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February 28, 2008
When Girl Scouts Attack
"[B]uying that box of cookies now presents a moral dilemma, as the Girl Scouts have become a training ground for the left-wing feminist agenda," warns Jane Chastain. See also: Boy Scouts.
Posted by Ezra at 4:06 PM | Permalink
December 20, 2007
I-35 0, Homosexuality 1: 'Ex Gay' Now 'Ex Ex Gay'
When we posted the “700 Club” report on a group of missionaries who believe God is using Interstate 35 to “invade” gay bars and porn shops along the highway, many people remarked on the amateur video featured in the segment that purported to show a young man being “freed” from “the desires to be with men” through the laying of hands outside a nightclub:
CBN REPORTER: Stabile felt God moving in him then, saving him and taking away his homosexuality.JAMES STABILE: He just came in and complete transformed and radically saved me … I didn’t feel the desires to be with men like I had felt before.
JOE ODEN: We laid hands on him. He was hit by the power of God and filled with the Holy Ghost, got plugged into our church, and is just living for God.
What really happened to James Stabile? John Wright of the Dallas Voice tracked him down. When Stabile was interviewed by the “700 Club,” he had already been kicked out of Heartland World Ministries’ “ex-gay treatment facility” for lying compulsively.
But, as Wright reports, that did not prevent Heartland from “asking Stabile to do an interview for a segment on televangelist Pat Robertson’s ‘The 700 Club’ about the so-called purity sieges organized by the church outside gay bars.” Additionally, Stabile, who reportedly has bipolar disorder, “hadn’t taken his medication in 2 and-a-half weeks and had been drinking when he encountered the group from Heartland on the strip.”
Wright also spoke with Stabile’s parents, who helped explain how their son became a Religious Right media sensation for a day:
Joseph Stabile said the Heartland folks also may have advised James to throw away his medication, telling him that God would cure his bipolar disorder, too.Joseph’s parents said James has a tendency to be less than truthful, especially when he’s off his medication, and that he loves attention. They said they don’t believe he’s ever questioned his sexuality, but that the folks from Heartland manipulated and exploited him for publicity.
They also provided a glimpse of life inside the “ex-gay” facility:
James just told them it was “horrible” and that there are some things he will never be able to share.James’ mother, Suzanne, said he told her the people at Pure Life constantly threatened that he was going to hell.
Men in the program had to be fully clothed from the neck down at all times, including when they went to sleep, James told his parents. And they were prohibited from any physical contact, including shaking hands.
Speaking with Wright, Stabile “apologized to the LGBT community” and said he hopes “his story will discourage others from entertaining ideas that they can change their sexual orientations.”
Posted by Josh at 7:34 PM | Permalink
Fred Thompson Ally: 'Anti-Christian Hysteria' Becoming 'Deadly'
On Monday we noted that former Center for Reclaiming America for Christ Director Gary Cass is banking on the “persecuted majority” card with his new group, the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. In case you needed some concrete illustration of what that means, WorldNetDaily reports on Cass’s list of “the seven worst incidents of Christian-bashing that happened in 2007.” It might sound strange coming from one of the few on the Religious Right willing to attack Mitt Romney’s faith (its “secret rituals” and shady financiers), but that’s by no means the most absurd part.
According to Cass, “Anti-Christian sentiments” are becoming “deadly”: His top item is the horrific shooting by a disturbed Colorado 24-year-old that left four people dead at a megachurch and a youth missionary training center a week and a half ago. While the senseless rampage, apparently motivated by the man’s rejection from the missionary program, was certainly tragic, Cass sees it as a consequence of an “amoral entertainment industry” and gay rights politics, calling on “anti-Christian politicians, Hollywood and New York media elites to stop the Christian bashing and take responsibility for the culture of hate towards Christians they have helped to create.”
