Do I detect a note of anxiety in my Minnesota readers? Lately I’ve been getting lots of email from concerned locals who are worried about Tim Tingelstad, a candidate for the Minnesota Supreme Court, who is a religious wackaloon.
“Everyone has an opinion or belief as to where absolute truth is and where it comes from, and that’s what I’m telling people where I believe my rock solid foundation is,” Tingelstad says. “I believe that absolute truth exists and that it comes from God.”
And that’s one of his milder statements. I’ve mentioned this guy before, but you all know how it is — judicial elections usually fly under the radar, and most people go into the voting booth with no clue about who these guys are, and they vote for the wrong reasons. In Minnesota, there is a bit of a tendency for candidates with good Scandinavian names to have an edge (Tingelstad doesn’t have an advantage here; his opponent is named Anderson), and there might be a little bit of an anti-incumbent bias this year (Tingelstad is a challenger), so no one knows how it could swing this time around.
It’s simple, though. Don’t vote for crazy Tingelstad; do vote for Anderson.
Unless you really want a deranged theocratic god-babbler on the supreme court, of course.
Thanks for the tip, PZ. Any guidance on my Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor? Ugh…
He did not go to the Republican School of Code Word Usage – he displays his bias in plain English.
We Minnesota voters can access a handy Voters Guide from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. (Equivalents are available from other papers too.) I use it to research the lesser-known candidates, like judges, and use it when voting.
Someone got a gun to your head making you read blog entries you have no interest in?
Then why do we have judges? Why not have God dispense absolute justice with his absolute Truth?
And why is it that those who believe in absolute Truth seem especially incapable of understanding truth.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
He does; it is called plagues (AIDs), famine, natural disasters (Katrina), etc. You know the 7 Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
I have to ask, what is the idea behind electing judges ?
I would have thought important criteria to use when deciding who will be appointed to the bench include impartiality and competence. Elections would seem to remove the requirement for a judge to be impartial, indeed it would kind of ensure they were not impartial, and since when has the public been able to tell who is a competent jurist ?
Thanks for the heads-up.
I definitely won’t vote for this guy on November 4.
As I’m in London, unfortunately, I don’t get to vote for Anderson either. But thanks anyway. When I think of how weird local candidates in London can be, I’ll come back to this blog and be thankful.
Too late, we already have Scalia and Thomas.
Maybe the God of the Old Testament had a stroke and thats why He hasn’t spoken or written on walls directly. It could explain a lot of erratic behavior from the God of Abraham. Of course, just as when Reagan was shot, tons of God-wannabes like Tinkerbell will go all “AL Haig” on us and say they know the exact answer to WWGD? in God’s incapacitated state. Palin, Gods second after Jeebus, is practically peeing herself as to when she can yell out to the world “I’m in control here!”.
The only ultimate and universal truth I know is that everything dies eventually. And that the Cubs will never win the World Series.
Wait a minute, this guy is running for the post of judge in the state Supreme Court?
I can barely understand the rationale for having magistrate-level posts elected. Having elections for members of the high court seems tailor-made for catastrophe.
Wow, “Tingelstad” thats actually a native name from where I am from, like a few hundred meters away. Small world. And my guess would be that the Tingelstad’s that stayed behind probably arent religious nuts like this guy, and would probably be very surprised at these statements.
Also Tingelstad is of Norwegian origin, while Anderson is Swedish, so just this once, go for the Swede.
Best name for a Punk band yet!
“Everyone has an opinion or belief as to where absolute truth is and where it comes from, and that’s what I’m telling people where I believe my rock solid foundation is,” Tingelstad says. “I believe that absolute truth exists and that it comes from God.”
I fear that stupidity like this will survive the heat death and Big Rip of the universe
tsg #3 wrote:
> Someone got a gun to your head making you read blog entries
> you have no interest in?
What? I’m no troll, I read this blog all the time… I was bemoaning OTHER silly things we MN voters are supposed to have a clue about. Sheesh.
Jesus, his website is insane! First of all, the URL is “Highest Hill,” but then a good half of the site is devoted to his devotion.
The man even has a PRAYER CLOCK. What? He’s asking for 24/7 prayers from constituents to win?
At least he’s relying on God to fill his petition signatures instead of flesh-and-blood volunteers.
From Tingelstad’s website:
“We strongly encourage you to consider these websites for more information.
WallBuilders.com
AnswersInGenesis.org
BibleinSchools.net”
Yup!…and this rocket scientist want to be a Judge.
From Tingelstad’s website:
“We strongly encourage you to consider these websites for more information.
WallBuilders.com
AnswersInGenesis.org
BibleinSchools.net”
Yup!…and this rocket scientist want to be a Judge.
I don’t think we Norwegians ever truly realized what a boon emigration to the U.S. was for our country. We got rid of thousands of religious nutjobs!
