Sunday Facepalm.

Today we have Judy Reyher, a Colorado repub who was recently appointed to the state legislature. Ms. Reyher has some all too common views.

The Denver Post reports that Judy Reyher posted multiple offensive statements and memes on her Facebook page, including one that questioned why Muslims would come to the United States if they “hate pork, beer, bikinis, Jesus and freedom of speech.”

Hateful bigots always come up with the oddest assortment of words in their pitiful attempts to paint Amerikka. Pork, beer, bikinis, Jesus, freedom of speech. Wow, that’s more than a bit of a mess. A lot of people aren’t into pork, and they aren’t insulted and ostracized for it. A lot of people don’t care for beer. Bikinis? What the fuck, Ms. Reyher? It really couldn’t have been all that difficult to come up with something somewhat relevant. A lot of christians are into modest swimwear, and have no use for bikinis. Oh, and you know, women who happen to be muslim go to the beach, too, and their beach gear is along the same lines as christian modest, perhaps not quite as severe.

I have  no use for Jesus, and I wish all those who yak about that particular god all the time would shut the fuck up, and mind their own business. Once again: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, all based on the same damn books. Same god, different interpretations. I think by now everyone knows that “freedom of speech” is bigot code for “I can’t yell hate speech all over the place without people reacting! Woe is me! I am so persecuted!”

Reyher also questioned the authenticity of former President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, and subsequently told the Denver Post that “the black community and the Democrats are the most racist group of people that exist,” while also claiming that black people “hate white people with a passion.”

Oh dear. No, black people don’t hate white people with a passion. I might be reaching that point though. White people suck at listening, and they really truly suck at coming to terms with their privilege and sense of entitlement, to everything. If you’re going to go around assuming people of colour hate you, and behave as though they do, you certainly aren’t giving them much reason to consider you kindly.

“I would like to apologize for the comments or posts on Facebook that have been found offensive and racist,” she wrote to the newspaper. “However, the fact of the matter is, I am not a racist. This country was founded by immigrants, and I embrace all Americans, no matter their walk of life. Diversity is what makes America, America.”

Oh yes, you are racist, Ms. Reyher. Very much so. Announced it, actually. This country was already founded and occupied when you all decided to steal it. Oh sure, diversity makes Amerikka, after all, there are just so many shades of white, right?

Via RawStory.

A Double Demon Day.

We’ll go with minor demons today, because Wiles & Wallnau don’t deserve anyone grander. To the left is Ukobach: a demon of an inferior order. He is shown with a flaming or red body, large eyes and ears and often a pan full of coals or a hot poker. He is said to be the inventor of fireworks and the art of frying foods. He is charged by Belzebuth to maintain the “oil in the infernal boilers”, which is made of the blood of the damned, “forged in the west where the sun sets”. To the right is Xaphan: a fallen angel, rebelled with Lucifer, a demon of the 2nd order. He is said to have an inventive mind and came up with the idea to set fire to heaven before he and the other fallen were cast out. He has a bellows as an emblem, but must fan the flames of the abyss with his mouth and hands.

It’s rather interesting that heaven was considered to be flammable. Okay, on with today’s dose of ineffable nonsense. We start with Rick Wiles, who has figured out who is at fault for all those powerful men who sexually assault and harass.

“The left has viciously waged a war against Christianity in America for over 50 years,” he said. “You, the left, you demanded that children not read the Bible in schools. You demanded that nobody in public schools pray to Jesus Christ. You, the left, you demanded the removal of the Christian cross and Ten Commandments from public buildings and town squares and city parks. You, the left, you demanded a godless secular society, void of biblical morality.”

50 years ago is 1967. At that time, I was stuck in catholic school. There was no end of fucking praying, having to go to mass, and of course, having to go to confession three bloody times a week. Christianity in general was still going strong at that time, in spite of no verbal mandatory prayer in public schools. I couldn’t wait to get into a public school. When the time came, there was fight, because it was expected I’d go to Mater Dei HS, but I managed to make my way into a happily public school. I can honestly say that removing mandatory prayer from schools was a great thing. Personal religious beliefs don’t belong in an institution where the aim is to educate. It’s easier having a talk with a stone than it is getting through to you idiotic asses that students can still pray. They can pray all day long, just not out loud. When I was in my public HS, there were student bible studies and the like; they weren’t stopped or stomped on. Crosses and monuments to the 10 commandments don’t need to be in every public building, town square, and city park. FFS, it’s not like people pay attention to them, or bother to obey them much, and that includes christians. You assholes break those things every damn day, and you don’t care about that at all. What you do care about is being able to force all that crap on everyone else. If I want to see that nonsense, I’ll go to a church.

We’re living in a godless, secular society? Where? I’d like to go there. Being void of biblical ‘morality’ is good thing. A very good thing. Have you read that mess? It’s an instruction manual on how to be the very best psychopath you can be. I’ll pass, I have much higher morals than the bible.

Using the news media, the entertainment industry, academia and the internet, Wiles said, the left has “systematically indoctrinated tens of millions of children and teens and young adults to embrace atheism or Eastern religions.”

Goodness me, people using their brains! Yeah, there’s a horror. Choice is not a bad thing. Education is not a bad thing. Being able to communicate easily with people from all over the world can open a person’s mind in wonderful ways. That’s good too. You only ascribe it all to evil because it’s a matter of you losing control.

“You arrogantly mocked on television God-fearing Christians, the Holy Bible and morality,” Wiles said. “You demanded a godless society. Well, you got it. All these allegations of sexual misconduct are the byproduct of your godless society.

Well, there’s so much material to mock. No, we don’t have a godless society, and you damn well know it. But you christians, you can’t manage to breathe without complaining. Sexual assault and harassment are not the byproduct of a godless society (the one we don’t have). You can take a very good look at societies which are truly secular, and they don’t have anywhere near the level of problems we have here in Ustates. Now, it’s beyond fucking wrong to pretend that in the 1950s and 1960s and on that men just didn’t do this sort of thing. They did. There was plenty of harassment, sexual assault, and rape. People had little recourse back then, and that sort of thing was in the “don’t talk about it” category. It’s taken a long time for people to be able to speak out. That does not mean this behaviour is brand new.

