Maybe We Should Chemically Castrate All The Coaches and Guidance Counselors

Christofascists: They're always looking for some
FINAL SOLUTION!

So gays are just an "annoying, perverted part of biology, entirely worthless."

Picked up From Pam's House Blend who picked it up somewhere....:

I]s chemical castration an option for LDS gays? I mean, if you're faithful LDS & accept that for whatever reason the Lord has put you on Earth as a "eunuch" (best case, if you can stay strong), why should you have to struggle with incessant thoughts that are not just inappropriate now, but will be inappropriate in the next life, too, only serve to pervert any desires to have children in a celestial relationship in the next life. There is zero point to having homosexual thoughts, it's not as though they're a normal part of the procreation process - they're just an annoying, perverted form of biology, entirely worthless.

...and a kernel of a solution from Pat Robertson:

He's your son; ... You owe him, you know, advice and counsel and guidance. You're his parent. First of all, you didn't say how old he is. Secondly, I am not at all persuaded that so-called homosexuals are homosexuals because of biological problems. There may be a very few, but there are so many that have been made homosexuals because of a coach or a guidance counselor or some other male figure who has abused them and they think there's something wrong with their sexuality.

Interesting: for Hitler's eugenics programs, men were castrated. They must have wanted better singers for Wagner's operas!

The above two should get together, then after all the guidance counselors and athletic coaches have been chemically castrated, they can start on the really serious stuff: Boy Scout leaders, marriage counselors, fast-food managers and all of the Muppets (except Gonzo, because, let's face it, we don't really know what he is!).

Now just think of these two on the same school board.

Shepard Smith Blasts His Own Employer (But Maybe Fox Is Too Clueless To Notice... Yet)

What's Up With Shepard Smith?

What's up with Shepard Smith, the popular TV news anchor on Fox? Admittedly, I don't watch Fox News. I know I bitch about it often enough and I believe in the title "Faux News" and the slogan "Fairly Unbalanced," but I really don't get where Smith is coming from. Is he merely a fake "liberal-thinking front" for Fox to cover their "Fair and Balanced" ass? He's been with Fox since 1997. He signed his multimillion-dollar contract ($8 million) last year and has two years to go on it. He's known Fox's politics since day one. And he's been outed by Kirby Dick in the documentary, "Outrage." If you've watched him guesting on "Fox and Friends" you know that he thinks of them.

Here are clips from Fox: -Smith with shocking email; Smith mocking Glenn Beck (although Chris Wallace shows he's smitten with Beck); Smith making his most disingenuous statement about media bias (hey, we're dealing Fox, for Crissakes!) and Smith's response to the Holocaust Museum.

The reading of the email is particularly telling: he knows that he shouldn't be aghast at what Fox viewers think of Obama because Fox has trained them to be that way: O'Reilly, Hannity and Hewitt are rabid in their commentary.

Jason Links at Huffington Post:

Time will tell if Smith's colleagues at Fox stop taking these sorts of emails casually. Smith clearly could do that no longer. I think that's appropriate!

Town Hall "Millionaire Patriot" Ad Hawking Handgun Course The Day Of Holocaust Museum Shooting

They Should Have Pulled The Ad - But They Didn't

There is something to be said for the irony of a handgun training course advertisement the day an infamous old white supremicist descides to let loose at the Holocaust Museum. While I'm sure right-wing TownHall.com didn't plan to run the ad yesterday with anything malevolent in mind, you have to wonder at the mindset of its editors.

And the mindset of its readers.

The "Millionaire Patriot" ad is more red (state) than white and blue when you realize where "Dr." Piazza's testimonials come from: the NRA (naturally), The Second Amendment Foundation, The US Concealed Carry Association, WorldNetDaily.com, The NRA Institute for Legislative Action and a former S.W.A.T. commander to name a few.

Take advantage of Dr. Piazza's patriotism before the course he set aside for you is gone!

Get your 30 Gun Training Reports and Front Sight DVD at no charge!

Go to: www.frontsight.com/100 and take advantage of the Millionaire Patriot’s mission to train America!

(As you can imagine, even a Millionaire Patriot has financial limits, so grab this today.)

Some people might not take this ad seriously (especially with the logo's "Front Sight Challenge" graphics ripped off from "Charlie's Angels").

Then again...

God Save Us FROM Religion! - Newt Gingrich and Christofascism On The March

Behold: This Is Dangerous Sh*t!

While cruising the net for items about New Gingrich's "surrounded by paganism" speech, I stumbled upon Lou Engle and The Call. Some of you may have experienced his chilling call for blood in regards to abortion, homosexuality, etc. Watch the two videos and decide if the speech is incendiary. Decide if it portrays God's lust for blood. Decide if The Call is attractive enough for young people to follow it, no matter what the protestations of friends and family are.

The subliminal messaging in The Call is not as subliminal as it thinks. Lou Engles' raspy voice is more demonic than angelic and it is this approach which may be attractive to susceptible youth (read: uneducated - or undereducated kids).

