Thursday, January 31, 2008

Was Scarlett O'Hara Anti-Christian As Well As Anti-War?


"War,war, war!
I get so sick of war talk I could scream!
...maybe there isn't going to be any war!"

Some of today's CINOs* seem to love war. Well, maybe "love" isn't the right word." "Lust after" might be better. To them, many "wars" are justified: the "war" with Satan for instance, the "war" against terrorism, the "war" on drugs. But as with all things lust-worthy, an urge to war can become too intoxicating to contain itself. The concept of battle seeps into everything and militarism becomes sanctified. Tommorrow marks the 148th anniversary of the lyrics for The Battle Hymn of the Republic:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch- fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on."

He has sounded for the the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the Lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom tha transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of th morning on the wave,
He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is Succor to the brave,
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave,
Our God is marching on.

War words all.
MarkTwain wrote a marvelous parody of the lyrics. When you read the following two verses, think of St. Halliburton (first) or any one of our esteemed televangelists (second):

In a sordid slime harmonious Greed was born in yonder ditch,
With a longing in his bosom - and for other's goods an itch.
As Christ died to make men holy, let men die to make us rich -
Our god is marching on.

I have read his bandit gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my pretensions, so with you my wrath shall deal;
Let the faithless son of Freedom crush the patriot with his heel;
Lo, Greed is marching on!"

And some CINOs have taken to indoctrinating in military/war terminology: a group of born-again teenagers call their group "Battle Cry!"

They'll never make swords into ploughshares that's for sure.


*Christian In Name Only

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

What Do We REALLY Know About Dick Cheney and Mahatma Ghandi?


One of the things we know for sure:
Dick Cheney did NOT assassinate Ghandi.

- BUT HE COULD HAVE!
...if he had owned a gun and was in India at the time he was 7 years-old. Think hard: impossible, or merely improbable? Today marks the 60th ANNIVERSARY OF GHANDI'S ASSASSINATION - January 30 - and is also Dick Cheney's birthday.
Come to think of it, there were a lot of terrible things that happened on January 30th:

1. King Charles I was beheaded and Oliver Cromwell came to power in England
2. Andrew Jackson survived the first attempt to assisinate a U.S. President
3. Vietnam's TET offensive was launched
4. The Beatles made their last public appearance together
5. Ireland's "Bloody Sunday" occurred

...and 6. Hitler became Chancellor of Germany

O.K., lots of terrible things throughout history have happened on someone's birthdate (example: on mine - June 15th - "Hee Haw" premiered!). But when you think of Dick Cheney and these events, somehow, the word "coincidence" doesn't immediately spring to mind. The word "fitting" seems oddly closer to reality... and that's scary.

What kind of birthday present would YOU give Dick Cheney? What kind of present do you think he WANTS?

In any case, Happy Birthday, Dick!

Love, Mahatma











HAPPY BIRTHDAY OPRAH! NOW RUN FOR PRESIDENT!

When You're the World's Most Admired Woman,
Anything's Possible!

Michael Moore once possited that if Oprah Winfrey ever ran for President, she would win hands down. Which begs the question: why hasn't she?

Come on, Oprah! You've won our hearts, so surely you can win our votes! You're more intelligent than anything that's been in the office (for at least the last seven years). You can back Obama all you want, but with every vote for Obama, the voter will be thinking "O.K., but I sure wish it was Oprah!" You and only you could win on sheer charisma! Which opposing candidate would even dare run an attack ad? The ads could attack the American flag, apple pie and moms but not you!

Stop campaigning for everyone else! Think of it: the first African-American AND the first woman President! Ann Coulter would be frothing at the mouth in apoplexy! Michelle Malkin would faint! Rush Limbaugh would OD on painkillers! Bill O'Reilly would be rendered speechless. Pat Robertson would become more senile! (Oh, wait, that's not possible). O.K., maybe I'm overdoing it just a tiny bit, but Oprah, you can't deny that this country has always been awaiting your magic touch.

Again Happy Birthday Girl!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Did Heath Ledger Die for Our Sins?

Phelps: Hallelujah for Star-studded, Spectacular Deaths!


20 years ago today, the space shuttle Challenger exploded only seconds after take-off, killing allseven crew members. Fred Phelps didn't have a media presence back then, or he would have shouted "Glory Hallelujah" just as he did after the Columbia disaster:


Anti-homosexual activist Fred Phelps produced a flier that claimed, "The 7 Are In Hell," where he stated, "God's Arm hurled Columbia in fragments to the ground, and hurled the 7 fools into the everlasting fires of Hell - in wrath and vengeance, laughing, mocking and deriding this nation of fags." - Phelp's Web site, 2/2

His website's latest headline:
Thank God Ledger Is Dead!
Heath Ledger Is In Hell!
LORD Willing we will preach at his funeral!
Heath Ledger chose to promote the vile sin of sodomy in defiance of God's law. No one made him play a faggot cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain". No one made him kiss another man, in a flagrant attempt to further desensitize not only americans but Bible-illiterate fools the world over to the filthy depravity that is faggotry. He chose to do that all on his own. He could have used that bully pulpit he has to promote the cause of God and truth instead. God has repaid him to his face for his filth. Thank God for His Justice. All who flaunt God's law can expect the same. Amen

Of course, we instantly dismiss whatever Phelps and his Topeka, KS family of hate say about anyone or anything. After all, who listens?

Someone might.

That's the real tragedy of Ledger's death: that anyone might use his name or image to actually kill someone else. It makes no difference that Ledger was an actor in a fictional film. To someone, he might have been more than real. Someone may be out there who hates the Heath Ledgers of the world - the people who are willing to take risks so that others will stop and think about macho images and tolerance.

Thank you, Heath Ledger.


Sunday, January 27, 2008

The Televangelisti: A New Mob for the Twenty-First Century

Pat Robertson's Out - But Religious Right Gangsters are Still Afoot


It was on this day in 1947 that one of the most infamous men in the world died: Al Capone. As a youth, I grew up with Capone - figuratively, that is. I grew up in Berwyn, Illinois, the nextdoor neighbor of Cicero, a suburb of Chicago and Capone's base of operations during the Roaring Twenties. My father grew up in Cicero, however, during Capone's heyday. When he was 18 years-old, my father was 6'2", well built, and had slick black hair. He also carried a violin case - he was a musician in Chicago's Civic Orchestra.


"I was such a dummy, in those days," he said. "I didn't know why people were cutting a swathe for me when I walked down the street."


