Manning and Drake: Taking Back Stupidity...

Only Leads To More Stupidity

Oh! the Christian Charity! Oh! the magnanimous gesture! Oh! the publicity!

Staying in the eye of the media can sometimes cost you a few marbles. Or I.Q. points. Take the cases of Rev. Wiley Drake and Rev. James David Manning. Both have taken upon themselves the odious task of pleading for the death of President Obama. With Drake, it was "imprecatory prayer" (the first time in centuries since those words were ever used, sending millions of people to their dictionaries), asking God to smite Obama when He got the chance. But Manning was more poetic (I think) in telling his faithful that "If Obama lives, America dies." Many people (including Homeland Security) took that sentiment to be a flagrant request for someone, anyone, to kill the President. Of course, neither was as blatantly obtuse as Steven Anderson who said Obama should be killed like a snail - sending some people out to buy huge bags of salt.

BTW: where do these people come from?

So now we have two ministers who have tried to backtrack into less treasonous territory.

From Right Wing Watch:

A former Southern Baptist Convention officer who made headlines in June when he said on national radio that he was praying for Barack Obama to die now says he wants to see the president live long enough to stand trial for treason.

Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., issued a press release Nov. 19 calling for an end to "imprecatory prayer" -- words of judgment from the Book of Psalms prayed back to God, directed toward Obama. Drake attributed his change of heart to "spiritual counsel" of James David Manning, pastor at ATLAH World Missionary Church in New York, contained in a 16 1/2-minute video recorded Nov. 18.

"I do not want to see anyone attempt, dream about, think about or ever discuss assassinating you," Manning continued. "It is most important to you and to my savior Jesus that you live, and that you live a long life, but that you live that we might be able to bring you to trial.

So Manning has backtracked from his convoluted "mack daddy" speeches to wish Obama a long life (notice he didn't say "healthy") in order to bring him to trial. A visit from Homeland Security to Manning's church/seminary/school/broadcast center could have had something to do with his change of heart, although he also recorded a "fine, take me!" video.

I know, too many people are asking "Are these wackos news?" Unfortunately they are: remember what we've always said about religion and entertainment: in America, you can't tell them apart.

The Manhattan Declaration: The Christian Right Declares Global Warfare, Giving Africa The Gift Of ...Fear

The Christofascist Manifesto!
plus - As Part Of A Double Feature -
Homophobia Is Alive And Thriving In Africa

Christofascists might have a reason to celebrate the holidays very, shall we say, enthusiastically this Christmas: the anti-homosexuality bill of Uganda is still on the table before the Ugandan parliament and, despite strong opposition from human rights groups and progressive churches, looks as if it might pass. If it does, you will hear choruses of "Hallelujah" coming from strongholds of homophobia like the Southern Baptist Convention and Family Research Council, because, after all, they encouraged the bill from its very beginning.

Of course, the climate in Uganda is so thick with fear and loathing of anyone gay that whole communities are already going door-to-door to "root out" homosexuals and turn them in to authorities. Passage of the bill would create a gay genocide unparalleled in history.

From Queerty.com

U.S. conservatives have successfully recruited a significant number of prominent African religious leaders to a campaign seeking to restrict the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. The flagship issue … is the ordination of LGBT clergy by mainline Protestant denominations– particularly the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches– in the United States….

As a direct result of this campaign, homophobia is on the rise in Africa– from increased incidents of violence to antigay legislation that carries the death penalty….

Right Wing Watch:

"We need to stand up against the U.S. Christian Right peddling homophobia in Africa," said Kaoma, who in recent weeks asked U.S. evangelist Rick Warren to denounce the bill and distance himself from its supporters.

“Africa’s antigay campaigns are to a substantial degree made in the U.S.A.”

A progressive think tank - Political Research Associates - just declared this week in the report "Globalizing the Culture Wars: U.S. Conservatives, African Churches and Homophobia" by Rev. Kapya Kaoma, a scholar This short report is MUST READING for those who wish to keep informed about the ugly, steadfast goals of the Christian Right in Africa, especially demonizing and criminalizing homoseuality.

“Rick Warren shows one face in the United States where he says he loves gays, and another face in Africa, which is on the verge of pogroms against this community,” said Reverend Kaoma. “We need to hear his voice loud and clear on this issue that gays and lesbians are entitled to full human rights.”

