We Must Stop Allowing Far Right Conservative Christians to Dumb Down and Radicalize This Country

They believe that “God speaks to them,” that laws should be taken from religion, that homosexuality is a sin, that women shouldn’t have control over their own bodies and that all other religions besides theirs are wrong.

Oh, I’m talking about Islamic radicals, not conservative Christians. Though I could see how someone might confuse the two. They do have striking similarities.

Kind of ironic, isn’t it?

Especially when you consider that many conservative Christians loathe Muslims – all Muslims. See, to a good deal of them, all Muslims are “Islamic radicals.” Though I’m sure many of them are unaware that there are more Muslims found in south and southeast Asia than the Middle East. But I doubt many of them are “alerted” by someone they meet from Indonesia.

And while Islamic radicals do pose a threat to the United States, mostly from afar, many conservative Christians pose a threat to this country domestically.

These people, empowered by the tea party in the last few years, are doing everything they can to dumb down this country and turn it into some kind of theocracy.

Instead of having debates on how to combat climate change, we’re stuck trying to convince tens of millions of people that God didn’t use a tornado to “punish” sinners. Instead of figuring out how to make the United States a world leader in math and science, we’re debating whether or not the story of Noah’s ark should be in the chapter following the mapping of human DNA in science books. Instead of embracing some of the most educated and intelligent among us, millions of Americans would rather listen to a bearded redneck from backwoods Louisiana tell them how the United States needs to be more “godly.” And somehow “being godly” seems to mostly revolve around a strong disdain for homosexuals.

It’s absurd.

When we have a debate about science in this country we shouldn’t have to spend time debating someone who thinks the Flintstones is a documentary, believing that humans and dinosaurs roamed the Earth together just a few thousand years ago. But that’s exactly what we’re having to do.

The Republican Party and the Continued Rise of the “American Taliban”

In the past I’ve written a couple of articles professing my belief that the Republican party, especially the tea party aspects of it, have become a domestic terrorist group. On the recently ended HBO show The Newsroom, character Will McAvoy (played by Jeff Daniels) referred to them as the “American Taliban,” and I think that’s a perfect way to describe this ever-growing group of right-wing radicals.

Just think about this for a moment. These are people (and there are millions of them) who honestly believe that we are allowed to own guns largely for the purpose of one day violently overthrowing our government. I’ve never quite understood how these conservatives can call themselves “patriots” by hating over half the American population (liberals, minorities, homosexuals and followers of any other religion other than Christianity), loathing the very government our Constitution created and often talking about the possible need to rise up in an armed rebellion to violently overthrow elected officials. 

And it’s not as if this is some “sudden movement.” Most of these “strongly Republican gun-loving states” are the very same ones that nearly tore this country in half during the Civil War fighting for their right to own other human beings as property. So let’s not act as if this anti-government rhetoric is simply rooted in their dislike for “liberal ideologies and big government.” Southern conservatives have hated and opposed our government for generations.

But even when you just look at the last 6 years, the GOP has done just about everything it possibly could since President Obama moved into the White House to stall any and all possible economic progress. Whether it was trying to hold our debt ceiling hostage, blocking several jobs bills and even shutting down our government, Republicans have done just about everything within their power to obstruct our economy hoping that it would pay off for them politically. Which it did, in some ways.

And now that they’re about to have even more power, I can damn sure promise you that they’re going to spend the next two years doing whatever they can to hold back our economy. Sure, they’ll use a lot of talking points while spewing the word “jobs” and other right-wing propaganda to hide this fact, but the last thing they’ll want to do over these next two years is help our economy continue to grow.

Why would they? If our economy continues to grow, that would almost all but doom their chances in 2016. Their only real hope to get a Republican in the White House two years from now is to try to slow down (or outright crash) our economy, hoping that people will blame it on President Obama – and in turn his party – and that they’ll get a huge advantage heading into our next presidential election.

The last things Republicans want to see these next two years is for our unemployment rate to drop near or blow 5 percent and see another 4-5 million jobs created.

And if you doubt me, just look at what they’ve done with the Affordable Care Act. Instead of working with the president to make the law better, to help millions of Americans gain access to health care, they’ve done just about everything they possibly can to sabotage the law at every turn. Then they have the gall to stand there and point to the “failures of Obamacare” when most of the issues we’ve had with the law are due in large part to the compromises we had to make with Republicans when the law was being written, and the shenanigans many state governments have been playing to try to obstruct the law at the local level.

