282 Comments

Conservative Christians are the first people to claim they're being persecuted when ever they're prevented from forcing their beliefs on others. They are also the first people to persecute others given the chance. Cameron, having failed to make the transition from child actor to adult, has staked out a new career as a professional victim. His behavior here is reprehensible, but when people convince themselves they're operating under divine sanction they can justify anything.

Expand full comment

"We have to follow the same rules as everyone else? Why are you persecuting us like that?"

Expand full comment

Where there is the expectation of privilege, equality will be seen as persecution. Few groups demand privilege like conservative Christians in this country.

Expand full comment

"Cameron, having failed to make the transition from child actor to adult ..."

I see what you did there. You did NOT say "to adult ACTOR". Good job!

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

It would be no different if AiG's Dumb Idiot Ham hosts his own book reading event at the library and the library tries to accommodate him only to be targeted by him and his stupid followers when the library fails to have everything Ham's own way.

Expand full comment
founding
Mar 17, 2023Liked by Hemant Mehta

I've had the honor to be married to a librarian for half a century, and there are no more dedicated and constantly beleaguered guardians of free speech and free thought than these underappreciated civil servants. I've never seen them as broadly and viciously attacked as they have been in the last two years. They have been protecting the rights of the public for decades, and now they need and deserve the support and protection of the public in return.

I have come to reeeeaallly hate Kirk Cameron, far beyond the dismissive disdain I used to feel about him. He's a lieutenant in the Christian nationalist army.

Expand full comment

Good librarians are on the front lines defending against the bigotry of the far right. They need all the support we can give.

Expand full comment

Absolutely. If I had money I would donate copies of every book the right complained about to every library I could.

Expand full comment

While Cameron and his crew haven’t come to my neck of the woods yet, my village is feeling the hatred from the conservative Christian base. This time last year, right before school board elections, there was the litterbox panic from libs of tik tok. Last month, a week before primaries for our village board, there’s a letter on the local Facebook page lying about our library grooming children (I posted it on another article when it happened). Right before the election I found out that one of the candidates for the board wrote it, and after the election I was talking to some friends who saw it but didn’t hear that it was the candidate until after the election. We still have an opportunity to vote against him but I’m afraid it won’t be helpful still. And last year’s school board election was successful in dropping the actual decent progressive board member who had already beat a recall election and is a target from the right wing here.

I’m concerned that we might see Cameron here. And with the shit that’s being spread, we might lose our brand new beautiful library. It would be a waste of village funds along with destroying the benefits any library brings. Fuck these people.

Expand full comment

We've got the same thing around here. I think it's the Gillette library that is facing the most pressure from an out of state group right now. Our school superintendent had quit (Jillian Balow, took the same position in VA and has now resigned there due to some controversy) and the person they replaced her with was a GQP dream. He amazingly didn't survive the following election, but the winner isn't all that great. I know one of the school board members and I hear one thing from her, but on the board she goes in a different direction. Currently, they are trying to force the schools to come up with a strict definition of "sexually explicit" and are going to try to remove or highly restrict anything that comes close.

Expand full comment

Let's see them come up with a strict definition that doesn't also include the bible.

Expand full comment

They'd actually have to read it to know that.

Expand full comment

because, God forbid, teenagers have an idea what they're doing, how to do it as safely as possible, and how to make sure both parties enjoy it.

Expand full comment

Wait, people are supposed to enjoy it?

Expand full comment

Only men, silly.

Expand full comment

Teenage boys enjoy a stiff breeze.

Expand full comment

Dr. Ruth Westheimer thought so.

Expand full comment

To my knowledge this crap hasn't hit the public schools or public libraries here in Pittsburgh yet. But I'd be willing to bet the oiks who run all the surrounding communities get rid of any books conservatives dislike quite willingly.

Expand full comment

The hate group Morons4Lunacy has been having regular meetings at our local public library. Anyone can book space, and they're taking advantage of that. They've also held book readings with a local Pastor Pervie.

Same bunch has been going after our school board for quite some time now, hating on books and LGBTQ+, wanting things to be run by "Biblical Principles" as our Founders intended. We even get creepers from outside the district who comes for the public comments part of the meeting to spew nonsense.

It's gonna get worse.

Expand full comment

Any good christian could tell you that the only thing libraries bring is wickedness. One of their great leaders told them so. "The multitude of books is a great evil." —Martin Luther

Expand full comment

That is actually an inaccurate statement, Martin Luther was commenting on the new Gutenberg printing press and how poorly produced copies of the Bible and mediocre literature could create chaos and loss of intellectual life.

