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Brit Hume has apparently never heard the phrase, when you're in a hole, quit digging. From The O'Reilly Factor Jan. 4, 2010.

O'Reilly: Was that proselytizing?

Hume: I don't think so. I mean, look, Tiger Woods is somebody I've always rooted for as a golfer and as a man. I've greatly admired him over the years and I always have said to people that it was the content of his character that made him beyond his extraordinary golf skills so admirable. Now we know that the content of his character is not what we thought it was. He is paying a frightful price for these revelations. My sense is that he is basically, has lost his family and there's a lot of talk about the endorsements he's lost but that pales I suspect in his mind with what he's lost otherwise.

And my sense of that Tiger is that he needs something that Christianity, especially provides and gives and offers and that is redemption and forgiveness and I was really meaning to say in those comments yesterday more about Christianity than I was about anything else. I mentioned the Buddhism only because his mother is a Buddhist and he has apparently said that he is a Buddhist. I’m not sure how seriously he practices that. But I think… I think that Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that Tiger Woods apparently needs.

One of the best-selling soundtracks of the last decade, if you count 2000 as being in the Aughts, is "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" There's renewed interest in religion in Coen Brothers movies since the recent publication of "The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers."

What are your favorite soundtracks of the past decade? And whatcha listening to this evening?

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This is rich. C-Street Family member Tom Coburn who along with his fellow Family members have been doing their best to inject religion into the health care debate, uses a quote by Thomas Jefferson about separation of church and state, and takes it out of context.

h/t jenyum at Daily KOS who has more -- Dear Senator Coburn: Liberals Can Quote Jefferson, Too:

During today's Senate health care bill debate, Senator Tom Coburn held up a big graphic displaying a quote from Thomas Jefferson:

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical

This quote resided in the background while Coburn went on and an about earmarks, and abortion, and waste and fraud in the federal government. If Senator Coburn had actually read the original source of the quote, however, I don't think he'd be so quick to use it.

Jefferson's actual words originated in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom:

to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical

The Statute goes on to say...

our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions any more than our opinions in physics or geometry, that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence, by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages, to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right, that it tends only to corrupt the principles of that very Religion it is meant to encourage.

Obviously among other things too long to list, Tom Coburn's irony alert button is broken. He'd better hope he doesn't wind up in trouble for his part in his buddy John Ensign's affair that the press has been giving him a pass on. As jenyum noted:

Jefferson's words when not taken out of context are hardly a rallying cry for a party that opposes health care reform on religious grounds.

Couldn't have said it any better myself.

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Rachel follows up on her interview with Jeff Sharlet where they discussed C-Street Family member David Bahati's role in introducing anti-gay legislation in Uganda. Jeff Sharlet reports that the Ugandan MP did not as many thought first get the idea for the legislation at the conference held in Kampala Uganda in March of 2009, but instead was discussing it at a private meeting at the 2008 Ugandan National Prayer Breakfast hosted by The Family.

Rachel asks Sharlet if there were any American’s at the 2008 Ugandan National Prayer Breakfast where the idea for executing gays in Uganda was floated. Sharlet says there were a number of Americans at the breakfast and possibly present, but they haven’t been able to confirm it yet, Sen. James Inhofe. Sharlet talked about a rift within The Family over supporting this legislation although as Rachel noted, none of them have been willing to come out publicly and say anything against it.

The last really disgusting item they talked about is the possibility of the Ugandan politicians who are promoting the kill-the-gays bill coming to America to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast next February and President Obama being scheduled to speak there as well. As Rachel notes:

Maddow: And if not there’s the prospect of an American president speaking at an event before an invited audience that includes the guy who promoted—who introduced legislation to execute people for being gay in his country with the support and encouragement of American quacks like ex-gay therapists. Wow.

Wow indeed.

R.I.P. George Carlin. Great stuff and nsfw.

Looks like our own Nicole isn't the only one slamming the Swiss for this. Jon Stewart takes a whack at them as well.

