Jerry Falwell, we hardly knew ye...

[chefmike]

Hell is hot, isn't it Jerry?

[trannybanger]

i have seen that somewhere before... where did it come from? hustler or something right?

[tsntx]

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University, a school executive said. He was 73.
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Ron Godwin, the university's executive vice president, said Falwell, 73, was found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and taken to Lynchburg General Hospital. "CPR efforts were unsuccessful," he said.

Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse, but he said Falwell "has a history of heart challenges."

"I had breakfast with him, and he was fine at breakfast," Godwin said. "He went to his office, I went to mine, and they found him unresponsive."

Falwell had survived two serious health scares in early 2005. He was hospitalized for two weeks with what was described as a viral infection, then was hospitalized again a few weeks later after going into respiratory arrest. Later that year, doctors found a 70 percent blockage in an artery, which they opened with stents.

Falwell credited his Moral Majority with getting millions of conservative voters registered, electing
Ronald Reagan and giving Republicans Senate control in 1980.

"I shudder to think where the country would be right now if the religious right had not evolved," Falwell said when he stepped down as Moral Majority president in 1987.

The fundamentalist church that Falwell started in an abandoned bottling plant in 1956 grew into a religious empire that includes the 22,000-member Thomas Road Baptist Church, the "Old Time Gospel Hour" carried on television stations around the country and 7,700-student Liberty University. He built Christian elementary schools, homes for unwed mothers and a home for alcoholics.

He also founded Liberty University in Lynchburg, which began as Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971.

Liberty University's commencement is scheduled for Saturday, with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich as the featured speaker.

In 2006, Falwell marked the 50th anniversary of his church and spoke out on stem cell research, saying he sympathized with people with medical problems, but that any medical research must pass a three-part test: "Is it ethically correct? Is it biblically correct? Is it morally correct?"

Falwell had once opposed mixing preaching with politics, but he changed his view and in 1979, founded the Moral Majority. The political lobbying organization grew to 6.5 million members and raised $69 million as it supported conservative politicians and campaigned against abortion, homosexuality, pornography and bans on school prayer.

Falwell became the face of the religious right, appearing on national magazine covers and on television talk shows. In 1983, U.S. News & World Report named him one of 25 most influential people in America.

In 1984, he sued Hustler magazine for $45 million, charging that he was libeled by an ad parody depicting him as an incestuous drunkard. A federal jury found the fake ad did not libel him, but awarded him $200,000 for emotional distress. That verdict was overturned, however, in a landmark 1988
U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that even pornographic spoofs about a public figure enjoy First Amendment protection.

The case was depicted in the 1996 movie "The People v. Larry Flynt."

With Falwell's high profile came frequent criticism, even from fellow ministers. The Rev. Billy Graham once rebuked him for political sermonizing on "non-moral issues."

Falwell quit the Moral Majority in 1987, saying he was tired of being "a lightning rod" and wanted to devote his time to his ministry and Liberty University. But he remained outspoken and continued to draw criticism for his remarks.

Days after Sept. 11, 2001, Falwell essentially blamed feminists, gays, lesbians and liberal groups for bringing on the terrorist attacks. He later apologized.

In 1999, he told an evangelical conference that the Antichrist was a male Jew who was probably already alive. Falwell later apologized for the remark but not for holding the belief. A month later, his National Liberty Journal warned parents that Tinky Winky, a purple, purse-toting character on television's "Teletubbies" show, was a gay role model and morally damaging to children.

Falwell was re-energized after family values proved important in the 2004 presidential election. He formed the Faith and Values Coalition as the "21st Century resurrection of the Moral Majority," to seek anti-abortion judges, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and more conservative elected officials.

The big, blue-eyed preacher with a booming voice started his independent Baptist church with 35 members. From his living room, he began broadcasting his message of salvation and raising the donations that helped his ministry grow.

"He was one of the first to come up with ways to use television to expand his ministry," said Robert Alley, a retired University of Richmond religion professor who studied and criticized Falwell's career.

In 1987, Falwell took over the PTL (Praise the Lord) ministry in South Carolina after Jim Bakker's troubles. Falwell slid fully clothed down a theme park water slide after donors met his fund-raising goal to help rescue the rival ministry. He gave it up seven months later after learning the depth of PTL's financial problems.

Largely because of the Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals, donations to Falwell's ministry dropped from $135 million in 1986 to less than $100 million the following year. Hundreds of workers were laid off and viewers of his television show dwindled.

Liberty University was $73 million in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy, and his "Old Time Gospel Hour" was $16 million in debt.

By the mid-1990s, two local businessmen with long ties to Falwell began overseeing the finances and helped get companies to forgive debts or write them of as losses.

Falwell devoted much of his time keeping his university afloat. He dreamed that Liberty would grow to 50,000 students and be to fundamentalist Christians what Notre Dame is to Roman Catholics and Brigham Young University is to Mormons. He was an avid sports fan who arrived at Liberty basketball games to the cheers of students.

Falwell's father and his grandfather were militant atheists, he wrote in his autobiography. He said his father made a fortune off his businesses — including bootleging during Prohibition.

As a student, Falwell was a star athlete and a prankster who was barred from giving his high school valedictorian's speech after he was caught using counterfeit lunch tickets his senior year.

