The wingers don’t seem very excited about DickGate but FranziaPundit amused me:
Am I the only one who takes more offense at the blurted phrase “Oh my God” (by Joe Scarborough) than the use of the word “dick” to explain the President’s behavior? I think insulting the President is rough political discourse, but saying “Oh my God” is taking the Lord’s name in vain.
[….]But calling people a dick. It’s rude, but actual dicks aren’t able to take offense, and even if they were, they wouldn’t determine your fate in the afterlife.
I have no real point here, except that sometimes I forget how weird that blog is.
dmsilev
Shall we hold a fundraiser to buy her a fainting couch and a string of pearls to clutch? Sounds like she needs them.
kd bart
See what allowing same sex marriage in NY has let loose?
Shinobi
I play this game, League of Legends. The players of this game frequently ignore Wheaton’s Law (Don’t be a dick.) They are HUGE dicks, their favorite thing is to endlessly grief someone and then say things like “U Mad? U mad bro?”
Unfortunately for nice people the bigger dick someone is, the better player they usually are. To be good at LoL one has to be willing to eschew most ideas about fair play and honor and be willing to aggravate the other team into doing stupid stuff.
What I’m saying is that being a dick is sometimes a feature, not a bug.
Zifnab
Of all the reasons Joe Scarborough is going to hell, I don’t think “casual use of ‘God’ as an invective” is one of them. Someone’s been watching too many Church Lady SNL reruns.
Served
Oh my God. She must have passed out last night and woke up thinking it was 1838. Franzia is a hell of a drug.
Morbo
Oh, Jesus Christ…
Oops.
Bulworth
Yes.
Comrade Dread
I don’t take offense at either.
I wish we lived in a world where all of the media actually was antagonistic to all politicians. It would keep our leadership more honest and accountable to the people.
As for OMG, I personally prefer to go with “Sweet Frickin’ Buddha!” as my blasphemy of choice, but YMMV.
RSA
Whereas “actual” God does? Okay.
Amanda in the South Bay
Jesus Fucking Christ.
kc
God is a dick.
Ed Marshall
hrmm..
I actually feel bad for Halperin a little. Research shows that people are actually quite terrible at remembering why they did things, and after a very short period they will have invented something that fits the result of their actions that had zero to do with why they made whatever decision they chose.
Han's Solo
Breaking News: According to John McCain it wasn’t Joey Scar that said, “Oh my God,” it was the illegal alien Mexicans!
Build the dang fence!
JPL
OMG, Halperin has a limited vocabulary.
jeff
I really don’t understand why this is all such a huge thing. I even watched the video. Is it because Halperin is a news editor? And, not, say, an actor or novelist or supermarket manager?
Cris (without an H)
[spoiler]neither do actual gods[/spoiler]
Culture of Truth
Halperin does all the punditry in hell.
“This is great news for Satan..”
Linda Featheringill
Oh, thank you. That is funny on so many levels. And I suspect that the writer was entirely sincere, which makes it even funnier.
Han's Solo
Seriously though, God doesn’t get MSNBC, they don’t have that channel on planet Kolob.
Which reminds me, God hates Time Warner Cable. Their customer service is a plot by Satan to cause more suicides.
Southern Beale
Yes. Yes, you are.
Perhaps you should get out more.
ChrisNYC
More and more Althouse brings to mind Elizabeth Taylor in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. She must put on a hell of a performance in the classroom.
Comrade Dread
No, Cable companies and banks are a plot by the followers of Cthulu to stoke a murderous, unreasonable insanity in the hearts of mankind to prepare the world for the rising of the Old Ones and the mad orgy of carnage and violence that will follow.
I’ve said too much.
James K. Polk, Esq.
I hate Halperin.
That being said, I don’t give two shits about intemperate language.
Mark S.
Can we make that a revolving tagline?
bkny
lawdy lawdy … break out the smelling salts. i saw that this morning, and frankly didn;t think that much of it, other than that halperin is a dick.
the frat pat crew did seem to enjoy it, despite their feigned verklemptness…
Martin
Calling someone a dick doesn’t accomplish that, though.
But I do agree on your take on the cable companies. I think you paint too rosy a picture, though.
Citizen_X
Nerrrrrrrrrrrrrrddddddd!
(Me too, of course, because I got it.)
j low
Dicks don’t take offense, they make santorum.
handsmile
Please, please, spare a little kindness for the poor woman!
