Balloon Juice: This is analysis

Nitpicker: Teapartiers vs. George Washington

Tina Dupuy: Feminism in the wake of 'Ladies' Night'

Economist's View: "The Economics of Libertarianism"

The Washington Independent: S.C. Dems move ahead with challenge

Words of Power: Which tide will overcome?

Most of us are familiar with James Dobson's Focus on the Family outfit, since they've played a major role in promoting the religious right's positions for the past decade and more nationally: "The group supports the teaching of "traditional family values". It advocates school sponsored prayer and supports corporal punishment. It strongly opposes abortion, so-called militant feminism, homosexuality, pornography, and pre-marital and extramarital sexual activity."

Now, Michael Reynolds at JulyDogs has a series of posts detailing how FoF's influence is spreading south of the border too -- and it isn't pretty:

On Saturday an internal intelligence report on La Familia from the Mexican justice department surfaced in Milenio, bringing the news that the faith-based cartel grounds its indoctrination program on the writings of macho Christian author and veteran Focus On The Family senior fellow John Eldredge, who now heads Ransomed Hearts Ministries in Colorado Springs.

There are four separate references to Eldredge in the Mexican intelligence memo on La Familia. The cartel has conducted a three-year recruitment and PR campaign across Michoacan featuring thousands of billboards and banderas carrying their evangelical message and warnings. La Familia is known for tagging its executions and other mayhem as “la divina justica”–divine justice.

The report says La Familia leader, Nazario Gonzalez Moreno aka El Loco o More Chayo (”The Craziest”) has made Eldredge’s books required reading for La Familia and has paid rural teachers and National Development Education members to circulate the Colorado-based evangelical’s writings throughout the Michoacan countryside.

Reynolds goes on to cite Christian blogger Tim Challies:

John Eldredge became a major player in the evangelical world with the release of The Sacred Romance which he co-authored with Brent Curtis (who has since died). Following The Sacred Romance he wrote Wild at Heart, Waking The Dead, The Journey of Desire and more recently, Epic. I have read all of these except for Waking The Dead and The Journey of Desire. Eldredge’s books are targeted primarily at men and his writings have great appeal for men, many of whom feel that society has forced them to be like Mr. Rogers – harmless and just a little effeminate. Eldredge encourages men to be real men – to head to the wilderness and be the rugged warriors we all want to be if we look deep inside ourselves. Eldredge continually writes about William Wallace of Braveheart or Maximus, the main character in Gladiator – real manly men.”

As Reynolds explores in two follow-up posts, the way this has translated on the ground in Mexico is a wave of violence directed against not merely rival drug gangs, but also anyone who fails to live up to its version of "masculine Christianity":

“La Familia doesn’t kill for money, doesn’t kill women, doesn’t kill innocent people. It only kills those who deserve to die. Everyone should know this: Divine justice.”–message left with five severed heads on the dance floor of the Sol y Sombra nightclub in Uruacan, Michoacan, September 6, 2006.

... From all available information so far, it appears that La Familia has developed into a faith-based right-wing populist social movement emanating from and orchestrated by an organization that happens to be a well-armed, well-financed violent criminal enterprise.

... La Familia is strongly pro-family (and all that that implies) and requires its members to abstain from alcohol and drugs. There is an indoctrination program all La Familia recruits must go through that inculcates “ personal values, ethical and morlal principles consistent with the purposes of the organization.” Last year La Familia brought in two motivational speakers to lecture its members. The group is hierarchic and maintains a strict top-down emotional control of its members.

Think of Jim Jones’ People’s Temple, only with more money and firepower and you get the idea.

So maybe Tony Perkins' bashing of Dr. George Tiller just prior to his assassination was not an accident after all.

Just don't tell Glenn Beck or Michelle Malkin. Their heads will explode.

There goes Bush's last alleged achievement:

Taliban militants have banned female education in the northwest Pakistan valley of Swat, depriving more than 40,000 girls of schooling, officials said on Saturday.

"My daughters are sitting at home," said Mohammad Ayub, father of two girls whose school was blown up by militants in October. "Their future looks bleak because they will stay uneducated."

There has been fighting in the valley for more than a year, but residents say the military is losing control to militants who aim to impose a severe form of Islamic law.

Swat is just one front the militants have opened up as violence has spread across Northwest Frontier province from adjoining semi-autonomous tribal areas that border Afghanistan.

