Amway, Shady Dealings and the New World Order

(Pic is a scene of Satan Chained in Dante's Inferno)



Recently, I was listening to a Podcast of Culture Wars entitled “Agents of Influence”. When talking about the Acton Center (1)and its gay (not sure if chaste or practicing) Fr. Sirico.

Mentioned by its hosts in this program is the fact that one of the largest donors to the Constitution Center in Philadelphia is the DeVos family from Michigan, co-founders of Amway.

In an article by Jeremy Scahill, it is noted that the night after Hurricane Katrina, Blackwater USA hit the streets. It is noted that Blackwater was less an aid agency, more of a mercenary front, akin to Iraq special ops. They join other less than savory mercenary groups such as Wackenhut, DynCorp and ISI (an Israeli company). The co-founder of this company, Erik Prince, is a GOP fundraiser and a supporter of Rick Santorum and Tom DeLay. Prince’s father was a close collaborator of Gary Bauer. Prince’s sister, Betsy, is the wife of Dick DeVos. (2). It is apparent that to get around Posse Comitatus, the Bush mafia is using right-wing Christian Protestant zealots to institute a police state without scaring the population too much and directly. As one Blackwater mercenary said, "This is a trend. You're going to see a lot more guys like us in these situations."(3)

I remember in the early 1990’s, my family and I became Amway distributors. For years, we had used the products and looked to get these products for less, plus building up a profitable business.

Amway, back then at least, had 4 major all weekend functions a year. It was nearly mandatory-and unheard of-to miss these functions. It was an exhilarating mixture of rock concert and free market. The leadership of the business was up front and honest about their born-again experiences. The rallies and teaching sessions were infused with Biblical teaching sessions and a name-claim it type philosophy. It goes like this:

1. God needs you to build a strong and large business to aid him in salvation and good works.
2. A strong and large business is proof that God is happy with you and is blessing you.
3. Amway heads need to strongly take the lead in this nation and elect and run for office as Republicans. This is obvious in the White House level of Doug Weed, known as the Reluctant Diamond. He worked and was a player in the Reagan and Bush 1 administration. He was the one that taped-secretly-Bush 2, then turned around and seemed to do a Mea Culpa over it. (4)

Rich DeVos is a trustee on the board at Northwood University. His son Dick is active in GOP politics. DeVos is the Owner of the Orlando Magic. DeVos is also a past President of the Council of National Policy. Policies of this group are noted as similar to the Council of Foreign Relations. Membership is “strictly confidential” and guests must be approved by its executive committee. Though good, true Constitutionalists such as Howard Phillips were early members, the current lists reads like a who’s-who of the GOP/Dispensationalist, Pro-Israel Right. This includes Pat Robertson, Joseph Farah, Ken Starr, Richard Vigueris, Paul Weyrich, Tim LaHaye, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell and Gary Bauer.(5)

It should be noted all have gone on record for supporting the Bush Administration, in spite of its strong Pro-choice record (most of the cabinet is Pro-abortion), Pro-Sodomite (the record of Bush is clear) and completely unconstitutional track record.

Readers of my blog and those of my allies, including Culture Wars and Catholic Apologetics International, can see the dots coming together. As Dr. Robert Sungenis noted: “White, yes, but they are anything but Christian. They merely use Christ’s name to further their own political and religious fantasies”. (6)

Amway is a dominionist, name it-claim group. A good passage from Wikipedia is a good summation, from my research and personal experiences:

Commentators have often identified Amway as supporting the U.S. Republican Party, and it contributed $4,000,000 to a conservative 527 in the 2004 election cycle. [14] However, Amway Corporation claims to support no political party.

Many of Amway's best-known distributors, including Dexter Yager, have also declared themselves Republicans. Amway touts the environmental benefits of many of its products, and in June 1989 the United Nations Environmental Program's Regional Office for North America recognized it for its contributions to the cause of the environment.

Some senior distributors have been known to promote a world view encompassing Judeo-Christian values, and a general advocacy of boomer/50s values. Their training organizations, sometimes called Amway Motivational Organization's (AMO's), perception of the role of women, though, always includes successful women in awards, recognition and speaking engagements. One rarely, if ever, sees a male, married distributor speak on stage without his wife getting equal billing, and explaining her active role in the business. This is a reflection of the AMOs' strong advocacy of the 1950s style nuclear family model. Amway rules forbid promotion of any particular political or religious position within distributor organizations; however enforcement of this rule has not been strict. (Some ex-Amway members have in fact noted that some of the Amway uplines--in particular the Dexter Yager upline--are in fact used to recruit members to Pentecostal churches, and also have noted that Word-faith theology (better known as "name it and claim it") have been used explicitly in training materials for AMOs[15][16][17].)
A significant part of the Amway culture is the promotion and sale of training materials, as well as the attendance at meetings and rallies locally, regionally, and nationally. Training includes education about the topic of generalized, non-Amway specific entrepreneurship.

