Zondervan, the Christian book publisher, is (was) planning a Sarah Palin biography aimed at tweens called "Speaking Up: The Sarah Palin Story".

You know the story: She ran for vice president, and lost; she was governor of Alaska, and quit halfway through her term; her book, "Going Rogue: An American Life," was a best-seller; she's a commentator on the Fox News Channel; she will soon be sharing Alaska in a series for The Learning Channel; she's in great demand as a speaker, and gets handsomely paid for her appearances.

She tweets; she Facebooks; she endorses candidates; and now, Sarah Palin will have her life story told in a biography specifically earmarked for Christian evangelical tweens. Maybe!  

Originally scheduled for publication in October - just prior to the mid-term elections - the book's publisher, Zondervan, a wholly owned subsidiary of HarperCollins (which published Palin's "Going Rogue"), which in turn is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, made a surprise announcement a few days ago saying that publication of the Palin tweener bio had been put on indefinite hold.

The San Marcos, California-based organization, a project of the controversial National Organization for Marriage, has a new `strategic plan' which it hopes will make it a national force in the pro-marriage movement

The passage of California's Proposition 8, the November 2008 initiative banning same-sex marriage, was an indicator to the folks at the Ruth Institute that a bright future may be looming. These days, armed with a new four-year strategic plan; a leader, who, in addition to having a sparkling resume, is hoping to forge a national reputation and is sporting the nickname "Dr. J"; and a full-bore affiliation with the National Organization for Marriage, the Ruth Institute is putting the finishing touches on its "It Takes A Family to Raise a Village '10 - training the next generation to be marriage champions" event, and has every intention of becoming a major player in the national pro-marriage movement.

No matter how many Supergroups they pull together, the Religious Right is battling it out with the Tea Party movement, and these days they're not getting any mainstream media love.

Back in the day, the coming together of a "Supergroup" provided the possibility of the unexpected and the opportunity for something magical. Like many other significant cultural signposts of the late twentieth century, Supergroups now seem over-hyped and watered down.  

The term "Supergroup" is not usually associated with the Religious Right. Over the years, the most important Religious Right organizations have been less Supergroupie and more the product of charismatic and telegenic leaders. Now, however, with the Tea Party Movement battling for hegemony within the conservative movement, some Religious Right organizations have banded into a few Religious Right Supergroups.  

Right-wing groups warn that Western civilization is facing a `demographic winter,' risking the destruction of what they call the natural family.

If over the years you've been following the debate over population growth, you are familiar with the argument that it is economically unfeasible for the earth to sustain an unlimited population. You might subscribe to that argument, or you might believe that it isn't so much a problem of population growth but rather of the inequitable worldwide distribution of resources. Or you might see the two as inter-related. In recent years, however, a new wrinkle has been introduced into the debate; a concept called "Demographic Winter."  

For many conservatives, demographic winter -- or "birth dearth" as it is sometimes called -- is the ultimate culture war battle, rooted in the rise of feminism, legalized abortion, the acceptance of homosexuality, illegal immigration, and the growth of minority populations. All of this is supposedly the result of a multi-decade campaign by liberals to undermine "natural law" and the "natural" family.

Read the complete story @ http://www.alternet.org/belief/147352/right-wing_groups_use_decli ne_of_white_birthrates_to_stoke_fear_of_homosexuality%2C_feminism and_abortion_/?page=entire

The oil spill is `partly the result of greed, debauchery on the beaches, poor environmental stewardship and a lack of U.S. support for Israel,' says traveling "prophet" Cindy Jacobs.

 People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch recently pointed out that amongst some conservative evangelical Christians the notion that "the BP oil spill is God's punishment for our failure to properly support Israel is becoming an increasingly accepted explanation."* Others claim that "debauchery on the beaches," is one possible cause of the oil spill. And many think of it as a warning from on high. As unhinged as any of this might sound - especially the logical extension that God is working his grace through the boardroom at BP - in these times it is not an uncommon religious thread. After all, we are not that far removed from the Rev. Jerry Falwell's post-911 diatribe blaming all things liberal for the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, and Pastor John Hagee's claim that Hurricane Katrina was God's retribution for the Big Easy's easiness.

For some, the only way out of this mess and the only thing that will stop BP's oil from continuing to gush into the Gulf of Mexico is prayer. That's why on Sunday, June 27, some folks in the Gulf States got together for "a day of prayer for the regions affected by the oil spill that has sent millions of gallons of crude gushing into the Gulf of Mexico," Charismamag.com reported during the run-up to Sunday's events.

During the run-up to Christian Zionist Joel C. Rosenberg's late-June `Epicenter 2010" conference, the best-selling author and former political consultant to Netanyahu, has come up with three ways to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Joel C. Rosenberg is a former political consultant to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the author of Epicenter: How the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your World, as well as several best-selling novels. Over the past several years, he has been a strong advocate of a muscular military response - be it from the United States or Israel - in order to destroy Iran's programs.

In a recent statement, Rosenberg maintained that the Obama Administration's advocacy of, and the United Nations' imposition of, new economic sanctions against Iran "are weak and won't have much effect in stopping Iran from getting the Bomb." Instead of fruitless sanctions, Rosenberg suggested that only decisive action would effectively deal with Iran's nuclear program.

