Two days after the fact, questions continue to surround John McCain's surprisingly strong performance Saturday at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. The mainstream media and blogosphere alike are abuzz with rumors that McCain pierced Warren's so-called "cone of silence" and, more serious still, may have purloined his legendary POW "cross in the dirt" story from the late Alexandr Solzhenitsyn.

But on one point, there is no dispute. Despite CNN's assurances to the contrary, Rick Warren simply asked Barack Obama and John McCain different questions.

From the very first question, Warren treated McCain with biblical kid gloves, editing out scriptural references that might have proven uncomfortable for the religiously reticent Republican:

QUESTION TO OBAMA: These first set of questions deal with your personal life as a leader and I'm not going to do this with any other segment, but as pastor I've got some verses that have to do with leadership. The first issue is the area of listening. There is a verse in Proverbs that says fools think they need no advice but the wise listen to other people. Who are the wisest three people you know in your life and who are you going to rely on heavily in your administration?

QUESTION TO MCCAIN: This first question deals with leadership and the personal life of leadership. First question, who were the three wisest people that you know that you would rely on heavily in an administration?

Chuck Todd of MSNBC was quick to note the strikingly different answers Obama and McCain offered, but not the clearly different questions they were asked:

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I took pen in hand and, fully caffeinated, was all ready to write something profound and challenging, but I'd filled up the very last page in my Journal with affirming thoughts about the happy, happy day when Ann Althouse actually returns my calls, dammit, even though I wrote really small, and my downstairs copy of The Purpose Driven Life came right to hand, so I took it down and opened it (nice big print).... And thought up some truly merveilleux snark, but the margins were too narrow to contain it. So I didn't actually write anything down. Maybe tomorrow.

I wish I'd said this, but Happy Jihad's House of Pancakes got there first:

[In Mother Knight, Vonnegut has] a beautiful image about how the fascist mind works even in the face of insurmountable logical contradictions. It's like the gears of a cuckoo clock with a couple of teeth filed away on purpose. The clock simply skips that tooth and the gear slips effortlessly into the next groove.

And I wish I'd said this: "When your team is the biggest loser in a generation... It's the little things that make you happy."

These: 1) "Reason 101 why Kirk is better than Picard:"; 2) "Managed to freecycle a wicker kitty bed, the hanging gun rack we had no more room for (and was too small for our collection anyways) and my old 3 person dome tent."; and 3) "To my surprise, the entire issue was devoted to primate foraging strategies."

Or this helpful suggestion to round out botulism-merchandiser Wal-Mart's new line of Christianist toys:

Lot's Wife Salt Doll: Fun to play with...and to lick! Pull the string on her back and Boston's "Don't Look Back" plays.

Or this:  "So, for the record, 'spanking guru James Dobson' will now be referred to here as 'wife-beating apologist James Dobson'." Oh heck, this too: "I don't understand this sign Mitt Romney is waving. MOMA isn't in Chelsea, it's in Midtown, so ... What? Oh."

And finally this:  "Shows what you can do if you do not give in to bitterness."

Guest Bloggerativity: Visit The Department of No! They Would Never Do That! in The Mighty Corrente Building, but be sure to bring your own foil and bucket.-Lambert

Comment at the link above, or send answers, tips, bouquets, brickbats to lambert_strether1 AT yahoo DOT com.

The Purpose Driven Life Takers-Part II

After I posted this story on 5/30, (I helped crash his server, sorry buddy) author Jonathan Huston wrote a sequel.

Strap on your seat belts and hold onto your dashboard Jesus, because the story of how this violent, theocratic video game is being network marketed through pastors and churches only gets deeper and stranger from here.

"A top aide to mega-church pastor Rick Warren is advising the makers of a children's video game in which characters kill New Yorkers while shouting "Praise the Lord." When children tire of converting or killing New Yorkers, they can switch sides and command the demonic armies of the AntiChrist, and kill the conservative Christians. The real-time strategy game, slated for release in October 2006, is based on the best selling series of Left Behind novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. The web site of Left Behind Games states the involvement of Mark Carver on its Advisory Board. This web-based marketing tool also highlights his role as Executive Director of Mr. Warren's Purpose Driven Church. What appears to be going on here is an old-fashioned business practice called "endorsement by association."...read on"

The Purpose Driven Life Takers

This is just plain sick. Many Christian activists complain that the violence contained in these games have a direct impact on American Society. I guess killing people who are for a "separation of Church and state" is fair game. Will these be handed out at the next "Justice Sunday" event?

Jonathan Hutson:

"Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission -- to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians.

