cowboy, macho attitude of the Bush Administration.

Our enemy wants the United States military off of Islamic soil, and has offered to negotiate in the past. However, our stubborn President has rejected any possibility of negotiation. His tough rhetoric, that he will not negotiate with terrorists, sounds powerful and impressive. Unfortunately, his bark is worse than his bite.

Conditions in Iraq have greatly deteriorated, and more American soldiers and innocent, Iraqi civilians are dying daily. How many more fatalities are we willing to accept, so that our President can maintain his tough rhetoric and macho attitude? Why shouldn't we be willing to consider a negotiated compromise that would stop the killing, and provide for a dignified exit from a stable and peaceful Iraq? We would be wise to take advantage of our enemy's desire to have our military removed from Islamic soil. They have offered to negotiate. We should make them an offer that they can't resist, but that also requires them to stop the violence completely and immediately.

We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq, and have buried thousands of brave, American soldiers. It's time to stop the killing and outlandish spending. We can do both with some wise and reasonable negotiating, combined with the comparatively modest expenditure of just fourteen billion dollars annually for five years; moreover, we can finance the labor force and military/police force needed to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, stimulate their economies and protect them from future insurgencies.

Fourteen billion dollars a year, wisely spent, can accomplish a lot. It would fund a well-trained military/police force of 500,000 troops for both nations. It would also pay for 500,000 infrastructure workers in each country, whose sole jobs would be to rebuild schools, hospitals, roads, power plants, sanitation systems, communication networks etc. Most workers in Iraq and Afghanistan are barely surviving on meager wages, but my proposed, modest, fourteen billion dollar, annual budget would allow us to more than double their current average wages. America would truly be rebuilding their nations, stimulating their economies, significantly improving their standard of living, and providing for their future stability, prosperity and security. All of this could be done for just fourteen billion dollars annually, instead of persisting with the Bush Administration's failed policy of funding a perpetual cycle of violence costing hundreds of billions, and producing daily American and Iraqi casualties. The total five-year cost of my proposal would cost less than what we're spending now in Iraq each year!

My proposal provides for a monthly salary of $700 for Afghani and Iraqi police and military personnel, which is more than twice their current average salary. It also allows for a monthly salary of $500 for laborers involved in rebuilding Iraq's and Afghanistan's infrastructure. This is between double and quadruple the average common laborer's wage in these countries. There is no doubt that these jobs would be immediately filled and greatly appreciated; furthermore, they would dramatically improve the standard of living of nearly two million Afghan and Iraqi families, thus greatly stimulating the economies of both nations.

What about the violence? How do we stop the killing? We abandon the stubborn, cowboy, macho mentality of the Bush Administration. Our enemy wants our military off of Islamic soil, and has offered to negotiate in the past. We ought to take advantage of our enemy's desires. We should offer them what they want in exchange for them giving us what we want; that is, peace, stability and freedom for Iraq and Afghanistan, in exchange for the complete removal of the American military from Islamic soil over a five-year period.

I propose a four step plan in which each of the four steps would be contingent upon our enemy completely refraining from any and all terrorist attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, each of the four steps would provide them ample incentive and motivation to abstain from terrorism.

Step One: We withdraw ten thousand troops from Iraq after each month that Afghanistan and Iraq are both completely free from terrorism. This would enable us to be out of Iraq in fifteen months. And, during this fifteen months of peace, our troops could concentrate solely upon thoroughly training the 500,000 strong military/police forces of both nations.

Step Two: After fifteen consecutive months of no terror attacks, we begin withdrawing our troops from Afghanistan at the rate of between six and seven percent per month for fifteen months, assuming the continued absence of terrorism.

Step Three: Then, we begin withdrawal from Kuwait at the rate of between six and seven percent per month for fifteen months, assuming no terror attacks have taken place.

Step Four: Finally, we would begin withdrawing from all other Arab nations in the Middle East at the same rate of between six and seven percent per month for fifteen months, assuming there has been no terrorism.

This proposal should be attractive to our enemy. The prospect of having the American military completely out of the Middle East within five years would be a powerful incentive for them to cease all terrorism completely and immediately.

Isn't five years of peace in the Middle East, the rebuilding of the infrastructure and economies of Iraq and Afghanistan, the greatly improved standard of living for nearly two million Afghan and Iraqi families, the reduction of our financial commitment from hundreds of billions of dollars to only seventy billion over five years, the promotion of "good will" toward America throughout the world, and the immediate and complete cessation of the killing of American soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians enough of a benefit and incentive for us to pursue such a negotiated settlement?