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November 30, 2009 NBC Jay Leno Show

During this interview Bill Maher takes on the mainstream media, Obama's choice to raise troop levels in Afghanistan, our wonderful banking system and of course religion. Then when he gets to the "Green Car Challenge" Maher go directly after George W Bush!

In a breathtakingly tight argument, Chris Matthews corners Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin, who has banned Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., from receiving Holy Communion due to his views on abortion.

Because here's the moral hypocrisy at the heart of the Church's abortion position: If it's really and truly murder, you're talking about prosecuting mothers, sisters, lovers and friends for having them. Tweety is quite aggressive with the bishop, demanding to know exactly what legal penalties he thinks should be legislated.

I mean, we won't even touch the concept of one religion imposing its moral position on everyone else. We don't have to. Because if you're saying abortion is murder, you may not create a separate class of penalties under the law. You can't argue that women "didn't know what they were doing." You can't say they were "confused" or "coerced" if there's no evidence they were, anymore than you can say that about any other murder for hire. Either she paid someone to murder her child - or she didn't.

So she has to be tried for murder. The churches can't have it both ways. They can't advise forgiveness and legal exemption for one specific class of murders.

And there's no way the majority of Americans would ever support sending their relatives, neighbors and friends to prison for it.

This is really what Tweety was getting at, and it was damned brilliant. Go, Tweety!

From GRITtv:

In Max Blumenthal’s book Republican Gomorrah and in his GRITtv appearance, he introduced us to Francis Schaeffer, one of the important figures in the anti-choice and religious right movements in the United States. Frank Schaeffer, Francis’s son, wrote a book about growing up in the religious right, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back.

Schaeffer has a new book now, Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don’t Like Religion (or Atheism), and in it he takes on both the “incipient fascism” of the religious right and what he called “proselytizing” atheism of Richard Dawkins and others. He joins Laura on GRITtv for a fascinating interview about his own journey, and how people, religious or irreligious, are all looking for answers to the same questions.

No More Mister Nice Blog: Concern trolling for the rich.

Anonymous Liberal: The party of one idea.

Pam's House Blend: Gay is a choice, but religion is not?

Words of Power: Too big to fail?

Bic's Place: That's a socialist mop.

Guest post by Batocchio. Temporarily e-mail tips to batocchio9 AT yahoo DOT com.

From The Colbert Report:

The cross has nothing to do with Christianity -- it's just the normal symbol of the resting place of the dead.

From The Daily Show:

Mike Schwartz looks to adolescent boys for guidance on homophobia, while the unbelievably flamboyant Tom DeLay performs on "Dancing With the Stars."

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Real Time's New Rules for Aug. 7, 2009.

Maher: Now, before I go about demonstrating how easy it is to prove the dumbness that is dragging us down, let me just say that ignorance has life and death consequences. On the eve of the Iraq war, 70% of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was personally involved in 9-11. Six years later, 34% still do. Or look at the health care debate going on now. At a recent town hall meeting in South Caronlina a man stood up and told the Congressman to "keep your government hands off my Medicare!".

Which is kind of like driving cross country to protest highways. This country is like a college chick after two Long Island iced teas. We can be talked into anything, like wars. And we can be talked out of anything, like health care. We should forget the town halls, and replace them with study halls.

Listen to some of these statistics. A majority of Americans cannot name a single branch of government, or explain what the Bill of Rights is. 24% could not name the country America fought in the Revolutionary War. More than 2/3 of Americans don't know what's in Roe vs Wade. 2/3 don't know what the Food and Drug Administration does.

Some of this stuff you should be able to pick up by simply being alive.

Walter Cronkite covering the Apollo 11 landing, July 1969. Part 1--watch Part 2 and 3 here.

