So, when a pastor gets up in a pulpit and breaks U.S. Law to endorse a candidate, and knows he’s doing it, how can christians justify this behavior from their clergy?
How come christians aren’t listening to one of their own, who says it’s wrong to endorse from the pulpit and doesn’t do it in his own megachurch?
Where’s the outrage from the christian church goers on this one?
I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around this for quite some time, but still no luck.
According to the likes of George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, and everyone else who supports a ban on gay marriage, the following is true:
A coke-addicted, bar-fighting, gun-totin’, redneck, seven-outstanding warrant-havin’ outlaw of a male getting married to a meth-addicted, STD-carrying, welfare-receiving female, and then those two gems of society having 11 kids before splitting up and going on to sire 13 more children between the two of them with some equally repugnant second and third spouses…
is preferred to…
a couple of boring, quiet, middle-aged, go-to-work-and-then-go-home, male accountants or pharmacists, or whatever profession they work in, getting “married”, even if it’s called a civil union, and having the same rights as the two losers described above. Two guys who’ve been sharing a house for 30 years, have always quietly paid their taxes, have never been in trouble with the law, and don’t bother a single other living being.
Do I have that about right?
Sarah Palin’s family is “off limits”. So says Mr. Obama, and the GOP approves. So do I, as far as talking specifically about Ms. Palin’s daughter.
That being said, I will NOT keep the discussion “off limits” as it pertains to the hypocrisy of the religious right neo-cons who are so “energized” with the selection of Ms. Palin to be Mr. McCain’s running mate.
Here are my thoughts on this situation:
1. If the roles were reversed, the right wing would be screaming bloody murder about Mr. Obama’s parenting skills, about his daughter, and about Dems in general being so immoral. It would happen. No doubt, it would happen. To argue that it wouldn’t is simply idiotic and ignorant.
2. The media SHOULD continue to investigate what appears to be a suspect-at-worst timeline about Ms. Palin’s own fifth pregnancy, and whether or not she’s covering for her daughter. Why does it matter? Well, why does it matter that Bill Clinton got a hummer in the White House? The GOP’ers will all agree that it DOESN’T matter what actually happened, it’s the fact that Clinton LIED about it later. I say same thing. If it’s proven that she lied about having a baby, then she should get the same treatment from the right that they gave Clinton, right?
3. The obvious one: Abstinence education. The religious right doesn’t believe in a lot of things…premarital sex, contraception, and abortion to name a few. So where is the CRITICISM for the premarital sex (between minors, no less), all the while praising the decision “not to abort”? And what about this “abstinence education”? What happened there?
4. “Choice”. It was interesting that Ms. Palin used the word “choice” in describing how proud she was of her daughter. I am to understand that “choice” is only allowed as long as you “choose” to not abort?
This situation needs to be talked about it on so many levels, and all of those levels can still respect the privacy of the daughter. You may notice that I’ve never mentioned the young lady’s name once, and don’t intend to.
I just want the hypocrisy of the religious right acknowledged. Keep your beliefs, keep your opinions on it, that’s fine. Keep your praise on the family for keeping the child, that is cool, too. Like I said over at Billy’s place, I hope she is a wonderful parent and has a wonderful marriage, and there is no reason to believe otherwise. All I’m asking for from those who tell me I can’t talk about it is an admission of hypocrisy. That’s all. Say “you bet I’m a hypocrite but I’m still going to support Ms. Palin and her family.” Fine. Just admit it.
EDIT: Going back to a comment PostSim just made in a post below…again, vote for who you want to, you’re going to anyway. Just be an adult and admit the hypocrisy.
(That would be a great bumper sticker come to think of it: “McCain/Palin ‘08…Just Admit The Hypocrisy”)
After not watching more than two laps of NAZICAR racing all year, I flipped away from NBA playoff action for a few minutes to see what indeed was up these days in the world of big league stock car racing, the once-great sport that has been ruined by a greedy, bigoted sanctioning body. Thought I’d “give ‘em a shot”, and see if there was any reason to go back to watching.
