A 'Spiritual But Not Religious' Democrat Speaks

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The rest of the column by Steve Duin of The Oregonian:
Kulongoski appointed Goldschmidt to head the Higher Ed board -- not the Department of Education, as Mullmann claims -- because he (a) didn't care that Goldschmidt raped a 14-year-old girl; or (b) didn't think the story would ever become public. Now the Kulongoski apologists are arguing the governor couldn't possibly have been that stupid or immoral.
Wanna bet?
To understand why Kulongoski has long insisted Leonhardt never told him about Goldschmidt, rather than the slightly more plausible explanation that he just doesn't remember a 16-year-old conversation, we need only review state law and the Bar's rules regarding the mandatory reporting of child abuse.
Attorneys are mandatory reporters. According to Bar guidelines, they "must report any 'reasonable suspicion' of child abuse according to Oregon law."
Kulogonski can't admit that Leonhardt told him about Goldschmidt's child abuse because he never reported that abuse to the proper authorities.
I never would have guessed that terse denial -- or outright lies -- would serve Kulongoski as well as it did. But as one veteran of Bar politics reminded me Friday, the Bar is forever lobbying the governor's office on such issues as judges' salaries or updated facilities, so there's not a chance in hell that the Bar would come down hard on the man.
I've talked to enough people to know that Kulongoski isn't fooling anyone. It's no coincidence that his approval ratings have floundered. But it is still disappointing that the Bar refused to even interview Leonhardt, a thoroughly persuasive and believable witness.

Fred Leonhardt of OR 11:47AM October 26, 2009

Our "spiritual" governor:
Kulongoski is a Liar and the Oregon State Bar Couldn't Care Less
By Steve Duin
December 28, 2007, 3:31PM
Lars Larson called me this afternoon with the news: The Oregon State Bar has decided to take no action on coimplaints that the governor of Oregon "failed to tell the truth about when he knew of an illegal sexual relationship" between Neil Goldschmidt and a 14-year-old girl.
Larson and James Johnson of Newberg filed separate complaints regarding Ted Kulongoski's truthfulness. The Bar announced its decision to keep its head firmly buried in the sand in a Dec. 28 letter, released in the infamous media lull between Christmas and the New Year's holidays.
The Bar's investigation was so cursory and superficial that its general counsel never interviewed either Fred Leonhardt or Kulogonski in person.
Leonhardt has long argued that he informed Kulongoski of Goldschmidt's sexual abuse/statuatory rape on at least two different occasions, and passed a lie detector test to that effect during a state agency's investigation into the ethics and standards of Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto.
Chris L. Mullmann, an assistant general counsel with the Bar, reasoned that Leonhardt and Kulongoski have "differing recollections of events that occurred more than a decade ago," but argues that both "are credible in their recollections."
That's a fascinating conclusion: Leonhardt and Kulongoski have both proclaimed the other a liar and Mullmann finds both conclusions reasonable.
Never mind that various other aspects of Leonhardt's story have been confirmed by a half dozen witnesses. Kulongoski, meanwhile, has lied about the duration of his friendship with Leonhardt, as I reported in a Nov. 20 column.
Unlike the governor, Leonhardt's truthfulness has been documented by a polygraph machine and confirmed by the polygraph operator. Yet Mullmann blithely and cavalierly dismisses that fact, noting that "the court issued an exhaustive and unanimous opinion concluding that polygraph evidence is not admissible in any civil or criminal trial or any other legal proceeding which is subject to rules of evidence. For that reason, I give little weight to the polygraph evidence."
How convenient. I wonder if this is a good time to remind everyone that Mary Oberst, Kulongoski's wife, was on the bar staff from June 1985 through February 2004.
Just when you think the Bar's argument can't get any worse, Mullmann notes the following:
Governor Kulongoski contends that if he had known of the illicit relationship, he never would have appointed Governor Goldschmidt to head the Oregon Department of Education. Governor Kulongoski also contends that under those circumstances, he would not have been urging Governor Goldschmidt to remain in office. These contensions support Governor Kulongoski's recollection of events.
That is unbelievable. That's the laughable Kari Chisholm defense, named in honor of the Democratic errand boy who runs the Blue Oregon Glee C

