The Banter Long Read: As a militant atheist, I generally don't keep my rock bottom opinion of religion to myself. I do, however, reserve most of my criticism for the religious right because they're not just everything wrong with religion, they dial it up to 11. They're so ...read more
There's an entire cottage industry of conservative pundits who are shocked, shocked, I tell you!, that America's right wing is full of racists, hypocrites and all around horrible people. One of these newly woke pundits is Jennifer Rubin of The Washington Post whose entire job ...read more
This week, Us Weekly reported that Trump's most recent marriage is in shambles: Multiple sources claim that the former fashion model — who’s currently living 200 miles away from Washington, D.C., in NYC’s Trump Tower while Barron finishes the school year — refuses to share a bed ...read more
Yahoo News reported yesterday that Republicans in Utah have adopted an amendment to their draft platform that called pornography “a public health crisis”, taking their fears of human sexuality even further: Republican delegates unanimously adopted an amendment to their draft ...read more
One of the favorite hobbies of members of the Religious Right is to wax ruefully about their tragic status as a persecuted minority. The country has moved to the left on several important social issues, and this has been reflected in various pieces of legislation and court ...read more
Addendum added below In case you haven’t heard, Christian conservatives pose a greater threat to the United States than Islamic radicals such as members of the Islamic State. That’s the conclusion of C.J. Werleman, who previously argued that ISIS isn't motivated by Islam -- at ...read more
San Antonio megachurch pastor John Hagee thinks the four lunar eclipses that will occur between this month and October 2015 are sign that god is coming soon. This week’s “blood moon” was the first eclipse, and he says it indicates we might be living in “the end of the age.” ...read more
My mother has told me a joke she heard from someone when she went to South Carolina. The SC resident and native told her, "South Carolina; too small to be its own country, too big to be a mental institution." I have spent some time in the Palmetto State and like it a lot but ...read more
I recommend the entire series of God In America for a great look at how religion has affected American history. But I particularly recommend the final hour of the series as the religious right themselves explain the way in which Republican presidents like Reagan and George W. ...read more
CREW crunched the numbers. Pretty sick the way the religious right defiled our White House during the Bush years. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government (CREW) has just released a report tallying visits to the Bush White House by major Religious Right players. CREW ...read more
The "Christian" right strikes again. On August 16, Anderson delivered a sermon titled "Why I Hate Barack Obama." In it, Anderson admitted he prays for the president's death. It is a position he reiterated Sunday. "If you want to know how I'd like to see Obama die, I'd like him ...read more
What? The president of the United States, in a top-secret phone call to a major European ally, asked for French troops to join American soldiers in attacking Iraq as a mission from God. Now out of office, Chirac recounts that the American leader appealed to their ‘common faith’ ...read more
One of the continuing themes we're seeing with the conservative movement's attempts to recover from the last two elections is a search for leadership. The problem is that structurally conservatism has a strong tendency to gravitate towards the known - a mindset that's part and ...read more
Very sad. The family of slain abortion provider George Tiller said Tuesday that his Wichita clinic will be "permanently closed," effective immediately. In a statement released by Tiller's attorneys, his family said it is ceasing operation of Women's Health Care Services Inc. and ...read more
There is apparently some controversy that Liberty University banned the Democratic club at the school. This brings to mind the question: Why are we pretending that Liberty is an actual university? There are many serious, well-regarded institutions of higher learning in the ...read more
Conservative blogs like Newsbusters are seriously debating whether the evangelical vote determined the outcome of American Idol. We all know the evangelical right spends its entire life focused on distractions that don't remotely matter, so if we can keep these rubes mass texting ...read more
65-31 for a nominee the religious right went all out against. Got impotence? The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as health secretary, filling a crucial spot in President Barack Obama's cabinet amid growing fears of a possible swine flu pandemic. ...read more
This is not a parody ad. The ad is from "National Organization For Marriage", whose president is Maggie Gallagher. If that name sounds familiar, Maggie Gallagher was one of the pundits who were paid off by the Bush administration and didn't disclose it. But what she objects to ...read more
Is getting the usual moderate and calm reaction from the religious right. People getting married: clearly the worst thing in the world. If they're gay. Come on. ...read more
That's what the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius is coming down to. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius will testify on Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee, and committee Chairman Max Baucus said he expected her to get the job. "I think she should be confirmed," Baucus ...read more
Dramatic readings of message board postings from fundamentalist Christians. Also known as the funniest thing ever. (some nsfw language) (via) ...read more