Expand full comment

Fact checking, I love fact checking! Even if it's fact

checking my own statements.

Expand full comment

This borders on straight-up character assassination. I will freely admit it's my hope that Mr. Morales can and will pursue legal remedies for Mr. Cameron's deceptions in this matter, since we all know that Mr. Cameron will continue to do this sort of thing to others so long as he can get away with it.

I would say that harassing a library is a new low, though. I mean, really, when your villain in the narrative is likely a mild-mannered middle-aged adult who spends their time helping people find information, you've got to be desperate. That's the schoolyard bully running screaming to the teacher because he got called a name by another kid. This sort of complete nonsense is why so many people in the US are leaving religion; who would want to be associated with the people who attacked the local library?

Good luck to you, Mr. Morales. I hope you find a just reward for your sacrifice in this matter, and don't let the lies that have been told about you here keep you down.

Expand full comment

Mr. Cameron? You give him to mush respect by using Mr. i prefer Asshat Cameron. An asshat is someone whose head is so far up someones ass, you can't tell them apart. Cameron's hat is tRump.

Expand full comment

Yet more proof that most conservative activists have no idea what their snarl words actually mean. Some PR flack came up with it and they use it without understanding.

*This* is cancel culture.

Expand full comment

"No one should expect better from people famous for their faith-based bigotry. "

NO.

They have a bigotry-based faith.

Expand full comment

Repost of their MO:

" Cameron and Robertson deliberately staged their events at public libraries in order to attack public libraries.

They were given a room, for free, to promote their book, and eventually got not just that space but much more, at an event that was so purposely disruptive planning had to include the police and mayor’s office.

They then demand that the library give them, not just that room, but the entire library for the people who came to see them, with Robertson declaring it “rude” to not give them everything.

Eventually, they get their crowd stirred up enough to take over most of the library anyway—to hell with anyone who came there expecting to, you know, use the library.

They then requisition the entire place to shoot a series of commercials, during which they demand that the library staff stay quiet and out of the way.

The library staff tries to let them know that the library has other needs, and that all this is causing stress for workers and patrons. Robertson and Cameron dismiss this as more rudeness.

Robertson then calls Fox News to tell them this story as a tale of how public libraries "which have been known to host drag show events" snubbed all these good Christians who just, you know, wanted to take over their place, use it for their promotional book tour, and shoot a few commercials.

Fox writes this all up as a story of how the library hates Christians, hates their community, and doesn’t want Christian authors to bring family-friendly tales to an adoring audience.

The library, with absolute predictability, receives multiple death threats, bomb threats, and calls for everyone there to be fired, killed, or both.

On to the next town in this good Christian event."

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/15/2158415/-Kirk-Cameron-and-Missy-Robertson-created-death-threats-against-a-library-for-fun-and-mostly-profit

Expand full comment

We are now seeing a watered down version of how Christianity spread across the world in real time. This is stochastic terrorism even if our missing comrade doesn’t want to hear it, and it is a tale as old as time.

Expand full comment

There are times it is tempting to turn their own tactics against them, but I don't recall Joel Osteen or Kenneth Copeland receiving bomb threats.

Expand full comment

If they do, it’s likely coming from inside the house. Like they get a supporter to call in fake threats to make the organization look like victims. It’s good for raising money too.

Expand full comment

They couldn't possibly. They and their supporters already own all the bombs.

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

That's what the "Anarchist's cookbook" is for.

It's true, inflation has hit the Molotov Cocktail, but it's not prohibitively expensive yet.

Expand full comment

Stochastic terrorism, plain and simple.

Expand full comment

That reminds me, somebody was missing yesterday.

Expand full comment

You're complaining? I realize it was a slow day, but you had another toy to play with.

Expand full comment

Maybe they started taking their meds.

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

And were it not for the troll that crapped all over the thread, the silence from you-know-who would've been sweet.

Expand full comment

Did I miss a christstain poster?

Expand full comment

I think it was a half-baked AI.

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

Went by the nym Sensei on yesterday's article.

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

I knew what "sensei" was because I took martial arts. The Chinese equivalent is "sifu."

Fun fact: Get a copy of "Fist of Fury" (also called "The Chinese Connection") and watch the actors' mouths when the voice actor says "teacher." Bruce and the others are clearly forming the word "sifu." :)

Expand full comment

I flagged all of its posts as transphobic.

