Conservatism as an excuse to be a prick: example no. 8,306,372

Raw Story: A restaurant outside of Oklahoma City is facing criticism after its outspoken owner made a series of inflammatory comments after one of his former customers, who is disabled, complained that he’d been banned from the establishment.

Matt Gard claims that the owner of Gary’s Chicaros restaurant, Gary James, banned him from the restaurant because of his wheelchair. James, however, says otherwise: “He created an issue. You only have one time here. You create an issue, you’re out forever.”

Gard claims that’s just “a weak excuse,” and that James’s real problem with him is that he’s on disability.

James doesn’t deny that he thinks some people shouldn’t patronize his restaurant. “Well if you work, you own a business, pay your taxes, you’re more than welcome here,” he told KFOR. “If you’re on welfare, stay at home and spend my money, there. I don’t deal with these people walking down the street with no jobs on welfare.”

Gard also claims that James has routinely turned away customers for decades. “He doesn’t like certain people of race, color, ethnicity,” Gard said of James.

James told KFOR that he’s owned Gary’s Chicaros for 44 years, so he “think[s] I can spot a freak or a f*ggot.”

There’s more and you should read it if you can stomach it, otherwise you get the idea. Why this clown hasn’t had the pants sued off him under the Citizens with Disabilities Act or any segregationist era laws is beyond me. The man’s a dinosaur.

"The restaurant’s official t-shirt makes it clear that a ‘f*ggot’ isn’t welcome in James’s establishment," the report goes on. "It features that word, the N-word, and threatens violence against Muslims, Democrats, and members of many minority groups."

"Appalling, bigoted, discriminatory behavior is regularly displayed at this establishment," says one Yelp reviewer. “The owner, Gary James, refuses to serve wheelchair bound persons, black people, Hispanics, mixed race couples, gay people, people who wear hats, people who ask for Budweiser, liberals, men with longish hair, people wearing clothes he doesn’t approve of, people with facial piercings, on and on, ad nauseum.  If you pass first inspection, don’t think you’ve got it made - if he doesn’t approve of an overheard conversation, if he decides you are too effeminate, if your politics don’t agree with his, if you don’t like the way your steak is cooked, if you cheer for the wrong team, etc etc, Mr. James will charge you more for your meal.”

Bonus fun: the food sucks. The reviewer complains of a “mediocre steak” and says the menu is short on side dishes. “At Chicaro’s the only things you get with your meat are hate, indigestion and stale cigarette smoke,” the reviewer concludes.

Of course, this is just another example of a conservative using conservatism as an excuse to be a dick. There are people who trollishly thrive on negative reactions and use hate to trigger them. The American right is sadly full of these clowns. What’s more disturbing is the fact that he’s been in business for 44 years. If he’s been this bigoted all that time, then what the fuck is wrong with Enid, Oklahoma? This is KKK level stuff. If the food is as bad as they say, then it’s hard to fathom why people would frequent the place other than to support this sort of bigotry (I refer back to the t-shirts as evidence — that alone should drive people who aren’t actual Nazis away in droves).

Apparently, we’ve discovered a whole community of assholes who either hate like neo-Nazis or think it’s funny to watch people react to neo-Nazis. Either way, fuck this town.

Conservatives taking news of Fluke’s congress run with as much class as you’d expect

BONUS FUN: everything conservatives think they know about Sandra Fluke is wrong.

Everything.

'Duck Dynasty' story is just another symptom of conservative demographic doom

The common thread among defenses of Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson’s bigotry — beside completely ignoring the racist aspect of it — is that A&E is buckling under pressure for special interests interested in “political correctness.”

This is, of course, wrong. What’s going on can be demonstrated by looking at polling data. In July, Gallup asked voters whether they’d vote for a referendum to legalize same-sex marriage in every state. The result of the study showed that such a referendum would win with 52% of the vote. And when we break it down by demographics, we see that the strongest support came from: #1. liberals; #2. those with no religion; #3. Democrats; and #4. 18-34 year-olds.

And that’s where conservatives misunderstand A&E’s reaction. They think it’s all about demos #1, #2, and #3. The truth is that it’s about #4. The 18-34 demo is the TV goldmine — young adults, mostly without children, who spend money more freely than any other demo. It’s not political pressure that has A&E spooked, it’s the market. Concern for the market — which conservatives claim to love — is at its heart undemocratic (which is why conservatives generally prefer it). 18-34s are a minority of Americans, but their spending habits give them outsized influence.

