Moon proclaimed himself "humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent." (See link to photos of coronation at bottom.)

SPINNING MOON. For the past two days, we've been reporting on the bizarre coronation ceremony held in a US Senate office building in which Congressman Danny Davis helped place a golden crown upon the head of billionaire Korean "Unification Church" cult leader and convicted tax felon Sun Myung Moon after Moon the proclaimed himself "humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent." Don't believe me? Then click here and read Moon's speech, as posted on his own website. Several other Members of Congress also participated in or were listed as hosts of the evening's festivities. Well, as expected, the various elected officials involved in the event are now offering various excuses and explanations for attending the event sponsored by the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP). Many claim they did not know the Moonie nature of the group or that they did not know the event would evolve into a messianic coronation. While the latter excuse may be plausible (for all except Davis), a simple visit to the IIFWP website rebuts the former claim by clearly and repeatedly stating that Moon founded and directs the IIFWP. But -- as you've seen our story and photos -- and can view the Moonie videos of the event online here (Quicktime - short version) and here (Windows Media Player, in Korean, long version) ... and now you can read how the other side and those involved are spinning this:

For those of you not familiar with Moon, all you may recall is that Moon's Unification Church are the folks who did those mass wedding ceremonies in the late 1970s and early 1980s (involving thousands of people who were matched-up by Moon himself and -- for most -- met each other for the first time at the wedding ceremony). Beyond proclaiming himself the Returned Lord and Messiah, here are some of Moon's other recent pronouncements:

Those are just a few samplings of Moon's pontificating, but you can see why its rather odd for our elected leaders to be fawning at the feet of this falsely-claimed and crowned Messiah. When is the mainstream press going to pick up on this story?
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 06.18.04 | Permalink | COMMENTS (130)

TWILIGHT ZONE CHAT WITH WELDON'S OPPONENT. After publishing lengthy details about Congressman Curt Weldon's (R-PA) involvement with Reverend Moon, I telephoned Weldon's opponent -- attorney Greg Philips (D) -- to let him know that the story was online and ask for his reaction. Frankly, the response I got was surprising. "I'm not going to use religion as a campaign issue," he said. But this is Moon's Unification Church, which is widely described as a cult, I stuttered. "I'm a Catholic and people could say the same thing when describing my religion," he answered. But what about the large amount of money that members are required to give to Moon? "You could say that about most religions," said Philips. At one point, Philips actually said: "I don't care if you have pictures of him with Reverend Moon or with Billy Graham, I'm not going to use them." Philips said that, as far as he was concerned, none of this -- Weldon's ties to Moon, giving the pin to Khadafy, etc. -- was relevant to the campaign. Philips asked if I knew how many of Moon's followers lived in his district, because this could alienate them. Whether it's 10 or 20 or whatever, I said, you probably don't need to worry about them so much as you do need to winning votes from among the 99.99% of other voters in the distruict. Don't you think, I asked, with the pictures of Weldon, his inconsistent excuses, and the reported actions, you had enough there to raise questions about Weldon's judgment as an US elected official? "No. Bring me hard evidence of a quid pro quo and maybe then I'll say something." Hmmm ... well, maybe in two years Weldon will get a savvy GOP primary or Dem opponent who can oust him.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 06.18.04 | COMMENTS (136)

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON. On Wednesday we reported on a largely ignored story -- investigated in depth by journalist John Gorenfeld -- about Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL) having participated recently in a bizarre DC event featuring purported Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon. Moon -- the leader of the Korean-based Unification Church cult, a convicted felon, and owner of the Washington Times newspaper and the UPI press service -- was previously involved in the "Koreagate" Congressional scandal in the late 1970s. We mentioned yesterday how Davis wore white gloves, read Moon's "Crown of Glory" poem, and carried a golden crown that was placed on Moon's head after Moon proclaimed himself the "Messiah", the "King of Peace" and "Returning Lord." The crowning relates to Moon's push over the past year to urge Christian churches to remove crosses from their walls and replace them with a crown -- honoring the King of Kings (which, of course, he says is himself). Now, if you thought that was bad ... well, keep reading because it gets much worse!

