A Question to the Faithful

Today ( 12/30/09 ), I caught "Pastor" Rod Parsley's "Breakthrough" comedy TV show where he said that his "ministry" was under its worst attack in 30 years and oh yes, HE NEEDS YOUR MONEY. He needs it before the end of the year.

So I hear you asking, "what's new with these fakers?"

Pastor Rod said they had met one financial goal ( Damn! ) because of a "matching donation gift", but they still need $500,000 by close of business tomorrow and guess what? Miraculously there is another "matching donation gift" of $250,000 already on the table, so all he needs now is a measly quarter of a million dollars in 36 hours! Hallelujah! Praise Jesus! You can do it!

Now the question I feel that must be raised is "What is the Christian basis of these 'matching' gifts?"

Surely "God loveth a cheerful giver" as it says in Second Corinthians 9:7.

Please note that's not "a matching giver" or "a reluctant giver" and it most certainly isn't "a giver who only gives if he strong arms another giver first". I think the Bible has a lot to say about pride and simply doing stuff for the adulation others in the congregation. And surely isn't that what this "matching donation" nonsense is all about, pride and preening?

Or is it even worse? Is it really Religious Extortion of the believers sanctioned by their Pastor?

James Dobson Quote 12/29/09

And I jest not.....This has to be the second best quote of 2009 - after the one about "The hand is an object of love...."

"The culture is at war against our kids and against what we are trying to teach. I mean, they are determined to damn them because the popular culture, I think, is Satanic in its influence and they want to take your kids to Hell".

12/29/09 - FoF website - Focus on Parenting - "Heritage Builders I"

Is this man insane? Would you want this man dispensing any advice on raising children? I think not. I wouldn't want this idiot within a 1000 miles of my kids.

I bet Iain Banks would have something to say about this claptrap.....Know your Culture novels people. Special Circumstances would be on Dobbo's case...If they were real. Schade.

Manhattan Declaration = Abject Failure

Again assuming 160 million adults as potential signers of this thing, with a total of 310830 signatories today ( December 26th ), that only represents 0.194% of the American people.

So Chuck "The Felon" Colson can say this is THE most important thing he ever wrote, but these numbers tell me that people are not interested in signing up to loony right wing screeds.

So the only conclusion we can draw is that this "Call To Christian Conscience" is a complete failure.

Let's see if Dobson has the gall to mention its "success" before he leaves the air for ever in February. I guess he might, given the numerous instances I have quoted and written about of his bearing false witness. He wouldn't know Intellectual Honesty if it showed up in Colorado Springs and demanded an interview.

My sister is back in the hospital in the UK

Looks like the chemotherapy knocked her white blood cell count down to a big round zero and she's now being ravaged with every opportunitic infection she could have gotten. My mom says she looks like she is bruised all over her body...

This in not in any way going to be a Happy Christmas.

What is she getting for Christmas? Answer: Platelets and Antibiotics.

What am I getting? Answer: Sadness, broad and very deep.

Visor-gate. It looks minor but speaks volumes

Today ( Sunday December 20th ) John McCain was playing down the Sarah Palin visor-gate story, saying he understood she blanked out his name on her visor to avoid publicity and paparazzi attention on her vacation in Hawaii. Basically he reiterated Sarah Palin's own explanation - one that stands up to no scrutiny whatsoever.

Her explanation makes no sense because (a) the paparazzi would have been photographing her no matter what her sartorial garb was and (b) WalMart sells blank visors.

Clearly she did it to stick a finger in McCain's eye and for her own unending desire to keep herself in the news.

What is disturbing is that this woman, who so promotes herself as one of the people and just a hockey mom, should have such poor judgement when it comes to understanding the public's perception of events. Does she think she's so loved that she is immune to scrutiny or analysis of her actions? Does she really think the public is so stupid that we won't see her petty vindictiveness behind her "Aw Shucks!" schtick? This story tells more about Palin's spite and ego than a dozen rambling interviews with the mainstream media.

And now she has cut short her vacation. Is there nothing in her life that this woman woman won't quit from?

Chuck Colson says Israel is not a "civilized society"

Listening again to the Focus On The Family radio broadcast of 11/23/2009 where Doctor Dobson and others including convicted felon Chuck Colson were discussing the "Manhattan Declaration" a so called "Call To Christian Conscience", I heard Colson utter a sentence so inane, so utterly loony and also contemptible that I feel I have to share it with a wider world.

Colson said, "We're talking about the Foundational Truths of the christan life, which by the way, are the Foundational Truths of EVERY civilized society." ( my emphasis ).

Do you hear what he actually said? He said that societies not founded on "Christian Truths" ( whatever they are ) are not civilized. You know, like Israel or Japan or India.

I bet that comes as a shock to Bebe Netanyahu. I'm sure he thought these right wing loons were Israel's friends, but there goes Chuck letting the anti-semitic cat right out of the bag. But we know these guys don't care a toss about Israel - after all, working for the Lord's return does imply working for the end of the state of Israel.....but who cares, it will finally be civilized and that's what has to count the most, right?

And for those of you not keeping up with these things, the Manhattan Declaration is a document drawn up by a cadre of religious leaders, prominent evangelicals and general loons which any Tom, Dick and Harriet can sign affirming their commitment to the baby Jesus while at the same time poking the current administration right in the middle of its huge socialist pro-abortion eye.

The Declaration has been available for anyone to sign for just about three weeks now and according to their website, to date ( December 12th 2009 ) it has garnered a whopping 285386 signatures.

Well in a country of 320 million people, if we assume half are adults and only adults are signing up to this errant nonsense, that number represents less than 0.18% of the US population agreeing with Dobson, Colson and the rest.

This can't be the response the Declaration's originators were hoping for. Focus has gone very very quiet on the whole matter - after trumpeting reaching 200k signatures in the first few days of the Declaration's existence.

Also on the broadcast Doctor got his panties so in a wad about the Obama administration and the healthcare bill, he threatened to "pull an Alec Baldwin" and leave the country and "go into exile" if a bill passes.

Alas, I fear he will do the "full Baldwin", which is of course, simply to threaten to leave and then stay anyway.

But I can have my dreams can't I?

Perhaps he will exile himself to one of Chuck Colson's uncivilized countries - how much irony would that entail? Perhaps more than I can handle.

Damage Control Continues Apace

Still further damage control over at Focus on the Family on Monday November 16th, with a link on the daily program page to "Jim Daly's Story". You know the kind of thing, heartwringingly sentimental claptrap, "both my parents were alcoholics", "my father gambled away all the money", "my mom left him...", "us kids were adopted...." The usual Focus overegged "true" story ending in the clouds parting and behold! Salvation! All of course just to garner sympathy for Jim and the boardroom coup. I understand why they did it. I also understand why this time, because of the enormity of Daly's error, that it ain't going to work.

Damage Control at Focus On The Family

Following the announcement of the ignominious forcing out of "Doctor" James Dobson last week, the Focus On The Family Daily broadcast of Monday November 9th 2009 was nothing more than a damage control exercise by Jim Daly and other members of the Focus On The Family board - yes, I'm talking about you, the Reverend Al Mohler and Lt. Gen. Patrick Caruana.

It really looks like Jim Daly has blundered big time in his understanding of the public perception of what the Focus on the Family Ministry actually is. And he and his fellow board members can spin what they did until it becomes a dreidl, but they will rue the day they put the knife into James Dobson's back.

You could hear in Jim Daly's statements that the public have contacted him about his boardroom coup and have universally asked him "WTF are you doing?" He said during the radio program "All of us have mixed emotions right now with what's happening."

Daly's emotions may well be mixed, probably a combination of elation and fear he did the wrong thing ( he did ).

The public's reaction is anger all round that a much loved buffoon has been silenced forever.

You could also hear in John Fuller's voice that he is not happy with what has happened. I suspect John will be gone from Focus within three months.

Focus on the Family itself will unravel before then end of 2010. And when it does, that will be the Best News of 2010 if not Best News Ever.

Definition of a Bloodless Coup

Following his force out from Focus On The Family, Doctor James Dobson in the radio broadcast of Monday November 2nd 2009 desperately tried to spin what had happened into something positive, into something the Lord was leading both the board of FoF and himself to do.

But of course, as always he was lying. And I know this how?

Because between his rambling invocation of scripture and telling us how strong his heart is, James Dobson said the following ( this is an exact quote ) :-

"The Board of Directors voted previously on Wednesday, before we ( Shirley and "Doctor" ) got there, to ask for my resignation. Although their request was made with kindness and respect, we can only guess the reason for their decision, because frankly, I DON'T KNOW WHY". ( my emphasis )

So he doesn't know why? On the radio show he made some half-assed attempt to say that Jim Daly perhaps wanted to fully take control and bring to an end the Dobsonian era, but you could tell from Doctor Dobson's voice that this was pure speculation on his part - and really weak speculation to boot. He simply could not believe Jim Daly had stabbed him in the back - even with the handle of the knife clearly visible. So it had to be "the Lord's will".