Firing Robertson has nothing to do with “political correctness” on A&E’s part. It’s about who brings the bread and butter.

Conservatives do not.

Megyn Kelly, Duck Dynasty, and the 'Debate' Over Sexual Orientation

“Is he ever coming back? It remains to be seen, but that will certainly shut down debate. There really won’t, I mean, he’s a Christian man — I grant you, he did not say this in the kindest way – but why can’t there be a debate about it? Why can’t there be a back-and-forth, a discussion — you know, that’s how he feels, and you say how you feel, instead of saying, ‘You are fired, you are basically canned.’”
— Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, defending Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, who was suspended for remarks in an interview comparing people in the LGBT community to drunks, thieves, and prostitutes. Robertson was suspended indefinitely by A&E for the comments.

Here’s the thing Megyn, we’ve had that conversation. We’ve had that debate for decades. What more do you think we need to say here? And what new info did this clown supposedly bring to the table here?He’s not the first guy who’s ever said, “Them homersexuals is bein’ immoral ‘cause th’ Bible.” He’s not exactly breaking new ground here. How long are we supposed to sit back and listen to the same tired, unconvincing, insulting arguments and over and over?

Kelly isn’t calling for a debate — and neither are the rest of Roberston’s defenders. She’s asking for the right to hurl insults at people in the LGBT community, while members of that community shut up and take it.

Sorry folks, that part of the “debate” is over.

One conservative’s response to shocking and bloody war crimes: ‘Yay!’

The latest news out of Egypt confirms mass murder by the military coup government there.

New York Times: The Egyptian government acknowledged that its security forces had killed 36 Islamists in its custody on Sunday, as the country’s military leaders and Islamists vowed to keep up their fight over Egypt’s future.

The deaths were the fourth mass killing of civilians since the military took control on July 3, but the first time so many had died while in government custody.

While the murders of 36 prisoners hardly amounts to a genocide, the motives in those killings is definitely genocidal. There is no pretense to legal executions here, this is killing people who have become a problem. In a just world, the Egyptian military personnel responsible for this would be dragged in front of a court in the Hague for war crimes.

So what is the reaction of Stephen Green at Vodkapundit?

Is this terrible? Yes. Are innocents being killed? Almost certainly. Am I weeping? Not this time.

Being an Islamist, a jihadi, being a part of the Muslim Brotherhood, means being ready and able to kill innocents in the name of Islam. This is what they do. So once Mubarak was gone and the lid was off, something like this violence was bound to happen. The question is whether the military will be violent enough to put down this revolt quickly. Otherwise the place really will devolve into a combination of the worst parts of Syria and Somalia.

The complete lack of anything even resembling logic is notable here. Green admits that innocents are being killed, but also says good riddance — because they were supposedly ready to kill innocents. I don’t expect much at all from the rightwing blogosphere, but keeping your cognitive dissonance in check long enough to write two short paragraphs really shouldn’t be much of a challenge.

And just because you’re protesting in support of Morsi doesn’t mean you’re a violent jihadist. The right gets the Muslim Brotherhood wrong as a matter of propaganda — MB disavowed violence and embraced democracy years ago. The equation of them with terrorists is more a matter of wingnut’s anti-Muslim bigotry than anything else. And the idea that Egypt is headed toward becoming the next Somalia is so astonishingly ignorant that I won’t even waste my time with it.

But how worthless is Green when he looks at a bloody war crime and basically says, “Yeah, they deserve it.” To look at a report that says the prisoners had “been shot and tear-gassed through the windows of a locked prison van” and conclude that those people aren’t worth worrying about?

This is why I dislike conservatives. There are far too many de facto Nazis among them and those who aren’t these pro-“kill everyone I disagree with” dicks are far too tolerant of said genocidal dicks.

John and Cindy McCain helpfully demonstrate the GOP’s ‘rebranding’ problem

ThinkProgress: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has emerged as one of the Senate’s most vocal opponents of granting immigration rights to bi-national same-sex couples. But his wife said Monday that she expects his anti-LGBT views to be out of the mainstream even in his party by 2016.

