Guess Who Put the Ass in Assassination

Scott Hardie | August 25, 2005
I'm too late to discuss Pat Robertson's 8000th offensive remark while it's still fresh: He's already had time to backpedal over it. (link) But I do wonder if anybody else is as disgusted as I am by it. I'm not disgusted that Robertson would call for a man's death; he's been clear about his reasons for saying so. I'm disgusted that yet another Christian figurehead, who has made a fortune denouncing the morality of others, plays so loosely with his own values. No disrespect to the God-fearing Christians reading this, but I speak for the rest of us atheists when I say that we're getting fed up with being told we have no moral compass and we're "adrift in the wind" without the Bible to guide our values, when assholes like Robertson get away with blatantly hypocritical remarks in defiace of their high-falutin' Christian morals. This crap has long since gotten old.

Amy Austin | August 25, 2005
Hehehe... E & I were just talking about this last night! I think it's just par for the course for this man who calls himself "Christian".

I also saw Bill Maher interviewing Phyllis Schlafly (link) (link) on the season premiere episode of "Real Time" last night, and I loved it when he said, "I'm consistent: I'm for the death penalty, I'm pro-choice, I'm pro-assisted suicide, pro-suicide of any kind..." Yes, yes, & yes.

Amy Austin | August 25, 2005
Oh yeah, and BTW... there's not just one, but TWO "ass"es in "assassination" -- or is that just both ends of Pat???

Scott Hardie | August 25, 2005
I could have asked who put the "sin" in assassination, but apparently Robertson doesn't think there is any.

Amy Austin | August 25, 2005
Maybe he thinks he's putting the "nation" in it?

Michael Paul Cote | August 25, 2005
It's not just the atheists that he's against, try being pagan! And wouldn't an assassination just make the man a martyr. There's something good Christians wouldn't know anything about.

Megan Baxter | August 25, 2005
Someone on another board I frequent suggested calling Pat Robertson's own toll-free prayer line and ask them to pray for Pat Robertson so he's not so much of an ass.

Good fun for people of all faiths and/or none! (Apparently by the end of first day after this, the people answering the phone were sounding a little weary of those requests.)

Jackie Mason | August 25, 2005
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Megan Baxter | August 25, 2005
You know, when Pat Robertson starts equivocating about what "take him out" means, I'm just going to start assuming he wants a date.

Amy Austin | August 25, 2005
Once again... I can't help but quote Bill Maher on this one: I'm Swiss!

Scott Hardie | August 29, 2005
I would like to re-emphasize that I meant no offense to most Christians by my grievances above, particularly the Christian authors here, who have shown remarkable patience for my many anti-religious outbursts to date. :-) As far as I'm concerned, Pat Robertson represents you folks about as much as Fred Phelps does.

Jackie Mason | January 6, 2006
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Amy Austin | January 6, 2006
Idea for Christmas 2006: Pat Robertson fruitcake

Anyone care to cook up a slogan for this one? ;-DDD

Michael Paul Cote | January 6, 2006
"Pat Robertson Fruitcake - A Redundant Gift that keeps on giving...unfortunately!"

Kris Weberg | January 6, 2006
"Pat Robertson fruitcake -- now 30% more insane!"

Kris Weberg | January 6, 2006
Uh-oh. Pat's got some competition from fellow alleged Christian Rick Santorum:

(link)

"I will do everything in my power to stop anything beneficial to New Jersey, period. I will use everything I have until New Jersey lives up to their commitments," said U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican and third-ranking official in the Senate chamber. "Every single thing that benefits New Jersey in particular I will do everything I can to make sure that it gets slowed down or stopped."

Jackie Mason | January 6, 2006
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Kris Weberg | January 6, 2006
The problem isn't Pat Robertson so much as the TV networks that continue to air his show and the talk show hosts who continue to offer him guest spots. If no one gave him a major media forum, he'd be a largely unknown crank with a blog or an author on a discussion board.

Michael Paul Cote | January 6, 2006
Jacquelyn - None of those places would take him!

Amy Austin | January 6, 2006
That's pretty bad, when you're too crazy for the crazies...

Scott Hardie | January 8, 2006
I'd like to think ABC Family would have yanked The 700 Club by now over Robertson's round-the-clock habit of making incendiary comments, but as I understand it, they're contractually obligated to continue broadcasting it as a condition of his sale of the network years ago. They added a disclaimer that his views aren't theirs, but I don't think it will be long before the network changes hands again; he has a dangerous mouth.

Kris Weberg | January 8, 2006
Except, of course, that they didn't have to accept that contractual clause; they always had the option of foregoing the purchase.

They made the purchase because they figured they could make profits from the linked assets like the Family Channel and so on. In short, they put money over principle in making a deal that continues to give an offensive and possibly insane demagogue a public forum.