He ran with a gang of juvenile delinquents before becoming a born-again Christian at age 19. He turned down an offer to play professional baseball and transferred from Lynchburg College to Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo.

"My heart was burning to serve Christ," he once said in an interview. "I knew nothing would ever be the same again."

Falwell is survived by his wife, Macel, and three children, Jerry, Jonathan and Jeannie.

GOOD RIDANCE

if there is a heaven this man didnt make it. no one could preach that much hate for humans and make it in. burn fat man, burn

[Coroner]

funny shit

[FiremanforTS]

Night Night


Nice song Leora!

:D

[tsntx]

great song ;D

[chefmike]

i have seen that somewhere before... where did it come from? hustler or something right?

That's the infamous Hustler ad(kudos to LG for digging it up), and the trial that followed it is featured in the Larry Flynt flick with Woody H. and Courtney Hole...

[xfiver]

GOOD RIDANCE

if there is a heaven this man didnt make it. no one could preach that much hate for humans and make it in. burn fat man, burn

irony. :lol:

[DavidLynch]

Read the Bible. It's full of holes. Not only did he make it in, he's throwing a party right now.

[Coroner]

Read the Bible. It's full of holes. Not only did he make it in, he's throwing a party right now.

I fear the time of the worms has come.....

[BeardedOne]

Hol-ly fuck! :shock:

I thought this was just another one of Chef's insanely cruel (Yet insanely funny) jibes.

I have to get my suit pressed, because I =know= my ex's mom is gonna have a coronary over this (She kept seven, yes, SEVEN bibles in the bathroom and sent half of her annual earnings to Falwell and the MM).

Jeez. Who we gonna pick on now? Oh, right, Robertson and his hotline to god. :roll:

Though, not to speak ill of the dead, I do have one fond memory of Jerry:

Late one night, sliding off to slumber in some anonymous hotel room, I was watching some drivel on the goddamnednoisybox. Falwell was on, being interviewed by one of the talking heads about 9/11, Al Queda, Iraq, and McDonald's fries (For all I knew at the time). And then he said it, the golden truth that made him...human:

"Oh, I'm against the death penalty, of course. Except for Osama Bin Ladin. I'd do that myself. I'd witness to him, show him the true faith, and then throw the switch!"

For that one, brief, shining moment, I actually liked the creepy little doughboy preacher.

[BeardedOne]

Update: My son just IMed me. Grandmother info pending.

[chefmike]

The GOP has only Pat Robertson to geniflect towards now for their required pat on the head from the religious right...

[BeardedOne]

The GOP has only Pat Robertson to geniflect towards now for their required pat on the head from the religious right...

They're screwed.

[tsntx]

"Oh, I'm against the death penalty, of course. Except for Osama Bin Ladin. I'd do that myself. I'd witness to him, show him the true faith, and then throw the switch!"



only after practically being shunned by everyone for saying that gays, liberals and the like were responsible for 9/11

fuck that fat man, may he burn in his version of hell for all eternity

[Kabuki]

I loved how he claimed that Global warming was a myth. Well, lets watch some more icecaps melt, leading to the extinction of polar bears. I'm gonna wear shades, since it seems hotter than it usually is around the icecaps 8)

[BeardedOne]

fuck that fat man, may he burn in his version of hell for all eternity

I was always disturbed by that smirky, I'm-better-than-you smile he had on his doughboy face whenever he was poking at somebody.

[InHouston]

I loved how he claimed that Global warming was a myth. Well, lets watch some more icecaps melt, leading to the extinction of polar bears. I'm gonna wear shades, since it seems hotter than it usually is around the icecaps 8)

Global Warming is about as factual as the preachings of Jerry Falwell.

[Parisien]

Another shit head bits the dust.......pity there are far too many feeble minded types like him to continue his brand of asshole beliefs after hes gone..........my 2 euros worth.

[dc_guy_75]

I'm happy to hear that motherfucker has died. Fuck him, Liberty University, and anyone who's ever kissed his ass (including John McCain)...

[North_of_60]

Bye Bye, Jerry !

[trish]

times like these i wish there was an afterlife and a hell so that assholes like Falwell can see how wrong, cruel and stupid they were.

[Felicia Katt]

I loved how he claimed that Global warming was a myth. Well, lets watch some more icecaps melt, leading to the extinction of polar bears. I'm gonna wear shades, since it seems hotter than it usually is around the icecaps 8)

Global Warming is about as factual as the preachings of Jerry Falwell.

There is absolutely no doubt, whatsoever, that we are undergoing global warming. None. The only issue is whether it is caused by human activity or not. The overwhelming majority of scientists and concerned agencies have concluded that is the case. A small minority, mostly funded by big oil and their ilk argue against the evidence, claiming its caused by sunspots or is part of some natural cycle of heating. But no one with any credibility or credentials denies the world is getting hotter and that major climate change will result.

