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Human Events may want to take an adult education class in headline writing. This morning, Michelle Malkin, a right-wing blogger and "journalist", was on the Today show with Matt Lauer to discuss her new book, "Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies."

The conservative website, Human Events, posted the video on their website with the headline "Lauer Loses Cool During Malkin Interview." It seemed rather odd that Lauer, a guy who usually seems pretty level-headed, would "lose his cool", on national television nonetheless. After reviewing the video, however, there isn't even a fleeting moment in which Lauer does anything that resembles a loss of temper.

Even when Malkin calls President Obama a "racial opportunist" and Michelle Obama "the first crony", Lauer simply restates what Malkin said and asks how she can justify such sweeping, broad based claims. Malkin goes even further by attacking Lindsey Graham's desire for more diversity in the Republican Party:

"I think Lindsay Graham has a history of pandering to this idea that somehow the party should broaden itself for the sake of pandering to diversity."

Here's the video, get ready for Lauer's "insane" outbursts:

Rather than misrepresenting the content of an article for the sake of your own columnist, maybe Human Events should work on writing some more accurate headlines.

At a typical Randall Terry press conference one can expect to hear all sorts of overheated rhetoric about abortion – that it’s murder, that abortion clinics are places of "mass genocide," and so forth. But in recent weeks, he has amped up his rhetoric to insane new heights over the healthcare legislation before Congress, which he claims would pay for “child-killing.”

Earlier this week Terry called for the rejection of the bill and warned of "violent convulsions" of a level that hasn't been seen since the Civil War if the bill is passed

At today’s press conference, however, Terry was quick to point out that he has supposedly been a "non-violent" leader for 25 years, and he ridiculed those who accuse him and other right-wing leaders of "stirring up domestic terrorism”:

But when Terry predicted the consequences of passing the bill, he seemed to exalt in warning of “random acts of violence” and violent "reprisals against those deemed guilty":

We, for one, think it’s absolutely right to connect the dots between violent rhetoric and violent acts. 

To end on a lighter vote, if that’s possible, here is a clip of Terry doing his best impersonation of what I assume he would call a "whiny liberal": 

As Kyle and I have both previously noted, the Religious Right seems to be conveying the same message over and over through a series of redundant organizations that all speak to the same tired language. Maybe that's why the American Society in the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP) has decided to broaden their message of intolerance to include not only gay couples, but some straight ones too.

Usually, the brunt of the Religious Right's anti-gay movement hits those in the gay community; gay individuals for simply being gay, and gay couples for "destroying the meaning of marriage" by choosing to be with someone they love.

However, via Americablog, we see that the American TFP recently begun their three-state "marriage crusade" in Maine, and, along with the usual anti-gay rhetoric, have started attacking a somewhat unconventional target: straight marriage.

That's right, along with claiming that gay marriage is harmful because a child wouldn't have a mother and father, the organization is arguing that any marriage performed at City Hall isn't a real marriage, either:

The group says gay marriage is harmful to society because children do not have a mother and father. They also claim that marriages performed at City Hall, without God present, are not really marriages.

For convenience sake, they are leaving the last part out during their "marriage crusade" in Maine. After all, they wouldn't want to upset a straight couple who got married in City Hall; their signature might be needed by Stand4Marriage Maine.

With only five days until the deadline for Protect Marriage Washington to turn in the 120,577 signatures needed to get Referendum 71 on the November ballot, it looks like they have a long way to go. If the organization obtains enough signatures, however, Referendum 71 would give voters the option of repealing Washington's "everything but marriage" law, which gives domestic partners full marriage benefits without the title of "marriage."

In a blog post last week, however, Gary Randall, the lead organizer of Protect Marriage Washington, noted that they would need roughly 150,000 signatures by the deadline, due to the fact that with any petition drive a substantial amount of signatures will be ineligible:

Organizers have until July 25 to turn 120,577 valid signatures in to the Secretary of State's office. Lead organizer Gary Randall reports that more than 75,000 signatures have been received so far. "We think this is good news. However, it points out exactly how much work is left to do in just two weeks," Randall announced on his "Faith & Freedom PAC" blog last week. "We need at least 150,000 signatures to ensure that we have the 120,577 necessary. There are always some signatures that are disqualified for various reasons."

With so many signatures left to obtain, it is surprising that Randall didn't pay closer attention to two polls that he commissioned. They actually show that voter support for gay marriage is on the rise in Washington:

The survey asks, “In your opinion, should homosexuals be allowed to legally marry?” Here is how the 405 Washington voters answered:

Yes — 43%
No — 50%
Didn’t know or no answer — 7%

Conducted by Elway Research, the poll shows an unmistakable trend of growing support for marriage equality. Another poll paid for by Faith and Freedom and conducted by Elway Research in 2005 found that only 35 percent of voters supported allowing gays and lesbians to marry (.pdf).

