WE LOVE THE MOOOOON...
June 23, 2004 5:48 AM   Subscribe

"We fell victim to it; we were duped." A gala meeting at a Senate office building invited 100 "honorees" were invited to receive "International Crowns of Peace", only to watch the Reverend Sun Yung Moon of the Unification Church claim the awards for himself. Amidst finger-pointing and denials, a video depicting Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) coronating Rev. Moon, was removed from a Unification Church website. But a number of bit torrent mirrors of that March 23rd "promotional film" have been popping up....while the February 4th video of a nearly identical Capitol gathering has squeaked by without news exposure or outrage.
posted by Smart Dalek (38 comments total)
 
I think this was first mentioned about a month or so ago on the blue. Definitely bad news. My first reaction: why does it have to be a Democrat?
posted by crazy finger at 5:54 AM on June 23, 2004


It's worth mentioned than MeFi member inksyndicate is the one who wrote the Salon story and has been relentless in reporting about Moon on his own blog.
posted by blueshammer at 6:03 AM on June 23, 2004


blueshammer: this is true, and I even linked to the site.

The point I was trying to make was that the state-sponsored coronation wasn't an isolated incident; it's occurred before. People are making hay of it now because of the most recent event, while the earlier, perhaps frequent ceremonies are largely ignored.
posted by Smart Dalek at 6:15 AM on June 23, 2004


What if Moon is in fact God? We deny and deny so that a true god is never recognized. Besides, he owns the Washington Times and Insight Magazine, so that is proof.
posted by Postroad at 6:16 AM on June 23, 2004


"We fell victim to it; we were duped bought, cheaply. We're unrepentant whores for Moonie money."

Edited for accuracy.

Now, can anyone tell me who the biggest Moonie money whores are?
No cheating and reading inksyndicate's notes!
posted by nofundy at 6:28 AM on June 23, 2004


Best page title ever.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:57 AM on June 23, 2004


Here's the mother lode of juicy info on the Moon cult, courtesy of Gorenfeld :

Where in Washington, D.C. is Sun Myung Moon?


REPUBLICANS IN ATTENDANCE AT THE CORONATION OF "THE MESSIAH"

(from "Moon over Washington" )

"Section 9 of the Constitution forbids giving out titles of nobility, setting a certain tone that might have made the Congressional hosts shy about celebrating the coronation on their websites. They included conservatives, the traditional fans of Moon's newspaper: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA.), Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah), Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) and Republican strategy god Charlie Black, whose PR firm represents Ahmed Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress. But there were also liberal House Democrats like Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) and Davis. Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.) later told the Memphis Flyer that he'd been erroneously listed on the program, but had never heard of the event, which was sponsored by the Washington Times Foundation.

Rep. Curt Weldon's office tenaciously denied that the Congressman was there, before being provided by The Gadflyer with a photo depicting Weldon at the event, found on Moon's website. "Apparently he was there, but we really had nothing to do with it," press secretary Angela Sowa finally conceded. "I don't think it's quite accurate that the Washington Times said that we hosted the event. We may have been a Congressional co-host, but we have nothing to do with the agenda, the organization, the scheduling, and our role would be limited explicitly to the attendance of the Congressman....

....In Moon's speeches, a "peace kingdom" is envisioned, in which homosexuals – whom he calls "dung-eating dogs" – would be a thing of the past. He said in January: "Gays will be eliminated, the three Israels will unite. If not, then they will be burned. We do not know what kind of world God will bring, but this is what happens. It will be greater than the communist purge but at God's orders." "


________________________________

HOLY HOLES !

Here's Peter Maass relating some of a 1998 Sermon by Moon :

"Little seems to shock Moon's followers--not even his unorthodox discourses about sex and anatomy. One of the unusual aspects of his sermons is that, although he talks relentlessly about the evils of "free sex"--that is, premarital sex, adultery, and homosexuality--he engages in intimate discussions of sexual activity, and he makes it clear that a fulfilling sex life within marriage makes God happy.

"Can we say that the waste of a holy man is holy waste?" he asked during a sermon on May 1st. "Can we say that the anus of a holy man is a holy anus?"