That this is even an idea is a testament to the stupidity of the cultural right. A Texas legislator is waging a war of biblical proportions against the science and education communities in the Lone Star State as he fights for a bill that would allow a private school that teaches ...read more
Well, they'll never completely go away (sadly) but Frank Rich's Sunday column does a good job of going through the culture war b.s. that's supposed to whip people into a frenzy but doesn't anymore. In our own hard times, the former moral “majority” has been downsized to more of a ...read more
A few days ago Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council sent out an email blast trying to whip up opposition to David Ogden, president Obama's nominee for Deputy Attorney General. Always temperate, Perkins called Ogden a "porn advocate" for his previous work for Playboy. Also ...read more
The notoriously idiotic right-wing organization that speaks for a fringe group of Catholics is going to attack the upcoming Angels & Demons movie. Donohue & Co. went after The Da Vinci Code and the movie just eked out $758 Million worldwide. I am sure Opie is quaking in his ...read more
The religious right is seriously against Kathleen Sebelius being nominated to Secretary of Health. Today alone right-wing Christian groups like the Family Research Council, Catholic League and Concerned Women of America have sent out e-mails opposing Sebelius. On the flip side, ...read more
From a Fark thread on celebrity ghosts comes this gem on the dead as a doornail Jerry Falwell. ...read more
Florida Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (do you really have to ask what party?) calls atheism "evil" and something that causes "damage". This is someone making laws. Laws that extend beyond his own living room. Please, stifle yourself. ...read more
Conservatism can't exist without puffed up propaganda because its adherents don't see an sort of division between science and religion. That's why they think Jesus Juice is a chemical formula. ...read more
That conservatives are still arguing with themselves about whether gay people should be allowed to adopt kind of tells me that they've already lost on the question at hand. Why is there even a movement where this up for debate? Children need loving homes, and the best thing is to ...read more
From their most recent email blast: In a surprise ambush yesterday, liberal House Democrats unseated longtime chairman Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) from his position on the Energy and Commerce Committee and replaced him with Rep. Harry Waxman (D-Calif.). Waxman's coup is alarming ...read more
The news may be slow, but Focus on the Family is going through layoffs, so that's something. (via) ...read more
The religious far right deals with exile. Don't write, fellas. ...read more
Because you're simply teaching your kids to make life tough for teachers and disrupt the learning of others. God. (via) ...read more
The liberal future would make an awesome novel or one of those Christian movies starring Kirk Cameron. ...read more
Writing about the fact that Sarah Palin's teen daughter is pregnant (I don't care, to be frank, I care more about Palin being unqualified and unready for the job as well as her being an uninformed right-wing nutter), famed plagiarist Ben Domenech of Redstate.com writes an entry ...read more
Image of Tony Perkins from today's Family Research Council e-mail. Done somewhat in jest to remind people about registering for their Right Wing Nutjob Values Voter Summit, it is a pretty good encapsulation of where these nutters base their "values". ...read more
Nuance ‘Obama’ and ‘infanticide’ are being matched in the latest venom eruption on hate-monger sites. For the record, Senator Obama did NOT vote for infanticide while in the Illinois State legislature. At issue is his vote on a bill entitled, ‘Born Alive Infants Protection Act’ ...read more
Focus On The Family is praying for rain on Obama's acceptance speech. Really. ...read more
... sometimes it really sucks sharing the same planet with you. I don't understand how allowing gay people the same basic privileges as the rest of us turns the earth on its axis. ...read more
When James "Beat Children Like Animals" Dobson accuses you of distorting the bible. ...read more
Catholic Democrats sent out the following in response to right-winger Bill Donohue attacking the Obama campaign for not doing Catholic outreach. It's not clear why a non-profit organization with a noble mission like that of the Catholic League -- founded to defend Catholics in ...read more
It looks like California voters are past the point (or at least moving in the direction) where they worry that Portia De Rossi getting married to Ellen* will somehow destroy the sanctity of that drunk wedding some couple who don't even know each other had in Vegas. More ...read more
John McCain has been the nominee of his party for over a month now. He has no active opposition, no figure on his side of the aisle contesting him for leadership of the Republican party and the conservative movement. And yet, Republicans are still voting against him. In Indiana ...read more
I posted this in links yesterday, but I'm putting it here because I thought it was funny and worth more notice. I really hate these intelligent design (creationism) people and the way they continue to try and pervert science and education. Expelled and Ben Stein are even worse ...read more
The legislature down there in America's appendage passed a bill that calls for the theory of evolution (caution: may contain science-like material) to be downgraded to just contradictory noise in order to allow creationism based "intelligent design" into the classroom. This ...read more
Not only is the anti-evolution film intellectually shallow, the film is also guilty of intellectual property theft. ...read more
