Crazy conservatives redux

Glenn Beck calls Obama a racist who hates white people (@1m19s into video). Popular media conservatives really are getting more and more unhinged.

Feldstein tells us that Obama wants single payer. That's news to me.

On another note, Orally explains that Canada doesn't have better healthcare than us, we just have more people. Their higher life expectancy is just a figment of statistical manipulation, see...

What a surprise!

Steorn failed. The 1st Law remains intact. What a surprise. I could have never predicted that...

Now we'll just wait and see how those "over unity devices" work out.

The nerve!

How dare scientists present...science!

"There's nothing balanced here. It's completely, 100 percent evolution-based," said DeWitt, a professor of biology.

That's damn straight! Imagine, at the Museum of Natural History, all you find is...naturalism! No supernatural explanations at all!

And at this university at which this "professor" does his "teaching," I bet you won't find balance about the possibility that Christianity is a fraud either!

"We come every year, because I don't hold anything back from the students."

Except facts.

Near the end of the "Evolution Trail," the class showed no signs of being swayed by the polished, enthusiastic presentation of Darwin's theory. They were surprised, though, by the bronze statue of man's earliest mammalian ancestor.

"A rat?" exclaimed Amanda Runions, a 21-year-old biochemistry major, when she saw the model of a morganucodon, a rodent-like ancient mammal that curators have dubbed Grandma Morgie. "All this hype for a rat? You're expecting, like, at least an ape."

Yeah, cause, like, you'd think that apes aren't even related to rats by evolution, like, at Liberty U.

Haggard floats back up

It's like a train wreck: you can't look away.

Since the guy fell from grace and his church took a huge hit, he just hasn't gone under; people with megalomania rarely do.

A few notes apropos politics and religion

There's been quite a reaction to Stuart Shepard's most recent stupid video for the FOF nuts.

Anyone who Rod Parsley is against, I'm likely for.

The Matthew 25 group has released a nice, positive video supporting Obama and highlighting his strength on family issues...you know, actual family issues, like education and health care, not just being rabidly anti-gay...

Obama leads amongst every class of religious voters besides white Evangelicals.

What a relief! Biblical "experts" (as if such a thing is possible or needed) on the apocalypse have finally decided that Obama isn't the Anti-Christ.

A win for sound science education! Californians don't have to dumb down their university academic standards to appease creationists.

Roy Moore may be one-upped by the idiot judge in Alabama who used his courtroom to invoke others to pray...

Focus on the Family poon video #2

The last time we saw this poon Stuart Shepard, he was against helping the poor (like Jesus, I guess). This time, he's asking God to smite the Democratic convention with rain. Olbermann had him as the "Worst Person in the World" last night:


You can see the YouTube video of his imprecation below the fold:

I mean, sure, people are starving to death and dying of disease all over the place, but why waste your time asking God to do something about that?

Copeland continues to stonewall Congress

The investigation of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) into the tax-free practices of some religious organizations turned up a few rocks, and some especially slimy creatures are scurrying away from the harsh sunlight:

Already a well-known figure, Copeland has come under greater scrutiny in recent months. He is one target of a Senate Finance Committee investigation into allegations of questionable spending and lax financial accountability at six large televangelist organizations that preach health-and-wealth theology.

All have denied wrongdoing, but Copeland has fought back the hardest, refusing to answer most questions from the inquiry's architect, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa.
...
Swicegood said the church's independent compensation committee approves all payments to board members.

Marilyn Phelan, a Texas Tech University law professor and author on nonprofit law, said the practice could pose problems. Both the IRS and Texas state law prohibit benefits beyond reasonable compensation for insiders, including board members, she said. If violations are found, nonprofits can lose their tax-exempt status and board members can face penalty taxes.

As the Senate Finance Committee considers its next step, Copeland is not backing down. His ministry is portraying the inquiry as an attack on religious liberty.

At the same time, it is moving forward with a big fund-raising project: soliciting donations for new television equipment so Copeland can be broadcast in high-definition.

