Jerry Falwell just died

[Dirt McGirt]

I'm not celebrating. I just didn't care for Falwell.

But let me just say beforehand, I WILL be celebrating when that piece of shit Fred Phelps dies.

 

[Bern80]

not at all.... I only hope the trip is an uneventful one for the old guy. He's got a lot of harrowing times in front of him - eternity, as it were - and I certainly hope that, at the very least, the trip to hell is brief and uneventful so that he can get settled in to his new forever surroundings.

Just can't make yourself admit it can you? A lib wish ill will upon someone? Blasphemy, I know. Your position is gettin ludicrous in order for you to maintain the notion that you don't wish the man ill will. You're speculating about one's journey between death and the afterlife? Get it over with and admit that you want the man to suffer.

 

[red states rule]

I hope his trip to Hell is a short one and his stay there a long one.

Another fine example of the compassion, love, tolerance, and open mindedness of the left

 

[Care4all]

I'm not celebrating. I just didn't care for Falwell.

But let me just say beforehand, I WILL be celebrating when that piece of shit Fred Phelps dies.

YOU and many others...on the right and the left have the same feelings regarding Phelps....

Care

 

[red states rule]

For similar reasons: JFK, FDR, LBJ, Nixon, Reagan, Lincoln, Jackson, etc. all going to hell? Give me a break. I wouldn't say any such thing, as I am not God. You are a Christian, right?

This is how most libs react to those who disagree with them and try to engage in politics against them

The left has become a very angry group of people

 

[Gunny]

YOU and many others...on the right and the left have the same feelings regarding Phelps....

Care

Phelps is a piece of garbage, plain and simple, and represents nothing Christian I was ever taught to believe.

 

[red states rule]

Yes I do. Wanting someone to burn in hell is not wanting justice, that's wanting vengeance.

I remember during the Reagan funeral in DC, a kind hearted lib stood on the street holding a sign "I hope Regan burns in Hell" as the funeral procession went by

 

[red states rule]

Nets Can't Resist Deriding Falwell Over Teletubbies; CBS: He Wanted Women in Kitchen
Posted by Brent Baker on May 15, 2007 - 21:30.
The ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts Tuesday night couldn't resist ridiculing the late Jerry Falwell for pointing out how a children's character on a PBS show appeared gay -- though gay rights advocates had earlier made the same observation -- and CBS brought aboard liberal presidential historian Douglas Brinkley who called Falwell “comedy fodder for people,” found it relevant that “feminists never liked him,”and dismissed him as “a backlash figure” whose “returning to family values was returning to women being in the kitchen.”

On ABC's World News, which unlike CBS and NBC did not lead with Falwell's death, Dan Harris asserted: “In the final years of his life Falwell alienated some in his own movement with a series of controversial statements. For example, he said the children's TV character 'Tinky Winky' was a gay role model.” CBS's Richard Schlesinger recalled that in later years “Falwell started making embarrassing missteps, denouncing a popular cartoon character as a gay role model.” Over on the NBC Nightly News, Bob Faw, who concluded his piece by asserting that “the Reverend Jerry Falwell -- crusader and polarizer -- was 73,” raised the PBS show: “In 1999, Falwell was ridiculed when he complained one of the PBS Teletubbies was gay.” But a 1999 Cox News story archived on a gay news Web site, began: “In the flap over whether Tinky Winky the Teletubby is gay, the real news is that the Rev. Jerry Falwell is late to the party.” Phil Kloer pointed out that in 1998, the year before Falwell spoke out, “the gay magazine The Advocate presciently wrote that 'PBS is clearly terrified that the same fundamentalists who boycott Disney are going to flip once they get wind of the latest lavender love puppet.'”

The CBS Evening News, which featured a brief interview by Katie Couric of the Reverend Robert Schuller and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, returned to Falwell at the end of the half hour as Couric went to Jeff Greenfield and Douglas Brinkley, the “CBS News analyst” who wrote a book quite favorable to John Kerry, Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War.

Picking up on a point made by Greenfield, Couric asked Brinkley:


"And, Doug, he did blame the pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and others for helping to make the September 11th attacks happen. How did that affect his standing, in your view?"

Douglas Brinkley replied: "Well, many people started writing him off as a joke. He was a vibrant political force in the 1980s, but, by 2001, Falwell was kind of comedy fodder for people. The feminists never liked him in the United States. He was always warring with the women's movement. In many ways, he's a backlash figure. He was opposed to the Great Society and opposed to some of the progressive liberal high water marks in the 1960s, and certainly he wanted to, his returning to family values was returning to women being in the kitchen, in many ways."

http://newsbusters.org/node/12776

 

[Care4all]

Phelps is a piece of garbage, plain and simple, and represents nothing Christian I was ever taught to believe.

