Joe Barron is (was?) one of 40 Baptist ministers at one of the nations largest churches, Prestonwood Baptist Church.  One of Joe Barron’s responsibilities at the church was to provide ministry for married adults.  I would assume that many of the couples that Joe Barron has served over the years had young teenage daughters.  One can only imagine how this revelation is affecting them.

I honestly feel sorry for these couples and Joe Barron’s family. In times like this it would be very easy to gloat and point out how often Republicans and Right Wing conservatives get caught up in sex scandals.  I would like to step back from that briefly and say that I feel sorry for the only victims in this crime, the couples Joe ministered over the years and his friends and family.

More on this story as information comes available.

William ~ WWJV4.com

[youtube width="500" height="394"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAXucMY7Dvk[/youtube]

I guess it is only fair to point out the ad never makes any untrue claims nor does it go into the guys history at all. Its just a short statement mixed in with several others. In his quote he doesn’t say anything untrue or deceptive and never implies that he is from Pennsylvania. I Should also point out that while he voted in New Jersey he lives in Pennsylvania now and will be voting in Pennsylvania this November.

So I guess there isn’t really much of a story here after all. Sorry to waste your time. I’ll just join in with the other anti-Hillary liberal blogs in attacking her for tearing apart the Democratic party. Pay no attention to our blatant hypocrisy as we do exactly the same thing ourselves. Can’t help wondering what the response would have been from these blogs if it had been an Obama ad in question.

William ~ WWJV4.com

Vomit by Eric at RedState

Only CNN and the Democrats would put together a “Compassion” forum. Isn’t the Democratic Primary already a compassion forum where Hillary and Obama express their compassion for the little guy while doing their best to avoid actually touching them?

Amazing. He managed to pack hypocrisy, racism and sexism into two sentences all the while being condescending to one of the main messages of Jesus. Pretty amazing. Not surprisingly the conservatives who comment on RedState failed to connect compassion to the teachings of Jesus as well so I decided to help them out.

My Comment (Adammair)

Liberals are weenies. HaHa! Compassion is something that Jesus guy would talk about.

While I doubt my comment will make any difference as conservatives have an amazingly strong ability to filter out any bits of reality that differs from their own opinions. It did brighten my Monday morning though. Eric at RedState declared that an open thread so please head on over and remind them about the teachings of their professed religion.

William
WWJV4

I agree with John McCain that we owe veterans more than we are giving them. I would just ask McCain why even though he says he supports the troops and is running largely on his service history he refuses to do anything that would actually repay the troops for their service.

John McCain has flat out refused to support our troops by endorsing Jim Webb’s new GI Bill that would improve education benefits for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Or maybe he shouldn’t have killed the dwell time amendment last summer that would have ensured our troops had enough time to rest and recover between deployments.

Think Progress has compiled a nice list of other ways that McCain has shown his support for the troops:

• Voted AGAINST an amendment providing $20 billion to the VA’s medical facilities. [5/4/06]
• Voted AGAINST providing $430 million to the VA for outpatient care “and treatment for veterans,” one of only 13 senators to do so. [4/26/06]
• Voted AGAINST increasing VA funding by $1.5 billion by closing corporate loopholes. [3/14/06]
• Voted AGAINST increasing VA funding by $1.8 billion by ending “abusive tax loopholes.” [3/10/04]
• Voted AGAINST a $650 million increase in veterans’ medical care funding. [8/1/01]

I guess what McCain really meant wasn’t that we owe veterans a debt we can never repay but instead that we owe veterans a debt he will never repay.

Update: This morning on The View McCain said that veterans need “significant educational benefits in return for serving” yet he still wont sign Senator Webb’s GI Bill to provide it for them. ~ 4/10/08

William
WWJV4.com

[youtube width="500" height="394"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9FAfQ2imUw[/youtube]

McHenry recently got over feeling sick about a McCain presidency and is now a supporter. Think there will be any outrage from the conservatives for John McCain to disavow his Troop Hating comments? Me neither.

Can you imagine the outrage if a Democrat had said the same thing? The right wingers would be all over it. Instead since its a Republican were just now hearing about it from the liberal blogs while the mainstream media has remained silent. I’ll be updating this story in case the mainstream media covers this but there are a few networks I’m particularly interested in.

News Network Coverage:

• CBS – No Coverage So Far
• CNN – No Coverage So Far
• Fox – No Coverage So Far
• MSNBC – No Coverage So Far

Note that this is my first time trying out Google Alerts so I may miss something. If I do please post it in the comments. I may also be way off base and the mainstream media may jump on it now that the story has broken. I would be surprised but you never know.

UPDATE: Apparently McHenry was referring to a foreign contractor and not a US Soldier.  I don’t think this makes any difference though.  It’s not like the guy wasn’t following orders and risking his life just like our soldiers.