McCain, who fiercely opposed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal in 2010 and voted against adding LGBT protections to the federal hate crime law. said in March that he doubts he’ll ever change his strong opposition to same-sex marriage.

Cindy McCain, his wife of 33 years, said at a Monday fundraiser for the anti-bullying Trevor Project that she believed the Republican Party would come to support legal equality for same-sex couples over the next three years: “You’re going to see a major turn. By the next presidential election I think this will be an issue that will be very much agreed on by both parties.” She added that she believes even her husband will come around, noting that the Senator “hears from his own daughters and his own children and from me a little bit about this.”

And this is what the whole rebranding effort has devolved into:”The GOP’s going to come around to your point of view any time now — just you wait! — so go ahead and vote for us now.” The Republican Party is slowly becoming rebranded as the party who are just about to stop being so stupid and hateful. Unfortunately for all the talk, there’s very little evidence that this is the case.

Ed Kilgore has a good post up about the rebranding effort, but it doesn’t lend itself to quoting — just go read it. The gist of it is that the party isn’t going to make any headway until it stops listening to people who think rebranding — minus any actual change — is all the party needs to do. They seem to think being the party of haters and hater-enablers is just fine — so long as you get people to pay attention to enablers like Cindy, while haters like John continue to do all the damage they want, just like always.

[photo by ronnie44052]

Ron Johnson said something stupid again

Emphasis mine.

ThinkProgress: Though he insists he holds no personal ill-will towards gays and lesbians, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) sees no need for a law that would make it illegal for bosses to fire someone because of his or her sexual orientation.

In an interview with ThinkProgress at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual conference on Thursday, Johnson argued against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill in the Senate that would make it illegal to discriminate against LGBT individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. “I don’t particularly like the federal government telling anybody to do anything,” Johnson said. When we asked if he held the same views about laws that protected women and minorities from discrimination, Johnson quickly ended the interview.

So it seems like Ron didn’t do a lot of thinking about the issue before shooting his mouth off about it. How unlike him!

For the record, Wisconsin passed the first non-discrimination law to protect sexual orientation in the nation, making it landmark legislation in the history of civil rights. And you know what’s really weird? Turns out it hasn’t been a problem at all.

Of course, it’s only been on the books for 30 years, so maybe it hasn’t had enough time to collapse civilization and destroy liberty yet.

[photo by Gage Skidmore]

Christian extremist openly celebrates rape

ThinkProgress: A University of Arizona student sparked outrage on Tuesday for preaching against women while holding a sign proclaiming, “You deserve rape.”

Dean Saxton, a junior, is notorious for giving inflammatory sermons in the middle of campus. This time, he argued that women are responsible for their rapes because of the way they dress and act. Saxton’s stunt may have been planned in response to the “Take Back the Night” protest against sexual violence scheduled Tuesday night.

Saxton cut right to the chase, bluntly stating that girls who dress like “a whore” have it coming:

Saxton, a junior studying classics and religious studies, said his sermon was meant to convey that “if you dress like a whore, act like a whore, you’re probably going to get raped.”

“I think that girls that dress and act like it,” Saxton said, “they should realize that they do have partial responsibility, because I believe that they’re pretty much asking for it.”

The most obvious point to strike me was that, by Saxton’s own reasoning, he’s just begging for a beating. After all, people aren’t responsible for their own actions, because we’re just mindless Pavlovian meat machines that can only react to things we see. If someone were to read his sign and decide he dearly needed a few whacks in the mouth, you could hardly blame them. After all, Saxton was right out there in the open, being an insufferable asshole with an offensive sign… really, what did he expect to happen?

And of course, the fact that he left that day without feeling the sole of a shoe against his face completely disproves his little theory.

The second to strike me was that no one will accuse all Christians of agreeing with Saxton. But, imagine what the rightwing blogs would do with a pro-rape sign held by a Muslim student.

Top religious right leader: “Don’t give to the GOP”

Speaking of people who aren’t helping…

Politico: Family Research Council President Tony Perkins is calling on social conservatives to stop donating to national Republicans until the GOP stops going wobbly on gay marriage.

“Until the RNC and the other national Republican organizations grow a backbone and start defending core principles, don’t send them a dime of your hard-earned money,” Perkins wrote on Thursday in an e-mail obtained by CNN. “If you want to invest in the political process, and I encourage you to do so, give directly to candidates who reflect your values and organizations you trust-like FRC Action.”

