We owe a great deal to Bernice Powell Jackson: If it hadn't been for her, this site might not exist. She personifies the lies and distortions of the truth that make a site like this necessary. With no discretion, oversight or accountability, she single-handedly has made her "witness" the definition for "Spin Doctor". As mentioned in one of the reviews of her work, "Bernice Powell Jackson has a consistent problem with accuracy. Like many people, she prefers playing political games (communicating thought provoking themes and agendas) without much thought as to the full accuracy of her comments. While that might be acceptable behavior for a politician (who most people are naturally skeptical of), it should be unacceptable for a denominational leader who people rely on as an honest steward and witness." But, it's not all bad... after all, we have her to thank for making this site possible.

Below is a collection of the "Spin Doctor's" greatest hits that start when this site rolled out in September, 2003. This page will be updated on a regular basis with the latest spin.

 

The Spin Doctor spins it on Chris Matthews - December 2004

UCC: "CBS, NBC refuse to air church's

television advertisement"

Bernice Powell Jackson on 'Hardball':

"I think we are pointing a finger at all churches"

Chris Matthews: Do you think that the networks are smart not to engage in competitive religious advertising - like, you know, like some TV products - they knock the other products so they can sell their products more successfully? Do you think religion should say "those churches are no good, ours is good"? Is that a good policy for a Christian religion to follow?

Bernice Powell Jackson: Well, I don't think we are trying to point fingers at any one church and...

CM: Sure you are.

BPJ: No.

CM: (emphatically) Oh come on. You're showing a bunch of brown shirts, you're showing people in crew cuts - they look like bouncers in a nightclub...

BPJ: Right.

CM: ...shoving people away who happen to be African-Americans or apparently gay - gay couples - and you're saying you're not pointing a finger?

BPJ: No, we're not pointing a finger at any one church, I said. I think we're pointing a finger at all churches

 

The Spin Doctor Is Back - September 2004

September 27, 2004 - It's been awhile since we mentioned Bernice Powell Jackson's name in this space, but she's given us plenty to work with this week.

Her weekly rant is titled "Protecting the secret ballot" and feigns concern that military personnel may be disenfranchised because they may be given the option of voting by fax and email.

The idea, as proposed, gives those serving in the military the option of using email or fax instead of mail to vote. However, no one is disenfranchised or deprived of any rights since they still have the traditional option of sending in their vote by mail.

Since the premise of her conspiracy theory is completely dismantled by some simple facts, you have to wonder why she would want to limit the options that military personnel have to vote.

Could it be that Jackson doesn't want the military to have additional voting options?

How ironic is it that Jackson, who frequently mentions the disenfranchisement of black voters, would actually want to block additional options for military personnel to vote?

Clueless in Cleveland, Part II - April 2004

Must be something in the water on the North Coast this weekend. Bernice Powell Jackson opines about Rwanda in her weekly rant... but fails to mention that the U.S. knew within 16 days that a genocide would be taking place. She does claims that our inaction "signed the death warrants for tens of thousands of Rwandans" (even though it was more like hundreds of thousands). She tops off her "witness" with this gem: "Clearly, knowing when to intervene is a complex matter."

Maybe these things are complex in her universe, but in the real world, when hundreds of thousands are being threatened and terms like "genocide" are being used, it's probably a good idea to intervene. It's not just Bernice Powell Jackson either - the slaughter in Rwanda serves as a reminder that the UCC's  "Just Peace" ideology is not only ineffective, it can be deadly.

Witness for Spin  - March 2004

Bernice Powell Jackson's never-ending spin-doctoring continues again this week with her weekly rant titled "More Pain, No Gain". She's made it clear that she doesn't support the President - which is fine - everyone could probably identify policies the President has enacted that they would disagree with and even offer a prophetic voice of disagreement. The problem is that Jackson recycles political rhetoric under the guise of prophetic witness without citing sources for her information. This week is no different and we have a full breakdown of this week's spin.

The crux of Jackson's spin is unemployment - but she doesn't cite what the actual unemployment rate is and where that rate ranks historically. Some facts Jackson doesn't offer in her weekly spin:

• According to the Labor Department, unemployment is 5.6%. Since 1980, the average unemployment rate has been 6.2%. 5.6% unemployment is nothing to cheer about, but it is well below average and much lower than the 9% unemployment in Europe.

• The Labor Department's household survey — which counts the number of all Americans who are actually working — now stands at 138.3 million, an all-time high. The previous peak came way back in January 2001 at 137.8 million. Since the end of 2002, 1.8 million more people have gone back to work. Jackson doesn't cite a source for her claim that 2 million people are out of work.

• According to the Treasury Department, withheld tax receipts in February rose to their highest year-over-year gain since July 2001, which, according to economist Joseph LaVorgna, represents "a statistically significant predictor of non-farm payrolls."

Spin and political rhetoric have no place in prophetic witness and in the 'Internet Age,' Jackson's ignorance is not an excuse. When someone like Jackson has to resort to lying to offer her witness, maybe it's time to spend less of the UCC's dwindling budget on an ad campaign and instead invest in some computer classes for national office staff.