Yes, the era was terrifying when Capone ruled. He preyed on vulnerable people and took their money because they needed liquor and partying to ease the pain of the Great Depression. He killed off rivals and gave Elliott Ness and the FBI nightmares. He was outrageously arrogant and flaunted himself in front of the authorities because he was careful in his deals.


But not careful enough: with all the murders and the racketeering, Ness and the FBI finally , nailed him - on income tax evasion. H was sent to Alcatraz. All of the inmates hated his arrogance. Once he was stabbed. When e was released, he had no more influence in the mob. Times had changed. He died of a heart attack (brought on by syphillis contracted as a youth).


Then a new kind of gangster appeared: saavy and less flamboyant. Men like Tony Accardo and Sam Giancana lived relatively quiet, more sedate lives. They were, however, just as deadly as Capone.


Where are our gangsters today? Those men of quiet control who had more money than God? It's interesting to note a slight parallel between gangsters and televangelists: their flamboyant lifestyles speak of the power they have over vulnerable people.Now, the only way to curb them is to investigate their finances. Will they be chastised in any way?


No.


Many of them are morphing into "prosperity" mega-churches. Their head honcho is a man who resides in Colorado Springs.


From Al Capone to James Dobson. Who says there is no Darwinian evolution?

From this... .................................................to this!!



to this...

Friday, January 25, 2008

Googling Into the "Heart" of Ann Coulter

Like in the oil business, sometimes you drill and drill and come up with...nothing.

On January 26th in the year 1875, a patent was granted to George F. Green for the first electric dental drill. I now dedicate this post to someone who personifies a dental drill: Ann Coulter.


So, just for the hell of it, I Googled: Ann Coulter Charity Compassion.


None of the articles indicated that Ann had any compassion, but I got some interesting results, especially conservative blogs who bristled at George Bush's term, "Compassionate Conservatism," since they felt they were much more compassionate than liberals all along. What is it about Coultergeist's raw bitchiness that sends some people over the edge of decorum and others into a state of euphoria? Maybe her popularity stems from that the fact that she's an equal opportunity hater. Try to find someone she LIKES and you will be looking for months, possibly years.


Typical Ann Coulter in October 2000:

It's not that we hate the poor; it's that every time the government tries to help the poor it ends up removing the marvelous incentives life provides to do things like buy an alarm clock, get a job, keep your knees together before marriage, and generally become a productive, happy member of society.

That sounds so waspish, like she's trying desperately to become a member of The 400. And what hypocrisy! Ann Coulter has great legs (for a "pushing 50 year-old"), but you can bet she doesn't always keep her knees together.



Beliefnet questions Coultergeist:


Is it possible to be a good Christian and sincerely believe, as Jim Wallis does, that a bigger welfare state and higher taxes to fund it is the best way in a complex modern society for us to fulfill our Gospel obligation to help the poor?


It's possible, but not likely. Confiscatory taxation enforced by threat of imprisonment is "stealing," a practice strongly frowned upon by our Creator. If all Christians and Jews tithed their income as the Bible commands, every poor person would be cared for, every naked person clothed and every hungry person fed. Read Marvin Olasky's "The Tragedy Of American Compassion" for further discussion of this.

Does Ann tithe? I doubt it. I think she jumps from one prosperity megachurch to another, praying for that new house in the Hamptons.

I also Googled: Ann Coulter church:

She says she goes to a Presbyterian church in Manhattan, but the pastor's never seen her.


Google: Ann Coulter heart

Her father passed away several weeks ago, so she polemicizes at his funeral:

He hated unions because of their corrupt leadership, ripping off the members for their own aggrandizement. But he had more respect for genuine working men than anyone I've ever known. He was, in short, the molecular opposite of John Edwards.

and...

Now Daddy is with Joe McCarthy and Ronald Reagan. I hope they stop laughing about the Reds long enough to talk to God about smiting some liberals for me.

I wonder what her own eulogy will be like.

Huckabee Scores $Millions from Televangelist Under Investigation

A Last-Minute Save!
Kind of makes your wallet feel all warm and fuzzy!

Just 14 hours after I stated that Huckabee knew where the money was (see last blog below), evangelical advisor, Doug Wead stated this on his blog:

A few months ago, the Mike Huckabee campaign finally started the work of touching base with evangelical leaders of influence. Among others, they met with Ken Copeland, one of the nation’s top televangelists. Last night the Governor called his friend in the middle of a conference and Copeland, carefully observing all the laws governing non profits, as a private citizen, re-convened a private meeting, turned to his friends and raised a few million dollars for Huckabee.

And Sarah Posner of The American Prospect said it better than anyone:

Meanwhile, don't any of these Republicans question campaign fundraising for a presidential candidate by someone who is being investigated by a Republican Senator for his own fundraising?

I hope Senator Grassley is reading this.

So, will Ken Copeland become the U.S. Amassador to the U.N., The Court of St. James or maybe even (gasp!) Swaziland? (Well, at least he's not an alumni of Skull 'n Bones.)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Pray and Prosper: You Pray, You Pay... and I'll Prosper

Who's Got the REAL money?

Why did Martin Luther hate the Roman Catholic Church so much? Because the prelates and the Pope had (literally) "more money than God." And the fact that the clergy sold indulgences (an indulgence, was a sort of "Get Out Of Hell" card) didn't sit well with the populace, either.

So what's the idea behind today's "seed" money? In prosperity theology, "seed" money is "holy" money you give to a church or organization showing your support. When you give "seed " money, God will give you back "tenfold." Most proslytizers of seed money, however, make it sound not as if you're getting back health or wealth, but securing a better seat in heaven (orchestra seat G10, maybe, unless heaven is bigger). Sort of like an indulgence. Hmmm.

Back to Luther: those prelates and popes lived in palaces, collected the best artwork (at sinfully high prices), were (tastefully) bejewelled and rode (drove) the best transportation on four hooves. Hmmm, again.

In a sense, they WERE entertaining, showing people the might, right and beauty of Almighty God. Shock and awe against Satan, presumably.

When I was a kid, our pastor (diocesan - no vow of poverty) always rode a brand new Buick. His rectory's game room (four poker tables, a pool table and several pinball machines) was much bigger than the office he used for counsultations. (To be fair, I can't recall him using it anyway so it didn't have to be very large.) He could also wring more money out of the congregation than any top-notch traveling salesman.

All the priests of my younger years would have made great politicians.

Now, some "men of God" are doing just that: shifting from religion to politics without moving a muscle. Especially men like Rev. Mike Huckabee.

