• Politics, Schmolitics - Religion

    Tough Sell For Religious Hucksters

    The unchurched in America are probably not buying what #Beckapalooza was flogging, either – A lot of them are conservative, but hurt by “The Church.” The Barna Group – Millions of Unchurched Adults Are Christians Hurt by Churches But Can Be Healed of the Pain Other interesting insights into the self-identified Christians who have distanced themselves from a conventional church relate to their beliefs. Two-thirds (68%) hold a biblical view of God – that is, He is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the universe and He still rules that universe today. However, only one-third (35%) agree to any extent that…

  • Politics, Schmolitics - Religion - Theocracy Watch

    Irrelevance

    Why @GlennBeck’s campchair revival meeting on the National Mall will probably turn out to be irrelevant, even with the Theocratic Right’s deep pockets. Barna: How Teenagers’ Faith Practices Are Changing The most striking change was the fact that teenagers today seem much less inclined to have spiritual conversations about their faith in Christ with non-believers. The survey question specifically asked if the survey respondent had “explained your religious beliefs to someone else who had different beliefs, in the hope that they might accept Jesus Christ as their savior.” Among born again Christian teenagers, the proportion who said they had explained…

  • Mini-Posts - Politics, Schmolitics

    Beck Campchair Revival Crowd Individually But Not Collectively Big

    Beck’s team got a permit for 300,000, about 87,000 showed up. Via @KeithOlbermann Glenn Beck Rally Attracts Estimated 87,000 – Political Hotsheet – CBS News An estimated 87,000 people attended a rally organized by talk-radio host and Fox News commentator Glenn Beck Saturday in Washington, according to a crowd estimate commissioned by CBS News.

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics - Religion

    Who Are All These Tacky People On My Front Stoop?

    “Don’t make me come out there.” What the hell, I ended up live-blogging the whole damn thing. I took this photo a few years ago on a trip to Washington DC, with the “good camera” that’s been sent off to Canon for possible repair, or I’ll be in the market for a refurbished 30D. I Tweeted a lot of my Lincoln Memorial photos last night after getting irked at all the Beckamania co-opting of the imagery of Lincoln, Dr King, and all the hoo-ha about reclaiming the nation’s honor. It bugged me that the national honor so much in need…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics - Radio

    Daniel Schorr -30-

    Of all the many tributes and stories remembering the life and career of Dan Schorr, Scott Simon’s was the one that that moved me most. Schorr wasn’t a teddy bear; he pissed presidents and premiers off, as well as colleagues, columnists, and Congressmen. NPR’s Scott Simon Remembers Daniel Schorr : NPR No other journalist in memory saw as much history as Daniel Schorr. He was born the year before the Russian Revolution and lived to see the Digital Revolution. He was there before the Berlin Wall went up and there a generation later when it came down. He was born…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics

    The Not So Secret Secret Is Not So Secret Any More

    Rep. Mark Kirk, R-In The Navy, candidate for Obama’s former Senate seat (Roland Burris who???) has been outed. Not only did he over-inflate his military service and awards, as a Navy Reservist he voted against repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Say buh-bye to your base and that office in the Senate office building now, Rep. Kirk. That ship has sailed Tippa da hat to Pam’s House Blend. BlogActive: Real Truth, Direct Action It was early 2004 when I was at a social gathering on Capitol Hill. I’m guessing there were 35-40 people present, including the guy who brought me as…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics

    Christ’s War: A Simple Choice

    Candidate Tim D’Annunzio, running for Congress in NC, is so far gone in religious mania that the local GOP is circulating docs from his divorce to show how much crazy he brings. His prayers were not answered, he’s in a runoff, we’ll need more popcorn. Christ’s War: A Simple Choice. Most of his blogposts consist of lengthy Bible quotes, but his beliefs tend toward the “watched too much Stargate while obsessively highlighting texts in the KJV” end of the spectrum. His political statements are quite possibly the most seriously disturbing views I’ve ever seen made public by a viable candidate.…

  • All Things Interesting - Politics, Schmolitics

    Matty Hair to Hairy Mat

    It’s harder than I thought to donate my recently-shorn hair to the charity that turns hair and pet fur clippings into oil-spill booms. They require that you sign up first, then wait to be sent an address for shipping. And they really discourage individuals from donating; they prefer bulk shipments from salons and groomers. Meanwhile their storage facilities are getting backed up near the Gulf, as BP didn’t want to accept the donated booms. The hell? So maybe they’ll send straight to the Louisiana Wetlands people? Welcome to Matter Of Trust.

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics

    Anchor Baby, Anchor

    The disgusting “anchor baby” argument raises its ugly, badly supported head in the Utah runoff campaign between the two Republicans. Constitution be damned! That pesky 14th amendment was really about establishing the citizenship of former slaves, after all. Apparently the Constitution was framed by our Founders for whites only, according to these yobbos. I can only hope that the Utah electorate is smart enough to figure this out but… What am I thinking? With a dominant culture that discourages critical thinking, and an educational system that is very much a product of the culture, it’s likely that the next senator…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics

    More Like the Guy I Voted For

    President Obama rips BP, Transocean, Halliburton execs a new one. ‘Ridiculous spectacle’: Obama slams BP, Transocean over Gulf oil spill | McClatchy As for Tuesday’s testimony in which companies involved passed the blame for the spill, the president said, “I did not appreciate what I considered to be a ridiculous spectacle during the congressional hearings into this matter. You had executives of B.P. and Transocean and Halliburton falling over each other to point the finger of blame at somebody else. The American people could not have been impressed with that display, and I certainly wasn’t.”