In part 1 of this series I provided two videos of Reverend Wright that put his words in context. I strongly believe that while some may not agree with his points, his sermons are no more racist or anti-American than anyone else’s. To illustrate that I also provided four clips of conservative religious leaders making statements that are far more hateful and intolerant than any to be found by Reverend Wright.

The fact that the statements made by Reverend Wright have generated many times the amount of negative media coverage as those by his conservative counterparts is unquestionable. The only question then is why there is such a disparity between how the two are not only handled by the media, but viewed by the average American. In part two of this series I will explore how this hypocrisy is a direct result of conservative Christian culture. I apologize in advance for how long this is.

Media Bias Against Progressive Religion

The right wing propaganda machine is exceptionally good at misinforming its base, who are in turn exceptionally good at being misinformed. One of the biggest and most successful propaganda campaigns has been painting of our mainstream media as having a heavy liberal bias. While many objective studies have debunked this claim the right wing continues its propaganda, knowing full well that their followers will only accept the truth that they already believe (see below) regardless of any amount of information to the contrary. In this manner the right wing not only control the media through the corporations that own them, but also condition their followers to dismiss any harmful information as liberal lies.

As a result of the media’s perception of being to the left of center everything they cover is viewed through a distorted lens (like in a circus fun house) that shifts everything to the ideological left. In this manner the mainstream media is able to present radical fundamentalist Christians as if they represented mainstream American ideals even though they are in actuality far to the right of most Christians. The disparity in the amount of coverage conservative religious leaders receive over their progressive counterparts and the illusion of everything shifting to the left has serious consequences for the religious and moral discussion in America. This fun house mirror effect causes progressive ideals to appear far more radical than they really are which explains how even when viewed in context many conservatives will still think that Reverend Wright is racist and intolerant. Even worse though it has led directly to my next point.

Fundamentalism Has Hijacked Religion and Morality

Anyone who is not a conservative Christian and has spent more than a few minutes speaking with one will understand this point. Fundamentalists all share the belief that they own a monopoly on morality and that it is in fact impossible to be a good person if you are not a part of their belief system. The belief structure of conservative Christianity is that the only possible truth is that which comes from within their established belief structure forming a self referencing and self validating world view. Essentially it boils the burden of proof on anything down to whether or not their leaders say its true.

Conservative fundamentalists view themselves as a group of flawed individuals following a perfect belief. As flawed individuals they believe that the organizations and groups that they belong to carry the same moral perfection that they attribute to their religious beliefs. Naturally these groups include their clubs, partisan political attack groups, and churches but oddly they also extend to the country as an entity. This is due to the delirious belief that America is a Christian nation and that our laws, policies, and foreign military excursions are directly guided by the hand of God. As God is running the show so to speak, at least when there is a Republican in the White House, our nations actions are due the same scrutiny as their holy Bible, none.

How It All Ties Together

This is where Reverend Wright got himself into trouble. As the sole authority on what is right and wrong fundamentalist Christians do no take it kindly when others call on them to be responsible for actions that they do not feel are wrong. Yet Reverend Wright did just that. He attributed the attack on 9/11 to our foreign policy mistakes and imperialism. He called on America to accept responsibility for its past racist actions against not only the Black community but also Native Americans and other minorities. He called on America to accept the results of its history and to make the changes necessary to right those wrongs.

When fundamentalists are confronted with something that they do not agree with they only have one possible reaction, attack it. Alternatives like open mindedness, acceptance, tolerance, forgiveness, or any of the other traits they like to portray themselves as having don’t actually appear to exist for those outside the group. While this makes them horrible dinner guests, it makes them excellent attack dogs. So thats what they did with Reverend Wright. If your still wondering why these attacks are all based on misinformation, racism, and fear tactics your not paying attention. They have no relationship with truth or facts to draw upon even if they wanted to.

Anyhow, this is a short summery of how the fundamentalist Christian culture has contributed to the ridiculous Reverend Wright “controversy”. I really could go on and on with examples and references but I don’t think its necessary. Those who would be swayed but such things are most likely already convinced, and for the rest it would be wasted effort. I am not supposed to work on the weekends as my wife says I work too much but I will try to get the final part out anyhow. I promise it will be shorter.

Comments are welcome but as before no race-baiting comments or allegations against Reverend Wright or anyone else. If you would like to refute my point please do so, just remember that in a debate both sides carry an equal burden of proof.

Read the Rest of the Series

Preachers Say the Darndest Things Part 1

This charge is mostly based upon short out of context sound clips and the fact that Trinity Church serves a black congregation and deals with issues facing the black community. Being totally unfounded and thoroughly debunked I have been expecting the liberal media to shoot this story down. However as always I am disappointed by our liberal media, (why do they always attack the liberals?) so here I am writing about a non-issue instead of something that matters.

