TWATs for Week Ending 3/20/22

It is with great joy that I open with this bit of news – Raif Badawi https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/raif-badawi-freedom-1.6381576 has been freed!! According to Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/11/saudi-blogger-raif-badawi-released-from-prison “A Saudi security official also confirmed that Badawi was no longer in prison, and said that he had been “released today”. That is as of March 11, 2022.

One point that must be kept in mind, Raif's sentencing also included a 10-year travel ban as well as a 10 year social media ban. It is with great hope my next mention of Raif will will be his departure from Saudi and stepping into the embrace of his wife and 3 kids.

As I noted in episode 3 (2/27/22), the Florida House passed the Parental Rights in Education bill. https://time.com/6155905/florida-dont-say-gay-passed/ What critics are calling, once one gets passed the headlines, the “Don't Say Gay” bill has now passed the Florida Senate and is awaiting DeSantis' signature.

What is concerning, the broad wording of the law could open the door for lawsuits about instruction provided in grade levels higher than the third grade.

“Let us be clear: should the vague language of this bill be interpreted in any way that causes harm to a single child, teacher, or family, we will lead legal action against the State of Florida to challenge this bigoted legislation,” tweeted the LGBTQ advoacy group Equality Florida on Tuesday.

Constitutionally teachers have little to rely on, students OTOH have the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School. The Supreme Court held that schools could not shut down student speech without passing the "substantial disruption" test.

Texas and Florida are in a race to the bottom regarding LGBT+ issues and the treatment of kids in public schools. Sadly 7 other states will be joining them shortly.

(See also:: OA577: This Week in ‘Republicans Are Horrendously Evil’ https://openargs.com/oa577-this-week-in-republicans-are-horrendously-evil/)

 

I have read some crazy shit in my day, but this has got to be a new one. https://www.vice.com/en/article/pan939/chinese-woman-inject-herself-fruit-juice-nearly-dies

“I had thought fresh fruits were very nutritious and it would not do me harm by injecting them into my body” Zeng told the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald.

It's nice to realize that medical stupidity is a global problem!!

 

With as vocal as Michele Bachmann has been of late, I am seriously wondering if she is considering a comeback in 2024. What I am contemplating, what reality does she lives in. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=335495048613555

 

A lawmaker in Russia has demanded the United States return Alaska to Russia as a reparation for American-led sanctions crippling his country's economy following the invasion of Ukraine.

Parliament member Oleg Matveychev made those demands, along with saying he also wanted America to return Fort Ross in California, during an interview on Sunday,,, https://wjactv.com/news/nation-world/russian-lawmaker-demands-america-return-alaska-and-pay-reparations-due-to-sanctions-ukraine-oleg-matveychev-kremlin-fort-ross-california-antartic-ocean-economy

 

But,,, this is what scarce me,

In the surreal world of Russian state television, Russia is about to prevail in its war against Ukraine, which is being presented as a battle against the United States and NATO. According to top Kremlin propagandists, it’s only a matter of time before the West admits its defeat and pays reparations to Moscow or risks a devastating nuclear strike. https://www.thedailybeast.com/wild-kremlin-tv-hosts-threaten-the-us-with-nuclear-strikes-unless-sanctions-end-and-reparations-are-paid

A scary read!!

 

Lauren Witzke, the Delaware GOP's candidate for Senate in 2020, declares that we should bring back arranged marriages while interviewing far-right streamer Jared Noble (aka "Woozuh") who says that "women are currency to be bartered and traded." https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=247183727537356

Troll or not this biotch is agreeing with every word he says. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=247183727537356 If she likes her podcasting she may want to reconsider her stance.

 

And this ding-dong would have no memory of the damage the Satanic Panic caused, specifically the McMartin Trials https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial and the Oak Hill Satanic Ritual Abuse trials of Fran and Dan Keller. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Hill_satanic_ritual_abuse_trial

As Hemant notes, https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/gop-candidate-witches-at-my-preschool-tried-luring-me-into-satanism/

It’s not the first time Hamm has said something like this. Last September, she claimed God wanted her to run for office and that her ten-year-old son was a prophet. In October, she told an audience about a dream she had that included a robber, prayer, and a dead neighbor witch lady. (When asked for evidence, she said she had none.) And this past January, she told a long story about selling her house after her “prophet” son told her to,,,

Hamm is a Republican candidate to become California’s next Secretary of State.

 

It's hard to believe that 6 1/2-7 yrs on, I am STILL freaking writing about this case. It was 2015 when Kim Davis https://www.wkyt.com/2022/03/18/breaking-federal-judge-rules-kim-davis-violated-couples-constitutional-rights-will-go-trial-over-damages/ had her 15 minutes of fame. But it has taken a federal judge this long to rule that the former Rowan County Clerk violated the constitutional rights of two same-sex couples when she denied them marriage licenses during the summer of 2015. The judge David L. Bunning granted summary judgment in a civil lawsuit that the two couples, David Ermold and David Moore, and James Yates and Will Smith, filed against Davis.

No decision has been made yet on whether Davis will be on the hook for the legal fees accrued over the six-and-a-half years of litigation. 