The RNC’s post-election autopsy released last month suggested the party moderate its tone on gay marriage to better appeal to younger voters. Still, the party is expected to vote on Friday to reaffirm its position against gay marriage. A majority of the country now backs gay marriage in public opinion polling.

Sure, Perkins is still saying that people should give to Republicans, just not the party proper. But that means that people who think like Perkins will be strengthening the exact sort of candidates that have Republicans losing national and statewide races. And that’s bad news for the party and, frankly, bad news for Perkins.

After all, it’s pretty well established that the Republican Party isn’t interested in actually changing any policies, just in changing the way they talk about those policies. While it’s the policies that are the problem, maybe enough voters will be hoodwinked by the softer tone into electing Republicans whose policies they’d otherwise reject. Todd Akin wasn’t saying anything that’s not a common belief on the right, after all — the party would just rather candidates kept this stuff to themselves. Perkins would get fewer Republicans elected because he’s unhappy with the way they speak. Not the way they vote, mind you, which wouldn’t change one iota and would be as much to Perkins’ liking as the guys they have today. Just the way they talk. It’s a massive overreaction and it harms Perkins’ cause.

Not that that’s a bad thing, from the perspective of rational people. Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins is most definitely not helping the Republican Party. But that’s what the Republican Party gets for aligning themselves with a hate group.

Westboro to protest Ebert’s funeral

Raw Story: The anti-LGBT Westboro Baptist Church says that it will picket the funeral of movie critic Roger Ebert.

The Hollywood Reporter reported on Sunday that leaders of the Kansas church were angry because Ebert had insulted them on Twitter before he died.
In a March 25 Twitter post, Ebert had written, “Just another day at Westboro,” with a link to a Salon column about Jeff Chu’s experience attending services at Westboro.

“GOD HATES FAG ENABLER ROGER EBERT!” the church said in a press release. “LORD WILLING, WBC TO PICKET IN LAWFUL PROXIMITY TO THE FUNERAL OF FAG ENABLER ROGER EBERT AT “PREISTS [sic] RAPE BOYS” HOLY NAME CATHEDRAL.”

At this point, the Westboro hate cult has rubbed the outrage nerve raw. This isn’t shocking anymore, it’s just tiresome. How about we all declare that having your funeral protested by the Westboro Baptist Church is a badge of honor? Because no one these people would ever actually mourn could possibly be worth a cold bowl of crap.

Tennessee Republicans realize bill doesn’t suck quite bad enough

Steve Benen:

[Religious bigotry is on display] in Tennessee, where a plan to transfer taxpayer money to religious academies is running into trouble as GOP lawmakers slowly realize that all religions will be eligible for public funds (via Adam Peck).

“This is an issue we must address,” state Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) said. “I don’t know whether we can simply amend the bill in such a way that will fix the issue at this point.”

State Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and Tracy each expressed their concerns Friday over Senate Bill 0196, commonly called the “School Voucher Bill” and sponsored by fellow Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville), which would give parents of children attending failing public schools a voucher with which to enroll in a private school.

If Bill Ketron’s name sounds familiar, he’s the guy who complained about a mop sink he thought might be used in Muslim worship.

No, they can’t “simply amend the bill in such a way” as to exclude Muslim schools. Nor Jewish or Wiccan or atheist or Satanic schools, for that matter. The Supreme Court will put up with a lot from rightwing Christian fanatics, but I can guarantee that wouldn’t fly.

But imagine how completely removed from logic these people must be. Here they are, complaining that taxpayer money may go to a religion they don’t support or belong to, while trying to “fix” a bill designed to take taxpayer money and give it to religions those taxpayers may not support or belong to. And they seem to have no idea what would be the problem with that. It simply never occurs to them that they’re trying to do the very thing to others that they find so worrisome now.

Tracy and Ketron have almost literally been blinded by their own hatred. The people of Tennessee don’t need to be saved from Muslims, they need to be saved from American Taliban like their own Republican legislators.

Kid’s mind warped without the influence of same-sex parents

Raw Story:

A child in North Carolina spent part of his Easter Sunday morning protesting outside a Winston-Salem church that has vowed not to host any wedding ceremonies until same sex marriage is legalized.

