Dubya in mourning. O'Reilly in hypocrisy

The Vacationer-in-Chief issued this yesterday: (Emphasis mine)

Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of Jerry Falwell, a man who cherished faith, family, and freedom. As the founder of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, Jerry lived a life of faith and called upon men and women of all backgrounds to believe in God and serve their communities. One of his lasting contributions was the establishment of Liberty University, where he taught young people to remain true to their convictions and rely upon God's word throughout each stage of their lives.

Today, our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Macel and the rest of the Falwell family.

Yeah, well that would be a part of the fucking problem, wouldn't it.

Globally, anywhere from 15 to 27 percent of humans don't believe in any god. Further, a majority of those who are religious do not subscribe to Falwell's brand of religious adherence. Falwell didn't call upon men and women to believe in God; he called upon men and women to believe in his god, and ultimately to believe in him (and keep those cheques and money-orders coming in!).

Bush has ignored the fact that Jerry Falwell was one of the most intolerant individuals to ever grace a television screen. He didn't believe in freedom at all and his work was anything but "Christian".

Some of Falwell's words which Bush seems to have forgotten:

- If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being

- The ACLU is to Christians what the American Nazi party is to Jews

- It appears that America's anti-Biblical feminist movement is at last dying, thank God, and is possibly being replaced by a Christ-centered men's movement which may become the foundation for a desperately needed national spiritual awakening

- (on 9/11) ..throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools, 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 try to secularize America...I point the thing in their face and say you helped this happen.

- AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals

- There's been a concerted effort to steal Christmas

And Falwell was none too forgiving of his fellow travelers in the Christian fundamentalist movement. He called Billy Graham, "Satan's chief servant in America" and accused Pat Robertson of using intimidation and strong-arm tactics. Not that I would defend any religious wingnut, of any religion, from an attack by another religious wingnut, but Falwell clearly didn't like the competition. I guess not. His was, after all, nothing more than a commercial enterprise.

Hardly the kind of thing for which the chief executive of the United States should be issuing a national statement of mourning.

The last of those quotes leads to another individual who operates from the bully pulpit and who has stated that bloggers and newspapers of the "far-left" are disrespecting Falwell in his death.

Jerry Falwell had a right to say what he said. And these awful secular progressives have that same right. But there is such a thing as decency. And when somebody dies, you give it a few days. — Just another example of how out of control the SP far left movement in America is today.

Decency? That came out of the mouth of O'Reilly? He doesn't know the meaning of the word. Coyote Angry gives O'Reilly some of his own back.

I guess well-known public figures are off limits but it's ok to say anything you want about innocent children. Bitch please, Falwell was a big boy and knew what he was doing. When you put yourself in the public eye to the degree Falwell did, you know you are going to take some heat. I think we all know you are pretty handy with dishing it out yourself to anyone who doesn't happen to agree with you so kindly shut the fuck up. You want to talk smack but oh how you whine when it touches one of your sacred monkeys. Suck it up. Besides, you know when someone that you detest dies you'll be dancing an Irish jig and singing hallelujah and praise Jesus. Oh wait...you've already done that before.

And then saves the best for last.

Note to wingnuts: you have to give a little respect to expect to get any. Now fuck off and die.

Falwell is just getting what he gave. He promoted and enabled intolerance, bigotry, hatred and exclusionism. It is the loss of that on which Bush issued a national statement of mourning and which O'Reilly thinks we should not criticize.

Both are completely deluded.