Dec 5, 2018
Original release December 31, 2015.
Encore release December 5, 2018.
Encore release August 28, 2017.
The Reverend Franklin Graham (prominent Protestant fundamentalist and son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham) says he's quitting the Republican Party. Why? He says it's because Republicans aren't standing on principle. He cites as an example the Republican-dominated US Congress passing a massive spending bill that retains funding for the much-hated Planned Parenthood. In other words, Republicans compromised with the Democrats in order to keep the government running. Graham's exit may be part of a larger movement within the conservative movement: For years, Tea Partiers and their fellow travelers have been calling on their elected officials to toe the line, NOT to compromise in any way with the hated liberal-progressive-secularists when it comes to abortion, gay rights, etc. This rift (and the eternal desire to have "easy" solutions to problems that are always someone else's fault) in the GOP is what has crazy people like Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Ted Cruz leading the polls.
Plus:
Franklin (North Carolina) Mayor Bob Scott has been called "un-American, arrogant and an asshole" because he dared take his oath of office by placing his hand on a copy of the US Constitution instead of a Bible. We salute his courage and hope that many more elected officials follow suit.
Kentucky's new Tea Party affiliated Governor Matt Bevin has issued an executive order (of questionable legality) removing county clerks' names from the state's marriage license form, supposedly to protect the religious rights of Christians who disagree with same-sex marriage. Bevin's action is in response to Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis' infamous refusal to issue same-sex licenses in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's landmark decision.
Gossip columns are reporting that former Miss USA/Miss Universe Olivia Culpo has dumped her latest boyfriend, former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, over his vow of abstinence before marriage. Not that it's anybody else's business: as weird as the rest of us might think it is, what Tebow does (or doesn't do) with his love life should be between him and his would-be lovers. (Tebow, you will recall, was a successful college player who came under criticism for painting Bible verses in his eye-black, and for "Tebowing," in which he dropped to one knee in prayer after a touchdown. Tebow has been unable to parlay his NCAA victories into a successful NFL career: in September 2015, the Philadelphia Eagles became the fourth team to drop him from their roster.)