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The
Moonies
Everything you wanted to know about
Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church Part 1
Moonie Influence
- Cult Control of the World
A lot of what is posted here are
things we just read for the first time, and quite frankly, it's scary. Moon has a big ego
and likes to brag. After all, the man claims to be God. However, when you spend a billion
dollars to influence the press, you're going to influence the press. And clearly the
Moonies have influenced the press.
What we find disturbing is the
amount of influence this cult leader has over our daily lives, especially if what he
cliams is true. Moon takes credit for SDI or Star Wars and he takes credit for getting George Bush elected president.
That's a hell of a lot of foreign influence over America, especially when you consider
what a loser Bush turned out to be and what a waste SDI was. It was Reagan and Bush with
bad ideas like SDI that quadrupled the national debt and now 1/4 of every tax dollar we
pay is to service interest on this debt. If Moon is going to take the credit then he
should take the blame as well.
Moonie
Myths
I'm sure you've all heard this
conservative myth. "We won the cold war because we invested in Star Wars and it broke
the Soviet economy trying to keep up, and they collapsed." That idea is a Moonie idea
and it's a rewrite of history. The credit for the reforms in the Soviet Union go to
Gorbachev who realized through his own vision that they were better off with personal
freedom. Reagans hard line and "Evil Empire" statements made Gorbachev's work
much harder and Reagan's work, backed by the Moonies through the Washington Times could
have triggered World War III. They think they're doing the world a favor, but they're not.
They
Live Under Rocks
The Moonies do their dirty work in
secret. That have over 1000
front organizations that they use to get money and buy influence in the media,
christian organizations, and in the Republican Party. I think the best way to overcome
them is to drag them out into the light and expose them for what they are. If these people
are so Godly, then why do they hide behind fake organizations to defraud people? This
isn't religous freedom.
I call on web masters everywhere
to expose the truth about the Moonies. If you know about Moonie front organizations then
post it. If you know about preachers like Jerry Falwell who's taking Moonie money then we
need to let those followers know that their Christain organizations are Moonie influenced.
If you know about right wing think tanks that support political candidates that are being
funded by the Moonies, then lets expose them. I wonder if the Republican Party knows how
much money the Moonies are spending to influence their elections, especially the
primaries. It looks to me like the Moonies have hijacked the Republican Party.
The Moonies Are
Not Your Friend
The Moonies are a dangerous mind
control cult with millions of followers and billions of dollars. Reverend Moon is a
religous nut who is trying to take over the world. Moon openly admits that he thinks he is
God and he expects to be worshipped! As you read my Washington Times exerpts from
Moon's web site, you will see how deeply rooted the Moonies are in the press, the
Christian evangelical movement, and the Republican Party. If you're a member of the Press,
a Christian, or a Republican, this should scare the Hell out of you.
Moon's biggest flaw is his ego.
Most of his power comes from brainwashing and is done in secret. The best way to fight
someone like Moon is to drag his butt out into the light for everyone to see. I believe in
freedom of religion. If you want to be a Moonie you have a right to do so. But I also
believe in free speech and a fully informed public so that people know what they're buying
into. I'm I'm using my right to free speech here. Even though a person has a right to be a
Moonie doesn't make it a legitimate religion. And just because you have the right to be an
idiot doesn't legitimize your idiocy. A pig is still a pig even when it's set free. It's
just like smoking cigarettes. Just because it's legal and you have the right to smoke, it
doesn't mean you aren't going to get sick from it.
