Tag Archives: Pat Robertson

Voting Out the Constitution


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah
Do Unto Others

DO UNTO OTHERS - If the anti-gay zealots don't like the Constitution perhaps they should read the Bible.

People usually remember the 1960s as a time of great strife over civil rights. If you were alive back in the day, the images of police dogs ripping into lines of civil rights marchers or white-sheeted thugs dancing around a burning cross is still a chilling thing and proof that America was indeed going through wrenching social change.

Many would also like to believe that the country has made great strides in the interim, and we have. But, there’s more to accomplish and the nation now finds itself spending much of its energy on fighting to simply hold onto the advances already made. Civil rights advancement is now threatened by organizations and morally dishonest politicians bent on carrying us back to 1864.

Yesterday’s decision to strike down California’s Prop 8 anti-gay marriage law was sound. The judge did an impressive job of listing all the factual and legal reasons – 80 in all – showing that the law is unconstitutional. An improvement to celebrate, but also an event that highlights anti-civil rights crudaders’ thinking.

Tim Wildmon of the sarcastically named American Family Association reacted with shocking vitriol, calling the court’s decision, “a tyrannical, abusive and utterly unconstitutional display of judicial arrogance.”

Wildmon Is Has a Queer Notion
Wildmon believes one of the principles at stake is ignoring the California voters, which he sees as unconstitutional. In doing so, Wildmon – who uses the 10th Amendment as a fig leaf himself – introduces the queer notion that the Constitution is up for a vote whenever you don’t like what it says.

Liza

LIZA WITH A 'Z' - What more need be said?

Similar to the rabble rousing for amending the 14th Amendment in the immigration battle, what Wildmon is proposing is that the Constitution – designed to be difficult to amend – should change to bend to the will of the latest ideological blowhard to come on the scene.

Mr. Wildmon, I ask you…if Californians voted to outlaw heterosexual marriage would you express the same fondness to the validity of their vote?

Wildmon also believes the “tyrannical and abusive”, Bush-the-Elder-appointed, judge should have recused himself from the case.

“It’s also extremely problematic that Judge Walker is a practicing homosexual himself, ” Wildmon said. “He should have recused himself from this case, because his judgment is clearly compromised by his own sexual proclivity.”

What I find “problematic” about Wildmon’s charge is that he is exhibiting his  own “proclivity” to act as a heterosexual, homophobic, quasi-religious leader. In other words – or more correctly Wildmon’s – “[Wildmon] should have recused himself from this case, because his judgment is clearly compromised by his own sexual [and religious] proclivity.”

I suspect the only judge Wildmon would find acceptable is an ordained Christian minister with a demonstrated track record of ignoring the Constitution in favor of a Christian Sharia-like theocracy – or a teabagger – whichever pinhead stepped forward first.

Americans are becoming increasingly unfamiliar with the basic tennents of the Constitution.They apparently believe that any hot head’s cause can simply be enacted by a simple vote. The Constitution is not the “McConstitution”. You can’t vote cheeseburgers off the menu because you don’t like them.

They believe that if there is a “war” on, the President, under no one’s authority other than his own, is permitted to suspend the Constitution’s guarantees against warrantless search or to hold prisoners indefinitely without charge.

Many Americans believe that the Constitution guarantees them freedom of religion, but also support depriving anyone other than Christians (they’re aren’t too hot on the Catholics either) of their similar freedom. Don’t like mosques too close to your shrine? Protest and file suit as Pat Robertson’s minions have done, but don’t be honest enough to mention that if it had been a Christian church you would’ve been praising the idea like it came from, well, God.

From Constitutional Ignorance, Instability Flows
From Constitutional ignorance, great instability flows. Unfortunately, those with such beliefs fail to see the unintended blow back from their muddled position.

Teabaggers and their similar-thinking ilk, like to wear tri-cornered hats and screech about keeping Big Gummint off their backs. If allowing someone to marry the person of their choosing is too much government involvement, then why isn’t government being on a gay person’s back equally bad?

Bush the Lesser did much to chip away at many civil rights during his reign and in areas like the conduct of our misbegotten wars and gay rights,  The Messiah™ continues walking the same swampy path.

One day, the blow back from their actions will come to haunt them and the people who cheered them. One day an administration will take office that isn’t so tolerant of their cavalier positions and decides to warrantlessly tap their phones, close their churches, or collect deep background on twerps like Wildmon.

And when they do, they’ll claim the same Constitutional protections because they changed the Constitution to allow it.

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John Ensign Can’t Buy Friends, He Has No Money


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah

It's a Family Affair

IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR: From left to right - John Ensign (Adulterer), Darlene Ensign (Aggrieved Wife), Darlene Hampton (Slut), and Doug Hampton (Cuckold)

As the old saying goes, 50,000 flies can’t be wrong. Then on the other hand, 49,999 of them could be right and one of them is just a wingnut. Meet Robert Donald who has the dubious distinction of being the sole contributor to Nevada Sen. John Ensign’s reelection campaign.

Ensign, the C-Street maven, adulterer, and all-round religiously kookie gadfly is the guy who borrowed $96,000 from Mom and Dad -  MOM! DAD! Get out your checkbook! – to pay off his paramour’s cuckold.

Donald isn’t a millionaire pal of Ensign’s angling to get health care quashed or block banking reform. Nope, Donald is just plain folks. A folk who tossed big money – two contributions of $25 each – into Ensign’s Reelect the Crapweasel slush fund. If he keeps it up, Ensign might be able to take his next mistress to dinner somewhere other than the Congressional Dining Room. Heck, 50-bucks isn’t even enough for Ensign to pay Mom and Dad back the interest on their “loan”.