FK

[whatsupwithat]

well, well, well, jerry falwell.

true story, i spoke with the man (?) a few times back in the late 1990's. see, i owned a few businesses back then and one of them used to advertise in some publications he owned. i know, i know, i should have said no way, but i was a whore to the dollar in those years....and the people that follow him...well, they tend to be a bit gullible.

anyways, long story short, some 'readers' complained about the tone of our ads. also, during this time i was a full-blown alcoholic/coke addict (5 years clean and sober now!), so in a state of inebriation and wiredness i called jerry up to have a talk with him about the ads. and talk we did. a few times, actually. unfortunately, i don't remember much of the conversations but i do remember him being pretty whacked out...and that was from a guy , me, who was whacked out of his mind 24/7.

i do recall one thing, though. i don't think jerry actually was aware of how farked up he was. our discussions were pretty far out but what i got was that he had gotten pretty caught up in the story that he constructed for himself...and for others. so, since that time i've kinda' felt compassion for him. and i'm sorry he died and i hope before he died, he saw the truth, not the lies he created for himself.

end of story.

[Quinn]

Now that Jerry's gone, who's going to protect us from the ravages of those evil Teletubbies pushing their gay agenda? :roll:

-Quinn

[Felicia Katt]

Now that Jerry's gone, who's going to protect us from the ravages of those evil Teletubbies pushing their gay agenda? :roll:

-Quinn
The Reverend Lou Sheldon, who saved our innocent children from the transgendered bartender and cross dressing marionette in Shrek 2

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/001872.html

If they weren't serious and if people didn't follow them, it would be so much funnier.

FK

[White_Male_Canada]

Very appalling, disturbing comments I`m reading considering even Flint was gracious;

"My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. ... I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling." — Larry Flynt.

And chefmike,his true nature is showing 8)

[Quinn]

Now that Jerry's gone, who's going to protect us from the ravages of those evil Teletubbies pushing their gay agenda? :roll:

-QuinnYeah. Where's Anita Bryant when you really need the whore? lol

:lol: Wow, an Anita Bryant reference. Niceeeeeeeee.

[Felicia Katt]

Now that Jerry's gone, who's going to protect us from the ravages of those evil Teletubbies pushing their gay agenda? :roll:

-QuinnYeah. Where's Anita Bryant when you really need the whore? lol

shacking up with OJ? I know she loved the Juice and he is in Florida

LOL

FK

[BeardedOne]

There is absolutely no doubt, whatsoever, that we are undergoing global warming. None. The only issue is whether it is caused by human activity or not.

I always heard that it was bovine flatulence. Now that Jerry's gone...

OK, Ill stop.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[whatsupwithat]

Yeah. Where's Anita Bryant when you really need the whore? lol

Dude is a judge. Unreal, America.

Btw, who the hell are you? Where's Arianna?

[whatsupwithat]

I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling." — Larry Flynt.


Jerry didn't know he was selling. He used to know, but he started believing in what he sold.

[White_Male_Canada]

I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling." — Larry Flynt.


Jerry didn't know he was selling. He used to know, but he started believing in what he sold.

Hmm,Larry hedging his bets before he kicks the bucket or just adhering to the old adage,

“Of the dead speak well, or not at all.”

[Felicia Katt]

Teletubbies response to Falwell LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjEe1n8R2ZQ


meow
FK

[dc_guy_75]

Bye Jerry, you'll be missed... mostly by gullible, simple, "red state" people. Granted, most of these people are merely trying to make sense of existence and this flash of life (as we all are).

Hopefully, the American Evangelical movement has peaked. Religous fundamentalists should have no place in in western, secular, modern nation-states.

It makes me shudder that there are millions of people that followed this guy. Sure, if Jerry Falwell was never born, there would've been another leader of the right-wing Christian movement. However looking at the situation over the past decade or two, potential successors have seemed to just fade away; Ralph Reed, Ted Haggart, Jim Baker, etc. One of the beauties of the digital age is that "dirt" will be found on everyone, culling the group of prospective candidates exponentially.

Unfortunatly, the digital age reduces the potential group of "good" candidates also. I'm sure there would be youtube videos of the young Bill Clinton being drunk and stupid and groping women, if people had camera phones pre-1992.

Excuse the rant, I just hope to never see a more powerful version of Jerry Fallwell.

[North_of_60]

Bye Bye, Jerry !Which one them is gay again? The purple one? Or are they all rump-wranglers? ;-)

You mean, rump puppets...

For sure, Falwell was a reactionary hick obsessed with the sexuality of cartoon caracters. But Thinky Winky was not the first puppet to be outed.

[tsntx]

rotflmao at felcias responce hahaha

[whatsupwithat]

Hopefully, the American Evangelical movement has peaked. Religous fundamentalists should have no place in in western, secular, modern nation-states.



Lots of great points, but I think the reason we're seeing fundamentalism with the power it has at all is a direct result of the digital age. Yeah, the irony is that the truth as we know it is available with just a click of the mouse, but I think a lot people don't want that. There's just too much info, too much change, too many bits and bytes for most. People want simple. And in an age where nothing is simple, good and evil is about as simple as you can get.

There's a lot that plays into the effects of the digital age on our society.

I mean, just one example, look at us, we're all pretty internet savvy, and we like our online communities, our hangouts where we can "know" people, where we can "trust" in people, where we can build online relationships. Like, this community. But put this community in a room, say at a party at Vapor, and it all changes. Most of the constructs so meticulously built online fall apart. Basically, a lot of us aren't who our avatars or online names make us out to be, at least not in a real social sense.