From TheCall website:

We believe...in consequence of his disobedience, Adam's posterity are born subject to both imputed and inherent sin, and are therefore by nature and choice the children of wrath, justly condemned in the sight of God, wholly unable to save themselves or to contribute in any way to their acceptance with God. [Genesis 1–3; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:5; Romans 3:9–18 and 5:12–21; Ephesians 2:1–3]

In other words, because of Adam's sin, we're born with Original Sin and are PREDISPOSED to sin. Engles hates humanity. And he wants everyone else to hate humanity and themselves because God hates humanity. That's the equivalent of Ann Coulter(geist) saying that the children of single mothers eventually wind up as criminals (yes, she said it on The View)

And here's the snake oil:

In the midst of an “entertainment” driven society, TheCall does not seek to entertain, but to encounter God. Unlike other mass gatherings which attract people through the rhythms of loud music, the glamour of flashing lights, or through the appeal of charismatic personalities, TheCall is a gathering centered around the affections of a loving God. There will be no bands and no advertisedpromoted speakers, as our purpose is not to promote any man or ministry.

This is, of course, a totally disingenuous statement: a gathering of people is, in itself, entertainment. People do not congregate with the express purpose of being bored. They come to see and be seen. They come for the kind of validity only personal contact can give them and know that personal contact will be an entertaining experience. This "we're just fasting and praying" is followed-up with:

Though many of the worship leaders and speakers are well known, TheCall does not publicize who will be on stage during the day, but instead trusts that people will come because they want to encounter God and represent the Church in our nation before the Lord in prayer.

That's the same as a poster for an event that's tagged with "and special celebrity guests." The fact that they say "many of the worship leaders and speakers are well known" gives weight to the event. Who wants to go to an event where the leaders will be nobodies? Who wants to go to an event where you'll hear people who are totally uncharismatic? What's the point?

TheCall gatherings are free-of-charge and nothing is sold on the day since it is an assembly holy unto the Lord. We sell no products at all to raise finances but rely completely on donations.

But if you attend, you'll hear a lot of calls for donations. This is practically "bait 'n switch."

Lou Engles supports Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich supports Lou Engles. Christofascists hang tight.

Just a thought.

Frank Schaeffer Gets It Right: It's PRO BIRTH - Not PRO LIFE!

When will people realize that the "Pro Life" movement isn't labeled correctly? It should be labeled "Pro Birth." A majority of "Pro Life" people:

- vote for the death penalty
- protest against illegitimacy and denigrate single mothers
- are against welfare of any kind

Pro Lifers are more concerned about the act of abortion itself than the causes. Hypothetically: if abortions were made illegal, would rabid pro-lifers check a special box on their income tax forms giving their returns to adoption centers?

Of course not.

They only care that the child is born. They're not going to pay for the upbringing (life?) of some hooker's kid! If they mourn for those (supposedly) 50 million babies since Roe v. Wade, then they should have taken some responsibility upon themselves and paid for them to have a chance at a decent life.

And what Schaeffer is saying makes perfect sense: if, as a Christian, you are truly pro-life, then prove it by preempting the criminals and alerting the authorities.

True Pro-Lifers are against death of any kind. They don't vote for the death penalty, they don't bash people because of sexual orientation, they don't discourage hate crimes bills, they don't carry concealed weapons in state parks.

Paganism Is Surrounded by Newt Gingrich!

...And Mike Huckabee! And Dick Cheney! And Rush Limbaugh!

George Washington in a letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island in 1790:

...for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support ... May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants -- while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid."

Newt Gingrich thinks our country is being attacked by "paganism" (whatever that means to him), but it just may be that our country is being attacked by the likes of Newt Gingrich and his army of hardcore Christofascists.

From Think Progress:

On Friday, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, and Oliver North visited Rock Church in Hampton Roads, Virginia to give a three-hour long lecture on “Rediscovering God in America.” The speakers warned the audience about the “continuing availability of abortion, the spread of gay rights, and attempts to remove religion from American public life and school history books.” The Virginia-Pilot reported that Gingrich argued that, while Christianity is the foundation of American citizenship, Americans are experiencing a period where they are being “surrounded by paganism”:

GINGRICH:

I am not a citizen of the world. I am a citizen of the United States because only in the United States does citizenship start with our creator. [...] I think this is one of the most critical moments in American history. We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism.

Huckabee also equated America’s victory against the British in the Revolutionary War with the right-wing’s success in the Proposition 8 fight in California as being miracles “from God’s hand.”

How would Newt and his gang eradicate paganism? Remember that in its original usage, "paganism" meant everyone who wasn't Christian (the Jews being referred to under their own separate terminology: "kike"). Does the newly Catholicized Newt want to expel every Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist and Mormon (well, maybe the poor LDS's)? Does Huckabee think of himself as the new "Queen Isabella," ordering forced conversions in lieu of torture or exile?

