Some Of Our Soldiers May Be Goose-Stepping to Different Drummers: The Christian Right and Hate Groups

Are The Likes Of Rod Parsley Making Future Neo-Nazis?

I came to incite a riot. I came to affect a divine disturbance in the heart and soul of the church. Man your battle stations, ready your weapons, lock and load!

From: The Carpetbagger Report:

And lest there be any confusion, Parsley isn’t a one-trick pony — sure, he hates Muslims, but his bread and butter includes attacks on gays, abortion, the federal judiciary, and civil libertarians. Best of all, his rhetoric frequently includes what sounds like appeals to violence, telling his followers, “I came to incite a riot! Man your battle stations. Ready your weapons.” (One wants to assume he’s speaking metaphorically, but it’s not entirely clear.)

We've written about the "Onward Christian Soldier" bit and the take on it from some of the most militant pulpits (pun intended). But when we first heard about the Department of Homeland Security's report on "home-grown" terrorists, we sensed that Christofascists had a hand in that story.

I think we were right. A separate report from DHS comfirmed that right-wing extremists have been, in fact, in the military for years. And with groups like Christian Identity, the roots of their militancy become clear in the light of some of our own far right religious extremists and their rhetoric.

From Crooks and Liars:

A recent Department of Homeland Security report, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," stated: "The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today." Many white supremacists join the Army to secure training for, as they see it, a future domestic race war. Others claim to be shooting Iraqis not to pursue the military's strategic goals but because killing "hajjis" is their duty as white militants.

Tom Metzger is the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and current leader of the White Aryan Resistance. He tells me the military has never been more tolerant of racial extremists. "Now they are letting everybody in," he says.

But is the rhetoric of preachers like Parsley to blame for the upsurge in hate group and gang member enlistment? It may surprise people to know that some churches in the U.S. are actually listed as hate groups! Lou Sheldon's Christian Coalition is certainly named as one because of its rabid homophobia. And youth groups like Rod Parsley's "Battle Cry" fulminate hatred for Muslims and all other "sinners."

Randall Terry:

I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over you. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good... Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a biblical duty, we are called on by God to conquer this country. We don't want equal time. We don't want pluralism.

The result of militarism and hatred taught by some "churches" is that the teachings stick to people, following them through the military and, especially significant, afterwards:

From Crooks and Liars:

The initial concern that this raises is the possibility of a new wave of citizen militias, particularly when you have mainstream pundits like Glenn Beck out there helping to promote the concept. As Glenn Greenwald observed, the "Patriots" are back with a vengeance.

However, we are starting to see a trend that's even more disturbing: Military veterans voicing Patriot-movement beliefs, including threats of violent resistance to the Obama administration.

Gary DeMar:

The long term goal [is] the execution of abortionists and parents who hire them. If we argue that abortion is murder, then we must call for the death penalty.

No wonder Pat Robertson thinks that the possibility of home-grown terrorists coming from veterans is "outrageous."

Methinks he's covering his ass.

The Military Knows: Tattoos That Love To Kill

The fuzzy schematic to the right (sorry - my graphic skills are terrible at 3AM!) shows the procedure the military must take if the enlistee has a tattoo.

Asking about one's tattoos must be awkward to say the least: "And what the f*ck is THAT one?" An officer might have to flip through hundreds of pages of tattoo design to determine if it's considered "extremist."

From Crooks and Liars:

Army regulations prohibit soldiers from participating in racist groups, and recruiters are instructed to keep an eye out for suspicious tattoos. Before signing on the dotted line, enlistees are required to explain any tattoos. At a Tampa recruitment office, though, Fogarty sailed right through the signup process. "They just told me to write an explanation of each tattoo, and I made up some stuff, and that was that," he says. Soon he was posted to Fort Stewart in Georgia, where he became part of the 3rd Infantry Division.

In 2003, Fogarty was sent to Iraq. For two years he served in the military police, escorting officers, including generals, around the hostile country. He says he was granted top-secret clearance and access to battle plans. Fogarty speaks with regret that he "never had any kill counts." But he says his time in Iraq increased his racist resolve.

For a reference on hate group tattoos, click HERE.

Of course, some recruiters or boot camp officers "overlook" the ink. After all, they have a quota to reach.

Below is a small sampling of racist/Neo Nazi and gang tattoos. There are literally hundred of designs worn by thousands of guy seeking to identify with a particular hate group.

If you thought tattoos were really pretty markings with little or no meaning, then you'd better rethink your tattoo philosophy.

Buchanan: Gimme That Ole Time Bigotry

This is the newest in a series of racists comments made by Buchanan since Sotomayor’s nomination. He has told senators to oppose Sotomayor’s nomination and “stand up for the white working class.” He even went so far as to assert that, because of affirmative action, “what is happening now to white men right now is exactly what was done to black folks for years.”

Truly Offensive: Fox News Is An "Alternate Reality"

So shouldn't we let its viewers just stay there?

From Think Progress:

Yesterday, Charles Krauthammer accepted the Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism, an annual award given by News Corporation. In his acceptance speech, Krauthammer lauded Fox News channel, which he said has “done a great service to the American polity” and for “single-handedly breaking up the intellectual and ideological monopoly that for decades exerted hegemony (to use a favorite lefty cliché) over the broadcast media.”

But his praise took a strange turn when he extolled the “genius” of Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes for creating an “alternate reality” for its viewers:

KRAUTHAMMER:

What Fox did is not just create a venue for alternative opinion. It created an alternate reality.

Fox's alternate reality:

- Bush was very, very intelligent
- Obama is bad for everyone and everything
- Sarah Palin is "the Real Deal!"
- Bill O'Reilly is always on point!
- Conservatives good - liberals, evil!
- Ann Coulter is as beautiful as she thinks she is.
- Sean Hannity will receive the Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in journalism
- Glen Beck is even funnier in private!
- Fewer Fox viewers live in single-wides than people think (47%)

That's not an alternate reality - it's an alternate universe!

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...