Fred Leonhardt of OR 11:45AM October 26, 2009

God is a spirit and those who worship and believe worship in spirit and truth. Adam was a tri-pod man: body , mind and soul(spirit) The spirit is the image of God that is spoke of in the bible. It is in that image that image that truth is found. We can please God only by faith. Faith allows for flesh(body) and mind to submit to a higher authority. It is trust. You believe even though you don't see. We all know know oxygen is in the air and we breathe because it is. We have faith that when we step out of our home, car, office, etc.. we will be able to breathe. That is the type of faith God asks us to have in Him. His word, Genesis to Revelation, tells us the good, bad and ugly of yesterday, today and tomorrow of those who did and did not beleive and the consequences they suffered with and without faith. It tells of the creator all things who gives man free choice to choose whether they will live eternally in hell or heaven. He is the Father of creation and as a good Father He has rules and regulations for His children. Chastisement is a necessity because of role as Sovereign.The flesh is weak but the spirit man wants to do right. When the flesh, spirit and God become a three fold cord in our life we then line up with the beginning stage of salvation. (We admit with our mouth we sin, repent (seek forgiveness) and give our lives to God. No one knows or loves us like He does (We are created in His image) He gave His only begotton Son,Jesus that we might have eternal life with Him in Heaven. Then we can begin our relationship with Him. We will get to know His word, His will and His ways. If you don't seek a relationship with Him then faith is hard to understand. If married couples never talked, spent time with one another, experienced good and bad times and still had a desire to continue in the relationship then their marriage would only be a facade and most likely end in divorce or misery for both. I know God as a father, friend, a provider, a protector and a great and mighty healer. Men have sought my life, given up on my life and told me my life meant nothing but God has always been there for me. Nothing or no one can make me doubt there is a Great and majestic God whose name is Jesus. I dare you to try Him. Spend time around the fire of Christianity, enough time will bring the heat of salvation.

Ruth Lewis of TX 5:05PM October 21, 2009

Simply relegates God to the status of a personal perception - thereby making the idea of God, the source of perfect justice, absolute truth, eternal morality - meaningless.
This subjectivist position is a modern blend of pantheism, and "New Age" pseudo-intellectual philosophy - Facile, feel good spiritualism - which ultimately is simply Agnosticism... the first stepping stone to Nihilism - the epitome of meaninglessness.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 1:30PM October 21, 2009

Gnostics "know things." When people don't know things, an "A" is put in front of "gnostic" and it becomes "agnostic," --not knowing for sure. Many atheists, afraid of losing jobs or of being alienated from religious friends or family, call themselves agnostics. The Governor knows both parties court the "church vote." I suggest he rightfully believes he won't get votes if he admits to atheism. So he issues this statement. I added to my first comment to ask people to see the definitions of atheist, gnostics, agnostics, etc. From Atheists United in Hollywood, a member suggests atheists should call themselves ATHEANS. Maybe that will catch on. Freedom From Religion Foundation Foundation, Madison, WI., brings charges against public officials who merge church law with civil law. Pres. Obama, like all candidates in the last election, were theatrical in appealing to the religious vote. This is a danger to the Republic because it means a preacher can be obeyed when he tells his congregation how to vote; That one man can annul the votes of an equal number of people who vote independently.

