Unneeded Laws
I dislike the Westboro Baptists a lot… But I dislike knee jerk reactions to events even more. In an attempt to keep the Westboro Baptists from demonstrating at ceremonies like Christina Green’s funeral in Arizona, Senate President Pro Tem, Rob Mayer, is sponsoring Bill SB755 in Missouri. Rob might have good intentions, but I feel this bill will do far more harm than good. To quote the bill:
SB 755 – Under this act, a person commits the crime of disturbing a house of worship if such person knowingly disturbs a building used for religious purposes by using profanity, rude or indecent behavior, or making unreasonable noise. A person commits the crime if they engage in such behavior within the house of worship or so close to the building that the services are disturbed.
A person also commits the crime if he or she intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with any person exercising the right to religious freedom or who is seeking access to a house of worship.
The Missouri bill opens a slippery slope argument when you say things like “intimidates, or interferes with any person exercising the right to religious freedom” would give the aggrieved person or institution the right to bring civil charges against the accused. Just like defining porn – who would be able to say – without a doubt – that something is or is not intimidation or interference? A quiet, peaceful group of (pro-abortion, white, black, atheists, Jewish, Muslims) protesters holding signs that the aggrieved found offensive could easily be called intimidation.
I applaud Rob’s attempt to make the Westboro Weisenheimers go away, but no good will come of the bill in the end.
Open Mouth – Insert Foot
Dave Mustaine, the the founder of Megadeth, gave an interview to a local radio station in Seattle. In the best of recent examples as to why entertainers should not be asked serious questions, Dave knocked it out of the park his first time at bat. Dave’s segment begins at the 21:10 mark and you owe it you yourself to check it out.
In a blatant rip off of Seattle Weekly, here is a little back and forth as Dave answers some questions:
- Santorum is against gay marriage and supports restrictions on abortions. Does his stance on these social issues bother you?
It doesn’t bother me at all.
- Do you support gay marriage?
I’m very conservative. So, take it for what it’s worth.
- Washington State, just this week, the governor signed gay marriage into law. Do you support gay marriage, or is that something you oppose?
Well, since I’m not gay, the answer to that would be no.
- OK. What about for people who are gay?
Since I’m not gay, the answer to that would be no.
- Would you support legislation to make marriage between a man and another man legal?
I’m Christian. The answer to that would be no.
You know, if you disagree with things like abortion and gay marriage – for your own reasons – fine. But, don’t use your faith and the bible as your only argument like Dave did. Even though he was raised Jehovah’s Witness as a kid, he is 50 now. The dude has no excuse for not forming his own opinions by now. In fact, if you want to bring your ideas to the public square, you should get laughed out of the forum if you only wave a book in the air as your guide.
Muslim Judge Rebukes Atheist
A little setting for the story. It’s a crisp October 31st in Mechanicsburg, PA. Many people are in costume for the Halloween parade, including the Atheists of Central Pennsylvania. The atheists were dressed as a Zombie Pope and Zombie Mohammed (played by Ernie Perce) among other lovable characters. As the costumed people walked the parade route, a Muslim named Talaag Elbayomy left the his family on the side of the road to attack Ernie in the street. Talaag choked Ernie from behind and attempted to take a sign off of Ernie’s chest during the struggle. Both men found Sgt. Brian Curtis and told him what happened a few minutes later. Sgt. Curtis came to an easy conclusion as he charged Talaag with harassment saying, “Mr. Perce has the right to do what he did that evening, and the defendant in this case was wrong in confronting him.”
Pretty clear cut so far, right? Fast forward to a few days ago when a Muslim, District Judge Mark Martin tossed out the charge against Talaag. Judge Martin – a Middle East war vet – goes on to chastise Ernie – calling him a doofus and saying Ernie would have been put to death for the transgression of dressing up like Mohammed in those same Middle East countries. Luckily, we do not live there.
Muslim or not, these words are not becoming of a judge. Enforcing his values on Ernie and ignoring the laws that govern his court. I would go so far as to say that Judge Martin made a mockery of his court. Judge Martin needs to, at a minimum, apologize to Ernie and recuse himself of any other trials that involve his Muslim faith or he should step down from being a judge at all. Goodness.
Congratulations Southern Baptists!
My former brand of nonsense looks to be getting a fresh start in a new name! The Southern Baptist leaders have endorsed an informal name to “Great Commission Baptists” to stem the flow of people leaving the church. Perhaps they will finally get away from the stigma of being on the wrong side of slavery… but I doubt it. Also, I will not get my hopes up that they will stop speaking in tongues – which is all kinds of freaky to a 5-year-old kid. Cheers, GCB!
I hope to see each and every one of you at the Northwest Free-thought Convention close to Seattle, Washington in a few weeks!
~Wesley