"There's a political savvy that Baptist preachers who made it big in the Southern Baptist Convention learned from their mother's womb," said Bill Leonard, a former Southern Baptist seminary professor and dean of Wake Forest University Divinity School in North Carolina. "It's an instinct to know how to read populist moments and movements."

Just where am I going with all this? The headlines today mentioned that Huckabee's campaign is in financial trouble. Don't believe it. There are still people who will shovel money to Huckabee like they did to Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker. They even call campaign contributons "seed" money. Give to a campaign (megachurch pastor, or televangelist with political asperations) and you will receive it back tenfold.

Of course, if you don't contribute, chances are you might find it harder to get to heaven.

Be Prepared?

January 24 - The Day of Striking Ironies

In 1922, The first Boy Scout troop was organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell. Their motto was, of course, "Be Prepared."

In 1942 - A special court of inquiry into America's lack of preparedness for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor placed much of the blame on Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and Lieutenant General Walter C. Short. Were they ever Boy Scouts?

And in 2003 - The new U.S. Deprtment of Homeland Security officially opened and its head, Tom Ridge, was sworn in. His biography does not mention the Boy Scouts, but while he was governor of Pennsylvania, Ridge's pen was always pepared to sign execution warrants (over 200).

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

From Slavery to Jim Crow and Right Back to Slavery

The Slavery of Literalism

Jan. 21-Jan. 24


This period of time between Martin Luther King Day and the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade should have given African-Americans a time to reflect on the subject of suppression. MLK was a Baptist minister, but was he a biblical inerrantist? A literalist? A young-earther? A creationist? In other words, was Martin Luther King, Jr. a Southern Baptist Minister?

No.

His early years were frought with scepticism:

San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 15, 2007
Writings show King as liberal Christian, rejecting literalism
by Mattai Chaoko Karuvila - Religion Editor
...King was not a conformist Christian. He not only eschewed literalism, he was a strident critic of how the Christian church perpetuated injustices such as slavery and segregation.
"Too often has the church talked about a future good 'over yonder,' totally forgetting the present evil over here," King wrote in 1952 to Coretta Scott, his future wife.
"Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and not concerned about the city government that damns the soul, the economic conditions that corrupt the soul, the slum conditions, the social evils that cripple the soul, is a dry, dead, do-nothing religion in need of new blood," King preached in 1962 to his congregation at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
King "wanted to develop an intellectually respectable form of Christianity that did not require people to simply abandon their rational, critical abilities," Carson said. The essential truth King saw, according to Carson, was the social gospel -- "to see the Bible as a message of spiritual redemption and global social justice."

[From Wikipedia's oh-so-liberal slanted article on Margaret Sanger]

In 1930, Sanger opened a family planning clinic in Harlem that sought to enlist support for contraceptive use and to bring the benefits of family planning to women who were denied access to their city's health and social services. Staffed by a black physician and black social worker, the clinic was endorsed by The Amsterdam News (the powerful local newspaper), the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Urban League, and the black community's elder statesman, W.E.B. DuBois.[22]

To set the record straight, Margaret Sanger was against abortion and proposed that there would be no need of abortion if contraception were used effectively.

But millions of the self-righteous don't see things that way:

What is also fairly well known among pro-lifers who know about what a wicked institution Planned Murderhood is, is the fact that Sanger callously planned on using black ministers (willingly or by deceit) to trick their flocks into going along with PP’s agenda. [From: The Myths of Martin Luther King, by By P. Leslie Riley, Chairman, Constitution Party of Mississippi]

But is this self-righteous way of looking at pro-choice a cover-up for something more seminal and sinister? Is it possible to be enslaved by the Church? Please feel free to discss.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Christianist Cartoon Characters Aren't Very Funny

Remember: Fudd's The One With The Gun

I've told this one to friends many times before: at one time a fundamentalist fumed "Well, when you think of us, you just think we're either like Elmer Gantry or..or...Elmer Fudd!"

It's twoo, it's twoo, it's weewee weewee twoo.

But while we can make fun of Christianists (I like Andrew Sullivan's term much better than "fundamentalist" - it has a more sinister ring to it) we can't escape the fact that some of them (not all) might have a predeliction for violence.

The next quotes come from Top 100 Greatest Quotes from fundamentalist christian chat rooms. Granted, they might be suspiciously over the top, but after viewing other responses in Christian blogs, they read waaay too close to home.

[Following the comment "The evolutionists are only here to throw sh*t on the Christians... that is their sole purpose... ]

Exactly! The enemies of Christianity know that their pseudo science is bogus, fake, phony and fraudulent. They can fool some of the people some of the time, but they can't fool the vast majority of people. The only reedeming feature about these neo anti-Christians is that there are so few of them and, hence, easily annihilable. And the battle continues as it has for 2 thousands years.

[Reviewing "Letter to a Christian Nation"]

How much longer will I have to endure atheistic christophobia? Atheism is a religion, and let me cite some doctrines: ...
ATHEIST TENANT OF FAITH: The CRUSADES is an amazing example that I Love to cite in order to illustrate how wicked and vile Christianity is
REBUTTAL: The crusades were GOOD. If it weren't for the crusades the Muslim invaders would have conquered Europe and you'd be praying to Allah right now. Thank God (or the IPF for you atheists) the Crusaders pushed the Muslilm hoarde out of Europe and threw them back into the desert. Jihadian Mohammadans invaded Europe, and your damn straight Europe had a right to defend itself.

What's an "Atheist Tenant of Faith" ? Is Faith a landlord? What's a Muslilm hoarde? Is it a cache of Muslilms?. Jihadian Mohammadans invaded Europe. Yes, we can see the results of that horrible invasion in the ruins of mosques - from Italy all the way to Finland!

(on crying)

... while crying might not be a totally evil sin, crying offen does reflect a babies inner desire for itself. note that Jesus did not cry when he was born. Also, even if the baby is quite, you can see that sin is born with it. Sin can effect you in two ways, by it being done to you or you doing it. In the case of a new-born, by living in a sinful world, even the new borns suffer from sin. Not all new borns are born in perfect bliss? without disease...infact all are born...someday to die. the price of man's sin...sad isn't it... yes you might have seen me before...but God will always provide a witness. We will all stand together on this one.

I think he saw The Bad Seed too many times. If Jesus didn't cry when he was born, he must have had some other means of getting oxygen into his lungs.