So here is my take and I think this is probably nearer to the truth than any spin put on this bloodless coup by James Dobson.

Jim Daly doesn't want to have Focus On The Family perceived as a Personality Ministry. He has seen what has happened to the influence of "The Old Time Gospel Hour" without Jerry Falwell and to "The Coral Ridge Hour" without the intellectually challenged Doctor D.James Kennedy.

Both of those ministries have suffered perilous declines since their founders passed away. They truly were a product of the men who created them. And without their egos firmly stamped on them, they have just become the same as any other mediocre "I-pay-no-taxes" religious Ponzi scheme out there stealing money from the gullible.

Daly fears just such a the decline of Focus On The Family when James Dobson does finally pop his clogs ( that's why Dobson kept rabbiting on about his health ), but alas, his actions are too late to achieve his desired goal.

James Dobson is so associated in the public's mind with Focus On The Family ( was there ever a more folksy voice on the radio offering such hateful advice? ) that his removal will damage the organization irrevocably.

Donations were down $5 million in 2009, leading to many layoffs at the FoF gulag in Colorado Springs. After what has happened, just look how down contributions will be in 2010. Jim Daly has gotten rid of the only reason to send money to the "ministry" and he has ensured its influence will decline to that of the AFA, FRC, PTC, MRC and the "American Values" organization headed up by the Gollum lookalike, Gary "pancake tosser" Bauer.

No one will listen to the FoF radio broadcast after James Dobson leaves. If Jim Daly thinks "Doctor" Bill Maier and Bob "The Squeak" Waliszewski can hold and retain the listenership of the man he has forced out, he is very much laboring under a serious delusion.

I predict real estate sales of parts of the Focus On The Family campus before the end of 2010 as contributions simply dry up.

All that being said, James Dobson going off the radio simply is The Best News of 2009.

Irony Alert

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

Following the UK authorities banning TV charlatan Benny Hinn from entering Britain, one of his disappointed followers, a Ms.Jill Masefield from Bristol was quoted saying the following in the Daily Torygraph newspaper :-

"He's been coming here for years and years, I think it is very unfair that they have blocked him now. It has cost me a fortune in hotel bills and I feel we have been led up the garden path".

Oh the irony. She recognizes the act of being led up horticultural paths, but alas poor dear, she not does see it is Benny himself laying the paving stones of the broad way right in front of her.

I love it.

And Benny has a Private Jet too! I wonder how Jesus feels about that?

I guess that line from the Ten Commandments movie never gets old nor goes out of style :-

"If he had not wanted them shorn, He would not have made them sheep"

Review of "Capitalism - A Love Story"

Mr Moore's critics fall into two overlapping groups. The blanket "love it or leave it" crowd or the "oh boy what a hypocrite" bunch.

Both really have no merit. In the first instance they simply see America as perfect, so no one should want to change anything. This is clearly asinine. And the latter group can't hold two ideas in their collective head at the same time - they simply cannot understand that a man can be a critic of something, but still make money too.

For them, "socialists" should be bearded Jeremiahs wearing sack cloth - which is just silly.

Mr Moore clearly has a right to make movies and earn a living within the society in which he lives. These people simply LOVE rich people ( as Moore says, the saps think they will be as rich as Croesus one day ), but they really don't like rich people who criticize the system. That drives them nuts because he's telling them that the deck is stacked against them and they most assuredly don't want to hear THAT.

So with all the usual caveats and provisos, you should see this movie for two reasons :-

1. To learn about Dead Peasant insurance.

2. To be simply be amazed by how the $700 billion dollar bailout got railroaded through Congress.

Something from 2008.....

For the past few years, when Tropical Storms have formed in the Atlantic, I've put up tracking maps near my desk at work. After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, we have been subjected to media fear mongering every hurricane season. To make things a tad humorous, I add a quotation ( usually unmodified ) to the map.

Tidying my desk at work today, I came across the maps for 2008. I thought it might be useful to summarize them.

So here we go.....

The first map is from July 3rd for Tropical Depression Two and because it was so far away, the quotation was "Ah, what a warning for a thoughtless man".

Later, this became Tropical Storm Bertha and because it was still so far away the quotation became: "The ocean is a wilderness reaching around the globe. wilder than a Bengal Jungle, and fuller of monsters, washing the very wharves of our cities and the gardens of our sea-side residences"

On July 7th: "To his friend Fox he wrote from Brazil: 'My mind has been, since leaving England, in a perfect hurricane of delight and astonishment."

And on the 8th, I used my first poem for the year:

Why look the distant mountains
So gloomy and so drear?
Are rain clouds passing o'er them,
Or is the tempest near?
No shadow of the tempest
Is there, nor wind nor rain
'Tis Charon that is passing by,
With all his gloomy train.

All the more ironic, given still how far away Bertha was - AND turning more and more to the north.

Then on July 21st we had Tropical Storm Dolly in the Gulf of Mexico.....along with...

the heart
of Mexico sits in the rain
not caring to seek shelter

And on July 23rd as Hurricane Dolly came ashore....

"It just so happens we be Texicans. A Texican is nothing more than a human man way out on a limb, this year and next, maybe for a hundred more. But I don't think it'll be forever. Someday this country's going to be a fine place to be"

And on my birthday, again in the Gulf it was Tropical Storm Edouard. "We cannot put the face of a person on a stamp unless said person is deceased. My suggestion, therefore, is that you drop dead"

And hitting the Dominican Republic on August 15th, we had Tropical Storm Fay.

The cup of Morgan Fay is shattered
Life is a bitter sage,
And we are weary infants
In a palsied age.

And sticking with Tropical Storm Fay, on August 16th:

And with great joy ride I the last great ride.
I am fey; I am fain of sudden dying.

At this time it looked like it might affect South Florida......

When the storm rattles my windowpane
I'll stay hunched at my desk, it will roar in vain
For I'll have plunged deep inside the thrill
Of conjuring spring with the force of my will,
Coaxing the sun from my heart and building here
Out of my fiery thoughts, a tepid atmosphere.

And then the storm reached Cuba and "The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits."

And about to go through the Keys on August 18th, "From a distance the rushing of the torrent delights and uplifts us, but it rocks us in a flimsy boat, we are overwhelmed by despair. The same applies to danger."

And on August 20th Tropical Storm Fay passed by just north of my house:

Goodbye,
you who are, for me, the postmarks again
of shattered towns..

And a week later, Tropical Storm Gustav crossed Haiti, "To get a man soundly saved it is not enough to put on him a pair of new breeches, to give him regular work, or even to give him a University education"

Of course all that referred to me, not generically to the people residing in Haiti.

And later on August 27th:

When the wind comes up from Cuba,
And the birds are on the wing,
And our hearts are patting juba,
To the banjo of the spring,
Then it's no wonder whether
The boys will get together,
With a stein on the table and a cheer for everything.

And then the storm jinked south a bit, looking to miss both Cuba and Florida..

What matters where we dream away
The ages? In the isles of Ind,
In Tybee, Cuba or Cathay,
Or in some world of winter wind?

And on August 29th he was Hurricane Gustav.

Le temps a laissie son manteau
De vent, de froidure et de pluye,
Et s'est vestu de brouderie,
De soleil luyant, cler et beau.

And on the same day, I started to track Tropical Storm Hanna.

In the very early morning when the light was low
She got all together and she went like snow,
Like snow in the springtime on a sunny hill,
And we were only frightened and can't think still.

And on September 2nd we had way out east, Tropical Storm Ike. So of course I could not resist the pun of "I don't like Ike."

On the same day, it was Hurricane Hanna tracking up the east coast of Florida, but staying offshore:

She will not turn aside? Alas!
Let them lie. Suppose they die?
The chance was they might take her eye.

Then Hanna went back to being a Tropical Storm:

Give not a windy night a rainy morrow,
To linger out a purposed overflow.
If thou wilt leave me, do not leave me last.

The next day ( September 3rd ) still as a Tropical Storm just north of Haiti:

Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me,
Saying that now you are not as you were
When you had changed from the one who was all to me....

And still way out east we had Hurricane Ike where "Expectations remain high. Bur realities are disturbing."

And it was still September 3rd and it was still Tropical Storm Hanna when I could say "Court disaster long enough, and it will accept your proposal."

And Hanna on the 4th of September:

O plunge your hands in water, Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin, And wonder what you've missed.