When it comes to sexual assault and harassment, there’s been one hell of a lot of christians behind it. Most of the people who did such thing would describe themselves a good, upstanding christians. People still do that sort of shit – Roy Moore. There’s no one who will stand and defend the very worst of behaviour like a white, christian man. Personally, I don’t give a shit about what religion an abuser may or may not embrace; that should not be a focus. Behaviour should be the focus. A great many priests are abusive. Christians get caught with their pants down every other day. Obviously, that biblical morality isn’t so great.

You ripped out of America’s heart her affections for God and His Holy Bible. Why are you now indignant that people are acting like godless heathens?”

America is not a person. To my 60 year old eyes, people are acting like “good christians”. I’ve always been indignant when it comes to sexual abuse. Again, this isn’t new at all. Been going on since forever. What has changed is that people now have the tools to come out about abuse, and they have support in doing so. That still does not make it easy in any way, shape or form. People who come out with sexual abuse are often hounded and harassed, they receive death threats, and much of that shit comes from “good christians”. You have no high horse, Mr. Wiles. Nor do you have a cross, so get yourself down.

Honestly, reading such shit makes me feel the need to take a shower. Moving on to Lance Wallnau, below the fold…

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Nazi Mind Control! Sabbatean Kabbalists! Druids!

Roman soldiers murdering druids and burning their groves on Anglesey, as described by Tacitus. Wiki.

Oh, so much batshit, so little time. Radical right-wing commentator and unhinged crackpot Sheila Zilinsky recently interviewed fellow conspiracy theorist Dr. Ted Broer on her “Weekend Vigilante” podcast, and things got a little…nuts.

After explaining how fluoridation is really a Nazi mind-control program, Broer warned that America has been “duped” by its corrupt and compromised elected representatives.

When I was growing up, fluoridation was a commie plot.

“They have been compromised because of impropriety with money—with wire transfers, with money transfers, et cetera—pedophilia, human sacrifice, satanic sacrifice, adultery, alcoholism, or drug use,” Broer said. “Over 50 percent of Congress—in my opinion, probably closer to 70 percent—has been compromised or is being controlled in one way or the other. Not all of them, but a large percentage of them.”

Let me guess: everyone except the so-called ‘freedom caucus’. Wow, some of those things on that list aren’t like the other things.

“They have basically given control of the government to the military industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about,” he continued. “They have, in turn, taken this military industrial complex and they have given it over to the CIA. The CIA has given it over to the Sabbatean Kabbalists … These are the Druids, these are the ones that were taught the ancient forms of worship by the fallen angels. These are the bad guys that run the planet and they, in turn, have given over their control to Lucifer to control the energy field around the planet.”

Uhhh, wow. That’s one hell of a mash-up. I think you need to pick your villain and stick with it. Too many villains in the soup, and really, it’s not fair play to blame people who are long dead and had a lot of stupid and nasty stories stuck on them.

“It’s all to control the thoughts and the minds of everybody on the planet,” Broer concluded.

FFS, once more – America is not the world, and we can all be thankful for that. I’d certainly like to know what’s controlling your mind, dude. Those are some serious drugs. I’m tempted to think these people are playing with Belladonna.

Via RWW.

Our Evangelical Government.

From Ralph Drollinger’s September 26, 2017 Bible study for members of Congress.

Serious business, this. The Evangeliholes are pushing like crazy, because that takeover they thought they were assured of isn’t such a certainty now, and they are desperate to grab control and get that Theocalypse up and running. If anything, they are more rabid in their hatred of anything which is a societal good. The Tiny Tyrant doesn’t dare not give them whatever they want, they are the majority power behind him.  This is an in-depth article, which needs to be read in its entirety, I’m just going to grab bits here and there which strike me as particularly scary.

Ralph Drollinger, the Christian nationalist who leads Bible study meetings for members of Trump’s Cabinet and members of Congress, is aggressively seeking to expand his reach in state capitals and local governments as well as overseas. Drollinger teaches that there is one “absolutely critical preeminent duty of the Church in an institutionally separated society: to convert the soul and disciple—Christianize—the leaders of the State and its citizenry.”

That’s blunt enough. How do you deal with that terrible separation of church and state? Force christianity on everyone. And they have the nerve to complain about terrorists.

When we wrote about Drollinger in July, we noted that he teaches that God only hears the prayers of Christians, that Christians in government have an obligation to only hire other Christians, and that social welfare programs are un-Christian. That kind of exclusionary theology and dominionist worldview haven’t gotten Drollinger into any trouble with the Trump administration or his other admirers, and they don’t seem to be slowing his expansion.

A fine example of religious terrorism. People who hold beliefs like this don’t have any moral brakes; as far as they are concerned, the end justifies the means, whatever those means may comprise. They don’t believe in things like empathy or compassion, those are weaknesses, and in any case, only applicable to other christians of their particular zealotry. They believe in compliance, and if compliance comes at the harsh end of force, that’s fine with them. Drollinger also believes in male domination, those women, they aren’t allowed to teach. Bible says so.

In a recorded speech to the Hillsboro, Oregon Prayer Breakfast in October, Drollinger said there are 12 Cabinet members taking part in the weekly White House Bible studies, and about 30 House members and 12 senators taking part in the congressional versions. Drollinger and his Capitol Ministries have big growth plans.

Perry Gauthier, the Nebraska-based North America director for Capitol Ministries, has reportedly traveled to 30 states this year to help reach the organization’s goal of creating 50 Bible studies in 50 state capitals. The group also launched CivicReach, “a ministry that partners with local churches to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to city council members and county commissioners.” Drollinger says there are 40,000 local governments, mostly without “outposts for Christ,” and the project’s goal is to “foster” in local officials “a Christian worldview.”

