Armageddon? Conservative Media Thinks So.

Media Matters again does a great job documenting all this.

Here are transcipts, video, and links...

Transcripts...

From the July 12 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:
BECK: Hey, everybody. Hurry up; we've got World War III to fight. Yes, it is the end of days. Isn't it?
[...]
BECK: Here's what I do know about World War III and the impending apocalypse. One, we can't coexist with people who want to blow up trains and subways and bring down buildings. If somebody has a death wish, not really the best negotiating partner.
I also know that whether you like it or not, this is a religious war. Radical Muslims want to wipe everybody else off the face of the earth.

From the July 13 edition of Glenn Beck:
BECK: Bob, you were on the show yesterday on television, you were on the radio show today. We talked about that World War III is here, and 1938, that's about where we are, 1938. With the events of the day are we any closer to the next world war?
BAER: Oh, we've moved -- we've moved forward in the last 12 hours. Hezbollah has dropped some rockets on Haifa, a major Israeli city. This is a major escalation. We can see this spreading into other countries. We are much closer to Armageddon.
From the July 18 edition of Glenn Beck:
BECK: Oh, I don't know what it's like at your house, but it feels like the apocalypse is coming here in New York in more ways than one.
As the fighting continues in the Middle East, many people in the international community today are calling for either negotiations and/or a U.N. peacekeeping force to halt the conflict. And that's just -- I can't understand that on so many levels.
[...]
BECK: Gemini was born with two mouths, two tongues, two noses, four eyes. Some say this is the work of the devil. I'm not going to argue, quite frankly. In fact, I'm going on record now and saying, "I'm sorry, PETA: The cat must be stopped."
This evil creature, without doubt, further evidence, oh, yes, that the end of days is approaching quickly. I say, what, 20 minutes from now? Could be. You know, in this week, we've got a mess in the Middle East; we've had wildfires burning out of control; of course, we got the heat waves, 113 degrees today in Death Valley; mudslides in California, oh, they're coming.
How far away from the plague of locusts are we? Geez. We used to be able to count on news footage of cute little kittens.

From the July 24 edition of Glenn Beck:
BECK: I just want to tell you that I truly believe these mullahs are far worse than Hitler. I mean, Hitler was crazy evil. I believe these guys are biblically evil. And don't miss tomorrow's program. We have a series starting tomorrow on the coming of the messiah. We'll do that tomorrow.

From the July 18 edition of CBN's The 700 Club:
ROBERTSON: Thanks, John. Ladies and gentlemen, you might like to know what the Bible has to say about Israel in the last days. Is this the beginning of Ezekiel 38? We don't know but its getting close. Here's what the book of Ezekiel tells us in the 38th chapter.
[...]
Well, that's the prophecy of Ezekiel, that in the latter days, a coalition is going to come against Israel. And some of us have been waiting. Is this the end of it all? No. Is this what precedes the coming of the Lord? I don't think so. But it's clearly prophesied by Ezekiel if you believe that.
Now let's look at the map and to see what he's talking about. Here is Israel in the middle. It's called the navel of the earth. This is one described as Put which we identify as Libya. The other is Cush, and Cush is not Ethiopia, Cush is Sudan. And this is Sudan, which is of course an Islamic state. Libya is an Islamic state. And beyond that, what are we talking about? Gomer is somehow in the Caucasian area in here. These are Muslim people. Beth-togarmah may be Turkey. We're not quite sure exactly where all these people are. But Gog and Magog, Meschech is up in what is now the Russian federation. Rosh means head but it also is apparently Russia. So Russia's going to be involved with Persia which is down here. This is where Iran is. And so you can see the difference if Iran can come across it would have to cross Iraq, but it's trying its best to kind of overrun Iraq. But anyhow, here's Syria on the border with Iraq. Here's Iran right up on the close part. Syria, of course, borders Israel here. And Turkey borders there.
Now, you've got Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan. All these stans are Islamic republics. They are friendly to us but nevertheless that's what it is. Where is Tubal? Up here someplace in Magog. You can read in Genesis where they are. But the idea was that in the latter days when Israel is gathered back from the nations, the people are living at peace in their land, there is going to be this armada of essentially these Muslim nations joined with Russia to invade Israel, it says, in the latter days. Now are we seeing a prelude to that? We're not sure. But certainly Iran is making noises; they want to do it. The Sudan would undoubtedly kick in because they are fanatical Muslim in their leadership. Moammar Gadhafi has been relatively quiet but conceivably Libya could come on board.
This doesn't include Egypt, doesn't include Jordan, doesn't include Saudi Arabia or Yemen or these nations and, lo and behold, these particular nations are not joining in the current fighting against Israel. As a matter of fact, they are condemning Hezbollah. They don't want to have any part of it. And they are hoping that Israel will take them down a notch. They're hoping that the Iranians and the Syrians will come down a notch from where they are now because they're making trouble and they don't want it. But nevertheless, that's the situation described by the prophet Ezekiel. You ought to read your Bibles; Ezekiel 38. Can this be a prelude to that? I don't know, but it could be. We are beginning to see the line up of Iran, Russia, Sudan, Libya, and the Caucasian Muslim republics. Maybe Chechnya, some of those would play a role in this, we don't know. But when it's all finished, God says I'm going to destroy them all and I will bring glory to myself.