It’s like I’ve said before, Republicans want a massive collapse of this country. They want our government to be so inefficient, so corrupt and so disliked that Americans do “rise up” in some sort of rebellion so that they can try to remake this nation in the image that they want – which is essentially a Christian theocracy full of gun nuts.

The question I always like to ask conservatives is, why would Republicans actively try to help make our government more efficient and trustworthy when a large premise of their entire political platform is based upon how inefficient and corrupt our government is?

The nonsense conservatives actually believe is absolutely absurd.

And while I’m not saying that the Republican party is some blood-thirsty terrorist group that wants to kill Americans, I do honestly believe that they are in large part a group of individuals who are actively rooting for the failure of the United States. Because that’s the only way they can get what they want, which is a complete teardown of this country so that they can try to turn it into the Christian theocracy that they’ve always wanted.

Unfortunately for them, the Constitution as it stands now prevents them from doing that. And sadly for all of us, they just can’t seem to come to grips with that fact.

MAT STAVER AND MATT BARBER ARE CONVINCED THE FIGHT AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE IS 'THE NEXT CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT'

"What would have happened if Martin Luther King, Jr. had just stood down and said, 'No, I can't participate in all of this, I'm just going to remain silent'?" asks Liberty Counsel spokesman Matt Barber. The anti-LGBT, pro-discrimination discussion continues with fellow right-wing nut Mat Staver rambling on about how the next civil rights movement is all about making sure LGBT Americans continue to be treated as second class citizens.

It's worth listening to the full exchange, but the level of delusion on display might just leave you breathless.

Listen,

Homocon Kevin DuJan And His Creationist Sidekick Are Being Sued

Demented homocon horcrux Kevin DuJan and creationist loon Megan Fox are being sued for defamation by a Chicago-area library staffer. Via Raw Story: 

Fox, a blogger for PJ Media and YouTube commentator, has aggressively campaigned for more than a year to change library policies in Orland Park after she and an associate claimed they saw men viewing porn at the public library. She and Kevin DuJan — who promotes conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama’s birthplace, drug use, and sexual history — have filed hundreds of Freedom of Information Act requests on library policies and employees. They have also filed at least 34 complaints with the Illinois attorney general alleging transparency law violations by library staffers. Fox and DuJan have written numerous blog and social media posts and posted videos of themselves hounding library employees for information. All of this has cost the suburban Chicago library more than $125,000 in legal fees and keeps two library employees busy for about 35 hours a week, according to spokeswoman Bridget Bittman – a primary target for criticism by the conservative pair. Fox apparently found a photo online through a Google image search of Bittman holding a bottle of Champagne, which she posted on her own Facebook page and suggested that she drank alcohol while engaged in work duties at the library. The conservative activist also posted a video in July on her YouTube channel alleging that police had accused Bittman of disorderly conduct and breach of peace, and other claims the library employee described as false. The suit claims DuJan filed a complaint against Bittman related to those charges, but police found no evidence to support his claims.

The suit claims "violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Stored Communications Act" and seeks compensatory and punitive damages from Fox, DuJan, and their fellow nutjobs.

Republicans Treat Their Voters Like Absolute Idiots – And Conservatives Eat it Right Up

It goes without saying that I watch a lot of news. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of the mainstream media, it’s still a source that can be used along with others to get some decent information. Though with each passing year the quality gets worse and worse – but that’s what happens when you allow your news to be driven by ratings instead of content.

I have to admit, the “news” channel that I watch the most is Fox News. Believe it or not, it’s a great channel from which to get information. Typically, whatever they’re saying, just believe the opposite. It’s also the best source for knowing what conservative voters will be saying next, because I can guarantee you whatever nonsense Fox News is pushing will soon be parroted by nearly every conservative from all across the country.

Though I don’t really view Fox News as actual “news” – it’s right-wing entertainment. Their content isn’t driven by facts; instead it’s driven by what conservatives want to hear.

The Republican party and right-wing media absolutely loves the stupidity of the average conservative voter. They don’t even try to hide the fact that they treat these people like mindless sheep. Right now the GOP is up in arms over Obama’s executive actions on immigration, when all he’s done is take action to give human beings who are already here and meet certain criteria the chance at becoming American citizens. He didn’t use a pen to pass sweeping immigration reform and redefine what it means to be an “American citizen.” He simply made it possible for these people who want to meet these guidelines to be able to earn the right to become a citizen.

That’s it. It boils down to treating these people like actual human beings.