And for Ike? Apparently two concurrent storms were grinding me down:

Turn back
back
to the lake of Delos;
lest all the song notes
pause and break
across a blood-stained throat.

Later on the 4th, the track started to show Ike coming my way:

Alas! regardless of their doom,
The little victims play!
No sense have they of ills to come
Nor care beyond today.

September 5th for Ike, "The Westerly Wind asserting his sway from the south-west quarter is often like a monarch gone mad, driving forth with wild imprecations the most faithful of his courtiers to shipwreck, disaster, and death."

And a nice short one for Ike, "And from the south-west came the end of the world."

And then:

The moan of multitudes in woe, -
These were the things we wished would go;

And on September 8th, Ike was on Cuba:

It was only yesterday sick Cuba's cry
Came up the tropic wind, "Now help us, for we die!"

And later that day it was "There is nothing so desperately monotonous as the sea, and I no longer wonder at the cruelty of pirates" ( or hurricanes - my addition )

And on September 9th it was becoming clear that Hurricane Ike was going to miss South Florida so "To avoid doing anything, wait for the right circumstances."

Then Ike was in the Gulf of Mexico because "In nature there are unexpected storms; in life there are unpredictable vicissitudes."

And it was still Hurricane Ike on September 11th and looking at a Texas landfall and as a man once said "Oregon and Texas, are yet unsung. Yet America is a poem in our eyes' its ample geography dazzles the imagination, and it will not wait long for metres."

Then on September 26th, harmless to the US and going due north there was Tropical Storm Kyle:

Though Canada be felt in beat
Of summer pulse that enervates:
The Old World and the New World meet

In dial, arbor, tropic heat.

On September 29th way to the north ( near Nova Scotia ) there was Subtropical Storm Laura:

Some beauty unforeseen I trace
In every change of Laura's face.

October 7th, way down in the south-west corner of the Gulf, up popped Tropical Storm Marco:

A land of lutes and witching tones,
Of silver, onyx, opal stones;
A lazy land, wherein all seems
Enchanted into endless dreams;
And never any need they know,
In Mexico.

And on October 13th there was Tropical Storm Nana ( near no land at all ):

They are all gone away
There is nothing more to say.

On October 14t, south of Hispaniola, Tropical Storm Omar. But he was moving AWAY from Florida, back into the ocean:

Upon the huge Atlantic, and once more
We ride into still water and the calm
Of a sweet evening, screen'd by either shore...

On October 15th he was harmless as Hurricane Omar:

Consider the sea's listless chime:
Time's self it is, made audible -
The murmur of the earth's own shell.....

On November 5th, Tropical Depression Seventeen:

Late, late yestreen I saw the new Moon.
With the old Moon in his arms;
And I fear, I fear, my master dear!
We shall have a deadly storm.

And on November 6th, Seventeen became Tropical Storm Paloma:

Vengeful across the cold November moors,
Loud with ancestral shame there came the bleak,
sad wind that shrieked, and answered with a shriek.....

And as Hurricane Paloma bore down on Cuba on November 7th all I could think of was Raul Castro with this quote:

What have I done of all the year,
To bear this hated doom severe?

And Paloma went away and died in the Atlantic and Hurricane Season 2008 was over.

I would like to post the quotes for other years, but I'm afraid I may have tossed the tracking maps. ( 2006, 2007 ??)

Of course the tracks for this quiet 2009 season, I am still updating.

More Radio Peace off the air !!

So first it was three hours. Then it was two. Then it was two, but with
the 07:00 AM to 08:00 AM hour in Portuguese ("Happy Days") and now it
is down to one lonely hour.

Yes people, Radio Peace, the Catholic Church's radio outreach in South Florida is now live only from 08:00 AM to 09:00 AM with "Religion, Politics and the Culture" with Dennis O'Donovan.

And how ever much Dennis says he is respectful of opposing views - he isn't.

This show is a standard right wing gabfest with some Catholic ideas you might not find on Glenn's or Rush's shows - namely an anti-death penalty stance and support for illegal immigrants.

Other than those two, Mr.O'Donovan's "show" is indistinguishable from any other ranting nutbag with a microphone.

And that is why he has sponsors. And that is why he is the only one left on the air.

Which actually is rather a shame.

Irony Alert

Yesterday ( 9/10/09 ), the Alliance Defense Fund announced it had received an anonymous donation of $9.2 million to aid it in its defense of the First Amendment and Freedom of Speech - especially on college campuses, where they put equal weight behind the discussion of all speech, like the theory of Evolution and the delusion that is Intelligent Design.

Did no one else see the irony of an ANONYMOUS donation for protecting FREE SPEECH?

Sounds like a donation to protect speech the donor doesn't want challenged or even debated.

I'm sure this point is lost on the lawyers at the ADF who just see a big pile of cash.

The Time Has Come

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the time has finally come to address a issue that truly frosts this humble correspondent's nads.

I am of course, referring to radio preachers who say "C'mon now" and "Are you still out there?" when preaching their most heretical loopiness before a live audience.

The two most egregious charlatans who keep on doing this on my radio are Charles Capps and Joyce Meyer.



They say these things when they realize they gave gone too far in their latest Biblical distortions and they want the reassurance that they still have the audience in the palms of their grossly manipulative hands.

Charles Capps in particular likes to say stuff like "Don't worry. This will all work out" before he goes on to expound his "teachings" that are so contrary to anything Jesus had to say, that they are in fact simply, lies.

And while we are at this, Joyce, what the heck is a "Practical Bible Teacher"?

Clearly not a pastor or any kind of orthodox ordained minister. This woman has no insight and brings no Biblical revelation. She's just a "conference speaker", telling bad jokes and dropping the baby Jesus' name every now and again.

And the audiences for both of these people laugh nervously because though they want to believe, what they really want is to not look like fools duped by the likes of these people.

C'mon now!

GI Joe

This movie so wanted to be about Sienna Miller's cleavage, but alas the PG-13 rating meant that the camera could only pan past it and not lovingly linger.


The characters in this movie, ( good or bad ) were one dimensional and wholly unengaging. I really didn't care who lived or who died.

I really thought this entire movie was a waste of my time. In the end I felt beaten down by the CGI. And effects can't be an entire reason for a movie.

That's why this sucked and the upcoming 2012 looks so bad.

New favorite religious loon on the radio

Check out Sid Roth. I swear this week he had a guest on his "show" who said that God had supernaturally, during a church event, given people GOLD TEETH !!

Why would God do gold and grills?

Surely if God is in the dentistry business, he'd just give you a perfect set of what he designed in the first place?

Doesn't God giving out gold teeth imply his original design is somehow inferior? So God made a mistake with "natural" teeth and now he has had a chance to think things over he really prefers gold over enamel?

This is just one example from Mr Roth's radio show. If you listen everyday, you'll hear something just as outrageous.

Please click on the title of this blog entry to link to Mr Roth's website.

Durian Fruit

Last week someone at work ( Thanks Danh! ) gave me a stinky durian fruit to try.


Oh my! Even after it had been kept in the refridgerator at work in a sealed solid plastic box and wrapped around with two plastic bags, once the package was removed from the coolness, the smell was noticeable. It was noticeable and it was VERY BAD.

As others have described it before me, it smelled like something had died and was rotting, but with a hint of mustiness - like this thing had been rotting for a long long time. And the smell is strong, almost overpowering in what can only be described as its foulness.

So I drove the durian home and put it in my freezer ( as wrapped ) and inside a further small sealed cooler.

The next day, I transferred it to the main part of the refridgerator to thaw it out ( it had frozen solid ) and I went to work, with the intention of eating it that night.

When I got home, my refridgerator upper shelf smelled real bad.

So I put the cooler in the car along with a bottle of soda and drove out to a local park with the intention of eating this foul smelling thing as far from people as possible. In Indonesia, you can't take these things into hotels or on public transport. I didn't need my neighbors complaining to the Home Owners Association.

When I got to the park and opened up all the packaging, the smell was horrible, putrid and really unpleasant. But I persevered, unwrapped the very very soft fruit ( Hmm ripe! ) and without breathing in through my nose, I took a big bite.......


It was wonderful - just as some colleagues described - like a sweet pudding, with a hint of garlic and onion. Somehow the lovely taste completely negated the smell. While eating it, I had no sense of the rotten smell at all. The taste was all pervasive and actually, pretty damn great.

As you can see below, I ate it all up.....


Andrew Zimmern on the show "Bizarre Foods" has totally fallen in my estimation - he spat it out after one taste and said "never again".

I think the people who loathe this fruit somehow either physically still smell it while eating it or, and this is more likely, they come in predisposed to not liking the taste because the taste and the smell MUST be connected right?

