Who's their audience? Young people, baby boomers, or just liars?

I guess positive reinforcement doesn't work.

Passover is a Jewish and Samaritan holy day and festival commemorating the Exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Israelites from slavery.

Hag Simea'h! from Sharon Cobb.

Then we eat the most amazing meal one can imagine. We drink four glasses of wine during the service, so you're drunk and stuffed. Not a bad holiday.

Happy holiday! We'll toast you all when drinking our wine this evening.

This morning at 8:00 AM the Flying Spaghetti Monster was put up on the Cumberland County Courthouse Lawn.

It came to me in a sign....build a statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and put it on the courthouse lawn in Crossville Tennessee so that others can share in its beautiful image and learn about Its story.
Link...

Federal charges may soon be forthcoming for the three self-described "Christian" men who sprayed [illiterate] racist graffiti upon and later firebombed a Middle Tennessee mosque:

The call came in to the Columbia, Tennessee 911 call center at 5:20 on the morning of February 9. A fire was raging at the Islamic Center. When local police arrived a few minutes later, they found the broken glass of a door and heavy dark smoke billowing out of a broken window. At the scene, the officers also discovered a black swastika painted on the front of the building, along with two black swastikas and "We run the wold" (sic) and "White Power" painted on the side.

Later the same day, law enforcement officers arrested three local residents: Eric Ian Baker, 32, Michael Corey Golden, 23, and Jonathan Edward Stone, 19. The three men are accused of using empty beer bottles filled with gasoline and rags to set fire to the storefront mosque. They face federal charges of unlawful possession of a destructive device and state charges of arson.

According to the criminal complaint filed in federal court, at least two of the perpetrators of the arson and vandalism of the mosque were Christian Identity Movement adherents. (See the affidavit here.)

Christian Identity is a racist and anti-Semitic religious doctrine which teaches that European whites and their American descendants are the Biblical "chosen people,” while Jews are the literal descendants of Satan and that people of color are subhuman. It has been the theological glue binding together neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan devotees, militia members and others into the white nationalist movement.

Eric Rudolph and Buford O'Neal Furrow are a couple of other "Christian Identity" names you might recognize.

For those wishing to donate to the rebuilding fund for the mosque...

Community First Bank and Trust
501 S James Campbell Blvd.
Columbia, TN 38401
931-380-2265
Islamic Center of Columbia Rebuilding Fund
Account Number: 0026123

Memo to Flock:

Buy just three shares of Microsoft. Donate one to the church (through the AGN Financial Network). We will then use our newfound stockholder clout to thwart the evil giant's penchant for enabling the ungodly.

"We're not trying to hurt Microsoft or their shareholders, nor are we calling for a boycott of their products," volunteer spokesman Dennis Sullivan said. "We are trying to get Christians to buy their shares."

No I guess you wouldn't want to hurt Microsoft. Not if you own enough shares to influence policy.

Parents who say their child was denied the right to conduct Bible study classes during recess are suing Knox County Schools for damages.

How much should they get? Do they even have a case?

(And is anyone else annoyed by the Crime Beat Cub Reporter writing in this article? Makes it kinda hard to follow.)

Well, this ain't right.....

Link...

The latest mad shooter was felled by an armed security guard at the megachurch in Colorado Springs founded by the Rev. Ted Haggar. Her swift action was lauded for possibly saving many more lives.

I suppose it just makes sense to have security services when dealing with crowd control in such a large business church but what a creepy feeling to think about it.

From the new church bulletin:

Worshippers should plan to arrive at least two hours before morning services.

Golden Pass Holders (with implanted microchips) may proceed through portal B.

Or maybe Garrison Keillor had the answer a few years ago with a plan to let you worship from the safety of your own home.

Lutherans on Line (opens in Real Player)

I went shopping today for a carafe to keep coffee warm. In the department store, I looked around and couldn't find said carafe or a clerk to ask for assistance. I browsed while waiting for a clerk to become free.

While looking over a beautiful menorah, a clerk called out to me, "Can I help you?" I told her I was actually looking for a carafe. She told me, "All of the religious items are in that area".

What? I held my laughter. A carafe isn't religious, I explained, it's a container that holds coffee to keep it warm. Oh, they don't have those, she says.

I think menorahs must shake people up. I asked about a menorah in Blount County a year or so ago. At least the clerk knew what it was. She told me she doubted I would find one in Blount County.

Happy Holidays!
Happy Hanukkah!
Merry Christmas!

During our travels, we listened to this new XM station POTUS 08 (XM 130), which is covering the 2008 presidential elections. (It seems mostly right-wing dominated, but maybe they let the left on at midnight when we weren't listening).

We listened to several speeches by GOP candidates at the Family Research Council Value Voters Summit.

Following are some observations, including notes on remarks by Rev. Jim Wallis who appears to be a true Christian who believes in justice and morality as opposed to the fake brand of religion being peddled by the GOP candidates.

Another case brought to light regarding Judge Young ( Immigrant: Judge told me to go home )

Link...

Apologies for the cross post but I am not sure how to simply say Blount County Progessives could use some help here folks.

Scandal abounds. God not listening to their prayers?

Richard Roberts is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay.
...
"All over that campus, there are signs up that say, `And God said, build me a university, build it on my authority, and build it on the Holy Spirit,'" Brooker said. "Unfortunately, ownership has shifted."

