Neil before the Lord

(Note: If you came for the latest on the Wilkes/Cunningham scandal, scroll down a couple of posts. I should have some new material up soon.)

So why is Neil Bush -- the president's brother and notorious S&L crook -- hanging out with the even more notorious Reverend Sun Myung Moon, cult leader and self-proclaimed Lord of the Second Advent?

Although the Bush family has long-standing ties to Moon (see here and here), members of our ruling dynasty have carefully avoided being photographed alongside the Korean "Messiah." No doubt, this reticence stems from Moon's known ties to Fascists, North Korea, drug money and other unsavories. Worse, his theology (Jesus was a failure; Moon's the better Messiah), not to mention his history of having sex with his followers, would annoy most members of the Christian right.

But here we have what I believe to be a shot of Neil Bush alongside the Reverend Moon. They travelled to Manila to inaugurate Moon's latest project: A "spiritual" version of the United Nations, called the Universal Peace Federation, which seems to be an outgrowth of Moon's International Inter-religious Federation for World Peace. (He gives these things such lovely names, doesn't he?) See here for more.

Interestingly, the IIFWP played a roll in a previous Moon-approved crusade that nearly all Christians would find particularly appalling. Just last year, this front group made an attempt to convince (and by "convince," I mean bribe) churches to get rid of their crosses. Moon does not like the cross. In truth, he doesn't like Jesus either, although his followers tend to keep the spotlight well away from that corner of his theological foundation.

Rather than the traditional egg hunt, this group, calling itself the American Clergy Leadership Conference, sponsored a nationwide "Tear Down The Cross" day for Easter, 2003. Last week, leaders in this radical cause presided over a Washington prayer breakfast featuring messages of thanks from the presidents. Former Senator Bob Dole came in person.

Mostly African-American, pastors who joined in 2003's ACLC-sponsored "Tear Down The Cross" won gold watches from the wealthy group, which unabashedly claims in its publications to have stripped churches of over a hundred crosses over the Easter holiday alone. This, movement leaders said, cleared the way for a new age and second messiah.

Bob Dole? Lucre can tempt even the best of us into unsavory activites, but surely there are limits. And one of those limits would be asking a professed Christian to toss the cross in the garbage.

Even moderate Republicans, such as Dole, seem to have no shame.

And what about Neil? Interestingly enough, this is not the first time his name has been linked with a cult. Three years ago, Neil functioned as a spokesman for Scientology when he appeared before a Congressional committee in opposition to the use of Ritalin. (This is one case in which the Hubbardites may have a point. Even so, a presidential brother should never associate with a cult front group.)

The fling with the Thetans was a passing fancy; the Bush family's real loyalties remain with Moon.

When a Moon front group called the American Clergy Leadership Conference sponsored its "Tear Down the Cross" day, both 41 and 43 made public declarations of approval:

According to a report in the Washington Times as well as video found on the Moon-affiliated Web site FamilyFed.org, the elder Bush made a taped appearance before the ACLC's 3,000-strong crowd, which he thanked for their work. "I thought about parachuting into the building," he joked about wishing he could make it. And he paid lip service to Moon's unwieldy religious jargon, using phrases like "peace centered on God," a goal that he called "right on target."

His son, George W. Bush, wrote a warm letter of support presented at the event by a state senator, in which the president and his wife Laura sent his best wishes to the sponsors -- and thanked them for rallying his "armies of compassion." It is unclear what the ACLC has done for society's problems, though its Web site is selling a video called "Beyond The Cross," and an affiliated Moon front group, Free Teens USA, has received almost half a million dollars under Bush's Abstinence-Only program.

Can you imagine -- can you imagine -- the outcry of horror that would have erupted if Bill Clinton or anyone in his family had given a public thumbs-up to the purveyors of "take down the cross day"? When are the "Christians" in this country going to wake up?

Note to Neil: Father Moon mandates that you cannot have sex without a picture of Moon overseeing your activity. Better remember that, next time you hear one of those inexplicable knocks at the door...