The Art Of Human Sacrifice: When Religious Families Become Too Extreme In Their "Love" of God

Has Bryce Faulkner Been Sacrificed to God?

A while ago, we read about a gay teen's nightmare in a Mormon "Boy's Camp" - it was called "Trapped In A Mormon Gulag." Now the gay community is sending up flares about a young man named Bryce Faulkner. Not a teen, but a 23-year-old man who was forced by his parents to go to an "ex-gay" program (the program lasts 14 months!). The Problem? No one has heard from him since.

From Slog:

Where In The World Is Bryce Faulkner?

Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 10:42 AM

Bryce Faulkner, 23, was preparing to come out to deeply religious family in Arkansas when his mother discovered his emails to his boyfriend, Travis who lives in Wisconsin. Bryce was given an ultimatum of being kicked out of his family and put out on the street or going into ex-gay therapy. Before Bryce disappeared his boyfriend Travis received one last phone call on June 15th and was crying uncontrollably saying, "You should have heard the mean and hateful things they said about me. They made me read out loud passages from the Bible." There's a website, there's a YouTube video, there's more info here.

I'm not sure what to make of this case. Bryce Faulkner is 23 years-old; he's not a minor, and presumably he could flee Arkansas—and a hateful family—like so many other gay and lesbian Arkansans have before him. But family ties are powerful things and threats of being cut off financially or emotionally have driven other gay men into quack "reparative therapy" programs.

So is Bryce Faulkner being de-gayed for the "Glory of God"? Sounds vaguely like a human sacrifice. Sanctioned by the Bible, of course.

I've read an "unauthorized" biography of Fred Phelps. His persona would be a more appropriate "Abraham" in sacrificing an "Isaac." He has thirteen children and, make no mistake, they're ALL afraid of him. He repeatedly brutalized his wife and children. (Two of his oldest sons were able to escape the Phelps hell, but the others have been indoctrinated to the point that they make no distinction between God and Fred - which is the way he likes it). In fact, it's amazing that any one of the Phelps children is alive. Yes, Phelps is obvious.

But there are too many "Believing" parents who escape detection or are shielded by their religious community. Then again, no one wants to intrude on "family matters." Truth is, there are more mothers worthy of the image of Piper Laurie's character in "Carrie" than there are June Cleavers.

I'm also having a feeling of deva ju here, but twenty years ago, the situation was unspeakably worse: people were being kicked out of their homes WHILE THEY WERE SICK AND DYING!!

And they're STILL doing that in the African-American communities - read Gil L. Robinson's anthology, Not In My Family. You will find characters like "Bishop" Eddie Long, who led a march against the rights of gays and lesbians.

Long characterized the march as a demonstration in support of family values. But it may well stand as the first time in memory that black people, marching under the banner of civil rights, have essentially campaigned against themselves. - Nathan McCall.

From discrimination against gays to human sacrifice. Quite a leap in reasoning you say? But think: isn't allowing people to die a kind of sacrifice to God - to "appease" Him? Isn't FORCING a person to change from what God has made him into what someone thinks will please God a kind of human sacrifice?

wikipedia:

... human sacrifice is a popular theme in the Old Testament. In Numbers 31 when the Israelites slaughter the people of Midian they take all of the cattle, goods, and flocks into their possession, along with the women and children of the Midianites. This displeases God, who sends a plague upon the Israelites for not slaughtering all of the Midianites, and Moses commands that of the captured Midianites all the male children and all the females who are not virgins are slaughtered. Of the remaining virgin women and children there are recorded 32,000, of which Moses divides amongst the people to offer as human sacrifices to God.

Another metaphor: because of the harshness of nighttime desert climates, to evict someone from your house meant certain death (hence the hospitality of Lot to the two angels). The Faulners probably knew the metaphor: "Go to Exodus or die! Your choice, Bryce."

Not much of a choice. Not much of a family, either.

The Faulkners have demanded that Travis and the rest of the concerned gay community remove the website. They've threatened legal action. Travis, however, has stated that the website will remain until Bryce in person tells him to take it down.