We FINALLY agree on something! lol

Care

 

[red states rule]

and when old Jerry blamed 9/11 on gays, lesbians and abortionists, he was showing the love like all you modern conservatives, eh, little acorn?

lol

All human beings have their faults. Jerry Falwell will be judged by God. There is no reason why people should be passing judgement upon him. Please have some respect for the deceased. If you have no respect for Reverend Falwell, then at least show some respect for his family or those who cared about him.

Is that asking to much of you?

 

[red states rule]

He raised money and supported the current Admin who in turn got Americans killed for a war built on lies.

I bet there is at least one person he took money from who never lived in the grand manner Falwell did yeat ended up dying in Iraq.

He was so wrong about so many things and he hurt people with the money he took from them yet lived very nicely on it himself.

Liberal Blogs Spew Hate on Jerry Falwell Death
Posted by Bob Owens on May 15, 2007 - 15:37.
Update below. (16:24 EDT)

I'm not a fan of Jerry Falwell, who died today shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University at the age of 73. That said, I am quite disgusted with the pathological hatred displayed by liberal bloggers in their reactions to his death.

Wonkette:

Jerry Falwell collapsed in his office this morning, and he’s in the hospital, and he’s “gravely unresponsive.”
At a time like this, people deserve sympathy and good wishes ... except for Falwell, who is an evil sonofabitch.


John Edward's former campaign blogger Amanda Marcotte at Pandagon:

The gates of hell swing open and Satan welcomes his beloved son
No word yet on whether or not that position is shared by John and Elizabeth Edwards campaign, or how Edward's staff will spin this into a fundraising opportunity.

Tapped goes for a "twofer" slam:

I'm waiting for Pat Robertson to find a way to blame his rival's death on either feminists or witchcraft.

Daily Kos:

The hagiography to cover up a history of hate and bigotry has officially begun.
A litany of hate at the Democratic Underground.

The "Blog of the Moderate Left" is surprisingly immoderate:

I wish I believed in Hell, so I could imagine Falwell enduring the eternal torment he wished on so many.
Technorati is tracking far more venom than I even want to contemplate, and as always, Allahpundit has running updates to capture the full flavor of the Democratic hatefest.

Perhaps I'm just blind by my own biases, but I don't recall similar widespread, triumphant glee and gloating from conservatives the last time a prominent liberal activist or politician died.

Cross-posted at Confederate Yankee.

Update (Ken Shepherd | 16:24): Negative comments also heavily dominate Ana Marie Cox's post at Time magazine's "Swampland" blog.

While Cox herself played nice, it seems that Cox does read her comments, as she cribbed off one commenter to add an update:

UPDATE: Commenter Bo234 is more insightful than I was: "Actually, the first politicization of his death was by the guy filling in for Rush who couldn't wait to bash the "loony liberal left" for something they haven't even done." Good point.

You will recall that NB's executive editor Matt Sheffield noted how heavily "Swampland" bloggers refer back to liberal blogs, while largely ignoring conservative bloggers.

http://newsbusters.org/node/12768

 

[red states rule]

kindness has never been my strong suit.

Jerry Falwell: For Liberal Media, An Extremist Punching Bag
Posted by Tim Graham on May 16, 2007 - 06:18.
The sudden death of Rev. Jerry Falwell on Tuesday marked not just the passing of a television evangelist, but of a historic conservative leader and regular cable TV pundit. The mainstream media developed a strong distaste for him because he entered the political arena and helped establish a stronger conservative movement. For reporters, he was the definition of the far right, someone whose support made a Republican unacceptable, and any Republican who attacked him (like John McCain in 2000) quickly became a media hero. The Washington Post infamously described him as leading a flock that was "largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command." Here's a selection of "Notable Quotables" capturing their attitudes:

2006

"In 2000, John McCain ran for President as a different kind of politician....Straight talk included taking on powerful Christian conservatives like Jerry Falwell, whom he called an ‘agent of intolerance.’....McCain is [now] trying to repair relations with the religious right.... For McCain, doing so could jeopardize his reputation for being a different kind of politician." — Reporter Dan Harris on ABC’s World News Tonight, April 14.