Nobody in the audience was quite sure what to say, so Moon continued: "On the human body we have many orifices, but which orifice does the baby come through, the most special one?"

"Sexual organ," a few people replied, tentatively.

"But doesn't urine also come out of there? Why? It's like that with a seed. You bury it under smelly topsoil. You understand?"

"Yes."

Moon noted that a man's penis-"love organ" was the term used by Peter Kim, looking a bit uneasy--goes into the same "hole" that urine flows through.

"Think about it," Moon said. "Do you think that hole is a dirty hole or holy hole?"

"Holy hole," someone ventured.

"Holy hole!" Moon bubbled in English. "Holy hole! Holy hole! Make sound!"

"Holy hole!" the crowd repeated. "

_____________________________

SPONSORSHIP "SHROUDED IN MYSTERY"


[ Wahington Post, June 23, 2004, from "The Rev. Moon Honored at Hill Reception - Lawmakers Say They Were Misled " : "......Use of the Dirksen building requires a senator's approval. Dayton said he gave no such permission, and Stallings said the question of who did so is "shrouded in mystery." " ]
posted by troutfishing at 6:58 AM on June 23, 2004


I'll repeat the central point there, for clarity :

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN CO-SPONSORED EVENT, PRESS SECRETARY ADMITS

Angela Sowa, press secretary for Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA), admits Weldon co-hosted Moon's "coronation" :

"I don't think it's quite accurate that the Washington Times said that we hosted the event. We may have been a Congressional co-host, but we have nothing to do with the agenda"

So, who was co-sponsor from the SENATE ?
posted by troutfishing at 7:03 AM on June 23, 2004


Also, here's a little insight into Unification Church sexual ritual :

Instructions For the 3-Day Ceremony"

____________________

E-mail The Howard Stern Show, to call for Howard Stern to have Gorenfeld on as a guest.

Gorenfeld says :

"....If you've been following the Moon/Bush story on my blog: One of my correspondents had a great idea for someone who'd be interested in blowing the lid off this breathtaking saga of corruption.

"...Let's see, we have to find someone who resents right-wing moralists...has an axe to grind against Bush...likes to taunt cult members...hates anti-Semites...enjoys references to genitalia and bizarre sexual practices"

Howard Stern ! Howard Stern ! Howard Stern ! Howard Stern ! Howard Stern ! Howard Stern ! Howard Stern ! Howard Stern ! Howard Stern !Howard Stern ! Howard Stern ! Howard Stern !

Go Howard.

Meanwhile......



[ hint - click on the big fat guy who needs a shave ]
posted by troutfishing at 7:15 AM on June 23, 2004


There's something tangential about this that I find interesting. Back in the early '80s when I was in middle/high school, and attending a rather conservative Christian school, the Unification Church (and several other organizations, notably the LDS and the Jehovah's Witnesses) were considered eeevul cultists, and everything they did was suspect. The fact that Moon supporters started up a newspaper (in Washington!) raised a cry of alarm. I can't imagine any Senator or Congressman who was courting a conservative audience at the time wanting anything to do with Moon. That seems to have changed a little. I suppose money + complementary political leanings have a way of ironing out those difficulties.
posted by deadcowdan at 7:24 AM on June 23, 2004


Not to mention the ownership of a major newspaper.

meanwhile, an Atrios commentor has updated the list of attendees, so emphasizing the heavily propagandistic nature of the Washington Post's "revelation" :

"Danny Davis: D
Harold Ford: D
Roscoe Bartlett: R
Curt Weldon: R
Chris Cannon: R
Sanford Bishop: D

Mark Anderson: R
Mark Boitano: R
Philip Crane: R
Thomas Davis: R
Eddie Johnson: D
Lindsey Graham: R
Larry Pressler: R
C. Delores Tucker: D
Howard Stephenson: R
Donzella James D

Dems: 6
Reps: 10

Virtually all the Dems are blacks. Why is that?" - jsg ( no contact info given)
posted by troutfishing at 7:36 AM on June 23, 2004


Still - it was a clearly bipartisan (though Republican-leaning) event, and so this funny Atrios rant seems apropos :

"Effing bat-shit crazy! We are actually reading about a billionaire (probably mentally ill) wacko who has access to people in the highest reaches of the US government, who was ACTUALLY crowned as some sort of religious king, in an office building owned by the US government (i.e. the people)......If we saw this played out in a movie, we'd laugh and say the scene was the product of a demented paranoid, out of touch with reality.