The purpose of this is to create interest and enthusiasm. They are intended to maintain and increase membership, and to inspire IBOs to be more successful in their businesses. To a casual observer, they have some resemblance to a religious gathering, due to the fact that meetings and rallies within some distributor organizations in the United States begin with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer. (As noted above, exit counseling groups have expressed concern in regards to this.) By involving people in a regular schedule of meetings, people are encouraged to maintain their focus, and to not be distracted by critics and other nay-sayers.
Doug Wead, who was a Special Assistant to former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, is a successful IBO who is a regular speaker at group rallies.

Amway cofounder late, Jay Van Andel (in 1980) and later his son Steve Van Andel (in 2001) were elected by the board of directors of the United States Chamber of Commerce as chairman of that organization.

In May of 2005, former Amway President Dick DeVos, one of the wealthiest and largest charitable givers in Michigan, announced that he would run against Governor Jennifer Granholm in Michigan's 2006 gubernatorial election.

Former Amway CEO Richard DeVos as well as his wife Betsy DeVos, son (and former Alticor CEO) Dick DeVos, and other members of the DeVos family are heavily connected with the dominionist political movement in the US[18][19]. The DeVos foundation is one of the single largest donators to specifically dominionist political groups in the US[20][21]; Betsy DeVos' mother Elsa Prince Broekhuizen is both major financial contributor to dominionist causes and a voting board member of the "Religious Right" group Focus on the Family[22][23]. Other members of the DeVos family known to be involved in rightwing politics include Betsy DeVos's brother Erik Prince, CEO of the controversial military contractor Blackwater USA[24]. Richard DeVos himself is known to be a member of the secretive Coalition for National Policy, an invitation-only group that is a "think tank" for both dominionist and Neoconservative groups. (7)

So, while putting up a good front as a 50’s style, Christian group, they are supporting the strangulation of America’s freedoms in lieu of the police state establishment and the support of the Bush/Neoconservative for the New World Order, a precursor for the rise of the Anti-Christ and the One World Govt. Both DeVos and Amway were convicted in the early 80’s of tax fraud. Apparently, they also tried to squash anti-Amway sites (8). So much for the 1st Amendment!

Jay Van Andel, who passed away in 2004, was the other co-founder of Amway. He at his death was a trustee of Hillsdale College and gave $2 million to the re-election of G.W. Bush(9). Apparently, he was satisfied with Bush record of doing nothing about abortion, helping to increase funding for Planned Parenthood and appointment of Homosexuals to high offices. Also, Bush’s Linconesque record of Constitutional violations and undeclared wars did nothing to suppress Van Andel’s enthusiasm.

Van Andel has also a member of the Heritage Foundation (10). Members also of Heritage Foundation were active in the Reagan Whit House and are partners with the NeoCon supporting Wall Street Journal and supportive of GW Bush(11). Heritage members have advised Newt Gingrich, now calling for all out war-undeclared and not in line at all with Just War-with “islamofascists”. Paul Weyrich, a Bush supporter, has been past president. Funding comes from Coors Beer.

Who also has been a member? Bush’s man in Iraq Paul Bremer. Also, media head Richard Scaife, Holland Coors, Midge Decter, Steve Forbes, Barb Van Andel-Gaby (a hyphen is not so 1950’s, eh) and Kay James. NeoCon blowhard Rush Limbaugh states: Some of the finest conservative minds in America today do their work in the Heritage Foundation (12). Their 2005 report and finances are of record (13)

So, why are Christian conservatives wrapped up into the globalist, Bush Administration? Because, largely today, the conservative movement is dead and largely a movement of either the status quo or actively moving America into a New World Order. Their agenda is about control, not patriotism or Christianity. As long as their side has the power, then all is right with the world.

So, what is the scoop on the Constitution Center?

Stay tuned for part 2



Sources:

(1) http://www.acton.org/
(2)http://www.infowars.com/articles/new_orleans/blackwater_down_mercs_protect_wealthy.htm (3)http://www.infowars.com/articles/new_orleans/blackwater_down_mercs_protect_wealthy.htm
(4) http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/39781
http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2005/02/20/bush-caught-on-tape-admitting-he-used-drugs/

http://blogs.salon.com/0002874/2005/02/23.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Wead

(5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_DeVos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_for_National_Policy

(6) http://www.catholicintl.com/noncatholicissues/politics-protestant-print.htm

(7) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amway#Political_causes.2FCulture

(8) http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2004/10/the_quixtar_web_initiative.php

(9) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Van_Andel

(10) Ibid
(11) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Foundation
(12) http://www.heritage.org/About/Departments/trustees.cfm
(13) http://www.heritage.org/About/upload/96065_1.pdf