Sophistication Is An Abomination!!!

Keeping Them Clueless was an article I wrote about the dumbing down of religion, especially by the Christian Right. It's still pertinent today in Pat Robertson latest take on miracles: in his "Bring-It-On" wisdom, Pat explains why today's miracles only seem to happen in Africa and not in the U.S. His answer is that people in third world countries are "simpler" and have not had the misfortune to be schooled in "ivy league" colleges. People who are schooled in evolution and the sciences (and are atheistic) don't accept miracles or allow them to happen. 

Robertson tips his hand, however, when he tells us "you tell 'em God loves 'em and they say 'OK He loves me.' You tell 'em He works miracles, they say, OK, we believe Him." It's all about control, Pat, isn't it? This best sums up the Christian Right's fear of education. 

Uganda, of course, has served as the case study upon which they base their success in their exportation of homophobia and control. 

The Upcoming Civil War: Not As Simple As Love States vs Hate States.

The United States We're Not

With all the hoopla from the Left about the populace supporting gun control and DOMA being "doomed", a look at the country's problem of polarization might put things in a different (if not proper) perspective: there are a multitude of elements that want to stop the U.S. from where they think it's going. And if they can't stop it, they'll fight it. And if they can't fight it, they'll just break away. Maybe violently.

The elements of revolution are there because the extremes are there: rich vs poor, pro-life vs pro-choice, 2nd Amendmenters vs gun control, pro-gay vs anti-gay, big government vs small government, socialism vs capitalism, and yes, still, white vs black. At times it may seem that the elements coalesce in certain states and into Left vs Right, Democrat vs Republican, but those views would be dangerously simplistic: pockets of each element exist everywhere, creating not a gray (or purple, red-melded-with-blue) America, but a bizarre portrait that at times looks cancerous.

Last week's headlines, while dominated by marriage equality and gun control, still point to a division of love and hate in varying degrees:


Slick, Paranoid Tea Party Video Aims for Violent Insurrection
Pat Robertson Claims Homeland Security Is Stocking Ammo To 'Attack Us'
Conservative Group Calls Science Behind Sexual Orientation "Nazi" Propaganda
Men With Loaded Rifles Intimidate Moms Gathered At Gun Safety Rally
26 guns at home of man accused of threats toward Sen. Leland Yee
Perkins: 'Revolution' Possible if 'Court Goes Too Far' on Marriage Equality Cases
Texas takes step toward secession with Rick Perry’s plan to hoard gold
Steve King: Idea That Diversity Strengthens America Has 'Never Been Backed Up By Logic'Southern States Form Near-Solid Block Against Obamacare
Fox News: Second American Revolution On The Horizon?
Leader of Southern Baptist Convention links North Korean threats to gay marriage, Boy Scouts
Law Enforcement Officials Gunned Down In Possible White Supremacist Plot

And there will be more in the offing this year: abortion laws, voting rights, immigration, unions, and more will continue to create opposites in the nation's future.

Persecution Complexes and Paranoia: Do They Really Count?

Pat Robertson:

“Long trains full of armored vehicles, personnel carriers with armor, what are they for, the army going into battle against the enemy? They're used by Homeland Security against us,” Robertson ominously warned. “Imagine what Homeland Security is doing is just awful and we’re going to talk about how much ammunition they’re stockpiling: who are they going to shoot, us?”

Jim Garlow:

Garlow: If same-sex so-called marriage is established as the law of the land, many of the people who are listening to my voice right now, not maybe immediately but at some point in the future, if they are followers of Christ, will be forced underground. Their buildings will be taken away from them, many of their rights will be taken away from them.

Matthew Hagee:

"The only relationship in natural law that can produce consumers," Hagee declared, "is the relationship between a man and a woman. When you create a society that does not recognize this relationship as the foundation of its existence and you cease to produce what is required to sustain your economy, you will not survive"

And paranoia can cause a backlash with exceptionalism:

Mike Huckabee:

"The notion that we are just one of many among equals is nonsense," Huckabee said. The United States is a "blessed" nation, he said, calling American revolutionaries' defeat of the British empire "a miracle from God's hand."
The same kind of miracle, he said, led California voters to approve Proposition 8, which overturned a state law legalizing same-sex marriages.
Voters "did it because some things are right and some things are wrong and they had to make a stand."

(Note: Last November, Huckabee told right-wing radio's Bill Bennett that Prop 8 did not ban same-sex marriage. "That's not what those efforts did," he said, adding, "They affirmed what is. They did not prohibit something.")

Pockets of persecution are everywhere, fueled by media pundits like Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh, organizations like NOM (National Organization for Marriage), the NRA and Family Research Council.