Rick has souls to win and money to make (in order to win those souls). He's not going to collar Uganda, Rwanda and every other African nation to preach to them what they don't want to hear. Even though he professes "love" for everyone, that love extends just so far - as far as the grasp for a nation's wallet and as far as the clutch of a significant number of souls.

From Christianity Today

Christian leaders reaffirmed their conservative stances on abortion, same-sex marriage, and religious liberty with a 4,700-word declaration released Friday. Signed initially by 125 evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox leaders, the Manhattan Declaration calls Christians to adhere to three primary convictions, even if this requires civil disobedience. Charles Colson, who helped draft the declaration, said the statement brings Christian leaders together on the issues of abortion, marriage, and religious freedom in the face of growing pressure.

From The Manhattan Declaration:

Because the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion are foundational principles of justice and the common good, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense. In this declaration we affirm: 1) the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, possessing inherent rights of equal dignity and life; 2) marriage as a conjugal union of man and woman, ordained by God from the creation, and historically understood by believers and non-believers alike, to be the most basic institution in society and; 3) religious liberty, which is grounded in the character of God, the example of Christ, and the inherent freedom and dignity of human beings created in the divine image.

Notice:

1. "equal dignity and life" do NOT include homosexuals, women, pro-choice people, leftists (commie-pinko's), socialists, or anyone the church sees fit to make an outcast.

2.) marriage as a societal institution has not been around in the same form as it exists now. This section leaves out the possibility of arranged marriages.

3. If religious liberty is "grounded in the character of God," then it is only CHRISTIAN liberty which is espoused. And that brings up the question as to WHO has signed the manifesto? Were Hindus, Muslims, Rastafarians, Shinto, Buddhists, Mormons, Jews, Zoroastrians invited to sign?

A hypocrisy creeps into the Manhattan Declaration fairly early on:

This same devotion to human dignity has led Christians in the last decade to work to end the dehumanizing scourge of human trafficking and sexual slavery, bring compassionate care to AIDS sufferers in Africa, and assist in a myriad of other human rights causes – from providing clean water in developing nations to providing homes for tens of thousands of children orphaned by war, disease and gender discrimination.

It is only at this juncture that the "Declaration" mentions AIDS and pointedly makes it a scourge of Africa. It conveniently jumps over the lack of compassion and dehumanization of homosexuals in regards to AIDS. That may be because, with the help of Rick Warren, they may be able to claim more converts while imprisoning more homosexuals in The Dark Continent.

The most hypocritical gag-me-with-a-spoon comment slips in later (but we all knew it was coming, didn't we?)

And so it is out of love (not “animus”) and prudent concern for the common good (not “prejudice”), that we pledge to labor ceaselessly to preserve the legal definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman and to rebuild the marriage culture.

OK, let's face it: this declaration is a shout against the winds of change. And it is also a threat:

"We will stand here and make your lives as miserable as possible if everyone doesn't kneel down to us and convert RIGHT NOW!" (It says, with the stamp of a patent leather shod foot)

or...

"Don't make us call our friends in Africa to deal with you."

Will James David Manning Be Tried As A Martyr ... Or As An Idiot?

We have finally been given the most incredibly powerful example of blind faith ever seen in this country: James David Manning, "Ph.D." and his ATLAH Worldwide Ministries.

Yes, blind faith: as in willing to believe anything, as in naive, as in ignorant of the facts. I've long said that there are people who are willing to believe anyone who says the magic words: "God" "Bible" "Man of God" "Savior" "Holy" "Sacred." And if someone says those words to them loud enough, with enough emotion, long enough and clutching "Scripture" he or she can also add "send money" and then ...OMG! It's a miracle! People will actually send money!

Yep, that's blind faith. "Blind" being the operative word in this case.

James David Manning has been operating and bloviating about his ATLAH Worldwide "ministries" for over 25 years in Harlem (which he calls ATLAH - All The Land Anointed Holy).

Wikipedia:

Manning is fiercely opposed to the gentrification of Harlem and calls for its residents to boycott its shops, restaurants, doctors, banks and churches. That action, combined with a general rent strike, would force all property owners out of Harlem, he said, leaving the neighborhood to its rightful inheritors: black people. Manning calls his plan "No Dew, Nor Rain," after Elijah's warning to Ahab, king of Israel, of a coming drought. "When there's no dew, no rain, there's a drought - there's all kinds of suffering," said Manning. The whole of Harlem, he said, is to be a "drought zone."