Indeed, his list makes pretty clear where he’s trying to channel outrage over the shooting:
1. Colorado Church Murders …
2. Federal Hate Crimes Bill …
3. Violence [sic] on San Francisco Church … [Note: See here]
4. Attack [sic] on Jerry Falwell: … Hitchens made the most reprehensible and offensive remarks one can imagine against a Christian minister …
5. CNN's "God's Warriors" and "Friends of God" … [Note: See here]
6. John Edwards' Campaign Bloggers …
7. Golden Compass, the movie
As Fred Thompson pushes hard to making a surprise showing in Iowa, touting Cass’s recent endorsement, will the candidate be linking hate crimes protections for gays to killing sprees? Will he demand an apology for the Colorado shooting from “New York media elites”? Stay tuned.
Posted by Ezra at 6:19 PM | Permalink
December 17, 2007
Former 'Reclaiming America' Director Resurfaces, Taps Thompson
When the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ shut down earlier this year, all eyes were on its founder, televangelism titan D. James Kennedy, who passed away a few months later. But what about its low-key director, Gary Cass—whatever happened to him?
Well, he’s recently set up a new group called the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. Like the Catholic League front group Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, Cass’s organization plays on the reputation of the Anti-Defamation League to signify that there is currently a trend of “bigotry” against Christians in the U.S. on par with the anti-Semitism that marked the period leading up to the Holocaust.
The “persecuted majority” theme is nothing new on the Religious Right; nor is it new territory for Cass, who spoke at the “War on Christians” conference in 2006. Cass has apparently written a book called “Christian Bashing”: “It is time for Christians to stand up and call bigotry by its rightful name and to fight back when defamed," he cries.
And now Cass is turning to the presidential primary. He denounced Rudy Giuliani after the candidate said he didn’t take the biblical story of Jonah and the whale literally. “It’s either Jesus and Jonah or Giuliani. I prefer Christ’s approach to the Bible,” wrote Cass. When Mitt Romney gave his religion speech, Cass was quick to tread where few other religious-right activists would go, attacking Romney’s “Mormon dollars” and the church’s alleged “hostility to Christianity”:
As a Bishop in the Mormon Church, Mitt Romney is free to believe Mormonism's doctrines, practice their secret rituals and take their sacred vows, but Romney's Mormon beliefs are not Christian. More importantly, he has not renounced Mormonism's historic antipathy toward Christianity. This is an important aspect of any evaluation the American voters make regarding his fitness for office.
And last week, rather than follow in the footsteps of Mike Huckabee-booster Janet Folger, Cass’s predecessor at the Center for Reclaiming America, Cass endorsed the slumberous campaign of Fred Thompson. Thompson, who appears to be hoping for a “strong third” in Iowa, said that he was “deeply grateful” and that Cass was “held in high regard by conservative Evangelical Christians across the country.” So can we expect Thompson to liven up his campaign by alleging widespread “bigotry” against Christians and muttering about the “secret rituals” of his opponent’s religion?
Posted by Ezra at 6:06 PM | Permalink
December 13, 2007
'War on Christmas' Heats Up in Nebraska ... Or Something
Local youth stabs inflatable Santa-hat-wearing SpongeBob lawn display. No word yet from the Catholic League. Developing ... UPDATE! "Merry Christmas" versus "Happy Hanukkah" mayhem on the subway. It takes a Muslim to bring holiday cheer.
Posted by Ezra at 10:25 AM | Permalink
December 12, 2007
The New Christmas Tradition
Once again, with the Right’s bogus “War on Christmas” rhetoric in full swing, members of Congress have stepped up to do their part – just as they did last year – and passed a resolution in the House “Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith”:
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;
(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;
(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;
(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;
(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and
(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.
It is nice that the resolution decries the persecution of Christians here in the US, even if such persecution exists only in the minds of right-wing activists.
Posted by Kyle at 9:07 AM | Permalink
November 19, 2007
Memo to Donohue: Time to Boycott Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson, who leapt back into the headlines this month with his surprise endorsement of Rudy Giuliani, is now wading into the “War on Christmas.” On Thursday’s “700 Club,” the CBN founder lamented the sad state of affairs that led to the Seattle-Tacoma Airport erecting an artsy “winterscape”:
“This New Age political correctness has been imposed on this nation,” complained Robertson. But, he added an intriguing caveat:
Of course, you’ve got to remember, ladies and gentlemen, this Christmas trees, and all the wreaths, and all the garlands, and all the mistletoe—every bit of them come from Teutonic paganism. They are not an integral part of Christianity. And so for the Seattle airport to say this is a Christmas display, it’s no such thing. It is not a Christian display; it is winter solstice. So if they put up a sign that said, ‘We celebrate winter solstice like the Teutonic gods Thor and Woden,’ they’d probably be more accurate.