This is a person who has yet to come to terms with her grief that the promised Rapture on May 21 did not occur. Just imagine her despair: continuing to live in such a morally-besmirched, irredeemably fallen world. “Why, O Lord, why,” she beseeches.
Crickets.
Han's Solo
I’m going to open myself up to some righteous bashing here but Andrew Sullivan has a pretty good piece up right now on the GOP’s Economic Terrorism. Sure, you have to get past the reach around he gives the Simpson Bowles plan, but other than that it is admirable.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/06/boehners-economic-terrorism.html
dr. bloor
@Comrade:
QFT.
And, if Halperin can get away with saying this, Obama is free to remind everyone that Halperin’s the fucking moron who thought McCain’s ignorance about how many houses he owned was somehow a plus.
Ash Can
Let this be a lesson to all you kids out there — if you soak your brain in too much cheap booze for too long, it stops working, and you end up posting things like this in public and making an ass of yourself.
Cris (without an H)
My understanding of the commandment regarding “taking the Lord’s name in vain” is that it’s more a prohibition against idle oaths and blasphemy. Like, you shouldn’t say “I swear to God I won’t ever see another Michael Bay movie” or “That piece of halibut was good enough for Jehovah.”
But saying “Oh my God,” even about a minor matter, strikes me as just what you’re supposed to do: turning to God for refuge and comfort in all things. Am I wrong?
The Dangerman
The Dude misspoke; he should have called him a weiner.
JPL
Han’s Solo I want Sullivan to write an article on how easy it would be for him to buy health care insurance, if he needed to. Then I’ll read him again.
scav
@Cris. Idle Oaths? So it’s ok if we really really mean it? Brill. Rough luck on Eric though.
Ash Can
@ Han’s Solo: I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Andrew’s financial adviser explained to him yesterday what would happen to his portfolio if the House Republicans had their way.
Han's Solo
JPL – I understand your sentiment.
catclub
Comrade Dread @ 8
I like ‘Sweet Fancy Moses’ as used by Bucky in Get Fuzzy.
BGinCHI
Goddamn the pusherman.
And seriously, if God is offended at “Oh my God,” then he is really, really gonna be sore at all the mass murdering, child molesting, and 10 commandment breaking by, um, lots of folks.
Cris (without an H)
Isn’t it? I’m not a student of religion, but then I’m not so sure that Ann Althouse is either.
But like when Moses goes “The Lord God will kill your firstborn unless you let my people go” that was a sanctioned use of the big guy’s name. Or even “With God as my witness, I will never go hungry again.” You’re not forbidden from swearing to God, you’re just supposed to be sincere and respectful about it.
stuckinred
By far the best Steppenwolf song
UncertaintyVicePrincipal
So this is Althouse commenting about someone calling the President a dick:
Woman has issues. Reminds me of this guy. Watch the part starting at 3:25, if not the whole thing.
Joel
@ Shinobi
Alternatively, you could just stop playing. Don’t have that option in politics and governance, unfortunately.
stuckinred
Just trying to make his way home
Like a holy rolling stone
Back up to heaven all alone
Just trying to make his way home
Nobody calling on the phone
‘cept for the Pope maybe in Rome
Davis X. Machina
Costanza’s Law.
TaMara (BHF)
Oh, my God, Jesus fucking Christ, do you people not have better things to do than to harangue this poor woman for her moral outrage? Allah be damned and Sweet frickin’Budda (h/t Comrade Dread, though I will be stealing it from now on) you are all such dicks.
handsmile
Cris (without an H) (#33):
Sister Dolores “Suffer the little children to be struck by me” Ruthless instructed my catechism class that any pronouncement of the Lord’s name, other than expressed in prayer, was a venal sin. Venal sins, of course, like marijuana, are cumulative offenses and will lead to heroin, the drug choice of mortal sinners who will suffer eternal damnation.
I suspect that this den of cutthroats, reprobates, and heathens may not be the ideal site for a theological disquisition.
Cris (without an H)
But they’re all I have :(
NonyNony
@Comrade Dread
feh – Cthulhu doesn’t do “plots”. Cthulhu just rises from the sea and causes despair and madness by his very existence. Lesser gods “plot” – Cthulhu just is.
And besides, everyone knows that the entire US cable TV system is one of Nyarlathotep’s plots – the entire US Chamber of Commerce is controlled by his minions…
(I’m HIGHLY amused that the Firefox spellchecker knows the correct spelling of “Cthulhu”. Though it doesn’t care much for Nyarlathotep. Though, really, who can blame it?)
