One of the funnier “Worst Persons”…

A good story from Crooks and Liars — original story can be found here…

33 Pastors Say Screw You to the Law: Endorse McCain from the Pulpit

Defying a federal law that prohibits U.S. clergy from endorsing political candidates from the pulpit, an evangelical Christian minister told his congregation Sunday that voting for Sen. Barack Obama would be evidence of “severe moral schizophrenia.” The Rev. Ron Johnson Jr. told worshipers that the Democratic presidential nominee’s positions on abortion and gay partnerships exist “in direct opposition to God’s truth as He has revealed it in the Scriptures.” [...] Johnson and 32 other pastors across the country set out Sunday to break the rules, hoping to generate a legal battle that will prompt federal courts to throw out a 54-year-old ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship. The ministers contend they have a constitutional right to advise their worshipers how to vote. As Johnson put it during a break between sermons, “The point that the IRS says you can’t do it, I’m saying you’re wrong.”

I see this attitude all around in my (small, ignorant, pathetic) town, and people around here are going to vote pro-life, without any hesitation. They will base their vote on only that, and they will, of course, walk away with the confidence that they’ve done the right thing. As I’ve told others: McCain could have picked Bozo the Clown as his running mate, and most people around here would still vote red.

Onward xian soldiers…

Here they go boo-hooing again about the new Capitol Visitor Center that will soon be opening in Washington D.C being “too secular”.

Making (Up) History: Religious Right Forces Try To Tilt Capitol Visitor Center

The fundies are whining that it “doesn’t display America’s “Christian heritage” and are insisting that America is a Christian Nation and even though we are a melting pot of diverse beliefs and backgrounds, they want to force their Christianity in the faces of all visitors who pass through the visitor center.

Sandhya Bathija of AU states:

They are complaining that the Center, funded by more than $600 million in taxpayer dollars, is too secular and doesn’t display America’s “Christian heritage.” Apparently, they would rather push their own version of American history — that America is a “Christian nation” — so citizens who are non-Christian feel second-class when they tour our nation’s capitol.

Leading the campaign to promote these historical inaccuracies is David Barton, founder and president of Texas-based WallBuilders, a Religious Right organization pushing Barton’s sectarian version of American history. Barton has no credentials as a historian, and his historical accounts are based on “Christian nation” propaganda.

If you haven’t heard of the whackadooWallBuilders and David Barton, here is a YouTube by RightWingWatchdotorg of David Barton at the Rediscovering God in America Conference in Florida on Jan. 21, 2008 where he discusses the “best way to control the political forces.”

When promoting mixing of god beliefs and government, evangelicals really do not understand the big can of worms they are opening up. First of all, they really do not understand that Washington and Jefferson and many other of our founding fathers were Deists. Thomas Paine wrote about how ludicrous the Christian beliefs and the Bible are. Evangelicals who would turn us into their kind of theocracy conveniently leave that part out and choose to be willfully ignorant of historical facts and the true meaning of our U.S. Constitution’s first amendment.

Bathija continues to points out:

In a YouTube video produced by Wallbuilders, the group refers to the Center as a “$621 million shrine to political correctness” and urges Americans to write or call Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress asking them not “to use our federal tax dollars to further secularize America.”

Here is that video:

Last week, U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) announced that 108 members of Congress, including members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, signed a letter to the Architect of the Capitol complaining about the lack of references to God in the Center.

The letter complains that the Center includes photos from Earth Day celebrations and an AIDS rally but does not include photos from the National Day of Prayer or the March for Life events.

The letter isn’t Forbes’ first foray into Religious Right activism. In December 2007, the Virginia congressman introduced a resolution that would declare the first week in May as “American Religious History Week.” The measure also asked Congress to accept that “political scientists have documented that the most frequently-cited source in the political period known as The Founding Era was the Bible,” among other inflammatory historical inaccuracies.

The version of American history pushed by Barton and Forbes is their own skewed version. For the rest of us, we have learned since kindergarten that our founding fathers had enough sense to keep religion out of government and government out of religion in order to preserve religious liberty for all.

I’m pleased that the new Capitol Visitor Center hasn’t yielded to Religious Right propagandists. I hope it doesn’t do so now.

I hope it doesn’t do so now, also.

Glad to see more of Palin’s whackadoo beliefs discussed on national television.

Keith Olbermann finally did a segment on Palin being purged of witchcraft influences a couple nights ago, and Keith also brought to light Thomas Muthee’s obsession with witchcraft in Africa and the fear-mongering he is doing there igniting superstitious witch-hunts which often have tragic outcomes. Olbermann is right on when he says that Muthee makes Rev. Wright seems “like Father Flannigan from Boy’s Town! And Rev. Wright isn’t running for the second most powerful position in the nation, and the world. [Ed note: I should explain that as it was pointed out to me, neither is Muthee running for public office, however Obama has distanced himself from his whackadoo pastor while Palin embraces witch-hunter Muthee and some very bizarre and disturbing religious beliefs.]