[…]

In Capitol Ministries’ 2016 annual report, which celebrated the group’s 20th anniversary, several state “ministry leaders” were interviewed. “Lawmakers need to have a biblical core and know that Jesus Christ is the way, the Truth, and the life,” said Mike Shreve of California.

Just want to point out that it doesn’t matter what state you live in – you can’t afford to be smug and assume these folks won’t get anywhere in your state. They are already long there, and they have gotten somewhere. The rot is well set in, and the fungus is spreading.

Price is quoted endorsing the CivicReach project, saying “an aggressive, active, robust Bible study at every single level of governance is exactly what can turn things around.”

Yes, it certainly would, and it would help to further turning UStates into a regressive backwater.

A review of the past few months’ worth of Bible studies confirms that the public officials who attend Capitol Ministries events are being trained in an ideology that claims a biblical basis for right-wing policy making.

In September, Drollinger returned to his attacks on government social spending, which he says is rooted in the “bad theology” of theological liberalism and the social gospel, one of the major strains of Christian thought in the U.S. in the 20th century. While the social gospel gets respectful treatment at the new Museum of the Bible, Drollinger treats it with contempt, saying it is “not Christianity whatsoever! It is another religion!”

That’s not the only place where Drollinger expresses his contempt for liberal Christians. In a Bible study that claims modern archaeology has undermined “the postulations of liberal theologians,” he writes, “It is not the conservative Christian with a high view of the inspiration of Scripture who is the simpleton, who clings to his or her beliefs with blind faith, ignorant and lacking intellectual, scientific, and historical support. Rather, it is the one who espouses a liberal ‘understanding’ of God’s Word.” Drollinger has also defended calling Catholicism “one of the primary false religions in the world.”

Drollinger might be on the ‘catholics are evil’ bandwagon, but I expect he wouldn’t mind borrowing from them a bit: say hello to the new inquisition.

Drollinger writes that it is important for public officials to understand why the social gospel is a “perversion, or a corruption of what the Bible actually teaches.” And if liberal political ideology comes from liberal theology, “then liberal political ideology too (specifically entitlement programs) is lacking in a basis—i.e. any basis of biblical authority.”

[…]

Drollinger follows that with another study entitled “God’s Design for a Societal Safety Net,” which he grounds in a passage from one of Paul’s epistles, a Bible verse that Republican members of Congress have cited as justification for cuts in food stamps: “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.” He cites another letter in which Paul says young widows should not receive charitable help; they should instead get remarried, have children, and keep house. Drollinger says specifically that government should not take care of elderly people when they have relatives like grandchildren who could do so.

[…]

In a study focused on property rights, Drollinger cites Old Testament teachings to support his argument that “God is a Capitalist not a Communist.” And he warns that “as America jettisons its trust in the Torah, it follows that there would be and are increasing threats to, and the erosion of private property ownership,” including excessive environmental regulation.

The bible has no fucking business in government, let alone making policy, but here we are, with toxic sociopathy spreading out all over. Jehovah/Yahweh/El Shaddai/Whatthefuckever is one of the most psychopathic, evil gods ever invented. Drollinger and his henchpeople are fully behind that. They love it, and they want to force that evil on everyone. The bible being what it is, can be conveniently twisted about to support whatever you want, and what these people want is far beyond simply being immoral.

God’s job is to “suppress evil” and “punish evildoers,” Drollinger says, and he argues in a November 21 Bible study that the Bible not only permits but requires the death penalty, particularly for murder: “Fear of the State and its power to execute equal and proportional justice is a necessary force in a fallen world.” He says directly, “as a lawmaker it is incumbent on you to stand for the death penalty relative to the good of the citizens of the country.”

It has been shown, time and time again, that capital punishment is not a deterrent. It can actually make things worse – if someone does something they believe might get them a death penalty, well, they have nothing to lose, do they? As it stands, the prison system in Ustates is a regressive, nightmarish, barbaric monstrosity, which has long been out of control. Other countries have much better prison systems, which focus on rehabilitation. And in many cases, rehabilitation works. Of course, for it to work, you need a stable, secure society, with social safety nets. And, y’know, it it’s Jehovah’s job to “suppress evil” and “punish evildoers”, then let the nasty piece of work get off its ass and do that. I am past sick to death of christians and their “god does this, that, and the other.” That god of yours doesn’t do jack fucking shit.

Drollinger argues for the importance of public officials maintaining what he says is God’s one-man, one-woman design for marriage. In an earlier study, he explained that men and women have different “unambiguous responsibilities” outlined in scripture. For women, those duties are homemaking, home management, mothering, teaching younger women, displaying hospitality, and “differentiating in dress”—for the latter citing 1 Timothy 2:9 which says “I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes” (New International Version). Men’s “primary functions” are providing for the household, leading in the church, leading in the home, sacrificing for and sanctifying his wife, and fathering children into adults. “When America in any way denigrates God’s ordained Institution of husband and wife Marriage,” he writes, “our nation loses one of God’s primary means of heralding His nature to our country!”

Mmm. Drollinger has a quite lenient interpretation of the bible when it comes to him being divorced and remarried. I rather expect he’d also find a way to be surprisingly lenient when it comes to all those fine, upstanding, christian men who engage in sexual harassment and sexual assault. Probably get the same bullshit on the fact that christians have higher rates of cheating and divorce, too.

Drollinger warns lawmakers not to think that there is a legislative fix for racism, which he blames in part on evolutionary theory. While he said in a September Bible study that anti-discrimination laws “have their place and are necessary,” he also declared, “they will never eradicate the problem from society—so don’t think the answer is in more legislation. It is not. The wise public servant will therefore always work toward religious freedom and incentivization of the Church—so that it can best facilitate evangelism and change hearts.”

Oh sure, everyone knows there’s not a drop of bigotry in ‘the church’ or christians anywhere. Nope. :near-fatal eyeroll:

There’s much more to read at RWW, and it’s important reading. This is not something to dismiss.

Dammit Jim, That’s Not Biblical!