Why not make an attempt at such a compromise? What have we got to lose? If it works, we stop the killing, bring our troops home, save hundreds of billions of dollars, and provide peace and stability for Iraq and Afghanistan while rebuilding their economies and infrastructure. We would be leaving these nations in much better condition than when we arrived. Isn't that the kind of results that an American intervention should produce?

If our enemy rejects our offer, America would still be vindicated before the world, because we would have tried to negotiate. We would have offered our enemy what they had requested. We would have offered to pay for the massive labor force needed to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as training and paying the salaries of their military/police forces. We would have called our enemy's bluff, and they would appear disgraced throughout the world.

President Bush, it's time to take off your cowboy hat and get rid of your macho attitude. Your Iraq policy has obviously and miserably failed. Multitudes of innocents are dying. There is a better way. Will you humble yourself and try it?

Check out my "You Tube" video at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEbk-kk_Kbg

Saturday, January 26, 2008

A Moderate and Reasonable Plan for America's Illegal Immigration Problem

It seems that extremes abound when it comes to our illegal immigration dilemma. Some would have us attempt to deport every single illegal without exception, regardless of any and all other circumstances. Others would have us offer blanket amnesty to all, and pretend that illegals never committed a crime. There should be, and is, a more moderate and reasonable solution to this problem. The extremists on both sides need to be willing to compromise in order to resolve this crisis.

Although extremes do exist on both sides of the immigration debate, the right-wing position is certainly the most heartless. It seems that Christian right-wingers care more about their government laws than about their fellow human beings. They can be thankful that their God doesn't deal with them in the same manner that they would deal with illegals.

Christian conservatives freely admit that they have broken their God's divine laws, and that they depend upon His grace, mercy and compassion. So, why won't they extend some mercy and compassion to illegals who have broken our nation's laws, instead of mercilessly insisting that all of them be deported regardless of any and all circumstances? Do right-wingers think that the illegals' violation of manmade laws is more serious and requires more strict enforcement and punishment than their own violation of God's divine laws, which they freely admit to have transgressed? Have they forgotten the Bible's command for us to walk as Jesus walked? Are they just ignoring the golden rule established by Jesus for us to "to do unto others as we would have them do unto us"? Are they suggesting that illegals are not worthy of the same mercy and compassion that has been extended to themselves by their God?

I'm not saying that we should completely ignore our laws, and entirely disregard their violation. I'm not advocating anarchy. I've already stated that there is a moderate and reasonable compromise that would resolve this problem. However, the solution must extend compassion toward illegals, because they are our fellow human beings. And, I believe that there is a way to extend that compassion without totally ignoring our laws. There is a way to require accountability for the illegals' violation of our immigration laws, while still giving the opportunity for all illegals who are already in America to remain in our nation, if they desire to do so. Furthermore, we can accomplish both of these necessary objectives while concurrently requiring illegals to assume responsibility for the medical, educational and general social services costs created by their stay in America.

The illegal immigrant debate has two core issues. What do we do with the illegals who are already here? And, how do we stop additional illegals from entering? To waste our time arguing over which issue should be dealt with first, is fruitless. The truth is that both issues are extremely important to our nation's future security. The flood of new illegals entering America must be stopped immediately, and we need to know who is already here and where they are.

The solution for stopping the future flow of illegals is as simple as three words, enforce our border. Our 2000 mile border with Mexico can not be enforced by a couple thousand border patrol agents. A wall or fence might help, but walls can be scaled by illegals if there is not sufficient manpower to monitor and enforce them.

What we need is far greater numbers of border patrol agents, and we can certainly afford to hire them. By using just one dollar out of every $2500 allocated in our national budget, which is less than we're spending every week in Iraq, we could put 20,000 border patrol agents on our 2000 mile border with Mexico. That would be ten agents for every single mile. With that kind of manpower, combined with high-tech surveillance equipment, we could immediately halt the current invasion of illegals from Mexico.

The second issue of locating the illegals who are already here, could also be resolved quickly by implementing the old-fashioned method of using both "positive" and "negative" incentives. This dual motivation could be applied to both sides of the problem, the illegal immigrants and their employers.

Our government could issue a nationwide notice that would be repeatedly delivered via all forms of media over a 30 day period. This notice would inform illegals and their employers of a 90 day grace period that would begin on a specific date. All illegals would need to register during this 90 day period. And, all employers with questionable employees would need to verify their "status" during this time. To motivate them to do so, the following positive and negative incentives could be mandated for all illegals and their employers.