It’s not Amnesty – it’s a path to citizenship. These people won’t be granted instant citizenship just for being here. They’ll have to meet the criteria and adhere to the process for becoming an American citizen, and if they don’t, they won’t be granted citizenship.

But the truth is had House Republicans even attempted to pass immigration reform, none of this would have been needed. So while conservative voters are “outraged” at President Obama for issuing these executive actions, they should really be ticked off at their own party for doing absolutely nothing about immigration since they took power in the House in 2010.

By the way, included in Obama’s plan is added resources for border security, but you sure won’t hear that mentioned much (if at all) on Fox News.

But even if you just look at the bigger “names” conservatives trust, it’s an absolute joke. People like Sean Hannity, Matt Drudge, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh – all bottom-feeding propagandists. These are individuals who thrive on saying some of the most outrageous crap because they know conservatives won’t question it.

Benghazi is another great example of right-wing hysteria driving “news.” The House Intelligence Committee just released their latest report showing what liberals have been saying for well over a year now: There was no Benghazi conspiracy, or cover up, driven by the Obama administration. 

Though this report was released on a Friday before a big holiday and it was hardly even mentioned by anyone on Fox News, so most conservatives will never hear much about it. But it’s just another debunked lie in a growing list that have been pushed by the right-wing media.

And none of these lies would even be remotely possible if it weren’t for the fact that Republicans clearly believe conservative voters are idiots.

Things like “death panels,” doubts about Obama’s citizenship, supposed links to the Muslim Brotherhood and many other nefarious and outrageous claims about the president that only complete fools could possibly believe. These aren’t conspiracies that have been pushed by the fringe parts of the right-wing media. These are topics that have been heavily promoted by not just the mainstream conservative media, but elected Republican officials as well.

And no matter how many of these ridiculous conspiracies continue to get debunked by facts and reality, conservative voters continue to eat up new lies one right after another.

ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM FIGHTS FOR RIGHT TO TURN AWAY GAYS IN US, BUT AIMS TO PUT THEM IN JAIL OVERSEAS

The Alliance Defending Freedom is perhaps best known in the US today for its work defending the right of businesses to discriminate against LGBT people under the guise of "religious liberty." But Media Matters reports that despite ADF's frequent characterization in the media as a mainstream Christian legal group, it is actively promoting a far more extreme agenda overseas: namely, putting gay people in jail.

ADF's support for the criminalization of homosexual activity dates back to the early 2000s, prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 decision striking anti-sodomy laws as unconstitutional in Lawrence v. Texas. The ADF submitted a 30-page amicus brief in that case, writing:

"The issue under rational-basis review is not whether Texas should be concerned about opposite-sex sodomy, but whether it is reasonable to believe that same-sex sodomy is a distinct public health problem. It clearly is."

In fact, ADF believes that the legalization of homosexual activity in the US has paved the way for same-sex marriage — which is presumably why the group is now working so hard to defend anti- sodomy laws in places like Jamaica, Belize and India, Media Matters reports:

ADF has given up on promoting anti-sodomy laws in the U.S. after Lawrence, but the group still aggressively supports imprisoning gay people around the world for having sex. It's an ugly truth about one of the right's highest-profile legal organizations. Failing to note ADF's support for anti-sodomy laws — which places it firmly on the fringe of even conservative circles — paints a grossly misleading picture of the extremism that motivates the group's anti-gay legal work.

Indeed, spotlighting ADF's efforts to criminalize sodomy overseas seems more important than ever. While the National Organization for Marriage reported a 50 percent decline in donations in 2013, ADF reported an increase of $2.5 million — for a total of $39 million, according to Towleroad's analysis of newly released IRS reports. And thanks to the prevalence of anti-gay bakeries and "license to discriminate" legislation, it's likely that amount will only go up.

DONNIE SWAGGART SAYS GAY RIGHTS ACTIVISTS WANT TO BEHEAD CHRISTIANS

The war on Christianity continues apace in la-la land.

Donnie Swaggart, the son of disgraced Pentecostal pastor Jimmy Swaggart, has compared LGBT activists with ISIS, according to Right Wing Watch.

Speaking on a “Christian” television panel discussion dedicated to the controversy in Houston, Texas, after Mayor Annise Parker subpoenaed materials from a handful of pastors as part of a lawsuit anti-gay activists had filed in an effort to overturn a local anti discrimination ordinance, Swaggart said that, like ISIS, those seeking equality for gay people in the U.S. would publicly behead Christians if they could get away with it.

