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Is Pastor Terry Jones happy now?

The controversial Florida pastor who halted plans to burn a Quran on the 9/11 anniversary last year oversaw the burning of the Islamic holy book on Sunday after it was found "guilty" during a "trial" at his church. "We had a court process," said Pastor Terry Jones, who acted as judge, in a phone interview. "We tried to set it up as fair as possible, which you can imagine, of course, is very difficult."

Jones originally gave up the idea of a Koran burning, but I guess life got boring without some media attention following Rep. Peter King's fearmongering hearings. Jones's ignorant book burning took place a little over a week ago, though it was largely ignored in the American media.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

Jones decided to go through with the burning on March 20 after serving as judge in a “trial” of the Muslim holy book. He found it “guilty” of “training and promoting terrorist activities ... death, rape, torture of people worldwide” and crimes against women and minorities.

Gross -- and grossly irresponsible -- provocations like that always have consequences:
Afghans Angry Over Florida Koran Burning Kill U.N. Staff

Stirred up by a trio of angry mullahs who urged them to avenge the burning of a Koran at a Florida church, thousands of protesters overran the compound of the United Nations in this northern Afghan city, killing at least 12 people, Afghan and United Nations officials said. The dead included at least seven United Nations workers — five Nepalese guards and two Europeans, one of them a woman. None were Americans. Early reports, later denied by Afghan officials, said that at least two of the dead had been beheaded. Five Afghans were also killed.

The attack was the deadliest for the United Nations in Afghanistan since 11 people were killed in 2009, when Taliban suicide bombers invaded a guesthouse in Kabul. It also underscored the latent hostility toward the nine-year foreign presence here, even in a city long considered to be among the safest in Afghanistan — so safe that American troops no longer patrol here in any numbers.

Unable to find Americans on whom to vent their anger, the mob turned instead on the next-best symbol of Western intrusion — the nearby United Nations headquarters. “Some of our colleagues were just hunted down,” said a spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Kieran Dwyer, confirming that the attack.

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For anyone familiar with the mantra of fundamentalist Christians, what I'm about to share will not surprise you. What might surprise you, though, is how doggedly Sharron Angle pursued the question of a high school football team wearing black jerseys for one homecoming game.

Back in 1992, Sharron Angle waged her very first public campaign -- against black football jerseys. After the local favorites had been defeated by an upstart team of newbies from a neighboring county in 1991, the coach came up with this for the following year:

Springing ahead, Jones came up with an innovative idea to fire up his charges for their 1992 homecoming game against Laughlin. Utilizing the “darkest day” theme, he suggested the Muckers could wear black jerseys to remember the previous year’s debacle.

All politics is local, and nothing ratchets up the heat faster than high school sports, schools, and religious zealots. There were two factions opposing the coach's idea. Those who objected to any color but school colors on the field, and Sharron Angle's group, who objected on these grounds:

Also opposing the black jerseys was another group including Angle, a member, if not its leader.

They argued against our charges wearing black on religious grounds.

I cannot quote scripture as they did to justify their point but the gist of their argument was that black as a color was thoroughly evil, invoking the supernatural and especially the devil my take from dictionary definitions and not from scripture .

Angle's weird and extreme position comes from the theology of light and dark articulated throughout the Bible. It's based on a literal reading of Scriptural passages invoking metaphorical applications of light and dark, culminating in Jesus' proclamation that he is the "light of the world".

But folks, this is a football team, not a theological minefield. The controversy was over the color of a jersey for a homecoming game, not the souls of young high school students throughout the land.

And in the end, they didn't wear the black jerseys, the school administration kept them, and the students were not reimbursed for their own out-of-pocket costs to buy them.

It matters. It matters, because...

Nevada voters who did not know so before now are learning that religion is a big part of any Angle campaign, just as it was so many years ago.

[...]

But in a Las Vegas R-J story last week, an Angle campaign spokesman insisted the candidate is tolerant of others’ views. That was not the case 18 years ago when her religious preference was displayed during a campaign for the county school board.

If you want a taste of vintage 1992 Sharron Angle, read her rant letter to Harry Reid. This is the intensity with which she stormed the school board over black jerseys. Holy jihad, Batman.

Sharron Angle is on the record as recently as June, 2010 claiming that there is no constitutional requirement for separation of church and state. That squares with her theological views to a "T", shaped by her long, enduring association with fundamentalist, and even activist, churches.

Angle is a member of Fellowship Community Church now, a fairly mainstream Southern Baptist church. However, she was a member of Word of Light Fellowship around the same time that she would have been waging this campaign against black football jerseys. Word of Light is an Assemblies of God church, similar to Sarah Palin's home church.

And that, my friends, puts her squarely into the dominionist/Christian Reconstructionist camp, right alongside Jim Demint, and top Republican presidential hopeful, Mike Huckabee. Oh, and Sarah Palin, of course.