All Men are Dogs, Says Man
But Donald is not only a happy contributor, but a bit of a cracker barrel philosopher too. “He did some bad things with his personal life,” Donald said. Besides, “all men are dogs, the way I look at it.” The mistress and Mrs. Ensign feel the same way, I’m sure.

Ensign can’t buy friends like Donald – literally. The Justice Department is looking into whether Mom and Dad’s “contribution” was illegal or any other ethics laws were broken. Perhaps ethics laws like sleeping with your friend’s wife and then putting her on the payroll for a job well done.

But Donald is loyal, if a bit of a cheapskate. “As a senator, he’s doing the right thing, ” Donald said. “He votes the right way.” Of course, you’d never know it by his fellow Republicans who are shunning him like a heretic in front of the Mormon Tabernacle.

There are plenty of cases of Escaped Dick Syndrome in Washington – “if you have an erection lasting longer than 2 terms, contact your doctor – this is only one of them. Overall, the public seems to be getting immune to stories like this. For the most part, no one cares except Pat Robertson and he only cares when it’s a Democrat.

Feather Dusters Stuck Up Ancient, Wrinkly Bums
We’re becoming more French or Italian in that we accept powerful men with mistresses as the way of the world. After all, it’s not like they’re British politicians who are more frequently caught wearing fishnets, clucking like chickens, and running around the halls of Parliament with feather dusters stuck up their ancient, wrinkly bums.

Of course, you could quibble that Ensign and the rest of the pious C-Street Rat Pack should be reprimanded for hypocrisy with oak leaf clusters. But then if having a mistress – which effects no one other than them – is the worst thing they do I’d call it a good, though, low-paying day.

Ensign’s fund-raising performance is so grotesquely bad it’s funny. Mainstream Republicans and Teabaggers alike hate him and by comparison, fellow Nevada Sen. Harry Reid looks like a frickin’ genius, which is no small feat. It’s also bittersweet that poor old Robert Donald is standing by him like a dog waiting on the train platform for a master who’ll never come.

After all, he can’t.  Fifty bucks ain’t enough for a ticket.

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Pagans, Wiccans, and Druids…Oh My!


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah
RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE? - Many Christians are mightily agrieved when their rights to practice religion as they see fit is questioned. From the looks of the Air Force Academy's newly installed "earth-centered religious prayer circle" some of them missed Sunday school when they covered "do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE? - Many Christians are mightily agrieved when their right to practice religion as they see fit is questioned. From the looks of the Air Force Academy's newly installed "earth-centered religious prayer circle" some of them missed Sunday school when they covered "do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

Self Disclosure: I am an atheist and neither condemn nor support the Air Force Academy‘s action. I just find it interesting.

The  Air Force Academy recently provided a worship area for Pagans, Wiccans, Druids, and other Earth-centered religions and the event passed surprisingly quietly given the religious culture wars of our times. Atheists didn’t denounce it as a dagger to the heart of separation of church and state. Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly didn’t say that allowing Druids to celebrate evergreens was an assault on Christmas. Heck, even Pat Robertson hasn’t claimed blizzards in Colorado Springs are a punishment from God…yet.

Still, there’s always one in the crowd.

Robert Jeffress, pastor of Dallas’ First Baptist Church,  said, “to construct an outdoor space for the worship of pagan deities is an open invitation for God to send His harshest judgments against our nation.”

Jeffress’s main beef seems to be that the alternative worship area is a clear and present danger to “our nation” because it promotes idolatry.

“God has judged idolatry in the past through military invasions, earthquakes, a flood, and a mixture of fire and brimstone,” Jeffress warns. I partially agree. Different beliefs in different Gods has been a major burr in humanity’s backside for eons. Jeffress goes on, “The book of Revelation prophesies that God will employ the same agents of His wrath during the final seven years of earth’s history. There is no reason to think God is on hiatus during this present age.”

He’s quite right that the first commandment from (his Christian) God is, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” But, the Pastor’s biblical references may have more holes that the theory of Creationism.

Using biblical quotes to support his argument is about as useful to people who don’t believe the bible as saying “thou shalt not sin because the phone book says so.” Whether he thinks so or not, many people deeply believe there are other Gods, no Gods, or just don’t care about it one way or another and would appreciate it if he not diss their beliefs just as others shalt not diss his.

Jeffress argues the Constitution says nothing about all religions being treated equally, but notions of equality have been benchmarks of the courts’ interpretations in recent history (not withstanding his citing of judicial opinions from the early 1800s). His contention is that if the Bible says it and the Constitution doesn’t, then the Academy is under no obligation to provide a place of worship. He’d be right, although others might argue they don’t have to provide a Christian church either and if the Constitution isn’t about fostering equality, what is it about?

Although Jeffress denounced Pat Robertson’s claim that the Haitian earthquake was God’s punishment for alleged voodoo incidents in their past, he changes logical horses in mid-stream to believe, “…without hesitation that any nation that officially embraces idolatry is openly inviting God’s wrath.”

Ow! Mental whiplash!

The well-meaning Jeffress seems to fear another terrorist attack and advises, “this would be a good time to seek God’s protection rather than kindle His anger.”

So, does that mean Jeffress will refuse the protection of a Pagan Air Force Academy-trained pilot fighting off a terrorist attack because the pilot had angered Jeffress’s God?

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