Kelly Carpenter, the pastor of Green Street United Methodist Church, said last month that no weddings were being scheduled because his congregation was becoming more diverse and the heterosexual members wanted same sex couples to “share a sense of the love that they have found.”

Anti-LGBT activist Brian Cranford, who says that the “Lord has called Me specifically into evangelism Street ministry,” on Sunday posted a YouTube video of an unidentified child standing outside Green Street Church and yelling at the congregation as they exited after Easter services.

“You have your chance to repent, to stop your sinning, to quit affirming the gay people!” the kid shouts in the eight-minute video clip. “The Bible talks about the homosexuals, they’re worthy of death!”

“And you people approve of that! And that’s why you’re going to hell! You can turn from your sin. You can turn to Jesus or go to hell!”

Now color me confused. I thought we were all afraid that having same-sex parents screws up kids’ heads. This boy seems to be evidence that it’s not the gender of the parents, but their character that counts.

Republicans losing their homophobia as time goes on

Politico:

As the Supreme Court takes up same-sex marriage on Tuesday, a growing number of young Republicans are waving the white flag in the culture war over gay weddings — with many opting to focus on economic issues instead.

That shift is evident among conservative youth from GOP college activists to young right-leaning Beltway pundits to heartland churchgoers under 30, political and religious leaders say.

Richard Land, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, told POLITICO that young members of his community are no longer interested in vocalizing opposition to same-sex marriage.

“Basically, they just don’t think it’s something we want to talk about,” said Land, who strongly opposes same-sex marriage. “[They say,] ‘It feels intolerant. We believe what we believe, they have a right to what they want to believe. Marriage should be a church thing, not a legal thing.’”

Pretty much anything that makes Richard Land sad is cause for celebration, but in this case you’re going to want to keep the champagne corked for now. Republican youth are still mostly bigoted, with not even 40% supporting marriage equality. However, that’s a big swing from 2007-2008, when 70% of that same Republican age group opposed same-sex marriage.

They’ve come a long way, but they’ve got a long way yet to go.

[photo by Rev Dan Catt]

Tennessee offers proof that bigots are stupid

Mediaite:

Vocally “anti-Sharia law” GOP lawmakers in Tennessee had their fears quelled this week when they were assured that a mop sink in one state Capitol building was not secretly installed for use as a Muslim foot-washing station.

Tennessee’s legislature has long been the stage for some “anti-Sharia” efforts, including a 2011 bill proposal to make following certain tenets of the Muslim code a felony. The law, pushed by GOP lawmakers Sen. Bill Ketron and Rep. Judd Matheny, would have made illegal the Muslim practice of foot-washing before prayer, as well as some religion-specific dietary restrictions.

Of course, when you believe Sharia law is creeping into every facet of your daily life, you will likely believe that recent renovations to the state’s House Chamber building included the installation of a sink for Muslims to wash their feet before praying.

With that in mind, guess who was allegedly worried that a simple mop sink was secretly a post for Muslim foot-washing? If you guessed Ketron and Matheny, you win a good, hearty chuckle.

I have to admit, I did get a laugh out of this. These two seem to be determined to make complete asses of themselves. But the bigotry quickly takes all the fun out of it. If Ketron and Matheny get tons of mockery, it’s deserved mockery — but don’t forget the clowns who elected them.

They haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory. either.

[photo by JD Hancock]

But it’s silly to worry about rightwing extremists and guns, right?

Raw Story:

Sources tell FOX31 Denver a car involved in a high-speed chase and shootout in Texas may be linked to both the shooting death of Colorado DOC director Tom Clements and the slaying of a Domino’s pizza delivery driver.

“We don’t know if it is or it is not connected” to the Clements slaying, Wise County Sheriff David Walker said during an afternoon news conference.

Sources, however, have told FOX31 Denver investigators are looking at a Clements connection, as well as one to the slaying of Nathan Leon, a Domino’s pizza delivery driver who was found dead in Golden. The source could only talk about the case anonymously because they are not allowed to speak publicly.

FOX31 Denver has separately confirmed that a Domino’s pizza box and uniform were found in the Cadillac involved in the Texas chase. Investigators said whoever killed Clements may have used a delivery driver disguise to convince him to open the door.