FlipYrWhig
Um, isn’t this the person who thought onion rings were an obvious vaginal symbol?
Michael D.
I’m just commenting to point out that saying “Oh my God” or “God dammit” is NOT taking the Lord’s name in vain.
Thanking God for your football/Grammy win – as if to say “God is on my side, not yours” IS taking God’s name in vain.
That is all.
Han's Solo
Michael D @ 52 is correct.
The 12th level of hell was specially designed for former Yankee baseball players who thanked God after a victory.
Some sins are freaking unforgivable.
Villago Delenda Est
Yet, the later are adored by the jeebofascists as true expressions of faith, and the former cause them to go into conniptions.
Alex S.
Dicks and saying the Lord’s name in vain go well together.
@ UncertaintyVicePrincipal, 43:
Really??? She said ‘stick it in’?
Culture of Truth
damn Yankees
Villago Delenda Est
Thank FSM that you didn’t include the blasphemous “on toastpoints” at the end of the bolded portion, or you’d be going straight to aich-ee-double-hockysticks for that outburst.
NonyNony
@Michael D.
To be serious for a moment there’s a lot of discourse about what “taking God’s name in vain” means. Your opinion is one of many liberal theologians. Evangelical literalists, however, take the opposite approach – that blasphemy such as saying “Oh My God” is taking his name in vain.
It’s truly ironic to me that the self-proclaimed biblical literalists can’t even get THIS one right, since even if you want to read the damn phrase literally using King James English (rather than going back to the source), it’s still about using God’s name in vain. A literal reading would suggest that the restriction is on bandying about the word “Yahweh” lightly. Which of course is the way the Pharisees and later Rabbinical movement read the book and why they substituted “Lord” in wherever the name was spelled out in the book.
TR
Steve Benen nails it.
PeakVT
@TaMara (BHF): you need to add the whisper tag at the end next time.
Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen
That scrabbling noise you hear is mAlthouse scraping the bottom of the Barrel D’Outrage.
Comrade Dread
“All I said was that this halibut was good enough for Jehovah…”
MFA
“Thou shalt not take the job title of the Lord thy God in vain.”
I guess that’s what Ann thinks He meant to write on the stone tablet.
.
Poopyman
@ NonyNony:
So you’re saying that Burger King sins every time it tells me to “Have it Yahweh?”
Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac
@Citizen X:
“‘they don’t have that channel on planet Kolob’
Nerrrrrrrrrrrrrrddddddd!
(Me too, of course, because I got it.)”
/nerd
If you are referring to BSG, you mean planet Kobol. Kolob is the mormon god planet, mormonism being what the original BSG was based upon.
/endnerd
Poopyman
@Comrade Dread:
That had occurred to me also too, but I’m afraid the kids won’t get it.
LittlePig
Fixx0red.
Han's Solo
Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac @ 65 – Oh, that’s why he said nerrrrrrddddd. I didn’t get that at first.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved BSG, but that wasn’t the reference I was making.
Cris (without an H)
You need to give the kids some credit.
Cris (without an H)
Where is your god now?
JGabriel
I really don’t care who Halperin calls a dick. Personally, I think should MSNBC come out with a statement that says:
Of course they’ll never say that because, sadly, they really did suspend Halperin just for saying dick. And there are so many better reasons.
.
Yutsano
You do realize this is Balloon Juice non?
Han's Solo
You see, this is why I love this blog above all others. The commenters, and the writers, bring the funny!
Politics isn’t been bag, but it sure can be amusing if your sense of humor is sadistic enough!
scav
I’m really really really going to have to remember that this one is all about not making idle oaths and bringing up the first-name-basis of the LRD in casual superficial conversation but seems to leave free the use of the dreaded rotund appellation in fits of rage when I entirely fucking mean it. The Third is sort of the copyright commandment. Always does to read the fine print I guess.
jl
@59 TR: thanks. I think Benen does get it right. And for at least a few paragraphs, Sullivan forces himself to speak the truth. The GOP are being extremist. But the completely bankrupt corporate media tries to sell the story that its the Democrats’ who are the problem.
What I wonder is why corporate flacks like Boehner and McConnel are playing along the tea party line? Surely they will bend to the will of the Chamber of Commerce and cobble together some compromise with corporate Democrats? Maybe? I don’t know. Maybe the new teabaggers in the House are so nuts that they won’t listen to threats, and Boehner doesn’t have enough votes, even with corporate Democrats? That would be scary.