Coalescing Under The Christian Right

It may be argued that states like Texas, Tennessee, and Mississippi come closest to having all the elements coalesce: 2nd Amendment, anti-gay, anti-abortion factors are prevalent, especially in the halls of their state congresses. And behind these factors the strong, guiding hand of the Christian Right is evident: pastors like Robert Jeffress and Harry Jackson hold enough sway to influence legislation. It seems, in fact, that the Christian Right may be the strongest glue to disparate parts of the extreme Right, with the prominent Southern Baptist Convention still tolerating white supremacists in various districts and overtly endorsing 2nd Amendmenters (e.g., Pastor Gary "You can't be Christian and not own a gun" Cass), encouraging survivalists, opposing the ERA, and banning abortion and marriage equality. And fulminating revolution are icons related to the Christian Right: Bryan Fischer, Tony Perkins, Phyllis Schlafly, Glenn Beck, FOX News Mike Huckabee*), and Rick Perry.

Without Christian Right support and ideology, in fact, hate groups such as the Family Research Council** would have little credibility. They're hate depends upon CR hate, especially Southern Baptist Convention hate.

Target States

Now that issues like marriage equality and gun control are heading for limited federal laws, leaving the states some lee-way, the elements of revolution and, in particular, the Christian Right will need to start concentrating on states, and as in the case of our own Civil War, some states may be easier than others to coalesce the elements: Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi are seemingly ripe for revolution, but with the exception of Texas, these states are not economically solvent enough, not even together. The Christian Right and organizations like the NRA may have to go deeper and depend upon influential regions in other states, giving rural voices more ground than FOX News can.

Fringe Is Fringe

All of the above may, to some, sound like a conspiracy theory put out by a left-wing organization, but the fact is that the fringes of the American socio-political landscape are POWERFUL fringes, concentrated and volatile and their once hollow-sounding rhetoric has teeth: Christian Right leaders are calling for "rising up" and leaving the Republican Party because it has become too centrist in their viewpoint.

Of course, the problem of America's extremes in ideologies is that some of them overlap: not all gun freaks are rich, not all of the Christian Right are white supremacists, not all homophobes are misogynist. Some areas of the country might be considered fifty shades of purple.

So just how many rich, white, racist, homophobic, misogynistic, Christian Right, gun freaks are out there? Enough to be coalesce and cause a very real Civil War? Or enough to merely pile into Texas and shut the door?

We should only hope for the latter.


* Kansas is considering quarantining HIV+ patients, a piece of legislation with which Mike Huckabee would be VERY pleased.

** Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council has been involved in the unethical use of David Duke's mailing list, and has spoken to white supremacist groups.

My War Against Pat Robertson and Why It Matters

I've had to take a break from blogging. Other things intruded. Personal lives are like that, aren't they? One could arguing that this blog is personal, but it really isn't, since it goes out there to so very many people whom I don't know. It's PUBLIC.

Anyway, I 've been delving into the issues published today (the new Pope, marriage equality) with an atypical languor simply because everyone else has been writing about them and there is nothing new under the sun about them to write about. And there's the intensity the subjects create, which is wearing on a writer, especially one as snarky as I am.

So I'm turning to an old subject with which I am familiar and which oddly energizes me: Pat Robertson, that senile, Christofascist and abysmally insipid piece of "eye pudding" (as Stephen Colbert so aptly put it). Robertson's stomach-churning displays of "wisdom" are legion, but today's latest entry struck me as the core reason of my war against this incredible slab of hypocrisy, because it's been at the core of his "ministry" from day one: money.

His video profile of a family who "turned to God" (and, of course, The 700 Club) after losing it all is the stuff of sitcoms, or at the very least a good SNL sketch. It is also a great ad for the prosperity gospel, although Robertson has eschewed the term for "reciprocity" when dealing with the Lord. His throw-away line is "You can't out-give God," but you CAN give the 700 Club $20 a month which may give you back 20, 30, 60-fold. The featured family did so, and look where they're living now!! 

The idiocy of the video lies in the last shots: the denouement supposedly comes from the family realizing that money isn't everything, that material goods should not be placed before God, but the house (and wealth) they garnered after giving Pat their money was definitely worth more than the one they lost! It looks twice the size! These people lived in a million-dollar home, incurred $5 million in debt, lost the home, went bankrupt, then gave Pat Robertson $20 a month for several years and now live in a whopping mansion! 

This is a picture of Pat Robertson's home - the ONLY house the $20-per-month tithe ever generated:

It's modeled on the opulent Governor's Palace of Colonial Williamburg, VA and a tribute to Robertson's father, Senator Absolom Willis Robertson, the quintessential Dixiecrat (a "Byrd Democrat" devoted to segregation). It houses the televangelist (worth an estimated $1.5 billion) in dignified comfort, an additional tribute to God's "reciprocity." 