Dark Side of
Rev. Moon
Dark Side of Rev. Moon: Hooking
Bush
Despite his virulent anti-Americanism, Rev. Sun
Myung Moon still relies on friends in Washington to help him expand his
political-and-media power base. Moon's latest reach into South America had the helping
hand of former U.S. President George Bush. But the Moon-Bush alliance dates back years and
could reach into the future, as Bush lines up conservative backing for the expected White
House bid of his eldest son. (7/28/97)
One Mother's Tale: Rev. Moon &
a College Freshman
Rev. Moon may devote much energy wooing
power-brokers, but his theocratic movement continues to waylay unsuspecting young people
-- and wreak havoc on their families. (7-28-97)
Dark Side of Rev. Moon: Buying the
Right
Rev. Sun Myung Moon calls America "Satan's
harvest" and vows to subjugate its people under a Korea-based theocracy. Normally,
this anti-Americanism would not sit well. But Moon has spread around billions of dollars
from mysterious sources to Washington conservatives. The money has helped key allies, such
as Jerry Falwell and Oliver North. It's the real Asian money scandal -- and the Washington
media is missing it. (8/11/97)
Dark Side of Rev. Moon: Legend
& Lies
Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Washington Times
is demanding that other media play up hearings on how Asians bought influence with
Democrats. In its outraged stance, the Times calls itself "America's
Newspaper." But it conceals its own role as a secret purveyor of Asian money and its
control by the Korean-based Unification Church. Left off the masthead are its publisher,
Dong Moon Joo, and its founder, Moon himself. (8/25/97)
Dark Side of Rev. Moon: Generation
Next
In 1982, Rev. Sun Myung Moon went to jail for
tax fraud. Yet, new testimony suggests that Moon's organization did not change its ways.
Questionable practices continue, with church money supporting a decadent lifestyle for
Moon's family and with bags of cash arriving from overseas for laundering through
church-connected firms, such as the Manhattan Center. (9/8/97)
Dark Side of Rev. Moon: Drug
Allies
Washington is obsessed with interpretations of
arcane fund-raising laws. But a more serious question -- the political influence-buying of
Rev. Sun Myung Moon -- remains unasked. The issue is particularly important because of
Moon's free-spending ways and his past alliances with anti-communist crime figures
connected to the Japanese yakuza of Ryoichi Sasakawa and the U.S. drug mob of Santo
Trafficante Jr. (10/13/97)
Dark Side of Rev. Moon: Moon's
Billions & Washington's Blind Eye
Newly released Justice Department files show how
the Reagan-Bush administrations cited the Constitution to protect Rev. Sun Myung Moon from
investigation as a foreign agent -- while using his organization to spy on American
critics of Reagan policies. Moon apparently earned his political protection the
old-fashioned way: he bought it with lots of money. (12/22/97)
Recent Stories
on Moon's Political Empire
Jerry
Falwell's Deal with the Devil
American leaders across the political spectrum are
eulogizing the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, albeit with some criticism of his tendency to lash
out at his adversaries. But lost in this desire not to speak ill of the dead is the
troubling story of Falwell's secret financial dealings with South Korean cult leader Sun
Myung Moon and how Moon's mysterious money bailed out Falwell's Liberty University. May
16, 2007
Moon/Bush
'Ongoing Crime Enterprise'
Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his
business/political/media/religious organization have avoided prosecution for a shark
poaching scam despite evidence of Moon's direct involvement. February 17, 2007
The GOP's $3
Billion Propaganda Organ
When history tries to make sense of what happened to
American politics in this era, it should take into account the extraordinary story of how
a right-wing Korean cult leader, Sun Myung Moon, bought influence with the U.S. political
class by pouring billions of dollars into conservative causes, including a daily
newspaper, the Washington Times. A Special Report. December 27, 2006
The Moon-Bush Cash Conduit
South Korean theocrat Sun Myung Moon has long
boasted of his ability to "hook" politicians by putting money into their pockets
and into their political machines. But Moon's most important catch may have come from the
millions of dollars sunk into the powerful Bush family -- and the subsequent lack of U.S.
