The Republican-party aligned Focus on the Family wants their followers to start blogs. An e-mail sent out to supporters today reads:
Want to increase your effectiveness as a public-policy/pop-culture activist?
Author Hugh Hewitt says it's all about the blogosphere…. Hewitt, a nationally syndicated conservative radio talk show host who operates one of the Web's most-visited blogs, documents their rise and growing influence in "Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation That's Changing Your World." Part history, part how-to manual, Hewitt's book makes a fascinating case for the power of what those in the know call the "blogosphere," the interconnected network of Internet journals that helped re-elect George W. Bush and send Dan Rather into early partial retirement.
Focus on the Family is a powerful conservative group run by religious right icon James Dobson. Dobson received unflattering press attention earlier this year after asserting that the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants was gay.
"It is a sad day when Focus on the Family, a group claiming to speak for Christians in America, finds reason to celebrate assaults on tolerance in the name of its own version of family values," the Rev. John H. Thomas, the United Church of Christ's general minister and president, told United Church News at the time.
Rejecting tolerance in favor of a right-wing ideological agenda is what Focus on the Family is all about. Over Christmas and while most religious groups were responding to the tsunami crisis Dobson sent out letters to supporters urging the defeat of six democratic senators unless they voted to approve George W. Bush’s appointments to the federal courts. Bush’s appointments have a history of opposing civil rights protections for African-Americans, curtailing health care options for women, and limiting civil liberties in favor of intrusive government powers.
Don’t let these folks rule the internet. If you’re a progressive Christian start your own blog and tell the world that the Jesus who preached the Sermon on the Mount wouldn’t recognize the political activism of Dobson as a faithful response to the will of God. You can create a free blog here.
