Date: June 16th 2008

From: catholicunion@eml.cc
To: dalitfreedom@googlegroups.com
Subject: DalitFreedomNetwork: Bobby Jindal's dance with the devil to pleasecatholic masters
Date: Sunday, June 15, 2008 12:39 am
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http://tpmelectionc entral.talkingpo intsmemo. com/2008/ 06/bobby_ jindals_dance_ with_the_ d.php

http://talkingpoint smemo.com/ archives/ 199925.php

Is Bobby Jindal -- Who May Be On McCain's Veep Shortlist -- An Exorcist?
By Eric Kleefeld and Kate Klonick - June 11, 2008, 4:42PM

Bobby Jindal, the 36-year old governor of Louisiana, is being taken
seriously by the national press as a candidate on the shortlist to be
John McCain's Vice President. No one doubts that he's a political
prodigy -- his impressive resume includes stints as president of the
state university system, a Congressman and now governor.

But one of Jindal's job titles hasn't gotten much attention -- and it
just might prompt a few questions if his Veep candidacy gains steam:
Exorcist.

As others noted during his 2003 and 2007 gubernatorial campaigns (see
update), in an essay Jindal wrote in 1994 for the New Oxford Review, a
serious right-wing Catholic journal, Jindal narrated a bizarre story
of a personal encounter with a demon, in which he participated in an
exorcism with a group of college friends. And not only did they cast
out the supernatural spirit that had possessed his friend, Jindal
wrote that he believes that their ritual may well have cured her cancer.

Reading the article leaves no doubt that Jindal -- who graduated from
Brown University in 1991, was a Rhodes Scholar, and had been accepted
at Yale Law School and Harvard Medical School when he wrote the essay
-- was completely serious about the encounter. He even said the
experience "reaffirmed" his faith.

Jindal's affection for battling demons never surfaced during Jindal's
failed run for governor in 2003 or his successful one in 2007. The
state Dems did make an issue in 2007 out of Jindal's extreme
Catholicism and his view of Protestant tenets as heretical, but the
effort provoked a backlash among voters who thought the assault was
religious bigotry. So Dems didn't make an issue out of Jindal's
experiment.

But Jindal's battle with the dark forces may become an issue should
his Veep candidacy proceed. While it's hardly a blockbuster
revelation, it could provide fodder for bloggers and late-night comics
to turn his candidacy into a media sideshow.

If you're interested in the details about Jindal's spiritually
experimental past, we have lots more for you after the jump. It's
lively stuff.

In the essay (purchase required), Jindal describes an emotional
friendship with a classmate, "Susan," recently diagnosed with skin
cancer and reeling after the suicide of a close friend. Susan's
behavior becomes stranger, and she is surrounded by "sulfuric" smells.
Finally, one night at a prayer meeting, she collapses in a seizure --
and the exorcism begins:

The students, led by Susan's sister and Louise, a member of a
charismatic church, engaged in loud and desperate prayers while
holding Susan with one hand. Kneeling on the ground, my friends were
chanting, "Satan, I command you to leave this woman." Others exhorted
all "demons to leave in the name of Christ." It is no exaggeration to
note the tears and sweat among those assembled. Susan lashed out at
the assembled students with verbal assaults.

Jindal then describes how the whole situation made him physically
uncomfortable, and he wondered if the same demon afflicting Susan was
responsible for his state of nervousness:

Whenever I concentrated long enough to begin prayer, I felt some
type of physical force distracting me. It was as if something was
pushing down on my chest, making it very hard for me to breathe. . .
Though I could find no cause for my chest pains, I was very scared of
what was happening to me and Susan. I began to think that the demon
would only attack me if I tried to pray or fight back; thus, I
resigned myself to leaving it alone in an attempt to find peace for
myself.

After a lull in the event -- it in fact lasted "a few hours" by
Jindal's reckoning -- Susan attempted to run away, but was dutifully
pinned back on the floor by her friends:

Maybe she sensed our weariness; whether by plan or coincidence,
Susan chose the perfect opportunity to attempt an escape. She suddenly
leapt up and ran for the door, despite the many hands holding her
down. This burst of action served to revive the tired group of
students and they soon had her restrained once again, this time half
kneeling and half standing.

After what sounds like a number of hours, and a failed attempt at
getting help from a preacher (he refused to assist), the exorcism
finally concludes in dramatic fashion:

It appeared as if we were observing a tremendous battle between
the Susan we knew and loved and some strange evil force. But the
momentum had shifted and we now sensed that victory was at hand.

While Alice and Louise held Susan, her sister continued holding
the Bible to her face. Almost taunting the evil spirit that had almost
beaten us minutes before, the students dared Susan to read biblical
passages. She choked on certain passages and could not finish the
sentence "Jesus is Lord." Over and over, she repeated "Jesus is
L..L..LL," often ending in profanities. In between her futile
attempts, Susan pleaded with us to continue trying and often smiled
between the grimaces that accompanied her readings of Scripture. Just
as suddenly as she went into the trance, Susan suddenly reappeared and
claimed "Jesus is Lord."

With an almost comical smile, Susan then looked up as if awakening
from a deep sleep and asked, "Has something happened?" She did not
remember any of the past few hours and was startled to find her
friends breaking out in cheers and laughter, overwhelmed by sudden joy
and relief.

Jindal writes proudly about the experiment's conclusion: "When the
operation occurred, the surgeons found no traces of cancerous cells.
Susan claimed she had felt healed after the group prayer and can
remember the sensation of being 'purified.'"

Jindal's office has not yet responded to requests for comment.

Late update: This post originally asserted that we "discovered"
Jindal's essay, but several readers have brought to our attention that
we are not the first to blog on this subject. Daily Kingfish and
DailyKos discussed Jindal's exorcism experience during his
gubernatorial campaigns in 2003 and 2007, and Jezebel parodied it as
recently as last month. The topic has renewed relevance now that
Jindal is being discussed as a possible vice presidential candidate.
But credit where credit is due for these earlier reports.