Except, in the weirdest of ways as I can attest, the smell and the taste are not connected at all.

What a great experience this was.

PS I left the little cooler in my car. Four days later, someone remarked while putting a tennis racket in the trunk, "What is that smell?". I grinned inanely.

And the smell in the refidgerator? That went away when I stirred the open container of baking soda for a bit.

What is irritating me

The numbnuts advertising agency who "re-branded" the Sci Fi Channel as SyFy and the executives at that channel who went to all the meetings, sat trough all the presentations and then still gave the green light to such a monumentally stupid marketing decision.

And one of the reasons given was "newer overseas markets don't even know what 'Sci Fi' is."

That's a crock for one good reason :-

Geekdom transcends national borders. The people who like it know what "Sci Fi" is. And if the executives at SyFy don't know that, then they should not be executives at any channel showing Science Fiction content.

All they have done is piss off their core viewing audience with a marketing gimmick so lame that it is difficult to put into words how much damage this change has wrought. I hope they get crapped on by a fleet of Arcturan stunt pigs.

And the name "SyFy"? Pretentious and horrible, like "SoBe" here in South Florida but without anyone being interested in it.

And also of course ( to alienate geeks even more ), so very gay looking - like an Ikea name for a wooden spoon.

Truth In Advertising

Today on one of my C-SPAN channels, Fox news shill Monica Crowley was interviewing an "author", Brian Jennings who has written a book about the supposed coming censorship of talk radio.

She finally got around to asking if the Obama administration would out and out reintroduce the Fairness Doctrine" or bring it back in some sneakier form and Mr Jennings response was ( and I kid you not ) :-

"If they do, then they can expect a tea party that is incredulous".

---||---

Yes. "Incredulous". As in :-

Incredulous: Adjective: unwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true.

Now a tea party is just an event. In and of itself, it can't be incredulous. The people participating might be, but if the doctrine was reintroduced even they have to accept what is being offered is true, otherwise why protest?

So Mr Jennings gets the quotation remarks around "author" because he doesn't know "incredulous" from "incredible".

What a sad sack Mr Jennings really is.

Father Albert out of the Catholic Church just in time

This week, the disgraced Roman Catholic priest from Miami, Father Albert Cutie announced he will become an Episcopalian.

This caused Archbishop Favalora to have a little hissy fit. But it looks like Father Albert will be having the last laugh because now the it has been announced that up to 14 Catholic churches in the Miami archdiocese may have to close.


Here is Archbishop Favalora in full on hissy fit mode.

A spokeswoman for the archdiocese, Mary Ross Agosta is quoted as saying that the closings are needed because "We're looking at finances and a shift in the Catholic population."

She did not add "And because we lost our Superstar Priest who was our best TV asset to fleshly temptation"

I'm sure that Father Cutie's loss is simply huge for the Catholic Church in South Florida.

I couldn't be happier.

Lovely News

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of Wisconsin on Thursday May 28th denied motions to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Freedom from Religion Foundation against the National Day of Prayer.

I'm guessing this will be the only time we will see President Obama and Shirley Dobson on the same side of ANY lawsuit.

Good for this judge!

It all may be a lost cause though because the judge actually wrote that "the defendants arguments have merit and ultimately may be successful". The reason the motions to dismiss were rejected were simply because they are "premature" as summary judgment is yet to be issued on the FFRF's original suit.

Damn! I thought this ridiculous notion of a "National Day of Prayer" was in danger!

What I did find disturbing last year were the stories I read that even though the NDP is a non-partisan event, in her position as Chairman of the NDP Task Force, Shirley Dobson only wanted Christians in her organization - and she interviewed potential volunteers and quizzed them about their Christian Faith.

Of course, if she was just Chairman of the "NDP Christian Task Force" that would be :-

a) More accurate....and.....

b) A clarification that Shirley Dobson DOES NOT have any kind of overarching national role in an event that isn't ( by Presidential decree ), for Christians only.

Shirl and Dobbo every year try to bend the NDP to their Christian will. I'm sure that of the people who even know the NDP exists, the majority don't know that it is open to people of all faiths.

The Dobsons certainly never say so as they pump up Shirley's role from a simple coordinator for one faith's participation in the event to "Chairman of the National Day Of Prayer Task Force".

But that's "Doctor" for you - a man with a slippery and superficial understanding of the Bible in general and that pesky commandment about bearing false witness in particular.

Returning to "Utter Evil"

I want to just make another couple of points regarding James Dobson's broadcast of May 14th 2009, the great "Utter Evil is coming out of Congress" program.

In the program Dobbo bemoaned the fact that the Democrats control all the branches of government, the Presidency, the Congress and ultimately the Judiciary via the Supreme Court. "Which will only get more liberal". So there are now no "checks and balances" on what the hated Democrats can do. He said in effect that checks and balances to stop the excesses of one party running amok were a good and desirable thing.

Of course what the old goat completely failed to mention was why he was so vehemently against checks and balances when the Republicans controlled the Presidency and both houses of Congress - when just the Supreme Court provided some very light reins to restrain their excesses.

Oh. That's right. They were "Activist Judges". So they must have been the "wrong kind" of checks and balances. You know the kind? Those that James Dobson doesn't like.

What a Republican shill Focus on the Family has become. Now they don't even bother to say that purely political programs are brought to us by "Focus On The Family Action".

They really are that contemptuous of the law.

This week Tom Minnery said on one of the the "Focus Action Updates" on the Citizenlink website discussing the California Supreme court ruling upholding Proposition 8, "Our side raised nearly $40 million and some of that money came from Focus on the Family" [ to initially pass Prop 8 ]. Shouldn't that have been Focus on the Family Action providing the money?

Someone really needs to investigate the 501.c(3) status of Focus on the Family because Dobson and Minnery are definitely playing fast and loose with its tax exempt status.

What else?

I know. During the program Representative Gohmert actually quoted and I guess, expanded on, a quote by Chuck "the convicted felon" Colson that is so freaking stupid that I feel obliged to put it out for the ridicule in deserves.

"You can't have the morality of Woodstock without producing a Columbine, [or a Madoff]".

WOODSTOCK CAUSED COLUMBINE?

What monumental Arschloch-ing stupidity. And what an unbelievably insensitive thing to say to the families of the Columbine dead. "The morality of a rock concert in upstate New York in the 1960's caused your child's death". WTF? What is "The morality of Woodstock" anyway? Free love? Peace? Those things caused deranged killers?

Un-freaking-believable. THIS MAN IS IN CONGRESS FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!

WOODSTOCK CAUSED BERNIE MADOFF?

Deregulation caused Bernie Madoff. Greed caused Bernie Madoff. Republicanism without checks and balances caused Bernie Madoff.

The Travails of Father Albert

So finally I have to come to the Father Albert Cutie story.

Not too sure how much traction this story is having nationally, But down here in South Florida it is quite a big deal - especially after Father Albert himself introduced that perennial Dade County element - "It was CUBAN SPIES that made me do it".

Let me give a little background. I see the Father Albert story as simply the latest cherry to precariously sit atop South Florida's rancid Archdiocese of Miami.

For me, it all started a number of years ago when 1040 AM WLVJ, a rabid Protestant radio station all of a sudden allowed three hours of Catholic programming every morning. And who opened every daily broadcast? You guessed it, Father Albert praying "The Angelis" whatever that is. I can only guess that WLVJ needed the money for them to allow the Roman Catholic Church to take such a daytime stranglehold on their broadcast schedule.

So we had three hours of Catholic propaganda every day. It surely could not last.

And it did not.

First to go was "Catholic Answers Live!", a phone-in program based out of San Diego. Clearly it being on at 09:00 AM made it spectacularly NOT LIVE! here in Florida.

I was disappointed to see it go because I kind of liked hearing the lunatic certainty of dogma. At least they got in a few licks against WLVJ's regular anti-catholic audience. It that respect, it was kind of subversive.

So then we were down to two hours ( 7:00 to 09:00 )

Father Albert would introduce the whole thing ( I think as a recording ). He certainly every day completely ballsed up the emphasis on the prayer at one point completely altering its meaning. You had to hear it. As Mike Myers would say "He had the emPHAsis on the wrong SylLABle". I always will wonder why they didn't have Father Albert record it again. Probably because he thought it was fine and he was the "superstar priest" so no one would say anything.

So the first hour was a mishmash - some elements being the same every day and others rotating in on a weekly basis. Typically it would be :-

1. Father Albert
2. Sister Ann Shields and "Food For The Journey"
3. Conversations with the Archbishop John Clement Favalora
4. "Breakfast For Your Spirit" with Philip Carlton a 30 minute phone-in where they had to BEG for calls. They usually got a couple, Sometimes they got none at all. Which left Philip in full on waffle mode - very bad radio.