And this bit of reasoning worthy of Aristotle:

Gravity: Doesn't exist. If items of mass had any impact of others, then mountains should have people orbiting them. Or the space shuttle in space should have the astronauts orbiting it. Of course, that's just the tip of the gravity myth. Think about it. Scientists want us to believe that the sun has a gravitation pull strong enough to keep a planet like neptune or pluto in orbit, but then it's not strong enough to keep the moon in orbit? Why is that? What I believe is going on here is this: These objects in space have yet to receive mans touch, and thus have no sin to weigh them down. This isn't the case for earth, where we see the impact of transfered sin to material objects. The more sin, the heavier something is.

Wow! I knew it! Calories are caused by the Devil!

This one is just plain scary:

Seriously, does anybody ever cry at an Atheist's funeral? I mean, since Atheists have no value whatsoever as human beings (they're not even human, but only inhuman animals), since Atheists are nothing but miserable Liars, Cowards and Murderers, after all, why would anybody in their right mind weep over the dead rotting corpse, or bone chips and ashes (that get mixed together with those of others from the crematory) of a worthless dead Atheist? And what epitaph do you engrave on an Atheist's grave marker? "Here lies the only good Atheist, which is a dead Atheist". What else is there say? Nothing at all. No last words, no last rites, no flowers, no anything.

Every time an Atheist dies, the world is better off as a result of that dead Atheist being dead, & its damned God-forsaken soul burning in the fiery pits of Hades. :) Which begs another related question, do Atheists cry at funerals? If so, why? Since Atheists hate God, and they hate Family, and they hate Country, who are they crying for? It is true: The only good Atheist is a dead Atheist.

And even scarier yet:

I can sum it all up in three words: Evolution is a lie!

Yes, we can all laugh with Bugs about how stupid Elmer Fudd is, but until he takes that gun (and that hatred) away from Fudd, someone's going to die.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Is There a Universal Doctrine in the House?

Christian, Christian, Who's Got The Christian?











The flap about Mitt Romney's religion has become a three ring circus with no ringmaster, so let's look at it all in a broader context:

The Roman Catholic Church claims its authority through the Apostle Peter. It claims it's the only "true" religion.

Protestants have doctrinal differences that have led to over 3,000 denominations of significant size (over 20,000). They all stress "truth" in their doctrines.

Mormons believe that their practices are closer to "original" Christians.

Church of God With Signs Folowing are non-denomational because they believe all denominations carry "The Mark of the Beast."

Snake handlers have a doctrine based on two verses from the King James Bible. That's two more than the Christians who have the doctrine of the "Rapture."

So who has the True doctrine? The Best doctrine? The Only doctrine? Nobody. Is there a doctrine that's common among all of them? There's supposed to be: the teachings of Jesus Christ. Somehow, however, that doctrine gets short shrift. Then, of course, there's alwas this doctrine:

Or this one:


Images: Snakehandlers (ca. 1946), Joseph Smith, Pope Benedict XVI, Televangelist JoyceMeyer and "Rev. Prosperity" himself, Joel Osteen.

Martin Luther King, Ghandi and Harvey Milk










Being assasinated for what you believe in always makes you a martyr. What you believe in becomes secondary. In the Roman Catholic Church, for instance, you can become a saint after you go through a series of testamonies and a miracle or two. But when you become a martyr, sainthood is automatic. Theoretically, Hitler could have avowed his faith as a Roman Catholic after the Holocaust, been shot because of his faith, then instantly venerated as a saint. Would he have become the patron saint of ... silly mustaches?

Instant hero-worship: who's actually worthy of it? Possibly the ones who were worthy of it while they were living. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi and Harvey Milk come to mind. They were also deemed worthy of intense hatred. Just ask the people who still hate them. You say no one comes to mind? Try the ones with tightly closed, lead-lined craniums.
OK, I'll get off the soapbox, but remember that today of all days, people who preach passive resistance in the face of intolerance deserve respect.


Friday, January 18, 2008

Honey, I Stoned the Kids!

Just How Close is Huckabee to Recontructionism?

The right question may be: just how close is he to Rick Scarborough? Scarborough describes himself as a "Christocrat," but as a Reconstructionist, he's further Right than anyone can imagine.

Andrew Sullivan, premier jouranlist and commentator of The Atlantic has this to say about Scarborough's type of fundamentalism:

Once you have dedicated your life to fundamentalist religion, once you have insisted that nothing - let alone politics - can be independent of absolute Biblical judgment, documents like the Constitution are indeed secondary. They have to be amended to be brought into line with the authoritative truth. Nothing can interfere with that authority - nothing.

Want to see Scarborough in action? Want to see people applauding a very dangerous ideology? See the video below - if you dare!


Let's go over the list of what Reconstructionists consider worthy of the death penalty:

Murder - kidnapping - disrespect to parents - sorcery - withcraft - Sabbath breaking - negligent homicide - bestiality - homosexuality - breaking the Sabbath - sacrificing to other gods, especially Molech and Baal, adultery, marrying your wife's mother, comtempt of court, false witness to a capital crime and unchastity.

Now, let's clarify some of these, shall we? "Disrespect to parents" would mean that James Dean would have been killed in the first part of Rebel Without a Cause - where's the angst in that? "Sabbath breaking" could be doing even minor tasks such as "gathering twigs." Does this mean that if you want to build a fire on a cold Sunday you're sh*t out of luck? "Prostitution" is a stoner only if you're the priest's daughter. That means that the girl on the corner doesn't need to be killed, even in a drive-by stoning. Blasphemy is wide open - ANYTHING goes, so better check the list for the state you're in (I hear Texas is fairly liberal, as #%*@%#$ states go) "Unchastity" is ok unless your engaged to be married. So no flirting with the waiter at your wedding no matter what the groom smells like!

Should we be afraid of Reconstructionists? Extreme right-wing crackpots have their uses to those who don't publicly acknowledge prejudice. They divert attention from the ones who are subversive - and "charming." They also open the doors for forms of neofascism. Religious historian Karen Armstrong thinks Reconstructionism can lead to totalitarianism: "There is no room for any other view or policy, no democratic tolerance for rival parties, no individual freedom," (Armstrong, Battle for God, pp. 361-362). The term "Christofascists" is often linked with the movement.

Four days ago, Mike Huckabee made a particularly strident comment about revamping the Constitution. Some people look upon him as a "the guy next door" with a set of moral values.

He's also perceived as "charming."

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Gay Fetuses Attacked!!

God Hates Gay Fetuses!

It's been reported that Robert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary of Kentucky may become the President of the Southern Baptist Convention. Mohler also has a syndicated radio show.

What is Robert Mohler against? Same old, same old: Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, homosexuality, feminists, blah, blah, blah. But what is he FOR? Why he's for conversion - of fetuses. Check this out from his website in an article entitled Is Your Baby Gay?:

If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin.