Angle isn't just crazy. She is a soldier in her own holy war. It began with football jerseys, but now the stakes are much, much higher.

I am so tired of living in a country where a group of religious extremists get to hold our rights hostage, but apparently that's not changing anytime soon:

An aide to Rep. Bart Stupak (D. Mich.) coordinated opposition to a Senate compromise on the place of abortion in health care legislation this morning with the Republican Senate leadership, the Conference Catholic Bishops, and other anti-abortion groups, according to a chain of frantic emails obtained this morning by POLITICO.

The emails show that Stupak -- who has so far remained silent on language accepted by Senator Ben Nelson (D. Neb.) and faces intense pressure from the White House to accept it -- is already working behind the scenes to oppose the compromise.

They also demonstrate a previously unseen degree of coordination between Stupak and the office of Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

Stupak is the leader of a group of pro-life Democrats who say they’ll back the sweeping legislation if it uses government money to pay for abortion, while McConnell is firmly committed to killing the legislation. The fact that the two have made common cause against the Senates health care compromise will likely further infuriate Stupak’s Democratic colleagues in the House, and demonstrates his willingness to stop any bill that doesn’t pass his test.

“Guys - when will we see your letters of opposition to the managers amendment?? We need them ASAP!” wrote Erika Smith, a Stupak aide, at 9:23 this morning, less than an hour after the amendment had become available.

The email’s recipients included key staffers for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Right to Life, the Family Research Council, as well as Autumn Fredericks Christensen, aide to a top pro-life Republican Joe Pitts, and Lanier Swann, a McConnell aide.

The health insurance cartel has shown that it is willing to shell out tens of millions of dollars and fight to the death to stop meaningful health care reform. One giant of the industry, United Health Group, is going so far as to actually encourage their own employees to educate themselves in anti-reform talking points, and attend tea parties held by a religious extremist. From TPM:

Last week, UnitedHealth Group--the second largest health insurance company in the country--sent out a letter to its employees urging them to call UHG's United for Health Reform Advocacy Hotline to speak with an advocacy specialist about health care reform. The advocacy specialist, according to the letter, is there to help UHG employees write personalized messages to elected officials, and to arm them with talking points to use at local events in order to better oppose the public health insurance option.

However, a source who's insured by UHG--and who also obtained the letter--called the hotline on Tuesday and says the company directed him to an events list hosted by the right wing America's Independent Party, and suggested he attend an anti-health care reform tea party sponsored by religious fundamentalist Dave Daubenmire, scheduled for today outside the office of Blue Dog Rep. Zack Space (D-OH). Read on...

United claims to be a partner in health care reform, but as d-day puts it they're in it to win it:

Giant insurers like United Health Group see value in enabling right-wing shriek-fests. They’ll either derail reform, and keep a status quo that earned the CEO $124.8 million in 2005, or get a workable, sham “reform” without a public option that would essentially funnel government subsidies to their company. They have a good racket going, and they want to keep it. Read on...

Mike's Blog Round Up

Corporate Crime Reporter: Political fix is in on prosecution of Custer Battles...

Pam's House Blend: The desperation of religious extremists as they suddenly realize their influence with the public is waning. One particularly perverse scold is even cruising gay message boards doing "research," while huckster Tom DeLay continues to manipulate the faithful with his phony "martyr" routine. Get off the cross, we need the wood.

Blah3: Afghans believe the US is in league with...the Taliban!

Lassiter Space: Ex-death row inmate telss of his exoneration by DNA in podcast interview

And Doctor Biobrain's Response Is...: Apparently, Secretary of the Treasury is just sort of a cheerleading position from which to tout the BUSHCO message. Insiders speculate that Rumsfeld may finally have worn out his welcome. One thing is certain, Republicans want to see some changes.

Blah3: Afghans believe the US is in league with...the Taliban!

Lassiter Space: Ex-death row inmate telss of his exoneration by DNA in podcast interview

And Doctor Biobrain's Response Is...: Apparently, Secretary of the Treasury is just sort of a cheerleading position from which to tout the BUSHCO message. Insiders speculate that Rumsfeld may finally have worn out his welcome. One thing is certain, Republicans want to see some changes.

New York Magazine: A look at the questions surrounding New York's most terrible day.
New York Magazine: A look at the questions surrounding New York's most terrible day

THE NEW CONGRESSIONAL ASSAULT ON THE RIGHT TO DIE

via Direland

...This bill -- H.R. 1151, the so-called “Incapacitated Person’s Legal Protection Act”-- requires federal courts to intervene at the request of any family member or loved one if a state court “authorizes or directs” the withholding of food or life support when there is an alleged dispute over the patient’s wishes. (Florida Christian primitive Mel Martinez, Bush’s former Housing Secretary, has introduced the same bill in the Senate).

If this bill becomes law, the federal courts would be clogged with thousands of Schiavo cases, in which parents or relatives who are religious extremists could obstruct an individual’s wish to die without suffering, through litigation that could drag on for years....read on