Tag Archives: anti-religious bias

CBS: Even With Susan Boyle ‘Warm-Up Act’ Pope Still Couldn’t Pull In A Big Enough Crowd

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Reporting on Pope Benedict’s visit to the UK on Friday’s CBS Early Show, correspondent Mark Phillips noted how 65,000 people attended a Thursday outdoor mass in Scotland, but observed: “…it was only about a quarter of the size of the crowd Pope John Paul drew to the same park on his visit 28 years ago. And this crowd had a much better warm-up act…TV talent show star…Susan Boyle.” On Thursday , correspondent Richard Roth touted low turnout predictions during the Papal visit: “Some Church officials this morning were already lowering expectations, saying seats were still unsold for several outdoor events.” Phillips described the trip as “A test of whether Pope Benedict can get his message across over the background noise of the Church’s child abuse scandal. And that test gets harder as time goes on.” He went on to observe “This Pope finds himself with an ironic challenge, he bemoans the weakening role of religion in everyday life, yet it is the Church’s very own public struggle with its child-molesting priests that is helping to drive people away.” Phillips concluded his report by highlighting the Pope’s critics: “And, of course, the protesters against child abuse, for gay rights and other issues, promise to follow him wherever he goes.” On Thursday , Roth proclaimed the Pontiff’s visit was “bound to be shadowed by controversy along with ceremony” and  “courts criticism on a range of issues.” Here is a full transcript of Phillips’s September 17 report: 7:10AM ET SEGMENT: JEFF GLOR: Today is the second day of the Pope’s historic visit to Great Britain. And today he meets the leader of the Anglican church. This morning, Pope Benedict went to an outdoor prayer meeting at a school outside London. And CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips is in Twickenham this morning. Mark, good morning. MARK PHILLIPS: Good morning, Jeff. Well, this is, in fact, turning out to be more than just a Papal visit, it’s turning into a test. A test of whether Pope Benedict can get his message across over the background noise of the Church’s child abuse scandal. And that test gets harder as time goes on. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Papal Pilgrimage; Pope Benedict XVI Confronts Controversies in UK] Pope Benedict brought his message to the classroom today, visiting a Catholic school in suburban London. This Pope finds himself with an ironic challenge, he bemoans the weakening role of religion in everyday life, yet it is the Church’s very own public struggle with its child-molesting priests that is helping to drive people away. POPE BENEDICT XVI: The life of faith can only be effectively nurtured when the prevailing atmosphere is one of respectful and affectionate trust. PHILLIPS: Pope Benedict has proved on this trip that he can still draw a crowd. Yet, impressive though the 65,000-strong open-air mass in Scotland was yesterday, it was only about a quarter of the size of the crowd Pope John Paul drew to the same park on his visit 28 years ago. And this crowd had a much better warm-up act, the former Scottish choir girl turned TV talent show star and internet sensation, Susan Boyle, who sang a medley of her hits. This is being billed as Pope Benedict’s most political day of the visit. He meets with the Archbishop of Canterbury, as you said, and he also gives a speech to British parliamentarians. And, of course, the protesters against child abuse, for gay rights and other issues, promise to follow him wherever he goes. Jeff. GLOR: Alright, Mark Phillips, this morning. Mark, thank you very much.

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Christiane Amanpour Gushes to Hillary: Was Daughter’s Wedding as Tough as Peace in the Middle East?