 

With that, I bring this weeks episode to a close by presenting YTer TREY the Explainer. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOuWeOkMrq84u5LY6apWQ8Q

As Trey notes in his tag line, “Explain Everything...and more!”

ADDENDUM::Kim Davis opposes Kentucky’s separate but equal marriage license bill.

The Republican-dominated Kentucky Senate recently voted overwhelmingly to create a separate-but-equal marriage license system in the state: Opposite-sex couples may continue to call themselves bride and groom on the license, while same-sex couples can use a different form that refers to first party and second party. Republicans claim that the system was designed to “respect traditional marriage”; as John Culhane explained in Slate, the obvious actual purpose is to “disparage same-sex couples by bundling them into an android space.” (One clue as to the bill’s true intention: Republicans rejected an amendment that would create one form for everyone and allow couples to choose among the terms husband, wife, and spouse.)

Everyone is calling the Kentucky measure the “Kim Davis bill,” after the infamous Rowan County clerk who denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples last summer. But as Kentucky Sen. Morgan McGarvey—who proposed the amendment calling for a single form—wrote on Facebook, Davis actually opposes the separate-but-equal system. Instead, she supported McGarvey’s alternative, agreeing with his proposition that “one form is easier to handle, less expensive and puts everyone on equal footing”:

Kim Davis opposes Kentucky’s separate but equal marriage license bill.

Kentucky senate approves separate marriage licenses for gay couples – LGBTQ Nation

Kentucky‘s state Senate approved a bill Thursday that creates different marriage license forms for gay and straight couples, with one Republican senator saying any form that does not include the words “bride” and “groom” is disrespectful to traditional families.

The primary purpose of the legislation was to remove the names of county clerks from marriage licenses, a response to the controversy surrounding Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis and her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

But the Republican controlled Senate amended the bill as a way to show their support for traditional marriage. Former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear changed the marriage license form last summer once same-sex marriages became legal, removing “bride” and “groom” and replacing it with “first party” and “second party.”
,,,
Republican Sen. Stephen West, the sponsor of the bill and whose district includes Rowan County, said gay couples could choose to use the “bride” and “groom” form if they wished.

Kentucky senate approves separate marriage licenses for gay couples – LGBTQ Nation

ADDENDUM::Kim Davis is obeying her orders, and issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples – LGBTQ Nation

 Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has obeyed orders to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the months since she spent five nights in jail for refusing to do so, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

United States District Judge David Bunning denied the American Civil Liberties Union’s request to order Davis to reissue licenses she had altered to remove her name and title or face the possibility of further punishment. He found that Davis has allowed her deputies to issue licenses to anyone eligible since September and that the altered licenses are likely valid under Kentucky law.
,,,
On Tuesday, Bunning found that Davis has been complying with his order and that “there is every reason to believe that any altered licenses … would be recognized under Kentucky law,” rendering the ACLU’s request “moot.”

Kim Davis is obeying her orders, and issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples – LGBTQ Nation

January 5, 2016::End of the day round-up

This Pastafarian just schooled Georgia officials for refusing to respect his spaghetti-worshipping religion

A so-called “Pastafarian” who claims to worship the “Flying Spaghetti Monster” is fighting Georgia officials for the right to wear a spaghetti colander in his official driver’s license photo.

Chris Avino said the state’s decision to bar him from wearing the religious headgear violated his First Amendment rights — and on Twitter he suggests he’s preparing legal action against the state.

The state initially allowed Avino to wear a colander on his head for a temporary driver’s license photo, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explained, but officials recently decided that he would need to take a new photo — without the colander.

A follow-up to a story posted previous,,,

Raw Story Uses Video Editing To Defame Kent Hovind

The section that Raw Story excerpted from starts around 4:56 and runs to around 8:00 for a total of over 3 minutes of which Raw Story included less than half. The part that Raw Story left out was Kent explaining why he did not think the particular passages from Acts under discussion were contradictions. Kent's riff, included by Raw Story was about what purpose apparent contradictions might serve. There is a bit of Hovind grandiosity there as he indicates that the heavenly father is doing things much as Kent would if he were the big guy, but Kent Hovind is not saying that there are contradictions in the bible,

 Pennsylvania Man Fakes Tumor To Swindle Church, Friends: Cops

To pay tribute we wanted to reflect on what she meant to others and listen to their stories and experiences with this amazing individual who has passed away on December 25, 2015. To honor her legacy, a panel made up of Aron Ra, David Fitzgerald, Miguel Conner, and Dr. Robert Price along with the Mythicist Milwaukee team, discussed the impact that Acharya’s work and friendship had on their lives.



A New Year's Resolution For Science Advocates: Don't Cry Wolfe

A Challenge to WND and David Barton on Thomas Jefferson and Slavery

Let me issue a challenge to Barton and World Net Daily: Allow me space to rebut these promo pieces. Stop misrepresenting my arguments and the evidence and link to this post. Right now, your behavior is a right wing version of the liberal bias you assert is true of the mainstream media. If you are so sure you are correct, then have the courage to back it up.