Your mission is "to conduct physical and spiritual warfare"; all who resist must be taken out with extreme prejudice. You have never felt so powerful, so driven by a purpose: you are 13 years old. You are playing a real-time strategy video game whose creators are linked to the empire of mega-church pastor Rick Warren, best selling author of The Purpose Driven Life.....read on

Brad DeLong: Colin Powell's account of his last meeting with George W. Bush.

Scrutiny Hooligans: Heads Roll at the Veterans Administration

Yellow Dog Blog: Scott Ritter thrashes Hitchens in NYC debate.

A Tiny Revolution: Thank God our leaders are...

Direland: Is Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitism? The examples of Hannah Arendt and Albert Einstein

Tristram Shandy: The Purpose Driven Life?

Bush Misunderestimated..."News, Commentary, and Satire probing the radical agenda of right-wing politics like a doctor with big hands. Includes strategies and activism for resisting Bush until waddles off into the sunset." 

The search for meaning     Left I on the News

OK, all well and good. What I want to know is this -- why don't we read those same musings in

Fulton County court reporter Julie Ann Brandau, Judge Rowland Barnes, Sheriff's Deputy Hoyt Teasley and federal agent David Wilhelm. (reg req) The AJC has articles on the Fallen. Sorry for the reg.

Our thoughts go out to those who died at the hands of Brian Nicholls.

As I sit and watch cable news as I usually do, I kept seeing story after story on the strength and courage of Ashley Smith in the face of an unspeakable horror. Her devotion to God and the strength that her faith gave her to somehow overcome her ordeal. (no argument there)

Segment after segment these shows paraded every minister, preacher, evangelical, and man of faith they could find to bath the segments into "how the goodness of God" or "the power of Jesus" entered into the heart of Brian Nichols by Ashley Smith’s faith and convinced Brian Nicholls to turn himself in.

The real hero that most of them are touting is the book "The Purpose Driven Life" written by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, a megachurch south of Los Angeles. It has sold more than 21 million copies and has been near the top of best-seller lists for more than two years. Publishers Weekly says it is the best-selling hardcover non-fiction book in U.S. history.

Ashley Smith said that she read part of "The Purpose Driven Life" to her captor, Brian Nichols who formed a bond with his captive, calling her "his angel" and gave himself up.

So far there hasn’t been one segment done on the victims of Nicholls rampage. It's almost like they are an after thought to the story. The preachers throw around a blanket statement like " this is an awful tragedy" then get back to what they really want to talk about. As long as the right leaning shows can prove somehow that God had a hand in Nichols surrender, then "praise the lord" because God is the real hero in this mess. Jerry Falwell says that Nicholls must have been exposed to the lord somehow when he was a child " I don't know for sure" Why would he know? He wouldn't have bothered to look.

If I went on any of the shows to discuss the story with anyone of these TV hosts, I'll bet you a thousand bucks, not one of them could name all the people who were killed. I'm going to now again. Fulton County court reporter Julie Ann Brandau, Judge Rowland Barnes, Sheriff's Deputy Hoyt Teasley and federal agent David Wilhelm.

I found myself in an uncomfortable position of actually agreeing with Bo Dietl, who injected some reality to the debate. (paraphrasing). "He looked out the window and saw all those cops so he gave up. He's a murderer " Thanks for reminding us Bo.

I say shame on them. Shame on all of them for dismissing the people whose lives were cut short by a brutal display of violence to promote their sense of spirituality.

Paula Zahn is doing an entire show tonight on the faith of Ashley Smith. Well I believe in spiritual principles also, but how do the families of the fallen feel about God right now? How do the families feel about Terry Ratzmann , and his listening to the teaching of "end times" over and over again? Here are their names again: Julie Ann Brandau, Rowland Barnes. Hoyt Teasley and David Wilhelm. If you really are a person of faith, say a prayer for them and their families.

From Hannity and Colmes, Heide Law appeared last night.

Download | play

I don't know if she was high, but Heide couldn't even answer Colmes questions, so Hannity had to do it for her. One doesn't have to wonder why the court rejected her testimony.

On Hardball, Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life responded to Matthews question about why Michael Schiavo would want to see this end like this.

Warren: What if she came back out of this state and had something to say that he didn't like.

So this best selling author is speculating that he had her killed. I thought her condition was brought on by a heart attack.

I was remembering watching early episodes of Law and Order, like "Life Choice", "Progeny" and "Apocrypha." Guys like Randall Terry were considered the lunatic fringe. Now with cable 24/7, they are portrayed as just normal people with a cause.

Video link fixed