That would typically cover 07:00 to 08:00. Let me say now that Philip Carlton has the WORST VOICE FOR RADIO EVER - it wavers and cracks. He sounds like he is two seconds away from actually croaking.

And let's not get to talking about Archbishop Favalora - He "umms" he "aahs", he clears his throat, he "umms" some more. Simply terrible radio. Awful. You simply cannot listen. He should never do radio again until he improves his diction.

And that brings us to a segment that fell away next - that was the occasional bit called "Life Matters" from the "Respect Life Office" of the Archdiocese. This was spectacularly inappropriate anti-abortion screed every week. I don't want to hear abortion details over my cornflakes - and I guess neither did the audience because this segment bit the dust.

One time I heard a woman call Philip Carlton to say that she missed "Life Matters" because she played it to her young daughter on the way to school. Talk about child abuse. It was always so graphic. I was glad to see it go. It certainly was never appropriate fare for young girls.

And then one day "Pow!" the entire hodgepodge that was the 07:00 to 08:00 hour was gone and replaced by an hour of worship music in Portuguese called "Happy Days!"

Awww! No more Father Albert!

So all we have left is the 08:00 to 09:00 hour called "Religion, Politics and the Culture" with a lay apologist called Dennis O'Donavan. This I guess remains on the air because it is a traditional US radio talk show - a right wing host trumpets his dogmatic opinions and denigrates ( "in love and with respect" ) any callers who disagree with him.

Because this works as radio, there are sponsors for this show and it remains on the air. Dennis says he is respectful of he callers - HE ISN'T.

So that is a brief history of "Radio Peace" on WLVJ showing in just a few hours of programming the ineptitude of the Roman Catholic Church here in South Florida. They got into radio because they could. They sucked at it. They now have one program left in English - a program that brings nothing essentially Catholic to the table.

And in such a weak and badly run Church can a man with the peccadilloes ( sexual and egotistical ) of Father Albert Cutie rise to a position of prominence and influence.

Of course, he's done for now. In the eyes of the Church diddling with a WOMAN has to be the ultimate sin - and a DIVORCEE too! OMG! Next thing you know Father Albert will say she was a Cuban Honey Pot - just to try to save his own skin.

Of course that won't work. WOMAN+DIVORCEE=DONE FOR.

I feel sorry for the woman herself. There were already fisticuffs outside Father Albert's Church between his aged supporters and more traditional wrinkled adherents to Church teaching.

I bet the congregation is not treating this woman well at all.

Doesn't the Bible say we are all sinners? I guess people won't forgive her because she took away their superstar priest. I'm sure they see her as some sexual temptress who snagged Father Albert with her wiles.

When of course, Father Albert broke his vows because, like John Edwards, he sees himself as a big shot and he thought he could get away with it because the organization he works for likes him.

He was and is, simply WRONG about that.

Focus On The Family Brodcast for 5/15/09

Today on the Focus On The Family broadcast they played a recording taken at the National Day of Prayer and it contained a short speech by Representative Michele Bachmann ( R-Minnesota ). In this address she was explaining about prayer and its importance in her life and she said "the still small voice told me stay home [that day] and to attend my local Republican endorsing convention. Oh that still small voice!"


Listen to that. God or the Holy Spirit or the Baby Freaking Jesus PERSONALLY told her to be a Republican. I think that's significant. GOD TOLD HER to be a Republican.

Which is odd because he told me all Republicans are in league with Satan and should be exposed for the Pharisees that they so evidently are - Praising themselves for the adulation of the crowd. "He [my husband] started a ministry for at-risk children." and "He [the Lord} gave us 23 great foster children to raise". Clap! Clap! Clap! You are so pious Michele, so godly!

Dobson of course praised her to the hilts as "some one to watch in Congress". He clearly is passing on her being AN IDIOT.

This is the woman who called for Congressional investigations of fellow Americans because, in her twisted universe, they are "unpatriotic".

Her latest gaff ( lampooned dead-on by Jon Stewert ) was to try and pin swine flu on Democrats in the clumsiest of ways by equating the last outbreak as also occuring under a Democratic President ( Jimmy Carter ) - when of course it was under Gerald Ford.

What a partisan hack she is. There is no Republican talking point she won't parrot and no Democratic policy she won't sneeringly denigrate.

Focus On The Family 5/14/09

The Focus On The Family broadcast for 5/14/09 was a doozie.

Doctor said that "utter evil" was coming out of the US Congress and various State Houses so we had to have a special broadcast about what's going on....

His guests were :-

1. Tom Minnery - the Focus on the Family hack
2. Gary "the dwarf" Bauer of "American Values"
3. Representative Louis Gohmert of Texas ( why isn't that a surprise? )
3. Representative Steve King of Iowa

He said he had "dozens" examples he could choose from to show this "utter evil" but he only chose to mention :-

1. The confirmation of Kathleen Sebelius as the Health and Human Services Secretary.
2. The Federal Hate Crimes Bill ( this is where the bulk of the broadcast fell )
3. A California law about sperm donation and "sperm washing". TMI there Doctor!

So let's just say Doctor Dobson hates Governor Sibelius and move on to the meat of the broadcast.

Both of the politicians knowingly misrepresented the Federal Hate Crimes Bill so that they could parrot the Republican talking point that "Paedophiles are a protected class in this bill".

Heck Congressman Gohmert used to be a judge and shame on him for stirring up falsehoods about this bill. "Some judge is going to rule that sexual orientation is whatever you are orientated to sexually".

No they are not you lying idiot Republican you.

Sexual orientation is defined in US law. It is homosexuality or heterosexuality.

It is not like some of the paraphilias Doctor Dobson listed ( but shied away from saying what they are ) will become "sexual orientations" or "gender orientations" under this law :-

1. Urophilia - aka "water sports"
2. Necrophilia - surely even Dobson drones know what this is?
3. Sadism
4. Paedophilia
5. Incest

or even some Dobson didn't mention...

6. Dendrophilia - "you are a GIANT Redwood aren't you?"
7. Knismolagnia - Oooh I'm tickled pink!
8. Sinophilia - Everyone loves eating Chinese don't they?
9. Partialism - I love your eyes/armpits/knees/elbows just not "those rude bits".

No one with these deviancies is going to become a member of a "protected class" under the Federal Hate Crimes Bill and shame on the people on this broadcast who said they are. All they are trying to do is SCARE PEOPLE.

---||---

And then very briefly they talked about some law in California about sperm donation.

James Dobson's seems to have some inside knowledge on the subject of sperm washing. Apparently ( for him ) it is not foolproof. I imagine he washes his every night.

Dobson was concerned that a 2007 California law that allowed people ("homosexuals" ) with STDs and even AIDs to donate sperm ( which gets washed ) now is going to be changed to "weaken the protections" for the women who get this sperm. Apparently ( according to Doctor Dobson ) they now won't be told the health status of the donors.

I would be concerned too if I believed anything that Dobson says.

I can't give blood in the US because I lived in England 25 years ago. So I don't believe that changes to California laws ( if they are even allowed ) will weaken or endanger US citizens because the California Legislature is bowing to the Homosexual Lobby.

Again, it's just scaremongering from Focus - business as usual in Colorado Springs.

Miss California was on Focus On The Family

Quotes from the Carrie Prejean ( Miss California ) interview with James Dobson.

"These women are beautiful, intelligent. They're driven. Some of us have law degress. We're very educated. We don't solve all the answers in the world. [ We don't have all the answers. ]

Remember, this woman wants to be a teacher.

"I don't see how I got first runner up I really don't. After I answered my question I thought "OK I'm going to be fourth runner up". I don't, I can't say I was going to win or not, but I do know that had I not gotten that question, the outcome would be different."

Er...if the outcome was going to be different, then she's either saying :-

a) She would have won with a politically correct answer - which she admits she can't say.

Or....

b) She would have been even lower in the judging with the politically correct answer. Which implies both that her answer was the "right one" and that towing the pro gay marriage line would have been the wrong thing to do. ( if she wanted to win )

This woman can't speak two sentences without them being contradictory. She couldn't walk the intellectual walk with human cerebellums for shoes.

Family News In Focus - April 2009

So here is the analysis of the stories run on "Family News In Focus" for the month of April 2009.

Not counting the days where stories were repeated from the previous day and Friday April 17th when the link to "Family News in Focus" was broken, the total number of stories commented on was 101.

The total number of comments, discounting those of reporters, was 169

The total number of comments from "Focus On The Family" stooges was 31.