On the other hand, I heard a radio report on some polling. The population at large is unenthusiastic about the next election, and each party’s base is especially unenthusiastic. The GOP primary voter base is really unenthusiastic, and slightly over 70 percent of them want ‘more choices’ in the next presidential election. So, looking on the bright side, the corporate GOP feels it needs a high stakes game of chicken and a symbolic show of bravery and brinksmanship to get their base roused up.
What I wonder is if that, faced with reality, anything can get the GOP primary base roused up. The teabaggers are a heterogenous group. You have the small corps of corporate hacks and flack and astroturfers, and swindlers whose main goal seems to be making a little cash out of their local tin pot teabagger dukedoms. But they are such a small number they are irrelevant in an election.
Then you have the upper middle class aging white spite and greed sociopath vote.
I don’t personally know anyone in the above groups.
The teabaggers I know personally are people who can be described, a little uncharitably as ‘losers’. These are older people on social security who do not have a pension to supplement it, and are afraid the gummint will give the money to some one else, and see any change or any government program that spends on anything other than themselves as a threat to their fixed incomes.
Then there are failed entrepreneurs and micro rentiers whose irresponsible unplanned and poorly executed projects have served only to drain their assets. If only you could spin all the crushed beer cans into gold they would be rich. They blame everyone except themselves and the corporate forces that have made the economic environment so unforgiving.
Then there are older whites who unimaginatively bought into the old style American dream: grind away at a job, buy a house, play the lower middle class workaday game and things would be OK.
These last three groups, who are the teabaggers I know, live in a fearful bitter resentful fantasy world. I wonder what candidate, what noninsane proposals, in the real could could ever generate enthusiasm after the great hopes raised by the fake astroturf teabagger revolts.
The GOP has to inspire these last three groups somehow, and when I am optimistic, I think corporate hacks like McConnell and Boehner and the GOP ringleaders, are pulling stunts to improve the morale of these brave GOP troopers they will need in the upcoming election.
lacp
“…actual dicks aren’t able to take offense.” And Winebox knows this…how, exactly?
cleek
they’re not. they’re trying to use the issue as leverage to negotiate a hard bargain. they think they have the Dems over a barrel, and the Dems think it’s the other way ’round. they’re both wrong. and they’ll find a way to come to an agreement, eventually. it will enrage the easily angered, but what else is new…
IMO.
Mark S.
From a review of Rock-em Sock-em Robots 3: Pink Floyd Album Title:
scav
Easy-beasy. Same way she knows how God feels about things. Never seen either, firmly believes in the existence of both and visualizes them as moving their lips to the voices in her head. Jury is out on if she’s gotten them confused.
jl
@77: Yeah, I forgot that part. They think, perhaps correctly perhaps not, that the Democrats will fold, so they count up what they have won so far, and up the ante for the next round.
Maybe they sense this is the last round.
There is more to the press than paid court clowns like Halperin, Scarborough and his codependent sidekick, and Althouse.
There are also the headline writers. And what they seem to be churning out today, from what I heard on drive time radio and the internet is that the GOP won’t stand for any tax increases for the wealthy. I think the headline writers are doing their job well today. And the number of people who hear the headline blurbs dwarf the number who listen the the likes of Halperin and Scarborough.
But then I live in the liberal hellhole of Northern California. Maybe the headlines in other areas are different.
Poopyman
Digby broadly quotes Greg Sargent on this and then says:
Mark S.
Does Althouse realize when you call someone a dick, you’re insulting that person and not male genitalia in general?
Also, too, does she get offended when the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” plays on the radio?
BTD
That was the post I liked this morning too.
Gotta love WineBox.
hilts
Previous Mark Halperin diss of Obama
HALPERIN [discussing John Edwards’ potential endorsement of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama]: “I can tell you, he’s really skeptical of her ability to be the kind of president he wants. But, he kinda thinks Obama is…he thinks Obama is kind of a pussy…He has real questions about Obama’s toughness, his readiness for the office.”
h/t http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/medialog/archive/2008/02/12/dubious-quote-of-the-day-halperin-on-edwards-on-obama.aspx
hilts
Previous Mark Halperin apology for stating that John Edwards thought Obama was a pussy
“I’m sorry. In a live radio interview this week, I used a word I shouldn’t have. The fact that I was conveying other people’s words is no excuse for my lapse in judgment. It won’t happen again.” — Mark Halperin
h/t http://mydd.com/users/tarheel/posts/mark-halperin-calls-obama-a-quotpussyquot
scav
For no reason except that it’s one of my favorite glyphs and I think it might be generally useful.