aura dawn veirs of CA 2:11AM October 21, 2009

DS says these outspoken atheists "try to explain away emotions and thoughts provoked by creation." In fact, they decline to be drawn into disputes over the quack science called "Creationism." Cunning people enrich themselves by selling Creationist books, TV shows, tapes, posters, T shirts, etc. There are profiteering Creationist "museums" where kids are fooled into thinking humans lived in the age of dinosaurs. Gov. Palin said she saw photos of footprints of humans inside fossil dinosaur footprints. Probably she visited a Creationist Museum built in an area with fossil dino prints. Cal Tech proved the photos are fakes. With his misleading comment. DF pretends divine creation happened. Preachers have a vested interest, their paycheck, for preaching there was a mythic diety who began homo sapiens from a mudpie man and a bone, but who refuse to acknowledge we evolved from hominids. l5 years ago, a pre-human was discovered in Ethiopia, dated at 4.4 million years. There were earlier hominids here over 7 million years ago, but that was still much later than dinosaurs. It's a kind of child abuse to fill children's minds with these moneymaking lies about geology, biology, anthropology, etc.

aura dawn veirs of CA 1:51AM October 21, 2009

The process of "converting" people to become tithers proves all are born atheists. Scripture writers knew how to scare people into "accepting God." They said non=believers are "fools." They appealed to envy suffered by poor people. They said if a man gives $1 to the church, he'll get it back "tenfold, pressed down and flowing over." They incited terror by saying disbelief is a sin, punished by Hellfire. That appeals to cowards, who rightly fear torture, so they "choose to believe." it's contemptible to teach people they can commit terrible crimes and have a "Whipping Boy, or Scape Goat or Fall Guy" take punishment they deserve. It's disgusting. Scripture writers invented "the soul and sin' so preachers can demand pay to "forgive sin & save souls." They invented "original sin & and said everybody's guilty of it. RJones seems very glad to be "a sinner, but Christ loves him in spite of that." Bible writers say mythic god created everything & makes everything happen. But people pray for a rich mate, more money, better health, etc. If there's a great big Plan, with all for the Better, why pray? There is no god, no matter how many times RJ says there is.

aura dawn veirs of CA 1:32AM October 21, 2009

Sounds to me that the Governor is saying a remarkably honest thing: "I don't know." Too often it seems religion and spirituality are cast in either/or concepts and language, each side using its own "proof texts" to shore up its position. Hubris is non-denominational; whether devoutly believing or devoutly athiestic, neither side is able to "prove" anything without assuming the stance that the question of spirit, religion, God, etc, is answerable. This position, on either end of the spectrum, seems to me to be astonishingly ego-centered. If there is an all-powerful infinite God, how bizarre to assume that human consciousness can understand it! If there is no all-powerful infinite God, how bizarre to assume that human consciousness can be certain it does not exist! The most certain thing any of us can say in either direction is that we cannot be certain. Of course subtlety, ambiguity, and complexity are anathema to American politics and American media, so it is only logical that this Governor or anyone making such a statement as his would be served up for vitriolic ridicule from both sides. Thank you, Governor, for being humble and honest enough to share your view.

Harper of WA 12:51AM October 21, 2009

This article seems to be based around being spiritual or being religious? What's the difference? Is one about having a feeling in your big toe and the other about actual doing something while adhering to a set of doctrine?
Oregon's governor is not being very clear in his statement. Is he describing God's transendence and omnipresence? If so, then I agree with what he said. Or is he being a pantheist (god is in everything)? If so, I disagree.
Most atheists, like Sagan and Dawkins, will try to explain away the emotions and thoughts provoked by creation. However, Dawkins in particular, they often describe their views the way a pantheist would.

Dr. Shade of NC 9:34PM October 20, 2009

I admire the governor for at least attempting to explain.. What's really curious to me is those who will not accept his inability to explain that which has no answer. Or more precisely, why is it that so people are convinced that they have the answers to God and existence? I merely have to look at the fact that folks overwhelmingly (I've read over 99%) believe the religion of their families and local communities. This means that if you Christians had been born in Saudi Arabia, you would be Muslim. No doubt. And you would be absolutely sure that Allah was God, and that Muhammed was the true prophet. So, in my mind, nobody has one simple clue as to truth... it's all about believing whatever b.s. your idiotic forefathers learned from theirs an taught to you. It has nothing to do with reality, and it's bizarre to me that everyone just accepts this as o.k., as if it were normal.

william of GA 9:30PM October 20, 2009