2001

"Any decision that leaves Jerry Falwell feeling pleased and happy is a decision that you need to be skeptical about, and he was very happy with this decision." -- Time magazine national correspondent Jack White discussing President Bush’s compromise position on federal embryonic stem-cell research on Inside Washington, August 11.


2000

"George W. is one thing, but as long as the Republican Party -- you noted some of them -- is populated by the Pat Buchanans, the Jesse Helmses, the Jerry Falwells, the Bob Barrs, don't blacks have a right to be suspicious?" -- CBS's Bryant Gumbel to a panel of black men, August 2 The Early Show.

Dan Rather: "One issue that is sure to come up in the fall campaign that has already surfaced is Bush cozying up to the self-described religious right, including the Reverends Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell."
Richard Schlesinger: "....Pollsters and pundits and politicians like to describe the primary season as a search for the soul of a party. Now the question is: Did George Bush sell his soul to the wrong group?" -- March 13 CBS Evening News.

1998

"Goldwater was always honest, even when honesty didn't pay. My appreciation of Goldwater came in his and my later years when he called on Nixon to resign and when he said that Reagan was either a liar or incompetent for not knowing about Iran-Contra. He told the party to let abortion alone and to quote 'boot Jerry Falwell in the ass,' closed quote. He summed up gays in the military brilliantly. 'You don't have to be straight to shoot straight.' You don't get more honest than that."-- Time's Margaret Carlson, May 30 CNN Capital Gang.

"Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri, an astringent and abstemious conservative, lambasted his fellow Republicans for their ‘sin by silence,’ and others started talking as well. The White House loves the exposure — for the other side: Starr, televangelist Jerry Falwell, Internet gossip columnist Matt Drudge and assorted Republicans, among them Jesse Helms, Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott. To Clintonites, it seemed a usefully geeky crowd. ‘They resemble a crew out of The Addams Family,’ one White House spin doctor said, happily, ‘with names by Charles Dickens.’" — Washington reporter Howard Fineman in Newsweek, February 9.

1997

NBC's Tom Brokaw: "The Promise Keepers and their charismatic leader have drawn plenty of attention over the years -- not all of it positive. In fact, some women's groups feel that Promise Keepers, their warm and fuzzy ideology, is a mask for something more sinister..."

Jim Avila: "...and as their fundamentalist doctrines become better known, donations are dropping and rally attendance falling....Critics say there is more dangerous doctrine in the Promise Keepers agenda that to some looks more right wing than religious. Bill McCartney spoke at anti-abortion rallies, calls homosexuality a sin, and his group has received money and support from Jerry Falwell, the Christian Coalition, and Pat Robertson....As the Promise Keepers face their biggest weekend ever, they're finding that returning to a world where man has the final word will take more than a promise and a prayer." -- Nightly News, September 30.

1994

"Preachers often mix religion and politics. In recent years, this temptation has arisen most prominently on the right, you know -- Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and those guys with celestial phones to God's ear. Back in 1992, after the hard-shell Republican convention in Houston, and humiliating defeat of President Bush, it looked like the religious right's influence might be waning. Not so...These righteous rightists are sure to be a major force in the fall election...Voters are blessed with common sense and free will. They customarily reject extremes of either the left, or the right." -- Former ABC Washington Bureau Chief George Watson in a commentary on the overnight newscast World News Now, June 23.

1993

"Corporations pay public relations firms millions of dollars to contrive the kind of grass-roots response that Falwell or Pat Robertson can galvanize in a televised sermon. Their followers are largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command."-- Washington Post reporter Michael Weisskopf, February 1.

"An article yesterday characterized followers of television evangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson as `largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command.' There is no factual basis for that statement." -- Post corrections box, next day.

1988

"Do you think it's a cosmetic change, what the Republicans are trying to do down here in New Orleans, forget about the evangelical look, the extremists, the Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, but change the whole cosmetics of the conservative right?" -- Question from CBS This Morning co-host Kathleen Sullivan to Dukakis campaign chairman Paul Brountas, August 17.

John McLaughlin: "What do you think of [Nicaraguan communist dictator Daniel] Ortega's implicit endorsement of Michael Dukakis this week?"
Jack Germond: "George Bush has the endorsement of Jerry Falwell. I think it's a trade-off."
-- exchange on The McLaughlin Group, August 13.

MRC President Brent Bozell honored Falwell’s memory in a press release Tuesday:

"Rev. Jerry Falwell gave his heart and soul to his family, his faith and his country. This is obvious when one looks at the decades of work he completed to grow his ministry, nurture his university, and advance the conservative movement throughout the culture and in politics.