When the facts don't work, lie  - February 2004

If it were a TV show, it would be billed as "Fear Factor" meets "True Lies". Unfortunately, it's more dishonesty from Bernice Powell Jackson - a member of the UCC Collegium. Her weekly column, "Witness For Justice," has evolved into a fact-checking nightmare. This week's rant combines racism, Charles Pickering and the Patriot Act to paint a scary picture that would frighten any reasonable person. However, the article looks more like a Hollywood script than factual commentary. For starters, she states:

Scary, huh? What she doesn't tell you is exactly what the connection is between Pickering and the "Mississippi Sovereignty Commission" (the state-sponsored group that was committed to fighting integration in Mississippi). In 1972, as a State Senator representing Jones County, Pickering made a single phone call to a staffer at the commission to get information about a labor dispute in Jones County. If the truth doesn't matter, then It's OK to call this "his ties to the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission". What's further troubling is that his actual record on civil rights is not even mentioned. She won't tell you that Pickering testified in a criminal trial against the imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in 1967 and lost re-election as a result, she won't tell you that in 1976, while serving as chairman of the state Republican Party, Mr. Pickering hired its first black political staffer, she won't tell you that as a judge he threw out a civil jury award because he thought the jury was biased against an inter-racial couple and, she won't tell you that, against incredible odds, Pickering, as a private lawyer, defended a black man accused of robbing a white girl at knife point and won his acquittal after two trials. She also won't tell you that one of Pickering's biggest supporters is activist James Charles Evers (brother of Medgar Evers) who claimed in a Wall Street Journal Editorial:

The assault of the truth doesn't stop there - she then tries to link the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission to the Patriot Act without offering a single example of how the Patriot Act has been abusive.

Whether it's misrepresenting the health care coverage for Wal-Mart employees, distorting census data about black poverty or maligning Judge Pickering, Bernice Powell Jackson has a consistent problem with accuracy. Like many people, she prefers playing political games (communicating thought provoking themes and agendas) without much thought as to the full accuracy of her comments. While that might be acceptable behavior for a politician (who most people are naturally skeptical of), it should be unacceptable for a denominational leader who people rely on as an honest steward and witness.

New Year, New Spin - January 2004

The New Year has brought new spin from Executive Minister Bernice Powell Jackson. Her first column of the new year comprises two resolutions: to register more voters and to raise the issue of health care wherever she goes. Both are good, legitimate issues... so it's baffling that she (again) finds the need to lie about it. From this week's column:

There are plenty of reasons to jump on Wal-mart, but this issue isn't one of them. According to the Wall Street Journal:

If it's health care she is worried about, perhaps she should first look at our own denomination. As mentioned last month on this website, the United Church of Christ has it's own issues on health care. Advocate Health Care of Illinois is affiliated with the UCC and is under investigation by the Attorney General of the State of Illinois regarding it's billing practices. According to the Service Employees International Union's Hospital Accountability Project: "Advocate is the leading price gouger of Chicago's uninsured as it charges that group 139 percent more for the same treatment than those with insurance coverage" and "The project also claims Advocate is Cook County's leading predatory collector, as it sues to recover uncollected bills at a rate three times more than area hospitals."

The gripe on this site is not about the issue of health care - it's about honest communication of the problem. There are many components to the health care issue: rising malpractice insurance costs, out-dated patent laws that keep drug prices high and the exploitation of uninsured patients... and there's no reason whatsoever to lie about the issue. It's also important to recognize our own failings on the issue (especially when it concerns an affiliated hospital). The problems at Advocate Health Care - and the moral resolution of those problems - could be an effective witness to the problem of rising health care costs.

 

Spin about Black Poverty - September 2003

A few months ago I found myself feeling the need to write about honesty and how it is all too often seen as an outdated value which can be dealt with by spin doctors and those who would trivialize its meaning.

-Bernice Powell Jackson, Executive Minister for Justice and Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ... and top UCC Spin Doctor.

It's odd that Bernice Powell Jackson would start off her September 15, 2003 Witness for Justice column with this bit of wisdom... and then proceed with a screed that truly trivializes the meaning of honesty. The premise for the article is a Children's Defense Fund study on "the number of Black children living in extreme poverty." The CDF study attempts to link reforms in welfare to an increase in extreme poverty of black children.

Jackson claims "that although black child poverty figures had reached their lowest point in 2001... the number of black children living in 'extreme poverty,''... was near a record high." What gets glossed over in her analysis are some rather significant facts. The Heritage Foundation reviewed the same US census data as the CDF, and discovered:

• For the 25 years prior to welfare reform, the percentage of black children living in poverty remained virtually unchanged.
• Since welfare reform, the poverty rate among black children has dropped by one-fourth, falling from 41.5 percent in 1995 to 30.0 percent in 2001.
• The black child poverty rate is at its lowest point in U.S. history.
• Since welfare reform, over 1.2 million black children have been lifted out of poverty.
• Since welfare reform, six black children have been made better off and lifted out of poverty for every black child whose economic condition has worsened.

Jackson asks in her column, "In the wealthiest nation in the world, what has happened to the virtue of charity?" The answer would have been obvious if she was really interested in the truth and had done some simple research. But this isn't about the truth... it's about politics and spin doctoring.