Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Religious Lunatics in Positions of Responsibility

These guys were both very recently in positions of serious responsibility.

First up: Tom DeLay

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/tom_delay_mugshot-237x300.jpg


Tom Delay apparently actually thinks that God himself took pen in hand and actually wrote the Constitution. Not the Bible, the Constitution.
Tom DeLay really seems to believe that the United States of America was founded, not by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, etc. but by God. And that at some point in our history, the United States did not have a secular government


http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2010/winter/images/founders-first-m.jpg 
Pictured: The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost
(apparently)







I mean, I know right-wing religious fanatics are always claiming that the Constitution is based on the Bible, or Christian principles, even though a cursory reading of the document would actually disabuse one of that notion pretty quickly, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone actually claim that God actually wrote the damn thing.

And this man was the House majority leader. He was in a position of serious responsibility, one of the main forces setting our nation's legislative agenda. And he used his position to seal off the capitol rotunda? Is he even allowed to do that? And his plan to improve the nation was to have a bunch of Congressmen falling to their knees in the rotunda so that God would "heal our land?" Honestly, you could do that at home, you don't need to be a fucking Congressman to "seek the face of God." Wouldn't it make more sense to just stay home and kneel and pray and leave being a Congressman to those who would solve problems by legislating?



Next up: Gen Jerry Boykin (Ret)





Here's what General Boykin had to say recently about the second coming

The Lord is a warrior and in Revelation 19 is says when he comes back, he’s coming back as what? A warrior. A mighty warrior leading a mighty army, riding a white horse with a blood-stained white robe…. I believe that blood on that robe is the blood of his enemies ‘cause he’s coming back as a warrior carrying a sword.

Um, first of all, have you ever actually read that fever-dream of a book, Revelations? It's like William Burroughs without all the buttsex. (which admittedly doesn't leave all that much) It's fucking nuts. You're really going to take that book seriously? 
I was raised pretty fundamentalist, and even we were taught that Revelations is all symbolism. (I think the prevailing scholarly opinion is that all the bad things in Revelations, the dragons and monsters and what-not, are all cleverly-disguised allusions to the Roman Empire)

Secondly, Jesus wears a blood-stained robe? Why would you assume that's the blood of his enemies? Might it not have to do with his hands and feet having nails driven through them? And thorns sticking into his head?
The Lord is a warrior and in Revelation 19 is says when he comes back, he's coming back as what? A warrior. A might warrior leading a mighty army, riding a white horse with a blood-stained white robe ... I believe that blood on that robe is the blood of his enemies 'cause he's coming back as a warrior carrying a sword.  - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/boykin-when-jesus-comes-back-hell-be-carrying-ar-15-assault-rifle#sthash.M0bMjk2R.dpuf
The Lord is a warrior and in Revelation 19 is says when he comes back, he's coming back as what? A warrior. A might warrior leading a mighty army, riding a white horse with a blood-stained white robe ... I believe that blood on that robe is the blood of his enemies 'cause he's coming back as a warrior carrying a sword.  - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/boykin-when-jesus-comes-back-hell-be-carrying-ar-15-assault-rifle#sthash.M0bMjk2R.dpuf
Thirdly, Why would God need a sword? He's God. From what we've learned from the preceding books of the Bible, he can conjure up fire, floods, famine, pestilence. He can have all the first-born killed. He can heal the sick, raise the dead, and make the little girls talk out of their heads.
(wait, that last bit was Johnny Rivers)
Anyway, why would he need a sword when he could kill anyone he wants to by saying the word?
And if you're really taking all this Revelations stuff literally, then this next bit doesn't quite fit:

And I believe now – I’ve checked this out – I believe that sword he’ll be carrying when he comes back is an AR-15…. The sword today is an AR-15
 So, if you're taking this all literally, why isn't a sword a sword? You say God is literally coming back on a literal horse in a literal blood-stained robe, but when he says "sword," he probably means that as a metaphor for an AR-15? And why so specific? Couldn't God conjure up some sort of super Star Wars gun that no one had ever seen before? Why would he use a gun that any nut can get at any gun show?






And now, Boykin goes for some sort of wingnut gold medal by being perhaps the first lunatic to sombine the second coming with the second amendment.

Now I want you to think about this: where did the Second Amendment come from? ... From the Founding Fathers, it's in the Constitution. Well, yeah, I know that. But where did the whole concept come from? It came from Jesus when he said to his disciples 'now, if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.' 

I know, everybody says that was a metaphor.  IT WAS NOT A METAPHOR! He was saying in building my kingdom, you're going to have to fight at times. You won't build my kingdom with a sword, but you're going to have to defend yourself.  And that was the beginning of the Second Amendment, that's where the whole thing came from. I can't prove that historically and David will counsel me when this is over, but I know that's where it came from.


Holy shit! There's one I've never heard before. Where in the hell does he come up with that? Has any historian ever found any shred of evidence that any of the founders were thinking of that Bible verse when they wrote the second amendment? (And David Barton doesn't count?) 

This man was fucking United States Army general! I had no idea he was this insane. I know he got drummed out of the Army because even the Bush administration found his anti-Muslim rhetoric embarrassing, but holy fuck, he's a loony!
It's terrifying to think that this man once commanded an Army! It's a miracle that this nut never invaded Saudi Arabia, or Dearborn, MI!