Too many people's emotional, mental and physical lives have been sacrificed to God. When will God step in and say, "Enough Already!"

Just a thought.

Pat Buchanan Insults Two Religions In One Sentence!

The Wit And Wisdom Of This Man!!

Sometimes Pat Buchanan comes off like any other bigot: very stupid. There are those times, however, when he passes into absurdity. Case in Point: you don't compare an alleged Nazi prison guard to Jesus Christ. It's just not done. We all know that Pat is a pretty well-rounded bigot: gays, blacks, Hispanics and women - especially those who are considered for the Supreme Court. But when he champions Nazi prison guards, he's gone, baby, gone. His white supremacist tendencies put him in the league of David Duke and Hitler.

Belfast Times:

German prosecutors have formally charged a suspected Nazi death camp guard with 27,900 counts of being an accessory to murder. Eighty-nine-year-old John Demjanjuk was extradited from the US in May.[..] Demjanjuk says he was a Red Army soldier who spent the war as a Nazi prisoner and never hurt anyone.

Pat Buchanan rode on his white horse to Demjanjuk and the side of Justice:

John Demanjuk And The True Haters

On Good Friday, John Demjanjuk, 89 and gravely ill, was ordered deported to Germany to stand trial as an accessory to the murder of 29,000 Jews—at Sobibor camp in Poland.

Sound familiar? It should. It is a re-enactment of the 1986 extradition of John Demjanjuk to Israel to be tried for the murder of 870,000 Jews—at Treblinka camp in Poland.

How many men in the history of this country have been so relentlessly pursued and remorselessly persecuted?

...The spirit behind this un-American persecution has never been that of justice tempered by mercy. It is the same satanic brew of hate and revenge that drove another innocent Man up Calvary that first Good Friday 2,000 years ago.

Now is there anyone who thinks that Pat Buchanan would ever deal out justice with mercy? All around bigots just don't do that.

Crooks and Liars

The good thing about the attention Buchanan has brought on himself is that it may finally shine a spotlight on the persistent and malignant influence of white nationalism on our national discourse and our body politic. Looking as we are at pan-racial, multicultural future, our success is going to hinge on our abilities to find ways to break down the old racial barriers that were erected by white supremacists -- whose worldview was dominant in the USA for decades -- a century ago and more. And as Pat Buchanan has been demonstrating, they will only go kicking and screaming.

But what kind of flack is Buchanan going to get from both Jews and Christians? Probably none. That's the sad part.

Pulpit Pimp Alert! Tony Perkins Says Preaching Hate Will Get You Handcuffed!

Actually, No. But PHYSICAL Violence Against Queers Will!

Have you heard the Screams from Washington, from Colorado Springs, from Virginia Beach, from Fox News? People are shaking in their boots, tearing their hair, thrusting their crucifixes before themselves, wailing in righteous agony! Tony Perkins, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, all the televangelists along with all the priests and ministers who have been campaigning against the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill will be looking over their shoulders and scanning the pews for FBI men waving warrants!

Call me warped, but I wish it were true!

Pam's House Blend:

Via tips-q's David Hart, in the late evening article entitled Breaking: Hate Crimes Bill Passes Senate!: A cloture vote just passed by 63 to 28. By prior consent that passes the bill. I will post the roll call vote when it is provided by the Senate but at least five Republicans voted aye.

And from AP:

The Senate has approved the most sweeping expansion of federal hate crimes protections since the original law was enacted after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The legislation broadens federal reach to protect those physically attacked because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or a disability. Current law is limited to crimes motivated by race, ethnicity or religion...

Washington Blade:

[In the House of Representatives] Responding to concerns by opponents that the bill’s clause prohibiting prosecution for “any activities protected by the free-speech or free-exercise clauses of the First Amendment to the constitution” was limited to just part of the constitution, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) called for striking the words referring to the First Amendment. Instead, he called for changing the wording to ban prosecution for “any activities protected by the Constitution.” The committee then passed the amendment by unanimous voice vote.

