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Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of Michigan Citizens for Science and co-founder of The Panda's Thumb. He has written for such publications as The Bard, Skeptic and Reports of the National Center for Science Education, spoken in front of many organizations and conferences, and appeared on nationally syndicated radio shows and on C-SPAN. Ed is also a Fellow with the Center for Independent Media and the host of Declaring Independence, a one hour weekly political talk show on WPRR in Grand Rapids, Michigan.(static)
Ed Brayton also blogs at Positive Liberty and The Panda's Thumb
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Posted on: November 8, 2009 9:02 AM, by Ed Brayton
Bill Donohue, the perpetually outraged head of the Catholic League, has a new book out. And on his website, he cites a blurb from Stephen Colbert:
"Wake up, America! The secular minority has cut the brake cables on America's In-God-We-Trust-Mobile™! Not even all 43 of our Christian presidents can save us now."
Do you think Donohue knows Colbert is making fun of him?
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Comments
Short answer: No.
Longer answer: No, no, no, no, no.
Posted by: Ahcuah | November 8, 2009 9:36 AM
The problem is, Donohue has, to my knowledge, displayed no sense of humor whatsoever. It's difficult to fathom the level of... cluelessness that could lead to that quote being posted with no comment or context... but, well, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
Posted by: Ray Ingles | November 8, 2009 9:53 AM
But he's so hysterically funny to those of us who do possess a sense of humor.
Posted by: The Science Pundit | November 8, 2009 9:55 AM
He probably knows it only as a synonym for 'sin'.
Posted by: Phillip IV | November 8, 2009 10:13 AM
Probably, but what better way to stick it to someone lampooning you than to take his satire and use it, out of context, to sell swag to your fawning adherents? Its not like any of them will be enticed by it to watch a channel as degenerate and socialist as comedy central.
Unless Jeff Dunham or Dane Cook is on, of course.
Posted by: Julian | November 8, 2009 11:14 AM
There's actually been research done that seems to indicate that no, many if not most conservatives really don't realize that Colbert is making fun of them. Confirmation bias at work...
Posted by: Cathy W | November 8, 2009 11:39 AM
Bill Donohue, the perpetually outraged head of the Catholic League . . .
Remember, being perpetually outraged is literally his job. Catholics really aren't under much attack in the States, and what attack there is tends to come from the sort of Protestant fundies with whom Donahue and his donors have common causes (usually in the form of sticking their noses into everyone's bedroom)--so he can't really go after those [(Catholicism) = (Whore of Babylon from the Book of Revelations)] types.
Moreover, he's got to make himself and the League visible in the media on a fairly regular basis, or the Catholic League's backers won't feel they're getting their money's worth. So if there's nothing in particular about the Church in the news, he has to select something utterly trivial about which to foam at the mouth--which he does.
Basically, he's a geek. Only instead of electively biting the heads off chickens for the edification of the public and a few bucks, he electively goes into steam-from-his-ears meltdown over stupid things for the edification of the public and a few bucks.
It speaks poorly for him that he hasn't died of sheer embarrassment.
Posted by: Molly, NYC | November 8, 2009 3:26 PM
Sane people would agree, but Donohue is anything but. But Donohue only needs to glance at the number of people leaving the Catholic Church and becoming "Nones" (no doubt caused in large part by the self-inflicted wounds of the Catholic hierarchy) to find reason to rail anew against the forces of secularism.
The more we win, the shriller he will become (if that's even possible).
Posted by: tacitus | November 8, 2009 6:01 PM
If Donohue become any more shrill, his only audience will be the bats in his belfry. - DJ
Posted by: DingoJack | November 8, 2009 6:25 PM
There was a guy sitting on the plane next to me reading one of Glenn Beck's books and I noticed it had a blurb from Jon Stewart on the back of it. I do think Beck was clear that Jon was making fun of him, the quote wasn't even flattering. Something like "Finally someone who can tell us what the people who aren't thinking are thinking."
Posted by: ChrisZ | November 8, 2009 10:17 PM
You should try attending services at his church, Our Lady of the Perpetual Outrage. It's sited on the place where Mary appeared to three children in 1837. It's said that she hovered in placed, yelling incoherently and drooling, also incoherently. When the children got home, they found that each of their fathers, who were all dying of apathy, had been both healed and filled with the Lord's Perpetual Outrage.
That miracle lead to the prayer that starts "Hail Mary, full of rage..."
Posted by: Modusoperandi | November 8, 2009 10:40 PM
Posted by: llewelly | November 9, 2009 12:53 AM
"Do you think Donohue knows Colbert is making fun of him?
Do you think Donohue's fan base knows Colbert is making fun of him?"
I think that's the most likely interpretation.
He originally had the Colbert recommendation amongst a list of others for several months on his website. Donohue, however, recently started highlighting it, long after various blogs pointed it out laughingly - I even posted a link to it here on Eds site over a month ago!
I suspect he's taking the rather cynical Ann Coulter line by trying to wind up 'liberals' as a deliberate tactic so that he can act outraged at their response.
Posted by: Sigmund | November 9, 2009 7:36 AM
Too bad Donohoe can't tell the difference between 'wound-up' and mightily amused then. :) - DJ
Posted by: DingoJack | November 9, 2009 8:18 AM
No, beck probably thought that this quote means he's great at translating the True Hidden Agenda(TM) of the politicians who don't think (the Democrats). Well, Beck probably doesn't believe that but his followers do.
Posted by: catgirl | November 9, 2009 2:43 PM
Ignoring the fact that several of our early presidents were deists, do you think Donahue is aware that John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and John Quincy Adams were Unitarians and that Unitarians are not Christians?
Posted by: Tom | November 9, 2009 3:22 PM
Tom: Unitarians aren't what?
Posted by: Modusoperandi | November 9, 2009 4:54 PM