OK, so we could have found a use for Marilyn Monroe. But would we have proper science classes, universal healthcare and a welfare state today if people like Tingelstad, Karl Rove or John Ashcroft had been born here? Thankfully, they became our contribution to American society.
You’re welcome!;-D
Sorry. I read it with my inner sarcasm voice on.
What’s more nightmarish than the prayer clock? Tingelstad made it through a primary election already. People voted for him–22% of the nerds like me who vote in non-presidential primary elections.
Judge Crazy actually beat a guy, Alan Lawrence Nelson. I don’t know anything about him except that he now is endorsing Anderson because “the philosophy of the separation of church and state is so fundamental to America that I am shocked the issue is open for debate with Mr. Tingelstad.”
69,385 Minnesotans think church is awesome and separation is for suckers. Or possibly Scary Tim’s name gives them the impression that he’s a Christmas elf. It depresses me either way.
maditude (@1):
I’ll give you a straight answer to…
My advice, without having (or needing) any specific information about the candidates (or about your local soil or water), is that whatever else you do, you should NOT vote for anyone running for any office as a Republican.
When my interest in local politics was nascent, a candidate for Town Council tried to convince me that town politics was completely different from what was going on in DC, and that I should pay no attention to the fact that he was running with that pesky R next to his name. As it turned out, my town’s Republican party has proven to be a perfect microcosm of the national party. I’m convinced that even when an individual Republican might be a reasonable person and well qualified for the office, electing any Republican gives aid and comfort to a pervasive philosophy of government that has come within a gnat’s whisker of destroying this country. Just don’t do it!
The day may come, after a decent period of healing and correction, when I might feel I can afford the luxury of once again being a person-not-party voter… but today is not that moment in our history.
Given the Texas GOP platform, that’s exactly what I’m doing. There’s not a chance in hell (and we all know what chance that is here) I’ll vote for anyone that supports it.
Yes, this is what we’ve been saying and reading on my blog, Almost Diamonds and TUIB guy as well. However, do remember that Tinglestat and Tinklenberg are not the same gy. Tinkenberg is the one running against Michele Bachmann in the sixth district.
For Supreme Court, vote for Anderson.
Anderson clinched it for me when he is described as an “avid bicyclist”. Besides, checking out the Tingelstad website, I decided I could never vote for someone with such a small, um, gavel. Plus he looks like a douche…
Seriously, you guys vote for Supreme Court judges in Minnesota? That seems like it would lead to rather partisan judges.
Here in Missouri, we only vote on whether particular judges should keep their seats or not. I’ve not found any reason to kick out any of the judges on the ballot this year.
@21
I was going to come in here all high and mighty (as an atheist mind you), and denounce this derogatory smearing of Mr. Tingelblorg simply for his belief in a God…
But then I read the websites he had posted.
While the man seems like a nice guy, I don’t see him upholding science standards or civil rights for gays.
But eh, I don’t even live in Minnesota. lol
Looking at my sample ballot, I just realized I need to vote for THREE Soil and Water Supervisors. But I got a good laugh when I looked at the most important issue (and scary photo) of one of the candidates: http://ww2.startribune.com/news/metro/elections/profiles/32036.html?p=27-153500010300&z=55412
And as your new Soil and Water Supervisor I will make it my number one goal to keep “teh gay” out of your food and water supply.
Well, it’s about time we had a candidate who knows what the queers are doing to the soil.
Don’t vote for Deborah Hedlund, the challenger for the other MN Supreme Court seat up this year, either. From the Minnesota Independent (http://tinyurl.com/6ogvt3):
Gildea was appointed by Pawlenty but from what I can tell has been a pretty balanced judge.
That is priceless.
This has to be news. It HAS to be!
Bring it to fruition Pharyngulites!
What a picture!
“I strongly agree that all MN residence should have affordable health insurance. even if it means new or added cost to businesses. I strongly agree that we dont need anymore increase in taxes we are all ready being taxed to death”
That’s not how you. use a full stop. Doesn’t anyone proff read? I wonder what they’re ready for.
Don’t Clap for Tinkerstad!
Let his sky faery die already.
#8: I don’t think Thomas is actually awake often enough to do much babbling of any sort. I would say he was Calvin Coolidge resurrected as a Supreme Court justice, but his confirmation hearings have given me the impression that he is unable to speak truthfully, ever.
Maybe he was(is) Gov. Palin’s inspiration. If she’s the future of the Republican Party, that makes plenty of sense. Those competence, personal responsibility, and honesty things are for saps, anyway.
Whoops, for a second there I had this guy mixed up with Tinklenberg. I need to learn to read or something.
Good thing I can’t vote for Tink anyway. Now I can just try to remember not to vote for anything that begins with a T.
If one were judging just from this one quote from Tim Tingelstad one might think that he was just a deist. There is nothing there about ritual or one true religion. Can one be a theist and not be a wacko? Clearly one can be wrong on something and still not be a wacko.