And from Air America:

Supporters countered that prosecutions under the bill can occur only when bodily injury is involved, and no minister or protester could be targeted for expressing opposition to homosexuality, even if their statements are followed by another person committing a violent action.

The screams are all for nothing, but let them scream. They're enjoying all that self-righteous agony.

Limbaugh, Beck, Savage, Quinn and Rose, Laura Ingraham: Drug Addicts All

HATE Is Just Another Form Of Social Heroin

To truly appreciate hate in its purest form, listen to its dealers on radio. Of course, some of the dealers are on television, but radio is much, much more evocative. The disembodied voice sears into the listener's brain without the distraction of a face trying to humanize (therefore soften) the words. Hitler's captive audiences were not in any stadium, but sitting in the privacy of their own homes. Charles Coughlin knew that the sobriquet of "Father Charles Coughlin" bellowed by an announcer packed more of an anti-Semitic punch than any clerical collar could.

People's imaginations are sparked more by radio than television. Hate addicts on both sides of the microphone can conjure up vivid images in their brains, leaving reality hard pressed to come in second in the race for their minds.

What's it like to be a hate junkie? Pure hatred gives people a high of superiority, a short, but intense feeling of intelligence and an irrational thirst for blood. And like any other addiction, it craves regular feedings, a steady diet, if you will, of... hate. Most hate junkies lead mundane lives, eating, sleeping, and looking for their next fix. Most of the dealers, however, are additionally hooked on greed - greed for money, greed for power, greed for the sake of hate.

And to sate those appetites, the dealers look to the media. Where hate radio is king. The two pastiches below were compiled by Media Matters, a kind of watchdog group that monitors the antics of people in radio, television, print and internet. Listening to them, hate addicts are hooked on unsubstantiated, unreasoning and, some say, maniacal ideologies. You can poke fun at the bold stupidity of their statements, but you can't deny that their hatred is expounded in a way to incite junkies, to slander anyone, to create the "us vs. them" psychology that is so necessary for propagating hate.

The dealers in these two clips are: Rush Limbaugh (of course), Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, James Quinn, Mark Levin, Lee Rodgers and Michael Savage. This group of hate dealers are not insidious, they are not covert nor are they hiding behind anything. Instead, they boldly pummel, punch, stab, shoot and nuke their victims verbally and without the slightest bit of reason, research...or remorse.

It's sad. These addicts are beyond "Intervention." Hell, they're making too much money to talk to them about going clean and sober.

Book Deals Tell All: Right-Wingers Will Buy Anything - Up To A Point!

Because Some Of Them DO Read! Honest!
(Well, that' what I heard, anyway)

Book advances and royalty deals tell a lot about what the American public is willing to shell out to be entertained:

Laura Bush got an advance of only $1.3 for her memoirs. George Bush barely got an advance (unknown). Bill Clinton ultimately raked in a whopping $30 million from "My Life" and Hillary Clinton took in at least $8 million for "Living History." Sarah Palin has signed for a book deal, but will not disclose the amount until March, 2010: she didn't want to "distract from the substance of the book."

May 4, 2009 12:04 PM EST |

Glenn Beck has reached an agreement with Simon & Schuster for a series of books _ fiction and nonfiction, for young and for old, in a variety of formats...As part of the deal, Beck will accept a smaller advance, but also will receive part of the profits, an arrangement Simon & Schuster has used previously with Stephen King.

Beck has three books planned for this year, including "Arguing With Idiots," a nonfiction hardcover book; an audiobook called "America's March to Socialism"; and an e-book/paperback channeling of Thomas Paine, "Glenn Beck's Common Sense."

NEW YORK — Glenn Beck loves the publishing game. The conservative commentator and best-selling author has reached an agreement with Simon & Schuster for a series of books _ fiction and nonficti...

NEW YORK — Glenn Beck loves the publishing game. The conservative commentator and best-selling author has reached an agreement with Simon & Schuster for a series of books _ fiction and nonficti...