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

This Week anchor Christiane Amanpour appeared on Thursday’s Good Morning America and offered a softball question to Hillary Clinton about her daughter’s wedding. After discussing Middle East peace, Amanpour gushed, “And of all of the things you have undertaken over the last several months, was your daughter’s wedding- where does that fit in there? And hard? Difficult?” The ABC host was previewing a longer interview scheduled for Sunday’s edition of This Week. GMA co-host Robin Roberts cheered, “From the politicians hoping to make history in November, to one politician trying to make history right now.” Amanpour has a history of lauding Clinton. On May 14, 1999 , the journalist complimented the “dignity” the then-First Lady showed during the Monica Lewinsky scandal: “A lot of the women that I meet from traveling overseas are very impressed by you and admire your dignity. A lot of the people you meet are people who suffered, people you saw today, and who believe that they identify with you because they have seen you suffer. And in a speech in Africa last year, you spoke about living for hope and reconciliation, living for forgiveness and reconstruction, and living for a new life – have you been able to apply that to your own circumstances? Have you been able to forgive your husband?” — CNN’s Christiane Amanpour to Hillary Clinton in Macedonia after a tour of refugee camps, May 14, 1999. For the full interview with the Secretary of State, see Sunday’s This Week. To read the MRC’s Profile in Bias on Amanpour, go here . A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:11am EDT, follows: ROBIN ROBERTS: From the politicians hoping to make history in November, to one politician trying to make history right now. Hillary Clinton is in Israel this morning, attempting to broker a landmark peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. And that’s where Christiane Amanpour sat down with the secretary of state for an exclusive interview. Did this just a short time ago. Christiane, so good of you to join us this morning from Jerusalem. And is Hillary Clinton making any progress? CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Good morning, Robin. She says yes. All the officials say yes, including the participants, Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas. Apparently they’ve gotten down to core issues already. And they’re doing that in a serious way. But, the huge ten-ton elephant in the room is the looming end to Israel’s moratorium on settlement building. I asked Secretary Clinton if there’s any progress, any flexibility towards keeping the moratorium on? She wouldn’t go into specifics, other than to say the two sides must stay at the table. There is this moratorium that’s looming on the horizon. Are the talks going in a constructive way? HILLARY CLINTON: Yes. I would say they’re in a constructive channel. And that has been, you know, very reassuring to us. AMANPOUR: President Obama has said that given the talks going in a constructive way, there should be- Israel should continue the moratorium on settlements. Do you believe that will happen? CLINTON: Well, that certainly is our hope. Now, we’ve also said that we’ll support an agreement that is reached between the parties. It took a lot of political capital for Prime Minister Netanyahu to achieve this moratorium. It had never been done before. At the same time, it’s been in effect for the time it was set for. And the talks are just starting. So, we are working hard to make sure there remains a conducive atmosphere to constructive talks. AMANPOUR: While nobody will confirm exactly what might be flexibility, we’re hearing that there may be an extension or there may be calls or an extension of the moratorium for about three months or so. In addition, Secretary Clinton is now on her way to Jordan, where she will meet with other Arab leaders, such as King Abdullah of Jordan on this issue, Robin. ROBERTS: But, back here at home, a lot of talk about the Tea Party. I know you asked the secretary about that, too. AMANPOUR: I did. She refused to talk politics. She said, “I’m not in that anymore.” But she did say, when asked how would some of these candidates, if they become senators or representatives, affect U.S. foreign policy, this is what she had to say. Is it possible to have the President’s foreign policy agenda, you know, furthered, even if a lot of Tea Party candidates do end up being the candidate [sic]? CLINTON: Well, I’ve seen a lot of people run for office and say a lot of things. And then, when they have the burden of holding office and the responsibility that goes with it, I’ve seen them become very sobered very quickly about the challenges that we face domestically and internationally. You know, nobody said it better than Mario Cuomo when he said, “You campaign in poetry and govern in prose.” And, you know, sometimes the poetry can get hot and a little over the top. But the prose brings you down to earth. AMANPOUR: And of all of the things you have undertaken over the last several months, was your daughter’s wedding- where does that fit in there? And hard? Difficult? CLINTON: It was the most wonderful experience. But, as I confessed leading up to it, it was stressful. I think being a mother of the bride is stressful under any circumstances. Doing it long-distance, jet lagged, on planes, in the midst of diplomatic negotiations, made it a little more so. AMANPOUR: Now, negotiators are still, now talking about another meeting for when to get the principals together. We don’t know when that will be. But we know it will be soon. ROBERTS: I know you had a wide-ranging conversation with the secretary. Christiane, thank you so much. Safe travels. We’ll see you soon. And Christiane will have much more on her conversation with the secretary. And also is going to sit down with the Iranian President, Ahmadinejad. And you’ll see it all on This Week, Sunday morning. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, I think doing the seating at that wedding would rival putting together Middle East peace. ROBERTS: I think she’s on to something there.

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CBS ‘Early Show’: Pope’s Visit to UK Source of ‘Criticism’ and ‘Controversy’