That this piece of surreal absurdity occurred with the blessings of our elected representatives is a warning to all citizens that our government is in the hands of delusional madmen."


Sun Myung Moon - "New, improved, and endorsed by Hitler and Stalin, from the afterworld !"

Yah yah .
posted by troutfishing at 7:44 AM on June 23, 2004


.
posted by troutfishing at 7:46 AM on June 23, 2004


troutfishing-

To partially answer your question of "why blacks," the journalist in the first link writes:

But now that he's forged unbreakable ties with conservative Christians, Moon has moved on to African-American ministers, and, through them, allies in the Democratic Party.

How an eccentric Korean billionaire with a God-complex relates to African-American ministers, well, I have no idea.
posted by themadjuggler at 8:00 AM on June 23, 2004


themadjuggler - Yeah, I'm stumped too.

Moving right along,

Bad Moon on the Rise (Gorenfeld, Sept. '2004 salon piece on Moon)

REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON SPEAKS ON

Purity, Lineage and the Love Organ (of Life)
:


excerpt : "As a man, in your right front pants pocket is a small inside watch pocket. Keep pliers there, and when you go to the bathroom, once a day, pinch your love organ. Cut the skin a little bit as a warning. If your love organ does not listen to your conscience, then you should cut off the tip. Even if it takes that extreme measure, we have to make sure our mind and body become one. Don't you think TF went through that kind of extreme measure? (Yes.)........Unless we can constantly control our love organ, there is no hope to cleanse our lineage......We must straighten out this sexual organ through habit."

Yes, yes. Very good, TF.

____________________

Essential reading :

Mooniverse
posted by troutfishing at 8:37 AM on June 23, 2004


For a very strange few minutes I was reading "TF" as being a reference to troutfishing.
"Have you engrafted TF's teaching onto yourselves? Do you believe in his teaching absolutely? Even without knowing the details? TF started with absolute faith and practiced it."
Extremely disturbing...
posted by thatwhichfalls at 8:54 AM on June 23, 2004


themadjuggler: How an eccentric Korean billionaire with a God-complex relates to African-American ministers, well, I have no idea.

African-American ministers with poor parishes, perhaps? Or am I remiss to think that money would have something to do with this? "Trading the Cross for a Crown" seems to be one of the Moonies' recent campaigns. The ACLC is a Moonie organization, as is The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (the site on which the previous link is hosted), both according to this rather long list.
posted by whatnotever at 9:31 AM on June 23, 2004


Here are two more such ceremonies from the same site.
posted by whatnotever at 9:34 AM on June 23, 2004


thatwhichfalls - weeel.... have you ?

(it wasn't intentional)

For those who don't get it, "TF" is what Moon refers to himself as : "The Father" .
posted by troutfishing at 9:37 AM on June 23, 2004


I hereby crown TF (troutfishing) as the Emperor of Posts on MeFi world. All shall genuflect to His Highness.

Now if we can only hold the official ceremony in a government building.
Perhaps Roy Moore can assist since he specializes in religious uses for government buildings?
posted by nofundy at 9:47 AM on June 23, 2004


When Moon first bought the Times, it was a big joke here in DC. Now I see perfectly normal people reading it on the Metro. I mean, I'm not really down with the whole "god" thing myself, but I don't get how Christian conservatives can embrace someone who thinks he's God.
posted by JoanArkham at 9:53 AM on June 23, 2004


I don't get how Christian conservatives can embrace someone who thinks he's God

...you're forgetting: it's not the religion that's important, it's the politics. Religion is simply a convenient device for establishing access to power, money, and votes.
posted by aramaic at 10:40 AM on June 23, 2004


it's not the religion that's important, it's the politics.