So, if you can't pray away the gay you're allowed to yank it out of the fetus, sort of like a tumor. And if it's proven that homosexuality is genetic, Mohler links the gene to man's wickedness:

Given the consequences of the Fall and the effects of human sin, we should not be surprised that such a causation or link is found. After all, the human genetic structure, along with every other aspect of creation, shows the pernicious effects of the Fall and of God's judgment.

But throughout his entire discourse on unborn queers, Mohler strives for an aura of tolerance:

The discovery of a biological basis for homosexuality would be of great pastoral significance, allowing for a greater understanding of why certain persons struggle with these particular sexual temptations.

The biblical basis for establishing the dignity of all persons -- the fact that all humans are made in God's image -- reminds us that this means all persons, including those who may be marked by a predisposition toward homosexuality. For the sake of clarity, we must insist at all times that all persons -- whether identified as heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian, transsexual, transgendered, bisexual, or whatever -- are equally made in the image of God. (emphasis by author - certainly not me)

Huh? First of all, Mo, how can you use the word "marked" without inferring some sort of stigma? And if all those people listed (including the "whatevers") were made "equally in the image of God," what's the problem?

There is something slightly Orwellian here: all of God's humans are equal, but heterosexual Christians are more equal.

Mohler, of course, gives an admonition against aborting gay fetuses.

But they still have to wear pink triangles until they've been changed into heterosexuals.


The FBI Mole, Christian Identity and You

When the Right Mole Becomes TOO Right Himself

Hal Turner, the internet radio show host who routinely advocated killing Jews, illegal aliens nd Supreme Court Justices is off the air.

But the FCC had nothing to do with it.

It seems he may have gotten "outed" as an FBI informant. According to Hatewatch (published by The Southern Poverty Law Center), Turner received some interesting emails stating that someone had hacked into his server and discovered incriminating email linking him to the FBI payroll. Today (Thursday)

"Turner suddenly announced he was quitting political work. 'I hereby separate from the ‘pro-White’ movement,' he said, adding that he was ending his radio show immediately. 'I will no longer involve myself in any aspect of it.'"

"In 2006, Turner told his audience to '“clean your guns, have plenty of ammunition … [and] then do what has to be done' to undocumented workers. Around the same time, he suggested that half the U.S. Congress 'may have to be assassinated.' A year earlier, he suggested 'drawing up lists of yeshivas,'” or Jewish religious schools. He once started a website called www.killtheenemy.com for the purpose of posting photos and names of those who marched in favor of immigrant rights."

The influence Turner had on neo-Nazis and groups like Christian Identity is debated, but with rhetoric as inflamatory as his, how could he not be the seminal part of violence? Did he go too far in presenting himself as a supreme hater, abetting more crimes than he ostensibly prevented?

The FBI declined to comment on the situation.

How far is too far? What do you think?

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Hey, Media! Get Your Priorities Straight!


Today's George Bush Headline:

Bush wraps up Middle East visit on peace, Iran, oil.

What's wrong with that headline? (O.K., besides the fact that it attempts to make history's greatest diplomatic dimwit look like a statesman.)

THE WORDS ARE IN REVERSE ORDER! Everyone knows it should be: "oil" first, THEN "Iran," second, THEN "Peace" - a distant third. This is, after all, George Bush we are talking about. The man's middle name is OIL, not Jimmy Carter nor Will Rogers. (Although George has been trying to channel Will for the last seven years - lucky for Will that he's dead.)

This is the man who wanted desperately to wear a white hat and lead the cavalry charge against a sovereign country - any sovereign country. This is the man who is so close to the Saudi royal family that he could also be dubbed Abdullah, Jr.

Please, media, let's get the labels and priorities straight! You've done it for the last seven years so please don't poop out now.

We're depending on you to set things right! (But not THAT "Right")

Will CINOS Pass The Test This Time?

San Francisco: The Epicenter of Compassion

I paused upon seeing the headline in the San Francisco Chronicle:

S.F. Gay Community An Epicenter For New Strain of Virulent Staph

I then headed straight home and read the news:

(New York City) "A drug-resistant bacteria once thought to be contained in a handful of hospitals is now being found primarily among gay men in major cities a new report shows."

My mind conjured up all the times of the 80s and 90s in SF when non-profits like the AIDS Emergency Fund were operating in a kind of frantic overdrive. People were literally dying in the streets while others outside the City were (ahem) dancing in the streets (picture Jerry Falwell and Jesse Helms waltzing together). I lived through the afternoon in a state of anxiety close to panic attack.

In the evening, my fears were largely abated by the likes of one Mary Risley of Food Runners, the founder of a group of (now) 280 volunteers who collect the City's excess food from restaurants, delis, bakeries, you name it, and bring it to thousands of hungry people every day. I was at the San Francisco Bay Area's annual celebration of Jefferson Award winners.

Founded in the early 70's by Sam Beard and Jacqueline Kennedy, the Jefferson Award is given to people for outstanding public service. The San Francisco Chronicle, KPIX-CBS NEWS and CBS Radio along with a steering committee pick a person whose community efforts stand out. One each week. There were 52 award winners in the room along with two years of former winners. So, there were 156 Mary Risleys in the reception room. Needless to say, it was a humbling experience.

And gratifying as well: the San Francisco Bay Area is the only one of its kind when it comes to compassion. No other major metropolitan area hosts as many Jefferson Awardees. Perhaps one of the reasons San Francisco has so many homeless, illegal aliens and people living with AIDS is because those people know they will be treated with more compassion, dignity and respect than in other cities.

I then thought of today's news: Could this be another AIDS? Twenty-five years ago many of America's most prominant CINOs (Christians In Name Only) were given a test to their capacity for compassion. They failed miserably. As I stated in another post, the Southern Baptist Convention of churches has never sponsored an AIDS agency of any kind in this country.

"Sustained and focused prevention efforts and effective risk-reduction initiatives must be scaled up across the country if we are going to reverse this trend in infections among [men who have sex with men]. Better leadership is required at all levels: federal, state, local and within communities themselves."

San Francisco may again be an epicenter - for compassion.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Holy Hypocrisy! What a Tangled Web!

The end of the world can't come too quick for Archbishop Earl Paulk.