More important, however, is the fact that Protect Marriage Washington isn't even fighting a marriage equality law―the law simply extended marriage benefits to those in domestic partnerships. That hasn't stopped the group from falsely claiming that the law will give Washington same-sex couples the right to marry. Here's an ad, now posted on their website, that ran in opposition to the law last year:

Throughout the catalog of right-wing organizations, one can easily find examples of attempts to connect two things which, under rational thought, would have no reason being mentioned in the same article, ad, or argument. Usually, the connection (or lack thereof) will leave you scratching your head.

Just take, for instance, Robert Morrison's recent article on the Family Research Council's blog that takes you through a confusing journey from the French national holiday, Bastille Day, to why we shouldn't confirm Sonia Sotomayor. Then there was Operation Rescue's recent press release that tries to connect Sotomayor and her virtually non-existent abortion record to the criminal prosecution of an abortion clinic worker in Florida. Kyle has previously written about the Right's tendency to try and link seemingly distant subjects.

The most recent attempt to connect the unconnected comes in the form of a new television ad from the anti-abortion group, Fidelis. The ad, which launched today, attempts to intertwine the anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch and the importance of a "pro-life" agenda:

Dr. Joseph Kerwin, the first American doctor in outer space, joined other former NASA greats yesterday at a press conference sponsored by the Catholic pro-life group Fidelis, the creator of the new advertisement and its popular web site CatholicVote.org.

The event commemorated both the fortieth anniversary of Apollo 11’s historic landing on the moon and the new ad buy from Fidelis.

...

Brian Burch, the president of the group, told LifeNews.com that putting a man on the moon was once thought impossible.

“Neil Armstrong will go down in history as one of the greatest explorers. His long journey to the moon started, as each of us started, with a small kick in our mother’s womb,” said Burch. “Today, we salute the astronauts of Apollo 11 and all other brave pioneers who give meaning to the potential of every human life.”

With today marking the anniversary of the liftoff of Apollo 11 and July 20 marking the anniversary of the first moonwalk, the new Fidelis pro-life commercial comes at an appropriate time.

In a note to supporters of the organization, Kerwin talked more about the new "Imagine" television commercial. He said it would "be running regularly on local Houston television stations for the next several weeks."

"Their new ad is already creating buzz in Houston, and I can't wait for the rest of the country to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 with this new ad," he said.

"Next Monday, media outlets around the world will commemorate the historic achievement of Apollo 11. The courage and dedication of the astronauts aboard Apollo 11, and hundreds of others involved in our nation's space program make me proud of our great country," Kerwin added. "But most importantly, the achievements of the space program remind me of the potential of every human life."

"May we never cease to marvel at the gift, and potential of every human life," he concluded.

While I understand the Right's need to come up with new and innovative ways to market their message, I simply don't think comparing Bastille Day and Sonia Sotomayor or abortion and outer space will cut it.

It looks like yet another group from the religious right plans to take their show on the road. The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP) will be launching what they call a "traditional marriage crusade" in three states: New York, Maine, and Rhode Island.

The American TFP is a standard right-wing organization and plans to use the same tired right-wing tactics in their "crusade." It will be filled with the usual anti-gay rhetoric, along with a handout that "offers 'Ten reasons why homosexual 'marriage' is harmful and must be opposed."

"Like counterfeit currency, homosexual 'marriage' is not true marriage. It is morally wrong, sinful, offensive to God and a violation of natural law,"

"Parents don't want their children in grade school to be told that the homosexual lifestyle is fine, but that's already happening," said Ritchie. "It's part of the homosexual movement's concerted effort to force the sexual revolution into the mainstream culture and banish God and His law from the public square."

Be sure to find a "crusade" near you.

It seems that ever since Sonia Sotomayor's nomination, every facet of the right-wing movement has tried to make their mark on the nominee. Everyone from the Judicial Confirmation Network to the Family Research Council have made their views known. However, for a single issue organization opposing abortion rights, this nomination might have made them feel like they would be on the sidelines, since Judge Sotomayor has an almost non-existent record on abortion.

But that hasn't stopped Operation Rescue from pulling out all the stops. And then some. 

Today, in a press release, Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, brings new meaning to the term "grasping at thin air." The release, titled "Senators Considering Sotomayor Should Take Notice of Delays in Florida Born-Alive Baby Killing Case", outlines the criminal prosecution of an abortion clinic worker from Florida.