interest in evidence of Moon's criminal activities. June 14, 2006
Kerry Attacker Protected Rev. Moon
The producer of an anti-John Kerry video,
which will be aired on stations across the United States before the Nov. 2 election, also
attacked federal investigators who were cracking down on Rev. Sun Myung Moon's mysterious
money flows in the 1980s. A book by Carlton Sherwood helped silence Moon's critics and
enabled the South Korean theocrat to continue funneling hundreds of millions of dollars
into the U.S. political process. October 15, 2004
Mysterious Republican Money
House Speaker Dennis Hastert implied, without
evidence, that liberal funder George Soros funnels drug money into the U.S. political
process. But Republican administrations have looked the other way when facing evidence
that conservative benefactor Sun Myung Moon has ties to overseas drug lords and has
engaged in a long-running conspiracy to launder money. September 7, 2004
The Bush-Kim-Moon Triangle of Money
At odds over North Korea, George W. Bush and South Korean
President Kim Dae Jung have one thing in common: behind the scenes, both have benefited
from Rev. Sun Myung Moon's largesse. March 10, 2001
Rev. Moon, the Bushes & Donald
Rumsfeld
Defense Secretary-designate Donald Rumsfeld criticizes President Clinton for
not blocking North Korea's missile program, but Rev. Sun Myung Moon -- a Bush family
benefactor -- allegedly was giving the communist leaders hard currency they needed. By
Robert Parry. January 3, 2001.
Rev. Moon, North Korea & the
Bushes
New documents reveal that U.S. intelligence tracked secret payments from Rev. Sun
Myung Moon to North Korean leaders, a development that could embarrass the Bush family. By
Robert Parry. October 11, 2000
Rev. Moons Bank Scam
The right-wing theocrat
craters a bank. November 6, 1998
Sidebar: Moon has bank troubles
in Uruguay
October 1, 1998
Rev. Moons Dark Shadow
Rev. Sun Myung Moons ex-daughter-in-law,
Nansook Hong, has given first-person evidence of the Unification Churchs practice of
violating U.S. currency laws. In a new book, she exposes Moons money-laundering and
reveals the hypocrisy at the core of this right-wing powerhouse. October 1, 1998
Rev. Moon's Uruguayan
Money-Laundry
Rev. Sun Myung Moon, a major right-wing
benefactor, is facing allegations in Uruguay that his bank is a money-laundering center,
accepting major deposits of smuggled cash. Moon's Washington Times was President Reagan's
favorite paper. August 19, 1998
Rev. Moon & His 'Green Card'
Newly released federal documents reveal
that Rev. Sun Myung Moon, a principal funder of the conservative movement, gained U.S.
residency status 25 years ago, under President Nixon.
By Robert Parry
The Rev. Sun Myung
Moon's business empire, which includes the conservative Washington Times, paid millions of dollars to
North Korea's communist leaders in the early 1990s when the hard-line government needed
foreign currency to finance its weapons programs, according to U.S. Defense Intelligence
Agency documents.
The
payments included a $3 million birthday present to current communist leader Kim Jong Il and offshore payments
amounting to several tens of million dollars to the previous communist
dictator, Kim Il Sung, the partially
declassified documents said.
Moon
apparently was seeking a business foothold in North Korea. But the transactions also raise
legal questions for Moon and could cast a shadow on George W. Bushs presidential
campaign, given the Bush familys longstanding financial and political ties to Moon
and his organization.
Besides
making alleged payments to North Koreas communist leaders, the 80-year-old founder
of the South Korean-based Unification Church has funneled large sums of money, possibly
millions of dollars as well, to former President George H.W. Bush.
One
well-placed former leader of Moons Unification Church told me that the total
earmarked for former President Bush was $10 million. The father of the Republican nominee
has declined to say how much Moons organization actually paid him for speeches and
other services in Asia, the United States and South America.
At
one Moon-sponsored speech in Argentina in 1996, Bush declared, I want to salute
Reverend Moon, whom Bush praised as the man with the vision.
Bush
made these speeches at a time when Moon was expressing intensely anti-American views. In
his own speeches, Moon termed the United States Satans harvest and
claimed that American women descended from a line of prostitutes.
During
this years presidential campaign, Moons
Washington Times has attacked the Clinton-Gore administration for failing to take more
aggressive steps to defend against North Koreas missile program. The newspaper
called the administrations decisions an abdication of responsibility for
national security.