Roberts, the son, appears quite bold. Did they not learn the lesson of lightening coming down to strike them when they do wrong?

Oral and GHWB should get together and discuss what went wrong with their sons.

It's over -- Tammy Faye checked out today.

Link...

I met her on five or six occasions back in the 80s when she and Jim were hiding out in Gatlinburg, after it all started unraveling for them. A very rich, ultra-religious Gatlinburg lady , Alma Reagan, invited them to stay there, and gave them a very nice house to stay in for as long as they wanted it (I later met Al Gore there).

Oddly, unexpectedIy, I found myself liking her. She was genuinely sweet and had a kind heart. Jim was a creepy phony.

One day, I was leaving the Sevier County Courthouse and there were Tammy Faye and her son, Jamie, siitting on a bench next to the Dolly Parton staute. I stopped and said hi to them, and we talked for a few minutes. She told me how much she loved Dolly, and how she'd hoped to meet her while she (Tammy Faye) was there. But, she said, she guessed that wouldn't ever happen, now that the Bakkers were so radioactive. I watched from a distance while her marriage ended, Jim went to prison, she remarried, became a gay icon, her son became a preacher and TV personality.

It was painful to watch her wasting away.

She was a good old girl, and the world will be a little duller for her leaving.

Jerry Falwell, dead. Age 73.

UPDATE: Flynt issues a statement:

My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. He would visit me in California and we would debate together on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling.

Is the new mea culpa strategy working for the Republicans?

Every time you turn on the tube these days you see someone caught doing something illegal or amoral admitting they have done wrong---then they promise to do better. After Katrina, the Department of Homeland Security did it. Last week, the Veteran’s Administration went before a congressional hearing and tried it. Yesterday, the FBI confessed their wiretapping abuses. Now, even George W. Bush, the original Mr. Never-Admit-Anything, has jumped on the bandwagon. The formula goes something like this: cop a plea, say seven hail Mary’s and admit you sinned. Then, once you have been absolved, make a statement saying the situation has been examined and that changes are being made. Once you have done all that, everyone is supposed to admire you and forgive your sins.

The right-wing Christian coalition, a group that sometimes has trouble thinking for itself, is being told it is noble to confess, that Jesus forgives all sinners, and that once you have done this, you’re absolved of all responsibility. Fox News commentators also push this belief. “Well,” they say, “Bush has admitted he made some mistakes. But, he acted on bad intelligence. He said the situation in Iraq is intolerable, and he’s doing everything he can to make sure things will be better now.”

Oh, yeah! Great! Amen! But with more than 3,000 soldiers already dead, Bin laden chuckling somewhere in a cave, and Afghanistan beginning to boil over again, is just saying “I’m sorry” enough?

There’s an old saying: Sorry in one and spit in the other. Historically, the word sorry hasn’t carried much weight, but lately strategists in Washington have raised its status to one of biblical importance.

Next time you listen to the news, just count and be dazzled. Every day some new illegal or immoral act is being discovered. These incidents are rising faster than bones in a Louisiana graveyard. And, the first word you will hear out of the mouth of the guilty will be mea culpa, mea culpa—I’m sorry.

There is something noble about confession. Assuming responsibility for your actions has always proven better than hiding them, but if the list of things you have done is long and continues to grow after you’ve knelt in the corner to delivery your obligatory Hail Marys, even God might grow weary of listening to your hollow words.

The fact that the Bush administration has discovered a new strategy to avoid being held accountable for their many sins won’t save them in the end. Like all their other calculated but stupid moves, this one will soon be seen for what it is—just another clever attempt to bamboozle their constituents into thinking they are honorable men.

Lying, corruption, war, secret prisons, the Katrina disaster, Abu Grad, billions of dollars worth of contracts in Iraq not cancelled when the work wasn’t done, the FEMA trailers still sitting empty in a field of mud, veteran abuse—just how much forgiveness can these guys expect?

Sorry in one had and spit in the other--someone ought to say that to the next government official who tries to wiggle out of responsibility. Does anyone really give a darn if everyone connected to Bush is suddenly sorry? If those known liars assure us they are being truthful now? I don’t think so.

When they “crash the gates”, will they take our cross”?

Cross-posted at the Francis L. Holland Blog.

With groups of leftist bloggers meeting and strategizing for "Crashing the Gates" of the Democratic Party, should it matter that 65% of them do not believe in God? "YearlyKos", an annual meeting of “progressive” leftward bloggers from across the United States, will be held in Chicago this year to plan strategy for a “progressive” vision for America. According to their own internal polls, 65% of them do not believe in God, and that may spell trouble to the extent that Democratic candidates are receiving YearlyKos' guidance and relying on their support. DailyKos Internal Poll

”One anonymous member, going by the name “Graccus”, says America needs an “atheist rights movement”, saying, “I think it's time atheists started to come "out" more.” DailyKos Story

"...Radic pleaded guilty to betraying his flock and secretly selling the church and its rectory out from under them. He used the money to buy himself a brand-new black BMW and a laptop — exploits he later chronicled in a cheeky, almost gleeful blog about his double life as a sinner."
...
"The church was basically senior citizens, people in their 80s, 90s and close to 100," Prater said. "He was their favorite son."

Stealing from the devout elderly. And people ask why I don't trust.