 Gordon Klingenschmitt Blames Demonic Influence For Failure To Defund Planned Parenthood

"So you see the invisible spirits, the Holy Spirit of God with his angels and the demonic spirits are speaking to each of these human actors in this scenario. And we can discern, for example, upon those who promote a pro-abortion agenda the demonic spirit of murder who is influencing them and forcing us, as taxpayers, to collaborate with them to fund the killing of innocent children and that is wrong and that is evil and that is demonic."

Pondering,,,

We all know that Ray Comfort is an idiot and any other adjective you would like to assign to him. I like to "know thine enemies" and came across this gem whilst looking for something else. I didn't make it past the first 10 minutes of the promo before vomit began to rise.

Anyways, I know this hack job is a few years old but the first thing that jumped out was Comfort's attempt to equate evolution to a religious belief.. But there is no "faith" involved (something he tries to make a point of further along). 

One either accepts the evidence for evolution or one does not. Evolution is based in the scientific method, religion is not. Religion is based on revelation and can not be objectively verified.

Evolution answers "how" life came to be where it is today. Religion tries to provide an answer for "why" we are here. Two distinct questions. Regardless of whether Creationism or ID, evolution is scientific fact.

I know I'm speaking to the choir but there is a point that I hope to get to later in the month (maybe,,,lol) that goes along the line of, "woo" never saved anyone's ass but science does. It is something I am reminded of every morning since July when I wake up and pop my pills that keeps my brain from exploding again

Theocracy alert! Justice Scalia says U.S. honors ‘God,’ not religious neutrality

Clearly, Justice Antonin Scalia does not understand what the framers understood. In a speech Saturday at a Louisiana Catholic high school, he claimed that the Constitution doesn’t require governmental religious neutrality. He also made an embarrassing show of “God is on our side” hubris by proclaiming:

“God takes care of little children, drunkards and the United States of America. I think that’s true. God has been very good to us. One of the reasons God has been good to us is that we have done him honor.” (The first part of the quote was lifted from a very similar one that first appeared in 1856 in Harper’s magazine.)

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Scalia told a small audience at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie that just because the First Amendment forbids the government from playing favorites among the various sects, that doesn’t mean the government can’t favor religion over nonreligion.

If people want strict prohibition against government endorsement of religion, let them vote on it, Scalia said, adding ungrammatically, “Don’t cram it down the throats of an American people that has always honored God on the pretext that the Constitution requires it.”

Scalia thus denied that the Bill of Rights was adopted, in part, to ensure that some rights, such as freedom of conscience, would be placed above the vicissitudes of tyranny of the majority.

 Kim Davis Predicts She Is 'Just The First Of What's Going To Be Very Many'

“The stand I took affects every church, every person that lives and loves God, that holds the word of God precious and dear and intimate in their lives,” Davis told EWTN’s Catherine Szeltner in an interview broadcast on December 17. “I’m just the first of what’s going to be very many. You can rest assured of that. And it’s not if it happens, it’ll be when it happens. And maybe my stand will encourage others who will be in the same position.”

Szeltner reported that Davis told her that her time in jail was a “joyful and peaceful time” and that she “knows that it is a possibility” she’ll return.

 

5th Annual International Day of Protest Against Hereditary Religion - taking place on January 23rd of 2016

Cancer quack Dr. Stan Burzynski is attempting to dodge his court hearing date. He brought a doctor's note. Really, it's a note. "Please excuse Stanley (sic) from gym, I mean, the hearing." He is suffering from heart artery blockages. See the court filling here. https://t.co/NcsRq8MLUG

Show Notes:: Not So Fast - Dred Scott

So, I wasn't going to do this to myself so soon but we are going to revisit the Kim Davis Affair - sorta.  If you remember, in my first contribution to the fracas  I talked a bit about special pleading or Christian exceptionalism; the "I'm special" mentality. 

Today I want to look at one specific argument that has been flaunted in Davis' defense:

,,,the Dred Scott decision of 1857 still remains to this day the law of the land which says that black people aren’t fully human,,,. Does anybody still follow the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision?  [:43]

Now I am certain the various analyses I read prior (for what I shall now call part one) have been correct, that Dred Scott  was overturned by the 13th and 14th amendments (1865 and 1868, respectively). So, no, it is no longer the law of the land.  And as I said previously, Huckabee was an ass, constitutionally speaking, in citing it as support for his cause.  But, something has been nagging at me,,,

I know the Reich is getting desperate, they are embracing scary levels of radicalism to seize power in any way that they can.  So, is,,,Huckabee "just" pandering to his base?  Or,,, is he really that stupid?  Personally I think I already know the answer, especially if one takes into account his statement in June regarding the King ruling concerning Obamacare, the other thorn in the Reich's side:

Today's King v. Burwell decision, which protects and expands ObamaCare, is an out-of-control act of judicial tyranny. Our Founding Fathers didn't create a "do-over" provision in our Constitution that allows unelected, Supreme Court justices the power to circumvent Congress and rewrite bad laws. The Supreme Court cannot legislate from the bench, ignore the Constitution, and pass,,,

Notice his verbiage, the talking points of the Reich,,, this is what is bothersome.

 

Nestled in a article, by contributing writer Danielle Allen over at WaPo, is a discussion of the underlying issue of both the DS and Obergefell rulings, the "question of property rights."