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

At the top of Thursday’s CBS Early Show, fill-in co-host Erica Hill teased a report on Pope Benedict’s visit to Scotland: “…it’s a rather controversial visit for a number of reasons.” Later, correspondent Richard Roth proclaimed the state visit “has more pomp and potentially more problems” and would “bound to be shadowed by controversy along with ceremony.” Roth went on to tout a gaffe made by a Papal aide prior to the trip and noted how the Pope “courts criticism on a range of issues , from the visit’s cost – figured at around $20 million – to the cover-up of sex abuse among Catholic clergyman.” He also highlighted predictions of low turnouts at Papal events during the visit: “[Benedict’s] welcome will be measured, in part, by the size of his crowds. Some Church officials this morning were already lowering expectations, saying seats were still unsold for several outdoor events.” In fact, about 125,00 people lined the streets of Edinburgh to see the Pope’s motorcade, with 65,000 attending a later outdoor mass. The only positive comment about the Papal visit was a sound bite of Queen Elizabeth welcoming the Pontiff: “On behalf of the people of the United Kingdom, I wish you a most fruitful and memorable visit.” Roth concluded his report this way: “This is a country with a strong anti-clerical streak and a critical press. But, one leading paper’s comment here that Benedict’s ‘entering the lion’s den,’ may also reflect a flare for dramatic overstatement.” The Early Show has a history of depicting the Pope and the Catholic Church as controversial. On March 19 , correspondent Allen Pizzey pronounced that allegations of child sexual abuse within the Church amounted to “a scandal that’s threatening to become a plague of biblical proportions.” Ahead of Pope Benedict’s first visit to the United States in April of 2008 , co-host Harry Smith claimed that Americans were “unsure and fearful” of the new Pontiff because of his commitment to traditional Catholic values. Here is a full transcript of Roth’s September 16 report: 7:01AM ET TEASE: ERICA HILL: We’re going to take a look, too, coming up in the broadcast, at the Pope’s visit to the UK, arriving there today. And really it’s a rather controversial visit for a number of reasons. But he’s also been speaking out more about the alleged sex abuse within the Catholic Church, really making some of his most pointed comments yet, saying the Church failed to act decisively or quickly enough to deal with priests who raped and molest children. And that, understandably, getting attention. 7:02AM ET SEGMENT: JEFF GLOR: We begin with the Pope’s visit. Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Scotland this morning. The first ever state visit by a pope to the UK. CBS News correspondent Richard Roth is in London this morning with more on that. Richard, good morning. RICHARD ROTH: Good morning, Jeff. Well, the last Papal trip here, by John Paul 28 years ago, was a pastoral visit. As an official state affair, Benedict’s trip has more pomp and potentially more problems. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Papal Pilgrimage; First State Visit to UK By A Pope] Greeted by the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and by an honor guard of the royal regiment of Scotland, Pope Benedict began a state visit that was bound to be shadowed by controversy along with ceremony. One Papal aide, a German cardinal, had to drop off the entourage, after likening Britain to a third world country, referring to its ethnic mix. The Vatican said the Cardinal had suddenly gotten sick. Benedict’s trip to Britain, which broke with the Vatican almost 500 years ago, courts criticism on a range of issues, from the visit’s cost – figured at around $20 million – to the cover-up of sex abuse among Catholic clergyman. Before arriving at the Queen Elizabeth’s Scottish palace, the Pope told Vatican reporters the scandal had been a shock to him, ‘a perversion in the priestly ministry,’ he called it. QUEEN ELIZABETH: On behalf of the people of the United Kingdom, I wish you a most fruitful and memorable visit. ROTH: The Queen is Benedict’s official host here, but his welcome will be measured, in part, by the size of his crowds. Some Church officials this morning were already lowering expectations, saying seats were still unsold for several outdoor events. This is a country with a strong anti-clerical streak and a critical press. But, one leading paper’s comment here that Benedict’s ‘entering the lion’s den,’ may also reflect a flare for dramatic overstatement. Jeff. GLOR: Alright, Richard Roth in London this morning. Richard, thank you.  

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Did Media Negligently Create Koran Burning Controversy?