Manning, on his radio show, The Manning Report, has been Obama's most virulent critic, even before the Presidential campaign, calling him a pimp ("Mac Daddy") and has called not only for his removal from office, but his death.

Viewing his "Reports" is like watching a passionate eighth grader read his notes about his love of all the Star Wars episodes (yes, even Jar Jar Binks!). He contradicts himself in statement after statement and doesn't seem to know he's doing it. His reasoning is so faulty that you wonder how he ever made it through high school, much less Union Theological Seminary. His assault never seems to come up for air, droning on and on about how EVERYONE in politics, Republicans, Democrats, Independents have tried to lead America down into the lowest caverns of hell.

And he does more than imply that people will have to perform acts of violence and give of themselves to the point of becoming martyrs. If a suicide bomber were to have pastor Manning's words on his lips before the explosion, Manning would simply say that there are casualties in every war. His war, however, seems to be with reason itself, but to call him insane would be useless: he and his small congregation (400?) have heard all the arguments against his sanity and they expect them. Calling him for what he is, however - a puffed up, fraudulent idiot - would make them stone you. To his congregation, Manning is a "man of God" who offers stern, spiritual guidance, even as he leads them into a separatist, illusary world where they are the only ones battling the forces of darkness.

There are different reasons why people come under the spell of such a "Man of God": some are terrified of spirituality, some are woefully ignorant, some are spiritually "lazy," wanting an authority figure to think things out for them, and then some are simply - stupid. His thoughtless polemics are treated as manna from heaven by his people. They don't know him as a man who's spun a cacoon of fraudulent claims and fraudulent hope. We should feel sorry for them.

But not for him.

With as much theatricality as he could muster, his latest video depicts him as a martyr for the cause of freedom, martyred by Obama and his corrupt administration.

It's hilarious.

It's assinine.

It's horrific in its stupidity.

Pray for this man's congregation. But in the meanwhile, pray for him to be tried as an idiot. That, my friends, would be true justice.

The Bestseller That Isn't: Going Rogue Hits Bestsellerdom With A Wimper!

Will New Book Help Her Run For Office?
Or Run FROM Office?

In 1936, when Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind was published, the population of the country was approx, 128 million people (about 42% of what it is now) and the "average Joe" (to use the sexist terminology of the times) put out a whopping $3.00 (roughly 15% of his weekly salary) to read about the exploits of Scarlett O'Hara. Whole city blocks would chip in between five and ten cents a neighbor to have a turn at reading it. It came out in May 30th with a print run of 5,000 and then a rushed print run in June of 50,000 copies. By Christmas, one million copies were in print.

There was no New York Times Bestseller List at the time, but the nation viewed it as #1 for a over 2 years. That, however, was a time when books were popular because their authors were, at the very least, captivating. In 1984, for example, Erma Bombeck's Motherhood, The Second Oldest Profession was on the top of the charts for several months. People read it for its wit, humor and professionalism.

Times have changed, haven't they?

What constitutes a bestseller these days? The number of copies sold is still the criteria, but there is something else, or rather, there are things which don't "pal around with" good writing. Notoriety of the author or subject sells. Even negative publicity sells. Booksellers are still banking on brisk sales for Carrie Prejean's book Still Standing, but perhaps that's because people sometimes buy books for "camp" value. One truly funny "five star" review:

Although the writing in Miss Prejean's book caused me to throw up a little in my mouth, the spirit moves me to give it five stars. I know some might find that a little strange, but a book is more than simply words, sentences, and chapters; it's also cover art, spine glue, and the little blurbs the publisher commands its other authors to write. In sum, all these pieces must come together to make a book. If I love the smell of the book's spine glue, shouldn't I be allowed to reward the publisher with a few extra stars? I certainly think so.

Now the erstwhile Governor-of-Alaska-for-eighteen-months has penned an autobiography of sorts: Going Rogue will sell in the millions, to be sure, and will (briefly) be on the New York Times bestseller list simply because it had so many pre-orders. And die-hard Sarah Palin fans will brace themselves for a culture war skermish against any liberal MSM onslaught.

Harper Collins' description of the book:

Going Rogue traces one ordinary citizen's extraordinary journey and imparts Palin's vision of a way forward for America and her unfailing hope in the greatest nation on earth.