First, what was I hoping to see? Well, for starters, I was hoping to see a) Toyota getting pummeled; b) Darrell Waltrip not allowed to speak on the broadcast; c) less religion; d) the ability to tell exactly what kind of car a driver was wheeling just by looking at it. Those things would be nice.
What did I actually see? Cars that are still identical except for decals (sucks), the ones with “toyota” on them doing well (sucks), and Darrell Waltrip not only talking about religion (as usual) but also excited about the fact that a car sponsored by Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family (pure evil man and organization) was running well, and then I had to listen to Darrell tell us how he couldn’t wait to see Dr. Dobson at the upcoming National Day of Prayer.
Um, dudes, this is freakin’ sports, not a revival meeting. Nor is it supposed to be a commercial for christianity. But, sad to say, the reasons I left NAZICAR behind are still quite prevalent on the broadcasts. And I can only imagine what the rest of the day was like, I only watched about 30 (of 188) laps. Wow.
So another teacher gets sent to the big house, this one for 48-years, for molesting two kids, ages 7 and 8. He got what he deserved. But I’m going to offer up a little career advice to him anyway:
If you wanted to be a perv and abuse defenseless kids and not go to jail, you should have become a priest, not a teacher.
CJ Summers feels the same way I do about some bogus emails making the rounds.
I got that very email from my aunt in Minnesota a few weeks back, and answered with some links disproving the email. Sadly, I got back not one, but TWO ridiculous responses from other recipients of the original email.
One said, “…it is SO true…were you there to see him swear in?” and the other said, “if you don’t like it, don’t read it. Whether it’s true or not is not the issue, it’s how many people we can make THINK it’s true.” The first one was from an idiot. Plain and simple. But the second one was much more frightening. Honest enough to admit it was an intentional smear campaign. I had to check the address to see if the name “Rove” wasn’t somewhere in there.
I’m still amazed at this one.
How about 40 days of officials and legislators and law enforcement people getting together to figure out better gun laws?
How about 40 days of raiding the homes and vehicles of known criminals and convicted felons and getting the drugs and guns and everything else they shouldn’t have?
How about 40 days of non-stop communication between whites and blacks in Peoria on how to better understand and get along with each other, instead of hating each other?
I could think of so many other things that could be done over 40 days that would be more effective than “40 days of prayer”. But that wouldn’t get me reelected, now, would it? 
I saw this ad at pjstar.com tonight:
Professional/Technical
WPEO Christian Radio Assistant to the Manager/Community Relations Director
As some may know, I’m in the business of radio, so I always read these kinds of ads to see what other stations are looking for, and sometimes if I’ve got a buddy looking for work I can direct them that way.
The rest of the ad, with the key words in bold:
Work directly with the General Manager; Onair broadcast experience and talent required; College degree preferred. Skilled in public relations/communication. Coordinate/host public affairs program. Must be a christian and be knowledgeable of local christian organizations. WPEO is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Send resume to WPEO , P.O. Box 1, Peoria, IL 61650 or WPEO@WPEO.com
Okay, two observations.
1. The part in bold really didn’t need to be there, did it? Can we all pretty much assume that to be the case based on what we’ve already read to that point?
2. Is this not some kind of discriminatory phrase? I mean, if I ran an ad for an employee and said “Must be a male” or “Must be a black person”, would people not have the right to question my judgment and my practices? For that matter, what if someone ran an ad that said “must NOT be a christian”? Would those who WERE christians have every right to be upset?
Miss Diane has added a third query: Could someone who is NOT a christian be capable of doing this job just as well as someone who is? Great question, and the answer is actually yes…there COULD be someone out there who could fill that position just as well.
Anyway, just wondering.
I see where the catholic church (or more correctly, the vatican) has released a “10 commandments” for driving, rules of the road, if you will.
I’ve got an idea…instead, how about if the church works harder to protect young alter boys from getting molested by pedophile priests and I’ll worry about my own driving. Sound fair?
“Textbooks are Soviet propaganda.”
Yeah, I mean, what the heck can young people learn from…textbooks?!?!?