"All of this is to shut the Bible up. They want the Bible gone. And I'm going to make a statement: These people that are trying to do this in Houston, the only difference between them and ISIS, those thugs in Iraq, is those here cannot chop our heads off. That's the only difference. The heart is the same. The heart is the same. If they could silence us that way to intimidate others, that's exactly what they would do.”

Oddly, this isn’t the first time an American “Christian” has claimed that gay people are fond of beheading their religious brethren. Back in August, recently elected Colorado Republican wingnut Gordon Klingenschmitt accused Democrats of lacking a sense of humor after he sent an email which said that Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) will “join ISIS in beheading Christians.”

Swaggart’s comments had been highlighted by Right Wing Watch but the preacher’s media outfit SonifeTV have had the clip removed claiming copyright infringement. Right Wing Watch has filed a counterclaim arguing that the clip is protected under fair use.

Right Wing Watch has also made the clip available at another source, which you watch

At a debate organized by a conservative group yesterday, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy told supporters that the country's same-sex marriage law should be repealed.

The Guardian reports:

Referring to the “mariage pour tous” or “marriage for all” legislation passed by France’s Socialist government last year, he said it needed “rewriting from top to bottom”.

His comments prompted catcalls from the 3,000-strong audience of the group Common Sense, and cries of “Repeal! Repeal!”. Sarkozy, appearing rattled, responded: “If you’d rather one says repeal the law and make another one … in French, that’s saying the same thing. It comes to the same result.

“But hey, if that makes you happy, then frankly, it doesn’t cost much.”

Sarkozy went on to say that he was in favour of some form of marriage for same-sex couples, but something different from that for heterosexuals, and that he opposed surrogacy for same-sex couples. [...]

Sarkozy’s comment and apparent policy-making on the hoof brought angry reactions from the governing Socialist party, which accused him of “appealing to the most reactionary instincts of his core supporters”. A spokesperson said Sarkozy wanted to create “a new form of segregation” with his two-tier marriage proposal.

Sarkozy is in the midst of an attempted political comeback and is vying to lead the country's centre-right UMP party into the 2017 presidential election. 

Back in September, during his first television interview since announcing his intention to return to politics, Sarkozy accused the socialist government of "humiliating families and humiliating people who love the family" by introducing the legislation allowing same-sex marriage. 

Sarkozy is on his third marriage.

Cliven Bundy Admits He Almost Got a Bunch of People Killed Over His Refusal to Pay Bills

In a rare instance of Cliven Bundy doing something that approaches honesty, the Welfare Cowboy opened up to the Las Vegas Review-Journal about his role in nearly causing hundreds of his fellow “patriots” to die horribly.

Bundy is the subject of a federal investigation into the armed standoff between Bundy’s clan of hatriots and the Federal Government that could result in criminal charges against the rancher.

In the mean time, Bundy says he is enjoying the peace and quiet as he continues to bilk taxpayers out of money.

“One thing that’s happened is, since the standoff, we’ve really enjoyed some liberty and freedoms out here,” Bundy said in an October 30 interview with the Review-Journal, claiming that the armed uprising drove out “overreaching government policing agents.”

“Since the standoff, we haven’t seen one BLM vehicle on any of these country roads around this ranch,” Bundy said. “We haven’t seen one BLM ranger. We haven’t seen one (National) Park Service ranger. We haven’t really seen any undercover-type people. We haven’t seen snipers on top of our hills. We haven’t seen high-tech communication equipment. We haven’t seen any of those things.”

However, he does admit that his leadership of a number of armed and insane militiamen almost cost his supporters their lives. “One backfire of a vehicle, one firecracker, one somebody makes a crazy gunshot — it was that close, and it could have been either side’s fault. It could have been We-The-People’s fault, or it could have been the government agency’s fault,” Bundy said. “If that would have happened, there would have probably been lots of people maybe killed.”

Interestingly, Bundy denied that guns played a role in “We-the-People’s” fight against the ‘oppressive’ government agents attempting to enact a legal court order.

“I never did handle this thing with guns,” he said. “If you go back over my record through the last 20-something years, you never see me pointing a gun at anybody. … We had plenty guns running up and down this hill. We had BLM and Park Service, and Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife and all of those people.”

Bundy says that her worries the United States government will come back with the Army to take control of his ranch, and that some “environmental wacko” will “basically try to take my life or something like that?”