Facundus Beatus, f. 191v: The Dragon gives his power to the Beast. Commentaria In Apocalypsin, 8th Century. Click for giant size.

It’s Jim Bakker, again. The title of this post is a bit unfair; I couldn’t resist. You can’t honestly say something is or isn’t biblical, given the sheer amount of different versions and interpretations. It’s just a god mash hash. This recent tearful plea by Jim has to do with The Great Tribulation, upon which, there are many versions and interpretations, and a number of different beliefs.

“If they kill our president or they destroy him or whatever, if we elect the other side,” Bakker said, “this is it. I think maybe Trump is here to give us time to get ready because all hell is going to break loose. We’re not going to have the Antichrist show up to get the sign of the Mark of the Beast on our forehead or hand, it won’t happen without hunger. Hunger is going to be the main thing. Most people don’t get it, they don’t want to get it, but that is why I am so obsessed with you all being prepared.”

Horrendous Hyperbole, Jim! Electing democrats is not the same as murder. Really truly. It is fun to see how much you change your narrative from one appeal to the next. So now the Tiny Tyrant isn’t the Jehovah blessed saviour, he’s just a little sort of hourglass? How the mighty fall. I hate to break into this melodrama, but people who have enough money to buy your yuck inna bucket are in no danger of going hungry. There are people in this world who are going hungry. A great many people have already been displaced by climate change, and can no longer sustain themselves in their homelands. There are plenty of people living in poverty right here in Ustates, who not only can’t afford nutritious food, they’re stuck in food deserts. All manner of children cannot concentrate in school because they are consumed by hunger. And here you are, hawking your absurdly expensive crap inna bucket. There isn’t a shred of decency in you, Jim. There certainly isn’t so much as a tattered remnant of shame anywhere to be seen.

Bakker’s wife, Lori, warned that Christians who don’t think they would ever accept the Mark of the Beast will inevitably do so when they see that their children or grandchildren are starving, which prompted Bakker to bring out his newborn grandson, whom he cradled as he wept, saying, “I hear them crying, I’ve heard them crying for years and God says, ‘What will you do if these babies are starving?’”

There are babies starving right fucking now, you evil piece of shit! Do you care? No. Your answer to ‘god’s’ question: oooh, sell the rubes nasty shit inna bucket!

What happened to the rapture? Aren’t you among those who believe the rapture will happen prior to the tribulation? You seem awful certain your ‘flock’ won’t make the cut. From what I recall about what I was taught, if you fuck up and get stuck in the tribulation, those who go nobly to their deaths right away will get to do the ghostly happy dance up to Jesus. So, no need to buy your stuff, no need to starve. Just die. Should be a cakewalk for you christians, you’re always going on and on and on and on about being persecuted, and being wannabe martyrs, and there’s your chance!

The program then immediately cut away to a pre-filmed segment promoting Bakker’s $1,500 “Complete Grocery Store” survival package.

One thousand, five hundred dollars. Right. I have no words for just how gosh-darn godly and righteous that one happens to be. You are the naked face of hypocritical greed, complete with crocodile tears, and a willingness to use your infant grandchild. Evil, thy name is Jim Bakker, and you fit the new beatitude to a T.

You can see the oh so tearful Jim at RWW, if you so wish. One good thing about this nasty nonsense, I get an excuse to indulge in some fabulous art. One more from Beatus below the fold, Osma Beatus, f. 139: The Frogs:

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A Solid Christian.

Roy Moore speaks at Voters Value Summit 2017. (Photo: Jared Holt for Right Wing Watch).

Oh, so many evangelicals of the religious reich are propping up Roy Moore with absolute zeal, and a gigantic raft of lies. I’m not going to address all of them; I have a busy day ahead, but some of this, ugh, toxic morality is so damn disgusting. I will make the point that it’s hardly uncommon for men in their late 20s/early 30s to pursue people in their early teens; it happened to me often enough, and yes, that was in the 1970s. That sort of age gap wasn’t as frowned upon then, a man of 32 with a solid career was considered to be a good match for someone 17 to 19 years old, a steady hand, so to speak. Yeah, I know. I am thankful attitudes have changed in that regard. All that said, it does not make that behaviour any less skeevy or questionable. There’s a massive power imbalance there, and that was particularly true in Moore’s case, as he was a district attorney, and most teenagers aren’t completely clear on just how much power is or isn’t contained within that position. Moore was in a position to make an effective threat.

The fact that Moore was so very careful to not engage in intercourse tells me he knew damn well what he was doing was wrong, and he didn’t want to be caught. He certainly didn’t want to be punished in any respect, so he was very cautious. Does the fact he’s been married the last 32 years make it okay? No. I’ve been married for 38 years, together with my partner for 40 years. What does that tell you about the state of my marriage? Nothing. What does that tell you about my character and actions for the last 40 years? Nothing.

I expect many of the evangelicals supporting Moore wouldn’t be upset if a 32 year old wanted to date their teenage daughter, and that really does not make anything better. It makes it much worse.

The American Family Association stood by its endorsement of Moore, writing in a statement, “AFA Action believes Justice Roy Moore to be a truthful man and a solid Christian.” Bryan Fischer, a radio host for AFA’s American Family Radio, wrote that establishment Republicans were turning against Moore because they “despise ordinary Americans like us who believe in the Ten Commandments, natural marriage, normative sexuality, right and wrong, the Constitution as written by the Founders, the rule of law, and the Judeo-Christian tradition of truth claims and moral values.”

I’m an ‘ordinary’ American. I’m mixed race, childfree, bisexual, and identify as female. I’m an atheist who is committed to inclusion and acceptance. I live rural, with one partner and too many animals. I do not believe in the ten commandments, natural marriage, or missionary position only and don’t fuckin’ enjoy it. I don’t believe in the constitution; I think it’s high time for a rewrite. I believe in marriage equality. I do have a strong sense of right and wrong. I somewhat respect law. A lot of it is damn stupid, and needs serious reworking too, and the police system needs to be torn down and redone completely. WTF is the “Judeo-Christian tradition of truth claims and moral values”? Truth claims? Jesus Christ. How about the truth? I’m not allergic to that. I am allergic to the twisted, abusive bullshit you asses present as ‘moral values’. Your ‘moral values’ say Moore is a stand up guy, not a skeevy man who used his position to impose on teenagers. Why in the hell should I pay attention to such a version of “right and wrong” ? No. Just no.