I am sure more and more videos will surface about Palin’s religious nuttery the closer we get to election time. It would be great if they found one of her rolling on the floor speaking in jibberish as is customary in her denomination. Maybe a few snake-handling sessions, too?

McCain showed extreme lack of judgment in choosing Palin as his running mate. There were so many more distinguished and experienced women to choose from. He just wanted to add spark and dazzle for appearances sake to his campaign without any consideration of who Sarah Palin really is and what her true religious intentions are, which, first and foremost are to promote her religious propaganda — to win for Jeeezus. Hopefully Palin will be the weight that keeps dragging McCain down, down, down.

Pastor Mondo is at it again, spreading his misunderstanding of things concerning our Constitution and the laws of Separation of Church and State via his weekly Pastor’s Corner column of a public newspaper. From people I have spoken with, he is becoming the town laughing stock and should keep his ignorance to his church instead of publicly humiliating himself in the community newspaper.

Separation of church and state — is it true?

Mondo starts out with a question as if talking to a church full of crazy fundamentalists instead of a diverse community in which he lives:

Have you ever asked yourself whether you are too extreme for Jesus?

I would say that Mondo is “too extreme” because he is not taking into account the diverse culture in which he lives. He believes egotistically that his way is the “truth” and his interpretation of Christianity is the only correct one.

Mondo goes on to say:

Or whether you should temper your talk as it relates to spiritual things? Let’s be honest, there certainly have been those in the past and even today who are “extreme for Jesus” and kill or murder in the name of God. These people will use violence or coercion in sharing the message of the Bible and they reflect that they are more extreme for themselves than they are for Jesus.

But Mondo misses the parts of his Bible is full of examples where the god he believes in orders such violent acts. The Bible, if taken literally is a very, very dangerous book. The God of the Bible is spiteful, bloodthirsty and downright evil according to even Christian standards of evilness. If they weren’t so brainwashed that it is such a beautiful book and that their god is a loving god, they would find the Bible as repulsive as any piece of x-rated violent literature that they forbid their children or themselves to see.

These kinds of things are so far from His teaching it is amazing they can’t see the inherent contradiction. He came teaching that we should bless those who curse us and to do good to those who hate us (Matthew 5:44). Jesus did not come physically forcing His message on people and neither should we.

Then he proceeds to force his message, his interpretation of Separation of Church and State, disregarding the U.S. Constitution in the Pastor’s Corner or our community newspaper.

Nevertheless, Jesus was bold in proclaiming His message that all humanity must repent of their sins and place their trust in Him or they would forfeit participating in His kingdom (John 14:6). There certainly is a difference between force and being bold. God commands us in Deuteronomy to constantly be consumed with His Word and message. There should never be a time when we don’t seek to speak or live out His teachings.

Teachings which they pick and choose to suit themselves, however they want this Jesus to be, whatever they want to believe this Jesus would do in today’s world, making it up as they go along. Yet few want to live out Jesus teachings to clothe the poor and feed the hungry. They rarely address these matters when referring to living the teaching of their mythological Jesus.

I bring all this up to follow my column last month about the upcoming election. If we are obedient Christians then it is impossible to separate our spiritual life from our political life and viewpoints.

And this is true of people from all walks of life. Our lives influence how we think, how we live, how we vote. But it’s a personal choice that one makes, and no Pastor has a right to stand up at the pulpit and tell his congregation who to vote for.

As Christians, God expects us to vote for those candidates who will honor His Word.

Why would a god of all people of the world be the slightest bit interested in often corrupt and mud-slinging elections in one single country on this planet? If this god exists and made everything why would he care one iota about U.S politics? And if there was a god in control of things, why would he make a world where he would manipulate one country against another, one army against the other, in continuous warring, bloodshed and violence? Why does this god always need mere humans? Why does this god never do anything for himself?

Well, we know why here, don’t we? God does not exist.

The again Mondo persists with:

I am certainly not saying which specific candidate that is

. . .then goes on to basically tell voters how to vote:

but I don’t believe that God is going to ask me on the day of judgment who won the election, but instead who I voted for according to my conscience and the Word of God. That is our responsibility as believers and as ones who live by the Word. What if there is no candidate in any of the parties that fits this category? We must vote according to our conscience and if this means writing in a name, then so be it. At least we have honored God.

Voting in the American election process is honoring his god? This is emotional, manipulative tactics to get people to vote a certain way.

Mondo points out:

John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was appointed by George Washington, wrote, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

But neglects to use the source of Separation of Church and State that is law of the land, the U.S. Constitution.

