Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok?

Parts of this sermon went viral, making Harris one of the most disliked people on the net in short order.

This Sunday, our friend Justin Griffith, who is located at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, attended a protest held by the Military Atheists & Secular Humanists at Fort Bragg and other groups outside Berean. Griffith actually got a little closer, getting inside for a brief interview with the pastor. Snippets of the interview were used by news sources, but here’s the whole thing:

Griffith picked up on part of Harris’s response:

Justin Griffith: “But you wouldn’t literally use a rod would you?”

Sean Harris: “No, of course not. We may use some instrument of discipline in a careful and appropriate way. Depending on the age of the child, depending on the weight of the child.”

Maybe Harris will soon publish a book including his conversion charts of force-per-pound punishments.

According to the Providence Journal, the Cranston RI school district now has a whopping big legal bill to pay as a result of their fight to preserve a prayer banner against a complaint lodged by Jessica Ahlquist. It’s large enough that they’re putting the local taxpayers on the hook immediately:

The school district and the city will split the $150,000 in legal fees owed to the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, under a proposal approved by the School Committee Monday night.

The vote was unanimous in favor of the proposed fee split proposal submitted by School Supt. Peter L. Nero.

The school district will pay $75,000 toward the legal fees owed the ACLU for representing Cranston High School West student Jessica Ahlquist, 16, in a challenge to the constitutionality of a prayer banner which used to hang in the school’s auditorium.

$150,000 is actually less than I’d expect. It wouldn’t surprise me to find that the ACLU bargained down its own fees so as not to bankrupt the district. I remember that they did that in Dover.

We used to talk about the “Dover Trap,” the tendency of certain school districts to push “intelligent design,” get sued, and wind up in debt. This looks to be the same sort of thing.

Honestly, what kind of legal advice are these school boards getting? They rarely even have any new arguments, and yet they hope to win court cases against long established precedents. All they’re doing is breaking their own budgets.

Here’s the Grey Lady with all the gory details:

Tebowmania appears to be headed to New York. In a move that diversifies their offense but threatens to undermine Mark Sanchez, the Jets on Wednesday agreed to a trade for Tim Tebow, the popular but polarizing quarterback from the Denver Broncos. [...]

In helping to guide Denver to an A.F.C. West title last season, Tebow authored several last-minute comebacks, including a 95-yard drive that silenced the Jets on Nov. 17. That success, achieved despite an unconventional style and limited throwing skills, could divide a fan base with the first poor — or even average — performance by Sanchez.

As the story notes, there are some snags. It kinda looks like someone at the Jets failed to read the fine print and they may have to cancel. Clearly, Satan and his minions are at work.

Well, today three of them were convicted of hate crimes.

On balance, I think that this is a good thing. They put leaflets through peoples’ (including gay peoples’) letterboxes entitled Turn Or Burn and Death Penalty?, which said that homosexuals should be stoned or burned to death and that capital punishment is the “only way to rid society of homosexuality”. To me, that’s a long step over the free speech line and a short hop from incitement, via threatening behavior.

I’ll update this when the men are sentenced. In the meantime, it’s over to you again UFers: Should I abhor what these men say but fight for their right to say it? Or should I hope to see them jailed?

Someone should have started a stopwatch.

GOP ‘family values’ mayor admits he’s gay

A Republican mayor in Mississippi admitted this week that he was gay after an audit revealed that he spent taxpayer money at a gay adult store in Canada.

Greg Davis was elected as the mayor of Southaven in 1997 on a platform of conservative “family values,” but he says he recently realized that he was gay.

[...]

Thousands of dollars were spent on lavish meals and liquor, but it’s a $67 charge that Davis made to Priape, “Canada’s premiere gay lifestyle store and sex shop,” while on a recruiting trip that has gotten the most attention.

The mayor said that he didn’t remember what he bought while at the shop.

Clearly, Canada is at fault here.

Bonus:

[c&h]

Christopher Hitchens just passed away at age 62. I will miss his wit, wisdom, and love for life.

What will you miss most about Hitchens?