Before I get further into this post I want to present the two most commonly seen sound bytes in their original context. Please try to keep an open mind and watch these in full. I believe you will find that while potentially inflammatory the statements made are not at all racist, and only mildly anti-American. By anti-American of course I mean that in the Bush Administration, no accountability, no personal responsibility, for us or against us kind of way.

[youtube width="225" height="177"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMbeVQj6Lw[/youtube]
[youtube width="225" height="177"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ[/youtube]

My primary problem with these stories is the inherent hypocrisy of our media, and by reflection on us as a nation. Religious leaders have a long history of making statements that are offensive and divisive and the statements made by Reverend Wright are nothing out of the ordinary. In fact I would argue that in they pale in comparison to statements made by highly regarded leaders of the religious right. Here are a few quick examples before we move on.

[youtube width="225" height="177"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=H-CAcdta_8I[/youtube]
[youtube width="225" height="177"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=tViqufbk7I8[/youtube]
[youtube width="225" height="177"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=4qNi7tPanUA[/youtube]
[youtube width="225" height="177"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=4SOQesc3q_U[/youtube]

These videos clearly show the depth of conservative religious intolerance and hatred. This filth is significantly worse than the impassioned speech of Reverend Wright, yet the conservatives embrace their leaders while attacking Reverend Wright. In fact these conservatives value the opinion of their hateful religious leaders so much that in order to be a viable Republican candidate you must win their approval. A task that McCain is working desperately to do.

So having accepted that there is an undeniable bias for the conservative religious leaders you must then ask the question of why. Why is Barack Obama being attacked so often that even Chris Wallace is crying foul for attending the Trinity United Church of Christ while John McCain is getting a free pass for pursuing the endorsement of anti-catholic pro-apocalypse Hagee? There are a few theories on this and I will be presenting them tomorrow.

For today I would like to hear your thoughts on the apparent hypocrisy of the media in how they cover conservative religious leaders verses how they are covering Reverend Wright. Please keep comments focused on the difference between how the media and the candidates are treating these two groups. I have no patience for comments about “black racism” and this is absolutely the wrong forum for that conversation. Thanks!

Read the Rest of this Series Here

Preachers Say the Darndest Things Part 2

Now, I know many of you are going to read this and immediately get defensive and attack me for saying that you don’t care about unborn children or whatever. I’m not. I believe that the vast majority of pro-lifers really do want to end abortion. Sadly they are too uncaring, or too shallow, or too dimwitted to see that the policies advocated by the pro-life establishment are completely opposite of your supposed goal. These same policies that you fight for in the name of ending abortion and “saving babies” directly cause an increase in abortions, increase in infant mortality, increase in unwanted pregnancy, increase in abandoned babies, and an overall decrease in the quality of life for women and their children.

This morning I read that Mike Huckabee is supporting the “Egg as Life” Human Life Amendment recently proposed in Colorado. This amendment will define human life as starting at the moment that the egg is fertilized. The Denver Post quotes Mike Huckabee as saying that “This proposed constitutional amendment will define a person as a human being from the moment life begins at conception,”. Of course, this is just another attempt at making abortions illegal, which is shown to have no effect at reducing abortions and only serves to make them more dangerous. This is exactly the kind of policy that is proposed by the pro-lifers, yet will leave horrible negative effects rippling across the entire state, while at the same time accomplishing nothing to reduce abortion.

Seriously, in a sane world where reality was a factor in government and policy this type of resolution would never even see the light of day. The obvious results are not at all in line with the supposed goal of the group proposing the change, yet luckily for them their followers are too blind to notice or don’t care. I am out of time to write this morning but as luck would have it George Monboit is also writing on the pro-lifers policy effects in his column for The Guardian today. I highly suggest you read it. If you like you can also read the story at his blog which contains references.

Please pro-lifers, wake up to the actual harmful effects of your policies. Stop fighting against those whose actions are actually exceptionally more effective at reaching both our supposed goals of reducing abortions than your own ever will be. If you drop out the controlling women and restricting freedom part of your agenda we may be able to find some middle ground. Of course that’s not really possible since that is your agenda. The pro-life part is just the whitewash.

William Ludwig
WWJV4.com

As you watch this video keep in mind that John McCain has been saying that “I’m The Only Candidate That The Special Interests Don’t Give Money To”. Odd how he never mentions that he has a lobbyist doing business right out of the “Straight Talk Express” bus. Or that he has 59 lobbyists on his campaign staff. The most of any candidate on either party.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gEROVh8zK4[/youtube]

Yeah. Republicans. Standing up for truth and honesty except for when they are not. That’s some straight talk there folks. Head over to Brave New Films and sign the petition they have going there asking McCain to return the Millions he has collected from lobbyists.