[Vision2020] Postcardgate

[Tom Hansen]

Sounds like some good questions that can be posed to Gresham Bouma
tomorrow afternoon (3:00) at the NuArt Theater when NSA presents their
candidates' forum . . . which I will be videotaping in all of its colorful
splendor.

Seeya there, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

On Thu, October 21, 2010 3:58 pm, Reggie Holmquist wrote:
> You know what would be interesting?  If we made a list of all the
> theocratic-leaning legislation that has been introduced and/or passed in
> the
> Idaho legislature in recent years, and asked Bouma how he would have voted
> on those specific pieces of legislation and how he would vote on similar
> pieces of legislation in the future.
>
> -Reggie
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 21, 2010 at 3:28 PM, Art Deco <deco at moscow.com> wrote:
>
>>    *Postcardgate*
>>
>>
>>
>> Before saying some not-well-organized-but-need-to-be-said things below,
>> please let me make three obvious statements.
>>
>>
>>
>> 1.     I do not know who sent the infamous postcards.  (I did not get
>> one,
>> but that may be due to a post office error combined with another factor
>> if
>> one was sent to my rural address.)  There are many rumors, allegations,
>> and a few facts flying about this incident.  It is too early to label
>> this
>> incident a hoax, or if it is a hoax, what kind.  I believe the local
>> press
>> has been premature and irresponsible in labeling the incident a hoax at
>> first blush.
>>
>>
>>
>> 2.     I do not approve or condone anonymous/forged campaign material
>> (if
>> this is what it is) even when that material may contain statements,
>> though
>> inflammatory, at least some of which appear to be true.  I hope the
>> perpetrator(s) is/are caught and exposed before the election.
>>
>>
>>
>> 3.     If Bouma's religious beliefs reflect the way he thinks about
>> political issues (and they appear to do so) then it is not only
>> dishonest
>> but cowardly for him not to reveal his religious beliefs and how they
>> influence his political positions.  Voters ought not be tricked into
>> buying a pig in a poke.  A previous post on this subject:
>>
>> http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2010-October/072051.html
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Investigation*
>>
>>
>>
>> I hope that the sheriff's office is going to an objective, thorough job
>> investigating Postcardgate.  I hope this is not going to be another
>> Sitler
>> style whitewash and cover-up motivated in part by the sheriff's
>> religious
>> values rather than his professional duties.
>>
>>
>>
>> There is no reason to except the so-called victim, his associates, and
>> other organizations supporting his candidacy from suspicion.  Bouma
>> appears to be reaping benefit from the incident as it is being used both
>> to
>> raise money and sympathy for him.  Some of the material appearing on the
>> postcard appeared on Vision 2020 and other places before the mailings
>> occurred.  The postcard may have been an attempt to set a backfire.
>>
>>
>>
>> This is a case where the investigation could be greatly expedited and
>> reach
>> the correct result if the county prosecutor calls for and uses a
>> Magistrate's Inquiry.  Although some people, especially those belonging
>> to
>> certain churches/cults who believe in Covenantal Dishonesty (it's
>> alright to
>> lie, even under oath, if it appears to promote God's will), there may be
>> some people of good conscience that will tell the truth under oath
>> regardless.
>>
>>
>>
>> I don't know what the focus of the investigation is, but I hope that no
>> time is spent on copyright violations given the free use provisions of
>> the
>> copyright laws.
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use
>>
>> For one thing it appears that Bouma has not suffered a pecuniary loss,
>> but
>> has actually reaped a pecuniary benefit.  For another, campaign material
>> freely used and distributed by a candidate is part of political
>> expression/debate process and is generally exempt from copyright
>> protection.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The postcards appeared to be printed on either a home printer or a
>> commercial printer using a mail merge.  If you Google
>>
>>
>>
>> "laser printer" identification
>>
>>
>>
>> , for example, you will find that for some printers there is a way to
>> not
>> only identify the kind/brand-name of the printer a document was printed
>> on,
>> but also in some cases, the actual individual printer.
>>
>>
>>
>> Almost all of us hope that all who have actual evidence (not just
>> fanciful
