John Hagee

• Note to Michele Bachmann, when even Bill O'Reilly is ripping you to shreds, it is time to give it up.
• Bryan Fischer wants to know why every lawyer working at the Department of Justice hasn't been disbarred for refusing to defend DOMA.
• American Academy of Pediatrics says that parents’ sexual orientation has no effect on a child’s development.  This is, of course, not sitting well with the anti-gay Religious Right.
• Want to be in a movie being produced by Liberty Counsel and staring Erik Estrada? Of course you do! Auditions start tomorrow.
• This is the actual title of a piece by CBN's David Brody: "Will the GOP's Inclusive Tone Bring About Its Demise?"
• Finally, John Hagee says that smoking, like gluttony, is a sin:

While it is becoming extremely unlikely that the GOP will be able to muster enough votes to filibuster Chuck Hagel’s nomination as defense secretary, Religious Right groups and their Republican allies continue to make new and more over-the-top overtures to activists hoping to block his confirmation.

For example, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) told Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council that “we can’t afford to allow someone who has been that cozy with the terrorist groups that are out there to become Secretary of Defense.”

Inhofe went on to say that Hagel wants to “disarm us” and shows “hostility” toward the U.S. and Israel. Inhofe also cited Sen. Ted Cruz’s questioning of Hagel where he egregiously misrepresented the nominee’s speeches and interview with Al-Jazeera.

Inhofe: That is what is so scary about this; we’d be confirming a secretary of defense—

Perkins: That wants to basically disarm.

Inhofe: Who wants to disarm us. Before I run out of time, Cruz came up with something just great, he’s a new senator from Texas and he’s on my committee, the Armed Services committee, and he came out and he actually used…a spot that came from Al-Jazeera, this was Chuck Hagel being interviewed on Al-Jazeera a short time ago when he agreed with the call-ins at that time that Israel committed war crimes; Hagel admitted that Israel committed ‘sickening slaughters’; admitted that America is the world’s bully. And this is the guy that is trying to become the secretary of defense; it’s a scary, scary thing.

Perkins: Senator before I let you go, just one question: do you know why he seems to be so indifferent if not hostile toward Israel?

Inhofe: And the United States, Tony. I just don’t understand it. Of course, he denies that he is and you know the record confirms that he has this hostility to it. By the way, almost every group in Israel is lobbying us and calling us and saying, ‘please don’t let this happen.’ They’ve been just as concerned about Obama, this is the first time that any President of the United States has trashed Israel in my memory. So I can’t answer that question.

Matthew Hagee, the son of televangelist John Hagee who has been lobbying with Christians United for Israel against Hagel and called him “dangerous to America’s security,” said on the Hagee Hotline that Hagel’s contentious confirmation hearing was an answer to their prayers.

At the end of the day, Pastor Hagee and those 400 [pastors] who joined him were very confident that what they had done was all that was in their physical power to do to not only represent their views as Americans but the views of the body of Christ and the kingdom of God and to stand up on behalf of God’s chosen people, Israel. All that was left to do was to remain in prayer and to be hopeful that the actions that they had taken would make a difference. If you saw any of the headlines following the Senate committee’s interview of Chuck Hagel, you know that a difference was made. You saw that the Senate firsthand was able to expose Hagel’s weaknesses and you saw the difference that the prayer of the righteous and faith in action can make.

Just today the Family Research Council asked activists to pray for Hagel’s defeat and FRC senior fellow Ken Blackwell said Hagel’s nomination invites “chaos and confusion at a time of international peril.” Eagle Forum told members in an action alert that “Chuck Hagel is a threat to America’s strength and safety” and Rick Santorum claimed “his confirmation would be a direct threat to our national security.”

American Family Association spokesman Bryan Fischer also weighed in, saying that Iran “loves” Hagel because he wants to “disarm” the U.S.