“Homosexuality is Satan’s diabolical attack upon the family that will not only have a corrupting influence upon our next generation, but it will also bring down the wrath of God upon America.”
Oh…my…supreme being.
“I do not believe the homosexual community deserves minority status. One’s misbehavior does not qualify him or her for minority status. Blacks, Hispanics, women, etc., are God-ordained minorities who do indeed deserve minority status.”
Yeah, keep them blacks, hispanics and women in their places, right Jerry? And those “homo-sex-u-als” are even LOWER than that, aren’t they? Ah, you were such a caring and forgiving man.
“…You’ve got to kill the terrorists before the killing stops and I am for the President—chase them all over the world, if it takes ten years, blow them all away in the name of the Lord.”
KILL, KILL, KILL!…(in the name of our most gracious and loving god. Pass the potatoes. Amen.)
“If you’re not a born-again Christian, you’re a failure as a human being.”
Yeah, Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Thomas Edison. You damn failures.
Forgive me if I don’t shed a tear at the passing of this man. I feel for his children, it’s always hard to lose a parent, no matter how off base they were.
I’m sure the anti-war, pro-choice, gay athiests are somehow to blame.
EDIT: Just to remind the idiot (starts with a V) where the genesis of this comment came from:
And, I know that I’ll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way — all of them who have tried to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say, “You helped this happen.” - Jerry Falwell, on why 9/11 happened…in his warped mind.
I was up in Iowa Saturday, and grabbed a newspaper to read between events at my kid’s district track meet. Track meets are like drag racing events….you get a race, then seven minutes of nothing…then a race…then a delay to put hurdles on the track, 12 more minutes pass…then a race…but I digress.
My ire was raised as I read an article about politics and religion, to wit:
In 2008, Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Christian Alliance, compares concerns about Romney’s faith with past worries about President John Kennedy. When Kennedy first ran for president, there were fears his Catholic faith would influence his policy decisions, Scheffler said. “The fears of him imposing his faith on the country were unfounded. I don’t think most people believe there should be a religious test to become the president.”
Okay, not bad. I agree with this guy at this point…there shouldn’t be a religious “test” involved with becoming president. But then…the very next line of the very same article is this:
Scheffler said his group would be concerned if a candidate was an agnostic or an atheist…
Wha? Huh? Oh, I see. So there doesn’t need to be “a test” so long as the candidate is a christian. How open minded of Mr. Scheffler.
So James Dobson, the vile leader of the wrongly-named “Focus On The Family”, is pretty upset at John Conyers’ bill regarding Hate Crimes. Is the bill perfect? Of course not, it’s hard to find a perfect piece of legislation. But it’s a damn good start. And Dobson’s anger is ironic, as Stephen Colbert succinctly put it to words last night, in that perfect Colbert way:
”…this law could discriminate against Conservative Christians by taking away their right to discriminate against homosexuals…”
Check out the hilarity here:
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=86308
I’d have put this on Vonster’s “blog”, but comments aren’t allowed, so it goes here:
Vonnie says that communism “has killed 100 million people” in his new sub-title. Um, er, well, where do we start? I’m assuming from his tone and his past, we are supposed to say, “wow, that communism is the worst thing EVER.” I’m here to tell you, communism isn’t alone in it’s vileness.
First, the total itself. How is that total arrived upon? It seems like a pretty vague thing to say. Does it mean Russia killed 100 million enemy soldiers? Does it mean that several million starved because they had no food, and “communism” was blamed? I mean, it’s obvious that communism failed, and humans being what we are, it will never work. And thankfully, it is not the rule we live under. But we’re not to be held completely innocent, either, are we?
But do you really want to go there with that stat, Von? Could someone not come right back with the argument “how many people has democracy killed?” How many American Indian nations were demolished “in the name of democracy”? How many slaves were beaten to death, or starved to death, or worked to death by the American white man? (I am, of course, an American white guy.)
Or should we look into how many have died at the hands of christianity? Or radical islam? Or religion as a whole? We really don’t want to go there, do we?
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