The Welfare Cowboy wonders what he could possibly be charged with following his armed insurrection. “What are they going to charge me with? When you start talking about who the criminal is, if somebody is going to put handcuffs on me and take me to jail, what’s going to be the crime” he asked.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve paid my grazing fees to a proper government. So why should I pay my grazing fee to the United States government? They have no jurisdiction and authority, or own the land,” Bundy continued. “If I owe so damn much money, like $1.2 million, why don’t they bill me?”

“I question their jurisdiction and authority. Since when does the federal court have jurisdiction and authority over Nevada state land?” he asked. Of course, Nevada’s state constitution gave control of unallocated public land to the federal government when the state was formed — something Bundy, as a “states’ right” guy, should know.

New Study: Brains of Right Wingers May Actually be Less Highly Evolved!

According to a recent study out of Virginia Tech, a team of scientists have found that the way a person responds to disgusting images can reveal their political leanings.

Maggots, rotting carcasses, gross gunk in the kitchen sink – all these were used in the research, and the results were pretty astonishing.

“Disgusting images generate neural responses that are highly predictive of political orientation even when those neural responses don’t correspond with an individual’s conscious reaction to the images,” said Read Montague, a Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute professor who led the study. “Remarkably, we found that the brain’s response to a single disgusting image was enough to predict an individual’s political ideology.”

Participants in the study were shown images such as filthy toilets and rotting animal carcasses, mixed with both neutral and pleasant images like beautiful landscapes and babies.

After viewing the images, the subjects took part in a political ideology questionnaire, asking about how often they discuss politics and how they felt about topics such as church-state separation and gay marriage.

From the Roanoke Star:

ANTI-GAY FORMER CHAPLAIN GORDON KLINGENSCHMITT WINS RACE FOR COLORADO HOUSE SEAT

Former Navy chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt will be taking his special brand of anti-gay nuttery to the Colorado State Capitol starting next year - having been elected to the state house in Tuesday's election. 

Klingenschmitt trounced his Democratic opponent, Louis Fornander, by nearly 40 percent in the race for district 15's seat. 

In response to Klingenschmitt's victory, Right Wing Watch has compiled a list of some of his more radical views. 

You can also check out the headlines for the past four Klingenschmitt-related stories to highlight how scary nuts this guy is:

• Gordon Klingenschmitt: Gay People 'Want You To Disobey God So You Go to Hell With Them"
• Gordon Klingenschmitt Warns Same-Sex Marriage Allows Gays to 'Recruit Your Kids'
• Gordon Klingenschmitt Warns Christians Are Being Forced to "Worship Sodomy"
• Gordon Klingenschmitt Says Rep. Jared Polis Wants to Behead Christians, Nominates Him in Ice Bucket Challenge

And while it's possible voters were unaware of Klingenschmitt's more incendiary anti-gay rhetoric, the scarier alternative is that perhaps voters were aware of all this insanity and honestly believe he's the best candidate to represent the district's 'values' in Denver...

A Minister From Thom Tillis’ State Tells Us What To Expect After The Election Results

To say I’m disappointed with the outcome of the U.S. mid-term elections is to massively understate the emotion connected to my understanding of what the results mean.

I do believe there is much to be learned from this mid-term election.

The most significant lesson is that in the US we are well past the tipping point: money is voice and power. We’ve been steadily on our way to that point, but we’ve finally arrived at our destination.

Congratulations?

You only need to look at the early polls in my home state, North Carolina, to see the real and devastating impact. Early on in the Senate race between Kay Hagan and Thom Tillis, when the public “debate” was still focusing somewhat on what they stood for and their accomplishments in office, Hagan seemed to be the likely winner. With the draconian laws passed under Tillis’ leadership in the N.C. House of Representatives it is easy to understand why.

Enter the Koch brothers, or more specifically their money.

Lea DeLaria Shuts Down Subway Preacher

You don't want to mess with Lea DeLaria.

The outspoken lesbian actress who has received critical acclaim for her role on "Orange Is The New Black" was caught on camera this week telling off a subway preacher while riding the subway in New York City. The actress was not happy about being forced to hear his rhetoric and refused to let the evangelist continue. TMZ obtained a tape of the incident.

"You have no right! Go to another train," DeLaria tells the preacher. "Get off this train. Other people believe other things and have every right to believe other things on this planet and in this world. We do not have to be force-fed this man's religious beliefs. Jesus never said for you to do this -- ever!"

But the best part might have been when she informed him, "Don't come at me because I went to f**king Catholic school for 12 years and I know every line."

