Tweet Untweet: God's Small Business Loan

On the eighth day, Obama said to the Lord: "You didn't build that."

— James Taranto (@jamestaranto) July 19, 2012

Tags: Barack Obama, The Bible, Tweet Untweet, Twitter

James Inhofe and Rachel Maddow Discuss Whether or Not Science Exists

In this very special episode of MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, a sitting U.S. senator calmly explains to the show's host that climate science and empirical evidence are wrong because Bible…

Part 2 after the jump…

Read More »

Tags: Christianity, Climate Change, Education, James Inhofe, MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, Religion, Science & Technology, Senate, The Bible

Alabama State Senator Blames Jesus for Low Teacher Pay

It's a common refrain among education reform advocates that the best way to improve teacher performance is to increase teacher pay. So what's the hold-up — low budgets, sexism, market forces?

Nope, it's the Bible…

According to Alabama state Sen. Shadrack McGill (R), the Bible says that increasing teacher salaries would only lead to less-qualified teachers…

"If you double a teacher’s pay scale, you’ll attract people who aren't called to teach. To go in and raise someone's child for eight hours a day, or many people's children for eight hours a day, requires a calling."

"And these teachers that are called to teach, regardless of the pay scale, they would teach. It's just in them to do. It's the ability that God give 'em… If you don't keep that in balance, you're going to attract people who are not called, who don't need to be teaching our children. So, everything has a balance."

Good point. Balance. Like the balance we need to keep principled, competent lawmakers in the Alabama state legislature. We should probably keep their pay low too, right?

McGill found justification in the Bible for not increasing teacher pay, but he evidently found nothing in scripture preventing him from approving a 67 percent pay increase for legislators in 2007… He said that the higher pay helped to stop corruption… Currently, a part-time legislator in Alabama is making more than a full-time teacher with a Master’s degree and 15 years of experience.

The idea that high CEO and politician salaries are necessary to retain top talent has been trotted out repeatedly during discussions of income inequality. But these are teachers. That's not, you know, a real profession. They just shape the minds of the next generation of Americans, not do important stuff like borrowing and lending money, laying off workers and giving tax cuts to millionaires.

It's reassuring to know that in Alabama they still teach the 3 R's: Reading, Writing, and Ridiculous Logic.

Tags: Alabama, Children, Christianity, Economy, Education, Religion, State Legislature, The Bible

From the Pork Barrel: V for Poland

* Poland's opposition party outs itself as being into Alan Moore, knowing the score.

* Researchers discover that low intelligence and conservative values lead to racism and bigotry. Or, to put it another way, Rick Santorum's presidential campaign continues apace.

* Indiana really is doing its best to out-Texas Texas.

* Majority of Americans would vote out the entirety of Congress, replace with 535 of those see-saw-y water-drinking bird things.*

.

^{* May not have been actual part of poll.}

Tags: Christianity, Conservatives, Education, Guy Fawkes, House of Representatives, Indiana, Intelligent Design, Nerdiness, Poland, Polls, Primaries, Republicans, Rick Santorum, Science & Technology, Senate, The Bible

Kansas House Speaker Spends All His Time Apologizing for Being an Idiot

Look, Kansas Speaker of the House Mike O'Neal, God is a busy man.

He has Academy Award ballots to fill out and Republican politicians to punk into seeking the presidency, and that leaves him with little time left over for answering the anti-Obama prayers of mere state legislators. Even ones that go through the trouble of citing Psalms 109:8 — "Let his days be few and brief; and let others step forward to replace him" –  in their demented email forwards to Heaven.

Even emails that include incisive commentary such as "At last — I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our president! Look it up — it is word for word! Let us all bow our heads and pray. Brothers and Sisters, can I get an AMEN? AMEN!!!!!!" are unlikely to make it out of God's spam folder when he's busy diagramming plays for NFL athletes.

Considering all this, an apology seems hardly necessary…

"I respect the President and the Office," O'Neal said in his statement. "The forward contained a single verse and was only intended as election commentary regarding the President's days in office. I have apologized and I am sincerely sorry," he said.

In recent weeks, O'Neal has also apologized for forwarding an email that referred to first lady Michelle Obama as "Mrs. YoMama" and compared a picture of her to the fictional character Grinch. O'Neal said he forwarded that email too without being aware of the "Mrs. YoMama" reference.

Okay, so the Psalm verse cited by O'Neal is followed by lines reading…

May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow

May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes

May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor

May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.

But given the agenda of the Kansas GOP, aren't deranged email forwards the least destructive and un-Christian use of a House Speaker's time?

Tags: Barack Obama, Christianity, Church v. State, Kansas, Michelle Obama, Religion, Republicans, State Legislature, The Bible