The huge event was held in the Dirksen Senate Office Building -- a US government building -- on Capitol Hill. Not only were there Congressional Co-Chairs of the event (Congressmen Danny Davis, Curt Weldon, Roscoe Bartlett, Sanford Bishop and Chris Cannon), others played roles that evening. US Senator Lindsey Graham, NRCC Chair Tom Davis and Congressman Phil Crane served on the Host Committee, as did noted GOP political consultant Charlie Black. Weldon -- who had his staff initially deny he even attended, then claimed he possibly popped in briefly on his way to a meeting -- actually delivered the official "congratulatory remarks" welcoming the guests. Weldon, however, seems to have a good reason to fear exposure of how closely tied he is to Moon. On June 19, 2003, the Congressional Record shows that Davis introduced remarks on behalf of himself and Weldon for last year's Amassadors of Peace Award ceremony held in the Rayburn House Office Building. "Many of my colleagues will join me and the Gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Weldon], co-chair, in giving tribute to ... those honored with the Ambassadors for Peace Award ... We are grateful to the founders of Ambassadors for Peace, the Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung [Moon], for promoting the vision of world peace, and we commend them for their work," said Davis. Weldon has even gone so far as to apparently organize a Congressional fact-finding mission to Libya to create an opportunity for him to present dictator Moammar Khadafy with one of Moon's Ambassadors of Peace pins. Don't believe me, check out the photo at left (which was also displayed by Weldon at the Moon event in the Dirksen Building).

So, what else went on at the Dirksen event? Famed civil rights activist and retired Congressman Walter Fauntroy (D-DC) presided at the event. A welcoming letter from House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) was read. Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) praised Moon for "always standing up for what is right." Is Cummings aware that Moon supports the eradication of homosexuals (who Moon calls "dirty dung-eating dogs")? Utah State Senator Howard Stephenson (R) spoke "as an ancestor of the white settlers, the pilgrims, and those who moved westward ... as a representative of my people in a spirit of repentance for the 'Trail of Tears' which we imposed upon the Native Americans." Bartlett next was proclaimed to be one of Moon's Ambassadors of Peace, and received a medal for this from Moon. Then came the Davis poem reading and the crowning ceremony. The narrator of the official Moonie-produced video of the event -- when showing this part -- stated that "the Honorable Roscoe Bartlett [was] representing the United States" at the crowning and "Senators and Congressmen and representatives of all the [religious] families of the world joined in." The Moonie video even claims that "81 US Senators and Congressmen" attended the event, although nowhere near that number appear in the video.

In a related development, it seems the Washington Post's "Reliable Source" column on April 4 unsuccessfully attempted to report on Moon's remarks at the event. They quoted Moon as proclaiming (and this is the same quote that appears in Moon's own video): "The five great saints and many other leaders in the spirit world, including even communist leaders such as Marx and Lenin, who committed all manner of barbarity and murders on Earth, and dictators such as Hitler and Stalin, have found strength in my teachings, mended their ways and been reborn as new persons. Emperors, kings and presidents who enjoyed opulence and power on Earth, and even journalists who had worldwide fame, have now placed themselves at the forefront of the column of the true love revolution. ... They have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent." However, shortly after it first appeared on the Post site, it was deleted by the Post and oddly replaced by a paragraph about Celebrity Jeopardy.

In recent years, former Vice President Dan Quayle and Attorney General John Ashcroft (in 2001) and former President George H.W. Bush (in 1988) also attended events with Moon. Bush even called him "the man with the vision." Finally -- as if you aren't sick already -- senior Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) signed a proclamation on Congressional letterhead in April 2004 recognizing Moon as the "True Parent" and "King of Peace."

Bottom line: Why did elected officials actively and tacitly participate in crowning this ex-felon as the Messiah and King of Peace? Where is the public outrage demanding that these officials -- both Democrats and Republicans -- answer for their fawning ties to this cult leader?

Politics

For photos of coronation, click here.