AFA president Tim Wildmon told Religion News Service, “I don’t think this kind of story will change support for him among Christians since he has categorically denied it. Most will see it as dirty politics.”

There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. That little sentiment should be familiar to you all.

Jerry Falwell Jr., one of President Trump’s strongest allies in the Religious Right, told RNS, “It comes down to a question who is more credible in the eyes of the voters — the candidate or the accuser.” He later clarified that he believed the candidate.

Ah, the christian version of bitches be lying. How lovely.

Anti-choice activist Janet Porter wrote in WorldNetDaily that she trusts Moore in part because he doesn’t think her “heartbeat bill,” which would ban abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, goes far enough. Porter laid out her theory that Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos encouraged the paper to manufacture accusations against Moore in order to bring him profits. “Not sure who to vote for?” she wrote. “Just look at who the enemy is firing at the hardest. He’s the guy you want.”

Don’t be dragging Lucifer into this mess. Your imaginary archvillain hasn’t done anything. If Moore was such an amazingly upstanding christian, why didn’t he fight off the temptation to impose himself all over one teenager after another? Why, when the urge came over him to accost a teenager or go hunting them at the local mall, was this solid christian not on his knees in prayer? The only enemy here are Moore’s own actions. “Hey, it was a long time ago” does not excuse it. Look at Moore’s attitude towards bodily autonomy rights. Is this a man who views women as full human beings? No.

Ugh, ugh, ugh, so damn disgusting. RWW watch has the full rundown, replete with links.

Further reading from Mano Singham.

Contagious America: The Anti-Equality Tour.

Kim Davis, the county clerk from Kentucky who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the U.S. Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision, spent nine days in October on a tour of Romania to boost religious conservatives’ push for a referendum to put a ban on same-sex couples marrying into the country’s constitution. Davis traveled with Liberty Counsel Vice President Harry Mihet, who was born in Romania. Mihet discussed the trip last week with Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver on Faith and Freedom, the group’s weekly radio show.

Staver said that Mihet and Davis met with “four out of the six top archbishops of the Orthodox Church” as well as evangelical leaders and heads of “pro-family” organizations. Mihet said they spoke to “several hundred people” in six of the country’s largest cities, with “thousands” more watching online.

Staver said that Davis made the trip to tell her story as a warning about “the implications” of a country going “the wrong way on marriage.” Mihet said Davis gave a “powerful” message about the need to define marriage in the constitution to prevent the kind of “devastating” impact on people of faith experienced in the United States because of “judicial activism and judicial overreach.”

The monstrous contagion that is America. People everywhere, don’t let your countries grow up to be Amerikka. Please. Be better than us, it’s not like it’s a high bar. RWW has the full story.

“It’s all just girls, girls, girls playing politics,”

The conservatears of rage and bewilderment are flowing over recent election results. Naturally, it’s all us evil female types who are to blame, and the wimpy excuses for men who allow us to vote. It’s the ruination of Amerikka! Really truly.

CRTV commentator Gavin McInnes, who also leads the bizarre, misogynistic “Proud Boys”* fraternity, said that the historic electionof several openly transgender people to state and local offices earlier this week can be blamed on men allowing women to vote.

More on this absurd Proud Boy nonsense later.

On yesterday’s episode of “Get Off My Lawn,” McInnes was joined by Gateway Pundit’s White House reporter Lucian Wintrich, who joined him in attributing major Republican losses to Democrats campaigning on “identity politics” by putting forward diverse candidates. They went on to attribute the election of transgender people, including Virginia state assembly candidate Danica Roem, to women’s ability to vote.

“The liberals say, ‘Maybe we should give up on identity politics,’ but you look at all the Sikhs and black people and trans who won in this election and all these unprecedented cases. It had nothing to do with policy. It was all identity politics,” McInnes said.

No, it’s not liberals who are all tangled up in “identity politics”. You’re confusing us inclusive types with the white nationalist nazis. Very different groups, so try to get it right. Sikhs, black people, transgender people, oh my! Why the sky will fall any moment, I’m sure. This would be known as having representatives on all levels who actually reflect the make up of our society. Old white men don’t represent most of us, and if they are going to faint at having to work with people of colour and women, perhaps they should retire. Go fishin’ or something.

He continued, “I was looking at those two trannies who won. There’s no substance there at all. And I think it’s because we let women vote. Women have been voting now based on their ‘feels’ for many years. They brought us Obama, no substance.”

Just have to be disrespectful, don’t you? Transgender people. Or y’know, just people. Or women. Or, and this is really radical – the descriptor of their choice. This woman votes on issues, and emotion is not dirty word, you fucking idiot. Perhaps you wouldn’t be so hung up if you allowed your self to feel something other than anger and aggrieved entitlement, Mr. McInnes. No substance? Hahahahahahahahaha. Oh, I think we know where all the substanceless hot air is residing.

“It’s all just girls, girls, girls playing politics,” McInnes said.

And loving it. You’re just going to have to suck it up, Mr. McInnes, we aren’t leaving the playing field now.  So you know though, it’s women. We aren’t children.

Wintrich said he wanted to know when liberals would realize that “playing the intersectionality game to elect people” results in “terrible people that are ruining the country.”

We aren’t playing a game. It’s a hell of a lot of work, getting people woke, and using their vote to accomplish progress and positive change. Intersectionality is not a game, it’s vital to having a healthy society. So is inclusion. Granted, this ‘1950s ideal’ you morons clutch might be finally staked into its grave, and that’s a good thing. A very good thing.

“I’m excited to see how badly this tranny actually fucks up Virginia,” Wintrich said.