A
Helping Hand
Yet, in the 1990s when North Korea was scrambling for the
resources to develop missiles and other advanced weaponry, Moon was among a small group of
outside businessmen quietly investing in North Korea.
Moons
activities attracted the attention of the Defense Intelligence Agency, which is
responsible for monitoring potential military threats to the United States.
Though
historically an ardent anticommunist, Moon negotiated a business deal in 1991 with Kim Il
Sung, the longtime communist leader, the DIA documents said.
The
deal called for construction of a hotel complex in Pyongyang as well as a new Holy Land at
the site of Moon's birth in North Korea, one document said. The DIA said the deal sprang
from a face-to-face meeting between Moon and Kim Il Sung in North Korea from Nov. 30 to
Dec. 8, 1991.
These
talks took place secretly, without the knowledge of the South Korean government, the
DIA wrote on Feb. 2, 1994. In the original deal with Kim [Il Sung], Moon paid
several tens of million dollars as a down-payment into an overseas account, the DIA
said in a cable dated Aug. 14, 1994.
The
DIA said Moon's organization also delivered money to Kim Il Sung's son and successor, Kim
Jong Il.
In
1993, the Unification Church sold a piece of property located in Pennsylvania, the
DIA reported on Sept. 9, 1994. The profit on the sale, approximately $3 million was
sent through a bank in China to the Hong Kong branch of the KS [South Korean] company
Samsung Group. The money was later presented to Kim Jung Il [Kim Jong Il] as a
birthday present.
After
Kim Il Sung's death in 1994 and his succession by his son, Kim Jong Il, Moon dispatched
his longtime aide, Bo Hi Pak, to ensure that the business deals were still on track with
Kim Jong Il and his coterie, the DIA reported.
If
necessary, Moon authorized Pak to deposit a second payment for Kim Jong Il, the DIA
wrote.
The
DIA declined to elaborate on the documents that it released to me under a Freedom of
Information Act request. As for the documents you have, you have to draw your own
conclusions, said DIA spokesman, U.S. Navy Capt. Michael Stainbrook.
Moon's
Right-Hand Man
Contacted in Seoul, South Korea, Bo Hi Pak, a former publisher of The Washington Times, denied that payments were
made to individual North Korean leaders and called absolutely untrue the DIA's
description of the $3 million land sale benefiting Kim Jong Il.
But
Bo Hi Pak acknowledged that Moon met with North Korean officials and negotiated business
deals with them in the early 1990s. Pak said the North Korean business investments were
structured through South Korean entities.
Rev.
Moon is not doing this in his own name, said Pak.
Pak
said he went to North Korea in 1994, after Kim Il Sungs death, only to express
condolences to Kim Jong Il on behalf of Moon and his wife. Pak denied that
another purpose of the trip was to pass money to Kim Jong Il or to his associates.
Asked
about the seeming contradiction between Moon's avowed anti-communism and his friendship
with leaders of a communist state, Pak said, This is time for reconciliation. We're
not looking at ideological differences. We are trying to help them out with food and
other humanitarian needs.
Samsung
officials said they could find no information in their files about the alleged $3 million
payment.
North
Korean officials clearly valued their relationship with Moon. In February of this year, on
Moon's 80th birthday, Kim Jong Il sent Moon a gift of rare wild ginseng, an aromatic root
used medicinally, Reuters reported.
Legal
Issues
Because
of the long-term U.S. embargo against North Korea eased only within the past
several months Moons alleged payments to the communist leaders raise
potential legal issues for Moon, a South Korean citizen who is a U.S. permanent resident
alien.
Nobody in the United States was supposed to
be providing funding to anybody in North Korea, period, under the Treasury (Department's)
sanction regime, said Jonathan Winer,
former deputy assistant secretary of state handling international crime.
The
U.S. embargo of North Korea dates back to the Korean War. With a few exceptions for
humanitarian goods, the embargo barred trade and financial dealings between North Korea
and all U.S. citizens and permanent residents wherever they are located,
and
all branches, subsidiaries and controlled affiliates of U.S. organizations throughout the
world.
