If you know what's good for America, you will shut your door when the Girl Scouts come a knockin', and you'll "back away from those Girl Scout Cookies," conservative Christian groups are telling their constituents. It has nothing to do with evangelicals adopting gluten-free diets (although there is now a certified gluten-free Chocolate Chip Shortbread cookie), or concerns about eliminating fat from their diets. It's all about right-wingers charging Girl Scouts USA with supporting Planned Parenthood, pro-abortion role models like Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and organizations like Amnesty International, the ACLU, and the National Organization for Women (NOW).

And, now, thanks to the newly formed CookieCott 2014, Texas' Wendy Davis has been dropped into the middle of this year's ruckus.

Last night, it was difficult to cut through the fog of reaction from current day conservatives to the death of Nelson Mandela. However, despite the kind words and the tributes, it should never be forgotten that the conservative movement in this country took great pains to condemn and demonize Mandela and the African National Congress, doing all they could to undermine the economic boycott of South Africa and the anti-apartheid movement.

Nelson Mandela and his comrades with the African National Congress were not always the toast of the town, especially in Washington, D.C.

President Ronald Reagan, who placed the ANC on the U.S. terror list in the 1980s (a designation that wasn't removed until 2008), labeled the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 as "immoral" and "utterly repugnant."

Paul Crouch, once one of the most powerful men in the world of televangelism, has died at 79 after a ten-year battle with degenerative heart disease. Crouch, co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (http://www.tbn.org) with his wife Janice, was a master at pitching the "prosperity gospel," and prosperity surely came his way. Crouch and Janice had "matching his-and-her mansions in Newport Beach, Calif., and used multimillion dollar corporate jets," entertainment.time.com pointed out.

Crouch's wealth not only grew out of the power of his own preaching and fundraising solicitations, it also came from selling time on his network to many of the world's best known preachers. And, the Crouches were ultimate survivors, having, as Religion Dispatches' Sarah Posner recently pointed out, "survived many a media exposé."  

Military leaders are so disgusted with President Barack Obama that they'd like to launch a coup d'état to get rid of him, but that pesky U.S. Constitution keeps getting in the way, says a retired Army general who now works for the Family Research Council.

"People I've spoken to would like to see the military `fulfill their constitutional duty and take out the president,'" William G. "Jerry" Boykin told WorldNetDaily last week. "Our Constitution puts a civilian in charge of the military and as a result a coup would not be constitutional. You're not going to see a coup in the military."

The watchdog group the Institute for Research & Education On Human Rights is reporting that the National Socialist Movement is planning a rally in the Kansas City area on November 9. According to IREHR, "Most of the chatter about the would-be rally place it in downtown Kansas City, Missouri; although the NSM leaflet advertising this event places it in Kansas City, Kansas."

Why has the NSM chosen to rally on November 9?

If the names of the organizations and funders gearing up for the next big battle in California's Culture Wars sound familiar, that's because they are. In addition to the campaign's chief strategist, many of the same organizations and funders that came together to sponsor Proposition 8 five years ago, are teaming up for a signature gathering campaign to place an initiative on the November 2014 ballot that would overturn a bill providing protections for transgender public school students, which was recently signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown.

The law, which will go into effect January 1, says schools must allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms and play on sports teams that match their gender identification.

We've seen these disinformation and smear campaigns orchestrated by the Religious Right play out before: Religious Right organizations make an outrageous claim; in this case, a secret meeting aimed at attacking the religious freedom of Christian conservatives in the military, took place at the Pentagon April 23, 2013. This phony claim spreads like a virus through conservative networks. The story takes off at outlets like Breitbart.com, Fox News, WorldNetDaily and other right wing websites, blogs, e-mail newsletters and on twitter.