According to OneNewsNow, a news service of the conservative Christian advocacy group, the American Family Association, Rosenberg has come up three different decisive scenarios: an all-enveloping blockade that would choke deliveries of gas to the country, massive air strikes to destroy any nuclear facilities, or letting Biblical prophesy run its course.

The University that the Rev. Jerry Falwell founded nearly forty years ago has survived a number of bumps in the road. While it will survive the conferring an honorary doctor's degree on Glenn Beck, and the distinct possibility that the president of its theological seminary is a fraud, what's up with its attempt to become a local political power broker?

Over the past several months, things have been hopping on the Liberty University campus. Glenn Beck -- yes that Glenn Beck -- received an honorary doctor's degree; LU Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. was recently appointed by Virginia's governor to a state education commission; and one of LU's brightest stars and most prominent officials is suspected of being a fraud.

Joel C. Rosenberg, a conservative evangelical Christian and a best-selling author, suggests that as U.S.-Israeli relations gets icier, it is likely that Jewish voters will desert Obama in 2012

The hastily arranged White House meeting that was supposed to take place between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week has been canceled. Netanyahu, who was visiting Canada, rushed back to Israel to deal with fallout from a raid by Israeli naval commandos on an flotilla in international waters that was carrying hundreds of peace activists and aid for Gaza. Early reports indicated that at least 9 people were killed and dozens wounded by the commandos. Thus the meeting between Obama and Netanyahu, which might have signaled a step toward healing what to some appears to be a growing rift between the two countries, was cancelled.

Prior to the meeting's cancellation, Joel C. Rosenberg was pretty darned excited. But it had little to do with the meeting.

Better Courts Now's candidates are on a `mission from God' to transform San Diego's court system.

If you've had your fill of athletes thanking God for their good fortune on the basketball court or gridiron, and/or politicians claiming that God directed them to run for public office -- think George W. Bush -- then do not read any further. If, however, you're interested in and/or intrigued by the "Mission from God" conceit, and wondering if folks adopting that charge from on high just might be coming to your humble township, then check out what's been happening in San Diego, California.

What may have started out as a small, almost stealth-like campaign -- similar to those that took over school boards across the country -- has evolved into a rock-em, sock-em, full-throated effort to remove four Democratic-appointed judges from Superior Court, and replace them with four bona-fide "Mission from God" Christian conservative attorneys.

According to Former US Ambassador Joe Wilson, Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder and head Mikey Weinstein has placed his life on the line in an ongoing campaign that has "almost single handedly" blunted an evangelical attempt to take over the US military. Presumably that's why the influential and affluent Pacific Palisades Democratic Club of Santa Monica, California had offered Weinstein the club's Anne Froelich Political Courage Award, which in the past has gone to heavy hitters such as Ron Kovich, Phil Donahue, Daniel Ellsberg, and Joseph and Valerie Wilson. But the club has just withdrawn its offer. The stated reason ? - Mikey Weinstein served in the first Reagan Administration.

Corrections Concepts Inc.'s effort to establish America's first all-Christian prison in Oklahoma has hit some roadblocks, but it is still continuing to move down the pike.

The last time there was this much excitement in and around Wakita, Oklahoma, was when a tornado nearly destroyed the town. Fortunately, that was in the blockbuster movie Twister. Now, another less ephemeral twister could shake up the town; a proposal from the Dallas, Texas-based Corrections Concepts Inc., to have this sleepy town some 40 miles from the Kansas border become the home to America's first all-Christian prison.

And while the proposal might still be a pipedream for Bill Robinson, the founder of Corrections Concepts Inc. (http://correctionsconcepts.org/), it appears to be inching ever closer to reality.

Pastor John Hagee, the head of a 19,000-member Texas mega-church and the founder of Christians United for Israel, a powerful lobbying group, has, in recent months, mounted an all-out public relations campaign to rehabilitate his image. Can the shouting prophet of the End Times be scrubbed clean?

If, sometime in the future, a conservative Israeli politician was able to get legislation passed through the Knesset establishing a Christian Zionist Hall of Fame in Israel, you can bet your bottom shekel that Pastor John Hagee would be among those voted into the Hall's first class. Since being shunned by Senator John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign -- after the senator had eagerly sought his endorsement -- over a tape that had Hagee bellowing his belief that Hitler and the Nazis were sent by God to chase Europe's Jews to Israel, the San Antonio, Texas-based pastor has been on the comeback trail. And while he might never wear the mantle of "The Comeback Kid," Hagee has soared back into the good graces of many  well-connected and politically powerful Americans and Israelis.

However, not all is smooth sailing. In order to regain his foothold within an often skeptical Jewish community, Team Hagee must confront persistent critics, and another more daunting obstacle:  his sermons, speeches and writings. In this major public-relations battle, Team Hagee has attacked the Obama Administration for being too rough on Israel, J Street -- a liberal Jewish organization -- and has responded directly to articles raising questions about Hagee and the dangers of a muscular Christian Zionism.