I'd love to see this crook thrown in jail, but it's enough to hope for all the money he's misused to be taxed. From their supposed needs for private jets to their staying in $5,000 a night resorts during "evangelistic trips" and driving Bentleys that they write off as "work-related vehicles"...it all just makes me sick. Paula and Randy White have probably cooperated more than anyone else, but with their ongoing divorce and financial issues, it's understandable that they can't take any more heat.

Update on Grassley & ministers investigation

I was reading about additional craziness from John Hagee, and it reminded me of something that I'd written about a while back but forgotten about. First, the article on Hagee divulged much of what I already knew -- that he and his ilk want war with Iran, like, yesterday. Why is it that tying this guy and Parsley around McCain's neck isn't a toxic political millstone? The double standard applied to Rev. Wright and Obama is obvious here.

As I read about Hagee's lavish lifestyle and million-dollar salary, it reminded me of Sen. Grassley's investigation into financial impropriety in "prosperity" churches. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been leading an investigation by the Senate Finance Committee into the finances of six ministries commonly affiliated with "prosperity preaching" with the aim of updating the tax code to appropriately deal with this malfeasance. I admitted a little skepticism at the utility and motives of this investigation when I first read about it. At the time, I said:

I read this the other day and I'm still scratching my head. I mean, I dislike Benny "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" Hinn as much as anyone, and I think the whole lot of those six are probably as corrupt and unethical as it gets. However, I just don't understand the legal power that a Congressperson has to audit the finances of these people.

The IRS? Sure! But Congress...!?!? We'll wait and see if this goes anywhere.

It turns out that three of the six ministries are cooperating, and have until March 31st, according to this press release:

Baucus and Grassley lead the committee with exclusive Senate jurisdiction over tax policy; the ministry inquiry that Grassley launched last November is meant to gauge the effectiveness of certain tax-exempt policies.

“This ought to clear up any misunderstanding about our interest and the committee’s role,” Grassley said. “We have an obligation to oversee how the tax laws are working for both tax-exempt organizations and taxpayers. Just like with reviews of other tax-exempt organizations in recent years, I look forward to the cooperation of these ministries in the weeks and months ahead.”

Grassley wrote to six ministries on Nov. 5, 2007, asking a series of questions on the nonprofit organizations’ expenses, treatment of donations and business practices. The questions were based on presentations of material from watchdog groups and whistleblowers and on investigative reports in local media outlets. One of the six ministries – Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Mo. – has cooperated substantially with his request and provided the requested information. Benny Hinn Ministries of Grapevine, Texas, has indicated a willingness to cooperate and provided answers to
five of the 28 questions so far.

Representatives for Randy and Paula White of Without Walls International Church/Paula White Ministries, Tampa, Fla., verbally have indicated to Finance Committee staff that they will cooperate. Baucus and Grassley wrote to them on March 11 to thank them for the verbal commitment and to reiterate the committee’s role.

The remaining three ministries have not cooperated, citing privacy protections or questioning the committee’s standing to request the information. Baucus and Grassley wrote to them on March 11 to describe the committee’s jurisdiction and role in determining the effectiveness of tax policy developed by the committee, distinct from the Internal Revenue Service’s role, which is to enforce existing law. The three ministries are: Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Newark, Texas; Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International / Creflo Dollar Ministries College Park, Ga.; and Eddie L. Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church/Eddie L. Long Ministries, Lithonia, Ga.

The committee’s jurisdiction includes the federal tax policy governing the billions of dollars donated to and controlled by the nation’s tax-exempt groups. The federal government forgoes the collection of billions of dollars to tax-exempt organizations every year.

It doesn't surprise me much about the Copelands or the Dollars. I don't know anything about Long, but I am quite familiar with Copeland and his reputation. I was pleasantly surprised about Hinn -- I figured him for one of those likeliest to resist, rather than cooperate. Randy and Paula White have faced enough personal problems recently with the divorce, so facing additional (scandalous) financial ones was probably a smart decision they made.

While you can read the pseudo-justifications for refusing to cooperate proffered by Creflo and Ken at their own sites, Eddie offers no such attempt at saving face. A little digging finds that some of these jokers are getting paid over $1M salaries. Fuc*ing absurd. Long's church has a gym inside ("Samson's Gym") that offers memberships and massages (all for a large fee, of course) -- the divisions between business and church blurred for these individuals long ago.