So, if we took us, Vapor out of the equation and applied this to any situation or area or community, you can see how fundamentalism would thrive. What, who do people believe in? In an age where everything that's real seems unreal...where do people go?

I don't know if any of that made sense...it was more a train of thought than any cohesive statement...

[tsntx]

u mean if i meet some guys from here at vapor they wont really love shemales? or be some hot fireman or a twirling cock bouncing around the room?

whats up w/ that whatsupwithat?


oooh and i wouldnt be a ts in tx id be a ts FROM tx

this internet is a crazy messed up placed!

[whatsupwithat]

u mean if i meet some guys from here at vapor they wont really love shemales? or be some hot fireman or a twirling cock bouncing around the room?

whats up w/ that whatsupwithat?

There's always twirling cocks bouncing. ;)

And some guys on here that don't really love shemales? No, they all love the idea of shemales. Put them in the room with actual transsexuals...that's a different story.

[whatsupwithat]

oooh and i wouldnt be a ts in tx id be a ts FROM tx

this internet is a crazy messed up placed!

wiseass. :P

[dc_guy_75]

Unfortunatly, you're right. The digital age allows extremists to flourish, not being bound by distance and location. Islamic fundamentalism is a prime example, allowing networks of people to thrive.

However, it also allows smaller communties to thrive, like here on HA.

Its a beautiful, complicated, double-edge sword. I'm thankful that I live now, to share thoughts and see all the people out there.

Not long ago, it was a much lonelier existence. What luck to be born on the later half of the 20th century.

[dc_guy_75]

Okay, I'll stop philosophising...

But with Jen (tsntx), I've seen her on television and know her wit, vicariously. Image that, 20 years ago, being separated by 1500 miles and having 13 channels on tv.

Holy shit!

[whatsupwithat]

Btw, who the hell are you? Where's Arianna?She stayed out late on a school night with some guy named Tom Selis, and her parents grounded her. I'm her cousin, Nicole. ;-)

She was total rock-n-roll...so, you're, like, a little bit country? :)

/donny
//and marie
///did i date myself?

[wendy48088]

Jerry Falwell - Rest in Peace.

I think we will all be needing a bit of Godly compassion and forgiveness when we depart this physical plane of existance and enter into the spiritual world and stand before the Lord on judgement day.

I am sure Jerry has had his Heavenly orientation by now, and where he was wrong has been shown to him...

[wendy48088]

Beautiful quote of the Byrds song based on Ecclesiastes 3rd chapter, Leora:

Ecclesiastes 3 (New International Version)

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.


To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear its not too late

[wendy48088]

Yeah. Where's Anita Bryant when you really need the whore? lol

I think Anita Bryant has been through a few changes since that time...

Anita Bryant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Bryant

...The fallout from her political activism had a devastating effect on her business and entertainment career. Her contract with the Florida Citrus Commission was allowed to lapse in 1979 because of the controversy and the negative publicity generated by her political campaigns and the resulting boycott of Florida orange juice.

Her marriage to Bob Green failed at that time and in 1980 she divorced him, although he reportedly has said that his fundamentalist religious beliefs do not recognize civil divorce and that she is still his wife in God's eyes. Some observers feel that her husband pushed her to get involved in the political activism that eventually led to her downfall and loss of income. Kathie Lee Gifford, who worked as a live-in secretary/babysitter for the Greens in the early 1970s said in her autobiography that Green had a ferocious temper and that Anita was not very happy.

Because of her divorce many fundamentalist Christians shunned her and no longer invited her to appear at their events, which also caused her to lose an income source. She moved with her four children from Miami to Selma, Alabama, and later to Atlanta, Georgia. In a Ladies Home Journal article she said, "The church needs to wake up and find some way to cope with divorce and women's problems."

She married her second husband, Charlie Hobson Dry, in 1990, and they tried to reestablish her career in a series of small venues, including Branson, Missouri, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Commercial success was elusive, however, and they left behind them a series of unpaid employees and creditors. They filed for bankruptcy in Arkansas (1997) and in Tennessee (2001).

Her career decline is detailed in her book, A New Day (1992).

Anita Bryant returned to Barnsdall, Oklahoma, in 2005 for the town's 100th anniversary celebration and to have a street renamed in her honor. She returned to her high school in Tulsa on April 21, 2007, to perform in the school's annual musical revue. She now lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, and says she does charity work for various youth organizations and heads Anita Bryant Ministries International, 115 East California Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73104.

[a994]

There's lots that I disagree with the likes of Reverend Falwell about (the right-wing political stuff and the fundamentalism, even though I myself am a Christian), but condolences, thoughts, and prayers go out for each of his loved ones.

[ottorocket]

luv em or hate em..i'll show the same respect i would for any other person RIP

[chefmike]

If I believed in hell, I'd certainly believe that Jerry is roasting on a spit in hell right now...right next to Nixon...and Reagan...roast in hell, Jerry...

[chefmike]

Jerry Falwell - Rest in Peace.

I think we will all be needing a bit of Godly compassion and forgiveness when we depart this physical plane of existance and enter into the spiritual world and stand before the Lord on judgement day.

I am sure Jerry has had his Heavenly orientation by now, and where he was wrong has been shown to him...

What a crock of shit...keep drinkin' that kool-aid, though...I bet they would have loved you at Jonestown...