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

As the ninth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, and Americans fret about a Pastor they never heard of burning Korans to commemorate the event, people on both sides of the political aisle should be asking a serious question: did the media negligently create this controversy? After all, Terry Jones has a tiny, 50 member, non-denominational church in Gainesville, Florida. Should some unknown Pastor – with a following smaller than what’s normally in line at an In-n-Out restaurant drive-thru! – wanting to burn Korans generate such a media firestorm that an international incident and our national security are threatened? As Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel wrote Wednesday, if you knew the real attention-getting background of Jones, the answer would be a definitive “No”:   This is a guy who looks like Jed Clampett wearing a Hulk Hogan mustache, who uses words like “tragical,” who earlier this year launched a “No homo mayor” campaign against a candidate in Gainesville . Last year Jones sent the kids of the congregation off to school in “Islam is of the devil” T-shirts. Of course they got booted, which got Jones an enticing taste of media attention. With none of this getting Jones the attention he craved, he decided to put a truck in a field with a sign on it saying, “International Burn a Koran Day”: It was like the three strawberries coming into alignment on a million-dollar slot machine. The New York Times and The Associated Press whipped out their notepads. The networks and cable stations broke out the indignant anchors. Indeed they did as evidenced by NewsBusters reports here and here . And, as Thomas pointed out, Jones is just eating it up: This is someone who can barely scrape together enough people to carry a tune in church, and now he has the world breathlessly waiting for his next words. He is a regular Moses on the mountaintop, urging the spineless Christians to take a stand against the Muslim hordes. That all this might get some 20-year-old kid from Ohio blown away in Afghanistan isn’t about to stop Jones now. The good pastor has done found his version of 72 virgins and is living in paradise. Indeed. And who are really to blame? We created the Rev. Terry Jones from dust. And in two weeks, to dust he shall return. Then we’ll move on to the guys who plan to run over the Quran at their monster-truck pull. Whatever it takes to keep your attention. We could help head off such future nonsense if we folded up the circus tent and left Jones alone with his blowtorch and 30 followers. Maybe if Gen. Petraeus told the media that it isn’t Rev. Jones who is endangering troops. That it is our coverage of Rev. Jones. That without us, this book burning would be little more than a grainy video on YouTube . Exactly. America like any country has its share of crazy people with crazy ideas. If such folks were ignored rather than given such a huge platform to spread their word from, we would all be the better for it. Unfortunately, just as media were exactly what Jones needed, he fit their bill perfectly. For weeks now, the press as a result of America’s opposition to the Ground Zero mosque have been trying to convince the citizenry that we are an Islamophobic nation that hates Muslims. Despite the lack of any supporting evidence, this has been the media narrative for approaching a month. With this in mind, an attention-seeking, unknown Pastor advertising a Koran bonfire was exactly what the press needed to prove once and for all just how much antipathy there is for Muslims here. Sadly, they gave this guy his fifteen minutes of fame without any regard for the harm that could be done to Americans living abroad, in particular those fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. More hypocritically, so-called journalists are now blaming Jones for endangering the lives of others. Wouldn’t this not be the case if they ignored him? Isn’t it all the press attention he’s gotten that has actually caused this controversy? If media really are worried that his actions might result in an international incident, given how few people there are in his own area that care what he’s got to say, couldn’t they just similarly pay him no mind? Consider that Gainesville and surrounds has 258,000 residents. This means that two-hundredths of one percent of the population of this city are members of his church. Right now there are probably more media vans in Gainesville than people who care what this guy says. Can’t press members claiming they’re concerned with what his Koran burning will do just pack up those vans, go home, and do us all a favor? If nobody was there to cover the event Saturday, maybe Jones would change his mind and start thinking up his next attention-getting event. On the flipside, this controversy has done us all a favor in exposing the media’s hypocrisy concerning so-called “Islamophobia.” Consider that the press are largely in favor of the Ground Zero mosque despite being in the minority concerning this matter. They base their view on the Islamic center backers having the Constitutional right to build at that location regardless of how anyone feels about it. Yet, these same people are now in an uproar over Jones without a care for his Constitutional right to burn Korans. As such, the media have shown themselves far more concerned for the feelings and the rights of Muslims than Judeo-Christians, and far more worried about offending foreigners than the 67 percent of Americans who are opposed to the Ground Zero mosque. I guess we have Jones to thank for making this hypocrisy apparent to us. 

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USA Today Blogger Annoyed by Ground Zero Mosque/Auschwitz Convent Analogies

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

“Ground Zero is not Auschwitz, so why all the analogies?” USA Today religion blogger Cathy Lynn Grossman asks that question with the headline of her August 18 Faith & Reason post . Grossman explained that the comparison stems from conservatives who pointed out an incident in the early 1990s when Pope John Paul II halted a planned convent near the Auschwitz concentration camp. The nuns had every right to build the convent, but it was unwise and insensitive to do so, leading the pontiff to scrap the plan. By way of analogy, Muslims have every right to build a mosque near Ground Zero, but the insensitivity of doing so blocks from the site of the deadliest radical Islamic terror attack in U.S. history should lead Muslim leaders to call for the project to be scrapped. But Grossman then went on to quote two liberals who reject the Auschwitz analogy as invalid before she conflated the Ground Zero mosque issue with isolated incidents across the country where other folks are raising NIMBY objections to mosques in their hometowns (emphasis Grossman’s): Meanwhile, none of the analogies flying about address whether people who are enraged at Islam care about individual Muslms or mosque zoning — from Manhattan, to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to Temecula, Calif., where a Baptist pastor objects to a mosque planned for near his church. And New York Gov. David Paterson will soon meet with Cordoba Initiative planners behind the lower Manhattan community center to discuss the location. Does this sound familiar? Are we still on the post from earlier this week? Is anywhere far enough away to suit critics? How do you apply the First Amendment here?