In referring to Kennedy's opinion, Allen asks,

,,,if marriage is just a mode of organizing property rights and attendant duties and privileges, why couldn’t gay couples be given access to those rights via another organizational form, for instance, civil union?

She then immediately reminds us,

But this would have been to permit the re-emergence of a world of separate but equal, where there is no justification for the separate vehicles other than animus and discrimination.

With his arguments about dignity, Kennedy reminds us that this world of “separate but equal” is firmly closed off,,,

Did you catch it? "But this would have been to permit the re-emergence of a world of separate but equal,,," [and we all know how well that worked out].

In other words, the ole Us vs Them mentality. Or "I'm special" because "I hold to the '"traditional' (religious) definition of marriage and you don't." 

Which brings us to the important word in Allen's concluding thought, "animus".

I have written about the UvT mentality a few times and how it is woven into the Reich's agenda.  It's importance was imparted on me via a Diane Benscoter TEDTalk titled  "How Cults Think" where she speaks of extreme religious batshittery as a brain virus (much like Dr. Darrell Ray in the God Virus, The: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture).

,,,the most dangerous part of this is that is creates "us" and "them," "right" and "wrong," "good" and "evil." And it makes anything possible. Makes anything rationalizable.

Benscoter expands that idea in a blog post where she talks further in regards to memeplexes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memeplex (groups of memes which have been used to understand, in this case, the phenomenon of religion).

This concept gives us a means to view, from an evolutionary perspective, how and why we have tended to clump together into groups with highly polarized ideologies. We can start to understand the pull to view the world from a “Us” versus “Them” perspective,,,.

And that my dears fits into the Reich's agenda like a hand fits a glove. 

Let me explain,,,

Two years ago, at the height of the Cliven Bundy v. BLM stand-off a writer for Truth Wins Out (TWO), Bruce Wilson, "discovered" the money behind the Reich.  An annual conference called – The Gathering, that gives away up to a billion dollars a year with much of the money given to Christian organizations (Alliance Defending Freedom, The World Congress of Families, Family Research Council, and American Family Association). The largest donor at this conference is the National Christian Foundation – which last year gave away $670 million dollars to various right wing causes.

Now unless you have been living under a rock, these are not only the main purveyors of hate (in the US and abroad - Uganda and Russia) but also the main driving forces behind ALL the faux religious liberty cases we have witnessed in recent years.  The take away, and why I mention this, as Wayne Besen (also of TWO) points out,

It is critically important to understand that the main goal of many of these extreme Christian fundamentalist groups is to take over nations and turn them into totalitarian theocracies. This includes the Untied [sic] States of America and helps explain why our politics are so polarized.

Do you get it now? 

What Besen did, is "come up with 10-Point Playbook that these homegrown Christian extremists use when they attempt to accomplish their frightening goals."  You will recognize this list as I have mentioned it before,

1) Find inflammatory wedge issues and scapegoats to divide people and force them to choose sides  [Marriage equality]

2) Persuade people to join your righteous “team” in its effort to purify society. Demand absolute loyalty and obedience to that team’s leaders (even above allegiance to the state) [American Family Association, Family Research Council]

3) Identify and cultivate key major donors to fund mission. To reward their support, back conservative economic policies [Koch Brothers, Greens (Hobby Lobby), Waltons (Walmart), John Schnatter (Papa Johns)]

4) Create parallel infrastructure and institutions (i.e. private education, conferences, think tanks, and charities)  [John Birch Society, Heritage Foundation, The Gathering]

5) Build an insular media cocoon to disseminate propaganda. This vast echo chamber is contemptuous of contradictory facts, suspicious of reason, and impervious to mainstream media scrutiny  [Fox News, BarbWire, Glenn Beck, WorldNetDaily]

6) Infiltrate society’s major institutions in a clandestine effort to undermine, influence, and ultimately control (See 7 Mountains Movement: government, education, family, religion, entertainment, business, and media)  [Texas State Board of Education]

7) Facilitate the decline of secular government by deliberately and persistently creating crises in confidence and eroding trust in venerable institutions  [GOP/TP, Gov't shutdown over Debt Ceiling, IRS and Benghazi]

8) Oppose all gun control laws and tacitly encourage local militias, so in the event of insurrection fundamentalists are the most well armed sector of society  [NRA, Gun Owners of America]

9) Constantly agitate and manufacture havoc, because theocracy can only be attained amid chaos. Without a functioning central government, the shadow infrastructure created by fundamentalists makes them the best situated to fill a vacuum, restore order at the price of liberty, and install their regime  [Racism,, see #7]

10) Export model abroad: Send influential emissaries and dedicated missionaries; deploy basic services to create dependence; and dispense money to acquire strategic local alliances; while organizing key international gatherings and fostering opposition at The United Nations…we’ve seen the manifestation of these efforts most notably in Uganda and Russia – with both nation’s veering far to the right, restricting freedom, and passing draconian anti-gay laws [Uganda, Russia]

So, I ask again, is Huckabee's use of this analogy, along with the rest of the Reich's cadre, incidental; based on just plain ignorance or stupidity.  Or is he, in a not so underhanded sort of way, stating "I have this plan you see. I really have no problem discriminating against a distinct class of people in order to carry this plan to fruition"

You have to remember, the Reich does have a plan, it begins with "a "reformed" interpretation of the Free Exercise Clause or an outright repeal of the First Amendment,  continuing with the abolition of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ending with the implementation of dominionist ideology in order to govern by theocratic control. 