WERK.

Check out the video above to see the full encounter.

How An Ayn Rand-Loving CEO Tanked Sears

Sears and Kmart used to be two of my go-to stores, but I can't tell you the last time I was in either of them because they're run down, grimy and poorly stocked. Guess I'm just not bright enough to "get" the brilliant marketing ideas of liberty-loving Eddie Lampert! Via Salon:

Once upon a time, hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert was living a Wall Street fairy tale. His fairy godmother was Ayn Rand, the dashing diva of free-market ideology whose quirky economic notions would transform him into a glamorous business hero.

For a while, it seemed to work like a charm. Pundits called him the “Steve Jobs of the investment world.” The new Warren Buffett. By 2006 he was flying high, the richest man in Connecticut, managing over $15 billion thorough his hedge fund, ESL Investments. 

Stoked by his Wall Street success, Lampert plunged headlong into the retail world. Undaunted by his lack of industry experience and hailed a genius, Lampert boldly pushed to merge Kmart and Sears with a layoff and cost-cutting strategy that would, he promised, send profits into the stratosphere. Meanwhile the hotshot threw cash around like an oil sheikh, buying a $40 million pad in Florida’s Biscayne Bay, a record even for that star-studded county. 

Fast-forward to 2013: The fairy tale has become a nightmare.

Who could have seen this coming? Who could have known that cutting into the muscle and bone of a company and throwing your management team into a steel cage death match wouldn't result in a bright new day of soaring profits? Why, just about any of a store's minimum wage workers! If you'd bothered to ask, that is.

Lampert is now known as one of the worst CEOs in America — the man who flushed Sears down the toilet with his demented management style and harebrained approach to retail. Sears stock is tanking. His hedge fun is down 40 percent, and the business press has turned from praising Lampert’s genius towatching gleefully as his ship sinks. Investors are running from “Crazy Eddie” like the plague.

That’s what happens when Ayn Rand is the basis for your business plan. 

Crazy Eddie has been one of America’s most vocal advocates of discredited free-market economics, so obsessed with Ayn Rand he could rattle off memorized passages of her novels. As Mina Kimes explained in a fascinating profile in Bloomberg Businessweek,Lampert took the myth that humans perform best when acting selfishly as gospel, pitting Sears company managers against each other in a kind of Lord of the Flies death match. This, he believed, would cause them to act rationally and boost performance. 

If you think that sounds batshit crazy, congratulations. You understand more than most of America’s business school graduates.

As I'm fond of pointing out, back when I worked as an executive search consultant for Fortune 500 companies, clients would often tell me, "Don't send me any Harvard MBAs." When I first asked why, a CEO told me bluntly, "No common sense and no ability to manage people. They let people do what they want and don't provide any oversight. That's the Harvard culture." (George W. Bush, Harvard MBA, '74.)

Instead of enhancing Sears’ bottom line, the heads of various divisions began to undermine each other and fight tooth and claw for the profits of their individual fiefdoms at the expense of the overall brand. By this time Crazy Eddie was completely in thrall to his own bloated ego, and fancied he could bend underlings to his will by putting them through humiliating rituals, like annual conference calls in which unit managers were forced to bow and scrape for money and resources. But the chaos only grew. 

Lampert took to hiding behind a pen name and spying on and goading employees through an internal social network. He became obsessed with technology, wasting resources on developing apps as Sears’ physical stores became dilapidated and filthy. Instead of investing in workers and developing useful products, he sold off valuable real estate, shuttered stores, and engineered stock buybacks in order to manipulate stock prices and line his own pockets. 

Eddie’s crazy didn’t stop there. As a Wall Street creature fantastically out of touch with the kind of ordinary folks who shop at Sears, he inserted his love of luxury into the mix,trying to sell Rolex watches and $4,400 designer handbags through America’s iconic budget-friendly brand. 

As his company was descending into Randian mayhem, Lampert continued to cheerfully inform stockholders that his revolutionary ideas would soon produce earth-shattering results. Reality: Sears has lost half its value in five years. Since 2010, Sears has closed more than half of its stores. Sears Holdings is financially distressed and Lampert’s own hedge fund has reduced its stake in the company. The Sears store in Oakland, California, open for business with boarded-up windows, has even been cited for urban blight.

What does it take for one of these geniuses to get canned?

