At least the "Obamakis and Bidenopoulos" crowd won't have to create a phony Greek name for Alexi. The Chicago Sun-Times in "Obama's Basketball Pal for Governor?": Giannoulias' close association to Obama, even if Obama does not formally endorse him, could be a big advantage to Giannoulias in a crowded primary, especially if no major African-American candidate jumps into the mix. [...] Giannoulias, 32, was born in Chicago to Greek parents, played professional basketball in Greece and got to know Obama shooting hoops on the University of Chicago campus when Giannoulias was a student and Obama a senior lecturer. He was a vice president in his family's Broadway Bank before being elected Treasurer. [...] Giannoulias faced heat last year when he had to testify about a $1 million loan he made to an 86-year-old woman described by her family as "feeble-minded." The woman initially applied for the loan with co-borrowers who had a history of fraud allegations against them. After … [Read more...]
Obamakis and Bidenopoulos
Political candidates follow a time-honored campaign strategy of reaching out to ethnic groups and religious communities, and Orthodox Christians have been courted this way for years. It works both ways, of course. Now, little more than a week after the election, we're getting a good look at how politicians and political operatives of Greek descent -- many of them prominent in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese -- have been working for years to promote President-elect Barack Obama and running mate Sen. Joseph Biden. The Greeks for Obama group, for example, developed this catchy slogan: "If you are Greek and love Obama, clap your hands." On Nov. 5, the National Coordinated Effort of Hellenes told supporters that it had raised $500,000 for Obama's campaign just weeks before the election. (full message appended at bottom of post). Andy Manatos, a public relations executive who also chaired last summer's GOA Clergy-Laity Congress, led the effort for this group. "Moving the huge American … [Read more...]
Mattingly on ‘Culture wars 2008′
Terry Mattingly looks at the most recent battles, from the left and the right: If you could erase one moment from Sen. Barack Obama's White House campaign, which would you choose? That's an easy question for evangelicals, Catholics and other religious believers who back Obama. Most would happily erase all evidence of his speech last spring to a circle of insiders behind closed doors in San Francisco. For those who have ignored national news in 2008, Obama talked about meeting voters in rural Pennsylvania, where hard times have crushed hopes and fueled resentments. "So it's not surprising then that they get bitter," he said, that "they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them ... to explain their frustrations." Welcome back to the "culture wars," all you politicos who hoped and prayed that talk about "values voters" and "pew gaps" would disappear. Instead, Republicans have been chanting this mantra -- "bitter," "cling," "God" and "guns" -- … [Read more...]
Michalopulos responds to Katopodis on ‘Orthodox Dominionists’
George C. Michalopulos has submitted the following in response to Harry Katopodis' article on Orthodox Dominionists. Michalopulos is co-author, with Herb Ham, of "The American Orthodox Church -- A History of its Beginnings" (Regina Orthodox Press). Michalopulos: It never ceases to amaze me how certain benighted and theologically inept individuals take upon themselves the task of speaking for Christ’s Church as it traverses on its voyage through history. One such individual fears that the so-called religious right has made inroads into the Orthodox Church in North America, and that it is only because of noble souls such as himself that tolerance can only be found in one remaining bastion, i.e. the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. And of what is Katapodis afraid? In no particular order: converts, “theocons,” non-GOAA bishops, and the rising tide of pro-lifers within American Orthodoxy. The ridiculousness … [Read more...]
Katopodis Responds to ‘Orthodox Dominionists’
Mr. Harry Katopodis has sent AOI an article to further elaborate on the thinking behind his article in the Hellenic Voice, "Religious Right Must Not Set Agenda for Orthodox Church." Which led to my post, "Where are the Orthodox Dominionists?" The Katopodis response is published here unedited: Dominionists or Pro-Life? By Harry Katopodis Several bloggers have criticized my article because I called called pro-life Orthodox dominionists, however the difference in reality is very small. The point is that whether I call them dominionists or religious right their stands are very similar, put Christian values and doctrine in the government of the United States. I was raised in the Orthodox Church, and I left the Greek Church and went to the OCA so I could hear English services. A few years later I returned home to the Greek Church when I felt I wasn’t welcome in the OCA because I am a Democrat and a proud union member that votes for Democrats because it is in my economic … [Read more...]