So while the American Family Association is busy attacking retailers who offer “family trees” in their catalogs rather than “Christmas trees,” calling it an “offense” to Christians, here Robertson is saying the tree is really a salute to “the Teutonic gods Thor and Woden.”
During “War on Christmas” 2005, the Catholic League caught a Wal-Mart customer service representative offering a very similar theory:
[The Wal-Mart rep wrote,] “The majority of the world still has different practices other than ‘christmas’ which is an ancient tradition that has its roots in Siberian shamanism. The colors associated with ‘christmas’ red and white are actually a representation of of the aminita mascera mushroom. Santa is also borrowed from the Caucuses, mistletoe from the Celts, yule log from the Goths, the time from the Visigoth and the tree from the worship of Baal.”
Catholic League President Bill Donohue’s response? He launched one of his famous “boycotts” against the retail giant. Will Donohue start a “beef” with Robertson?
Posted by Ezra at 4:30 PM | Permalink
November 16, 2007
No Christmas for Fido
In their never-ending crusade to save Christmas by apparently demanding that every retailer in America to use the word “Christmas” in its holiday (sorry, Christmas) promotions, the American Family Association is now targeting PetSmart for denying Christmas to the nation’s pets:
At PetSmart, Christmas doesn't existOf course, since Christmas is a holiday, it kind of makes sense that all of the Christmas gifts would also be holiday gifts as well. But apparently PetSmart has already gotten the message:Send an e-mail to PetSmart and ask why they refuse to include Christmas in their promotion, choosing to only use holiday.
At PetSmart, Christmas doesn't exist. It is not to be found anywhere on their Web Site. AFA checked out the local PetSmart store and there was no Christmas there, either.
A search on PetSmart's home page found 252 references to "holiday." It also found 43 references to "Christmas." But, alas, this is very misleading. When you click on "Christmas" you are directed to a page containing the same gifts you get when you search for holiday. Of all the items that pop up when you search for Christmas, not a single one mentions Christmas or is identified as being a Christmas gift.
At PetSmart, everything is "holiday."
Posted by Kyle at 11:37 AM | Permalink
November 14, 2007
Smells Like Christmas Spirit
It’s mid-November, and we are well into this year’s “War on Christmas,” the seasonal campaign in which a melodramatically aggrieved Right—occupying a fantasy world where we’re not all surrounded by Christmas music and commerce—claims that Christianity is under attack, pointing to retailers that say “Happy Holidays” and the decoration regimes of a handful of small-time local administrators.
Yesterday morning, for example, the American Family Association sent an alert to its members warning that Lowe’s was selling Christmas trees without using the word “Christmas” enough in its catalog. “Lowe's evidently did not want to offend any non-Christians, therefore they replaced ‘Christmas tree’ with ‘Family tree.’ Of course, if Christians are offended that is evidently ok,” sniffed AFA. (AFA retracted the alert later in the day after assurances from Lowe’s that “Christmas trees” would appear in its advertising.)
Long before 2005, when Fox News host John Gibson penned a book on how it was all a “liberal plot,” right-wing commentators have reached for a conspiracy theory that would place such petty gripes in a context they would be able to use to attack their political opponents, and this year is no different.
Last week the American Family Association pounced on a nursing home in Plant City, Florida, where a decoration policy stopped “an 85-year-old grandmother” from putting up her mistletoe. This small-city nursing home claimed that it was following federal guidelines from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, leading AFA to conclude, “Their tradition is now banned by the federal government.”
Of course, there is no such HUD policy on decorations in nursing homes, and AFA later corrected itself; nevertheless, AFA spokesman Randy Sharp claimed the Plant City debacle as proof of a nation-wide trend: “It does give credence to the fact that there is a strong anti-Christian bias in this country by those who would like to place God inside a box, leave the wrapping on it, and never take him out.”