>> speculation) will communicate it to the LCSD as quickly as possible.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Real Issue*
>>
>>
>>
>> Although the stealth postcards, no matter who produced and sent them,
>> may
>> be a underhanded, possibly criminal trick, a much more important issue
>> is at
>> stake.
>>
>>
>>
>> The anonymous nature of the postcard and the kneejerk, panic-stricken,
>> overly irrational response to it should not be allowed to act as a
>> clever
>> smokescreen.  The issue here is Bouma's ability, desirability, and
>> fitness
>> to serve as a state senator.
>>
>>
>>
>> What are Bouma's religious beliefs, how do they affect his political
>> opinions, how do they affect his attitude toward certain classes of
>> voters
>> (gays and Mormons, e.g.), and why does he not have the honesty and
>> courage
>> to reveal and to discuss how his religious beliefs determine and affect
>> his
>> political positions?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Here are some direct quotes from Lloyd Knerr, pastor of Freeze Church,
>> which *Bouma attends and has given sermons*.
>>
>>
>>
>> _____________________________________
>>
>> The religions that parade under the banner of Christianity are
>> innumerable.
>> I can't help but think of Mitt Romney standing in front of the cameras
>> the
>> other day and saying, “Absolutely LDS are Christians. We're as much
>> Christian as any other main-stream denomination. We believe that
>> salvation
>> is only through Jesus Christ and we worship Him as our Lord.”
>>
>>
>>
>> After Ron Huckabee's comment this week about Mormons believing that
>> Jesus
>> and Satan were brothers, I had to read through the chapter on Mormonism
>> in
>> Kingdom of the Cults. Not only do they indeed believe that Jesus and
>> Satan
>> were brothers, they deny the Virgin Birth, the sufficiency of Christ's
>> death
>> on the cross to atone for all sins and such things as God was a man once
>> just as we are. He achieved such a state of holiness in his flesh that
>> he
>> was rewarded by becoming the god of this planet. He showed up here as
>> Adam
>> and later impregnated Mary, who conceived and produced Jesus. He also
>> had a
>> few kids with the other Mary and her sister Martha.
>>
>>
>>
>> He [Paul] says, 6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and
>> gain
>> control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are
>> swayed
>> by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to
>> acknowledge the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so
>> also
>> these men oppose the truth — men of depraved minds, who, as far as the
>> faith
>> is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as
>> in
>> the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone. NIV Did
>> you
>> ever wonder why the J.W.s and the Mormons and their ilk always do their
>> legwork in the middle of the day? It's because the women are normally
>> home
>> alone. Every family that I personally know of who has been indoctrinated
>> by
>> one of these groups has been because the wife was first deceived.
>>
>> *>> *
>>
>>
>>
>> Glenn Beck is a Mormon.
>>
>> I want to take a couple of minutes and give you a little information on
>> Mormonism and then decide if you want Beck’s god to take back America.
>>
>> The Mormon god was once a human being just like you or I.
>>
>> He was born of a human man and woman on a distant star called, “Kolon.”
>>
>> His parents gave him the name, “Elohim.”
>>
>> He lives, with his thousands of wives, on this star, “Kolon.”
>>
>> He supposedly lived such a righteous, Mormon life that he was elevated
>> to
>> become the god of his own world, which was to be called “Earth.”
>>
>> This god and his wives produced millions of spirit children.
>>
>> All of the gods of the heavenly realms gathered together to decide which
>> of
>> “Elohim’s” children would be chosen to become the savior of Elohim’s
>> planet
>> called Earth.
>>
>> It boiled down to his two eldest sons, Jesus and Lucifer.
>>
>> Yes, that Lucifer.
>>
>> Each gave his campaign speech and Jesus was chosen.
>>
>> Lucifer was so angry that he took 1/3 of all the spirit population of
>> Kolon
>> to go to earth with him to oppose his brother Jesus.
>>
>> These became his demons.
>>
>> Those who remained neutral in the battle between Jesus and Satan were
>> cursed to be born with black skin.
>>
>> This is the Mormon explanation for the negro race.
>>
>> Those good, Mormon spirits who supported Jesus would be born with white
>> skin.
>>
>> Elohim and one of his many spirit wives came to earth and begot Adam and
>> Eve.
>>
>> Many years later, Elohim came to earth and had sex with the Virgin Mary,