The criminal trial of Belkis Gonzalez, who was charged with two felony counts related to the death of a baby born alive during a botched abortion in Hialeah, Florida, in 2006, has been delayed. Just two days before the scheduled July 9th trial date, a new prosecutor, Gail Levine, was assigned to the case, prompting Judge John Thornton to reschedule the trial to begin on October 9, 2009 at 9:00 AM.

Not once does the release mention Sotomayor, until the final paragraph in which Newman goes above and beyond in trying to tie together the prosecution of a Florida man and Judge Sotomayor:

"This is what happens when prosecutors and even judges allow their personal feelings about abortion to interfere with justice. This case should be a lesson to Senators who are considering the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor has shown a similar inclination to allow her personal beliefs to trump the rule of law. That kind of partiality only leads to injustice."

In no way is Sotomayor linked to tthe prosecution of Gonzalez nor does the headline in any way accurately reflect the content of the press release. But that hasn't stopped Newman and Operation Rescue from trying to brand Sotomayor in a way that fits their organization's agenda.

Today is Bastille Day in France, marking a pivital time in both the French Revolution and overall French history. Apparently, it's also a day for the Family Research Council to attempt to intertwine the French Revolution, Jimmy Carter, and Sonia Sotomayor. All with a negative twist, of course.

In a post to the FRC's blog, Robert Morrison wrote a short, albeit quite confusing, article that begins by generalizing the entire French Revolution as counter-productive (I'm sure the feudal peasants would disagree). It goes on to blame the French Revolution for later revolts around the world:

Why should Christians care? Why should citizens of the United States care? Because the turmoil unleashed by the French Revolution spawned a host of other revolutions—those in Russia (1917), China (1949), Cuba (1959), and Cambodia (1970). And those revolutions unloosed oceans of innocent blood.

Maybe it slipped the mind of Morrison that the American Revolution and Declaration of Independence served as an inspirational catalyst for the French revolution and its most important document, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. So, what is he saying about the American Revolution?

Morrison continues his strange train of thought by citing Librarian of Congress, James Billington's view that the French Revolution spawned the Nazi movement:

Our Librarian of Congress—James Billington— maintains that the French Revolution also spawned the Nazi movement in Germany. His work, Fire in the Minds of Men, carefully traces the malignant ideas of communism and Nazism back to their roots in revolutionary France.

He finally wraps it up by claiming that the views of "liberals" like Sonia Sotomayor belong in the zoo:

As we watch hearings in Washington on the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, keep in mind that liberalism would give us a “living Constitution,” not one that restrains power even as it protects American liberty. Maybe the best place for the liberals’ Constitution is not in the Archives, but in the Zoo.

If you want to be thoroughly confused, click here; however, I wouldn't recommend it.

Last week, I mentioned that the Faith and Freedom Institute was following in the footsteps of so many other right-wing organizations by conducting a sort of "save America" prayer vigil. We went down to check the event out, which took place outside the gates of the north side of the White House. Unfortunately for Gary Dull and the Faith and Freedom Institute, it seems we were the only ones there, apart from their film crew and a few tourists driving by on Segways.

Dull continued down his path of mediocre mimicking by using the Right's time-honored catchphrase of "It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." Later, he equated male-male couples with that of a person and a dog, claiming that if we legalize gay marriage then the next step would be legalization of relationships between a man and a dog.

While you can't blame him for trying, I think the turnout alone (or lack thereof) is evidence that Dull needs to either get a new message or join one of the myriad of other right-wing organizations using the same, tired, rhetoric.

Some people just can't keep their mouths shut. Less than two hours into Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, an onlooker can be heard shouting during Sen. Dianne Feinstein's opening remarks. The event was so disruptive that it resulted in Sen. Leahy calling for the police to remove the man, not before he can be heard slamming his gavel and issuing a stern warning for any others looking to mimick the disruption.

While it is difficult to make out, it seems the person yelled "Her record--What about the unborn. Abortion is murder! Stop the genocide of unborn Latinos", which came as Sen. Feinstein praised Sotomayor's judicial record.

Here's the video:

And, as I write this post, yet another person was removed from the hearings for yelling during Sen. Dick Durbin's opening remarks. Maybe this is the "new" Republican filibuster?

Gary Dull, leader of the Faith and Freedom Institute, who has also promised to rid America of its "satanic wickedness", has announced a prayer vigil that will take place tomorrow outside the White House. The purpose behind the vigil, among other things, is "to warn America that God may indeed bring judgment on the land if repentance is not conducted."

As Dull puts it, there are three objectives of the vigil:

1) To pray for America, as it is evident that the nation is rapidly falling away from the Judeo-Christian values upon which she was established.

