A couple of months back, I emailed Radley Balko a link to a youtube video a pastor in the SW had made talking about his run-in with border patrol, and asked him if he knew anything about it. He didn’t, so I let it drop. Here is the video:
Turns out Steven Anderson is a busy guy:
A controversial Tempe pastor who admits he prays for the President’s death got into a heated exchange with a reporter for the Phoenix New Times newspaper Sunday.
Pastor Steven Anderson and Reporter Stephen Lemons got into the argument following Sunday night services outside Anderson’s Faithful Word Baptist Church near 48th Street and Southern.
Lemons and Anderson argued after the New Times’ reporter began questioning the pastor about his other job, installing commercial fire alarms.
“Are you running a church and business at the same place,” asked Lemons.
“I’m not running a church and business at the same place,” responded Anderson. “You are trying to make up a story. You’re a liar.”
“I don’t operate a business here,” continued Anderson. “I store equipment here.”
I wonder how big the Secret Service dossier is for this guy…
Wilson Heath
Hmm. Storage of business property not connected to the business of the church could F with the non-profit exemption. Audit time.
Punchy
And that cash register there? That’s for……uh…registering churchgoers. And that giant “SPRINKERZ, BITCHEZ!” sign outside? We….uh….sell holy water dispensers…..
Clown shoes, fo’ shiz
Comrade Jake
OT, but Ambers post on the Van Jones saga is worth a read. He cites numerous examples of the admin defending their own and then goes on to explain why they let VJ go. Apologies for the distraction.
Leelee for Obama
@Wilson Heath: It’s like iatrogenic infections in hospitals. Sowing the seeds of their own destruction, they are. Master Yoda.
SenyorDave
I’m sure the insurance company that covers the Church will be thrilled to hear about this. Pretty ironic if an insurer dropped fire covergae on a Church because someone was running a commercial fire alarm business out of the Church.
JK
Interesting takes on Steven Anderson
The Rev. Steven Anderson: American Taliban?
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/09/03/the-rev-steven-anderson-american-taliban
Alan Colmes Jerks a Metaphorical Knot in Pastor Steven Anderson’s Noggin
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2009/08/alan_colmes_jerks_a_metaphoric.php
Demo Woman
Anderson is not helping by his refusal to talk to the Secret Service.
The Grand Panjandrum
Sullivan linked to a CNN video that has a little more on our friend. More than once I’ve remarked about someone renting a Ryder van. Tim McVeigh was aligned with a militia group that included a “pastor” similar to this guy. This isn’t joke. It’s serious business and I’m sure the Secret Service, ATF and FBI have quite a bit on this entire group.
4tehlulz
In before audit, shootout, and “martyrdom”.
Comrade Jake
How many “churches” operate out of a store in a strip mall? Is that common in the SW? What do you do, stop in to come to Jesus before loading up on pills at the GNC?
ellaesther
What is interesting to me is how quickly my brain went “pastor beaten by border patrol! He must have been doing acts of social justice, and the Man in trying to keep him down — violently!”
Can you tell I was raised in the post-MLK era?
I’m in the middle reviewing a book that goes into the importance of social networks and “circular response” (ie: you say “that was really outrageous, wasn’t it, Charlene!” and Charlene says “Yes it was. Why, he should be slapped!” you say “I think I’ll slap him!” and Charlene says “You really should!” etc) in establishing the atmosphere that allows people to develop and maintain extremist worldviews that then slide into violence. Needless to say, I have come away from my reading even more frightened for this President and this country.
On the upside, my kids go to a school where the Principal made sure that the parents all knew that they would be watching the POTUS’s speech, “This speech will provide one more avenue that promotes and supports the education efforts of both home and school. I also believe our students will sit up and take notice — that our President believes the message important enough to speak directly to students across the nation.” Damn skippy.
Demo Woman
If you follow the links to the reporters blog, you discover that Anderson is refusing to talk to the Secret Service. I know that you can refuse to answer questions but what are the consequences?
brantl
beltane
Why can’t this guy do the right thing and wear black robes and a turban? Why do our religiously inspired terrorists have to be so drab looking in comparison with theirs?
ellaesther
@beltane: I vote tin-foil hats.
adolphus
Comrade Jake: Never been to the SW, but in the South and many poor urban neighborhoods in the Mid-Atlantic area store front churches are quite common. Churches who hold services in movie theaters, too.
My vote is Matthew Fox to play him in the movie.
Zifnab
@Demo Woman: If you have done nothing wrong then you have nothing to hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide!
Oh, wait. That only works for “terrorists” and people convicted of having funny colored skin.
Comrade Jake
@adolphus:
LOL. I think “LOST” might have been an appropriate title for this thread.
JK
OT
Jackass Neil McCluskey from the Cato Institute is still bitching about Obama’s speech to students. “On any level you can see it as a campaign speech”. Jesus, this guy is such a dick.
DecidedFenceSitter
@Comrade Jake:
I’m in Northern Virginia, and I can think of about 3-4 churches which are either in strip-malls or the equivalent within about 2 miles of my home.
Zifnab
@Comrade Jake: It’s available office space. Start-up churches, like start-up businesses, can’t afford to just throw up their own store front from scratch. Strip malls are all over the place, and vacancies are common, so rent can be quiet reasonable especially if the minister knows the owner.
Egypt Steve
Why wouldn’t he allow the search? If you’ve done nothing wrong, you’ve got nothing to hide. You’ve got no rights if you’re dead. The Constitution is quaint. What’s most important is that we all be Safe. Anyone who questions the motives of the Police who are there to Keep us Safe is obviously a terrorist or a socialist or a Muslim. They have the hardest job in the world and citizens have a duty to comply with their reasonable requests. They would not ask to search the car unless they had good, professional reasons, because they are honorable professionals who only want to keep us Safe.