Roger Moore
@Cris (without an H):
Exactly. A more contemporary and pertinent example would be, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God.” The Third Commandment is God saying that your immortal soul is in peril if you lie after making that kind of oath. It’s a sort of backup plan if the fear of prosecution for perjury doesn’t scare you- or maybe it’s the primary plan with perjury prosecution as the backup plan. In any case, the idea is that after swearing an oath to God to do something, you know that God himself will punish you if you back out.
Catsy
Count me in the camp that isn’t really incensed about the intemperance of what Halperin said–we need more of that directed at the appropriate parties. His real offense was that what he said was the same kind of hackery and bulshytt for which he’s always been inexplicably given a platform.
But I’m willing to take it if it means having his toxic nonsense on the teevee less. He’s one of the most cancerous and malignant Villagers there is.
@Shinobi:
This applies to most online multiplayer games in general, not just LoL. It’s one of the reasons that–with very rare exceptions–I just don’t like multiplayer games and don’t buy games that obviously phoned in their single player campaign as an excuse to release the multiplayer portion.
hilts
An earlier pearl of wisdom from Mark Halperin
h/t http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15885.html
Rapoli
“Dick,” he explained.
amk
jeebus wept. What a way to misread the whole thingummy.
hilts
Reposted because of moderation purgatory with offending word removed
Previous Mark Halperin diss of Obama
HALPERIN [discussing John Edwards’ potential endorsement of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama]: “I can tell you, he’s really skeptical of her ability to be the kind of president he wants. But, he kinda thinks Obama is…he thinks Obama is kind of a p***y…He has real questions about Obama’s toughness, his readiness for the office.”
h/t http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/medialog/archive/2008/02/12/dubious-quote-of-the-day-halperin-on-edwards-on-obama.aspx
geg6
Like Sargent and Benen, and as he always seems to do, Fallows nails it:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/06/the-real-dickishness-problem/241288/
hilts
Reposted because of moderation purgatory with offending word removed
Previous Mark Halperin apology for dissing Obama via John Edwards attribution
“I’m sorry. In a live radio interview this week, I used a word I shouldn’t have. The fact that I was conveying other people’s words is no excuse for my lapse in judgment. It won’t happen again.” — Mark Halperin
h/t http://mydd.com
trollhattan
@ 7.Bulworth
Bulworth nails it. As a friend who does actual lawyerin’ in actual courtrooms is fond of saying, “Asked and answered.”
Malthaus likely really hurt herself contorting into that position. You can virtually see the soggy wheels turning as she tries to pivot into a defense of Halperin. And to what end?!? He doubtless was among those who waved away any criticism of Bush with, “You don’t criticize the president during a time of war.” And now, with two point five wars and the Bush Recession raging, it’s okie dokie? Did those those wars end in January 2009?
She’s a sick, sick individual who has no business learnin’ anybody, for money or as a volunteer.
geg6
Just change the word “radio” to “cable news” and you have some idea what I think of shows like Morning Joe and pretty much anyone who appears on them:
RadioCable news is a sound salvationRadioCable news is cleaning up the nationThey say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don’t give you any choice ’cause they think that it’s treason
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the
radiocable newshttp://youtu.be/izFsZvkemio
quannlace
Should we ask Weiner?
double nickel
@ Amanda #10: +1
Southern Beale
Speaking of Dicks, I just got a phone call from Dick Morris’ group. It started with a recorded message from Dick himself, calling Obama a “rigid liberal ideologue,” then putting in a plug for his forthcoming book, and finally asking me to hang on the line to take a survey since I’m a “top conservative leader in my area.”
I decided to play along … and the first question they asked me was who my favorite conservative leader was. Oh I wish I had thought of something clever, Richard Nixon for creating the EPA or Barry Goldwater for supporting abortion choice or David Duke because he’d keep those brown people in their place! I wish I had my phone so I could record it and then I’d put it on my blog, their reactions.
I wish I were a better person who could control her temper. I’m not. I let him have it. And like a chicken shit I hung up the phone.
They got a wrong number, yup. And I supposed I could have turned it into something really awesome but I didn’t. Ah well.
geg6
And of course, because I haven’t bashed Ms. Malthouse nearly as much in this thread as she deserves, I propose to make up for it by passing along these words of wisdom I once heard Tim Cavanaugh provide on the rock morning show I listen to here in the ‘Burgh:
When you’ve had too much to drink
there’s certain things to keep in mind.