2) To call America back to God by repenting of national and personal sins which have angered God.

3) To warn America that God may indeed bring judgment on the land if repentance is not conducted.

As Kyle previously noted, the Faith and Freedom Institute joins a seemingly endless group of right-wing organizations that promote the very same cause. And, like many of those groups, Dull has chosen to take the entirely predictable step of holding a "save America" prayer vigil.

Dull was unoriginal in his forming of a group to defend the ten commandments and Christmas, and he's unoriginal now in holding a prayer vigil like so many identical right-wing groups have done before him.

A few days ago, Kyle mentioned that one Focus on the Family state affiliate, the Palmetto Family Council, couldn't quite make up their mind on whether or not to call for South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's resignation.

Then, their national organization, Focus on the Family, spoke, albeit rather softly, about the governor's actions. It seemed a good deal of family values organizations were having a difficult time deciding how to react when a "family-values" governor goes against the family values they preach about.

It seems, today, that Concerned Women for America have outdone the indecisiveness of both the Palmetto Family Council and Focus on the Family. On Thursday, CWA published an article in which they chastised the governor for his "teary press conference" and showing "no emotion as he talked about betraying and hurting his wife and sons."

But, let's look at the facts. Gov. Sanford turned to Mrs. Chapur again and again via e-mail and long-distance visits; there is no evidence that he attempted to turn away from temptation. Gov. Sanford was not honest in his accounting of the times they got together. Amazingly, even after his wife accidentally learned of the affair, Gov. Sanford asked her repeatedly for permission to go to Argentina to see Mrs. Chapur. 

Can you imagine anything more bizarre? He asked his wife for permission to go visit his mistress!

When a politician won't keep his commitments to his family (the philanderers are generally men), how can we trust him to keep his commitments to the public he represents? If his wife and children can't trust his word and depend upon his character, how can we?

CWA had their course laid out and it seemed their stance could be easily deciphered...until today, that is.

The CWA's president, Wendy Wright, has written an article commenting on the affair and, of course, blaming the media for "salivat[ing] over the juicy details" of it. Wright does acknowledge Sanford's failings, but reels back heavily from the rhetoric of CWA's first statement on the issue. She pleads for a "civil and sober moment to sympathize with Gov. Mark Sanford and his family."

As we watched his heartrending press conference on Wednesday, our immediate thoughts were for his family. Confessing his infidelity, apologizing to his family and loyal friends, recognizing that breaching God’s law carries serious consequences, it was a stark contrast to other politicians caught cheating who act defiantly.

Christians understand that humans are broken, all of us are sinners in need of redemption through a Savior, Jesus Christ. God has given us high moral standards, and we commit to help each other to live up to them. People fail (as we all do in some manner). The conversation at that point is: Is the person sorry, willing to make amends, and do all it takes not to fall again?

So, CWA, is Sanford an "untrustworthy, not credible, [person who] treats those closest to him with disdain" or is he "a stark contrast to other politicians caught cheating who act defiantly?"

Mat Staver can be a prison inmate's fiercest advocate for religious liberties, so long as the inmate chooses Staver's religion. If not, your religious freedoms are more likely to be called "security threats" by the Liberty Counsel's founder.

In a suit recently filed by the Indiana chapter of the ACLU, Muslim inmates have asked that they be able to practice their faith dutifully, which in turn, means small group prayer five times a day.

Louay Safi, director of leadership development with the Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North American, said Muslims try to pray in groups whenever possible.

"Muhammad said there is a much greater reward for people who pray in congregation than those who pray individually," he said.

As of now, the prison only allows the Muslim inmates to worship as a group one hour per week, though inmates are allowed to congregate for card games or to watch television multiple times a day.

To Staver, however, there is no reason the inmates should be allowed to worship in small groups, especially since a group of Muslim inmates congregating is an obvious security threat:

The lawsuit, however, in this particular case says that they are allowed to pray as a group only just one hour a week. The fact is that there is no constitutional right to assembly as a group five times a day.

But I think in the situation with regards to the Muslims, there is clearly a security issue at risk here.

While there may not be an explicit constitutional right to prayer five times a day, there isn't an explicit constitutional right to monthly baptisms at a prison either; that is because they both fall under laws protecting an inmate's right to worship. Staver must be getting forgetful, because not too long ago his Liberty Counsel threatened a New Mexico jail with a lawsuit unless monthly baptisms were allowed for inmates wishing to convert to Christianity.

Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to the warden and the county explaining that failure to allow the baptisms violated the inmates' constitutional right to free exercise of religion.