I fell into a rabbit hole so maybe a part 3,,,

Republican Matt Bevin wants to redefine governor’s race on marriage equality – LGBTQ Nation

My question to Bevin would have been - were you ready and willing to pay $100K-700K+ in legal fees when ultimately "your" cause was a losing one?

“My intention has always been to execute this race on financial issues, on economic issues,” Bevin told reporters after the debate, which was sponsored by The Bluegrass Poll partners. “In the last several weeks, 85 percent of what people talk about are these social issues. … I think the issue has redefined this race whether any of us candidates want that to be the case or not.”

Conway, the two-term Democratic attorney general, tried to focus on economic issues, questioning Bevin’s handling of his personal and corporate taxes and his lack of support for public-private partnerships that Conway says will be crucial to creating job opportunities for Kentuckians in the next decade. But he spent a lot of time defending his decision to not appeal a federal judge’s decision to overturn Kentucky‘s same-sex marriage ban last year and his criticism of Davis for refusing to obey a federal judge’s order to issue marriage licenses.

“The state’s highest court has said my duty is to tell the state when things are unconstitutional. That’s what I did. I did that to save us money,” Conway told Bevin during one of the debate’s more heated exchanges. “And that is very different, Mr. Bevin, that is very different than ignoring a federal judge’s court order. We are a nation of laws.”

 Republican Matt Bevin wants to redefine governor’s race on marriage equality – LGBTQ Nation

Cult NewsDoes Kim Davis believe Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz are condemned to hell? - Cult News

Well this is interesting and Rick Ross does pose a vital question, "Does the newly anointed martyr for religious freedom really believe in religious freedom? Or is Kim Davis only posing as a mainstream Evangelical when she is really from a fringe Pentecostal group that condemns Christians who disagree with its doctrine?

Let's take that one step further and also throw into the mix this comment,

You miss the point of both Christianity and the First Amendment. To the prior: “… and in all things – charity”, and to the latter freedom of religion and expression is NOT limited to only that which squares with one’s own position. So there is no Constitutional nor Christian justification for Cruz and Huckabee to NOT support this lady, even if they don’t agree with her brand of theology. This is what TRUE tolerance is about,,,

 Oh really?!  Then please explain this,

See here for a full description of the interview in question.

Huckabee and Cruz should be all over this complaint by the logic presented by the comment.  But, alas, only the "right" GOD counts, ",,, By that I do not mean Allah, Buddha, etc., but rather I mean the YHWH – the great “I Am”, the God of the bible, Judaism and Christianity."

[Please note that I only use this complaint as a counter example of the Rights hypocritical stance on "religious freedom".  I have yet to read the complaint nor any documents or articles concerning this complaint other than a precursory view.  I provide Cenk Uygur's, host of the The Young Turks, break down as a preliminary overview but I do not necessarily agree with him without further examination.]

But I digress,,,

Kim Davis apparently has become a Christian martyr to some Evangelicals, including former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee and United States Senator Ted Cruz. Both men are Southern Baptists seeking the office of President of the United States.

However, what Huckabee and Cruz don’t know about the Kentucky county clerk recently jailed for her stand against gay marriage is that she believes that all Christians that don’t subscribe to her sect’s specific beliefs will be denied salvation and apparently spend eternity in hell.

Davis belongs to the Solid Rock Apostolic Church in Morehead, Kentucky. Solid Rock is a member of Apostolic Pentecostal Churches and Ministries and is listed at its directory for Kentucky.

The Apostolic Church website lists “60 questions on the Godhead,” which specifically deny the existence of the trinity as believed by the overwhelming majority of Christians, including Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz.

The Apostolic Church website also explains “Why We Baptize in Jesus’ Name,” which excludes the efficacy of any other baptism formula, such as those done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit., which represents what Apostolic Churches consider the false doctrine of the trinity. This “formula of baptism” is essential for salvation. As the Apostolic Churches website states, “Out basic and fundamental doctrine shall be the Bible standard of full salvation, which is the absolute essentiality of repentance, baptism in water by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.”

The Apostolic Church further concludes, “We believe the Bible teaches that the above statement to be essential and not subsequent to salvation.”

What this means is that anyone, including Evangelicals like Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz, are required to meet these requirements or they have no salvation and will apparently be condemned to hell. According to Kim Davis’ beliefs the pastor and former governor of Arkansas and the United States senator must renounce their false beliefs about the trinity and be re-baptized only in the name of Jesus and thus become true believers. Anything less is unacceptable to God according to Davis and her church.