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‘The Other Guys’ Uses Michael Moore Tactics to Vilify CEOs, Investors, Wall Street

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

When the credits are the most intriguing part of the movie, there’s a problem. In the new film “The Other Guys,” starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, two mismatched cops try to make a name for themselves by investigating a potential Ponzi scheme run by a corrupt investor. The villain is a pseudo-Bernie Madoff but rather than vilifying a single fraud, director Adam McKay (“Anchorman,” “Step Brothers”) lumped all investors together and attacked Wall Street as a whole. “The Other Guys” is a funny but not hilarious movie for 1 hour and 47 minutes but instead of simply rolling the credits and letting viewers leave smiling, McKay followed with graphics criticizing Wall Street and corporate executives. It was almost as if Michael Moore filmed the closing credits, as graphics included the anatomy of a Ponzi scheme, the ratio of CEO to employee salaries, a comparison of the New York Police Department’s pension fund to an average CEO’s pension fund, an average worker’s 401(k) account compared to a CEO’s, and the amount of taxes Goldman Sachs paid after the bailout. While the credits provided the most egregious anti-business attacks, there were other subtle pokes at business and Republicans within the film. For example, the villain, named David Ershon (whose last name rhymes eerily with ‘Enron’), is seen in a photograph with former President George W. Bush and is said to be friends with conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Other chides included Ershon stealing from both the lottery and the NYPD pension fund — essentially stealing money from the state and a labor union — and the villains’ drive SUV’s while the heroes drive a Toyota Prius. The film grossed $35.5 million its opening weekend and has been a hit with film critics in the liberal media. According to  rottentomatoes.com , “The Other Guys” has a 77 percent “fresh” rating from critics, with The Washington Post giving it a B and Entertainment Weekly giving it an A-. Of course, the film reviewers have reveled in the anti-Wall Street message, such as Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman: “A Wall Street villain (Steve Coogan) who embodies the sins of our time with a relative absence of cheek.” A.O. Scott, film critic for The New York Times, was disappointed by the “tease” of the end credits and pined for a stronger attack: “It may be that no team can humble the unrepentant fat cats of the financial sector, but it would be nice to give Mr. Ferrell and Mr. Wahlberg a shot.” In a way, Scott is correct: the film would have been a fun, goofy movie but the end credits suggested something more. It was almost as if McKay was adamant about attacking Wall Street but wasn’t confident that the film’s plot executed his attack, so he included the graphics at the end to reinforce his message. Given that McKay is a guest blogger for The Huffington Post and Ferrell’s history of impersonating Bush, another Hollywood film with a liberal agenda shouldn’t be a surprise. As the Business & Media Institute noted, TV characters are  21 times more likely to be killed by a businessman than the mob , and  50 percent of the villains  in 2005’s Oscar-nominated movies were businessmen. However, these movies relied on their plots and characters to promote their liberal agendas rather than colorful graphics over the end credits. Like this article? Then sign up for our newsletter,   The Balance Sheet .

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HuffPo Columnist Celebrates ‘Slow, Whining Death’ of Christianity

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

It’s not often you see an obituary as snarky and bitter as the one written by British columnist Johann Hari announcing what he called the “slow, whining death of British Christianity” in the UK edition of GQ and online at The Huffington Post. Citing an unlinked ICM study, which is not available on the organization’s website, Hari called on reader to “put your hands together and give thanks, for I come bearing Good News. My country,Britain, is now on the most irreligious country on earth.” Hari called Christianity, “superstition,” “weak,” “cruel,” and based on “intimidation.” He predicted that, “As their dusty Churches crumble because nobody wants to go there” and predicted that “the few remaining Christians in Britain will only become more angry and uncomprehending.” While he mentioned Judaism and Islam twice, Hari focused his ridicule on Christianity and the Church of England. He used the survey to call for an end to government support for Anglicanism. Hari reported that 63 percent of British respondents called themselves non-believers, and “only six percent of British people regularly attend religious services.” While religious believers might find such number disheartening, Hari celebrated. “Now, let us stand and sing our new national hymn: Jerusalem was dismantled here / in England’s green and pleasant land.” He concluded by stating he had “a Holy Lamb of God to carve into kebabs – it’s our new national dish. Amen, and hallelujah.” Hari’s snide obituary may be early, however. A  BBC Religion poll  conducted in March 2010 found 64 percent of Brits identify as Christians – 25 percent identified with no religion, and 22 percent said they were Muslim.  Another poll  conducted in 2009 found that 63 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, “Our laws should respect and be influenced by UKreligious values.” Additionally, the annual  British Social Attitudes Report , published in January 2010, found that only 18 percent of Brits said they don’t believe in God, while 18.6 percent were unsure. More than 62 percent expressed some faith in God. Like this article? Sign up for “Culture Links,” CMI’s weekly e-mail newsletter, by   clicking   here.