For the illegal immigrants, the notices of the upcoming 90 day grace period could also remind them that they have broken our nation's laws and will be pursued, arrested and imprisoned if they do not register. A mandated seven year prison sentence and $7000 fine for not registering, should be sufficient negative motivation to cause the vast majority of illegals to register, especially when combined with positive incentives. Although this fine and prison sentence may seem harsh to some, it is the necessary motivation to bring the illegals forward to register. And, when combined with the positive incentives set forth in the following paragraphs, it is almost certain that the vast majority of illegals would come forward to register. Thus, very few would actually be imprisoned.

Illegals who come forward and register could be given the added positive motivation of having two "good options" from which to choose. They could choose to return to Mexico and have their jail-time and fine pardoned, or they could choose to remain in America under a "criminal probationary guest worker status", which would have strictly enforced conditions.

What conditions? They would agree to accept seven years of criminal probation instead of the the seven year jail-time. However, any criminal violation committed during their probation would result in automatic deportation following their jail sentence. Thus, we would still be respecting and enforcing the laws of our nation for all who desire to live here, while still extending compassion to those who want to stay in America. Every single illegal would have the option to remain in our country by simply acknowledging that they had broken our immigration laws, and by agreeing to accept probationary status. This should be a reasonable compromise that extends compassion and the American dream to every illegal, while still enforcing our laws.

All illegals would also agree to take classes to learn our English language during their first two years of probation. Those who did not do so would have violated their probation and be deported. If illegals want to live in America and receive its benefits and privileges, they should be willing to exert the necessary effort to learn our language. However, we should be willing to allow them the time, and offer them the classes to do so.

Illegals would also have to agree to pay their $7000 fine by having their wages garnished $100 per month until their fine was paid in full. This would be a compassionate way of requiring the payment of their fine, by allowing them to pay it over seventy months. Once again, we would be respecting our laws while concurrently extending mercy to the illegals. They would also have to agree to pay a guest worker fee of $100 per month, which would also be garnished from their wages. Therefore, during their seven year probation, each illegal would be paying $15,400, over and above normal taxes, to help cover the extra medical, educational and general social services costs that their presence creates for our nation. If eleven million illegals opted for the "criminal probationary guest worker status", they would pay over 169 billion dollars via fines and guest worker fees during their seven year probation. These funds could be used to cover the extra expenses generated by illegals. Therefore, right-wingers could stop their persistent harangue about the illegals' drain on our economy.

All illegals who complied with the required conditions during their seven-year probation, could be allowed to apply for American citizenship. After seven years of exemplary conduct and full compliance with all of their initial probationary requirements, why shouldn't they be allowed to apply? They would have paid their dues and have proven their character. And, the American dream should be made available to them.

The other half of the illegal immigration problem is the employers who hire them. They also need positive and negative incentives to motivate them to pressure all illegals in their employment to register.

Once again, the repeated notices concerning the upcoming grace period, could remind employers that they are also in violation of our laws by employing illegals. These notices could inform them that, after the 90 day grace period expires, they will be fined $15,000 for each illegal still employed by them who did not register during the 90 days. This should be a sufficient negative incentive for our money-motivated, capitalistic employers to pressure their illegals to register.

As a positive motivation for employers, their fine could be reduced to $7500 for each illegal employee who registers during the grace period, which could be paid $100 per month over seventy-five months. And, they could be allowed to continue employing their registered illegals by paying an "employer's guest worker fee" of $100 per month for each illegal. That is the equivalent of only about sixty cents an hour. However, if eleven million illegals registered, this would bring in more than 92 billion dollars during the illegals' seven year probation. And, the employers' $7500 fines would equal nearly 83 billion. That's a total of 175 billion dollars from the illegals' employers. The grand total, between the illegals and their employers, would be 344 billion dollars in fines and guest worker fees! That's $31,273 for each illegal, which should go a long way toward covering the expenses created by illegal immigrants.

This is a moderate and reasonable plan that does not heartlessly deport every illegal regardless of circumstances, does not ignore the breaking of our laws, does not disregard the real financial costs that illegals create for our nation, does not give employers of illegals a "free pass" while the illegals themselves are held accountable; moreover, this plan does provide the needed positive and negative incentives to motivate illegals to register, does also provide positive and negative motivation for employers of illegals to get them registered, does require illegals to learn our language, does require illegals to completely refrain from crime, does allow every illegal the option to stay in America and be able to apply for citizenship after seven years, and does put 20,000 border patrol agents on our 2000 mile border with Mexico to stop the future flood of illegal immigrants.

I am not "patenting" this plan or requesting any special credit for it. I would be more than happy for any senator or congressman to adopt it as their own, and even put their own name on it as an immigration bill. What is important is that we deal with this illegal immigration problem in an expedient and reasonable manner that also provides the needed border security for our nation.

Check out my "You Tube" video at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEbk-kk_Kbg