Expand full comment

You made comments to him yesterday.

Expand full comment

Is that different from you-know-who?

Expand full comment

If the line items in your playbook spell out DARVO... 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴.

Buncha gaslighting shits.

Expand full comment

As always, the christian right demonstrate, quite transparently, that they're all profoundly dishonest and without doubt thoroughly and abjectly detestable human beings.

Expand full comment

The 6 greatest bargains in America:

 1) sunshine

 2) fresh air

 3) clean water

 4) public libraries

 5) public schools

 6) US Postal Service

Expand full comment

*gasp!*

Soshulizm!

Expand full comment

I know a few older people who recoil in horror at the word socialism. But not a single one of them refuses their monthly social security benefits.

Expand full comment

It is Russian and therefore bad. They never understood what it meant. Much like "atheist". Joe McCarthy, damn him, did a terrific job at making J. Q. Citizen afraid.

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

Yet the same crowd that acts like socialism is bad is also pro-Russian since Putin helped the Mango Menace get elected.

Expand full comment

Actually, they began to like Putin when he said you can't say gay to any minor.

Expand full comment

"The party of national security," in bed with a foreign dictator. Another day in Bizarro America.

Expand full comment

What about a French with a Russian first name ?

Expand full comment

People still call them freedom fries.

Ze would be blacklisted at the mention of zir name.

Expand full comment

I didn't know I was so famous in your country 😁

Expand full comment

The Postal Service has been letting me down recently. I had a tenant who moved away about 10 years ago. Mail arrived for him a couple of weeks back. I don't have a forwarding address for him so I marked it "return to sender" and put it in the mailbox.

It has been re-delivered back to my house twice since then. And I already took one trip to the post office to bring the mail back to them and explain the situation.

Expand full comment

Don't knock it. We only have postal deliveries three days a week now.

Expand full comment

The USPS, like many necessary services, was heavily sabotaged by Chump and his mob of lunatics. Whether or not it will ever recover from the damage done remains to be seen.

Expand full comment

My father worked for the USPS for nearly 20 years. Some of his coworkers couldn't find water if they fell out of a boat. Their mental successors seem to work in my neighborhood.

Expand full comment

you forgot #7: universal health ca.... oops... never mind.

Expand full comment

I find the music claim to be especially unlikely and egregious. These are librarians, they spend a good portion of their lives telling people to keep it down so as not to disturb patrons.

Expand full comment

Bit late, but top o' the mornin' to ya. Tis St. Patty's Day. Erin Go Bra-less. A holiday named after a religious man who drove the snakes out of Ireland, a country where there were no snakes. Never have been.

Onto Jerk Cameron. My my, such wrath, Jerky Boy. Such pride in your actions. Congratulations, you just violated 2 of the 7 Deadly Sins.

Expand full comment

Pretend to care about Irish Culture as an excuse to get drunk day.

Expand full comment

I really am part-Irish. I'm also part-English. Hoo boy, talk about conflicted.

Expand full comment

Pfff. Flemish, somewhat German and Italian 😁

Expand full comment

Flemish? You should take a decongestant. : )

Expand full comment

That's for when you eat a flamiche.

Expand full comment

Sounds tasty.

Expand full comment

See my comment to Zizz. :)

Expand full comment

Sometimes I wonder what I would find if I make a DNA test*, I don't have the money to pay a genealogist.

Since Belgium and Netherlands were a Spanish colony for several centuries I wouldn't be surprised to find Spanish ancestors somewhere from my father side.

Expand full comment

My uncle did my family's genealogy. Turns out I have the blood of Moorish princes and Mongolian warlords in me.

I do know that I have a relative who fought for the Union during the Civil War. I know because we had a picture of him (his name was Captain Harris).

Expand full comment

One set of grandparents were from Ireland, the other set from Poland. So I tell everyone I'm a drunken idiot.

Expand full comment

Irish/German mix. I was just talking to a cousin who has been doing some genealogy. He tracked down an ancestor who made some big theater contribution in france in the 1600's

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

I'm also (thanks to a combination of both my parents) Portuguese, Italian, German, Norwegian and Dutch.

And Barack Obama called HIMSELF a mutt because of his ancestry. :)

EDIT to add the word "also" to "I'm."

Expand full comment

I'm sure I've got more, I've never bothered to check, although my wife is Czech/German.,

Expand full comment

Throw in a little German, and you have me.