I have lumped all the following together in the "stooge department" :-

1. Focus On The Family Action
2. Focus On The Family
3. Family Research Council ( because Doctor Dobson was involved in setting it up, pre-FoFA )

So 18.3% of all comments were from people who work directly or indirectly for James Dobson.

As I predicted, the winner for comments from FoFA was Jenny Tiree. Step forward Jenny and take your 2009 "Shilling for an Old Trout" award. You deserve it. Truly.

I ran into that pesky FoF vs FoFA thing. Gary Schneeberger was described one time as working for FoF and another as working for FoFA. Yes, that 501.c(3) status is pretty damn flexible it seems.

What surpised me most was the sheer number of FoFA "commentators".

Carrie Gordon Earll (2)
Bruce Hausknecht (2)
Daniel Weiss (4)
Dawn Vargo (2)
Candy Cushmann (1)
Ashley Horne (2)
Jenny Tirree (5)
Bill Spencer (1)
Chad Hills (1)
Gary Schneeberger (1)

Two other names jumped out as talking heads for sale :-

Wendy Wright of "Concerned Women for America" (4)
Professor John Kent (3) - a "gambling expert". Hint: He's against.

And the kicker......

How many people were actually heard who were AGAINST the
Focus On The Family slant to a story?

1. Perez Hilton ( in a clip lifted from the Today program - 4/22/09 )
2. Winston Blacksone - A PROPONENT FOR POLYGAMY ( 4/1/09 )

And these I would describe as "neutral" to a particular story.

1. Donald Trump on the Carrie Prejean "I believe in opposite marriage" debacle ( 4/22/09 )
2. Pam Young a spokeman for Eastern Michigan University ( 4/10/09 )
3. Andy Fell of UC Davis ( 4/6/09 )

Of course, that means that of the 169 commentators I listened to,
164 towed the Focus on the Family line.

That is 97%. I think I'll repeat that - it sounds kind of important. NINETY SEVEN PERCENT of the people heard on one month of Family News in Focus broadcasts agreed with James Dobson's bias on any particular "report".

How is Family News in Focus in any way "news" with this level of bias in its reporting?

As I stated at the beginning of this exercise, I am not in favor of bringing back the Fairness Doctrine. It isn't coming back no matter how many times loons like James Dobson tells you it is.

All I am asking for is a little truth in advertising. Is that too much to ask?

How about rebranding "Family News in Focus" as "Doctor Dobson's Opinions in Focus"?

What it isn't is "News". With no context or even remote explantion of the contradictory arguments to a story, there is simply not enough infomation in a Family News in Focus broadcast to allow a rational person to take a rational position on the items covered.

Therefore I choose to dismiss Family News in Focus as just hot air from right wing gas bags.

It works for me.

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/30/09

AND FINALLY WE COME TO THE LAST DAY OF APRIL !!!!!

1. FCC and Fleeting Expletives*
Comments from :-
a) Dan Ised of the "Parents Television Council"
b) Wendy Wright of "Concerned Women for America"

* And some bleeped quotes from Cher and Nicole Ritchie

2. Gambling In Delaware
Comments from :-
a) Tom Grey of "Stop Predatory Gambling"
b) Susan Edger of the "Delaware Council on Gambling Problems" **
c) Brian McCarthy and NFL spokesman

** A "gambling neutral organization". Really from the title?

3. Gay Activism
Comments from :-
a) Tom Lang a spokesperson for "KnowThyNeighbor.org"
b) Jerry Cox of the "Family Council"

4. Missouri Conscience law
Comments from :-
a) Joe Ortworth of the "Missouri Family Council"

5. Substance Abusing Parents
Comments from :-
a) Joe Grafere of the "Substance and Mental Heatlth Sevices Administration"
b) "Doctor" Joann Condi of FoF

6. Abstinence at Chino Valley High AZ
Comments from :-
a) Pam Malarky ( how appropriate is THAT name?) of "Project SOS"

*********************************

Phew! I have finally finished.
One month of Family News in Focus is over!

Analysis will start in May. I'm guessing the person who has commented most will be Jenny Tiree of Focus On The Family Action - a Dobsonian stooge hawking the FoF line on a Focus On the Family daily propaganda show.

Is that in any way "News"?

I don't think so.

But let's not jump to conclusions before I've really looked over all this data.

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/29/09

1. Vandalism at Seattle Megachurch
Comments from :-
a) Ken Hutcherson the "Pastor"
Joseph Backholme of the "Family Policy Institute Of Washington"

2. Violence in places of worship
Comments from :-
a) Steven Henschell of "Calvary Chapel San Diego"
b) Rudy Rudicell founder of "Sheepdog Ministries"

3. 100 days of Obama
Comments from :-
a) Ashley Horne of FoFA
b) Jim Daly, FoF President

4. Obama News Conference ( not on Fox )
Comments from :-
a) Tim Graham of the "Media Research Center"

5. FoF Prayer Vigils for Children in Foster Care
Comments from :-
a) Scott Hosenbaugh a "Show Hope" spokesman

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/28/09

1. Craigslist
Comments from :-
a) David Miller of "Citizens for Community Values"
b) Daniel Weiss of FoFA

2. Marie Ann Glenden
Comments from :-
a) Deacon Keith Fournier of "Catholic Online"
b) Thomas Peete of "American Papist Blog"
c) Susan Forney of the "Catholic League"

3. Adopting from the Foster Care System
Comments from :-
a) Cora Nuckels an adopter
b) Sharon Ford of the "Department of Human Resources CO"
c) Kellie Rissotie of "FoF's Adoption Service"

4. Pro-Life License Plates
Comments from :-
a) Russ Amerling of "Choose Life Inc"

5. NARAL vs Abstinence Education
Comments from :-
a) Valarie Huber of "National Abstinence Education Association"

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/27/09

1. DC Stand For Marriage Rally
Comments from :-
a) Derrick McCoy a "Coordinator"

2. Christians as Right Wing Extremists
Comments from :-
a) Gary "the Dwarf" Bauer of "American Values"
b) Dr Janice Krauss of "Concerned Women For America"

3. Governor Sibelius
Comments from :-
a) Judy Smith of "Concerned Women for America of Kansas"
b) Marjorie Denithauser of the "Susan B Anthony List"

4. FRC Honors Phyllis Schlafly
Comments from :-
a) Connie McKay of the FRC

5, FoF Marriage Simulcast ( NOT NEWS THEN )
Clip of :-
a) Beth Moore of Living Proof Ministries
Comment from :-
b) Jenny Tiree of FoFA ( I think she's going to be a big winner soon )

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/24/09

1. Issuing Marriage Licenses in Iowa
Comments from :-
a) Douglas Napir of the "Alliance Defense Fund"
b) Brian English of the "Iowa Family Policy Center"

2. Dave Ramsey Puff Piece
All you hear is Dave yakking his usual schtick.

3. Plan B over-the-counter sales
Comments from :-
a) "Doctor" David Hagar of the "Physicians Resource Council"
b) Wendy Wright of "Concerned Women for America"

4. Clarksville Indiana Sex Shop Protests
Comments from :-
a) Brian Wikkins of "Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana"

5. Wisconsin School Graduations to be held in a Church
Comments from :-
a) Jeleanne Appling of the "Wisconsin Family Council"

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/23/09

1. Gambling in Philadelphia
Comments from :-
a) Jethro Highcoe of "Casino Pree Philadelphia"
b) Diane Berlin of "Casino Free PA"

2. Craigslist
Comments from :-
a) Lisa Thompson of the "Salvation Army National HQ"
b) Linda Smith of "Shared Hope International"

3. Importance of Grandparents
Comments from :-
a) Gavin Harper of the, get ready for this, "Christian Grandparenting Network"

4. Georgetown University amd Joe Biden
Comments from :-
a) Patrick Riley of the "Cardinal Neumann Society"

5. Sexting
Comments from :-
a) Daniel Weiss of FoFA

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/22/09

1. Miss USA and The Gay Marriage Question
Comments from :-
a) Donald Trump
b) Carrie Prejean ( for it is she ) with Matt Lauer*
c) Perez Hilton ( an idiot ) also with Matt Lauer*
d) Jessica Hedley a "former pageant contestant"

* Clips from the Today Show

2. Day of Silence
Comments from :-
a) Karen England of the "Capital Resource Institute"
b) Randy Thomas of "Exodus International", a de-gaying "ministry"

3. Online Casinos
Comments from :-
a) John Kent of the University of Illinois. Him AGAIN?
b) Mark Andres of "Casino Watch"
c) Jime Leech a "former Congressman"

4. Praying on a School Campus
Comments from :-
a) Brad Daykus of the "Pacific Justice Union"

5. The Pulpit Initiative Debate"
Comments from :-
a) Benjamin Ball of the "Alliance Defense Fund"

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/21/09

1. Video Game Addiction
Comments from :-
a) Douglas Genteel a "lead researcher"
b) Bob Waliszewski of Pluggedinonline ( FoF really )
c) Kurt Bruner author of "Playstation Nation"

2. Dave Ramsey ( a puff piece ) DEFINITELY NOT "NEWS"
Comments from :-
a) The idiot himself
b. Katie Humberson a sheep "in the crowd"
c) Lucille Dawsey "a grandma" and also a sheep.