Moon
became a permanent resident of the United States in 1973, according to Justice Department
records. Bo Hi Pak said Moon has kept his green card status. Though often in
South Korea and South America, Moon maintains a residence near Tarrytown, north of New
York City, and controls dozens of affiliated U.S. companies.
Direct
payments to foreign leaders in connection with business deals also could prompt questions
about possible violations of the U.S. Corrupt Practices Act, a prohibition against
overseas bribery.
Alleged
Brainwashing
Moon's
followers regard him as the second Messiah and grant him broad power over their lives,
even letting him pick their spouses. Critics, including ex-Unification Church members,
have accused Moon of brainwashing young recruits and living extravagantly while his
followers have little.
Around
the world, Moon's business relationships long have been cloaked in secrecy. His sources of
money have been mysteries, too, although witnesses including his former
daughter-in-law have come forward in recent years and alleged widespread
money-laundering within the organization.
Moon
demonstrated contempt for U.S. law every time he accepted a paper bag full of
untraceable, undeclared cash collected from true believers who carried the money in
from overseas, wrote his ex-daughter-in-law, Nansook Hong, in her 1998 book, In the Shadows of the Moons.
Since
Moon stepped onto the international stage in the 1970s, he has used his fortune to build
political alliances and to finance media, academic and political institutions.
In
1978, Moon was identified by the congressional Koreagate investigation as an
operative of the South Korean CIA and part of an influence-buying scheme aimed at the U.S.
government. Moon denied the charges.
Though
Moon later was convicted on federal tax evasion charges, his political influence continued
to grow when he founded The Washington Times in
1982. The unabashedly conservative newspaper won favor with presidents Ronald Reagan and
George H.W. Bush by backing their policies and hammering their opponents.
In
1988, when Bush was trailing early in the presidential race, the Times spread a baseless rumor that the Democratic
presidential nominee Michael Dukakis had undergone psychiatric treatment. The
Moon-affiliated American Freedom Coalition also distributed millions of pro-Bush flyers.
Bush
personally expressed his gratitude. When Wesley Pruden was appointed The Washington Times editor-in-chief in
1991, Bush invited Pruden to a private White House lunch just to tell you how
valuable the Times has become in Washington,
where we read it every day. [WT, May 17, 1992].
Moon's Vatican
While Bush was hosting Pruden in the White House, Prudens
boss was opening his financial and business channels to North Korea. According to the DIA,
Moons North Korean deal was ambitious and expensive.
There was an
agreement regarding economic cooperation for the reconstruction of KN's [North Korea's]
economy which included establishment of a joint venture to develop tourism at Kimkangsan,
KN [North Korea]; investment in the Tumangang River Development; and investment to
construct the light industry base at Wonsan, KN. It is believed that during their meeting
Mun [Moon] donated 450 billion yen to KN, one DIA report said.
In late 1991, the
Japanese yen traded at about 130 yen to the U.S. dollar, meaning Moon's investment would
have been about $3.5 billion, if the DIA information is correct.
Moon's aide Pak denied
that Moons investments ever approached that size. Though Pak did not give an overall
figure, he said the initial phase of an automobile factory was in the range of $3 million
to $6 million.
The DIA depicted Moon's
business plans in North Korea as much grander. The DIA valued the agreement for hotels in
Pyongyang and the resort in Kumgang-san, alone, at $500 million. The plans also called for
creation of a kind of Vatican City covering Moon's birthplace.
In consideration of
Mun's [Moon's] economic cooperation, Kim [Il Sung] granted Mun a 99-year lease on a 9
square kilometer parcel of land located in Chongchu, Pyonganpukto, KN. Chongchu is Mun's
birthplace and the property will be used as a center for the Unification Church. It is
being referred to as the Holy Land by Unification Church believers and Mun [h]as been
granted extraterritoriality during the life of the lease.
North Korea granted Moon
some smaller favors, too. Four months after Moon's meeting with Kim Il Sung, editors from The Washington Times were allowed to interview the
reclusive North Korean communist in what the Times
called the first interview he has granted to an American newspaper in many
years.