Good morning, scamps and scoundrels. I’m your round-up guest host for the week, Melissa McEwan, otherwise known as Shakespeare’s Sister (that’s a Smiths’ and Woolf reference, not an egregious bit of braggadocio, cheeky gits!), the bare-knuckled proprietress of Shakesville—a group blog absolutely chock-a-block with shameless purveyors of libertine feminism and the radical gay agenda. Buckle up; off we go…

Egalia over at Tennessee Guerilla Women knows she not the only dummy who expected the Dems to act like an opposition party.

The Heretik helpfully suggests they could try actually opposing something.

Peter at Right Wing Watch finds that professional a**hole Randall Terry is heartbroken by Pat Robertson's endorsement of Giuliani and his "hypocritical and seductive evil."

Amy at Incertus puts on her science geek cap to take a look at what brains are saying about the candidates.

Eric Hopp raises his voice once again in support of universal healthcare, in the wake of the news that the US is among the worst in the world for infant deaths.

Dave Neiwert provides space for Trefayne to take a stroll down Memory Lane and spend some time with Ron Paul's Congressional record.

Amanda finds one more reason for people in the Reality-Based Community to avoid seeing Bee Movie, if anyone still needed one.

And over at WIMN's Voices, the lovely Echidne takes a look at the alarming allegation that feminism killed the Neanderthals. We're so powerful, evidently, we can retroactively kill entire species! Mwah ha ha ha!

That’s all for today. Seeya tomorrow! If you’ve got any hot tips, email me at shakespeares_sister at comcast dot net.

Hello, all ye scamps and scoundrels of Crooks and Liars. I'm your round-up guest host for the week, Melissa McEwan, otherwise known as Shakespeare's Sister (that's a Smiths' and Woolf reference, not an egregious bit of braggadocio, cheeky gits!), the bare-knuckled proprietress of Shakesville—a group blog absolutely chock-a-block with shameless purveyors of libertine feminism and the radical gay agenda. Buckle up; off we go…
An Angry Black Bitch has a Very Good Question about the unholy marriage between corporations and the US government—and ponders how it relates to the suspension of habeas corpus.

Blowvember is shaping up to give Cocktober a run for its money as sex-drenched conservative scandals continue to roll like clockwork. As always, Blogenfreude is your go-to guy for the running tally.

Relatedly, Libby Spencer finds herself suffering sex scandal fatigue, while Pam Spaulding catches up with Bob Allen and Senator Larry Craig's alleged boytoy, David Phillips.

Meanwhile, outside the closet, where lion-hearted LGBTQers seek protection from this charming Moral Majority, the legislative journey of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) continues to be controversial, as the Senate version will also exclude gender identity. Autumn Sandeen provides a great round-up of recent ENDA viewpoints.

In other news, there appears to be some sort of presidential campaign going on, and nobody seems to like anyone. Steve M. remembers why he loathes Joe Biden, Jill grouses about Hillary's campaign plant, and Mustang Bobby kicks around Giuliani and his BFF Bernie.

Finally, if you've got that Sciencey cum Christmassy feeling, go visit PZ, who's got the latest in the War on Christmas. For Sciencey cum Islamofascisty, Mike the Mad Biologist is your next stop.

That's all for today. Seeya tomorrow! If you've got any hot tips, email me at shakespeares_sister at Comcast dot net.

Posted by Courtney at Feministing:

FOX and CBS have both recently refused to air ads for condoms that emphasize their use as a birth control method. When interviewed by the New York Times, a FOX rep said, that the decision was based on their policy that condom ads "must stress health-related issues rather than the prevention of pregnancy." In other words, it is okay to educate consumers about STDs, but empowering them to make reproductive choices is beyond the purview of two of our nation's most sex-saturated networks.

You can read Courtney's full take on this at Alternet:

It is inexcusable that television networks, one of the best public sites for widespread education about safer sex, is acting coy at the cost of young women's fullest lives.

The first time I met 23-year-old Marvelyn Brown at a Washington, D.C., luncheon celebrating young women's achievements, she reached for her lemonade and I noticed a tiny red ribbon tattooed on her hand. Marvelyn and I got to talking, and I learned that she had been diagnosed with HIV at the age of 19. She contracted it from unprotected sex with a boy she described as "prince charming" back in her hometown of Nashville, Tenn. Her mother, whose only attempt at sex education was "just don't get pregnant," begged Marvelyn to tell everyone she had cancer instead. Read more...

You can also pick up a copy of the book "Full Frontal Feminism: A Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters" by Feministing's Jessica Valenti here.