Cult NewsDoes Kim Davis believe Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz are condemned to hell? - Cult News

Show Notes::I'm Special - The Kim Davis Affair

Today I am going to open with words from the incomparable George Takei: 

"Well this is a bit of a circus. So let us be clear: This woman is no hero to be celebrated. She broke her oath to uphold the Constitution and defied a court order so she could deny government services to couples who are legally entitled to be married. She is entitled to hold her religious beliefs, but not to impose those beliefs on others. If she had denied marriage certificates to an interracial couple, would people cheer her? Would presidential candidates flock to her side? In our society, we obey civil laws, not religious ones. To suggest otherwise is, simply put, entirely un-American."

See also::

George Takei on How Kim Davis Violated the First Amendment

As a public official, it isn’t even clear Ms. Davis has the same rights as a private citizen to speak out let alone act in opposition to same-sex marriage as part of her official duties. As the conservative majority of the Supreme Court noted in the case of Garcetti v. Cebalos back in 2006, “[W]hen public employees make statements pursuant to their official duties, the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline.” In other words, Ms. Davis, as an officer of the county, is subject to the Establishment Clause limitations, and precisely because she is a government employee, does not have the right to claim First Amendment protection either for her speech or for her actions based on her faith.

George Takei: Kim Davis isn’t Rosa Parks. She’s George Wallace.

George Takei’s Take on the Kim Davis Rally Was Great; His Response to a Troll Was Even Better

George Takei Schools Kim Davis On The First Amendment

My original plan, I wasn't going to touch the Kim Davis affair in any great detail.  I mean seriously how much more can one small time blogger add to the conversation.  And in all honesty Mr. Sulu summed up the whole debacle in his statement alone.

Simply put, she broke the law and the law won, there is no other way to look at it.  You can argue semantics all you want [natural law v the Constitution, State vs Federal, discrimination vs religious accommodation, etc] but,,, 

And. let me just say as a brief side note as to how ridiculous this is becoming,

One self appointed political know it all has tried to compare the whole religious liberty facade, specifically Davis, to imprisoned missionary Saeed Abedini.  Where he goes wrong in this analogy,,, Iran is a Islamic theocracy where there is no SOCAS.  [Abedini allegedly broke the laws of the country he was visiting.  While I sympathize with his family and supporters and find the "charges" against him bogus, there is no comparison to the religious freedoms and freedom of speech we enjoy here in the US compared to an Islamic run country.]

Another, has gone so far as to say Davis is the Rosa Parks of our era,,,Uhm, NO!!

The one small point I will make concerning an issue of semantics, is a statement Davis herself made:

To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God's definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience.

Now, this is just "lying for Jesus," because it isn't so. Davis regularly issues marriage licenses in conflict with her so-called definition of Biblical marriage. She is not averse to allowing divorced couples to marry at all.

As much as I hate to admit it, it is one point the WBC has right (although the primary focus of their ire is Davis), the typical fundamentalist view is that once married always married.  By Kim's own logic, every license she signs for a divorced local couple is a violation of "God's definition of marriage."

[Besides the fact that the definition of marriage has already change both from a biblical standpoint and from a societal one as well.]

That aside, a recent discussion surrounding the whole faux Christian persecution complex has highlighted one point that has not really been discussed.  Special Pleading or Religious Exceptionalism and if you have followed my blog it is a point that I have highlighted numerous times before starting with none of than Hobby Lobby and it's aftermath.

Before we begin, I will not be arguing whether Davis is a "true" Christian, or whether her "religious convictions" are hypocritical in light of her divorces and marriages.  Nor will I touch on whether what she spouts is actually what she believes; in other words is she seeing $$ signs or is she getting piss poor legal advice.  What is at issue, plain and simple:

The First Amendment does not give Kim Davis the power to decide whether same sex marriages are lawful in the State of Kentucky. That question was settled this summer by the Supreme Court, which ruled 5-to-4 that the U.S. Constitution guarantees the freedom to marry in all 50 states.

Davis’s private, personal beliefs are covered by the First Amendment. But when she steps into her official role, she is no longer a private citizen—she is now an agent of the government. And the same First Amendment that protects her private freedom of religion bars the government from having any official religious beliefs.

So lets go back and take a look,,,

If you remember, prior to oral arguments being heard in the Hobby Lobby case, I highlighted an interview with Barry Lynne of the AUFSOCAS.  Mr. Lynne, speaking in general terms of the scope of HL said this:

,,,but the agenda of the Religious Right is the right to opt out of ANY federal or state law(s) they do not like because of actual or alleged violation of THEIR religious principles.

Now granted Lynne was speaking in regards to for-profit businesses such as HL,,,
 
BUT...

Six months later, after the final ruling by SCOTUS, the Reich was fucking pissing their pants we glee.  According RWW, Matt Barber,

,,,is hopeful that anti-gay Christians will now have a solid defense when they refuse to "be an indentured servant" by providing services to "a counterfeit gay marriage" because this ruling was "a strong rebuke of all those sexual orientation laws around the country in cities and municipalities and states that say somehow gays win, Christians lose, sexual orientation trumps all."

It was a sentiment echoed by many within the Reich.  As their devilish minds worked an unexpected win to their advantage in advancing their agenda.  [Keep on mind I personally believe the Reich never expected to win.  That HL was itself a "test case" and nothing to do with contraceptives at all.]