The clusterfuc* that is election day

If you really want to lose all faith in the American political system, read this.

Churches as businesses

Times are good for megachurches:

An analysis by The New York Times of the online public records of just over 1,300 of these giant churches shows that their business interests are as varied as basketball schools, aviation subsidiaries, investment partnerships and a limousine service.

At least 10 own and operate shopping centers, and some financially formidable congregations are adding residential developments to their holdings. In one such elaborate project, LifeBridge Christian Church, near Longmont, Colo., plans a 313-acre development of upscale homes, retail and office space, a sports arena, housing for the elderly and church buildings.

But the entrepreneurial activities of churches pose questions for their communities that do not arise with secular development.

These enterprises, whose sponsoring churches benefit from a variety of tax breaks and regulatory exemptions given to religious organizations in this country, sometimes provoke complaints from for-profit businesses with which they compete — as ChangePoint’s new sports center has in Anchorage.

Mixed-use projects, like shopping centers that also include church buildings, can make it difficult to determine what constitutes tax-exempt ministry work, which is granted exemptions from property and unemployment taxes, and what is taxable commerce.

The article in the NYT highlights another reason that churches should lose their tax exemption; not that this is any different than them acting as lobbyists or the RR bulldog groups making millions or as funnels of corruption for government $. The full-text of the NYT article is below:

Alberto Gonzales at UF

Despite my (continued and unresolved) anger that they invited him in the first place, I'm proud of the UF student body for protesting the criminal's speech.

Also check out the Alligator's article and their video of the protests.


Go Gators!

This week in God

Steve Benen's weekly segment is up, and you should read the whole thing. I just wanted to point out two things:

1) I read this the other day and I'm still scratching my head. I mean, I dislike Benny "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" Hinn as much as anyone, and I think the whole lot of those six are probably as corrupt and unethical as it gets. However, I just don't understand the legal power that a Congressperson has to audit the finances of these people.

The IRS? Sure! But Congress...!?!? We'll wait and see if this goes anywhere.

Oh yeah, and worth mention is that this Sen. Grassley of Iowa is a Republican. I found that surprising, given the close ties the GOP has with the RR, especially in a state like Iowa. Bravo to him for rising above the fray of partisan pandering.

2) "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" -- a documentary about Dover comes on PBS Tuesday, November 13, 8:00 pm, details here and here.

You have got to be shitting me

Alberto fu%*ing Gonzales is getting paid $40K to come speak at my beloved UF?!?!?!?

Alberto Gonzales to speak at UF
By KIM WILMATH, Alligator Staff Writer
Thursday, November 8, 2007 1:38 AM EST

Alberto Gonzales, the former U.S. attorney general who resigned in August, will speak at UF on Nov. 19.

Student Government records state Gonzales was paid $40,000 for his speech at UF, which is the first college appearance since he resigned, said Steven Blank, Accent chairman. Accent, SG's speakers bureau, is sponsoring the appearance.

The speech will take place 7:15 p.m. at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, stated a press release from Accent.

The event has been in the works for a few weeks, Blank said.

Free tickets will be available for students with Gator 1 cards on Nov. 14 and for the general public Nov. 15 at the Phillips Center and the University Box Office, the release stated.

Blank said he expects a full house.

In 2005, Accent brought another former state attorney to UF - Janet Reno.

The show was so successful that the bureau jumped at the chance to host Gonzales, Blank said.

Gonzales was appointed the first Hispanic attorney general in February 2005 and later played a role in President Bush's fight in the war on terror after Sept. 11.

Gonzales resigned in August after a controversial tenure.

Gonzales faced scrutiny over his leadership of the Department of Justice in 2006, after he dismissed nine U.S. attorneys.

The White House administration said the dismissals were solely based on performance.

Gonzales called the issue "an overblown personnel matter."

However, some officials have said that the Bush administration was trying to politicize the justice system.

Questions were raised about whether Gonzales testified truthfully about the National Security Agency's abuse of surveillance programs.