Sh*t Matters

Scam artists like Pat Roberton never die. They just fade away, dragging their unearned billions behind them, inspiring others to do the same. That's why a war, any war against the likes of Pat Robertson is so important: it prevents future Pat Robertsons, or at least dwindles their numbers down to an irrelevant few.  

Additional note:  during the last part of the donor drive, Robertson offers a book about people who have had have near-death experiences. Notice the author: Gordon Robertson, Pat's son.

"Reciprocity." It's all in the family.

Whose Jihad Is It Anyway? Sparks Fly From Gays To Geller And Her News Ads in San Francisco

(Note: The above photo depicting the execution of homosexuals in Iran was not part of the Geller campaign ads, but one of the photos included in a corresponding comment posted on The American Freedom Initiative's website. The imposed captioning is mine - RevDan).

Pandering to fears of Sharia law is usual fodder for Pam Geller, but her latest ads target a different demographic, and in San Francisco, the home of that demographic.





The above ad is to run on the side of San Francisco MUNI buses and other transit, but in a turn-around strategy, The SFMTA (Transit Authority) will donate a portion of Geller's money to the Human Rights Commission. Theresa Sparks of the Commission said that they would take Geller's money of hate and turn it into something positive for the community. The sentiment was apparently lost on Geller who captioned the YouTube clip of Sparks with "San Francisco Human Rights Theresa Sparks City Officials support jihad, anti-gay, anti-woman." (see below)

The reaction to the ads is very revealing and probably unintended by Geller: the Right is all too righteous and the Left (mostly gays) is repulsed at being used.

Geller Group (from Atlas Shrugs)

- and hopefully those PC liberal gays will heed to this.- We must suffer the stupid 'til we can enlighten them. Patience!Patience! Patience!
- It’s about time somebody did this in the heart of Californication. It might be a hilarious idea to set up a fund “to support oppressed homosexuals in the Middle East”. Maybe to even convince homosexuals to travel there to make a nuisance of themselves.(NOTE: this is the comment to which the above photo was attached)

And from Bare Naked Islam (It really isn't Islamophobia when they really ARE trying to kill you!):

       American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) submits new bus ads on ‘Muslim Oppression of Homosexuals’ to San Francisco Transit. As with most leftists, the Gay community has at best been missing in action when it comes to the anti-jihad movement. More often, they attack us. I wonder where they will be now?

Gays (from Joe.My.God):

- One disgusting creature denouncing other equally vile characters.
 - I think it's perfectly reasonable to despise these hateful regimes in the Middle East and elsewhere (Indonesia, Pakistan) and still consider Geller a hate-fulled nut case.
- Apply her thinking in New York and you get Islamophobia, apply it in Iran and you get death sentences for gays. She is who we are fighting in Iran just as she is who we are fighting here.

Gay comments frequently point out Geller's own anti-gay stance: for example, Geller virulently opposed the appointment of Kevin Jennings by Obama:

From Atlas Shrugs:

"President Obama has appointed Kevin Jennings, founder of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) ... Jennings is a vicious, anti-religious bigot who once said “[F–k] ‘em” to the “Religious Right.” He supports promoting homosexuality and gender confusion as normative to even young students."

In comments about Geller, the Christian Right was often referred to as the Christian Taliban. 

Whose Jihad Is It?

While the LGBT community of San Francisco has always been considered the focal point for equal rights, few in the gay community consider the struggle akin to a religion. It is certainly not a "holy war" since that term is used by some social conservatives to indicate their fight against gay rights. "What's yours?" paints the picture of virulently militant gays, the kind characterized by such organizations as Act Up! But Act Up! was focused on the AIDS crisis and government's inaction, especially in the realm of medical research and treatment. It chastised the sacred cows like Jesse Helms, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson, but never invoked the name of God. The term of Jihad, therefore is totally misplaced, and, in fact, offensive.


The Jihad is in Geller's mind - where it is always been.

The Winds Of Love: Portman's Change Of Heart Latest Blast To Republican DOMA Diehards

When Republican Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) came out of the same-sex marriage closet to state that his view on the subject had, like President Obama's, "evolved", the Right (especially the Christian Right) returned a volley of wailing, gnashing of teeth, and rending of Brooks Brothers suits. Portman hit home particularly hard: 

      "The overriding message of love and compassion that I take from the Bible, and certainly the Golden Rule, and the fact that I believe we are all created by our maker, that has all influenced me in terms of my change on this issue," Portman said, adding that he feels that "in a way, this strengthens the institution of marriage."