We don’t need to know what gives you a boner, Mr. Wintrich. Truly. I have no doubt Ms. Roem will not fuck up Virginia in the least, and will probably help Virginia a great deal. As I recall, she was focused on traffic issues, which the citizens of Virginia are also concerned with, so let her get on with her job, you nasty little doucheweasel.

The full mess, with video, is at RWW. Now, about that Proud Boy nonsense…

[Read more…]

Today’s Demon: Rick Wiles, Wait…

Andras, Grand Marquis in Hell, Dictionnaire Infernal.

Make that Today’s Demon: Andras, who may have found a happy home in Rick Wiles. A quick look at Andras:

Andras is a Great Marquis of Hell, having under his command thirty legions of demons. He sows discord among people. According to the Goetia, Andras was a Grand Marquis of Hell, appearing with a winged angel’s body and the head of an owl or raven, riding upon a strong black wolf and wielding a sharp and bright sword. He was also responsible for sowing discord, and commanded 30 infernal legions. He is the 63rd of the 72 spirits of Solomon. Andras was considered to be a highly dangerous demon, who could kill the conjuring magician and his assistants if precautions were not taken. The Dutch demonologist Johannes Wier, in his Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, says of Andras:

Andras is a great marquesse, and seemes in an angels shape with a head like a blacke night raven, riding upon a blacke and a verie strong woolfe, flourishing with a sharpe sword in his hand, he can kill the maister, the servant, and all assistants, he is author of discords, and ruleth thirtie legions.

Another demonologist, Collin de Plancy, also mentions Andras in his writings:

Grand Marquis of Hell. He appears to have the body of an angel and the head of a wood owl, and to be riding a black wolf and carrying in his hand a pointed saber. He teaches those whom he favors to kill their enemies, masters and servants. He stirs up trouble and dissension. He commands thirty legions.

Sowing discord. In favour of killing. Stirring up trouble and dissension. A perfect fit for Rick Wiles! Mr. Wiles is attempting to bring back the specter of oooOOOOooo Communism, among other things.

“The mass killings of peaceful Christian families in church on Sunday mornings are what America’s political left has given this nation,” Wiles said. “Since 1962, there has been a relentless ongoing war of hatred in the USA against God and Christianity. The religious war has been supported by America’s courts and judges, Hollywood, the entertainment industry, the news media, academia, and the Democratic Party. Fifty-five years later, we have church carpets soaked in blood. Oh, America, how much more of this religious war against God are you going to tolerate? Will you remain silent until your children are bleeding on the church floor too?”

Yet somehow, Mr. Wiles, you don’t mention the bombings of predominantly black churches. There’s no mention of Dylan Roof, or the insane level of racism in this country, which keeps elevating, embraced by more and more white men with severe cases of aggrieved entitlement. Lots of angry men out there, who are allowed to get away with being abusive as fuck for years on end, and you’re surprised by a very bad ending? This doesn’t have jack shit to do with christianity, which is what you mean by ‘religion’. If Mr. Kelley had thought his in-laws were at the local gas station, that would have ended up shot to pieces. You don’t mention the sheer insanity of guns in this country, Mr. Wiles. That’s a problem. A big, yuuuuge problem. Trying to get you fucking infernal christians out of public affairs has been a long fight, but angry white men with guns are not the result of not having mandatory, ostentatious public prayer in school or no commandments in court houses.

I have no love for religion, and I certainly have no love for loud mouthed shit stirrers like you, Mr. Wiles. Your message is never one of love. It’s never about kindness. It’s never about anything even remotely positive. It’s always a fucktonne of lies and moaning over how you lack the power to oppress the hell out of people these days. That’s a good thing.

“A dark, sinister entity controlled by Lucifer is behind these mass shootings,” he warned. “These events are not happening at random by mentally ill people. You may not realize it, but the USA is engulfed in a communist revolution. I’ve been warning about it since 2008, with the election of communist street organizer Barry Soetoro, alias Barack Hussein Obama, and I assure you he is behind all of this Resist Trump movement going on right now.”

:Near-fatal eyeroll: There are many reasons the amount of mass shootings are going up, but it has nothing to do with Lucifer, dark and sinister entities, communists, or President Obama. You’re really going to have to lose the communism angle, Mr. Wiles, it’s just too difficult to push that one when we’re Russia Junior. I’ve been resisting the Tiny Idiot King from day one and before. Haven’t had so much as a memo from President Obama. Gosh, you’d think he was bad at that leadership stuff. Wait, that’s Trump.

Wiles said that Christians must wake up and realize that this communist revolution is in the process of taking over the nation and will soon set out on a campaign to execute “tens of thousands of Christian leaders within months or years.”

Are there that fucking many of you ‘great leaders’ here in uStates? Gad, that’s depressing. Well, y’know, I rather think if no one has gone to the trouble of shutting you all up by decapitation by now, that won’t be happening. I haven’t seen guillotines going up in public squares. Seems absolutely nothing keeps you nasty assholes from endlessly blathering.

“If you think I am melodramatic,” Wiles said, “you don’t know history.”

I’m no historian, but I’ll wager I know history more than you do, Mr. Wiles. I read. A lot. I’m quite familiar with christian history, and that’s a history of hate, fear, war-mongering, blood lust, the endless lust for power, torture, oppression, genocide, theft, and death, death, death. It’s an extremely ugly history, replete with exempla of evils and immorality. If I were christian, I certainly wouldn’t be proud of it. If I thought all those demons were real, Mr. Wiles, I’d say you have an Andras on your back.

Via RWW, there’s video.

The Christian Extremists Behind Roy Moore.

Right Wing Watch has a comprehensive rundown of all those backing Roy Moore. In case you don’t remember Moore, here are two posts from last year, when Moore made a mess of his career at the time: one, two. Now that Moore is running for a senate seat, the religious reich is fervently backing him.