The target of this particular campaign is Michael L. "Mickey" Weinstein, the founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). Since its founding the MRFF has been dedicated to battling Christian fundamentalism in the military. For waging this battle, the Religious Right's has labeled Weinstein -- a registered Republican and former military prosecutor who served in the Ronald Reagan Administration -- an "anti-Christian extremist," "a religious bigot" and the "Field General of the Godless Armies of Satan."

Over the years, Weinstein has been swamped with hate mail.

Now, he is one of the Religious Right's premier public enemies.

If, in the late summer of 2013, you are wondering why you don't have a reality television show of your own, it may be because you are not: a prosperity preacher living high off the hog in Los Angeles ("Preachers of L.A.); a member of the Kardashian family ("Keeping Up With The Kardashians"); a housewife living in any number of cities or towns ("The Real Housewives of ..."); demographically qualified for "Down South," a Jersey Shore knockoff taking place in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. Or it could be something as simple as the fact that you do not now, nor have you ever, handled snakes in a religious or non-religious context!

Welcome to the world of "Snake Salvation."

In a heated September 5th interview with MSNBC's Alex Wagner, Former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, who is currently surfing a wave of mainstream media appearances due to his strong criticism of the push from the Obama Administration for U.S. military intervention in Syria, defended his planned September 11th, 2013 keynote address at a "gala dinner fundraiser" to be held during a controversial [also see 1, 2] conference organized by a fringe, schismatic Catholic organization accused of virulent anti-Semitism, the Fatima Center.

According to a new report, Ron Paul's association with Fatima Center leaders, including Fatima Center head Father Nicholas Gruner -- who has espoused Holocaust denial, traces back at least as far as 1998.

When it comes to being restored, re-ordained and returned to the pulpit after confessing to a four-year extramarital affair with a member of his congregation, Sam Hinn, the younger brother of well-known televangelist and faith healer Benny Hinn, may have set a new speed record for fallen evangelical leaders.

Older brother Benny is a big-time brand, squirrelling the spotlight for a good chunk of his professional life, and his ministry reels in extraordinary amounts of money. He's traveled the globe, bought mansions, and has lived the good life. He's also experienced a fair amount of controversy along the way; his prophesies have been way off the mark, including one made in 1989 that Fidel Castro wouldn't outlast the 1990s; he was one of a group of televangelists whose financial shenanigans inspired an investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa); and, two years ago, he was accused of being involved in a messy extramarital affair with Paula White -- another well-known televangelist -- an accusation that threatened his worldwide ministry. Hinn self-recovered and is back televangelizing.

Now, younger brother Sam, who compared to Benny is a minor figure in the world of evangelicals, is grabbing some kinky headlines of his own.

Does Philip Anschutz, the conservative billionaire owner of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) - a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company -- and/or his company, an entertainment and sports empire, bear any responsibility in the death of Michael Jackson?

Anschutz Entertainment Group's AEG Live knew it could make a fortune if Michael Jackson`s comeback tour was even mildly successful. During preparation for the "This Is It" tour, which might have been the biggest comeback tour in entertainment history starting with 50 shows in London and then possibly moving on to other worldwide venues, an out-of-shape, exhausted and prescription drug-dependent Jackson died of an overdose of drugs.

It is now four-plus years since Jackson died. Over that period, Anschutz has made millions off the King of Pop.

From its counterinsurgency strategy to Drone strikes, from paying off tribal leaders to training local security forces, from increasing troops to decreasing troops, the Obama Administration has tried almost every conceivable strategy to "successfully" end the war in Afghanistan. Will the State Department's newly created faith-based office help turn the tide in Afghanistan and in other areas of violent conflict? Will it promote religious freedom for all, including minority religious groups? Will it treat non-believers with respect? Will it become a politicized money-pit for a chosen few religious organizations and institutions?

In its introduction to a wide-ranging discussion titled "Engaging religion at the Department of State," The Editors of the blog The Immanent Frame pointed out that while "There is great excitement in some quarters about the prospects for new partnerships .... this initiative also raises concerns regarding the intersection of religious freedom, religious establishment, and foreign policy."