"Rev. Falwell was a great leader who helped organize grassroots conservatives across America, and who was instrumental in the presidential election of Ronald Reagan. His inspiring presence and moral insight will be greatly missed."

http://newsbusters.org/node/12784

 

[Dr Grump]

Great. Yet another thread turns into a "It's all about ME" fest! Thanks Red State...you fucking tosser....

 

[red states rule]

Great. Yet another thread turns into a "It's all about ME" fest! Thanks Red State...you fucking tosser....

Pointing out the tolerance and compassion of the left when a conservative dies - sorry if that offends you

 

[red states rule]

After Highlighting the Controversial, Sawyer Says Falwell Will 'Answer to His Maker'
Posted by Mark Finkelstein on May 16, 2007 - 08:45.
Sure, it's a basic Judeo-Christian tenet that we will be accountable to God for our actions on earth. But if a reverend from the religious left had died yesterday, do you think Diane Sawyer, immediately after reviewing controversial statements he had made in the course of his career, would conclude by archly observing that the reverend has "gone to answer to his Maker"?

Neither do I. But that is just what the Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer did today on the occasion of the death of Jerry Falwell. After a brief biographical review, Sawyer stated "as the years went by, even some believers saw intolerance buried inside his attacks." She highlighted three of his statements. First, a clip of Falwell stating "I happen to be a Bible-believing Christian. And the Old and New Testament both teach that homosexuality is sin." Sawyer and anyone else are free to reject that teaching. But in Sawyer's eyes, does stating what Scripture says amount to "intolerance"?

Sawyer next honed in on the statement Falwell had made after 9-11, suggesting that various groups that "helped to secularize America" had "helped to make this happpen." Sawyer rolled a clip [from which the screencap here is taken] of her own cross-examination of Falwell back then, when he had come on the show to apologize for his remarks. Sawyer was seen seeking to extract an assurance from Falwell that "you will not be attacking these groups again."

Finally, Sawyer stated that "his next highly-publicized assault would be on a children's show, warning parents against what he called a homosexual TeleTubby." "Assaulting" a children's show is not "assaulting" children, but Sawyer's choice of words seemed to associate the concepts.

Sawyer moved immediately to her conclusion: "the headlines this morning of his death say it all: uniter, divider. Preacher, and polarizer. A political giant, gone to answer to his Maker."

Sawyer left little doubt as to what she thinks the judgment should be.

http://newsbusters.org/node/12785

 

[Shogun]

lets put it this way...


if LARRY FLYNT can do it...



Larry Flynt On Jerry Falwell: Hustler Lawsuit Revisited On Day Of Rival's Death

LYNCHBURG, Va (May 15, 2007) -- The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the folksy, small-town preacher who used the power of television to found the Moral Majority and turn the Christian right into a mighty force in American politics during the Reagan years, died Tuesday at 73.

One of Falwell's most memorable opponents was Hustler kingpin Larry Flynt, who had a very public legal battle with the Reverend over freedom of speech rights.

At the heart of the case was a satirical ad that ran in Hustler in 1983with the headline "Jerry Falwell Talks About His First Time," in which the magazine described a drunken Falwell having an incestuous encounter with his mother.

Falwell sued Flynt (pictured together on "Larry King Live" in 1997), alleging libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

However, the Supreme Court ruled that a public figure could not recover damages over distress based on satire under the umbrella of free speech.

Upon hearing of his death, Flynt released the following statement to Access Hollywood:

"The Reverend Jerry Falwell and I were arch enemies for fifteen years. We became involved in a lawsuit concerning First Amendment rights and Hustler magazine. Without question, this was my most important battle – the l988 Hustler Magazine, Inc., v. Jerry Falwell case, where after millions of dollars and much deliberation, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in my favor.

My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. He would visit me in

California and we would debate together on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling.

The most important result of our relationship was the landmark decision from the Supreme Court that made parody protected speech, and the fact that much of what we see on television and hear on the radio today is a direct result of my having won that now famous case which Falwell played such an important role in."

Falwell is survived by his wife, Macel, his two sons and a daughter, Jeannie Falwell Savas. Funeral arrangements were not immediately known.

http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah5356.shtml






I read a book by Carl Segan in which he briefly described the honor given to Charles Darwin, buried next to Newton, by the church despite his enduring ideals that have been quite the stone in the shoe of religion.. An act that offered respect to he that challenged dogma while creating a way for dialog which, ultimatly, will be decided by an audience according to the case presented. the church believed in the benevolence of their message even while the Darwins are out unwrapping the package it is contained in.. I think that people on the far side of either political spectrum should meditate on that story a bit..


shadows of forgotten ancestors
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Forgotten-Ancestors-Carl-Sagan/dp/0345384725[/ame]

 

[Dirt McGirt]

lets put it this way...


if LARRY FLYNT can do it...