O.K., let's get the whole storyline straight:

Earl "Pearly" Paulk, Jr. (1927-) founded a "cutting edge" ministry and megachurch (using dance and drama) near Atlanta in1960. The ministry was called "the Harvester Ministry" and he established it with his wife, his brother Don, and his sister-in-law Clarice (No, not that one - this was waaay before Hannibal Lecter). The ministry morphed into "The Cathedral at Chapel Hill" using multimedia effects Paulk had learned while appearing in TV shows and radio broadcasts for the likes of TBN (Paul Crouch's Trinity Broadcasting Network). He eventually had a show himself.

According to Wikipedia:

In 1982, Paulk was ordained as a bishop in the International Communion of Charismatic Churches. His public housing ministry was named one of a "thousand places of light" by President George H. W. Bush[citation needed] The church has long been known for being one of the few truly integrated churches in the South.[citation needed]


Got that so far?

Enter Mona Brewer:

In 1989, Mona Brewer, who was featured as a soloist in many of Paulk's TV shows, entered into a relationship with the married Paulk because he felt "'impressed of the Lord' to get to know her better." (Hey, every woman's heard THAT one before!). Paulk got to know her "biblically" for the next 14 years.

Ho Hum, you say? Just Wait.

In 2001, while Mona was still on the scene, College student Jessica Battle alleged that Paulk had molested her between the ages of 7 and 11. That suit was settled out of court.

At the same time of the breakup between Mona and Paulk, one Cindy Hall came forward to say that she had been in an affair with both Paulk and his brother, Don since 1983! (Boy, was Mona ever pissed!).

Fast forward to 2007:

On October 14, 2007, the nephew of Earl Paulk (Don Paulk,Jr.) who succeeded him as senior pastor (he was retired by that time) informed his congregation that he was really the son of Earl Paulk and Clarise and not Don and Clarise!

Then, just after Paulk's daughter, Beth, offered an apology for her decrepit father (after all, he was 80!), her own daughter, Penny, stated (on the same FOX newschannel, forcrissakes!) that Paulk had molested HER when she was a child.

Whew!! And you thought soap operas were difficult to follow!

Of course, the only thing the goverment can pin on the guy right now is a charge of perjury (along with Clarise who called little Donnie a liar).

Archbishop Paulk has allegedly espoused Dominionism and Word of Faith doctrines.

There's nothing like looking forward to the End Times after you've had so much action yourself!

You pick: George Bush, Iraq or Lisa del Giocondo?

It's a Tough Call - Or Is It?

The top of my home page gives me a list of news articles to choose from.

Here, from Reuters, were the top three when I logged on today:

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah hosts George W. Bush at his desert playground on Tuesday when the U.S. president will get a taste of how the royals live in the world's richest oil-producing monarchy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraq's defense minister said on Monday his country would need foreign military help to defend its borders for another 10 years and would not be able to maintain internal security until 2012.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German academics believe they have solved the centuries-old mystery behind the identity of the "Mona Lisa" in Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait.

I went right to the "Mona Lisa" article. It wasn't until I was half way through that I asked myself: why did I pick this one instead of the other two?

The Bush article was easy, of course. We've all known for years about the ties of the Bush dynasty to the House of Saud. Presumably the king will show George how a REAL ranch is run and he will have the enough diplomatic skills to warn Bush not to get his foot stuck in horse manure (this is Riyadh, George, not Crawford).

Skipping the second article, however, took me aback: was I so war-weary that the possibility of ten more years and hundred of thousands of deaths didn't mean very much to me? Did I need a break from the political world so badly that I chose to read about the origin of a painting?

Let me defend myself here for a moment. First of all, The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci is not just another painting and it's not just a world-reknowned painting. The Mona Lisa is an icon. It is a icon of stability and hope: there is something permanent about that enigmatic smile and it gives us hope that if Lisa del Giocondo can still survive through it all, we can too. We can survive the Bush administration and Iraq.

The end of the article added something to my self-esteem in choosing it:

The painting, which hangs in the Louvre in Paris, is also known as "La Gioconda" meaning the happy or joyful woman in Italian, a title which also suggests the woman's married name.

Thank you, Leonardo. Thank you, Mrs. del Giocondo.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

The AIDS-less Southern Baptist Church

History repeats itself.

Unfortunately.

AP: April 8, 2040

Former President Huckabee Cries

at Site of Ryan White's Tomb.

Former President Mike Huckabee, 85, was among the thousands of people who thronged Cicero, Indiana for the 50th anniversary of the death of 1980s AIDS victim, Ryan White. At the podium, he remarked that he was sorry never to have met Ryan's family since he knew that they were "Christians who were very courageous in such adversity."

"I hope I represent the entire Southern Baptist Convention when I say that we are deeply sorry for any possible discrimination we may have engendered. It was, unfortunately, the way of the times. In way of reparation, we have recently opened the first Southern Baptist faith-based AIDS hospice giving housing to all AIDS sufferers in the community. It is to be called the Ryan White Southern Hospitality House." There was a small patter of applause as Rev. Huckabee (now Pastor Emeritas of Colorado Spring's SBC megachurch, The Prosperous Shepherd) placed a wreath among the floral arrangements and started to weep. Then someone from his entourage reminded him that the AIDS vaccine, U69, had wiped out the disease. In fact, there had not been a case reported in over 25 years. He smiled wanly and was aided back to his seat next to current President, Barack Obama III.

People tittered when someone remarked, "He should have been pope!"*

***

AND BACK TO THE REAL WORLD:

AP Dec. 18, 2007

ATLANTA—A conference organized by former President Carter and others that aims to unite Baptists from more than 30 denominations says major political figures from both parties are tentatively planning to come.

Former Vice President Al Gore, former President Clinton and Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Charles Grassley of Iowa, are slated to appear at the event in Atlanta. Among the conference topics are evangelism, criminal justice, preaching, interfaith relations, racism, HIV/AIDS and religious liberty. The meeting is scheduled for Jan. 30-Feb. 1.

The gathering is part of an effort, called the New Baptist Covenant, that's meant to pool the resources of the many Baptist groups and escape the shadow of the conservative Southern Baptist Convention.

Needless to say, The Southern Baptist Convention will not be represented.

To date, none of the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention have ever sponsored any form of AIDS agency here in this country in the last 25 years. All AIDS efforts are focused on foreign countries (mostly Africa) and the promotion of "abstinance only" programs.

Some day in the VERY distant future, Southern Baptists might just get this Christian thing right.

*Author's Note: Well, let's face it, the SBC took 140 years to apologize for slavery. However, they're slightly quicker than the Roman Catholic Church when it apologized for Jewish persecution. Ten times faster, in fact.

A New Wave of Militant Homosexual Violence!