Bush denied the accusations against Gonzales.

Meanwhile, Democrats cheered his resignation.

Bush appointed Peter Keisler as acting attorney general Sept. 17.

Gonzales wasn't the only high-level official to resign during Bush's second term.

Gale Norton, Bush's former secretary of the interior, resigned in March 2006. Andrew H. Card Jr., former chief of staff, resigned the same month.

Norman Mineta, former secretary of transportation, left in June 2006.

Christians and campaign finance

I don't remember why this never interested me before, but hearing people like James Dobson argue against campaign finance reform has finally made me stop and think. Let's concede the obvious: making politics fair is not in the best interests of money/power-hungry politicians and their lobbyists.

I mentioned Dobson's recently-founded 501(c)(4) group a while ago, and it looks like a clear reason for him to oppose campaign finance reform is his own organization.

The main thrust of campaign finance reform since the '90s has been targeting soft money. Soft money is contributed not directly to a campaign or candidate, but to a PAC like Dobson's, which then have very little regulation or disclosure requirements with the public. It's basically a way to try to buy elections, and the Supreme Court agreed in 2003 to uphold limitations on soft money. While I agree that our constitutional civil liberties must be protected, the issue is being obfuscated in much the same way that church-state issues are (by the same players): the Constitution protects individual liberties, not those of PACs. While I personally have the right to say and do as I wish with respect to advertising and campaigning for a candidate, the state has a vested interest in regulating the activity of collective efforts backed by corporate dollars.

Any time that transparency mixes with politics, those who practice in the dark fight furiously against the intrusion of light. We should be quite suspicious of those who are so vocal and adamantly opposed to this legislation via sheer demagoguery (using lies about limits on individual religious expression).

I don't actually think that Dobson wants to hide something of his own personal fortune. I mean, hell, Dobson only makes around $300 K himself in his $200M FoF empire (plus $30M for the FoF "Action" political branch), just chump change, really. I think the real fear that these people have is the way that the money flows from their non-profit religious groups to their political action groups. That, combined with who is funding those action groups. I think Dobson doesn't want the public to know that he is bankrolled by the same machinations that Ralph Reed, with the Christian Coalition, was: Jack Abramoff and crooks just like him. I think Dobson and Perkins and others like them are in bed with the same corrupt lobbyists that all the politicians are, and they don't want anyone to know about it. The money they receive from their religious fronts are siphoned over to PACs. They are able to take politicians out to dinner and on trips to influence their votes for their own special interests. Dobson and his ilk are no better than any other politicians or lobbyists in DC, they just don't want anyone to know about it.

How did he find time for this?

How in the world did Sen. David Vitter find time to earmark $100K of taxpayers' money to a nonsense creationist group called "Louisiana Family Forum" to promote bullshit pseudeoscience, given the amount of time he spent showing his "little something" to Wendy Cortez?

Fighting poverty is liberal and thus anti-Christian

Only in the bizzaro world of the Religious Right can one find such tortured convolutions of logic as evidenced in the video below, in which Focus on the Family Action attempts to argue that helping the poor is a liberal cause that should be opposed and the only way to help poor people is to get rid of those goddamned queers and fornicators...while maintaining their staunch Christian credentials throughout, of course:

Quoting Jesus (Matt 25:31-46 NIV):

The Sheep and the Goats



31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.



34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'



37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'



40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'



41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'



44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'



45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'



46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Oh boy! A cornucopia of RR fun

Look out Tampa: The gay-bashing fundie caravan heads to Florida!!

from Talking with juvenile offenders about gay males and lesbians: implications for combating homophobia (p. 14):

