News Roundup for 11/30/09

The Gospel According to Rick; "Chuck them stones!"

-Headline of the day-
"Pastor Rick Warren Refuses To Condemn Ugandan Law Making Homosexual Acts Punishable By Death."

That's what Jesus would do, I guess. Or not. Who even knows?

Turns out that Uganda is considering an Anti-Homosexuality Bill in which the penalty for doing gay stuff is either life in prison or death -- in prison, I guess. This strikes many observers as kind of bloodthirsty and tyrannical, but not Pastor Rick. He says it's none of his business:


The fundamental dignity of every person, our right to be free, and the freedom to make moral choices are gifts endowed by God, our creator. However, it is not my personal calling as a pastor in America to comment or interfere in the political process of other nations.


I think the pod people got Rick. When he was on Sean Hannity's Why do Liberals Hate America? Show last December, he was all about "interfering in the political process of other nations."

When Hannity suggested that we ought to "take out" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinajoodle, Rick was all for it. Best idea anyone ever had. Stick a bullet right between Ahmajinnywinkle's eyes. See, according to last year's version of Rick, fighting "evil" is "the legitimate role of government. The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers."

You really wish he'd make up his mind about this sort of thing. That is, unless he thinks that gays are "evildoers" who we all ought to be killing.

Which kind of seems to be the case. (Think Progress)


-So how's the media doing?-
The big news lately has been that SARAH PALIN'S WRITTEN A BOOK! It's all over the news, because everyone wants to know all about it, right?

Well, not really. The Pew Research Center for the Public & the Press went and did something crazy; they asked people what stories they've been following and healthcare reform was the #1 issue (41%), followed by the swine flu (18%), mammogram news (11%), Afghanistan (11%), Obama's Asia trip (4%), and SARAH PALIN'S WRITTEN A BOOK! takes up the rear with 2%. In fact, 52% say there's "too much" coverage of SARAH PALIN'S WRITTEN A BOOK! Which is surprising, because it's such earth-shattering news. I mean, how else are you supposed to find out how Sarah feels about God and open-water drilling?

On a related note, media darling Dick Cheney is about the least popular guy in his little gang. According to Greg Sargent, "Significantly less than one percent of Republicans think Cheney best reflects their party's core values."

How significantly less? Try 0.125%. "The WaPo polling unit tells me that approximately 800 Republicans and Republican leaners were surveyed on this question," Sargent writes, "of that 800, WaPo’s polling gurus confirm, only a single person picked Cheney as the best reflection of the party’s values."

Keep that in mind the next time some foxbot conducts a breathless interview with the Big Dick -- not even Republicans give a damn what he says. (Pew, Plum Line)


-Speaking of polling-
A groundbreaking Vanity Fair/CBS News poll finds that "Half of Americans Would Rather Lay a Wreath on Tomb of the Unknown Solider Than Light Olympic Torch or Flip Coin at Super Bowl."

Because that's a decision we'll all be forced to make eventually. (Wonkette)