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Portuguese Playboy Depicts Jesus Observing Sex Scenes

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Marking the death of an atheist by depicting Jesus Christ in sex scenes might seem like a non-sequitur. Somehow, it made sense to the Portuguese edition of Playboy magazine. The magazine features an actor portraying Jesus in at least four pornographic photos, including the cover, where he cradles an apparently dead – and bare-breasted – woman. Another photo depicts Jesus watching a lesbian kiss, while another shows him observing a topless woman reading a book. The images are reportedly meant to commemorate the death of Portuguese author Jose Saramago. He wrote, among many other books, “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ,” which ” explored the psychological motivations  that led Jesus to become a prophet.” Saramago  later wrote  that the controversy around the book led him to move fromPortugal to the Canary Islands. It’s not the first time an international edition of the “men’s magazine” has caused a stir by depicting a Christian figure. In its  December 2008 issue , the Mexican edition featured a model dressed – barely – like the Virgin Mary The U.S. edition of the magazine raised the ire of political conservatives in 2009 when it published  an article by Guy Cimbalo  in which he described the violent sexual acts he wanted to commit against conservative women, calling the acts a “hate f***.”

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Disappointing, but not Unexpected: HuffPo ‘Comedy’ Celebrates ‘Tea Party Jesus’

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

It’s a curious phenomenon to see what the minds at The Huffington Post deem funny, and at least this one wasn’t filed under the category “HuffPo Religion,” but a series of images depicting Jesus Christ making unhinged statements wins the HuffPo’s “Comedy” classification. In a June 30 post , Katla McGlynn wrote that mocking Tea Party protestors by “juxtaposing” “hateful, ignorant, or otherwise nonsensical rants” but at the same time mocking a religious figure many hold very is sacred isn’t only funny but it is also instructive about what she described as “people who claim to be Christians.” “The concept behind the site Tea Party Jesus is simple: Put the words of conservative Christian social and political figures in the mouth of Christ,” McGlynn wrote. “The juxtaposition of hateful, ignorant, or otherwise nonsensical rants with serene photos of JC himself isn’t only funny, but says a lot about the people who claim to be Christians.” According to the Huffington Post story, the creator of Tea Party Jesus impose actual quotes from various conservative figures on someone who according to Scripture led the perfect life, but it is done in a comic book form – which somehow makes this funny. Some of quotes used by the creator were originally meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but somehow it’s hard to imagine one could catch that context when it is used in such a way. Nonetheless, McGlynn included remarks about Guantanamo Bay, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the earthquake in Haiti and same-sex marriage – all from individuals deemed to be “tea partiers.”

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American Atheist Editor: Christian Daycare is ‘Child Abuse’

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

“He’s got the whole world in his hands?” To one atheist, it’s more like ‘He’s got the whole world under his thumb.” David Smalley, the editor of American Atheist magazine and a self-described “civil rights activist,” wrote in a  personal blog post June 7  that Christian daycare “a form of child abuse.” “In short, by starting your child off in a Christian environment, you are heading them down a path of forced ignorance,” Smalley wrote. “At least let your child begin in a secular world, and if he or she chooses Christianity after an age of accountability, then so be it. But forcing them to learn things as fact that you don’t even know to be true is a form of child abuse: inducing psychosis with thoughts of good and evil watching over them, as if they are constantly being graded or evaluated.” Smalley further stereotyped and generalized religion-based childcare by suggesting “it’s bad for positive self-esteem, and slows social development later in life.” American Atheist magazine is published by American Atheists, which calls itself “the premiere organization laboring for the civil liberties of Atheists, and the total, absolute separation of government and religion.” Smalley’s post appeared on his blog, Dogma Debate. He also hosts an Internet radio show of the same name.

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