Expand full comment

Me too.

Expand full comment

I'm 1/2 German, 1/2 English and 1/2 Irish. : )

Expand full comment

That's a cocktail recipe.

Expand full comment

Got my fingers in all 3. :)

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

Half man, half bear, half pig...

I'm super cereal!

Expand full comment

If only they really were deadly.

Expand full comment

Our diocese gave us all a dispensation from fasting from meat so we could go to their overpriced corned beef dinner fundraiser. I was planning on having some beef anyway, and I've already had bacon this morning.

Expand full comment

I make sure I have pork, multiple versions together if possible, on Good Friday.

Expand full comment

Bacon-wrapped pork.

May as well go all the way.

Expand full comment

At a Hungarian restaurant in Toronto some years ago I had a filet mignon wrapped in bacon and stuffed with spices. I have no idea if it was authentically Hungarian, but it's one of the damn best meals I've ever had.

Expand full comment

I've had bacon-wrapped filet mignon. I came near to orgasming. :)

Expand full comment

Was there paprika ?

Expand full comment

Oui.

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

Bacon, egg, sausage, and cheese on a roll for breakfast is quick and easy.

And delicious. Though BHM will probably disagree.

Expand full comment

I have one every Saturday morning (lite version, tho. Turkey sausage, egg white and low-fat cheese on an English muffin).

Expand full comment

I make a big batch of breakfast sandwiches. Scrambled eggs, cheese, bacon or sausage, white beans, sautéed onion and spinach, divide between small flour tortillas folded in half. Keep a bunch in the freezer and microwave a minute or two.

Expand full comment

We're getting old. Have to take a little better care so we can stay above ground and give the reichwing the finger at every opportunity.

Expand full comment

Toast with houmous and raw vegetables 🤤

Though Aria would have loved your breakfast sans the bread.

Expand full comment

With ham, spam, spam, spam, and spam?

Expand full comment

Baked beans must be off.

Expand full comment

Is spam actually meat?

Expand full comment

Cooked in Saindoux (pork fat).

Expand full comment

Is there a dispensation of the dispensation from fasting from meat and how much does it cost ? 🤔

Expand full comment

I thought I was the only one who thought Erin Go Bra-less was funny.

Expand full comment

Phenomenal. Never mind that all of the above might as well come right out of the Kirk Cameron self-promotion playbook, this time his antics got someone FIRED when that never should have happened. The only apparent reason that it DID happen is because Cameron needed to have everything he wanted with a cherry on top. What bothers me the most about all of this is that Kirk could do it again elsewhere and wind up with similar results.

It's past time someone pulled Cameron's pants down in public and let people see who he really is.

Expand full comment

I hope Morales sues Cameron, Robertson, and the publishing house.

Expand full comment

Maybe he can move to Florida and sue Fox News.

Expand full comment

Ugh, I couldn't even finish the article. WTF is wrong with Cameron and his enablers? Do they really think the truth is so malleable? I mean they clearly do and they need to be called out on it loudly, publicly and in places his followers will see.

Expand full comment

Yes. Fox "News" has proven over the last 40 years that the truth really is that malleable. A lie repeated often enough and loud enough becomes the truth.

Expand full comment

FauxNews lied? It's almost like a pattern there.

Expand full comment

They lie so much it is noteworthy when they actually tell the truth.

Expand full comment

Which only happens behind the scenes, when they think their audience won't find out.

Expand full comment

If they did it on air, they'd have to issue a correction immediately!

Expand full comment

"Florida Republican's Bill Would Ban Young Girls From Discussing Their Periods In School"

Aren't these the same people who were trying to force trans athletes to track and report their periods?

Expand full comment

If you're expecting consistency, I have a bridge I'd love to sell you.

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

All cis female athletes.

Expand full comment
Mar 17, 2023·edited Mar 17, 2023

FLORIDA REPUBLICANS: "That's different!!!"

Expand full comment

Only a matter of time before Florpiderp makes it illegal to have biology before the age of 18. Not biology class. 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺.

Expand full comment

Not with Trump's tiny orange mushroom. Goodness only knows what kind of diseases you would get. Imagine catching Fox News. *shudder*

Expand full comment

Bugs needs to saw higher and longer to take out the whole bible belt.

Expand full comment

Do you want to get rid of Zorg that much ? 🤔

Expand full comment

Oh, but they push for public prayer in the classroom.

Expand full comment