Larry Flynt On Jerry Falwell: Hustler Lawsuit Revisited On Day Of Rival's Death

LYNCHBURG, Va (May 15, 2007) -- The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the folksy, small-town preacher who used the power of television to found the Moral Majority and turn the Christian right into a mighty force in American politics during the Reagan years, died Tuesday at 73.

One of Falwell's most memorable opponents was Hustler kingpin Larry Flynt, who had a very public legal battle with the Reverend over freedom of speech rights.

At the heart of the case was a satirical ad that ran in Hustler in 1983with the headline "Jerry Falwell Talks About His First Time," in which the magazine described a drunken Falwell having an incestuous encounter with his mother.

Falwell sued Flynt (pictured together on "Larry King Live" in 1997), alleging libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

However, the Supreme Court ruled that a public figure could not recover damages over distress based on satire under the umbrella of free speech.

Upon hearing of his death, Flynt released the following statement to Access Hollywood:

"The Reverend Jerry Falwell and I were arch enemies for fifteen years. We became involved in a lawsuit concerning First Amendment rights and Hustler magazine. Without question, this was my most important battle – the l988 Hustler Magazine, Inc., v. Jerry Falwell case, where after millions of dollars and much deliberation, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in my favor.

My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. He would visit me in

California and we would debate together on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling.

The most important result of our relationship was the landmark decision from the Supreme Court that made parody protected speech, and the fact that much of what we see on television and hear on the radio today is a direct result of my having won that now famous case which Falwell played such an important role in."

Falwell is survived by his wife, Macel, his two sons and a daughter, Jeannie Falwell Savas. Funeral arrangements were not immediately known.

http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah5356.shtml






I read a book by Carl Segan in which he briefly described the honor given to Charles Darwin, buried next to Newton, by the church despite his enduring ideals that have been quite the stone in the shoe of religion.. An act that offered respect to he that challenged dogma while creating a way for dialog which, ultimatly, will be decided by an audience according to the case presented. the church believed in the benevolence of their message even while the Darwins are out unwrapping the package it is contained in.. I think that people on the far side of either political spectrum should meditate on that story a bit..


shadows of forgotten ancestors
http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Forgotten-Ancestors-Carl-Sagan/dp/0345384725&tag=ff0d01-20

Of course Flint would say that. Larry Flint and Jerry Falwell became polarizing figures and made money because of their feud. I don't see how Flint's opinion of Jerry Falwell carries any weight here.

Falwell's dead, I don't see why we need to keep appealing to decency and morality. We should be able to have an honest and open discussion about him. This is a message board- let it all hang out.

 

[mattskramer]

Another fine example of the compassion, love, tolerance, and open mindedness of the left

RSR –

You will almost always find what you are looking for. You can sift through articles and pick out those that confirm what you believe. You can discard those that don’t confirm what you believe. Go on looking for the worst in liberals and the best in conservatives. People can also find many good liberals and bad democrats. It is an old easy game and big waste of time. In the end, it does not prove anything except that you are a good scavenger. Anyway, here is a neat article from an old adversary of Falwell. He seems to be rather civil.

http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_135185122.html

Also see http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272477,00.html

Matt Foreman, executive director of National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, extended condolences to those close to Falwell, but added: "Unfortunately, we will always remember him as a founder and leader of America's anti-gay industry, someone who exacerbated the nation's appalling response to the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic, someone who demonized and vilified us for political gain and someone who used religion to divide rather than unite our nation."

 

[Shogun]

by all means..


let your own words dig your own hole.

one might think that Larry Flynt had a bit more of a reason to applaud yesterday than the typical bandwagon rider venting ignorance on the net but..

I guess if YOU say otherwise....

 

[Dirt McGirt]

by all means..


let your own words dig your own hole.

one might think that Larry Flynt had a bit more of a reason to applaud yesterday than the typical bandwagon rider venting ignorance on the net but..

I guess if YOU say otherwise....

I've dug no hole. I'm saying why should anyone hold back just because Falwell died. He's a controversial figure and a lot of people have an opinion of him. Those opinions don't need to be stifled by an appeal to decency, especially when some of those criticisms are selective and aren't applied equally with respect to all deaths.