3. Porn in Montana
Comments from :-
a) David Miller of "Citizens for Community Values"

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/20/09

In the home stretch now....

1. National Day Of Prayer Flights
Comments from :-
a) Jerry Kress from "Prayer Flight"
b) Patrick Carlyle a pilot.

2. Indiana School Choice
Comments from :-
a) Jeff Grantly of "School Choice Indiana"

3. US International Gambling Report
Comments from :-
a) John Kent of the University of Illinois. Looks like a tame Professor they always go to for an anti-gambling comment.

4. Becoming Politically Active
Comments from :-
a) Ashley Horne of FoFA

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/17/09

They broke the link on the FoF website. No new stories on citizenlink.org as of 19:00 Eastern.

*****


So let's talk about Jimmy Dobson's appearance on the Hannity TV show and the spin put on what he said by this mouthpiece Mr Gary Schneeberger.

Dobson did indeed say ""We are awash in evil and the battle is still to be waged. We are right now in the most discouraging period of that long conflict. Humanly speaking, we can say we have lost all those battles."

He did go on to say that he still puts his trust in Jesus to make it all better. But there is no denying he said "We lost all the battles" - even if completely contradictorily earlier, he ( Dobson ), said that FoF had some successes in its campaigns.

Schneeberger tried to spin "we have lost all those battles" as "we lost some points in the last election". What a liar.

So even though Jimmy Dobson is putting his trust in the Lord to come through in the end, I will repeat myself and remind you once again that he did say "We lost ALL the battles". You can't parse "all" to be "some in the last election cycle".

Schneeberger also blamed "the left wing media" for quoting Dobson out of context and he stated that the story originated in the Daily Telegraph in the UK. What he didn't say is that the Daily Telegrapgh is the most right wing quality newspaper in Britain and it is a natural ally of all James Dobson holds dear. So really, this isn't a "quoting out of context" issue at all. It's quoting something stupid that he really said.

The best thing was Dobson justifying himself on Hannity with something like "this wasn't a press release. This was me addressing the FoF staff" as if he had said these things in one venue and not the other, the words would somehow have different meanings?

The fact that this story came out shows really it is time for Dobson to go. How many times in the election were comments from candidates ( "clinging to religion and guns" ) made public when spoken in front of supposedly closed friendly audiences? Did James Dobson learn nothing from Obama?

And finally we come to the true reason he said what he said.

He was having a little "Pity Party" about stepping down at Focus and he wanted his ego stroked by the audience. "No, not true Doctor, you did GOOD things. You showed those gays where the closet is. Don't beat yourself up. We love you Doctor".

That's what we did it for - Pitiful Adulation. And the words got out and came back to bite him.

End of Story.

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/16/09

1. Doctor Dobson is NOT Retiring
Comments from :-
a) Gary Schneeberger of FoFA

2. Gambling in MA
Comments from :-
a) Chris Minno of "MA Family Institute"
b) John Kent a "University of Illinois Professor"

3. Catholic Adoption Agencies in the UK
Comments from :-
a) Reverend Jim Richards of the "Catholic Children's Society"
b) Matt Barber of the "Liberty Council"

4. What Makes The Economy Grow?
Comments from :-
a) Jay Richards of the "Heritage Foundation"

5. Yet Another Piece on Gay Marriage
Comments from :-
a) Jenny Tiree of FoFA

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/15/09

Here was a BIG BIG day. With the Family News in Focus site and the link on the Focus On The Family website had COMPLETELY DIFFERENT stories......

1. Adult Stem Cells I
Comments from :-
a) Wesley J Smith of the "Discovery Institute" Yes, THOSE charlatans.
b) Dawn Vargo of FoFA

2. Funding Gay University Club
Comments from :-
a) David Williams a "Student Body President"
b) Carrie Gordon Earll of FoFA

3. Adult Stem Cells II
Comments from :-
a) David Prentiss of FRC

4. Malaria Nets in Africa
Comments from :-
a) Jordon Foxworthy
b) Mark Hannlin of "Compassion International"

5. Love Won Out Ad Banned ( what was missing yesterday !! )
Comments from :-
a) Gary Schneeberger of FoF
b) Jeff Johnstone "FoF pet ex-gay"

6. TrueTolerance.org ( puff piece for an FoF website )
Comments from :-
a) Tom Benyano "opened a chapter in Fairfax County VA"
b) Candy Cushmann of FoFA
c) Josh Bollenger of the "Alliance Defense Fund"

7. Kids "Risky" Behavior
Comments from :-
a) Rob Jackson a "Counsellor"
b) Steve Earle an "Author". Alas, not THE Steve Earle.

8. Vermont Law on Sexting
Comments from :-
a) Cynthia Logan "whose daughter commited suicide"
b) David Weiss of FoFA

9. Justice Ginsberg - She's quoting "Foreign Laws" again mommy!
Comments from :-
a) Ed Waylon of "Ethics in Public Policy Center"
b) Kurt Levey of the "Commitee for Justice"

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/14/09

What a balls up. The same as yesterday.........

1. Abortion Clinic Closure in Oakland CA
Comments from :-
a) David Whitaker of the "Pregnancy Medical Clinic" in Union City CA
b) Day Gardener of the "National Black Pro-Life Union"

2. Planned Parenthood Annual Report
Comments from :-
a) Wendy Wright, President of "Concerned Women for America"
b) Joy Yearout of the "Susan B Anthony List"
c) Jenn Jerew of "Women Influencing the Nation"

3. Slots in Valley Forge
Comments from :-
a) Diane Berlin of "Casino Free PA"

PLUS.......

4. Marriage in Rhode Island
Comments from :-
a) Jenny Tiree of FoFA

All day, the link of the broadcast was to a story about "Bias Against Christian Ad", but that story never played.

Oh dear.

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/13/09

1. Abortion Clinic Closure in Oakland CA
Comments from :-
a) David Whitaker of the "Pregnancy Medical Clinic" in Union City CA
b) Day Gardener of the "National Black Pro-Life Union"

2. Planned Parenthood Annual Report
Comments from :-
a) Wendy Wright, President of "Concerned Women for America"
b) Joy Yearout of the "Susan B Anthony List"
c) Jenn Jerew of "Women Influencing the Nation"

3. Slots in Valley Forge
Comments from :-
a) Diane Berlin of "Casino Free PA"

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/10/09

One third of the way through the month of recording the people allowed to comment on Family News in Focus broadcasts.

And so we come to Good Friday, where the daily broadcast was real late in hitting the websites. But better late than nothing to monitor I guess.

1. Student Expelled frm Eastern Michigan University Counselling Program.
( Hint: She hates The Gays )
Comments from :-
a) Julia Ward the expelled "counsellor" herself.
b) Pam Young a spokesperson explaining the University's diversity policy
c) Jeremy Tedesco of the "Alliance Defense Fund" So Ms Ward's lawyer.

2. Are there "benefits" from the current economy?
Yes there really was no news today because....
Comments were from :-
a) Dr Laura. Comments lifted just straight out of the FoF daily broadcasts from earlier this week.

So there's a thing, the "news" is your own FoF programming. Brilliant!

I think Jim Daly has found a way to get costs at Focus under control.

3. Easter Celebration
Comments from :-
a) H. B. London FoF "Head of Church and Clergy"

So now "news" is your own employee saying "Happy Easter"? WTF?

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/9/09

1. Harry Knox, Another Obama Appointment FoF Does Not Like
Comments from :-
a) Dr Micheal Brown with the "Coalition Of Conscience"
b) Susan Fawnee of the "Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights"

2. National Organization for Marriage Ads
Comments from :-
a) Maggie Gallagher, President of NofM
b) Jenny Tiree of FoFA

3. Elimination of the Invocation at University of Maryland
Comments from :-
a) Jay Sekulo of the ACLJ
b) Matt Staver, Chairman of "Liberty Council"
c) Brad Daykis of the "Pacific Justice Institute

4. Abortion
Comments from :-
a) Saron Foster, President of "Feminists for Life"

5. Gay Student Housing at Texas Christian University
Comments from :-
a) Jeff Johnstone of FoF

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/8/09

It was a little late in the day before the Citizenlink website got updated. I guess they were all apoplectic about.....