Therefore, we see our founding fathers (John Jay helped write the Constitution) believed strongly in seeing Christians in politics. They were faithful in following the command in Deuteronomy to keep the truths of God permeating all of their life, including politics and government. It is true that our nation is no longer predominantly Christian and that there are many secular people who deny our Christian heritage. Such people are constantly crying that there is a “separation of church and state.”

Mondo is uneducated in U.S Government and in denial of the truth of what our Constitution says. He goes on to talk about what he thinks other people at the time of the writing of the Constitution believed, and not about what the Constitution actually says.

However, most of these people do not understand the origin of this phrase and what it means historically and contextually.

Mondo, you surely do not understand the origin of this phrase and what it means historically or contextually. You do not understand that the Separation of Church and States protects your beliefs and your freedom to worship freely any version of Christianity you choose without persecution. It protects us from what is happening in England right now where Muslims are pushing for the establishment of some components of Sharia Law into the government. Would you be all for that Pastor Mondo? I think not.

I am not sure who originated the phrase, “if you repeat a lie long enough, people will see it as true,”

Like saying a non-existent god is real even when no god ever shows himself?

The phrase “separation of church and state” is not found in any official documents during the founding era of our country.

While the Constitution doesn’t use those exact words, it is quite clear in it’s meaning. Nowhere in our U.S. Constitution can the word “God” be found. It is something that many fundamentalists have made up attempting to make our secular nation into a theocracy, which clearly was NOT the intentions of the founding fathers.

Separation of church and state — is it true? The Constitution of the U.S, the IRS and your tax exempt status says it is.

Pastor Gus Booth and other right-wing religious freaks like him want to control all aspects of your life, from the voting booth to the bedroom. If he wants to tell his church full of sheeple who to vote for, then start paying taxes like everyone else. If people like Gus don’t want to respect separation of church and state, then pay up buddy and you can promote whatever political candidate you want from your pulpit! But you can’t have it both ways.

From Americans United’s Joseph L. Conn: LINK: Hurricane Gus Update: Church Policking Scheme Is Category 4 Threat to American Democracy

The Rev. Gus Booth is one of a handful of clergy who plan to endorse political candidates from the pulpit this Sunday as part of a Religious Right scheme to turn churches into a right-wing political machine.

Booth, pastor of the Warroad Community Church in Warroad, Minn., says he has every right to tell his parishioners how to vote.

“If we can tell you what to do in the bedroom, we can certainly tell you what to do in the voting booth,” Booth told the Religion News Service’s Adelle Banks. “The voting booth is not some sort of sacred cow that you can’t talk about. You’re supposed to bring the gospel into every area of life.”

Okaaaaay.

I don’t know about you, but I would just as soon that Pastor Booth stay out of both my bedroom and the voting booth (certainly when I’m in it).

Apparently I’m not alone. On Wednesday, Baptist Press released a new LifeWay Research poll that had some astounding figures in it.

According to this public opinion survey, 75 percent of Americans do not believe “it is appropriate for churches to publicly endorse candidates for public office.” What’s more, 85 percent think it is not “appropriate for churches to use their resources to campaign for candidates for public office.” Eighty-seven percent do not “believe it is appropriate for pastors to publicly endorse candidates for public office during a church service.”

And here are some good reasons Mr Conn provides for why politicking from the pulpit is bad:

Americans know that politicizing our churches is terrible thing to do. It will divide our communities along religious lines, undercutting our secular and pluralistic democracy. If elections boil down to which churches can turn out the most voters from their own pews, the majority faiths will control the government and church-state separation and interfaith peace are sure to fall by the wayside.

Partisanship in the pulpit is also disastrous for religion. It will split congregations, pitting church members against each other and against their religious leaders. And it will open the door to manipulation by unscrupulous politicians. The integrity of houses of worship will almost certainly be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.

And ends with this:

Booth, of course, has a broadly protected right to tell his congregants what to think about a wide variety of religious, moral and, yes, political matters. The Constitution protects his freedom of speech and freedom of religion. I personally don’t want his advice on any of those things. If his congregants do want his recommendations on how best to fold their bed sheets, it’s up to them.

But if Booth’s church wants to keep its tax exemption, it cannot endorse partisan political candidates. That’s a simple rule of the IRS Code that applies to all churches, charities and educational groups with a 501(c)(3) status.

It’s like I said, if Booth wants to endorse a particular candidate and tell people who to vote for, then start paying taxes.

You’re supposed to be on Dave, and then you lie, cancel, and then go on Katie?…

Bad move, John…

I’m guessing that maybe it had something to do with Keith — but that’s just speculation…

Just so we’re all on the same (martial law) page…

And if that wasn’t enough, DHS is now looking to implement “pre-screening” security that monitors pupils, blood pressure, and body temperature — the point of of which is to detect “hostile thoughts.”

Yep, no false positives here. No, sir.

All of this in the name of liberty, of course. (Isn’t it obvious?)