Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Dobson to Aid in Counseling Haggard

Call me skeptical, but somehow I doubt that this “restoration” process has as much to do with restoring the spiritual health of the hypocritical, lying, delusional scumbag Ted Haggard as it does with restoring his reputation so that in a few years he can return to his job of manipulating rank and file believers while simultaneously influencing public policy.

By The Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Focus on the Family founder James Dobson will be one of the people overseeing counseling for the Rev. Ted Haggard, the evangelical pastor who was fired amid allegations of gay sex and drug use, a senior official of Dobson’s organization said Monday.

The counseling process, called restoration, could take years, said H.B. London, vice president for church and clergy at Focus on the Family, a Colorado Springs-based ministry.

“I think it may be more in helping to set the requirements of the restoration, set the ground rules,” London told . [sic]

Haggard was forced out as senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs on Saturday after a former male escort alleged they had sex repeatedly and that Haggard sometimes was on methamphetamines during their trysts.

In a statement read at the church Sunday, Haggard confessed to unspecified “sexual immorality,” accepted responsibility for his actions and asked forgiveness.

Dobson will join pastor Jack Hayford of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, Calif. and the pastor Tommy Barnett of First Assembly of God in Phoenix in overseeing Haggard, according to a letter from Haggard read at New Life services on Sunday.

“Those men will perform a thorough analysis of my mental, spiritual, emotional and physical life. They will guide me through a program with the goal of healing and restoration for my life, my marriage and my family,” Haggard wrote.

Hayford’s spokesman said he was not available for comment Monday. Barnett did not immediately return a call.

(The Church on the Way is one of the 168 houses of worship within a 5 mile radius of my house. Scary.)

Having these particular, powerful leaders of the Evangelical movement “overseeing his counseling” is clearly (to me, anyway) nothing more than circling the wagons and commencing the damage control. I’ve no doubt that Haggard will reappear on the political stage within a relatively short period of time, hat in hand and tears a-streaming, to proclaim he’s been washed in the blood of Jesus and restored, exorcised of the demons that had control of him, or blessed by some other Christ-o-riffic miracle that will convince the flock he’s worthy to return to a position of leadership.

As soon as he can convincingly deny that he loves the cock, to the satisfaction of his “restoration team,” Pastor Ted will be back. Having the endorsement of the high priests of the Religious Right will virtually guarantee he’s welcomed with open arms by the regular church-going folk who hang upon the every word of Dobson, et al.

There is none so blind as he who will not see…

Thursday, August 24, 2006

History Repeats Itself?

My best friend and I have debated the issue of whether, historically, the distinction of having a larger body count belongs to the religious or the godless.  Today I found this quote amongst a rather large list, most of which contained more direct references to religion.  It seems to me that although the times may change, the struggle of the über-religious to gain power over, and control of, the citizenry has changed little, if at all, with the passage of time.

“Parallel to the training of the body a struggle against the poisoning of the soul must begin. Our whole public life today is like a hothouse for sexual ideas and simulations. Just look at the bill of fare served up in our movies, vaudeville and theaters, and you will hardly be able to deny that this is not the right kind of food, particularly for the youth...Theater, art, literature, cinema, press, posters, and window displays must be cleansed of all manifestations of our rotting world and placed in the service of a moral, political, and cultural idea.”

Substituting “the internet and television” for “vaudeville and theaters,” this quote could have come from any one of the religious nuts from the Family Research Council, Concerned Women of America, or another of the groups of True Believers^™ whose mission is to sanitize art, the airwaves and the whole of entertainment in the hopes of bringing more souls to Jesus, and proclaiming America a Christian Nation.

However, the quote comes from another person whose aim was to change a country by winning the “Culture Wars” of the time.

- [Adolf Hitler, “Mein Kampf”, Vol. 1, Chapter 10, echoing the Cultural Warfare rhetoric of the Religious Right]

via Pharyngula

Friday, March 03, 2006

Robertson Gets the Boot from Religious Broadcasters’ Board

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!

Robertson Loses Seat on Religious Broadcasters’ Board

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (March 2) - Christian broadcaster Pat ‘The Assassinator’ Robertson, criticized by some evangelicals for comments about Venezuela’s president and Israel’s prime minister, lost a bid for re-election to the National Religious Broadcasters’ board of directors.

Robertson, founder of the Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network, was one of 38 candidates for 33 board seats during the NRB’s recent convention. The group represents mostly evangelical radio and TV broadcasters.

NRB President Frank Wright said there was no broad effort to distance the group from Robertson. But “there was broad dismay with some of Pat’s comments and a feeling they were not helpful to Christian broadcasters in general,” he said in Wednesday’s Washington Post.

See the link for more…

Monday, February 20, 2006

Marguerite Perrin vs. Jeanne D’Amico Flisher

Trading Spouses: Psycho Fundy / Neo-Pagans

I don’t watch much reality television as a rule… that is, other than home improvement shows (and this season, Beauty and the Geek).  Of course, I make exceptions for those shows where religion is an issue, such as the Wife Swap episode where one of the families was that of the Infidel Guy, and of course, the Trading Spouses episode (rerun this past weekend) that introduced the world to Jeanne D’Amico, a kind and lovely woman with an open mind… as well as the horror show known as “The God Warrior,” Marguerite Perrin.  The Fundy From Hell.

Within hours of the first airing of the show, the Internet was abuzz about the God Warrior - there was even a fucking bobble-head of this crazy woman on eBay, which apparently sold for over $800, and was presented to Marguerite on Jay Leno (I didn’t see it, mind you… I’m just reporting what I’ve read).  I went to the official Trading Spouses boards after seeing the episode, because that’s what we board whores do after seeing a show that creates a strong reaction of whatever sort and have to rant. To my horror, there were more than a few people who actually defended this woman’s looney religious fervor that had her talking to God, rebuking a psychic, fearing gargoyle statues, and having a full-blown psychotic tantrum when she returned home.  Now, I know damned well much of the show is the result of editing, but you’ve got to have raw footage to start with, and this broad is a certifiable nut with a deadly addiction to Jesus.

There were actually people (women, mostly) who cited Jeanne’s HAIR as clear proof that she was “ungodly” or “dark-sided.” Of course I had to chime in and let them know that that is just Dago girl hair, and they were just jealous because Jeanne was very sweet and pretty, while Marg was more like a crazed warthog!

So of course, it’s the lunatic Jesus freak that gets all the press, puts up a website and is selling a CD… while talking shit about the freethinking NICE mom and her family.  Meanwhile Jeanne just has a little blog, where she tries to set things straight as she continues to deal with the changes in HER life.  It’s bad enough her family had to be subjected for a whole week to a crazy Christian woman whose OWN family cowers in fear during her tirades and “spirit-filled” rantings, while she gave Marguerite’s family what was probably the best week of their lives; now she’s got to have this crazy bitch posting gossip about her, and going behind her back to talk to her (now) ex-husband, Chris Flisher?  Jeanne’s left to pick up the pieces of her life, while Marguerite’s flying back and forth to media events capitalizing on her extended 15 minutes of fame, simply because she went psycho for God on national television?

America has gone stark, raving mad.