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented, "With the high rate of recidivism, prisons are in desperate need of better ways to rehabilitate inmates and make them productive citizens. Christian conversion and faith play a key role in transforming broken lives into new beginnings. Rather than throwing up roadblocks to Christian faith and worship, prisons should welcome the positive changes that the Christian conversion brings and the role that baptism plays in the inmates making a public confession of burying the old life and being resurrected to a new life in Jesus Christ."

So, in other words, Staver believes firmly in an inmate's right to religious freedom; the religion just has to be Christianity.

Bob Pawson, national coordinator for Pro-Life Educators and Students (PLEAS), has announced that he's added a few familiar faces to his "prayer and picket" planned for the National Education Association's annual conference in San Diego on July 2nd.

Earlier this month, I wrote about Pawson's personal vendetta against the NEA, a group who is hardly an outspoken abortion advocacy group (they dedicate three sentences of their 462-page charter to reproductive rights).

Now, he's gained some support from, among others, the recently jailed Rev. Walter B. Hoye, president of Issues4Life Foundation. Along with Hoye, Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, and Rev. Patrick Mahoney of Christian Defense Coalition have pledged their support:

Bob Pawson of Pro-Life Educators and Students (PLEAS), announces, "Our growing team of pro-life coordinators now includes Jeff White from Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, Rev. Patrick Mahoney of Christian Defense Coalition, and Troy Newman of Operation Rescue, for the July 2 prayer-and-picket demonstration during the NEA teacher union convention at the San Diego Convention Center and NEA-State-Affiliate offices across America.

"These esteemed pro-life leaders are promoting and recruiting for our peaceful, prayerful demonstrations regarding the NEA leadership's pro-abortion track record. They are speaking at the Rally for Life at New Beginnings Church in Norco, CA, this Tuesday evening alongside Rev. Walter B. Hoye II, president of Issues4Life Foundation."

While Pawson didn't re-affirm his belief that abortion caused the current economic crisis, he did downplay the size of the protests at state-level NEA offices. He also advised parents to bring their children, because hey, they make for good marketing:

"Gather together your family members and a few pro-life friends and just go to your state's NEA-affiliate offices with pro-life posters. Pray and picket for an hour. Children are especially effective messengers highlighting the hypocrisy of teacher-union leaders supporting abortion," said Pawson.

"The number of locations nationwide is more important than the number of picketers at any location. We don't necessarily need hundreds of picketers at each state's NEA-HQ. A dozen or two would be sufficient -- multiplied by many sites across 50 states. Pro-Lifers far from state capitals can picket their county or town's local NEA-affiliate listed in telephone book white pages."

Almost a week ago, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the children of a Georgia man could not be barred from visitation with their gay father and his partner. Makes sense, right? Well, predictably, Matt Barber vehemently disagreed, arguing that children who are exposed to a gay person will be damaged physically and emotionally:

Barber says there appears to be no consideration for the fact that children are very impressionable and could be harmed from exposure to a homosexual environment.

"Obviously it is not in the best interest of a child to be taken by his father and introduced to a group of people who are engaging in abhorrent sexual behaviors, who are modeling abhorrent sexual behaviors and celebration of that [which is] demonstrably dangerous from a medical, spiritual, and emotional standpoint," said Barber

While I strongly disagree with Barber's claim that it's "dangerous from a medical, spiritual, and emotional standpoint" to have children interact with their loving father, I pose a question to Mr. Barber in light of a video that surfaced today.

The video is of an apparent "gay exorcism" of a 16-year-old boy, carried out by Manifested Glory Ministries, a Connecticut-based church. Throughout the video, the church elders can be heard calling on the "homosexual demons" to get out. The child is violently shaking, on the brink of a seizure, and repeatedly vomits as the elders continue to call on the "homosexual demons" to exit his body.

So, Mr. Barber, which seems to pose more of a threat to a child's "medical, spiritual, and emotional" well-being: Allowing children visitation rights with their gay father, and thus avoiding the struggle of growing up in a single-parent environment, or convincing a child that the way he feels is demonic, thus calling for an exorcism which caused the 16-year-old to repeatedly vomit and convulse?

The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission was quick to provide a rebuttal to the widespread outrage that erupted upon the video's surfacing:

Because the video is being so widely viewed on the internet, homosexual activists have viciously attacked the church. These are the same people who demand tolerance for their sexual sin.

By contrast, we know that homosexuals are allowed to participate in vile Gay Pride Parades and perverted fetish festivals on public property throughout the country. These events often involve criminally lewd and lascivious conduct that take place in the presence of children, yet they go unpunished.

Here's the video, I'll let you decide: