Politics Plus

There can be no doubt that the bigoted antics of Westboro Baptist Republicans at funerals is hateful.  There is no doubt that the families of fallen soldiers should be protected against such such vile behavior.  Now the Supreme Court must decide if it is legal.

The most vexing free speech fight in years confronts the Supreme Court on Wednesday, pitting a loud-mouthed, anti-gay Kansas church against a grieving Pennsylvania father.

The father, Albert Snyder, has already won the popular vote hands-down. Forty-eight states support him. So do 42 senators and all the major veterans’ organizations.

The constitutional tally, though, isn’t nearly so simple.

"The government may not curtail speech simply because the speaker’s message may be offensive to his audience," University of Missouri Law School Professor Christina Wells noted in a legal filing.

In Snyder v. Phelps, justices will decide whether to protect speech that Wells characterized as "provocative, offensive and disrespectful." Wells acknowledged it might even be considered "contemptible."

For all the pain they may have caused, however the public rants against homosexuality by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., might just be found to be protected by the First Amendment.

"This is obviously an emotion-laden case," said Steven R. Shapiro, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, but "the First Amendment was designed to protect unpopular speech against (the majority’s) distaste. At the end of the day I think that’s where the Supreme Court ends up."… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <McClatchy DC>

Here’s the key.  With the caveat that I would personally like nothing better than to see Phelps and his Republican bigots muzzled,  I have to agree with the ACLU.  If their speech does not include direct calls for violence against gay people, it must be protected, because if it is not, the next speech to be outlawed will be our own.

I do have an alternate approach, however.  Interfering with the grief of a family at such a time in such a manner does interfere with the family’s right to privacy, so I think there could be a good case for allowing these Republicans to demonstrate only in places where that cannot be seen or heard from the funeral site, the cemetary, and the route between the two.

So, you ask, what is Pulpit Freedom Sunday?  It’s a special day for hypocritical Republican pastors to demonstrate their patriotism by breaking US law and to demonstrate their faith by openly endorsing Republican and Republican candidates with anti-Christian agendas from the pulpit.

In a fashion right out of the annals of right wind [sic] demagoguery, September 26th, 2010 brings us the third installment of "Pulpit Freedom Sunday."

Brought to us by the Alliance Defense Fund [pseudo-Christians delinked] as a challenge to IRS rules not allowing specific endorsements of political candidates from the pulpit. Churches can, and do, pass out flyers that are very partisan, "voter guides" that are nothing more than right wing propaganda, and take positions on legislation and initiatives.

The Mormon Church was the single biggest funding source for California’s Proposition 8, for example. The IRS law gets them get away with so much, but of course it’s not enough for the right wing mouthpieces wanting to dominate all areas of American life.

The blow hards would have you believe they are being censored. Not true, they are free to say whatever they want. The IRS regulation only restricts them from endorsing candidates if they wish to keep their tax-exempt status.

IRS regulations specify that 501(c)(3) organizations, which include churches and other religious organizations, are prohibited from “[participating in or intervening in]…any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” Rev. Rul. 2007-41, 2007-25 I.R.B.

It’s not the right to speak the ADF is looking to ensure, but the "right" to do it essentially on the tax payer dime. For if they were labeled in accordance with their political activity, their tax duty would change.

Billions of dollars of potential tax revenue are lost every year to churches choosing to abuse the privilege… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Portland Examiner>

As the Treasurer of a small non-profit public service group, I do not endorse candidates during activities for that organization, because we are 501(c)(3) pending.  That’s the law, and vecause of my volunteer work, I know a few things about it.

No organization is subject to the ban on endorsements, unless they voluntarily apply for 501(c)(3) status and voluntarily agree to abide by the laws pertaining to that status.  Nobody twisted their arms.  Nobody is discriminating against them or violating their rights.  If they do not wish to keep their own commitment, they may freely withdraw at any time and do as they please, but without a tax exemption.

When they lie under the false cover of faith, they should be relegated to Infernal Revenue, because Internal Revenue is too good for these Republican hypocrites.

I knew that other Republicans would carry the torch, in this case literally, for so-called Rev. Terry Jones, because this outpouring of hatred and bigotry are not the isolated acts of a few wing-nuts.  This level of hatred has been promoted by leaders in the Republican party.

First on yesterday:

The United States marked the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Saturday with commemorative ceremonies and although a pastor had canceled plans for a high-profile protest burning of the Koran, the Muslim holy book was abused in at least three separate incidents.

Hundreds of people in favor and against the building of an Islamic cultural center and mosque near the site of the toppled World Trade Center gathered in New York — hours after ceremonies in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania to mark the attacks nine years ago that killed nearly 3,000 people. The protests were peaceful.

