General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsObama Lynched In Front Of Church By Koran Burning Pastor Terry Jones in effigy
Attention whore Pastor Terry Jones is at it again. Last time he threatened to burn Korans, and sparked off several days of violence in the Middle East. This resulted in the deaths of dozens across the region and placed our troops in further danger by stoking anti-American sentiment. Now hes decided that hanging the President of the United States in effigy, in front of a church, is necessary and appropriate. Keep in mind, this in Florida, not Afghanistan or some other third-world hellhole where this sort of thing is common.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/06/08/lynched/
Shouldn't the Secret Service step in on crap like this? To me, it is advocating killing the President. Somehow, I don't think that should be protected.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)Terry Who?
geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)If you are a church and don't pay taxes, making political statements is out of bounds.
taxthechurches.org
It is not a new idea: tax exemption for religious organizations has been debated since the birth of our great nation. istorically, far from the accepted status quo, the subsidy of religious organizations via carte blanche tax exemptions has troubled patriots and conscientious religious citizens alike. Since our Consititution was written our nation has witnessed an overall upsurge in the deliberate mingling of government with religion, to the point that the two institutions at times have appeared nearly indistinguishable. Perhaps emboldened by the cowardice and arrogance displayed by our nation's highest court and the apathy of so many citizens, religious zealots now hold our highest offices and have infiltrated every single branch of government, upholding biblical views when their taxpayer-funded jobs explicitly require them to uphold the Constitution of the United States instead.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Church of England. Wasn't that about monasteries and other holdings being exempted and the King took offense?
A monetary matter, it seemed, but might have been a lot more. And didn't the French also address the power of the clery after the Revolution?
Yet all these religious institutions seem to have prevailed and still exist. They last longer than the nations within whose boundaries they do their business.
I'd love to see them taxed, but then there are a lot of corporations who don't pay a dime in taxes. The world's governments have lost so much power to them, that I guess some people are reverting back ot the religious authorities for answers.
It's a struggle between those who see religion as the only rightful authority in their lives, but see government as stifling them and those who are holding the opposite view. I do not want theocracy.
The argument regarding this man's right to hang someone in effigy would be muted by the number of partisans who also hung Cheney in effigy. But your point is good. The man abusing his rights under the First Amendment to make a political statement.
But more than that, he is making a hateful one. Someone should ask this 'pastor' if he thinks Jesus would do this?
The answer would be a resounding NO. He is not a believer in JC, he is a con man who has crossed the line repeatedly to appeal to the gullible.
His belief system appeals to those who read World News Daily and listen to demagogues who have made an money-making industry by fomenting fear and hatred of Obama such as Alex Jones and his Prison Planet network. This is not a religion, it is politics.
Initech
(100,155 posts)If wr can't criminalize this type of behavior we should at least take away their tax exempt status. And yes Terry Jones was involved.
geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)you get the attention of the secret service etc. while exercising your A1 rights, well that's your choice.
As far as tax exempt status, I do not see how burning a political figure in effigy is anything except a political statement. And if pastors choose to make political statements, they are crossing the divide between church and state. It's one thing to provide charitable services, support and comfort, quite another to incite political unrest.
YellowRubberDuckie
(19,736 posts)What's funny is, according to a Muslim friend of mine, Muslims dispose of old Qurans by burning them. The non extremists weren't too upset...
movonne
(9,623 posts)black man an civil rights issue let alone it being our president...this kind of stuff must stop..it makes Christian religion look worse than the taliban...and our country look very, very bad...
YellowRubberDuckie
(19,736 posts)I hope they make an example of the preacher.
cali
(114,904 posts)that he's advocating killing the President.
SoutherDem
(2,307 posts)in effigy, of course.
This should not be allowed being it could be considered a death threat.
My fear is if this hate by churches continues someone will die one day either by a church member taking the bigoted pastors to heart or someone getting tired of there rants.
When I was a child I had a uncle who HATED his son-in-law. My uncle died suddenly of a heart attack. My aunt said if he would have known he was going to die he would have killed his son-in-law the day before. That of course was just her opinion.
But, take someone dying, deciding who cares if they go to jail for a few weeks , or gets killed by cop. Someone is going to go off the deep end if this doesn't stop.
The same way we have allowed a few limits to free speech for public safety, this type of speech should have boundaries.
I can say I don't like you, without hanging you in effigy, or suggesting you should die.
appleannie1
(5,082 posts)To me, spreading hate and inciting the killing of others is not what free speech means.
Free speech comes with responsibilities which means it is not really free.
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)onehandle
(51,122 posts)Laurian
(2,593 posts)I think it's time to start countering this hateful stuff instead of ignoring it and just dismissing people like him as nuts.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)and the press and a lot of people are making his dreams come true. pffft!
deaniac21
(6,747 posts)lapislzi
(5,762 posts)They are not known for their sense of humor (to quote the DU rules). Advocating harm to the President is not in their joke book.
They probably have a file several inches thick on this cuckoo.
Strip the whole "in front of a church" business out of the discussion (which in itself is disgusting enough), and you still have someone advocating harm to the President.
Not OK. Not ever. Not at church, not at a cub scout meeting, nowhere, no how. At least not in public. I admit to having had less than charitable thoughts about Bush and some others. But I was never stupid enough to publicly advocate harm to the President or anyone else in his circle.
mrmpa
(4,033 posts)still am hearing her cry.
Her opinion, this is a direct threat to President Obama, and this "man of God", Mr. Jones should be arrested immediately.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)Time to add a new phrase to the book.
lapislzi
(5,762 posts)geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Frustratedlady
(16,254 posts)How many instances do we have to witness of his ignorance and incidents of inciting violence? He is sick as are those who follow him. All he needs is to push one of his parishioners over the edge then sit back and enjoy what he accomplished.
This is getting out of hand and we aren't even past the conventions. How Obama can even muster up a grin is beyond me. I'd be terrified of my own countrymen if I were in his shoes. Bless his heart.
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)facilities. He knew his party was, and still is, nuts!
mfcorey1
(11,001 posts)marions ghost
(19,841 posts)I have a family member who goes to UFL...lives not far from the church.
bluesbassman
(19,387 posts)I hope the IRS has this clown on THEIR radar.
Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.
Certain activities or expenditures may not be prohibited depending on the facts and circumstances. For example, certain voter education activities (including presenting public forums and publishing voter education guides) conducted in a non-partisan manner do not constitute prohibited political campaign activity. In addition, other activities intended to encourage people to participate in the electoral process, such as voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, would not be prohibited political campaign activity if conducted in a non-partisan manner.
On the other hand, voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias that (a) would favor one candidate over another; (b) oppose a candidate in some manner; or (c) have the effect of favoring a candidate or group of candidates, will constitute prohibited participation or intervention.
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)I believe the Secret Service investigated, but I never heard that anything happened to the person that did it. Political speech is political speech.
Where Jones may have gone over the line is that he did it on church property, in his capacity as pastor. Could well result in his church losing tax exempt status, and rightfully so.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)The use of terror to intimidate and silence one's political opponents.
jmowreader
(50,603 posts)Lynching a black guy in effigy is beyond the pale no matter who it is; the fact the specific black man that was lynched-in-effigy is the president of the United States makes it worse.