Remember that Fox montage of self-aggrandizement ? It was pointedly anti-immigrant (legal or not). Will the Boss's "Bloviators" force immigrants out of the country? They're already having a fit about allowing gay partners of immigrants into the country.

So it looks like Gringrich intends for the "pagan wagon train" to be attacked by his group of thugs rather than the other way around.

We can only hope that the Obama Cavalry will come to rescue us in the nick of time. Until then...

Tosca And The Hotdog People: Religion Subtly Scorned

Last night, the Puccini opera, Tosca, broadcast to one of the largest audiences it ever had. In conjunction with the San Francisco Giants and the San Francisco Opera, Tosca was simulcast from the grand SF Opera House to the incredible screen and sound system of AT&T Stadium. FREE!

The Stadium Loved It - But Did They Get It?

I hope they did. From the comments on Yelp! the crowd was an opera-loving crowd. Yeah, I'm being a bit snobbish here, but I don't think these were people who had tailgate parties (note the one comment: "...I'm going to try to sneak in some 92' Château d'Yquem Sauternes underneath my cummerbund.").

As one critic put it, Tosca is

"...an impassioned piece seething with revolutionary overtones, love, lust, lechery, torture, murder, suicide and religion."

I wonder if anyone got the subtle anti-religious theme? If Tony Perkins had seen it, he would have undoubtedly picked up on it: Tosca is a woman of the theater (opera singer) who meets her lover in a church where he is painting the Magdalene for a side chapel. She becomes extremely jealous of the painting, not knowing that her lover is harboring the model's brother, a rebel who has escaped from prison. This was during a time in Italy when the Vatican was hand-in-hand with Rome against the liberating forces of Napoleon. Both lovers get caught up in a web of spies, lies and intrigue. If that's not enough, she kills the evil chief of police to save her lover, then kills herself after her lover is killed. Got that? With grand sets, incredible costumes, phenominal score, and all three principals dead at the end, the audience goes away with excitement and pathos almost too much to handle. But it's one small part of a scene - actually one bit (pictured in the old poster) that catches our interest: after she kills Scarpio (the chief of police), Tosca lays him out on the floor and places a candle on either side of him, giving his corpse a dignity he never deserved.

However, in the production I saw last night, she places Scarpio's arms straight out! It's a cruciform layout to be sure. He's laid out as if for a Christian burial, in a rather sacrilegious way. In her mind, Tosca has not only murdered Scarpio, but the church as well. The church she was devoted to. The church which chastized her for her love of the painter. The church which was co-ruler with an oppressive government. The church which condemns suicide. And for our modern-day sensibilities: the church which deplores the idea of a judge having empathy.

Here is how one first-timer ballpark opera fan put it:

What a unique and bizarre way to watch a show: blankets, beers, wine, sandwiches, popcorn, scarves, whatever. It was even weirder noticing that right above the huge digital screen was a Budweiser ad.

The audience booed at the villain, cheered with the heroine and tried not to yell at people who were talking to loud.

Garlic fries and Opera do mix!!

Couldn't have been a better night. Almost full moon. Perfect weather. At one point during Floria's moving aria a flock of seagulls flew by as if on cue. I love this SF tradition. The casual setting was great for this particular opera and it was great to hear the crowd roar for Floria....

While I haven't as yet obtained a current criticism of Tosca by, say, that totally enlightened preacher, Rick Warren, there were critics galore in Puccini's times:

(from Giacomo Puccini: Tosca, by Mosco Carner)

…the implied anti-clericalism of the opera manifest not only in Cavaradossi [the painter] but also in the fact that its villain was himself portrayed as a devout believer; this threw an odd light on the Catholic Church and would probably go against the grain of many spectators, to say nothing of the Vatican.

One current critic (1903):

“…a prolonged orgy of lust and crime made endurable by the beauty of Puccini’s music."

And then there was the ultimate (Puritanical) put down:

“…a shabby little shocker.”

There's a fascinating book that doesn't critique opera music nor even the librettos. It's To the Devil with Opera! It's All Religion, Myth and Sex, by Michael Kreps. It tells us what a rich source the Bible was for opera librettos. And even though it's only been out a year, it's probably been banned by U.S. Christian bookstores and the Southern Baptist Convention.



Below is the role played by the incomparable Maria Callas at the height of her fame.

In her interpretation, she lays the candles down with trepidation; she cannot stand to be near the corpse. In fact, she literally forces herself to commit the sacrilege, but performs it just the same.

Let's face it: the pomposity and hypocrisy of the church are main themes in Tosca just as brazen as the lust and the love. And some of today's Evangelicals or, ahem, "social conservatives" wouldn't approve of it. Pat Robertson wouldn't approve of it. Justice Anthony Scalia wouldn't approve of it. The Mormon Church wouldn't approve of it.

And (if he could understand it), Sean Hannity wouldn't approve of it.