• Buster Wilson has had an epiphany: "[T]he progressive left just doesn’t care! They absolutely do not care about the facts, they don’t care about the truth, and they certainly do NOT care about what God or the Bible has to say about this! ... They want dominance. They want special privileges. They want special protections."
• We have no idea that GOPround actually does ... but now they are spreading their efforts to the states.
• James Dobson and John Hagee, together at last.
• Peter LaBarbera says "the homosexual movement corrupts our country."
• Finally, Bryan Fischer lectures Colin Powell, insisting that the GOP is not racist because the party abolished slavery and passed civil rights legislation.  Of course, that was a long time ago ... but they did also have Allen West in Congress for one term.

Recently, the San Antonio, Texas school district has become embroiled in a lawsuit filed by the family of a student who is refusing to wear a mandatory student ID card embedded with a RFID tracking chip on the grounds that such chips are a "Mark of the Beast."

Yesterday on the "Hagee Hotline," John Hagee sought to reassure his audience that these sorts of ID cards are not the Mark of the Beast ... because that won't come until after the Rapture and the chips will be directly implanted in people's bodies. So it's not until the government starts forcing people to get implanted with such chips and "to keep laws that you don't want to keep," Hagee explained, "that you're in trouble": 

Yesterday, John Hagee opened up the "Hagee Hotline" to answer questions from parishioners about the election; questions like "do you believe [President Obama] is the precursor to the Anti-Christ?"  Hagee never really answered the question, simply predicting that an economic crash is coming that will result in the rise of a global economic czar who will, in fact, be the Anti-Christ. 

But as for the election, Hagee warned that "America chose a leader who is for men marrying men" and who is "pro-abortion" and who has "attacked freedom of religion" and so this nation is "about to face the consequences of our choices" because "God will hold America responsible for that choice": 

• John McCain says Colin Powell's endorsement of President Obama will turn off voters because Powell "got us into Iraq." Yes, he really said that. 
• Newt Gingrich's SuperPAC wants you to be very scared.
• Cindy Jacobs is calling on her prayer warriors to pray against Hurricane Sandy and "rebuke this storm in Jesus' name. The authority of the believer is powerful enough to shift weather patterns!"
• Jim Garlow's continued use of his wife's cancer as a metaphor really is rather tasteless: “My wife has advanced cancer and I am fighting for her life, but my nation also has advanced cancer and we are fighting for its life. My wife has had aggressive treatments to save her life. We need some radical surgery, radiation, chemo and alternative treatments to save our nation.”
• Finally, James Dobson agrees with John Hagee when he says that "the upcoming presidential election will be one of the most significant events in American history…. They [U.S. citizens] know something is seriously wrong but can't quite define it. The truth is America has been intentionally deceived and is racing toward economic and political destruction. If we don't change paths now, the America we know and love will be lost forever."

Glenn Beck recently sat down with John Hagee, whom Beck called "a prophet of our times," to discuss the importance of prayer regarding the upcoming election, which both Beck and Hagee agreed was the most important election since the Civil War. 

Not coincidentally, Hagee noted, it was Abraham Lincoln's declaration of a national day of fasting and prayer that was responsible for bringing that war to an end:

We'd like to point out that Lincoln issued this declaration on March 30, 1863 and Lee did not  have "the grace to surrender" for another two years, until April 9, 1865.

One of the most telling features of Glenn Beck’s 2010 Restoring Honor rally were the overtly religious themes of the rally, along with the launching of a Black Robe Regiment filled with right-wing leaders. The day before Beck’s latest really, Restoring Love, Beck and David Barton are hosting a who’s who of Religious Right activists for a “Christian Leadership Conference” called Under God: Indivisible, including some of the most prominent anti-gay preachers, activists and televangelists in the country:

David Barton

• Writes consistently debunked and discredited books about American history with a Christian Nationalist spin, arguing that the Founding Fathers would oppose everything from the separation of church and state to evolution and net neutrality.

• Claims that God is blocking scientists from finding a cure for AIDS in order to punish gay people, urges government regulation of homosexuality and believes public schools are trying to indoctrinate students into homosexuality.