Drug-Addled Christian "Zealot" Beheads Teen For Practicing Witchcraft

Christian terror? In a grisly murder an Oklahoma college student with strong Christian beliefs nearly decapitates a young man because the victim practiced witchcraft. Isaiah Zoar Marin, 21, is charged with first-degree murder for the killing of Jacob Andrew Crockett, 19. Marin is accused of using a “long knife or sword” to kill Crockett. According to a court affidavit, the suspect, Marin, is described as a “religious zealot” and “heavy drug user.” The victim, Crockett, is the son of an Oklahoma state trooper. Police report the victim had what appeared to be multiple deep slash and stab wounds and the “head was mostly severed from his body.” Marin was watching videos on YouTube “related to his Christian beliefs and the Book of Matthew” before the murder, according to the affidavit.

From the alleged killer's Facebook page: "Tried to take on a demon and God had to help me through the tough parts. Got to be careful with my words and pay closer attention to my emotions. Need to figure out how to keep on speaking when I'm with the presence of the Lord God."

Right Wing Christian Zealots are America's ISIS!

This morning at the home of Pastor Holier-than-thou....

Knock-knock!

Good Lord, what is it now? I do not keep office hours on Sunday mornings—especially the Sunday morning before an Election Day!

I’ve got a gaggle of judicial candidates, each begging me to read the morning announcements. Parents are complaining that the new elephant slide in the Noah’s Ark nursery sends the wrong message to the conservative voters of tomorrow. Plus my sermon on “Give Unto Rome a Good Biblical Ass-Lickin’-Kickin’!” isn’t going to write itself!

Just another Lord’s Day morn at Cubic Zirconium Cathedral Ministries!

What do you want? Say, don’t you know that Halloween is over? Although I’ve got to say that I dig the whole Obi-Wan Kenobi look. But you should really trade in that Glock for a light saber.

Seriously, though, I’m all out of treats. Why don’t you go bother Brother Bear down the street at Glory Holy Ministries. He’ll give you a bag of candy corn if you can recite The Golden Rule. But normally that’s just for kids—I’m not sure what he does for Kenny Loggins lookalikes.

I’ve gotta get back to work now, okay? If I’m not spot-on, Third Offering will be a bust—and then no anniversary getaway for me and Mrs. Pillow to Atlantis Sanya, China.

Slam!

Okay, now where was I? Ah yes, back to my sermon and a few nips from that bottle of Old Grand-Dad.

The three key letters to any decent Election Week sermon: G-A-G.

G. Rome is coming for your Guns. Usually a few references to Nero and the Colosseum will do the trick. Plus, always a good idea to remind the congregation that if the victim in Jesus’ parable had been packing heat, we never would have needed a Good Samaritan in the first place.

A. Vote conservative or there will be Abortions in the streets, at kindergarten Christmas pageants, during Super Bowl commercials, you name it. Also, a wire shirt hanger always makes for a good visual. I must have one around here somewhere.

And, finally, G again. While the IRS might not want me to tell you which candidate to vote for, God Himself appeared to me last night in a vision, His Divine finger stretching forth and writing upon the wall, “Thou shalt vote for—”

Knock-knock!

Sigh. Who is it this time? You again?! Listen, I appreciate the whole Chuck Norris in a tunic concept, but I’m going to have to call security if you don’t leave me alone.

What’s that? Follow you? Where, to Jo-Ann Fabrics? Careful, or someone’s going to ring you up as a Shroud of Turin bolt. Ha-ha!

You have an idea for my sermon? By all means, I’m all ears. Tolerance, plus care for the widow and orphan? Support same-sex marriage? Discount drones? Plug ecumenism? Add a few quotes by Pope Francis?

Holy shit, what are you, a Balaam’s ass socialist?! Why don’t I just invite Bernie Sanders in all his wild-haired glory to pour Welch’s grape juice into Dixie Cups at the altar? I’m sure that’ll boost our bottom line.

Sheesh. Hey, you want to write my sermon? How about I augment your costume? Why don’t you throw on a leather jacket and come back a third time as Richard Marx? You can sit just outside my office door and serenade me with “Right Here Waiting.”

Thanks for your help, but there’s a reason I’m a M to the D to the I to the V. Bang!

Now just run along and play Jesus Christ Superstar while the real Gospel professionals get back to the business of running tax-free billion-dollar operations. And don’t forget to vote straight-ticket Republican!

Slam!

Anti-gay activist mixes and mingles HIV, Ebola, & bathhouses

For the longest time, 'Porno' Pete LaBarbera has complained that mainstream news programs haven't invited him to talk about the supposed "gay agenda." After viewing just a little of this online show hosted by equally anti-gay Cliff Kincaid, one understands the reasons why no legitimate news program will invite LaBarbera.