But there were at least two incidents of abuse of the Koran in Lower Manhattan. Separately, two evangelical preachers not affiliated with any mainstream church burned two copies of the Koran in Tennessee.

Florida preacher Terry Jones had outraged Muslims around the world with his plans to burn copies of the Koran on Saturday. Jones, head of a tiny and obscure church in Gainesville, canceled his plans on Thursday.

The plan had triggered outbreaks of violence in Afghanistan in which one protester was shot dead. Thousands of Afghans demonstrated in the northeast of the country for a second day on Saturday.

President Barack Obama and U.S. officials had warned that the burning of the Koran could harm America’s image abroad, endanger lives and act as a recruiting tool for al Qaeda. Muslims view the Koran as the literal word of God, and actual or alleged desecration of the holy book has often sparked protests in the Muslim world… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Reuters>

Note that the woman pictured above, holding a picture of a lived one killed on 9/11, is wearing a chador.  The attack in 2001 was as offensive to Muslim Americans as it was to the most rabid Republican pseudo-Christians.

You would think that they would learn or that they would care about the danger they pose for our service people or harm they are doing to our international standing, but no.  The Republican litany of hate goes on.

Given the notoriety Terry Jones and his Dove World Outreach church have achieved in the last week, what do you think the chances are that Jones will be invited to speak at a gathering of social conservatives any time soon, or that leading Republican presidential contenders and Congressional leaders would attend a conference hosted by Dove World Outreach?

The chances of that are probably rather slim … but, for some reason, social conservatives and Republican leaders seem to have no problem sharing the stage with anti-Muslim bigot Bryan Fischer at the upcoming Values Voter Summit.

The Summit is being co-sponsored by the American Family Association [bigots delinked], where Fischer is Director of Issues Analysis, and Fischer is scheduled to be a featured speaker [bigots delinked] along with the likes of Michele Bachmann, Jim DeMint, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Bob McDonnell, Mike Pence, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and others.

Would any of these leaders be willing to share a stage with Terry Jones?  If not, then why are they sharing a stage with Fischer, who has declared that all Muslims should be banned from serving in the military, that all Muslim noncitizens must be deported and all Muslim citizens must be stripped of their US citizenship and expelled from the country, that the construction of mosques in the United States must be completely banned, and that all the soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan have died in vain because the US did not convert those countries to Christianity?… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Right Wing Watch>

Note the similarity between Republican Family Values propaganda poster and the Nazi propaganda poster, both hiding religious hate behind beaming smiles.  Does America really want family values like these?  For any Muslims who may read this, authentic Christians respect your faith.

Republicans are quick to claim that Democrats do not support the troops when some of us don’t want to support Republican wars of greed and conquest, but when the troops needed equipment, health care, a raise, family support, and educational benefits, Republicans said no.  But the most recent example of their ‘support’ is positively shameful.

The pastor of a tiny, fringe evangelical church in Florida on Tuesday rebuffed a plea for restraint from Gen. David H. Petraeus, who warned that a plan to burn the Muslim holy book could provoke violence against American troops and citizens overseas.

"Instead of possibly blaming us for what could happen, we put the blame where it belongs — on the people who would do it," Pastor Terry Jones of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., told the Associated Press. "We should address radical Islam and send a very clear warning that they are not to retaliate in any form."

Jones also said he was still praying over his decision and hinted that he might change his mind. "We understand the general’s concerns and we are taking those into consideration," he told WOFL-TV in Orlando.

A coalition of Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders held a news conference in Washington on Tuesday to condemn Jones’ statements and other slurs aimed at Muslims nationwide.

"The threatened burning of copies of the Holy Koran this Saturday is a particularly egregious offense that demands the strongest possible condemnation by all who value civility in public life and seek to honor the sacred memory of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11," said a statement by religious leaders organized by the Islamic Society of North America… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <LA Times>

In the past, I have said that I oppose burning the American flag, but I defend the freedom to do so.  I also defend my own freedom to speak out against it.  In the same way I am speaking out against burning the holy book of Islam.  In my opinion, burning it is just as wrong as it would be for Muslims to burn Bibles.

Although I oppose the war in Afghanistan, I don’t want out troops put in unnecessary danger, and I don’t want Al Qaeda, Islam’s version of the Tea Party, to have this recruiting tool.  So if I, an opponent of the war, support the troops in this, where are the Republican leaders on the issue?

Keith Olbermann and veteran Todd Bowers have the answer.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Why are the Republicans silent?  The answer is simple.  They fear offending the very people whose hatred they have so carefully cultivated for political advantage.  If American soldiers die as a result of their silence, they do not care.  They only express support for the troops when it serves their end to use war to transfer wealth from the poor and middle classes to the rich.

Every Republican in office is one Republican too many!