Jesus is coming and boy is he pissed! :roll:

[tsntx]

Okay, I'll stop philosophising...

But with Jen (tsntx), I've seen her on television and know her wit, vicariously. Image that, 20 years ago, being separated by 1500 miles and having 13 channels on tv.

Holy shit!

lol what?

im 25 not 65

the day of my birth mtv was launched. i hardly doubt that 5yrs after that , that there was only 13 channels on tv. but i dont fn know i was fn 5yrs old how the hell would i know how many channels were on tv. lol i was too busy playing dress up.

[chefmike]

A eulogy for Jerry...

Falwell's Gay Legacy: Hate and Discrimination
Kirk Snyder

Jerry Falwell is dead but his political legacy of hate and discrimination lives on among the fundamentalists. As the face of the original, now-defunct Moral Majority, Falwell built this political action committee by exploiting fear and ignorance. Anti-gay, anti-woman and anti-science, Falwell -- along with his friends in the Republican party -- spread anger, bigotry and intolerance all the while hiding behind God and a twisted interpretation of "family values."

Having grown up a gay Baptist, I know first-hand about the hypocritical "family values" Falwell espoused in order to further his own political power and influence. And make no mistake, it was all about political power and influence. From stealing PTL from poor Tammy Faye to calling Desmond Tutu a "phony" to saying "AIDS is the wrath of a just God;" his own hypocrisy as a supposed man of God is simply astounding -- not to mention irrational, lest we forget the Tinky Winky debacle.

But Falwell's death also gives us reason to reflect on the positive. In spite of all the venom Falwell spent his life so generously spreading around, gay people are now successful and visible in all walks of life -- out-of-the-closet, living their lives with dignity and self-worth. From the majority of Fortune 500 companies offering domestic partner benefits for their gay employees to anti-hate legislation being passed all around the country to lesbians hosting popular talk-shows, try as he might, Falwell could not ultimately stop the movement of a nation toward equality. Why? Certainly not because he didn't try, but because his underlying message of hate and discrimination went against everything this great country was founded upon. Jerry Falwell is dead. Long live inclusion, freedom and equality.

[chefmike]

Another eulogy for Jerry(it couldn't happen soon enough) Falwell...

What Jerry Falwell Taught Me
Joan Garry

My partner just emailed me. Jerry Falwell died, she said. Such a rush of emotion. And then questions. Does he have a number 2? Who will succeed him? But Scout asked the best question. I just yelled into the kitchen to tell her. She yelled back. "I wonder where he's headed now..."


I learned a lot from Jerry Falwell. I debated him on television a number of times. He taught me not to take a breath at the end of my sentences but to grab catch breaths in mid-sentence. That way, the interviewer has a tougher time interrupting. I learned that when you have a title like Reverend, you get some sort of free pass. A free pass to say terrible things and get away with it.

But most importantly I learned that you only get a free pass if people are willing to give it to you. You only get power when people are prepared to relinquish it. You only get a platform when people offer it to you.

As a woman, I have a lot of anger toward Jerry Falwell. I would never have an abortion but believe that a woman has a right to choose. As a gay person, I have a lot of anger toward Jerry Falwell. He raised a good deal of money for his cause, for his "church" on my back. As a Christian, I have a lot of anger toward Jerry Falwell. He used his deeply held religious beliefs as cover for the vast array of statements he made through the years that will reverberate for decades to come.

But as I watch CNN this afternoon (I can't bear to watch Fox), I realize the anger I feel should be directed to all those Mr. Falwell leaves behind -- all of you who created this demagogue. To all those who booked him on a TV or radio show, to all those who put money in his coffers, to all of you who followed him blindly. You gave Falwell the opportunity, the platform, the microphone and the money. He couldn't have done it all without you.

The world lost a powerful bigot today. The question ahead is not who will take his place. Someone will. The question is did you learn anything? Will you recognize that with power comes responsibility. When the next one asks for money or a microphone, maybe you'll think twice. Maybe you'll consider what it really means to be Christian.

"Showing qualities such as kindness, helpfulness, and concern for others."

[GroobySteven]

Beautiful quote of the Byrds song based on Ecclesiastes 3rd chapter, Leora:

Ecclesiastes 3 (New International Version)

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.



Get the feck outta here. I knew the Byrds had a bit of religion about them but didn't realise that this song was so close specific bible stuff.
I just had to look it up thinking McGuinn must have wrote it - but the song has an interesting story:
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=33:jzfwxxtsld0e

[tsntx]

im waiting for the autopsy to come out that he died w/ drugs in the system and a heart attack due to high blood pressure from getting "too" excited watching gay porn in his office at work

[dc_guy_75]

Okay, I'll stop philosophising...

But with Jen (tsntx), I've seen her on television and know her wit, vicariously. Image that, 20 years ago, being separated by 1500 miles and having 13 channels on tv.

Holy shit!

lol what?

im 25 not 65

the day of my birth mtv was launched. i hardly doubt that 5yrs after that , that there was only 13 channels on tv. but i dont fn know i was fn 5yrs old how the hell would i know how many channels were on tv. lol i was too busy playing dress up.