This isn't just an appearance. It's bizarre free-form tangent of homophobic venom, which mixes HIV, Ebola, and bathouses; amongst other things.

The interview is rather long but viewing even a small portion is enough. Trust me.

Straight Couple Seeks To Intervene In Marriage Case Because Gays Literally Want To Steal Their Marriage

Phillip W. Unruh and Sandra L. Unruh today filed a motion to intervene in the ACLU's marriage equality case in Kansas. As laid out in multiple points in their brief, the Unruhs declare that legalization of same-sex marriage would constitute the literal theft of their straight Christian marriage, a property which is guaranteed to belong only to them per the Fifth Amendment. Apparently, once them gays steal a chunk of their marriage, well, it's all downhill for the Uhruhs from there. Next thing you know they'll be cooking meth with hobos under a Kansas overpass. The rest of their brief is similarly cracktastic, complete with quotes from Genesis and the usual "they can't even make ababy" crapola. Hit the link courtesy of Equality Case Files and dig out your favorite bits.

Colorado Dems Caught James O’Keefe Red-Handed Trying to Bait Them Into Committing Voter Fraud

Conservative activist James O’Keefe has apparently been busy in Colorado, attempting to lure Democratic campaign staffers working to re-elect Senator Mark Udall into approving the state’s universal vote by mail law to commit voter fraud.

Last week, a man who appeared to be in his 20s went to the Democratic field office in Boulder and volunteered to work on the campaigns of Udall and Representative Jared Polis (D-CO). According to the staffer, the man identified himself as “Nick Davis” and claimed to be a student at the University of Colorado-Boulder and a LGBT activist affiliated with a group called Rocky Mountain Vote Pride.

The staffer said that during the conversation “Davis” asked about filling in and mailing ballots for students who no longer lived on campus but who still received mail there. The staffer told him that doing that would be voter fraud and that he should not do it.

On Friday after an appearance on the Boulder campus by Udall with Elizabeth Warren, (D-MA) another staffer reported that a woman who called herself “Bonnie” inquired about filling out blank ballots found in trash cans and mailing them in. Again the staffer advised against it telling her that it was illegal.

Also on Friday “Nick Davis” returned to the Boulder field office with a man wearing a fake mustache and heavy makeup who he introduced as “John Miller” a civics professor at UC-Boulder saying that he was the faculty advisor to Rocky Mountain Vote Pride. The pair picked up some Udall campaign literature and canvassing information and left.

On Monday O’Keefe Tweeted a photo of himself with a mustache saying that he had recently disguised himself “as a 45 yo” as a part of one of his “investigations” suggesting that he had found some sort of unspecified illicit behavior.

O’Keefe and two others also targeted the offices of an independent progressive group, New Era Colorado. Executive director Steve Fenberg reported that the men came to the group’s Fort Collins office on Saturday claiming to represent the Rocky Mountain Vote Pride group and carrying Udall campaign literature. Staff met them at the door and turned them away as it is illegal for private activist organizations to coordinate with a political campaign. As he so often does O’Keefe was attempting to manufacture evidence of illicit behavior where none exists.

The Vote Pride organization seems to consist of a very basic website with little information except for a link directing the viewer to the group’s Facebook page which says that the group was founded in 2012. The Facebook page was set up in July of this year and has only a few postings the latest being from August.

Benham twins: We’re like ISIS victims because our TV show was cancelled

We have gotten used to Religious Right activists compare themselves to Jews living under Nazi Germany, but David and Jason Benham took a new approach at the Values Voter Summit Friday night and compared themselves to victims of the terrorist group ISIS.

The Benham twins, of course, were referring to how they lost their planned HGTV reality show after we reported on their anti-gay, anti-choice and anti-Muslim political activism.

In their speech to the summit, the Benham twins argued that just as ISIS beheads their victim with a sword, progressive groups like Right Wing Watch “silence” conservatives by quoting them verbatim.

Jason Benham kicked it off by likening himself and his brother to Jesus Christ — a theme throughout their speech — and later David said that Christians in America are facing persecution just like Christians in the Mideast who are coming under attack from violent groups such as ISIS.

“There is a radical agenda that has come in our nation,” David explained, “the weapon of choice for the agenda in the Middle East is a sword, but the weapon of choice for the agenda in America is silence. They demand silence.”

Watch: