Now Falwell finds out whether he was right

Wow -- see what happens when I'm in a meeting for the afternoon and away from the news?

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. He was 73.

Atrios makes some great points about Falwell's opinions during his life. Who can forget Falwell's immortal words, "AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals"?

And what about his commentary on 9/11?

Television evangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, two of the most prominent voices of the religious right, said liberal civil liberties groups, feminists, homosexuals and abortion rights supporters bear partial responsibility for Tuesday's terrorist attacks because their actions have turned God's anger against America.

"God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve," said Falwell, appearing yesterday on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club," hosted by Robertson.

"Jerry, that's my feeling," Robertson responded. "I think we've just seen the antechamber to terror. We haven't even begun to see what they can do to the major population."

Falwell said the American Civil Liberties Union has "got to take a lot of blame for this," again winning Robertson's agreement: "Well, yes."

Then Falwell broadened his blast to include the federal courts and others who he said were "throwing God out of the public square." He added: "The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.' "

And now, of course, he presumably knows (or knew) ... the rest of the story.

I always learned that if you can't say anything nice about someone, don't say anything at all. So I'll stop there, and let Falwell's own words speak volumes.

UPDATE (4:34 pm 5/15/07): And didja see who was first out of the gate in making statements of condolence?

Sen. John McCain, [Liberty University's] commencement speaker last year, said Tuesday that his prayers were with Falwell's family.

"Dr. Falwell was a man of distinguished accomplishment who devoted his life to serving his faith and country," McCain said.

STFU, Saint John.

Goodling to take the Fifth

Note I said "take," not "drink."

As a graduate of Messiah College and Pat Robertson's Regent University School of Law, Monica Goodling (right, from here) surely is far too devout to drink any of the devil's brew. But Ms. Goodling, aide to Alberto Gonzales, will refuse to answer questions when she appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the investigation into the politically-motivated firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

"The potential for legal jeopardy for Ms. Goodling from even her most truthful and accurate testimony under these circumstances is very real," said [her] lawyer, John Dowd.

He said that members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees seem already to have made up their minds that wrongdoing has occurred in the firings.

As Eschaton commenter res ipsa loquitur aptly notes, it actually sounds like Dowd has made up his mind that wrongdoing has occurred in the firings. The obvious point here is that Goodling, who has taken a leave of absence, knows something and she's going to rest on her right not to incriminate herself or others. I don't have a problem with her taking the Fifth -- it's unfortunate in this instance, but it's her right under the Constitution -- but you can see that the veil of deceit and malfeasance is dropping farther and faster every day.

You think the MSM will note how "poised" and "glamorous" Ms. Goodling is when she testifies, like so many of them did about Valerie Plame? I rather doubt it. Instead she'll be "strong" and "direct" and all the other things that characterize the Right, don'tcha think?

Remember, IOKIYAR. It's okay if you're a Republic(an). Besides, a D.C. scandal involving someone named Monica is so karmic ... now if Ms. Goodling just would wear a blue dress to the hearing ...

UPDATE (4:48 pm 3/26/07): Turns out Monica's used to not answering questions. From May 2004:

The Justice Department won't say. An employee in Clement's office referred a call from Salon last week to Justice Department spokesperson Monica Goodling. Asked what Clement or Ashcroft knew of the Abu Ghraib situation at the time of oral arguments in the Hamdi and Padilla cases, Goodling said: "We wouldn't have any comment." Pressed further, Goodling said the Justice Department would not have any comment at all about the Padilla or Hamdi cases.

So, she's accustomed to not commenting on DoJ activity. No wonder they chose her to work as Gonzales' aide.

Speak of the devil

Yep, this is Blast Off!'s 666th post.

In honor of that, some special photos for your enjoyment ...




I wanted to find the pic of Drunky McStagger with devil horns from the seal behind him, but I couldn't find it ... gotta board my flight as I head home to Florida.

Happy 666th post, Blast Off!