Herek (1987) also found that 64% of the undergraduate students manifested a single function for attitudes toward homosexuality. In contrast, only 33% of all the juvenile offenders did so. A similar percentage of juvenile offenders manifested mixed negative functions. Young offenders' negative attitudes often do not correspond with just a single attitude function. Therefore, attempting to match group teaching strategies with a singular function would not be possible in many instances, and certainly not helpful in trying to overcome anti-homosexual postures. It would be more feasible and useful to target the range of functions, focusing on those which are particularly salient. Defensiveness is such a function for juvenile offenders. Unlike the broad distribution of functions which Herek (1987) revealed, among young offenders there was a preponderance of the Defensive function. Of Herek's undergraduate respondents, only 11% had exclusively Defensive attitudes, violating "a popular bit of folk-wisdom that all hostility toward gay persons results from personal conflicts about gender or repressed homosexual desires" (Herek, 1987, p. 295). In contrast, 24% of the delinquent participants' attitudes were exclusively Defensive. More strikingly, the present study found that defensiveness functioned as the sole or part basis of 84% of the juvenile offenders' negative attitudes toward homosexuals. This suggests that personal conflicts are central to the attitudes of most young offenders in this domain. In Herek's (1987) data, only 35% of the undergraduate students were wholly or in part Defensive. Such contrast between the two groups is not surprising. Adolescence is a period in our culture when there is a pronounced need for establishing personal identity, affirmed in part by excluding and stereotyping minorities (Erikson, 1968). College-age students, such as those who participated in Herek's (1987) study, would have largely resolved such adolescent role confusion.

So what can we say about Tony Perkins et. al? They haven't grown up yet, or haven't dealt with repressed desires? Ted Haggard, anyone?

My favorite aspect of the anti-gay advocates is their tendency to support these "ex-gay" people, 99% of whom are later found in a backseat somewhere joyfully swallowing man gravy. Along with lots of pastors and foaming-at-the-mouth social conservative GOP politicians, of course.

And now I can see why they chose "clean" (non-porn-carrying hotels) places to stay -- they all know they'll whack the weasel all weekend to the biggest, manliest bear porn they can find if it's anywhere within reach. ...the porn, I mean...

[we have] "a growing sense of confidence in our new attorney general."

Guess who said that? And guess why?

Before I tell you, I want to tell you that at the time this was said, the Iraq war was about 2.5 years old, and the first signs of Bush's plummeting popularity were beginning to show. Given that, an apropos offhand remark that also comes from the WaPo article in which the title quote is spoken sheds light on the priorities of this administration, and to whom they've pandered away all competence and credibility:

"I guess this means we've won the war on terror," said one exasperated FBI agent, speaking on the condition of anonymity because poking fun at headquarters is not regarded as career-enhancing. "We must not need any more resources for espionage."

Among friends and trusted colleagues, an experienced national security analyst said, "it's a running joke for us."

Why did the FBI agent say this? Because the AG was diverting resources away from fighting terrorism in order...wait for it...

...to fight...

...porn.

Not child porn. Consenting adults, legal porn.

And the FRC -- the Religious Right's most powerful Washington lobbying arm -- was ecstatic, and they were the ones with the "growing sense of confidence" in Alberto Gonzalez. My how the times change.

This was enough of a priority of the Bush administration to pull good agents off of cases involving threats of death and destruction to our country in order to search out people who make erotica involving urination and bondage. This is your president, America. God bless that motherfucker.
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Technorati tags: God, Religion, Politics

"Calling all frauds, calling all frauds..."

The "Creation Museum" is looking for a geologist Ph.D. with a decided lack of integrity and scientific understanding.
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Technorati tags: God, Religion, Intelligent Design, Evolution, Creationism

Carnival of AiG's Creation Museum

**UPDATE: Check out this amazing compilation of resources debunking the lies and silliness of AiG's grand experiment in "How We Can Waste $27M on Human Ignorance": DefCon presents
http://www.defconamerica.org/creationmuseum/**

Tomorrow morning at 10 AM the glorious Creation Museum of AiG is opening to the public. America's collective IQ will dip ~20 points, and progress in public understanding of science will be rolled back about 300 years.

PZ set up a "creation carnival" of posts related to AiG and its pseudo-science in general. It has 65 entries! Check it out.


Read these for some background:

• Yabba-dabba science, LA Times
• Adam and Eve in the land of dinosaurs, NYT
• NCSE resource
  
• The Rally for Reason
• Chris Hedges' report at Truthdig
• Petitions by DefCon

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Technorati tags: God, Religion, Intelligent Design, Evolution, Creationism