[Note: Today, March 8, 2011, Mr. Marcavage wrote to tell me that the photo appearing in this space was copyrighted and he held the copyright and he wanted it removed. We removed the photo. But you can be sure that Marcavage is still fighting for his god and agin all the bad liberal folks out in America land. Too bad. We have enough wackos in this country!]
Michael Marcavage has been publicly protesting against liberals, homos, abortionists and other anti-Christians for years. At the time of Bush's second inauguration, he was in Washington leading a protest claiming Bush was too liberal!
Marcavage is the president of an extremist outfit called Repent America, an organization that puts the loops in fruitloops. They're all about proclaiming the "gospel" to the heathens in America, which is almost everybody except themselves.
Like most other right wingnut christianist groups they can't abide President Obama who is already beginning to put into effect items on his "ungodly" agenda. You can guess what items they're talking about.
So, America has to repent and go back to Bible-believing and rid ourselves of abortionists, homosexuals and liberals. We've got to get in good with God by putting prayer back in the public schools and the public square, and build out nation on godly principles.
For those reasons, Marcavage and a bunch of his wacko cronies were at Obama's inauguration, wandering about the National Mall, confronting people with the "gospel." They installed a public address system near the Washington Monument, so people would be sure to hear every word of their religious ranting.
According to Marcavage, his followers also went out and about trying to connect with people in one-on-one witnessing.
We must "be in service to our King and do as he says," proclaims Marcavage.
He also noted that the authorities did not give his group any trouble, but a few "church-going spectators displayed hostility."
Really? Who'd a thunk it?
Let us spray.
The website for Repent America is here. An interesting article on the wacko, Marcavage is here.
And here is a short video of Marcavage "preaching" the love of Jesus.
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans. That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our healthcare ...
... is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America -- they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise healthcare's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West -- know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job, which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations. -- Barack H. Obama.
[Patrick Mahoney being arrested in front of White House while calling for Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Bejing. Photo from daylife.com]
The prayer and fasting is over. The final prayer, which was to take place this morning, should be finis. Maybe Patrick J. Mahoney will go home now and take his bible-toting sycophants with him. Or not.
We do have freedom of speech in this country, and Mahoney can stand anywhere he wishes (pretty much) and pray his little heart out. He can even bring his christianist reconstructionists to Washington and stand in front of the White House and call on his god to make this country a "christianist" nation.
It's just all so stupid and boring. But it is also dangerous.
Mahony, you see, is the director of the infamous christianist outfit known as the Christian Defense Coalition.
(Have you ever noticed how so many of these extremist christianist outfits use military-sounding names? They must perceive themselves warring for their god against a godless and pagan culture, overrun with liberals, Democrats, non-Christians, and other dangerous and scary people.)
Anyway, Mahoney and a group of delusional followers have been fasting and praying for President-elect Obama for the past 19 days out in clear view of the White House as well as in their respective homes and churches.
Now, you might think: What could be wrong with that? All people of faith should be praying for President-elect Obama.
Except, and here's the kicker: Mahoney doesn't care much about Barack Obama. He would have preferred just about anyone as president other than Barack Obama. What he wants is to induce his god to force Barack Obama's hand and turn the United States into a christianist country run by christianist rules. That's what he's really praying for.
He wants Obama to ban abortion, stem-cell research, and gay rights. He wants Obama to put prayer back in the public schools, post the Ten Commandments in courthouses all over the country, place born-againers in positions of the highest responsibility, and appoint judges who will ignore the Constitution if it conflicts with the christianist viewpoint.
Mahoney was one of the three wacko "anointers" who gathered in the Capitol a few days ago to pray and "bless" the doorway through which Obama will walk to his inauguration.
The Website of the Christian Defense Coalition talks about how christianists much be "radical" and must be about "Biblical obedience."
The goal of the Christian Defense Coalition is "to see all public policies and institutions based on the principles of God's Word and the historic teaching of the Church." (My emphasis)
In other words, the Christian Defense Coalition is a subversive organization. That is clearly stated in the goal above, for such a goal could only be accomplished by abolishing or at the least, rewriting our Constitution.
May their days be numbered upon the earth.
Read this article and be afraid, be very afraid. Here's another point of view by the extremist christianist Minutemen.
HBO did not televise Bishop Robinson's prayer as part of their inauguration program yesterday. HBO claimed this was at the request of the Presidential Inauguration Committee.
Here's the video, thanks to La Figa. The text of the prayer is below, courtesy of Episcopal Cafe.
A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama
By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire
Opening Inaugural Event Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC January 18, 2009
Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.
O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…
Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.
Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.
Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.
Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.
Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.
Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.
And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.
Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.
Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.
Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.
Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.
Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.
Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.
And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.
AMEN.