…Some better-known Religious Right groups, including the National Organization for Marriage and the Family Research Council, have recently gone all-in for Moore. He has also been getting serious financial support in the form of outside spending from groups like Ken Cuccinelli’s Senate Conservatives Fund and from Alabama activist Stan Pate, who has been funding ads attacking Strange.

And Moore has also quietly been getting support from some of his most extreme allies, who see him as a chance to give their Christian nationalists views the biggest megaphone yet:

Michael Peroutka is a local Republican politician in Maryland who has used wealth from a set of debt-collection businesses to bankroll Christian nationalist causes across the country, most notably by funding the career of Moore. Peroutka has funded Moore’s Christian nationalist ventures and political campaigns for decades; he gave Moore’s Senate campaign $2,500 in June and his wife Natalie gave the same amount in early August, each nearly maxing out on their individual contribution limit for the initial Republican primary.

Peroutka is a former member of the neo-Confederate League of the South—he quit when the association started to cause him trouble in his campaign for office. As recently as 2012, he was on video leading a League of the South gathering in a round of “Dixie,” which he calls the “national anthem”; in a 2004 speech to the group, he said he was “still angry” that Maryland didn’t join the Confederacy and said that his daughter had the nickname “Beth Booth,” as in “John Wilkes Booth.”

Peroutka, who runs a group called the Institute on the Constitution, advocates an extreme form of Christian nationalism, saying for instance that the Maryland legislature had ceased to be a legitimate governing body when it violated “God’s law” by passing a marriage equality bill. Last year, he presented on his theocratic view of the law to Operation Save America, an extreme anti-choice group that is trying to get government officials to defy laws on abortion rights and ultimately charge women who have abortions with homicide. (OSA has its own relationship with Moore, which we discuss below.) Along with his longtime support for Moore, Peroutka has helped to fund the campaigns of Tom Parker, Moore’s protégé on the Alabama Supreme Court, who has been trying to establish a legal framework for extreme anti-choice “personhood” laws.

Rusty Thomas, the head of the extreme anti-choice group Operation Save America, contributedjust over $200 to Moore’s campaign in three separate contributions in July and August. Although Thomas’ financial contribution is relatively small, he has been a stalwart ally to Moore throughout his tribulations on the Alabama Supreme Court.

In the summer of 2015, as Moore attempted to fight the Supreme Court’s landmark marriage equality decision, he accepted an award from OSA at the group’s gathering in Montgomery, telling them that “America is under attack” as it moves away from God and adding, “I’m sorry but this country was not founded on Muhammad. It was not founded on Buddha. It was not founded on secular humanism. It was founded on God.”

Moore responded to criticism of his association with OSA by saying: “You know, some told me ‘you know they’re a radical group.’ I said yeah. They are radical for God.”

Like Peroutka, Thomas and OSA promote the theocratic worldview that laws that they perceive to be ungodly are null and void. OSA’s main text for this belief is a book called “The Doctrine of Lesser Magistrates” by OSA activist Matt Trewhella, one of the anti-choice radicals who signed a statement in the 1990s declaring the murder of abortion providers to be justifiable homicide; in presenting the award to Moore in 2015, Thomas prayed that God would use him to “set an example for lesser magistrates throughout the United States of America that it’s time to say no to the federal beast!”

That’s just a little bit. There’s video, many links, and background on these supporters, including Anita and Mat Staver, Steve Hotze, Ken Eldred, and Eugene Delgaudio at RWW. I think a bit of fear is setting into the religious reich at this point, about how long they may have their stooge in office. Their efforts are seriously ramping up when it comes to getting as many religious reich fanatics as possible into government positions.

Ergotism, Religion, LSD, & Art.

Jan Mandijn, “The Temptation of Saint Anthony” (circa 1550) oil on panel, height: 61.5 cm (24.2 in). Width: 83.5 cm (32.9 in). (image courtesy Wikimedia commons). [Note the ergot laden rye bursting through the roof.]

Hyperallergic has an absolutely fascinating article on St. Anthony’s Fire and the effect of ergotism on art in general, but specifically in dealing with depictions of St. Anthony. There’s a lovely comparison between Athanasius’s account of Anthony’s temptation and an excerpt from Leary’s classic manual.

So why is St. Anthony associated with ergot? The devout will often look towards the legend of Anthony’s temptations when faced with mental or emotional anguish. This is because the devil is said to have tempted Anthony with mirages of jewels, and dressed up as seductive women to deter the hermit from his asceticism. As the devil was tormenting Anthony, the saint was said to be wandering through the Egyptian wilderness. The events of Anthony’s story as recounted by his original hagiographer, St. Athanasius of Alexandria, also read as hallucinatory, with a blend of imagery, ecstasy and madness. From Life of Saint Anthony by St. Athanasius:

For when they cannot deceive the heart openly with foul pleasures they approach in different guise, and thenceforth shaping displays they attempt to strike fear, changing their shapes, taking the forms of women, wild beasts, creeping things, gigantic bodies, and troops of soldiers. But not even then need ye fear their deceitful displays. For they are nothing and quickly disappear, especially if a man fortify himself beforehand.

The notion that the harmful hallucinations will cease if the subject is fortified beforehand, is a reoccurring theme not only in Life of Saint Anthony, but also in the instructions for tripping on LSD given in The Psychedelic Experience: 

At this time you may see visions of mating couples. You are convinced that an orgy is about to take place. Desire and anticipation seize you, You wonder what sexual performance is expected of you. When these visions occur, Remember to withhold yourself from action or attachment. Humbly exercise your faith. Float with the stream. Trust the process with great fervency. Meditation and trust in the unity of life are the keys.

This simple comparison between the texts of a third-century hermit and the megalomaniacal ‘60s drop-out prototype, Timothy Leary, is not enough to clearly demonstrate a correlation between Anthony and psychedelia. What this investigation does make clear is why the hagiography became important to those in the 17th century suffering from symptoms similar to LSD effects in the time before modern medicine first discovered the cause of ergotism.

