…and this is a 
Look who's coming to town
Category: Local • Politics • Religion
Posted on: September 8, 2006 9:03 AM, by PZ Myers
Minnesotans are going to be a little less above average in October, when a gaggle of evil morons hit the state: James Dobson, Tony Perkins, and Gary Bauer are having a rally in St Paul to "motivate pro-family conservative Christians." It may also help motivate us pro-family liberal atheists.
Andy wonders which Minnesota politicians will show up for these hucksters for fascism: would Michele Bachmann be a safe bet? Mike Hatch better not; I've seen a few of his ads, and his gun-totin' bird-killin' pseudo-populism is almostas annoying as Mark Kennedy's badly acted family dramas that play up his 'credentials' as a CPA—if Hatch sucks up to Dobson, he'll lose my vote. I will rip his sign out of my yard.
Comments
Ooooooh, which t-shirt to wear in sight of them? The one my friends got me which says "I'm not anti-religion, I'm simply anti-hypocrisy," or the one I had some friends MAKE for me that features a grinning monk-like fellow tied to a burning stake and which reads: "100% Grade-A Heretic. Feel the burn!"
Posted by: G Barnett | September 8, 2006 9:29 AM
Or the t-shirt that Bro. Clarence wears at times, it features a duck wearing a mitre:
If it walks like a Christian,
and it talks like a Christian,
then better smell it
... just in case.
Posted by: Bro. Bartleby | September 8, 2006 9:46 AM
What about Becky Lourey?
Posted by: the valrus | September 8, 2006 9:53 AM
Oh, I should add, for you may misunderstand the t-shirt quote about smelling to verify that the duck is indeed a Christian, for the monastery ideal is that a Christian is suppose to stink from the sweat of his work, it is the perfumed Christians that we fear.
Posted by: Bro. Bartleby | September 8, 2006 9:55 AM
From the Suggested Corrections Dept.:
Rewrite as:
Rationale: By co-opting the term "conservative", the right-wing ultra-fundamentalist Christian loonie wackos, which used to be called fanatics, Jesus freaks or just outright nucking futs, have legitimized their bizarre, cultish and frankly egregious behavior.
By labeling them accurately, we assist everyone in identifying the species unambiguously.
Or perhaps I'm taking a page from the IAU here, or nettled about Brontosaurus or something.
...No, I think I'm right about this.
Posted by: Warren | September 8, 2006 11:02 AM
They're not merely coopting the term conservative, but are also coopting the conservative political apparatus generally, and the GOP specifically. The GOP once held some pull for rational folks who held conservative fiscal views. There are quite a few people who aren't Christian, who believe in civil liberties, and who nonetheless don't agree with many of the (old?) Democratic Party's economic views.
But the day that any rational person could hold their nose and join forces with the GOP on such issues is long gone. The GOP has become the party of fundamentalists. No one who is pro-science, who favors civil liberties, or who wants to maintain the wall between religion and state can reasonably support today's GOP.
Posted by: Russell | September 8, 2006 11:11 AM
You gotta hand it to them. "Pro-family" sounds so much better than "panty-sniffers."
Posted by: Molly, NYC | September 8, 2006 11:22 AM
"Family" this, "family" that. Know what? I'm "family"-ed out.
I spent last night hanging out with my "family," my liberal Darwiniac neighbors and friends who threw our most successful ice cream social yet, complete with free chair massages and sheriff badges for the kids. (We're starting up our free neighborhood Spanish class, too. Horrors!)
I think that beats conservative activists who commute to some dehumanized antiseptic auditorium for a lockjawed-smile mass-media hug, then create a big traffic jam and end up screaming out the windows of their SUVs at each other in the parking lot and flipping each other off on the highway.
Posted by: Kristine | September 8, 2006 12:25 PM
Don't rip his sign out of your yard. Instead, attach a big neon posterboard sign saying "I NO LONGER SUPPORT" to it. That'll make people think.
Posted by: speedwell | September 8, 2006 12:28 PM
It isn't only xtianity that is the problem.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060908/od_nm/nepal_children_dc;_ylt=AlcVgXsZyVCupNwuh6GtvgntiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--
The xtians probably aspire to such "success" in inculcating nonsense in their offspring.
Posted by: bernarda | September 8, 2006 4:39 PM