Like many, if not most prayers, the Bishop's prayer is more of a sermon than anything else. But it's a good sermon, reminding his listeners that God is not a tribal god, but the "God of our many understandings." He urges us all to strive to end suffering, discrimination and the tendency to lord it over the rest of the world.
And then, poignantly, he asks the deity's blessing on her child, Barack.
It was an "inclusive" prayer, which at the end of the day, is a pretty damn good word. And notice, he ends his nod to God with a simple, "Amen."
Whether one is religious or not, Bishop Robinson's prayer deserves an "Amen" from all Americans.
[Gary Cass with now-dead wingnut, D. James Kennedy]
Well, she is!
And you damn well know why!
Bishop Gene Robinson, that's why!
Lots of right wingnuts are upset that President-elect Obama invited the gay bishop to invocate at his inaugural festivities.
Tony Perkins says the invite is just a sop to "angry liberals." Bill Donohue, the Roman Catholic nitwit, whines that Robinson is just as offensive to Catolics as to prostetants. Peter LaBarbara complained Robinson was "an affront to faithful Christians and religious defenders of morality everywhere. We've already noted, in a previous post, that the ever-loving christianist Matt Barber is proclaiming that Obama's invite to Robinson was a "betrayal" of christianists everywhere.
Kyle, writing at Right Wing Watch, tells us that Rick Scarborough, theologian extraordinaire, has also jumped into the fray. Robinson is a "slap in the face," saith Scarborough. Not only so, but Bishop Robinson's choices are completely against the Bible he supposedly represents." [Note the word, "choices." That's christianist code denoting that homos CHOSE (just to be "different") to become "that" way even though they knew God hates queers.]
But the biggest asshat in this conference of minor minds is Gary Cass. Yup, the kook at the CADC (that's the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, and orgyinzation established because poor Xtians in this country are constantly getting beat up by lowlife atheists and fake Xtians; why they're even expected to abide by the Constitution instead of the Bible. Talk about persecution!) is warning parents everywhere to keep their children at home, inside, hidden away, eyes closed, covered up BECAUSE God's gonna rain down all kinds of horrendous horrors on Amurika!
Yup. The ass, Cass, says that "Obama's inaugural events are a major step backwards for historic Christian values. ... Don't let your children watch!"
Yup. And "Some one ought to remind him [Obama] that he wasn't elected mayor of Sodom."
Yup. And asshat is crying that "Barack Obama's inauguration will have the dubious distinction of being the most perverted in our nation's history..."
Yup. So, "... [Cass, the ass] must unfortunately recommend that you keep the kids away from the TV and pray that God will not rain down fire and brimstone down on Washington DC."
Yup! Fire and brimstone. What the hell's brimstone? Never no mind. You'd better turn off the TV entirely. Good Xtians don't need to watch no inauguration festivities which will be overflowing with evil bishops and other perverts who claim to be Xtian but are really Satan's wolves in disguise, and a bunch of oddballs who think Obama is wunnerful but are nothing more than pawns of the damnable Democrats!
Pretty much everywhere on the left side of the blogosphere Obama's pick of Rick Warren to invocate his inauguration is being criticized - heartily criticized mostly. And rightly so.
Warren is not only homophobic, but a creationist, believes that pro-choice people are "holocaust deniers," and as an article in The Nation put it, "...thinks his AIDS relief efforts represent an elevated form of Christianity over those non-evangelical do-gooders whom he compares to Marxists because they're more interested in good works than salvation."
Obama seems to have another "pastor problem."
Maybe he should rid himself of all pastor hangers-on.
It appears Obama is playing both ends against the middle. Or trying to mollify the middle. At the beginning, Warren will call upon god to bless the event, and Obama's asked The Rev. Joseph Lowery to thank god for doing the will of Rick when it's all over.
Lowery, 87, former pastor of Atlanta's Cascade United Methodist Church, is "a stalwart of the civil rights movement and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference."
Lowery is also a supporter of same-sex marriage.
Lowery is grateful for the opportunity to benedict at Obama's inauguration.
But Obama screwed up. Playing both ends against the middle has already pissed off both ends and got the middle confused.
And why do we need these nods to god at a secular inauguration of a secular nation, anyway? How about a nice welcome, some music, celebrity posings, the oath of office and finish it up with Obama saying, "Let's do it!"
If he feels he has to have someone give an invocation to a deity at his inauguration, he can certainly do better than the homophobic Rick Warren! There are any number of extremely gifted and highly-respected religious leaders in the mainstream Protestant denominations, in the Roman Catholic Church and in Reform and Conservative Judaism.
Rick Warren is a right wing, fundamentalist wingnut!
This sends absolutely the wrong message!!!
God help us!
I would write much more, but Americablog has an excellent post here. Just be prepared to run for the Pepto-Bismol.
