• Theologian Roger Olson is appalled by Baptist Bishop Al Mohler’s enthusiasm for the death penalty:
His reasoning is extremely weak, unless he’s a theocrat and wants the state to execute teenagers for rebelling against their parents and idolaters for worshiping false gods. His claim that capital punishment is a deterrent has been disproven many times. Finally, his caveats about how capital punishment is applied add up to a strong case for its abolition.
• I took her to a supermarket. I don’t know why, but I had to start it somewhere … “Woman a Leading Authority on What Shouldn’t Be in Poor People’s Grocery Carts.” They’ll never understand what it means to live your life with no meaning or control. …
• Jonathan Merritt is not impressed with Al Mohler’s opposition to Jesus’ teaching.
• Normally, if I’m told that someone is a former drag queen, my first question is, “Was he a good drag queen?” That’s important. Craft, artistry, and a commitment to excellence are all important indicators of moral character. But I’m not sure that such dedication to craft would mean much in the case of Steve Wiles, the North Carolina Republican and former drag queen running for the state senate on a Worley-esque platform of No Civil Rights for Teh Gay.
We’ll soon find out whether or not North Carolina Republicans will be willing to support a candidate who used to strut his stuff as “Miss Mona Sinclair.” They might — just so long as we don’t find out that Wiles’ drag persona was named in honor of Upton Sinclair. Lip-synching to the Weathergirls is one thing, but admiring a muckraking reformer and progressive Democrat would be another matter entirely.
• Benjamin Corey, Michael J. Kimpan and Zack Hunt recoil in appropriate moral horror from Al Mohler’s Jesus-denying Republichristianity.
• The original recording by Pulp is lovely in its mordant, understated irony, but “Common People” also works when the rage at the heart of it is given louder expression. My Chemical Romance takes a step in that direction. (But I’m still looking for a punk version of this song that’s a bit more Joe Strummer and a bit less Hot Topic.)
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In