"13 channels" was just a metaphor for not being digitally connected... As for the 80's, I bet you were playing dress up with leg warmers and listening to Cyndi Lauper songs... haha

[tsntx]

i was for sure a cyndi fan... however... ive only worn leg warmers doing j-lo's version of "flashdance" doing the song "im glad" at drag shows... one of my fav routines

[dc_guy_75]

i was for sure a cyndi fan... however... ive only worn leg warmers doing j-lo's version of "flashdance" doing the song "im glad" at drag shows... one of my fav routines

That show was probably really hot. Where the hell did you get leg warmers?
Did you once measure time with Cyndi, Tiffany, and Madonna phases?

[Felicia Katt]

found this online today

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10806.html#more-10806

It shows some Falwell's lesser known but still outrageously offensive statements.

Oridinarily I hate Christopher Hitchens, but I had to give him some props and exposure here when I read what he had to say about Falwell:

HITCHENS: The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing: that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you will just get yourself called Reverend.

Who would, even at your network, (Fox) have invited on such a little toad to tell us that the attacks of September the 11th were the result of our sinfulness and were God's punishment if they hadn't got some kind of clerical qualification?

People like that should be out in the street, shouting and hollering with a cardboard sign and selling pencils from a cup.

FK

[whatsupwithat]

found this online today

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10806.html#more-10806

It shows some Falwell's lesser known but still outrageously offensive statements.

Oridinarily I hate Christopher Hitchens, but I had to give him some props and exposure here when I read what he had to say about Falwell:

HITCHENS: The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing: that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you will just get yourself called Reverend.

Who would, even at your network, (Fox) have invited on such a little toad to tell us that the attacks of September the 11th were the result of our sinfulness and were God's punishment if they hadn't got some kind of clerical qualification?

People like that should be out in the street, shouting and hollering with a cardboard sign and selling pencils from a cup.

FK

"little toad"

Bwahahahaha!

Thanks for sharing!

[dc_guy_75]

I find it difficult to hate Christopher Hitchens, the world had too few contrarians.

I did see him about two months ago and had a brief conversation with him, he was smoking a cigarrette outside a bar on a Tuesday night and was hammered.

He's one of the best public speakers you've ever seen (look at youtube) and is a good friend of Salman Rushdie.

Long live Chris Hitchens!... which will be difficult considering how much he smokes and drinks.

[chefmike]

Wanted: The Next Jerry Falwell
Ken Levine

Now that the Rev. Jerry Falwell has left the Mortal Majority, who will fill his place as ignorant spokesperson for the religious right? It has to be someone not only uninformed but grossly irresponsible. It's a hard act to follow. The self-proclaimed good reverend hit most topics. In the name of the church he promoted segregation, even claiming the Bible supported it (although later unable to find that page.

Maybe it wasn't the Bible but the Klu Klux Klan value coupon book he saw it in.) He must consider all gays as "deviants" and praise AIDS as God's way of punishing them. Takes a real moron to say that. Not every Village Idiot can qualify.

He must be topical. He can't let global warming go by without calling it "Hocus pocus, a Satanic plot to distract Christians from the more important work of spreading the Gospel." (His successor might spend a little more time focusing on the Armageddon sections.)

Falwell recently declared that the Muslim prophet Muhammad was a terrorist. I understand his basis for this claim was seeing an episode of 24. So, for him, documented proof! He also linked Hillary Clinton to Osama bin Laden but that could just be because they look alike. Honest mistake.

It is imperative he have a unique spin on 9/11. Rev. Falwell said it was brought about by "the ACLU and the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians." His successor might want to add Jews (although I think that's what Falwell meant by the ACLU), the Hollywood crowd, Democrats, college professors, scientists, and American Idol.

The new Voice of the Seriously Stupid must be homespun, conservative, and willing to take an outlandish public stand on anything he knows nothing about. He must be short-sighted, self serving, unwavering in his position especially when proven wrong. He must wrap himself in the flag and tie himself to the cross.

I think there's only one man for the job. George W. Bush.

Please leave your current job and take this one.

[ottorocket]

found this online today

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10806.html#more-10806

It shows some Falwell's lesser known but still outrageously offensive statements.

Oridinarily I hate Christopher Hitchens, but I had to give him some props and exposure here when I read what he had to say about Falwell:

HITCHENS: The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing: that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you will just get yourself called Reverend.

Who would, even at your network, (Fox) have invited on such a little toad to tell us that the attacks of September the 11th were the result of our sinfulness and were God's punishment if they hadn't got some kind of clerical qualification?

People like that should be out in the street, shouting and hollering with a cardboard sign and selling pencils from a cup.

FK


Werd. However i feel that Hitchens point also pertains to the likes of Reverends across the ideological isle like Rev Jesse Jackson, and Rev Sharpton...too many using the cloak of religion to line their pockets and divide the country.

[Realgirls4me]

I watched Hitchens tonight on Hannity and Colmes. He not only let Falwell have it, but let Hannity have it also. ...I have to laugh everytime a guy like Hannity tries to call Hitchens, or anyone for that matter, a namecaller.

I also take issue with rightwing tinhorns such as Hannity who says we should respect the deaths of public figures such as Falwell by not being critical of them at this time for the sake of their family and friends. Sorry, but Falwell brought a lot of that criticism on himself with his history of outrageous comments, and if now is not the time, when is? Is Hannity or O'Reilly gonna have a show a month from now for all of Falwell's critics? Yeah, right. One must strike while the iron is HOT!