The driver in the Texas chase is believed to be Evan Ebel, 28, a parolee in the Denver area. Ebel has an extensive criminal history including convictions for assault, robbery and weapons violations. He is thought to be a member of a white supremacist prison gang.

I can’t wait to see how the rightwing blogosphere manages to play the victim card on this one. It’s their only real talent.

[mugshot via Fox31 Denver]

CPAC reaction to Portman's marriage conversion: hatred, ignorance, condemnation

CPAC attendees are the very worst excuses for Americans.

[via Raw Story]

Remembering Oak Creek

anuraglahiri:

It has been 6 months since the tragedy and loss… reflecting on what community means to me and how strong we are…

Tea Party phonies have no tax money for disaster relief, but plenty to fight marriage equality

Greg Sargent:

It’s emerged that House Republicans have decided to continue to spend taxpayer funds defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court. GOP lawmakers gave the green light to this idea in a private meeting last night, and it is expected to pass the House as part of a rules package when it is voted on today.

The optics of this move are intriguing. DOMA has already been found unconstitutional by lower courts. The House GOP has already spent over $1.5 million paying outside counsel to defend this law, and while the amount it will ultimately spend on this means little in the larger fiscal scheme of things, it comes just after House Republicans took a beating for failing to vote on aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy.

“They found the time to appropriate extra money to defend discrimination, but they didn’t find the time or money to push the hurricane relief bill through,” prominent gay advocate Richard Socarides told me today.

Keep in mind, that the a majority of Americans support marriage equality. So these Tea Party nutjobs want to throw money at a lost cause that most of us don’t think is a problem in the first place. If you voted for one of these ‘bagger posers because you thought they’d be responsible stewards of federal spending, you’ve been had.

But disaster relief for the victims of Hurricane Sandy? Well, that’s not so important that it can’t wait a little while. What’s really important is that America be saved from something Americans don’t actually think they need to be saved from, because denying people the right to marry the person they love is liberty… or something.

Go ask them, because it makes no damned sense to me.

[image source]

Mosque arsonist cites Fox News, talk radio

Digital Journal:

An Indiana man convicted of setting fire to an Ohio mosque attributed his crime to the influence of Fox News, which he says convinced him that “most Muslims are terrorists.”

Randolph Linn, 52, of St. Joe, Indiana pleaded guilty to arson for burning the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo. His plea will result in a 20-year prison term; prosecutors had sought a 40-year sentence.

Linn told the court that on September 30 he had gotten “riled up” as a result of watching Fox News and drinking beer. Linn claims to have drank 45 beers in seven hours before heading to the mosque and setting a fire in the prayer room. He was also reportedly armed with a revolver at the time.

During the court proceedings, Judge Jack Zouhary asked Linn if he knew any Muslims or knew what Islam was about.
“No, I only know what I hear on Fox news and what I hear on [right-wing talk] radio,” Linn replied.

“Muslims are killing Americans and trying to blow stuff up,” Linn told the judge. “Most Muslims are terrorists and don’t believe in Jesus Christ,” Linn falsely stated, ignorant of the fact that Jesus is revered as a prophet in Islam.

After he was arrested on October 2, Linn told officers, “Fuck those Muslims… they would kill us if they got the chance.”

The report goes on to explain the obvious: Fox News is an awful, awful news source. “A 2010 University of Maryland study found that Fox News viewers are the most ignorant on key issues,” we’re told. “And another study conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University determined that Fox News viewers know less than people who watch no news at all.”

Fox News and talk radio: a really great way to become stupid and bigoted.

Religious right leader: 9/11 hijackers were doing the Lord’s work

Right Wing Watch:

As he traditionally does at the beginning of every radio program, Bryan Fischer dedicated the opening segment yesterday to a reading and discussion from the Bible. In this case, he was reading from Isaiah 10 in which the prophet explains that God had sent the Assyrians to invade Israel as judgment, which prompted Fischer to declare that the same thing happened to America as “the jihadists on 9/11 were the agents of God’s wrath in order to get our attention as a people.”

Fischer heads up the American Family Association and, at the moment, I’m having a little trouble telling AFA from al Qaeda. After all, both argue that 9/11 was God’s will.

No wonder the Southern Poverty Law Center lists American Family Association as a hate group.