Newt Gingrich similarly uses the poor Plant City nursing home as evidence of so-called elites “imposing” their “anti-religious bigotry” on the American people:
It's another example of the biases of the elites -- in this case, anti-religious bigotry -- being imposed on the American people.
According to Gingrich, then, the director of a small nursing home in Florida is example number one of the “legal and governmental elites,” a group that presumably does not include Gingrich himself, a jet-setting former House speaker who has made his living as a political consultant and author.
The “War on Christmas” is an example of a common tactic among the Religious Right, what we’ve called the “persecuted majority syndrome”: Creating an absurd storyline in which Christianity is imperiled in the U.S., religious-right activists rush to its defense and merge this sentiment with their own reactionary politics.
Take Bishop Harry Jackson’s column this week:
I have been shocked that many Christians just don’t seem to grasp the fact that we are in very sophisticated power struggle. We don’t seem to want accept that there is an all-out assault against Christians being waged in the legislature, teamed with the mainstream media.
According to Jackson, three of the “four major attempts to thwart faith in the U.S.” are federal hate-crimes protections for gays, workplace discrimination protection for gays, and the Fairness Doctrine. (The fourth is an investigation into possible tax fraud on the part of several high-rolling televangelists.) It’s one thing to oppose policies like civil rights for gays; it’s quite another to claim these policies constitute “an all-out assault against Christians.”
Posted by Ezra at 11:04 AM | Permalink
November 10, 2007
Randall Terry’s Operation Robertson
Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue and veteran of extremist anti-abortion protests and federal prison, had a new target this week – his old friend Pat Robertson. While many Religious Right figures slammed Robertson for his endorsement of Rudy Giuliani, Terry’s was in its own rhetorical league, blasting Robertson for having been “seduced” by Giuliani’s “hypocritical and seductive evil.”
So we looked for a high-energy event when Terry announced he would protest outside the Washington, D.C. bureau of Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network on Saturday. A Friday release announced a move from the originally planned protest at CBN headquarters in Virginia beach “because a number of young people and college students in the DC area wanted to participate.”
That “number” was apparently in single digits. When the protest got going, Terry was joined by only three others holding anti-Giuliani signs (with devil horns and tail drawn on the G), though the number was up to half a dozen by the time we left.
With no reporters in sight, Terry was happy to speak with us. He called Robertson’s embrace of Giuliani “heartbreaking” and bemoaned what he called the lack of strong voices to replace a passing generation of leaders. He described “the four horsemen” of the Religious Right as Robertson, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, and D. James Kennedy. Two of them are now dead, and one has “lost his way.” Randall is waiting to see if Dobson, who finds Giuliani utterly unacceptable, will take on Robertson directly.
Terry can’t say enough bad things about Giuliani -- “Mayor Beelzebronx” – or Republican candidates who have welcomed Giuliani’s fundraising help (“a down payment for hush money”). He decried conservative politicians who had been “johns” to Giuliani’s “prostitution” and now were unable to call him on his unacceptable positions. Like Dobson and the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins, Terry dismissed Giuliani’s pledge to appoint more Supreme Court justices in the mold of Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and Alito, suggesting it wasn’t to be believed.
If the anemic protest at CBN was any indication, Terry doesn’t command much of a following these days, but he made it clear that if Giuliani is the nominee, he’ll be part of any campaign to throw Religious Right support to a third party. He said he understands that “the Religious Right in particular is possessed by a hatred for the Clintons,” but believes that a Clinton presidency would be less damaging for the movement than a Giuliani victory, which “would be like throwing a frag bomb in the Religious Right.”
Terry, a recent convert to Catholicism, is hoping to influence the election in another way. He handed us hot off the presses a 40-page booklet designed to prod U.S. Catholic Bishops, meeting in Baltimore November 12-15, to ratchet up the church’s opposition to legalized abortion. To church leaders he believes have not done enough to make abortion criminal he is alternately condemning (“there is blood on our hands”), taunting (“Who runs the Church? Bishops or Lawyers?”) and pleading, urging them to conquer their fear, accept bad press and potential loss of tax status, and insist that “no Christian may in good conscience vote for any candidate, from any party, for any office, if that candidate supports the killing of children.”
Posted by Peter at 4:01 PM | Permalink
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