There’s also a compelling argument for ergotism being an influence on Bosch, not necessarily directly, but there are elements in many of his paintings which point to a definite knowledge of ergotism, and one of the primary cures for it, which involved the distillation of mandrake root. Ergotism was not at all uncommon, it had a high death toll, and when people managed to not die from it, they often found themselves minus one or more limbs, due to gangrene. The visions caused by ergotism would be well known, and would certainly lodge in the head of any artist, because these would be fantastical and amazing things to bring to life.

Myself, I’m not one who buys into the “Bosch had to be on drugs, man” argument. Much of Bosch’s work was subversive and sly, and seeing, hearing, and reading accounts of ergotism could well answer for much of the peculiarity of many of his works. Then again, artists haven’t always had a history of steering clear of altered states. In this case though, Bosch would have been well aware of the dangerousness of ergotism. I doubt many artists would risk their limbs for the sake of a painting or three.* The argument included in the Hyperallergic article also included a most wonderful link to the Bosch Project, allowing you to see his work very up close.

Back to St. Anthony, who was rather obviously under the influence of a powerful hallucinogen. What you may or may not see while under the influence of a hallucinogen is highly dependent on who you are and how you see things. St. Anthony had a very strong religious filter through which he perceived the world, so under the influence of a hallucinogen, naturally he saw seductive women, demons, and devilish beasties.

*A book about the 1951 outbreak in a French Village, The Day of Saint Anthony’s Fire, [John G. Fuller] describes some of the episodes:

…there is the afflicted man who thought he was an airplane and jumped out the asylum’s second floor window with outstretched arms expecting to fly, telescoped both his legs upon landing, and then ran 50 meters at full speed on shattered bones before being wrestled to the ground by eight other men.

That’s one hell of a price to pay, if you’re looking to an altered state for a bit of internal inspiration. I imagine most artists were onlookers, not users. And while ergotamine is still in use today as a migraine remedy, it is at miniscule doses, and often combined with caffeine, so a dual tab would be 1mg ergotamine with 100mg caffeine. Ergot’s effectiveness as a vasoconstrictor is what caused all the gangrene back in the day. It would be quite difficult, I think, to tread the line between happy hallucinations and deadly side effects.

It’s a fascinating read, and there’s more to see too, so click on over to Hyperallergic.

Sunday Facepalm.

Wallnau, again. Lance is the gift of never-ending eyerolls. Now it’s Jehovah playing with the stock market, just to fuck about with a few people.

Wallnau was outraged by the fact that several business leaders had resigned from presidential advisory councils in protest of Trump’s comments in the wake of the violence that had occurred at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend, which ultimately forced Trump to disband the councils entirely.

“They insulted the president and his base,” Wallnau declared. “It doesn’t surprise me [that] the stock market had its first setback today. That’s not a coincidence. That’s not a coincidence, that’s a prophetic response to the uprising and insult that came from these CEOs.”

Uprising? Really? I wouldn’t characterize resigning as an uprising, those are different things, Lance. How is this a prophetic response? Has someone had a nifty prophecy about this, and what, just forgot to say? If there’s insult to be had, it’s on the part of the Tiny Tyrant and his base, asshole bigots, nazis, and your garden variety evil fuckers. Every single one of you is an insult to humanity, and to anyone with actual morals. You have all the benefit of a boil on the arse.

“When those CEOs mocked Trump and made this a political issue, the judgment would come where their pocketbooks are,” he continued. “How fast does God sometimes settle accounts.”

They didn’t make this a political issue, Lance. They simply could not walk past the “presidential” standard of hey, nazis are fine people! Naturally, the Tiny Tyrant could have kept his mouth shut, but no, he had come out with just how awful all those people of colour and their allies are, persecuting those poor nazis. I expect the stock market will be fine, it’s the nature of the beast to fluctuate. As for Jehovah being all speedy and stuff, I guess you don’t subscribe to The Mills of God. That, and the very old concept of ancestral sin is more Jehovah’s thing, y’know, just read your book of psychopathy. Not that any of it originated with your particular god, but it was certainly adopted with enthusiasm.

There’s video at RWW.

Squinkery.

I fell in love with a new word: Squink. It’s onomatopoeically delicious! I had expressed a desire to use this wonderful word, and PZ provided:

Here’s another good use that you’ll find opportunities for all the time: when someone throws out a cloud of incoherent obfuscations for something stupid they’ve just said, they’re squinking. Creationists, MRAs, and Republicans do it all the time — Just watch Jack Kingston or Jeffrey Lord or Kellyann Conway sometime. Nonstop squinking.

The conservative christians propping up the Tiny Tyrant are still busy squinking over the Charlottesville statement:

“I do not believe he was speaking of people giving a Nazi salute or giving racist chants,” Suarez, who is also an advocate for immigration reform, said. “I believe he was speaking of a few who sincerely would not like to see a monument removed, and were not participating in racist activities.”

[…]

Robert Jeffress — who made waves last week by making the highly disputed claim that God has given Trump the authority to “take out” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un — told the Christian Broadcasting Network that Trump “doesn’t have a racist bone in his body,” and that the uproar over his press conference is “just more a style issue.”

Ah, a style issue. Right. It seems that the Tiny Tyrant’s style is to have a few Nazi uniforms hiding in his closet. You can read the full article at Think Progress.

Don Boys at Barbwire is squinking so hard you could hear him a mile away:

…I understand that sensitive Blacks might be offended at Confederate monuments; however, many of us are often offended by many things including their apparent desire to be offended, but we always get over it. They will too. However, they are being encouraged in their insanity by local and federal officials.

[…]

And once again, I will remind everyone that Lincoln’s War of Northern Aggression against the genteel southland was not to free the slaves as Lincoln admitted, but he used it later as a “sales job” to prosecute the war. Taxes, tariffs, and states’ rights to nullification were the original reasons brother fought brother with over 600,000 dead. However, uninformed or dishonest people keep saying otherwise.

Hmmm, from where I sit, I see a white man with an acute sensitivity problem. No worries, Don, you’ll get over it. If you can stomach it, the full column is here.