WEEK IN REVIEW: Jim Breuer has given up on comedy
Kitty litter boxes, blessing gay couples, a religious push to protect abortion rights, and more!
Thank you for checking out this newsletter! Thank you even more if you become a full subscriber! Consider giving someone a gift subscription! Think of your friends! (Or your enemies.)
Over the weekend, during the right-wing “ReAwaken America" event at Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke's tent church, former SNL cast member Jim Breuer did what some people might call a “comedy” routine… in which he mocked flu shots, vaccines, and NFL player Damar Hamlin.
My clip from that event received over 1.2 million views, got picked up by Keith Olbermann, Rex Chapman, The Majority Report with Sam Seder, Newsweek, and more.
Less noticed was how the traffic for the event clogged up the streets and created potential safety hazards.
As always, I appreciate your support through Patreon and Substack, which allows me to pursue these efforts while working on articles and other projects.
13 clergy members have filed a lawsuit "challenging Missouri’s abortion ban and several related abortion restrictions." They say it's an imposition of "one narrow religious doctrine on all Missouri residents."
Unlike similar attempts to override abortion bans, though, this one has receipts.
The most damning thing in the lawsuit is the collection of statements from Republican lawmakers who cited their religious faith as justification for their support of the anti-abortion bill, suggesting that the legislation wasn’t motivated by any kind of secular intent.
Pope Francis said homosexuality should be decriminalized, which is great, but reiterated that the Catholic Church’s views on homosexuality haven’t changed one bit. He doesn’t seem to get that religious tradition is often the basis for laws that demonize LGBTQ people.
But while the pope’s comments have been dissected all over the place, less attention has been paid to a different story with a similar twist. An out-of-context clip from Pastor Andy Stanley, the leader of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, went viral because he appears to welcome gay people in his church in a way that seems unusual among evangelicals. (The tweeter below is not a fan.)
His message is that straight evangelicals could learn a lot about commitment to their churches by taking a cue from gay Christians who’ve been persecuted by church leaders yet remain devoted to the faith. Stanley’s not wrong on that point.
What’s frustrating is that Stanley was being praised online as some kind of Christian hero to LGBTQ people when nothing he said supports civil rights, accepting/affirming same-sex relationships, or anything of the sort.
I wrote about why his rhetoric fooled so many people.
Earlier this month, Victoria Rose Waldrip (a.k.a. Woah Vicky, “Atlanta’s new age trap queen”) visited Jonesboro High School in Georgia and preached to the girl’s basketball team, telling them to accept Jesus, remain celibate until marriage, and that LGBTQ people exist as a result of sexual abuse.
The question is why the school allowed this to happen. The answer seems to be a woman who helps the school with social media thought it would be a great idea. If that’s true, though, then her access to students—and how she used that opening to get her friend to push Jesus on them—is especially troubling.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is now calling on administrators to investigate the matter and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
If you want to be a member of the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, you must believe Jesus died for your sins, that gay people have no business getting married, and that transgender people don’t exist.
And, honestly, that first one may be optional.
Senior Pastor Heath Lambert says the church will now force the whole congregation to sign a document confirming their opposition to LGBTQ rights if they want to remain members. They have until mid-March to turn in their hate-group application.
What do you speak about at a “pro-life” rally? You cheer for death, of course. That’s what Nathaniel Darnell, the Georgia director for the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, did during the state’s March for Life rally last Friday.
He referenced the former State House Speaker David Ralston, who recently died. Ralston was a staunch opponent of abortion rights, like most other Republicans, but before Roe was overturned, Ralston didn’t believe abortion bans were worth pursuing since lower courts would simply nullify them. Darnell saw that thinking as an impediment and celebrated Ralston’s death.
Darnell proves yet again that the “pro-life” crowd doesn’t give a damn about actual living people.
The Church of England, in a remarkably progressive move, will finally bless same-sex marriages… would be an incredible thing to have said in 2003.
But it’s 20 years later, and this weak attempt at cultural relevancy by a religious denomination struggling to be taken seriously shouldn’t be praised as anything more than a PR campaign.
Allowing bishops to pray for God’s blessings on a gay couple after they got married (somewhere else), while simultaneously banning same-sex weddings in their institutions, the Church of England has made it clear that their faith is built on bigotry.
Conservative Christians spent so much time pretending gay parents are evil that they almost forgot to demonize gay parents who are wonderful.
I made a video about how the Norwegian government punished the Jehovah's Witnesses... and why it's entirely justified.
Weird how youth pastors keep getting arrested for being child predators.
Former NFL coach and current commentator Tony Dungy hid behind his faith during an acknowledgment that he lied to people about kitty litter boxes in classrooms:
How come the usual suspects don't call this "grooming"?
Expert trolling: Asking Republican legislators all your medical questions since they all act like they’re your doctor anyway.
Fundamentalist Christian grandmother Lori Alexander, a.k.a. The Transformed Wife, thinks using a microwave is going to destroy you.
And now for your weekly dose of fundie insanity and right-wing preaching:
This week in Atheist Bible Study? Deuteronomy 2. We are currently in Part 2 of Moses' speech to the Israelites. How many parts are there? I'll never tell. (But the answer is not just two.)
I spoke with my co-host Jessica Greiff about many of the stories in this newsletter during this week’s podcast:
Finally, “pro-life” marchers are unable to grapple with God’s bloodlust:
Please become a full subscriber or share this with someone who may enjoy it. It would mean a lot to me :)
Jim Breuer has given up on comedy? I wouldn't call what he does "comedy" unless"pathetic" is a new subgenre.