Citing the Bible to bible-thumpers, has no positive effect: in fact, it created a very negative effect, giving people like Tony Perkins of Family Research Council the sadz:

       "Our unconditional love for our children should not override the historical and social science evidence which makes abundantly clear what is best for all children and for society - being raised by a married mother and father."

It would seem, however, that Portman is riding a wave of support from Republicans, since even Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, when asked about the issue of marriage equality said that there was "no doubt" young conservatives considered it basic and not "a disqualifying issue."




Walker's comment followed only a week after it was reported that 78 prominent Republicans signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in the DOMA case. 

Hurt hardest with the news of defecting Republicans is Speaker John Boehner, who spearheaded an effort to defend DOMA in the courts and capped out last year with $1.5 million in lawsuits. He was, of course, the most prominent politicians to weigh in against Portman's decision by bolstering his own position:

John Boehner:

       "Rob [Portman] is a great friend and a long-time ally. And I appreciate that he’s decided to change his views on this.I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. It’s what I grew up with. It’s what I believe. It’s what my church teaches me. And I can’t imagine that position would ever change." - House Speaker John Boehner, appearing yesterday on ABC's This Week.

Boehner's base is eroding: if Republican changes of heart aren't enough, some evangelicals are switching as well. Former megachurch pastor Rob Bell: “I am for marriage. I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it’s a man and woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man.”

Justice Roberts' Second-Best Option

The leader of a prominent anti-gay organization called Supreme Court Chief John Roberts' decision to adopt children the "second-best option," the AP reports.

Desperate times seem to call for desperate rhetoric from anti-marriage equality groups, and the most inept of late, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) held a panel at CPAC to an almost empty house. That's when NOM's chairman, John Eastman, made the now-infamous remark about Justice John Roberts' family. The back-peddling, of course, described adoptive parents as  "heroes" but the damage was done. In response, one ten-year-old adopted boy with two dads has fashioned a YouTube "letter" to Justice Roberts that has gotten wide attention (see below)

The Winds Of Love and Change

       Support for gay marriage reached a new high in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, marking a dramatic change in public attitudes on the subject across the past decade. Fifty-eight percent of Americans now say it should be legal for gay and lesbian couples to wed.

The poll also brought another significant number: only 24 percent of Americans think that being gay "is a choice." The Supreme Court may have to weigh in on the immutability of homosexuality on the grounds of discrimination.

A ton of amicus briefs from members of Congress, corporations, notable politicians and celebrities. Reversal of opposition by prominent Republicans. A poll showing a dramatic shift in the national psyche.

John Boehner and his supporters are crying again.

The Perfect Puppet: Brand New Pope, Same Old Papacy. Benedict Gets His Way.

 Emeritus Rules

There will be no talk of liberation theology.

There will be no talk of human rights.

There will be no talk of women as clergy.

There will be no talk of transparency. 

Change is slow in Catholicism, but with the election of Jorge Bergoglio, the papacy, is at a standstill: there will be no transparency, no change in the direction that Benedict set forth: the new pope will simply be an adjunct of the old pope and the papacy is doomed to become an anachronism in a time when it could become a force for change. It sounds hopeless because it is hopeless: only a drastic shift in direction regarding issues such as women in the clergy, gay rights, celibacy, Vatican finances, and child sexual abuse could help the papacy survive in the 21st century. 

The Smokescreen Of  Differences

The Vatican is, however, eager to point out that Francis could not be more different than Benedict: The first pope from the Americas, the first pope to be Jesuit, the first Francis. He was a scientist, not a theologian. He was the most "pastoral" of prelates, stressing evangelism rather than simply adhering to doctrine. And his no-frills lifestyle will certainly eschew the Prada shoes, striking fear in the hearts of some cardinals who are used to the trappings of Catholicism's upper eschelons. And the Vatican needs a facelift - badly. And who cares if it's only superficial? Whether or not he extends that frugality and that "pastoral goodness" to the Vatican financial empire, however, remains to be seen. 

Waiting in the wings

Since Bergoglio received the second most votes in the conclave that chose Ratzinger, it is evident that the cardinals are sticking with the same ideologies ... and to Ratzinger's lead. Conspiracy theorists might conjecture that Bergoglio has known for quite some time that he would be pope after Ratzinger. Ratzinger certainly appointed enough cardinals to cement the deal. And Ratzinger might have considered Bergoglio's age and health: better get him into the papacy now, while he can reign for the number of years required to keep the ubiquitous of cover-ups and secrecy sustained. Ratzinger's conservatism needed time to regroup and strengthen itself, and it got that time with Bergoglio. 