Later in 1992, the Times was again rallying to President Bushs
defense. The newspaper stepped up attacks against Iran-contra special prosecutor Lawrence
Walsh as his investigation homed in on Bush and his inner circle. Walsh considered the Times relentless criticism a distraction to
the criminal investigation, according to his book, Firewall.
That fall, in the 1992
campaign, the Times turned its editorial guns
on Bushs new rival, Bill Clinton. Some of the anti-Clinton articles raised questions
about Clintons patriotism, even suggesting that the Rhodes scholar might have been
recruited as a KGB agent during a collegiate trip to Moscow.
A Bush Salute
Bushs loss of the
White House did not end his relationship with Moons organization. Out of office,
Bush agreed to give paid speeches to Moon-supported groups in the United States, Asia and
South America. In some cases, Barbara Bush joined in the events.
During this period, Moon
grew increasingly hateful about the United States and many of its ideals.
In a speech to his
followers on Aug. 4, 1996, Moon vowed to liquidate American individuality, declaring that
his movement would swallow entire America. Moon said Americans who insisted on
their privacy and extreme individualism
will be digested.
Nevertheless, former
President Bush continued to work for Moons organization. In November 1996, the
former U.S. president spoke at a dinner in Buenos Aires, Argentina, launching Moons
South American newspaper, Tiempos del Mundo.
I want to salute
Reverend Moon, Bush declared, according to a transcript of the speech published in The Unification News, an internal church
newsletter.
A lot of my friends
in South America dont know about The
Washington Times, but it is an independent voice, Bush said. The editors
of The Washington Times tell me that never once
has the man with the vision interfered with the running of the paper, a paper that in my
view brings sanity to Washington, D.C.
Contrary to Bushs
claim, a number of senior editors and correspondents have resigned in protest of editorial
interference from Moons operatives. Bush has refused to say how much he was paid for
the speech in Buenos Aires or others in Asia and the United States.
Going After Gore
During the 2000 election cycle, Moons newspaper has taken up
the cause of Bushs son and mounted harsh attacks against his rival, Vice President
Al Gore.
Last year, the Times played a prominent role in promoting a bogus
quote attributed to Gore about his work on the toxic waste issue. In a speech in Concord,
N.H., Gore had referred to a toxic waste case in Toone, Tennessee, and said, that
was the one that started it all.
The New York Times and The Washington Post garbled the quote, claiming
that Gore had said, I was the one that started it all.
The Washington Times took over from there,
accusing Gore of being clinically delusional. The Times called the vice president a politician
who not only manufactures gross, obvious lies about himself and his achievements but
appears to actually believe these confabulations. [WT, Dec. 7, 1999]
Even after other papers
corrected the false quote, The Washington Times
continued to use it. The notion of Gore as an exaggerator, often based on this and other
mis-reported incidents, became a powerful Republican theme as Gov. Bush surged
ahead of Gore in the presidential preference polls. [For details on other case, see The DailyHowler.]
Abdication
Republicans also have
made the North Korean threat an issue against the Clinton-Gore administration. Last year,
a report by a House Republican task force warned that during the 1990s, North Korea and
its missile program emerged as a nuclear threat to Japan and possibly the Pacific
Northwest of the United States.
This threat has
advanced considerably over the past five years, particularly with the enhancement of North
Korea's missile capabilities, the Republican task force said. Unlike five
years ago, North Korea can now strike the United States with a missile that could deliver
high explosive, chemical, biological, or possibly nuclear weapons.
Moons newspaper has
joined in excoriating the administration for postponing a U.S. missile defense system to
counter missiles from North Korea and other rogue states. Gov. Bush favors
such a system.
To its list of missed opportunities, the
Clinton-Gore administration can now add the abdication of responsibility for national
security, a Times editorial said.