.

[Realgirls4me]

Otto,

Not to defend Jackson or Sharpton in this case, but when did either blame 9/11 on this country's sinful behavior as Falwell did?

[Cuchulain]

At the very end of the Heinous/Colmes show, Hitchens got in a parting shot - "If you gave Jerry Falwell an enema, you could bury him in a matchbox."

[suckseed]

I'd like to go to his funeral and piss in his open casket. Fuck that fucker with a chainsaw.
I picture Satan coming up to him as he's buried in shit up to his chest, sticking a big ol' turd in his mouth, and saying with a smile as he gives him a light, "Smoke up!" :twisted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkAPaEMwyKU

[chefmike]

At the very end of the Heinous/Colmes show, Hitchens got in a parting shot - "If you gave Jerry Falwell an enema, you could bury him in a matchbox."

That should be Falwell's epitaph.

[ottorocket]

Otto,

Not to defend Jackson or Sharpton in this case, but when did either blame 9/11 on this country's sinful behavior as Falwell did?


Sharpton wouldn't blame sin...he'd just blame the Jews for it. :P

And as far as Farwell, i haven't heard his exact reasoning, but if i take the position as you wrote, i do think his point could be made quite cogently that the decedance, perversions, and sins through the eyes of the RADICAL ISLAMIC looking at the west would fair to debate.

After all, there are long diatribes by these Islamic fundamentalists floating around the internet, letters to governments, public statements, that clearly state the Jihadists positions that THEY feel homosexuality, freedom of religion, and womens suffrage are all sins against THEIR view of the world.

By its nature, our western culture which has been progressively opening up , fuels their theocratic centered religious anger against the west, and in which just by our love for freedom, and freedom to be who we are sets them in motion to wage their holy wars across the globe.

Blaming 9/11 on our open behaviors is not the singular reason for what happened to the WTC...it is one of the reasons, and if that is what Falwell was putting forth into the debate, i cannot ignore the words of our enemies which have stated just that, for sake of an emotionally illogical hate fest on a single man.

Falwell sucked big time as a compassionate human towards LBTG community, but i'll tell you what, hardline Sharia has absolutely zero tolerance, and at least in this country still we can have open debate with or without the Falwells.

[chefmike]

Jerry Falwell's Deal with the Devil
Robert Parry

The Rev. Jerry Falwell’s death will elicit scores of eulogies on the good the televangelist did, even while acknowledging some hurtful actions, such as blaming gays and civil libertarians for 9/11. But there is another little-known chapter of Falwell’s career: his collaboration with a Korean cult leader bent on transforming the United States into a theocracy.

Like other prominent Republican figures, Falwell entered into a behind-the-scenes alliance with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon even as the self-proclaimed Messiah was denouncing America as “Satan’s harvest” and vowing to incorporate the United States into a worldwide theocratic empire that would eradicate all individuality.


article:

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/7522

[ezed]

Saddam, your going to have to leave. I have a new boyfriend.....NO it's not Chris!

[Mugai_hentaisha]

I didn't like him in the least

To me he wasn't a good person

He just intensified the problems we are having in this country

but he did do one thing

He proved my best friend's quote.

He proved: Religion should stay out of politics lest they be taxed.

Now I believe Chris

[dc_guy_75]

At the very end of the Heinous/Colmes show, Hitchens got in a parting shot - "If you gave Jerry Falwell an enema, you could bury him in a matchbox."

What joy to of hear of his passing a few days ago, I'd be even happier if hell was real.

Deliver us from fundamentalists.

[johnie]

i didn't bother to read this whole thread, but i'm happy he's dead. sorry.

[chefmike]

I find it interesting that AG Gonzo's corrupt Justice Dept. hired 150 graduates of Falwell's bogus bible-banging law school/diploma mill at Liberty University....

[chefmike]

Here's an opinion about Falwell that comes from a progressive Christian...apparently there are a few...

Thanks, Jerry Falwell...for Making Me Go to Seminary!
Rev. Ron Stief

I could have lived a life of leisure in a pastoral setting in rural Montana, far from the hectic lifestyle of urban Christian political activism. Instead, in 1979, as a personal reaction to Jerry Falwell's announced Moral Majority Christian crusade against everything I believed to be true about the world, I made my decision to go to seminary.

The untold story of Falwell's impact on society is that he unknowingly recruited many of us to claim our Christian roots - not an easy thing to do in the secular left - and join the political battle for the soul of America as Christians with a different view of the Bible.

article-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-ron-stief/thanks-jerry-falwell-_b_48829.html

[chefmike]

Onward Christian Soldiers!


The Falwell bombers: Liberty University Student Caught Carrying Explosives
John Amato

I guess that these bible-banging terrorists are getting bored with killing the abortion providers that the women in our country have a legal right to visit...

A small group of protesters gathered near the funeral services to criticize the man who mobilized Christian evangelicals and made them a major force in American politics -- often by playing on social prejudices. And Campbell County authorities arrested a Liberty University student for having several homemade bombs in his car.