That brings me to something I wrote a month later, and something Barry Lynne already suspected.

When one looks at the decision rendered by SCOTUS it has to be through the lens of the Reich's overall agenda -  starting with a "reformed" interpretation of the Free Exercise Clause or an outright repeal of the First Amendment, continuing with the abolition of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ending with the implementation of dominionist ideology in order to govern by theocratic control.  [And this is the crux of the whole HL case] With the ruling in Hobby Lobby, the Reich will "now" be able to exempt themselves from any laws that they don’t like; that they find “religiously objectionable.”

Sound familiar?

Make no mistake, the Kim Davis Affair is just another cog in the wheel of the Reich's agenda - just like former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran, florist Baronnelle Stutzman, bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, Mennonite couple Dick and Betty Odgaard, and former Air Force Sgt. Phillip Monk.  [And trust me there are many more!!]


Now bear in mind that was "just the highlights" to set the tone, so to speak.  There is too much minutiae regarding the politics and I'd prolly bore y'all to death.

So on to this notion of Special Pleading or Religious err,,, Christian Exceptionalism, I mean accommodation for religious belief and why it would be a bad judicial precedent...

When you have time listen to this clip from The Young Turks, it is a perfect demonstration of what I mean:

This is my current working definition, how I look at it,,,

Invoking your personal interpretation of the religious dogma, that your particular religious group teaches, onto other individuals in order to outright deny a service or product. (Not taking into consideration possible accommodations that could be made.)  Then when the denial of service (discrimination) is called into question based on applicable law, said religious beliefs are invoked as a defense under a twisted interpretation of the 1st Amendment.

A few things to keep in mind: 1] the courts generally do not rule on whether said a religious beliefs is genuine.  2]  The Kim Davis Affair IMO is pretty straight forward, as Davis is an agent of the gov't. 3]  By accommodation, I mean simple items - such as not having to work on accepted holy days IF prior notification is given. [An example would be applying for a position that requires work attendance on a day normally reserved for worship.]

So THE question in the Davis Affair becomes, is it acceptable for religious belief to undermine lawful civil rights protections?  [Remember keep the overall agenda in mind.]

The simple answer is no, as Takei noted,

According to the US Constitution, religious freedom does not equate to religious entitlement. While the First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion, the Establishment Clause prohibits the government from establishing an official religion and forbids religious favoritism, which is why Davis’s actions are particularly egregious.

As Judge Bunning himself stated, “The idea of natural law superseding this court’s authority would be a dangerous precedent indeed.” 

There is no such thing as "natural law" in a secular society, at least not in the manner the Reich is insisting. [That's a whole 'nother ball of wax to contend with.] To Davis et al, it means only one thing - God's law.  Or more apt, my interpretation of God's law.  Or quite succinctly, SHARIA!!

As you can see this mess is about more than just about Kim Davis.  There is so much other stuff mixed into the bag of goods being sold to the public by the Reich, it would take the patience of Job to sort it all out.  Besides the above, the Natural Law discussion as I mentioned.  There is the piss poor analogy to Dred Scott and for shits and giggles we have Rena Lindevaldsen, who works for the Liberty Counsel, who has taken to arguing that Christians have the right to overthrow the democratically elected government and simply impose their will by fiat.  What she is suggesting is the Sovereign Citizen motif.

Davis is a pawn of her own legal team blinded by the idea that religious conservatives are entitled to ignore — or even overthrow — democracy and seize power just because they feel like it.

ADDENDUM::What is so sad, pathetic really, is this scenario is being played out again,,,

in the Kim Davis affair.  Like the Kleins - who are being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom - it is all being orchestrated by piss poor legal advice from Liberty Counsel.

Constantly jockeying for position and prominence with the similarly missioned Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Liberty Counsel is technically a non-profit organization providing pro bono legal representation for “religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family.” Liberty and ADF seek out opportunities to represent conservative Christians in potentially high-profile religious liberties cases. This accomplishes two necessary tasks: keeping their organizations in the news, and for Liberty Counsel, it ensures yearly donations and grants exceeding $4 million will continue to flow in.

Both organizations are guilty of promoting markedly flawed accounts of "persecuted" Christians who are most often simply people who discriminate and break the law using their beliefs to validate the wrongdoing. The entire charade garners the attention, sympathy, and financial support of conservative segments of the population who rarely dig into the details and seem so easily manipulated by a narrative in alignment with their fears.

Staver's counsel to Davis has simply been bad advice; there was no way her religious beliefs about the exclusivity of marriage as between a man and a woman would absolve her of the duties of her elected office. But, even bad advice successfully keeps religious liberties in news and subsequently, the cash coming in.
,,,
The federal court ruling was not enough to stop or satisfy Liberty Counsel from pressing the issue further. Staver filed an appeal to the 6th Circuit Court on Friday asking for "asylum for her (Davis') conscience." The Supreme Court waited until late Monday to deny her request.