Walter Cronkite's death this week really brought into sharp focus for me just how much we've suffered journalistically since Cronkite retired in 1981. Gone are the days where we can view our news media as fulfilling their obligations as the Fourth Estate and using the freedom of the press to hold DC accountable for their actions, as originally envisioned by Jefferson:

"No government ought to be without censors, and where the press is free, no one ever will. If virtuous, it need not fear the fair operation of attack and defence. Nature has given to man no other means of sifting out the truth whether in religion, law or politics. I think it as honorable to the government neither to know nor notice its sycophants or censors, as it would be undignified and criminal to pamper the former and persecute the latter."

Sadly, it appears that all we have in the media now is sycophants and censors and very little--if any--free press. And our democracy is mortally crippled by it.

As for this Sunday's offerings, if you are sick as I am of the poor downtrodden privileged white men threatened by Sonia Sotomayor, I don't recommend watching Sen. Jeff Sessions on State of the Union. WH Budget Director Peter Orszag will be making two appearances to reassure us that all is going along with the stimulus plan and the Goldman Sachs bonus bonanza is proof that it's working. And we're still talking health care on The Chris Matthews Show and with HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius on Meet the Press. But what I'm looking forward to--space geek that I am--is Buzz Aldrin and Sen. John Glenn reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

ABC's "This Week" - Pre-empted by British Open golf tournament.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.; former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Clarence Page, Kathleen Parker, David Brooks and Kelly O'Donnell. Topics: Is the cost of health care reform President Obama's greatest vulnerability? Who got the better deal out of the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton coalition? Meter Questions: Will Obama sign a health care reform law this year? YES: 12
NO: 0; Will the Republicans support a health care bill with new taxes?
YES: 7 NO: 5.

CNN's "State of the Union" - White House Budget Director Peter Orszag; Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.; Rev. Jesse Jackson.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Rwandan President Paul Kagame sits down with Fareed to discuss his nation's 15 year journey from genocide to economic growth and autocratic, but stable governance.

"Fox News Sunday" - Orszag; Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.; astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

So what's catching your eye this morning?

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There are many people who are full-on crackpots who try to hide who they are behind religion. I don't want to hear anything more ever said about morals or values coming from them.

Colmes: ...you then said, I asked for whom else are you praying in that fashion and you said President Obama. Are you praying for his death?

Drake: Yes.

Colmes: So you're praying for the death of the president of the United States?

Drake: Yes. Are you concerned that by saying that you might find yourself on some secret service call or FBI most wanted list. Do you think it's appropriate to say something like that or even pray for something like that?

Drake: I think it's appropriate to pray for the will of God. I'm not saying anything, what I'm doing is repeating what God is saying, if that puts me on somebodies list then I'll just have to be on their list.

Colmes: You would like for the president of the United States to die?

Drake: If he does not turn to God and does not turn his life around I am asking God to enforce in imprecatory prayers throughout the scripture that would cause him death, that's correct.

Oh, it's God that's saying it, OK, I feel better now. What a freak. He also was a running mate with inmate Alan Keyes and said this about Dr. Tiller:

A former Southern Baptist Convention officer who on June 2 called the death of abortion provider George Tiller an answer to prayer said later in the day he is also praying "imprecatory prayer" against President Obama.

Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., and former running mate of American Independent Party presidential candidate Alan Keyes, said June 2 on Fox News Radio he didn't understand why people were upset with his comments quoted by Associated Baptist Press from a webcast of his daily radio talk show.

Drake said he didn't pray for Tiller to be murdered -- only that God would take his life by some method -- but that he "absolutely" believed that God wanted the doctor dead.

Here's what it says on his homepage:

Join us on the "Wiley Drake in Buena Park" show Monday thru Thursday at 9:00 to 10:00 A.M. California time. www.crusaderadio.com

The theme of the show is Do Justice, Love Mercy, and Walk with God. This theme is based on Micah 6:8 and Matthew 23:23.

In his case I guess mercy means that he hopes President Obama dies...
You can see what he looks like in this clip.

Pastor Wiley Drake in action at the Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting on March 10, 2009 as he attacks Planned Parenthood and Obama.

He's also a birther and calls President Obama an illegal alien.

(Please donate to C&L's 2009 fundraiser if you can. We need your support.)