>> who begot Jesus in human form to give his spirit a body.
>>
>> The Mormons teach that Jesus took three wives, Mary, Martha and Mary
>> Magdalene and fathered many children with them.
>>
>> After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He came to the Americas and
>> evangelized the Indians.
>>
>> I could go on and on about the blasphemy and the heresy of the Mormon
>> religion, but suffice it to say that when Glenn Beck tells you that you
>> serve the same god that he does, he’s a liar.
>>
>> I am appalled at the number of Christians who follow this false prophet.
>>
>> He believes that the Constitution of the United States was directly
>> inspired by God and elevates it even above scripture.
>>
>> He believes that the Mormon church was sent to earth to protect that
>> Constitution.
>>
>> He believes that the salvation of America and the preservation of our
>> Constitution will only come from the Mormon church.
>>
>> If you think a man’s religion doesn’t make any difference, the day will
>> come when you will realize that you have been sadly mistaken.
>>
>> I would guess that 90% of estimated half a million people who attended
>> that
>> rally in D.C. would call themselves Christian.
>>
>> If that’s true, the church in America today is in greater danger than I
>> ever believed.
>>
>> Solomon was right; there’s nothing new in this.
>>
>> Satan and his minions have been rebelling against the true God since the
>> very beginning and they will all ultimately fail.
>>
>> He has been sending his prophets into the world since day one.
>>
>> *>> *
>>
>> To support homosexual marriage is to call God a liar.  Any church that
>> proclaims different is a church of Satan.  Any person who condones
>> homosexual marriage is anti-God and anti-Christ.
>>
>> ______________________________
>>
>>
>>
>> The above crackpot quotes are just a few of what you will find at the
>> Freeze Church website.  http://freezechurch.org/home.html
>>
>>
>>
>> For more information go to the church website and do a site Google
>> search
>> on "abortion"
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Repeat:  Freeze Church is the Church Bouma attends and has given
>> sermons.
>>
>>
>>
>> [Sidebar:  The so-called Reverend Lloyd Knerr said of Vision 2020 in the
>> *
>> LMT*:
>>
>>
>>
>> Knerr said. "And they take them out of context, twist the wording a
>> little
>> bit, and make it sound like we're all a bunch of narrow-minded bigots
>> spewing hate and venom at the Freeze Church."
>>
>> I hope the normal, mentally healthy reader can appreciate the extreme
>> irony
>> of Knerr's statement to the sympathetic reporter from the *LMT*,
>> especially the "bigots spewing hate and venon (sic)" part.  I also hope
>> that the normal, mentally healthy reader can see the disconnection
>> between
>> Knerr's sermons and his statements to the *LMT*.  I greatly fear that
>> Knerr does not understand what the words "liar" or "give false
>> testimony"
>> means – not a trait one would generally admire in a pastor.]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Does candidate Bouma believe the religious claims of his pastor, the
>> pastor
>> of a church in which Bouma himself sometimes preaches?
>>
>>
>>
>> Does Bouma hold Mormons and gays in the same kind of hateful contempt as
>> his Pastor Knerr does?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Bouma, like all the rest of us, is free to believe in, act upon, and
>> defend
>> his religious credo.  His First Amendment rights are not in dispute.
>>
>>
>>
>> What is in dispute is:
>>
>>
>>
>> 1.     What exactly are Bouma's religious beliefs, how does justify
>> belief
>> in them, and how will these beliefs influence his actions, stands, and
>> votes
>> as a state senator representing a plurality of Latah County which most
>> likely do not agree with these beliefs, and some of whom would find
>> themselves satanized by Bouma?
>>
>>
>>
>> 2.     If Bouma is unwilling to answer the above question, then does
>> such
>> dishonesty, stealth, and cowardice render him unfit for public office.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> For a number of obvious reasons I personally do want someone who is
>> dishonest and cowardly to represent me in the state legislature no
>> matter
>> what their views are.
>>
>> * *
>>
>> * *
>>
>>
>>
>> Wayne A. Fox
>> 1009 Karen Lane
>> PO Box 9421
>> Moscow, ID  83843
>>
>> waf at moscow.com
>> 208 882-7975
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what
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> Douglas Adams
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and the Realist adjusts his sails."

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