Piety Or Pretense?

While Bergoglio has often chided fellow prelates as being "Pharisees" - people who congratulate themselves while condemning others - his noted work in the slums and with the poor is at odds with the lack of political stance he might have taken against the dictators of Argentina. He admits to not adhering to liberation theology, an ideology that gives backbone to work with the poor and pure altruism. And while he cites Jesus' dining with outcasts and prostitutes, his views of homosexuality (especially in terms of gay adoption) led Argentinian President Christian Fernandez to compare his tone to "medieval times and The Inquisition." 

Sound like anyone we know?

The Most Positive Response - The Right Wing Has It

The Christian Right is thrilled: the status quo of the Vatican on issues of abortion, contraception and gay rights has been kept and it can breathe a sigh of relief. Mike Huckabee, Tony Perkins, Bryan Fischer and Pat Robertson can take heart that the Vatican is firmly in their corner on their issues. "Fie To The Liberal Demonspawn" is what they needed to counter the shift in attitudes, some coming from Catholics themselves. And while some sects and preachers have abused Catholicism (remember John Hagee's "whore of Babylon" sentiment?), they rejoice at having allies: numbers dwindling, they have no choice. 

And when inheriting Ratzinger's woes and scandals, Bergoglio might also look to allies from the big CR.

Just Before The Vote: The Vatican Gets The Bathhouse Blues.

It's a situation worthy of The Onion.

How convenient. Or inconvenient. The Vatican conclave of 117 cardinals woke up yesterday morning to see headlines like this:




One of Italy's largest daily newspapers, La Repubblica, announced the little-known fact that the Vatican has a majority ownership of a chic Rome apartment block that houses Italy's largest gay bathhouse.

It also houses one of the Catholic Church's chief homophobes, Ivan Cardinal Dias, India's chief prelate. As well as numerous other priests.

From The Indpendent.UK:

       A day ahead of the papal conclave, faces at the scandal-struck Vatican were even redder than usual after it emerged that the Holy See had purchased a €23 million (£21 million) share of a Rome apartment block that houses Europe’s biggest gay sauna.
       The senior Vatican figure sweating the most due to the unlikely proximity of the gay Europa Multiclub is probably Cardinal Ivan Dias, the head of the Congregation for Evangelisation of Peoples, who is due to participate in tomorrow’s election at the Sistine Chapel.
       This 76-year-old “prince of the church” enjoys a 12-room apartment on the first-floor of the imposing palazzo, at 2 Via Carducci, just yards from the ground floor entrance to the steamy flesh pot. There are 18 other Vatican apartments in the block, many of which house priests.

Extravagantly Stupid

In an era where scandals plague the Vatican like locust, the last-minute revelation of a major gay sex club under their very noses (as well as other things) may not seem too shocking. What is really shocking, perhaps, is that the Vatican did not think to cover up or dispose of the property prior to the conclave: the very grand apartments of the block - especially those of Cardinal Dias - made the property a prime target for the media, especially after the recent banking scandals and cries of unnecessary extravagance.

And of course, the fact that Cardinal Dias has been the most outspoken prelate against homosexuality and states that gays can be "cured" has the media in stitches:

NY Daily News:

Dias is known for reviling homosexuality, calling it “unnatural” and arguing that gays can be “cured.”
That cure certainly does not require taking the waters at the Europa club, which boasts a Turkish bath, Finnish sauna, whirlpools, massages, “bear parties” and much more.

It is certain that there will be a I-didn't-know disclaimer put out by the cardinal's representative asap, but being silent at this time might be the most prudent approach to the affair: today's Catholic prelates cannot afford to look so clueless as to their own surroundings. They are, after all, men of the world and not cloistered monks. They are already so steeped in sexual scandal that any denial will be taken as completely disingenuous.

Back To The Future

The historical resignation of Benedict XVI set off alarms, the loudest of which was the now infamous 300-page dossier (part of the "Vatileaks" investigation, which, BTW, was also called "the 118th cardinal") which noted factions and infighting among prelates of the Vatican. Among the disclosures was the mention of a gay faction featuring meeting places. And while the Europa Multiclub was not mentioned by name, it certainly would fit the real estate investor's listing: "Large, well-appointed apartments situated in luxury complex that houses a gym, sauna and health spa." 

And hosts "bear parties."

This may be the last straw: the papacy will need to be transparent as hell or face suspicion and scorn for years to come. The conclave of 117 cardinals will need to decide if the man they are choosing should be a leader with honesty and integrity or, as was his predecessor, a cover-up king. After all, he will have a lot to cover up, bathhouses not included.