Certainly the making of a literary megastar! Not! Harper Collins may be trumpeting the pre-publishing sales, but in the end, it's the bookseller who knows what's happening to the book.

At Amazon the list price of $28.99 has been marked down to --$9.oo! That's a 60% markdown! In other words, damn the pre-pub sales - let's remainder it before we get stuck with it!

A tongue-in-cheek five star review:

All I know is this means she wont be running for President in 2012...she will make so much money from her book deal that she can shop at Wal-Mart for 1,212 days spending $3,000 each day. This will take her way past electioneering season.

Under "Tags Customers Associate with This Product" the tag with the most customers is Keeping America Stupid. The book is also paired in sales with a right wing polemical book about the Obama administration with the prescient title: Catastrophy!

I've been in books and publishing long enough to know that a book ala Ann Coulter is only read because of who the author is trashing no matter whether it's truth or "fibrication." Of course, even Ann Coulter can lie more convincely than Sarah Palin, but that won't stop some people from determining the book as the gospel truth. And Going Rogue: An American Life will proudly rest in their bookcases along with the conspiracy theories of Pat Robertson (A New World Order) and My Pet Goat.

And yet another commenter put the relationship between writer and reader beautifully:

When you understand that nobody wants to read your shit, your mind becomes powerfully concentrated. You begin to understand that writing/reading is, above all, a transaction. The reader donates his time and attention, which are supremely valuable commodities. In return, you the writer, must give him something worthy of his gift to you.

*The other two titles are Marvel Comic Books - not really that much of a stretch when you come to think of it. But their cover art has hoisted their prices (collector items) to $45 each making them better investments.

Islamophobia: An Irrational Rage Among People Who Can Barely Spell Islamophobia

From Islamophobia Watch:

Muslims know what materials are being taught in their mosques and they know many of the materials instruct young Muslims to kill innocent people who do not adhere to Sharia law. If Muslims do not want a backlash, then I would recommend a 'house cleaning'. Stack every Saudi, al Qaeda, Pakistani, Taliban, Hamas, and Muslim Brotherhood piece of material from their mosque and have a bonfire. Tell the American, Jewish, and Muslim community this hatred will no longer be allowed in their mosques."

- Dave Gaubatz, author of Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that's Conspiring to Islamize America,

All of this might be dismissed as the ranting of a fringe lunatic, but for the fact that Gaubatz's work has been circulated and endorsed by prominent Republican officials.

From Christian Newswire, Rev. Rusty Lee Thomas, Elijah Ministries,:

Islam is God's reality check for America. Can we continue to survive rejecting God and our Christian heritage for a "bowl of humanistic pottage?" We are selling our birthright as Americans so we can be just as sophisticated and enlightened as the Socialistic European nations that are in the midst of being conquered by Islam. Is this the heritage we desire to leave our children and grandchildren? I pray not in Jesus' name!

The website for Elijah ministries is Christofascist beyond belief and complete with flames and military metaphors.

From Right Wing Watch:
The American Family Association's Bryan Fischer:

The problem is that the more devout a Muslim is, the greater a threat he represents to our national security. And until we have a way of identifying which Muslims are the ones we have to worry about, we just cannot afford to take the chance.

Of course there's our friend "Rev." James David Manning (video below) who says that President Obama will, in exchange for Osama Bin Laden, turn over Israel to Islam. You thought that Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons were incendiary. Manning beats him by a mile. The jury is still out when it comes to investigating Manning and his intentions: maybe he's just a bumbling idiot who took advantage of Harlem's poor schools and huge drop-out rate to hammer hatred and ignorance into its residents.

Here is a prime example of Islamophobia as a result of some preachers' ignorant rants:

Alexios Marakis, a Greek Orthodox priest visiting the U.S., got lost in Tampa and tried to stop and ask directions from Marine reservist Jasen D. Bruce. But instead of offering help, “Bruce struck the priest on the head with a tire iron.” The reservist believed Marakis, who spoke limited English, was an Arab terrorist. Bruce chased the priest for three blocks, “and even called 911 to say that an Arabic man tried to rob him.”

Last but certainly not least, Pat Robertson has chimed in with his opinion of the Fort Hood shooting, Islam and Muslims: "Islam is not a religion" but "a violent political system" created for world domination. The problem with Robertson is that he also eyes world domination by making Christianity the ONLY religion and the base for a one-world theocracy ala R.J. Rushdooney and Reconstructionism.