This is SO true. Please, everyone, remember this whenever you read or hear about issues of religious fundamentalism anywhere in the world. Israel/Palestine? It's politics, not religion. Osama bin Laden? Politics, not religion. Jerry Falwell? Ditto.

Certainly, many of those involved in these issue have strong religious beliefs. But it's not really at the heart of the issue. What matters is money and power. Everything else is window dressing.
posted by jpoulos at 11:05 AM on June 23, 2004


This is weird shit.

And just in case someone wonders, my MeFi name -- "MOONCROW" -- has nothing to do with this Moon.

Yeesh. Makes me want to change my nick.
posted by mooncrow at 11:15 AM on June 23, 2004


whatnotever-- that's an awfully long list of affiliated organizations for a typical wingnut religious group-- the money angle wouldn't surprise me at all (unfortunately).
posted by themadjuggler at 11:41 AM on June 23, 2004


Some crazy stuff over at the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification web site (www.familyfed.org):

"On April 10th, True Parents made special condition to liberate Arch Angelic World through striped bass fishing. 3 boats went out for fishing and each boat had 12 people to fish. Father instructed to release first 12 keep size striped bass to each 3 boat. That was the condition for the liberation. We left at the marina 7:30 am and Father's boat finished by 8:25am, less than an hour!Other two boats finished around 10 am then condition was made."

Numbingly boring fishing videos included:

http://www.familyfed.org/usa/video2004/20040410_1.ASF

Kooky!
posted by jmcnally at 12:14 PM on June 23, 2004


nofundy - thanks. But - does that mean that I can claim the endorsement of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mussolini, and Geoffrey Dahmer (if he's dead) from beyond the grave ?

I saved their souls by converting them with logic and reason.

Honest, TF

How do you know I'm not him, anyway ? Think of the connections - like fishing
posted by troutfishing at 1:00 PM on June 23, 2004


"We must straighten out this sexual organ through habit."

Uh yeah, hello, that's what we've been trying to do. Men, anyway.
posted by soyjoy at 1:20 PM on June 23, 2004


So, what's wrong with a little asymmetry anyway ?

Just saying....Oh YEAH?

You wanna fight about it ? Mine is SO straight !.....

___________________________________

Lots of folks (usually inside locked wards) think they're God, but This Moon character is really, like, bent out of shape on the linear thing.

It's like he has a complex.
posted by troutfishing at 3:02 PM on June 23, 2004


Geoffrey Dahmer (if he's dead)

Yup, he's dead and the Violent Femmes have a song about it.
posted by drezdn at 3:03 PM on June 23, 2004


Moon Bless America.

Lunatics indeed.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:20 PM on June 23, 2004


CROWN! What people do at a coronation is to CROWN someone, not "coronate" them.

Jesus H. Moon, people.
posted by Sidhedevil at 4:35 PM on June 23, 2004


Jeffrey (even tho that site spells it wrong (differently) too).

worst. femmes. album. ever.
posted by mrgrimm at 6:36 PM on June 23, 2004


Violent Femmes, they were mostly a one shot affair.

This Moon fellow, he's like the Energizer Bunny.
posted by troutfishing at 7:38 PM on June 23, 2004


Still going...

*BAM**BAM**BAM**BAM**BAM**BAM**BAM**BAM**BAM**BAM**BAM*
posted by soyjoy at 10:29 PM on June 23, 2004


Troutfishing, How dare you, No one, I MEAN NO-ONE F*CKS with the the Violent Femmes,! You will Rue this day, I swear.....
posted by Elim at 11:12 PM on June 23, 2004


One nation, under Moon, indivisible, with straight male organs for all.

Moon, or TF, is my co-pilot.
posted by nofundy at 7:37 AM on June 24, 2004


Hey, it's John G. i don't know if anyone is still keeping up on this thread, but I will reimburse someone for ordering a copy of that video and sending it to me. I bet they stopped selling though. john@gorenfeld.net
posted by inksyndicate at 11:39 AM on June 24, 2004


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