Today In Stoopid: Franklin Graham Strikes Again

Two big events occurred this week that have religious folks and conservatives in a furor:

1] The Pope is coming to America, and

B] The Muppets are returning to network TV after forty years.

I wonder which one will cause the most ruckus and outrage among Christians and wingnuts?

Oh yeah … Muppets. And Franklin Graham is not at all happy about it and, instead of welcoming Pope Francis on his first ever visit to the United States, he took to Facebook to tear into The Muppets.

While he has yet to see one episode — his rant took place before the show aired last night — Graham said the show, which might be more mature than it was four decades back, should be "off limits" because it "promotes sin":

"ABC is premiering a new 'mature version' of the Muppets that reports say will cover a range of topics from sex to drugs to 'interspecies relationships' … It sounds to me like the whole show should be off limits! Hollywood seems to be in a frenzy to see what new moral low they can reach in their programming. Their agenda is to promote sin to a younger and younger audience. … The Bible says, 'Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.' That goes for Kermit the Frog as well!"

Yes, he said that. And, of course, because crazy isn’t just a thing for wacknut Christians with too much time on their hands, the wacknut conservative group, One Million Moms, actually more like 79,148 according to the ‘Likes’ on their Facebook page, joined in begging folks not to watch the Muppets because …

Kermit doesn’t wear pants.

Yes, keep the kids away, shield the eyes, because a frog Muppet is on TV without pants.

Donald Duck, beware; you’re next!

NCRM: Franklin Graham
NCRM: One Million Moms

Random Musings

Well, it looks like legislation to make the Bible the official state book of Tennessee was beaten back by the state Senate when they voted to “refer” the bill — passed by the House — back to a legislative committee over questions of its constitutionality.

Still, while it may be over in Tennessee, these laws, like those pesky Hate-filled RFRAs, are still popping up like pimples on the ass of humanity. On the heels of a quickly withdrawn attempt last year to make the Bible the official state book of Louisiana, a similar bill was introduced earlier this year in Mississippi. And while it went nowhere, state Representative Tom Miles, a Democrat … a Democrat? … says he plans to reintroduce it next session.

Does anyone else see that making a religious text the official book of a state is very clearly a violation of Separation of Church and State and if we can see it, why can’t these elected wingnuts see it?

[photo source]

So, mailman Don Hughes flew his tiny gyrocopter on to the lawn of the U.S. Capitol in what he calls an act of civil disobedience.

I call it “Lucky he wasn’t shot out of the sky.”

Hughes was carrying letters to every member of Congress urging them to address corruption and to pass campaign finance reform; a good idea.

But a bad attempt. Hughes is a wingnut, who calls himself a patriot, though for a few scary seconds the US armed forces thought he was a terrorist and might have shot down the gyrocopter but refrained from doing so because they might have killed or injured innocent people on the ground.

Here’s the queer: Hughes says he’s a patriot and wants campaign finance reform, but all he’ll be remembered for is breaking the law and being a total moron; oh, and for being arrested and facing up to four years in prison on charges of violating national defense airspace and operating an unregistered aircraft.

Asshat.

[photo source]

Who knew Kermit was based on a real frog? A photo of the Hyalinobatrachium dianae, a new species of frog identified in Costa Rica, is going viral because it bears a striking resemblance to a Muppet.

It ain’t easy bein’ green …

[photo source]

Co-worker: Do you think the new guy is gay?

Bob: I think I have really bad Gaydar. I didn't even know I was gay until my husband told me.

Co-worker: You didn't know I was gay?

Bob: Oh honey, we all knew you were gay.

Oh Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan. Did anyone see her performance of one of my personal anthem’s, ‘It’s Raining Men,’ on the David Letterman show.

Chaka f**ked up the lyrics so badly I wanted to kick my TV in; how can you mess up the lyrics to a classic Gay Anthem, and one that used to have me dreaming that it really might happen?

Letterman called the performance ‘delightful,’ I called it a d-i-saster.

[photo source]

So, Olivia Pope has a new F**k Buddy on Scandal, and this one is neither the President nor a covert agent — well, he may be a covert agent, but I’ll spare those who didn’t see last week’s episode a Spoiler Alert.

He's Brian White and, well, let’s just bask in his beauty … sigh.

[photo sources: 1,2,3,4]

Ohio Governor John Kasich is thinking of running for President, but says he’s waiting on a sign from God before he makes his final decision.

Sorry John, the decision’s been made; you’re a loon. As for God’s signal, She’s too busy to talk right now.

Well, it took more than 10 years, several proposals and countless stories from young people who have suffered abuse and bullying, but finally, last week, Montana joined every other state in the nation with an anti-bullying law.

Democratic Governor Steve Bullock signed the Bully Free Montana Act at Jefferson Elementary School in Helena:

"I am pleased that Montana will finally have a bullying-prevention law. All too often, we've heard bullying is just a part of growing up. ... We know that isn't the case. (Students) just don't have to put up with that type of behavior."

I’m glad they did it, but I’m kinda angry at the idea that for the past ten years, while they ‘talked’ about it, countless of young people suffered.

Okay...

Good news: I got tickets to see the fabulous Audra McDonald in Greenville, SC tomorrow night.

Bad news: a week after purchasing the tickets, Carlos found out he had a work event he could not change and so ... the concert was off.

Good news: I found a couple of people interested in buying the tickets for what I paid for them.

Bad news: both deals fell through.

Good news [or Bad news if you're Audra]: Audra McDonald has postponed her concert in Greenville due to illness.

Good news: the tickets I bought will be accepted at the new show.

Bad news; the new show isn't until October.

Good news: who gives a f**k. we're goin'!

PS Here she is performing as Billie Holiday ... a performance for which she won her sixth Tony Award.

Brilliance, thy name is Audra!