The argument against hate crimes legislation is that these people are not responsible for any violence that occurs beyond their church.

Bullsh*t.

Someone is going to get killed.

Boehner's Bonafide Blooper

Thomas Jefferson Could Have Authored
The Entire Constitution - But He Didn't

From Crooks and Liars

How is that the House Minority Leader can mix up the U.S. Constitution with the Declaration of Independence in front of a Tea Party crowd at the Capitol? Who knows..but he did it, pulling out his pocket copy of the Constitution he's pledged to uphold, today pledging to "stand here with our Founding Fathers, who wrote in the preamble: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident ..."

Supposedly Representatives Michele Bachmann and Virginia Foxx were behind Boehner at the time looking, as usual, totally clueless.

Stupidity in the Republican Party does not discriminate: from junior reps to senior senators and beyond pundits, it hits them all. And when it hits, it hits BIG.

Laura Ingraham (not only stupid, but tacky):

Nancy Pelosi basically did everything except sell her own body to get this bill passed. OK. [laughter] She did everything!

Ann Coulter:

If we're so cruel to minorities, why do they keep coming here? Why aren't they sneaking across the Mexican border to make their way to the Taliban?

Michele Bachmann:

I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under another Democrat president Jimmy Carter. And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence.

And the always astute Eric Cantor:

When Violent People Come Out Of The Woodwork

“If we’re going to ask why did he do it, knowing full well that he’s in the same mosque in 2001 with the radical preacher going nuts, we’re going to also [laughter] have to believe that the guy was just like Obama, and didn’t hear Rev. Wright’s words when he was in his church.”

-Rush Limbaugh on the shooting at Fort Hood

Inflammatory rhetoric is bad even in the best of times. But when let loose on the general populace during a time of religious and racial tension, it can be catastrophic.

From The Daily Beast

A year after President Obama's election, hate groups are feeling bolder than they have in over a decade, and their usually insular anger is beginning to spill into the public realm. This weekend, the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi organization, held rallies in Arizona and Minnesota. Those demonstrations came on the heels of similar actions in Southern California, where epithet-spewing white supremacists were forced to disband by rock-throwing counter-protesters.

So, who fuels the hate groups? Rush Limbaugh certainly. Glenn Beck definitely. Christofascists? No brainer. Yesterday, I mentioned the event to take place in Washington led by "Pastor" Gary Cass:

Right Wing Watch

The legislation explicitly protects religious freedom and freedom of speech, but "does not protect speech, conduct or activities consisting of planning for, conspiring to commit, or committing an act of violence." So if they intend to preach that homosexuality is sinful, that is not much of a challenge, as that sort of speech is clearly protected.

But since they obviously intend for this protest to be a direct challenge to hate crimes protections, that really only leaves them one option: demanding death for gays.

Of course, there's "Rev." "Dr." James David Manning, whose tirades of late smack of outright treason. No matter that he has fewer people in his congregation than he can promote without embarrassment, but he's hoping that more than several of them pull the trigger on Obama. "If Obama lives, America dies." Yes, an outrageous and stupid statement for a pastor to make, then again, it's no less stupid than some of his "seminary" courses (the one on Aliens, I hear, is the most hysterical)

Our dear, dear conspiracy theorist, Pat Robertson, recently stated:

You know, there’s a law – what about a law that says it’s a federal crime to attack somebody because of his religious beliefs? Not a chance!

Robertson's senility is REALLY out of control:

“IN GENERAL.—Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, in any circumstance described in subparagraph (B) or paragraph (3), willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of any person—

From The Rally For Religious Freedom:

A letter from Matt Staver of Liberty Council will be presented to Attorney General Eric Holder that expresses our concerns about the many unconstitutional aspects of the hate crime bill. Specific legal challenges also may be announced then.

Remember Mat Staver? He's the one who came up with a looooong list of fantasies about the Healthcare Bill.

And with what happened in Fort Hood, Muslims will become the "sinners du jour"
So what can we deduce from all of this? People who want to inflict harm on other people will be multiplying and gathering steam, like the villagers in Frankenstein, goaded by the likes of Manning, Robertson, Staver, Beck, Cass and Limbaugh. Gary Cass better make sure that not too many swastikas are photographed behind him when he calls for blood.