• Asserts that Jesus spoke out against the minimum wage, fair employment practices, anti-discrimination laws and government regulations.

Tony Perkins

• Believes that gay rights advocates are “vile” tools of Satan.

• Accused gay right supporters of being responsible for incidents of suicide among gay youth for creating “a sense of despair that can lead to suicide,” and said that “abnormal” sexuality—not anti-gay bias—leads gay people to commit suicide.

• Likened homosexuality to pedophilia, alcoholism and adultery.

Ralph Reed

• Led the Christian Coalition alongside Pat Robertson but left following reports of financial misconduct, now heads the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

• Became embroiled in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal involving crooked deals with Indian casinos, and Abramoff later said Reed was a “tap dancer and constantly asking for money.”

• Alleges that America “lost its way” by helping the poor, putting liberty in “danger.”

John Hagee

• Claims God sent Hitler to be a “hunter” of Jews and led Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans in order to stop a “homosexual rally.”

• Refers to the Catholic Church as the “Anti-Christ” and the “whore of Babylon” and says the Antichrist will be gay and partially Jewish.

• Warns that God is punishing America due to homosexuality, abortion rights, and Harry Potter.

James Robison

• Believes same-sex marriage will ultimately lead to a “totalitarian” government like in The Hunger Games.

• Says that wealthy capitalists are victims of a form of “racism” similar to what African Americans experienced during the Jim Crow era and victims of an attack from the demonic realm.

• Thinks that Satan is using Glee to “bring us down.”

Rick Scarborough

• Maintains that AIDS is God’s punishment for homosexuality and warns of a looming “sexual anarchy led by sodomites.”

• Bemoans the supposed decline of non-white families because of its purportedly negative impact on “American values” and the Republican Party.

• While he is collaborating with Glenn Beck, a Mormon, he criticized Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith and said Christians should be wary about supporting Mormon candidates.

Harry Jackson

• Alleges that gay rights supporters are recreating the “times of Hitler” and are leading a “Satanic plot” against the black family.

• Asserts that gay rights will “bring us under” just like the iceberg that hit the Titanic.

• Believes a demonic power called the Queen of Heaven is behind the push for same-sex marriage.

Jim Garlow

• Claims the push for same-sex marriage is part of an “Antichrist spirit” that is led by Satan.

• Compares homosexuality to bestiality and same-sex marriage to slavery.

• Says that adoption by gay parents is akin to children losing their parents in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Richard Land

• Lost his radio show due to a plagiarism and racism scandal, despite working as the top ethicist of the Southern Baptist Convention.

• Argues that “the Devil” is behind “the homosexual lifestyle.”

• Defends the criminalization of homosexuality and claimed that gay rights advocates seek the “full-blown sexual paganization” of society.

Ken Hutcherson

• Insists that the gay community stole the rainbow symbol and the word “gay” from Christians.

• Hoped to lead an anti-gay marriage rally that would be a “spiritual bomb” comparable to the 2004 terrorist attack in Madrid, Spain.

• Wants the “promotion” of homosexuality banned just like “sugar and fatty foods in schools” since it is “dangerous and unnatural.”

Kenneth Copeland

• Contends God didn’t create gay people just like “He didn’t create anybody to be a murderer, He condemned murder; he didn’t create anybody a homosexual, ’cause He condemned homosexuality.”

• Became the subject of a Senate probe into his financial practices.

Aryeh Spero

• Maintains that homosexuality will lead to the end of the world because it is “so contrary to the order of God's nature” that God will decide “to annihilate the world and start from the beginning.”

• Accused Obama of engaging in “ethnic cleansing” against Jews.

Tomorrow, June 6, will be the 68th anniversary of the D-Day invasion at Normandy and Pastor John Hagee used his sermon this past Sunday to reflect upon the sacrifices made on this day ... and also to tell atheists to get out of America "if our belief in God offends you" because they are not wanted and won't be missed while also calling on Congress to "outlaw the practice of witchcraft and Satanism in the US military, lest we offend the God of Heaven":