By deciding not to
begin construction of the Alaskan radar, Mr. Clinton has indisputably delayed eventual
deployment beyond 2005, when North Korea is estimated to be capable of launching an
intercontinental missile against the United States. [WT, Sept. 5, 2000]
The Washington Times did not note that its founder
who continues to subsidize the newspaper with tens of millions of dollars a year
had defied a U.S. trade embargo aimed at containing the military ambitions of North
Korea.
By supplying money at a
time when North Korea was desperate for hard currency, Moon helped deliver the means for
the communist state to advance exactly the strategic threat that Moons newspaper now
says will require billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to thwart.
That money bought Moon
influence inside North Korea. It is less clear how much influence Moon and his associates
will have inside a George W. Bush White House, given Moons longstanding -- though
little known -- support for the Bush family.
Robert Parry is a
veteran investigative reporter, who broke many of the Iran-contra stories in the 1980s for
The Associated Press and Newsweek.
To see two of the DIA
documents, click here.
For more background on
the Moon Organization, see Steve Hassan's Web site.
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| |
| |
|
George Soros |
Reverend Moon |
| Claim to fame |
Investor |
Cult leader (Unification Church), businessman, owns
The Washington Times and UPI |
| Agenda |
Liberal stuff |
Moon-centered
theocracy |
| Net worth |
$5-7 billion |
$10 billion in assets |
| Big gifts |
$35 million to the
liberal groups MoveOn.org, Americans Coming Together, and the Center for American Progress
|
His Times
loses $100 million every year promoting the Republican cause. Pays lavish speaking fees to George
H.W. Bush, William Bennett, and others. Has spotted Jerry
Falwell and other hard-up Christian evangelicals for millions of dollars. Grassroots promotion
of the Faith-Based Initiative, more. Cut a check
for the "Contra" part of Iran-Contra. Maze of crypto-Moonist conservative foundations (like the American Family Coalition) |
| Controversial idea |
Wants to legalize drugs.
Has been called a "left-wing crank" by Moon employee Tony Blankley |
Claims to be the Messiah and True Father of
humanity. Has urged deacons to "tear
down the cross." ("My enemies are America and Christianity. How am I
going to win over those enemies?" he mused
in 1993.) |
| Shocking quote |
Compares War on
Terror talk to Nazi slogans heard in his boyhood: "When I hear Bush say, 'You're
either with us or against us,' it reminds me of the Germans." |
Calls the Holocaust
payback for killing Christ: "Jewish people, you have to repent. Jesus was the King
of Israel. Through the principle of indemnity Hitler killed six million Jews. That is why." |
| Pet causes |
Anti-Communism in the
old East Bloc (i.e. Polish Solidarity). Fostering "open societies" throughout
the world. Funding study of the root causes of crime. Campaign finance reform |
Anti-Communism in
Asia, South America. Reconciliation of Korean "Fatherland." Amending the U.S. Constitution to enforce sexual
purity. Abstinence.
Ensuring that newlyweds make
love in white robes, with his photo nearby |
| Thoughts |
"I propose
replacing the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive military action with preventive action of a
constructive and affirmative nature. Increased foreign aid or better and fairer trade
rules, for example..." |
"Individualism is what God
hates most"..."The separation between religion
and politics is what Satan likes most." |
| Deprogrammers hired
to rescue teenagers from his remote compound? |
No |
|
| Does business with
North Korea? |
No |
|
| Buying influence |
Vowed to buy a Bush
defeat. Blew it. |
"I influenced America through
the Washington Times and so many different activities," he says. Claim:
"Republicans' only hope is to unite
with Father." |
| Trouble in court |
Convicted of insider trading in France,
fined $2 million |
Landed in federal
prison in the early '80s for tax crimes and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Also, a group
of lawyers in Japan attacked his "spiritual sales": aggressive missionaries scamming
widows out of $622 million, by telling them their husbands would burn in hell unless
they bought certain objects. |
| Coronated the Messiah
in a bizarre Congressional ceremony at the Dirksen Senate Office building? |
No |
|
| Claims to be endorsed
by former president William Howard Taft (1909-1913)? |
Unknown |
 |
|