DOMESTIC TALIBAN HOWLS AT MOON

Caption: You can almost hear them...


The latest stunt of the Taliban/jihad school of Christianity would be funny if not for the fact that it isn't funny.

But then again, it kind of is.

Here's the story:

Leaders of several conservative Christian groups have sent a letter urging the National Association of Evangelicals to force its policy director in Washington to stop speaking out on global warming.

The conservative leaders say they are not convinced that global warming is human-induced or that human intervention can prevent it. And they accuse the director, the Rev. Richard Cizik, the association’s vice president for government affairs, of diverting the evangelical movement from what they deem more important issues, like abortion and homosexuality.

The letter underlines a struggle between established conservative Christian leaders, whose priority has long been sexual morality, and challengers who are pushing to expand the evangelical movement’s agenda to include issues like climate change and human rights.

The letter was signed by such religious right luminaries as James C. Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, Gary L. Bauer, onetime presidental candidate and current leader of Coalitions for America, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council; and Paul Weyrich, chairman of American Values.

Allow me to try to fairly sum up the position of the letter writers: Poverty? Who cares? Injustice &#%* it! Oppression? Bring it on! Screwing up the planet? Big whoop!

Now that's some religion.

It is hard for me to fathom how some people think that following Jesus of Nazareth consists of obsessing about other people's sexuality while ignoring what Jesus called "the weightier matters of compassion and justice."

They ought to crack open a gospel every once in a while.

To NAE's credit, Cizik apparently continues to enjoy their support.

HEALTH CARE RANT: If you are really bored, here's an op-ed of mine on the U.S. health care crisis that ran in yesterdays' Charleston WV Sunday Gazette-Mail.

AND SPEAKING OF HEALTH CARE...This item from today's NY Times shows that being uninsured isn't just for poor people anymore.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: STYGIAN