Obama is a theist and yet you are willing to vote for him. Obama would likely support this same statement. Is Obama a wacko.
If one were judging just from this one quote, one would be ignoring quite a bit of other information about him, such as his own website which shows him to be something else entirely.
Since your original assumption is wrong, the question is moot.
Benzion Chinn:
Instead of jumping to conclusions and parsing over a single quote, perhaps you should use the clickback PZ provided to gain more insight into the matter, such as I have done. Here is a quote from your website that fills in a lot of unanswered questions about you and your point of view:
I agree with you that the actual article does give one cause to at least raise an eyebrow, particularly the passage:
“What sets Tingelstad apart is his view of religion and the law. He says the rule of law is not based on the opinion of seven men or women on a Supreme Court panel. He says it’s something above and beyond that requires absolute truth just as religion does.”
If Myers had quoted this I would have agreed that he had good cause to be concerned. I am still not convinced that this qualifies him as a wacko. As an early modern historian much of my time is spent dealing with legal theorists who believed that the authority of law rested upon divine sanction. (This is different than saying that God writes laws for human beings.)
“I thank God every day for giving me the gift of Asperger syndrome.”
I think I should make it clear that I meant that as a figure of speech. While I am a theist (more of the prime mover variety than the bearded Santa Claus in the sky), I do not believe that God directly “gave” me Asperger syndrome. Asperger syndrome is just the lot I got from being alive and being subject to the laws of the natural world.
I sent an email to Tim. I hope the spelling, tone and grammar helps to convince them that the letter is for real. If I get an answer I’ll post it here.
—————>
Dear Tim
I am a concerned Christian and am very scared for America. I support your efforts and I hope you can answer some questions for me. Some of the questions are from the wife too.
1. When we get religion back into our government which sect or perspective should prevail? I’m hoping it would be Christian of course (NO WAY to some whacky Scientist “religion”).
2. Who gets to make decisions as to which of the many religious beliefs should prevail in our constitutions? Maybe we could have a group of very holy men that would interpret for us – Iran would be an excellent model except our guys wouldn’t be muslums. Or maybe not don’t get me wrong i’m not a arab-lover or anything but I’m worried about this and we can’t mention the word ‘Iran’ because people would get scared. I think James Dobson would be a fair guy to have on the board.
3. Since one of the many Christian sects would prevail (hopefully REAL Christians)(hint), what could would be done about all those other so-called religions in America? Maybe we could double-tax them? Is that legal? They would want to move to Europe or even Canada!!! I think it would be best if they left on their own but it would take a while. We can keep the jews though.
4. If we get Christianity back in the public square we wouldn’t have to be fair and balenced or anything like that would we? I wouldn’t want a koran in the courthouse or anything like that. Could a law be made to outlaw the koran?
5. Can anything be done about the libral teachers? It’s way past time to outlaw the EVILutionists. It should be ILLEGAL to lead our nations children straight into evil. Do you plan to address this if you are elected?
Finally, I would like to take this chance to wish you well and we will be praying for you in my house thats for sure.
Jerry
But DO vote for Tinklenberg.
Bachmann – Tinklenberg debate coverage and audio here.
Again she lies and says she didn’t say the words that came out of her mouth.
Other tinks we can support:
Tinkerbell
Tinky Winky
The Ting Tings
So if you had diabetes, MS, ALS, BiPolar Disorder, Schizophrenia…
(P.S. -Homosexuality is not a disorder or disease)
E.V.
“So if you had diabetes, MS, ALS, BiPolar Disorder, Schizophrenia… (P.S. -Homosexuality is not a disorder or disease)”
I do not see Asperger syndrome as a disease. That was the point of what I was saying. At the moment it is still listed as a disorder, but keep in mind that homosexuality was, up until the 1970s also listed as a disorder. While we are at, I hope that it is clear that I do not view homosexuality as a disease. It is simply the desire to engage in a certain action that happens to be banned by certain religions (including mine). It is not different than liking pork. I have no interest in getting in the way of anyone eating pork. I have no interest in getting in the way of consenting adults sleeping with members of the same sex. I might, though, not be on the front lines to have the government special support to pig farmers even if the government was already giving the same sort of special support to cattle ranchers. Sorry but I do not see that as a violation of the civil rights of pig farmers.
Th-th-th-at’s a-a-l-l, folks!
His website is weapons-grade crazy. I have always thought it was odd that we elect judges in this state too. Who pays attention to these races? Unless I remember anything horrible happening in the past few years, I’m likely to just check off the incumbent, and let it ride.
Thanks for the heads-up on this guy. Judges must rule according to the laws and constitution of the state. This guy doesn’t mention any of that, because he is only concerned about following the laws of god.
scary.
You want to read some of his crazier stuff, check out what I grabbed from his Gideon Army back before the primary. It is gone now, but I have the quote.