September 9, 2011

Anti-Gay Heavy Metal Pastor Pens Open Letter to Obama

Courtesy of Rep. Michele Bachmann/You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International

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Minnesota heavy-metal evangelist Bradlee Dean is currently suing Rachel Maddow, MSNBC, and the Minnesota Independent for $50 million for accurately quoting his statements that homosexuality is a criminal activity with no place in public life. We first wrote about him because of his ties to Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has spoken at fundraisers for Dean’s ministry, You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, and prayed for the group to multiply tenfold and spread across Minnesota like “burning incense.” Shortly thereafter, he was invited to deliver the opening prayer at the Minnesota State House—an opportunity he used to allege that President Obama was our first non-Christian president. Hey, it’s a theory that’s out there.

Anyway, while he prepares for what is sure to be the trial of the century, Dean has decided to write an open letter to President Obama. It begins:

Courtesy of You Can Run But You Cannot Hide InternationalCourtesy of You Can Run But You Cannot Hide InternationalDean goes on to promote his ministry, which involves traveling to public schools on the taxpayer dime to encourage students to find Christ, and takes the President to task for his appointment of a gay man, Kevin Jennings, to a post as Safe Schools Czar. It’s our generation’s “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania,” but not, really. The full text, via Dump Bachmann, is here.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

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