Huckabee and the Professional Haters


Let's face it, people, the world is made up of amateurs and professionals. Wikipedia defines a professional as: "...a worker required to possess a large body of knowledge derived from extensive academic study (usually tertiary), with the training almost always formalized."
That sometimes includes extensive studies in a specialized field...such as hatred.

But where does someone study hatred? It can be studied in various places, e.g. in the local library, in school, from peers, and today, even from home-schooling. But truly professional haters can also come from the hallowed halls of seemingly unlikely places: theological seminaries.

Rousas John Rushdoony graduated from the Pacific School of Religion in 1944. He studied Calvinism extensively and became a member of the John Birch Society, claiming that the JBS had a lot in common with early Christianity. He founded The Chalcedon Foundation in 1965. This group actively espouses Christian Recontructionism. I know I'm getting a little oblique here, but please be patient. Reconstructionism is so far to the right that it's off the screen: strict Reconstructionists believe that all civil laws should be based on strict Biblical laws. That means that they would advocate stoning for: homosexuality, adultery, incest, lying about one's virginity, bestiality, witchcraft, idolatry, apostasy, blasphemy, "false prophesying," kidnapping, rape and perjury. And since the Bible condones slavery, well, guess who would be put back in Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Many Southern Baptist ministers try to distance themslves from The Chalcedon Foundation and Reconstructionism.

Ministers like Mike Huckabee. Men of God. Practitioners of the Bible. Charmers all.

Read this piece by Wayne Besen (Anything But Straight) and you'll see why Huckabee advocated quarantining of AIDS patients and about his possible link to the Chalcedon Foundation. Mike's Lost Decade.

It's relatively easy to find the result of Reconstructionism's theology: simply go to http://www.conservapedia.com/ and read this "trustworthy" encylopedia's article on homosexuality.

It's opinion of hate-crime laws:

Such laws will open up a new wave* of militant homosexual violence, just as "He insulted my wife" can be used as defense against an assault charge.[Citation Needed]

Is that violence by homosexuals or against homosexuals, I wonder.

*NEW wave? When was the last wave? I must have been asleep.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Burn Them! Buuurn Them!!

The Stake's On The Other Foot

The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins has discovered more horrible persecutions:

The National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine have mounted yet another attack on the scientific theory of intelligent design, publishing an 89-page book titled Science, Evolution, and Creationism....Perhaps the biggest problem with the defenders of Darwinian evolution is that, ironically, they have reversed the roles in the supposed historical "war between science and religion," by declaring Darwinism to be inerrant dogma, and punishing its doubters by burning them at the academic stake. Read the whole text here.
So, how does it feel, Tony?

A whopping 89 pages! Was it a hard read, Tony? Evidently, disputing creationism isn't very difficult.

Tony also states:

The new publication falsely equates "intelligent design" (a scientific theory which infers the necessity for intelligent design from scientific evidence) with "creationism" (a term usually used for a theory of origins that begins with the Bible or some other religious text). .. It also slanders intelligent design as "unscientific" despite peer-reviewed articles on the concept and the credentials of 700 doctoral-level scientists who have publicly questioned Darwinism.

Hmmm. A scientific theory backed by 700 doctoral-level scientists. Sounds like the very same people who backed the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Kentucky (see my very first blog post, "The Horror of it All!"). Some of those people had doctorates too, but not in related sciences. Notice the wording: "...who have publicly questoned Darwinism." Perkins doesn't say these people agree with Intelligent Design. Sneeky, Tony.

Even so, can we still burn those guys in one big auto de fe? Take that, Salem!

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

A Tale of Two Wikis

I hope Barack Obama doesn't read this.
It's too aggravating.

Profiles are meant to be unbiased and fact-based, but even Wikipedia gets in a few buzz words now and then. Just look at the lead-in for Barack Obama:

Barack Hussein Obama... (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election.[2][3] He is the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history, the third popularly elected African American Senator, and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate.[4] Born in Honolulu to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He lived most of his early life in Hawaii, and spent four of his pre-teen years in Jakarta, Indonesia. A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer, university lecturer, and civil rights lawyer before running for public office. He served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, launching his campaign for U.S. Senate in 2003.

Now read the one from Conservapedia:


Barack Hussein Obama (b. 4 August 1961) is the junior Senator from Illinois, elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat in 2004. He is, as of 2007, the only African American serving in the United States Senate, where he serves his first term.


Despite a lack of military, executive or foreign policy experience, he is currently a liberal favorite for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States in the 2008 election. He has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the likely result of affirmative action. Some examples border on the absurd: Obama has no background in physics, yet it is claimed that "Obama analyzed and integrated Einstein's theory of relativity, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, as well as the concept of curved space as an alternative to gravity, for a Law Review article ... titled, 'The Curvature of Constitutional Space.'" [1]


Note: this quote from a reporter of CBS News is not so absurd when you know it was expressly written as research for the Harvard Law Review. His mentor (and actual writer of the piece), the constitutional law scholar Lawrence Tribe, certainly didn't expect Obama to be proficient in the field of physics. Obama was researching for an (admittedly creative) article and became knowledgeable of Einstein's theory by reading about it (what a surprise!). Read the full CBS article here. Conservatives can't stand it when liberals look smart.


Conservapedia then really lets loose:


His voting record places him as the tenth-most liberal member of the U. S. Senate. His composite liberal rating was 86 percent, just seven points behind Ted Kennedy. Among fellow Senate Democrats, he was further left than liberals like John Kerry, Dianne Feinstein, Charles Schumer, Russ Feingold, Carl Levin, Joseph Biden and Harry Reid.[2]


When giving a "trustworthy" profile of someone, Conservapedia knows that fear and loathing go a long way.

Monday, January 7, 2008

God Hates Fatties! Hop Aboard the "Biblical" Hallelujah Diet!

In the world of religion, it's now
The Crass vs The Ass

Fred Phelps must be penning new picket signs. He has "God Hates America!" and "God Hates Fags!" Now he can add "God Hates Fatties!" It seems that, under our very noses for the good part of three thousand years, God had given us all the only "biblically" correct way to lose weight! Read more about it here.

The Hallelujah Diet will:

1. Curb your craving for meat and potatoes (not to mention demon rum and members of the same sex).
2. Help you look so much sexier (outside of church, of course).
3. Turn you into a vegetable (oops, that's vegetarian).
4. Make you realize that Colonel Sanders was the real Anti-Christ.
5. Close all the sushi bars in New York (OMG!)

Here are the words of God on what you should be eating:

“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat [food].” – Genesis 1:29

Well, there you have it: from God's mouth to your stomach!