Note: "Common Sense" is now #1 on the Amazon bestseller list. And here is a sample of what right-wingers will read for "fun":

Many people will hear the word Progressive and immediately think of liberals or Democrats – but they’re not synonymous. Progressivism has less to do with the parties and more to do with individuals who seek to redefine, reshape, and rebuild America into a country where individual liberties and personal property mean nothing if they conflict with the plans and goals of the State.

- From Glenn Beck's Common Sense

In other words, Progressives are Socialist. Beck and Hannity call Obama a Socialist, therefore, personal liberties mean nothing to President Barack Obama.

On the other hand, a few right-wingers will go just so far in support of right-wing authors: Joe The Plumber's book Joe the Plumber -- Fighting for the American Dream" was released by a group called PearlGate Publishing.

Huffington Post:

"I am not going to a conglomerate that way we actually can get the economy jump started. Like there is five publishing companies in Michigan. There's a couple down in Texas. They are small ones that can handle like 10 or 15,000 copies. I can go to a big one that could handle a million or two. But they don't need the help. They are already rich. So that's spreading the wealth to me," he said.

Translation: no publishing house offered him an advance, so he had to take a "print-on-demand" offer. Its Amazon ranking is 268,064 and his average customer rating is a meager 2.5 out of five stars.

I read some of the readers' reviews and this tongue-in-cheek review is quite a gem:...

And that's why Joe is still so immensely popular. He's angry, vicious, ignorant, and intellectually incurious. He's one of us, and like us, he didn't learn about public policy and international relations at a university or from books or journals; he learned everything he needed to know by tuning into Rush, Hannity, Savage, and Ingraham.

Then there's the ubiquitous (to today's publishing industry, at least) Ann Coulter(geist). She's grown filthy rich off her books. When she's spotlighted on talk shows, you just know that another one of her liberals-are-fecal-matter books is on the shelves. But wait! Her last book, Guilty! showed a drop in sales!!

March 13th, 2009 by John Grooms in Boomer with an Attitude

Coulter, bony heroine of the hard right and former actress (she played Seabiscuit in the movie of the same name), has been all over the media lately, even agreeing to joint appearances with Bill Maher. The reason? Her latest book, Guilty, has sold a mere 100,000 copies. Most authors would kill for 100,000 books sold, but Coulter is used to figures in the 300K-400K range. And she and her publisher are apparently freaking out.

But when you come to think about it, even right-wingers have to be, if not discerning, at least bored by what was liberal-bashing for the sake of, well, liberal bashing. Coulter's outlandish, insulting and totally egotistical statements (equating waterboarding with a childish prank that absolutely everyone with a normal childhood went through).

Advances, royalties, celebrities, pundits, right-wingers, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and...Joe the Plumber.

Could Mark Twain have survived today? I doubt it. Very, very much.

The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. - MT

Bashing The President's Daughters: The Most Disgusting Part Of America May Be Its Freedom Of Speech

All I can say is, I surely hope these people don't travel to foreign countries. Bush made us look like assholes. Obama is trying to make America a statesman again. These people would make us look like neanderthals: When little Malia Obama wore a t-shirt with a peace symbol on it, little did she know she would incite the ire of some very, very upscale cretins. These comments were posted on the oh-so-dignified Free Republic:

What we now are sending the ghetto over to represent us. and if so who the hell is that flea bag who looks to be dragged from the trash dumpster.

Looks like a bunch of ghetto thugs. A stain on America..

These ‘adorable little angels' sat in Rev Wright's ‘church' and were spoon fed hate whitey/hate America for most of their lives.

the world must be laughing like mad right now at that we have this kind of street trash in our white house.

Its the sign of the American Chicken.

I am just hope this is a late April fools joke because this trash walking around the streets of Europe makes me cringe.

"Well we're movin on up, to the east side. To a deluxe apartment in the sky. Movin on up to the east side. We finally got a piece of the pie..."

If the kid starts making political statements then she is fair game. Wonder when she will have her first abortion.