It is something I have been saying for months in regards to, not just Liberty Counsel, but Alliance Defending Freedom and Pacific Justice Institute. All these "religious liberty" cases are cash cows, but they hiding a very dangerous agenda, "While participants hail from various denominations, they all commit to using their legal careers to 'reorder society' according to a 'christendomic' worldview, in which there is no separation between church and state." It became blatantly obvious with the formation of the Blackstone Legal Fellowship, as well as the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
 
It is a point the Slate's, Mark Joseph Stem also makes,

It would be easy to write a story mocking the application’s histrionics and thinly veiled animus. But quite frankly, I’m growing a bit concerned about Davis’ lawyers. Davis is being represented by the Liberty Counsel, a far-right fringe group that specializes in anti-gay litigation. (Naturally, it is also a Christian ministry and a tax-exempt nonprofit.) Founder and Chairman Mathew D. Staver has used Davis’ case to raise money and boost publicity for his group, going so far as to hold a rally for Davis,,,

Law firms regularly use sexy cases to increase their own profiles, and it’s perfectly fine to bandy about your client to further a constitutional cause. (Gay rights litigators do it all the time.) But Staver is taking things too far. The first sign of trouble arose early in the case: When a federal judge ordered Davis to issue licenses or be held in contempt of court, the Liberty Counsel advised her to disobey the ruling. Good lawyers don’t usually tell their clients to defy lawful court orders, especially when jail time is a real possibility. Yet the Liberty Counsel didn’t mind putting their client at risk—perhaps because the idea of a middle-aged woman being hauled off to jail for purportedly following her conscience would send thousands of anti-gay Americans reaching for their pitchforks (and checkbooks).

The only thing missing from Baldock's and Stem's observations, it's exactly what the Reich wants:

1) Find inflammatory wedge issues and scapegoats to divide people and force them to choose sides
2) Persuade people to join your righteous “team” in its effort to purify society. Demand absolute loyalty and obedience to that team’s leaders (even above allegiance to the state
,,,
5) Build an insular media cocoon to disseminate propaganda. This vast echo chamber is contemptuous of contradictory facts, suspicious of reason, and impervious to mainstream media scrutiny
,,,
9) Constantly agitate and manufacture havoc, because theocracy can only be attained amid chaos. Without a functioning central government, the shadow infrastructure created by fundamentalists makes them the best situated to fill a vacuum, restore order at the price of liberty, and install their regime

Although I don't think we have quite reached the point of #9, if one reads Franklin Grahams (cited above), that is exactly what he is trying to foment.

“I’m thankful and proud that Americans are standing up against the evil being forced on us. Our religious rights and freedoms are being trampled on,,,.  We need more Americans who are willing to take a stand for religious freedoms and biblical values in our communities. If we don’t, we won’t even recognize the America that our children and our grandchildren will be left with. Pray for Kim Davis and for our nation today.”

As Benjimen Corey notes,

First, evil is not being forced upon Kim Davis. It is her religious belief that same sex marriage is wrong, and she’s entitled to that belief. No one is forcing her to divorce her 4th husband and marry a woman– that would be an obvious violation of her religious liberty. But doing her job as a clerk of the court? This has nothing to do with religious liberty.

,,,

This particular case however, isn’t about Ms. Davis being free to practice her religion and it isn’t about having the freedom to conform into the image and likeness of Christ. Instead, this is about Ms. Davis’s attempt to force her religious restrictions on the general public and an attempt to conform the secular government into the image and likeness of Christ (or her version thereof). 

And this is why she and Franklin are wrong, even if their theology were somehow proven to be right. Nowhere in the New Testament does it tell us we are to take control of government and shape it to look like Jesus. Jesus never advocates taking political power, or using the power of government to build the Kingdom of God. Never.

,,,

Ms. Davis has essentially hijacked a portion of the government and is now using that arm of government– not in an attempt to live out her religious convictions– but to force those convictions on other people. If a person from any other religious tradition were to do this, Franklin Graham would be pitching a fit.  [My emphasis]

Kentucky Clerk Sues Governor For Making Her Do Her Job And Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses | ThinkProgress

Let the information in this first paragraph sink in for a moment,

In Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk Kim Davis, who has been married four times, has been under fire for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs. Two different couples have sued her, but in addition to seeking a dismissal of those cases, she filed a suit of her own this week against Gov. Steve Beshear (D), claiming that he violated her rights by instructing her to do her job.

Do I need to spell it out, or is the blatant hypocrisy obvious, "who has been married four times, has been under fire for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs."


Kentucky Clerk Sues Governor For Making Her Do Her Job And Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses | ThinkProgress

UPDATE:  As I was getting ready to post, via Joe.My.God, Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis Ordered To Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses UPDATE: Appeal Filed

A federal court ruled this afternoon that Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis must issue same-sex marriage licenses. The Lexington Herald Leader reports:

A federal judge ordered Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis on Wednesday to resume issuing marriage licenses despite her religious objection to same-sex marriage. U.S. District Judge David Bunning granted a preliminary injunction against Davis that was requested by Rowan County couples who want marriage licenses. Davis has refused to issue marriage licenses in her county since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in June. Davis is bound by her duties as a public servant to obey the law, Bunning wrote. “She is even free to believe that marriage is a union between one man and one woman, as many Americans do. However, her religious convictions cannot excuse her from performing the duties that she took an oath to perform as Rowan County clerk,” Bunning wrote.