The student, 19-year-old Mark D. Uhl of Amissville, Va., reportedly told authorities that he was making the bombs to stop protesters from disrupting the funeral service. The devices were made of a combination of gasoline and detergent, a law enforcement official told ABC News' Pierre Thomas. They were "slow burn," according to the official, and would not have been very destructive.

"There were indications that there were others involved in the manufacturing of these devices and we are still investigating these individuals with the assistance of ATF [Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms], Virginia State Police and FBI.

Usually law enforcement just hauls off protesters or clubs them senseless, but now Liberty University has a new system of dealing with it. Blow em all to hell! When the authorities say the bombs were not very destructive---what does that mean? A cherry bomb can take off your hand. Will they just blow off a few limbs? Is bomb making part of the new curriculum at Regent and Liberty Universities? And many of these students have been hired by the hundreds to run our government by the Bushies.

[trish]

god's ways are just fucking mysterious, but most of the time just fucking evil. i think all the major religions have already been duped by the anti-christ...they're obviously worshipping the wrong dude.

[Willie Escalade]

I'm glad the fucker is dead. I'm sick of how people blame the problems of the world on someone's sexual orientation. I hope he's getting a golden tan downstairs.

[chefmike]

If you'll pardon the expression, amen...

[chefmike]

Diary of a Christian Terrorist
Max Blumenthal

Visitors to Mark David Uhl's Myspace page will quickly learn that Uhl is a student at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, that he is a devoted Christian, that his name means "Mighty Warrior" -- and that he likes Will Smith's saccharine tear-up-the-club track, "Switch." Uhl reveals his career ambitions on his page as well: "I will join the Army as an officer after college." Already, Uhl was preparing in Liberty's ROTC program.


Uhl waited until he was offline, however, to reveal his plot to kill the family of itinerant Calvinist provocateur Fred Phelps (famous for their "Fag Troops" rallies outside soldiers' funerals). The Phelpses planned to protest Falwell's funeral, a bizarre stunt designed to highlight Falwell's somehow insufficiently draconian attitude towards homosexuals. Uhl made several bombs and allegedly told a family member he planned to use them to attack the Phelps family.

He was arrested soon after and charged with manufacturing explosives. On the surface, Uhl appears to be the latest version of Virginia Tech rampage killer (and "Richard McBeef" author) Cho Seung-Hui. Indeed, both Uhl and Cho were alienated young men who conceived or carried out campaigns of mass murder on college campuses.

But there is a crucial difference between Uhl and Cho: while Cho's motives remain a source of intense debate, Uhl was an a devout evangelical Christian who advocated religious violence in the name of American nationalism. Uhl's blog, featured on his Myspace page, offers a window into the political underpinnings of his bomb plot. In one post, Uhl implores Christians to die on the battlefield for "Uncle Sam." He justifies his call to arms by quoting several Biblical passages and reminding his readers that the "gift of God" is eternal life.

"Christians, we have been given life after death and we should help others receive it and not sit here in our big buildings and sing to ourselves so we can go home and feel good about ourselves," Uhl writes. "Christians, fear of death, fear of death. The fear of death shows you don't believe."

Uhl concludes, "God needs soldiers to fight so his children may live free. Are you afraid??? I'm not. SEND ME!!! "

Uhl's imploration sounds eerily like the battle-cries of another, more notorious religious radical: Osama bin-Laden. Consider what bin-Laden told the Independent in 1993. "`I was never afraid of death... As Muslims, we believe that when we die, we go to heaven. Before a battle, God sends us... tranquility."

Christian right leaders from the late Falwell to James Dobson have turned Muslim-bashing into a cottage industry, using the words of bin-Laden and his acolytes to allege that Islam is an inherently violent religion that "breeds" terrorism. After meeting with President George W. Bush two weeks ago about Iran and Iraq, Dobson conducted a hysterical five-part broadcast hyping the threat of radical Islam. (CD's of those broadcasts will soon be available on Focus on the Family's website, with all proceeds going to support Dobson's kulturkampf -- and his paycheck).

The response of Dobson and his allies to Uhl's arrest will reflect more on themselves than on any impressionable 19-year-old college student. The Christian right has warped religious doctrine to advance a Utopian political worldview that promises to purify the land of liberal decadence. Through one of its flagship universities, the Christian right produced a terrorist. Their hysterical warnings of the threat of radical Islam sound increasingly like projections.

But then again, maybe it's all Will Smith's fault.

[chefmike]

8)

[qeuqheeg222]

barbacoa....

[dc_guy_75]

While searching though old posts, I came upon this old thread. Maybe it didn't warrant another post, but but I think it was awesome when Falwell died. I look back on it with happiness.

When Billy Graham or Ted Haggart or Ahmajinadad or when Al Sharpton dies, those can only be considered "good" days.

[Chuck]

While searching though old posts, I came upon this old thread. Maybe it didn't warrant another post, but but I think it was awesome when Falwell died. I look back on it with happiness.

When Billy Graham or Ted Haggart or Ahmajinadad or when Al Sharpton dies, those can only be considered "good" days.

You're being a little too hard on the fraternity of Revs. They can only lead the blind.

[stimpy]

Hmm, an old 12 step saying come to mind, "When you point a finger there are 4 pointing back at you."

If anyone here knows the mind of God please tell me. I've been going on blind faith now for years.

Also, while we're at it, what will the powerball numbers be?