Ash
@Comrade Jake: It’s common pretty much everywhere, especially for those dinky churches who have like 10 members. They can’t just all up and buy property to build churches on.
Egypt Steve
My comment is “awaiting moderation”?? If you’re waiting for moderation in my comments, you’re wasting your time. Revolution now!
David
He’s kinda making up that story as he goes along. He’s pretending to remember details as he tells the story with “false excitement.”
gocart mozart
Comment moderation without probable cause is tyranny. I blame Obama. Wake up America.
Ash Can
@Wilson Heath: Agreed. This is a job for the IRS.
Keith G
@Egypt Steve: Play by our rules:
You can say “skull fuck” but not “s-lism”
Michael D.
To quote a new TV show about female cops:
“Some people just need to be tased”
r€nato
I’m so embarrassed this guy is in Tempe. Tempe is a nice college town and rather liberal, at least the part near ASU (everything north of the 60 fwy). South Tempe tends to be more suburban and Republican but not crazy Republican.
This bonehead would fit right in, in Glendale or Mesa.
The fact this idiot is still free to walk the streets really ought to shut up every single wingnut screaming about Obama and Hitler.
But, it won’t.
General Winfield Stuck
OT
Sorry, but cspan is running an old tape of Reagan in a classroom with what could only be described as a right wing propaganda presser with 12 year olds. Ronnie is going thru the whole list of wingnutty econ theory, trickle down, cutting taxes spurs growth, wingnut values of all sorts. The kids sound like they are reading questions to R straight out of the double speak department cooked up in the bowels of AEI.
GregB
I am wondering why the rightwing rules of denouncing others doesn’t apply to this lunatic?
I remember after 9/11 one of the most often repeated talking points was: “Why won’t Muslims denounce Muslim terrorists when they advocate violence?”
So why won’t conservatives and Republicans denounce this Christian terrorist?
-G
Demo Woman
This is OT
Josh Marshall wrote about the latest opinion piece in the WSJ by Shadegg and Hoekstra. I read the piece and I noticed this sentence. The five-year survival rates for all cancers beat the rates in Canada, Europe and England.
Is England no longer part of Europe?
Cat Lady
@Egypt Steve: @Keith G:
Can’t say s h o e s neither. Why? Because shut up that’s why.
JK
@General Winfield Stuck:
I’m watching it too. I’d like to hear what the wankers like Malkin, Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh, and O’Reilly have to say about it.
Terri
They obviously didn’t kick his ass enough. Sound is still coming out of his mouth.
r€nato
I’m sure this church member was simply exercising both his 2nd Amendment and 1st Amendment rights to proselytize while packing heat, and it was an utter coincidence that he happened to find the house of the same Channel 15 reporter who was covering the story at the church, and in no way was the firearm meant to intimidate nor threaten Vetscher.
Any moment now, Obama’s stormtroopers will bust down the door of the church and round up the members and ship them off to the FEMA concentration camps which are conveniently set up somewhere in Arizona.
General Winfield Stuck
@JK:
Hey, it’s ronnie raygun. His shit don’t stink and he has apple pie for blood.
Demo Woman
@Cat Lady: You can say s*ho*es, just not in English. chaussures
JK
OT
C-SPAN is now showing George HW Bush speaking to sttudents in 1991
r€nato
I wonder who will be the first wingnut to claim it’s unfair to show Reagan’s speech to schoolkids and GHW Bush’s speech to schoolkids.
Facts and context are liberally biased, you know.
JK
@r€nato:
What was it that Stephen Colbert said at the WH correspondent’s dinner? I think it might have been that reality has a well known liberal bias.
JK
@General Winfield Stuck: Win
dlw
Tase him again, bro.
b-psycho
Why does the moderation detect words inside of other actual words? Posting ci*lis is obviously done under different intention than posting soci*lism. Besides, most spammers these days already know to misspell the word because everyone with the slightest bit of brain function filters it.
jenniebee
Isn’t he the same guy who’s on youtube giving sermons about how he refuses to sit down to pee?
It appears that it is, and that the original has been removed
Which is a pity, because it was a real hoot.
jenniebee
Wait, here’s another copy of the Pissy Sermon.
Seriously, if this guy can get a national audience then anybody who says they can’t just isn’t trying hard enough.
Florida Cynic
Actually, I think Balko posted a link to this guy’s video talking about the alleged Border Patrol beating. Anderson is an obvious whack job, but the Border Patrol story is plausible. On the lack of cooperation with the Secret Service, I’d be telling him the same thing if I was his lawyer. There’s already a dossier, why add to it?
distantharbor
My bigger concern is the video and the ability/scope of the Border Patrol,ICE, DHS, etc to operate within the USA ~ who has jurisdiction with local law enforcement, how probable cause is established, the use of tasers, the care & welfare of someone in custody, the damage to personal property, and most importantly, the illogical conclusion of ‘if you have done nothing wrong, then why not allow the search, answer the questions, etc ‘. This activity has been going on for years within the (100) mile reach of entire border ( N & S ) in the USA.
Jake
If even half of what this guy claims the border patrol did to him is true, then it smacks of police state fascism. The indiscriminate use of tasers, the smashing of his head into broken glass, the delay in getting him medical treatment, the refusal to let him use a toilet — this is the kind of stuff that civil libertarians should be repulsed by. I don’t care if the victim is a right wing loony toon (and I believe he is). No citizen deserves such lawless and brutal treatment.