Forget all of those animal sacrifices. (God had hoped you would burn all the meaty creatures at the same time, but, no, stupid man had to do it slowly - one at a time. Too slow to eradicate them!) Forget all those pascal lambs, cattle and goats that gave you your own fatted calves. The Chosen People ate them and look what happened! Pigs were just a metaphor for everything that didn't look like a healthy salad.

Right.

Look past the diet and into the Lifestlyle Centers. Notice anything? "Health Ministers?""The hands-on training" Look at The "Hallelujah Acres Medical Clinic" with the requisite cancer patient holding a teddy bear. Note the free seminar: "God's Way to Ultimate Health" hosted by Reverand George Malkmus.

Yes, they're slick. Slick but still crass. This must be what 21st century snake oil looks like. Can practicing Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and atheists take advantage of all these offers to better health? Or must they wear the ultimate badge: ugly fat?

I've emailed a question to Hallelujah Acres asking them if the Lifestyle Centers will accept gay couples.

I don't think they'll answer.

Friday, January 4, 2008

And THE WORST Predicton of All: There Will Be More Pat Robertsons

As Terry Meeuwsen* of The 700 Club says. “Each year Pat goes off alone with the Lord and then comes back to share what the Lord has shown him about the coming year..”

Evidently the Lord showed CBN showered with untold glory while the rest of the world will be mired in violence, chaos and still yet…more Pat Robertsons.

A paean to CBN in “continuing” its work to “take care of the poor and downtrodden...If you take care of them… If you look after them, I’m gonna look after you.” Very shrewd: kind of combines progressive Christianity with prosperity theology. More importantly, it’s a turn of phrase that PR has said in the past with less conviction since he was guilty of furthering the interests of African dictators (by the way, not once in his evangelism segment does he mention Africa). Change of heart? No. Change of brain? Maybe.

Pat/God goes on to say that there’s going to be a resurgence in evangelism and that China will lead the way with upwards of 250 million brand spanking new Chinese Christians: “God’s gonna give us China.” (And silver, too)

Economic and other predictions:

1. A terrorist attack will still come. Just a matter of when. “Did I miss it? Possibly.” You mean you misunderstood GOD?

2. “Violence and chaos in the world. Nations will be convulsed with violence.” And Operation Blessing will give birth to Operation Blackwater – a new Christian mercenary group.

3. Gold will hit $1000. The dollar will continue to decline. Then what will CBN take in donations, Euros?

4. Oil will hit $500 a barrel. If only to make Creflo Dollar drive a Prius.

5. 2009/2010 a major stock market crash. But only after CBN goes public and offers a $1 billion retirement package to Pat.

6. Angelic manifestations. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and Charlize Theron will clone themselves.

God also told him the winner of the presidential election, but he declined to comment about that. God must have said the name at which Pat Robertson shudders: Hillary!



Just how many people watched that 700 Club Broadcast?

According to its website:

Seen in 95 percent of the television markets across the United States, the program is carried on ABC Family Channel cable network, FamilyNet, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and numerous U.S. television stations and is seen daily by approximately one million viewers. WorldReach broadcasts, which include the international editions of The 700 Club, have been viewed in more than 70 foreign languages, can be seen in more than 200 countries, and are accessible throughout the year by more than 1.5 billion people around the world.

2008: scary, isn't it?









*Don’t doubt anything Terry says, ‘cause she’s a former Miss America!

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Clinton and Huckabee: Daffy Definitions #1

Check out the bio of Mike Huckabee in Conservapedia:
http://www.conservapedia.com/Mike_Huckabee

How lovely!

Now check out this piece in Hillary Clinton's bio:

In 1995 there were approximately 1 million computers connected to the Internet. By the end of 1998, there were 50 million. In perspective, after the invention of television, it took more than 10 years before there were 50 million sets in the world. The same rise on the Internet took less than three years.[6] This economic growth of the Internet Hillary Clinton branded as "a vast right-wing conspiracy." White House staffers were directed to write a report, at taxpayer expense, which included an enemies list of persons and organizations who subsequently endured IRS audits and harassment.[7]

If you check out Wikipedia, it gives the "vast" phrase in context of The Today Show with Matt Lauer. Nothing was said about the Internet. You can also check out the archives of The Today Show.

Daffy Definitions: Conservapedia

Just how do you define the ultra-conservative mind?

How about a reactionary encyclopedia? I just discovered the glories of CONSERVAPEDIA - The Trustworthy Enyclopedia!

It's chock full of "enlightened" propaganda (oh, sorry, facts) as written from a conservative viewpoint. It's a reaction to Wikipedia's "liberalism." Here's one reason why:

Polls show that about twice as many Americans identify themselves as "conservative" compared with "liberal", and that ratio has been increasing for two decades.[75] But on Wikipedia, about three times as many editors identify themselves as "liberal" The following is a growing list of examples of liberal bias, deceit, silly gossip, and blatant errors on Wikipedia. Wikipedia has been called the National Enquirer of the Internet:[1] compared with "conservative".[76] That suggests Wikipedia is six times more liberal than the American public.[77] See also liberal quotient.

Huh? How about the possibility that Wikipedia editors are six times better educated and six times more intelligent?

I went to the source of the National Enquirer comment – it’s a blog called Conservative Eccentric. The title of its post is The Wussification of Wikipedia.

Conservapedias subission “Commandments” include:

1. Everything you post must be true and verifiable. Do not copy from Wikipedia[1] or elsewhere unless it was your original work.

2. Always cite and give credit to your sources,[2] even if in the public domain. Conservapedia's Manual of Style assists new wiki users on how to put footnotes in an article. In addition, Conservapedia's Manual of Style shows new Conservapedia wiki users how to flag an article or section of an article which is uncited.

Evidently, the CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE is too radical.

3. When referencing dates based on the approximate birth of Jesus, give appropriate credit for the basis of the date (B.C. or A.D.). "BCE" and "CE" are unacceptable substitutes because they deny the historical basis. See CE.

4. It is appropriate to quote or cite Wikipedia to illustrate the liberal view of an issue.

On its home page, Conservapedia trumpets its own self-definition:

Conservapedia has about 21,700 educational, clean, and concise entries, including more than 350 lectures and term lists. There have been over 46,300,000 page views and over 356,000 page edits. This site is growing rapidly!

Growing so rapidly that its own statistics are two months old.

In the coming posts, I'll be highlighting some of those "trustworthy" entries. Hey, we have to know what the entire conservative world is thinking!