Like when you find your hand and underarms are bleeding
your beer bottle might not have a twist off cap
and don’t ever go home with a woman they call Moose
or Vince
And never bet that you can fit your head inside a glove compartment
Get drunk with dignity
Keep in mind that just because a bulldog licks your face
its not necessary to lick him back
Stay away from drinks with names like
brain seizure or hippo laxative
Get drunk with dignity
If a bar has human ears nailed on the walls
don’t pass out there
and if your homemade jello has some goldfish in it
you used the wrong bowl
And there are phrases you must learn to avoid
phrases like
“that badge looks stupid”
and
“I can prove these shoes are fireproof”
Get drunk with dignity
try not to drool on bikers
Don’t moon a nun
unless you got a real good reason
don’t get romantically involved with farm machinery
Get drunk with dignity.
Bruce S
I’m so clueless (or forgetful except on the subliminal level) I read this and thought, “FranziaPundit would be a great joke about Ann Althouse slurping her Special Sauce on Bloggingheads” The quote was so stupid I assumed it couldn’t be hers and that there really was a “FranziaPundit” who was an absurdly self-righteous religious fanatic. Or just very stupid.
I guess that’s an example of catching your own fumble…or something.
Villago Delenda Est
Hardly inexplicable.
America will not be free until the last Galtian-Ferengi overlord is strangled with the entrails of the last Villager.
Nethead Jay
@geg6 Bwahahahaha, best lyric I’ve seen in a long time. Need to go look that one up.
Svensker
Was there ketchup involved?
Villago Delenda Est
This was the sort of thing that Altmouse (http://altmouse.blogspot.com/) used to do quite frequently, back in the day, some four to five years ago. Alas, Altmouse got bored and moved on to other things.
Pierre
I paid $32.67 for a XBOX 360 and my mom got a 17 inch Toshiba laptop for $94.83 being delivered to our house tomorrow by FedEX. I will never again pay expensive retail prices at stores. I even sold a 46 inch HDTV to my boss for $650 and it only cost me $52.78 to get. Here is the website we using to get all this stuff, BidsHit.com
Mike Kay (The Base)
Meh.
I don’t think “dickgate” is a big deal.
After all, the PUMAs and Firebaggers call the President worse things every ten minutes.
Jennifer
Nope. “Taking the Lord’s name in vain” means, “do not, in your vanity, presume to speak for the Lord.”
In other words, if God didn’t tell you xyz, you’re taking – using his name “in vain” if you say “God says that if you send me $100, you will be blessed,” or “God told me to run for president,” or “God said the world is gonna end on May 19.”
Think about it – does some omnipotent, omniscent being give two shits if I say, “goddamn this hammer” or “god bless you?” Why should he? The Bible’s full of examples of people calling on God to smite, destroy, dismember, scatter, etc. the various enemies of the Israelites, who were like, EVERYONE THEY KNEW, in effect asking God to damn the whole lot – and not only did God NOT get pissed off about it, he quite often stepped in and rained down some righteous ass-kicking, can-o’-whoop-ass wrath upon the enemy du jour.
Likewise, is he gonna get up in knots if you make an oath
On the other hand, would he care if some asshat was out there saying, “God says you’ll be blessed if you send me your money?” Probably – because it makes him look really cheesy begging for cash on the teevee. When Michelle Bachmann says God told her to run for president, it makes him look like a lunatic. When crazy old dude predicts that God said the world would end on date xyz, it makes him look incompetent – and that is NOT the image you want to cultivate when your whole PR campaign is that you know it all and control it all.
God’s got a reputation to uphold. That’s why he doesn’t want people taking his name “in vain;” e.g. for their own selfish purposes.
You’d expect a professor to know something like this.
Martin
Really? On TV? And while holding press credentials? If Halperin loses those credentials, and loses his contacts over this, he’s worthless to MSNBC or Politico.
Jay in Oregon
Pierre @106 appears to be a spambot. They’re coming over the walls!
ComradeOlaf
this feels a propos
http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1590
Cris (without an H)
We can’t use the name of a certain political-economic system on this political blog because it trips the spam filter, but Pierre can shit his bid shit on our windowshield
slag
The walls probably went the way of the Reply button.
LanceThruster
Mebbe he should have just said that the prez could go “Cheney” himself?
Mike Kay (The Base)
Yeah. Cenk has an entire hour show. hamsher is a cnn contributor. I don’t know whether or not they accredited press credentials, but I imagine they do simply because of the organizations they work for.