Daddy better keep an eye on that thug. I'd hate for Miss Obama to be punished with a child.

They make me sick.... The whole family... mammy, pappy, the free loadin' mammy-in-law, the misguided chillin', and especially ‘lil cuz... This is not the America I want representin' my peeps

In addition, the thread includes a picture of Michelle Obama speaking to her daughter with the caption, "To Entertain Her Daughter, Michelle Obama Likes to Make Monkey Sounds."

And possibly the worst:

DIRTBAGS! All of them. Our WH is now a joke to the rest of the world. We have no respect and this is not going to turn out well, mark my words. We will be hit, and much worse than last time. We are now seen as weak and vulnerable. Ghetto and Chicago thugs have taken over the WH.

Certainly the lamest:

And quit picking on little Chacha & Malaria.

Remember, people, keep repeating: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of...

The Christofascist "Golden Boy" Is Back: Ralph Reed Sets His Sights On A Kinder, Gentler Coalition

Bullsh*t

The man once dubbed the “right hand of God” by Time magazine is returning to lead Christians everywhere along the "right" political path.

“This is not going to be your daddy’s Christian Coalition,” Reed said in an interview to describe his new venture, the Faith and Freedom Coalition. “It has to be younger, hipper, less strident, more inclusive and it has to harness the 21st century that will enable us to win in the future.”

"It's got to be more brown, more black, more female, and younger. It's critical that we open the door wide and let them know if they share our values and believe in the principles of faith and marriage and family, they're welcome." Faith and Freedom Coalition.

Sounds harmless. But think: Who's Faith and Who's Freedom? I wonder what Tony Perkins will say? This country can't handle TWO politicos who get their orders directly from God.

Of course, I looked up Reed in wikipedia and found these tidbits:

• In college, Reed wrote a column for The Red & Black student newspaper attacking the late Mohandas K. Gandhi. Titled "Gandhi: Ninny of the 20th Century." He was accused of plagiarism and had to resign his post.
• He INTERNED for Jack Abramoff as early as 1981.
• In 1987, Reed was accused of rigging an election for president of the College Republicans (Univ. of Georgia)
• Reed's "born again" experience happened in, of all places, a Washington D.C. bar. He said "the Holy Spirit simply demanded me to come to Jesus". (What a crock - of Ages - sorry - couldn't resist it.)
• In 1985, Reed got righteously arrested along with his compatriots during an Operation Rescue picket.
• Reed was hired as executive director of the Christian Coalition by Pat Robertson. He led CC from 1989 until CC Reed led the organization from 1989 to 1997, achieving national prominence which included an appearance on the cover of TIME. He resigned and moved to Georgia after federal prosecutors began investigating allegations by the Christian Coalition's chief financial officer, Judy Liebert. At this point, the group's finances were collapsing, and the IRS and Federal Election Commission were investigating it.

Infamous Reed quote (the one he'll have to live down the rest of his life)

"I want to be invisible. I do guerrilla warfare. I paint my face and travel at night. You don't know it's over until you're in a body bag." -Ralph Reed (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, November 9, 1991)

Another that smacks of just a little bit of hypocrisy:

"Calling gays 'perverts' or announcing that AIDS is 'God's judgment' on the gay community is not consistent with our Christian call to mercy. " (Active Faith)"

"Hey, now that I’m done with the electoral politics, I need to start humping in corporate accounts! I’m counting on you to help me with some contacts." - Ralph Reed to Jack Abramoff in an email messaged dated November 1998, several days after the general election (Washington Post, June 22, 2005)

And ABOUT Reed:

"I used to tell people he was going to be either President of the United States or Al Capone. Whatever he did, he was really good at it." - his mother, Marcy Reed

"He's a baby-faced assassin. He's silky smooth, butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, but he's a vicious guy."
-Former NH Republican Senator Warren Rudman

For years, Tony Perkins has taken up where Reed left off. How will Perkins react? Will he be willing to pass the helm of his ship to someone else?