1. Vermont allows Same Sex Marriage.
Comments from :-
a) Steven Cable of "Vermont Renewal"
b) Bill Spencer of FoFA

2. Internet Gambling
Comments from :-
a) Chad Hills of FoFA
b) Dr Guy Clarke of "Stop Predatory Gambling"

3. Rescinding Conscience Protection for Medical Workers

WHAT AGAIN? I told you so.

Comments from:-
a) Wendy Wright of "Concerned Women for America"

4. Red Envelope Campaign
Comments from :-
a) Chris Otto described as the "Project Founder"

I sent a white envelope representing the three times more children lost to SPONTANEOUS ABORTION.

5. Montana Physician Assisted Suicide
Comments from :-
a) Bill Tofler of "Physicians for Compassionate Care"

Heck, is there any other kind dume-ass?

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/7/09

This is a bizarro world sometimes. Today the broadcasts first repeated the items of yesterday.....

1. Gay Marriage in Iowa
Comments from :-
a) Doug Napir of the "Alliance Defense Fund"
b) Bruce Hausknecht from FoFA

2. Showing Pirates II on College Campuses
Comments from :-
Pat Truman a "Former Justice Department Lawyer"
Andy Fell of UC Davis

3. Love Won Out De-Gaying Conferences
Comments from :-
a) Mike Geyky who used to suffer from "same sex attraction", an ex-gay.
b) Melissa Fryrear a conference "keynote speaker"

Amd then we had the NEW stuff :-

4. Rescinding Conscience Rights for Medical Workers
Comments from :-
a) Deidre McQuade of the "US Conference of Catholic Bishops".
Er..a WOMAN??

Isn't this a second bite at this cherry? Keep reading, they'll
flog this horse some more before the month is over. Trust me.

5. April is Abortion Recovery Awareness Month - in Tex-ass
Comments from :-
a) Hiram Sassa of the "Libery Legal Institute"

6. School Choice Survey
Comments from :-
a) Virginia Walden-Ford of "DC Parents for School Choice"
b) Andrew Campanella of the "Alliance for School Choice"

7. Iowa Justices say "mothers and fathers are a stereotype"
Comments from :-
a) Jenny Tiree of FoFA

8. Defeat for Illinois FoCA
Comments from :-
a) Eric Scheidler of the "Pro-life Action League"

9. California "Gender Identity" law
Comments from :-
a) Robert Tyler of "Advocates for Faith and Freedom"

10. North Dakota Same Sex Attraction Bill
Comments from :-
a) Tom Fryer of the "North Dakota Family Alliance"

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/6/09

And so it goes on......

1. Gay Marriage in Iowa
Comments from :-
a) Doug Napir of the "Alliance Defense Fund"
b) Bruce Hausknecht from FoFA

2. Showing Pirates II on College Campuses*
Comments from :-
a) Pat Truman a "Former Justice Department Lawyer"
b) Andy Fell of UC Davis

3. Love Won Out De-Gaying Conferences
Comments from :-
a) Mike Geyky who used to suffer from "same sex attraction". So an ex-gay.
b) Melissa Fryrear a conference "keynote speaker"

Yes for a de-gaying conference from Focus on the Family, the keynote speaker is called "Fry Rear". You can't make this stuff up.

------

*A few notes on the Pirates II story.

It was very noticeable that they ( Family News In Focus ) would not say the name of the movie or that it was produced by Digital Playground. All they would say was that it was a "parody of Pirates of the Carribean" and that it was made my a Southern California production company. That would be DIGITAL PLAYGROUND in case you missed that before.

The piece then became even more bizarre. Family News in Focus said it was they who had ratted out UC Davis to the authorities about the "public" showing of Pirates II from Digital Playground. Then Mr Truman said what they wanted was for the cops to simply enforce the law. Then Mr Fell said porn was not illegal and that the UC Davis PD had told them that they were not violating the law. In fact Lt Matt Carmicheal of the UC Davis PD was quoted as saying that they "had followed the letter of the law."

And then the piece ended with Mr Truman saying that he was happy with UC Davis PD's response!!


So when the dust had settled what was this story about? Nothing happened at UC Davis and the quoted anti-porn advocates were happy with that outcome. Of course the movie was withdrawn from being shown at the University of Maryland where a threatened removal of state funding quickly achieved Focus' desired censorship goal. No-one commented directly on that case. Strange they should have concentrated on the campus where they effectively lost their case?

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/3/09

And on to day 3 we go.......

1. Gays In The Military
Comments from :-
a) Lt Colonel ( Rtd ) Bob McGiness ( my emphasis on RETIRED )
b) Elaine Donnely of the "Center for Military Readiness"
c) Peter Spring of the "Family Research Council" ( another Dobsonian front )

2. Kansas High School vs The National Education Association
Comments from :-
a) Gary Sigell a "track and field coach"
b) Tracey Bailet, spokesman for the "Association of American Educators"

3. Pro-life order in Congress
Comments from :-
a) Representative Stephen King
b) Representative Chris Smith

4. Rescinding Medical Conscience Regulations
Comments from :-
a) Justin Aquilla of the "Susan B. Anthony List"

5. Adult Stem Cell Trials
Comments from :-
a) Dawn Vargo another Focus Of The Family Action ( FoFA ) stooge and from listening to her irritating voice, a Valley Girl.

*********

At least with the last item, they didn't end with the standard lie that Adult Stem Cells are currently used in over 70 cures or treatments.

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/2/09

OK day 2...

1. New York State Court cases on Single Sex Marriage
Comments from :-
a) Brian Rolme of the "Alliance Defense Fund"
b) Jason McGuire of "New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedom"

2. Effects of the Recession
Comments from :-
a) Ron Blue of "Kingdom Advisors"
b) Todd Cohen, publisher of "The Philanthropy Journal"
c) Dan Busby, presient of the "Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability"

3. Casino in Arizona
Comments from :-
a) Deborah Shesby of the "Center for Arizona Policy"
b) Diane Berlin of the "National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling"

4. First Amendment in San Diego
Comments from :-
a) Robert Tyler of "Advocates for Faith and Freedom"

5. Pro-life float banned at the Tulip Time Festival
Comments from :-
a) Carol Brower of "Right To Life Michigan"

Family News In Focus - Comment Analysis 4/1/09

Let me say two things up front.

1. I am NOT in favor of the return of the Fairness Doctrine. With the fragmentation of today's radio markets, it is just not going to happen - no matter how much right wing blowhards try to tell us different.

2. I am in favor of honest reporting. So to this end, I have decided to listen to every Family News In Focus broadcast for the month of April and just to note down all the names of the people and organizations that comment in their daily stories. I have excluded their own reporters because (a) the same names will turn up all the time and (b) I think that by definition of where they work, they already have an agenda.

I will listen to the broadcast on the citizenlink.org web site as well as to the link to the Focus On The Family daily broadcast page. These are usually the same, but at least on April 1st, they were different. Perhaps I got some March 31st stories too.

So here goes for April 1st 2009....

1. Anti-Planned Parenthood
Comments from :-
a) Kristin Hawkins of "Students For Life"

2. Research that Abortion Harms Women
Comments from :-
a) Priscilla Coleman - "author of one such study"
b) Carrie Gordon Earll - Focus On The Family Action ( FoFA )

3. Pro-Adoption
Comments from :-
a) Kurt and Margret Berky - Adopting Parents "Of course as a kid he is better of because he is going to church now"

4. Canadian Polygamy Court Case
Comments from :-
a) Winston Blackstone - THE POLYGAMIST !!
b) Dave Quist of "The Institute for Marriage and Family Canada"
c) Bruce Hausknecht of FoFA ( Natch. This one is going to be a trend )

5. Brain Research - Pictures Objectifying Women
Comments from :-
a)"Doctor" David Stevens of "The Christian Medical and Dental Association"
b) Daniel Weiss of FoFA ( Surprise !! )

6. Adults Only Websites
Comments from :-
a) Bob Peters president of "Morality in Media"
b) Rick Shots of "The National Coalition for the Protection Of Children and Families"

7. Effects of Abortion
Hey, isn't this two bites at the cherry? See item # 2
Comments from :-
a) Doctor Priscilla Coleman ( again ) described as a "lead researcher" - whatever that it.
b) Catherine Coils of "The Alliance for Post Abortion Research and Training" - APART? How twee.

*******

By my reckoning that's one person with a contrary view to the "report" being heard - step forward Mr Winston you raving polygamist you.

So how can this be "news" when I have no context in which to decide if the speakers are mainstream or just Dobsonian stooges?