From the July 12 broadcast of The Gunny Bob Show:
NEWMAN: The truth be told, I don't say "uh-oh" very often when I hear a piece of news. When I got up this morning, about 0600, or so, turned on the TV and was greeted with the news that Israel had invaded Lebanon, and the first so-called words out of my mouth were "uh-oh." A world gone mad. Can mankind survive itself in World War III? I mean, is this the start of the big A -- Armageddon?
[...]
NEWMAN: If you just tuned into the show, I want to know if you think this, in the Middle East, could this be the beginning of Armageddon, at least a modern-day Armageddon?
[...]
NEWMAN: A world gone mad. Can mankind survive itself in World War III? And that's what we are in; but it's just not the World War III we expected. We kind of thought we'd be throwing missiles back and forth with the Russians, the Soviets. Well, it didn't come out that way, it came out to be different. And when you talk about Armageddon, the possibility of Armageddon, meaning wars all over the place and an awful lot of people dying that make World War II look like a joke, you've got to start adding up all the other factors.

From the July 4 broadcast of Jack Van Impe Presents:
JACK VAN IMPE: There's going to be a horrible conflict over Israel and over the Middle East. What they're saying now is, the last Bible prophecy that's going to be fulfilled, Psalm 83:4. Let us cast Israel off from being a nation that their name be no more in remembrance. And that's what starts Armageddon. As they divide the land of Israel, Joel 3, verse 2. Yes, Armageddon is coming, Revelations 16:16. But I repeat, it's not going to be the end of the world. Billions are going to be standing there to meet Christ after the conflict is ended and then they'll beat their swords and their plowshares and their spears and their pruning hooks, Isiah 2, verse 4.

From the July 18 broadcast of Jack Van Impe Presents:
REXELLA VAN IMPE: Yesterday a lady said to me, "Oh, Rexella, I love your program, I'm anxious to hear what your husband's going to have to say about the Middle East, and can he bring some comfort to my heart?" And I know you can, Jack.
JACK VAN IMPE: Oh, Rexella, there is war now in the Middle East and we'll have more to say about that a little later in the program. But do you know that when the lord Jesus Christ returns to earth to set up his kingdom; when he comes as the king of kings and lord of lords, Revelations 19:16, to rule and reign for one thousand years, Revelation 20, verse 4, that his feet hit the Mount of Olives and it splits from east to west, Zachariah 14, verse 4. But you know why he comes? Armageddon is not the end of the world. It's never going to end. We made a video last week that's going to be released this fall. And we got hundreds of verses proving that the world will never end. For Isaiah 45:17 and Ephesians 3:21 both say it's a world without end amen, amen. So, when he comes, Armageddon's not the end of the world, Revelations 16:16. But Christ comes to put an end to the fighting that is going on in the Middle East and globally and, of course, that's Revelations Chapter 11, verse 18.
[...]
JACK VAN IMPE: The hour has arrived. Jesus said there'd be wars and rumors of wars -- Matthew 24, verses 6 and 7, Mark chapters 13, verses 7 and 8. But listen to him in Luke 21, verse 9. He says when you hear of wars and commotions, wars and terrorism, wars and revolutionaries, be not frightened. These things must first come. And I'll come back to that in a moment. But he's talking about two things there: wars and terrorism. I had articles today but we're going to have to cut them off because we don't have time concerning the bombing that just took place in India with 200 dead. And in Somalia, in London a year ago, and then in Sweden, in Spain, and now they are talking about it happening in Canada and in New York -- the tunnels. Why? Because that is what the Bible says will come just before Christ returns. Terrorism. Genesis 6:11, Matthew 24:37, 2nd Peter 2:5, 2nd Peter 3:6.
But let's get back to the war issue right now. What were these wars that Jesus talked about when he said there will be wars and rumors of wars? Well, the thing that's going on right now in Israel could become a major thing or it could just become a minor skirmish for the time being and have it settled. Just a week ago, Israel said 'we will divide Jerusalem and Israel.' Now that's when the real conflagration begins because Armageddon, Revelations 16:16, occurs when they split the nation, Joel 3 verse 2. So watch for that. But as these things unfold, if it were now or later, we see that this leader comes out of the European Union, Daniel 9:26, and makes a seven-year peace contract, verse 27. But after 42 months, it is broken, as a nation called Russia marches against Israel along with the Arab federation. They're together. That's Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, chapter 3 verses 1 and 2, and that mentions Gog, Magog, Meschech, Tubal, Rosh -- all cities now identifiable in Russia.

From the July 19 edition of Jay Sekulow Live!:
ROSENBERG: Interestingly enough, Jay, as you know, The Ezekiel Option is based on a 2,500 year-old Bible prophecy, Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, in which Russia teams up with Iran, Lebanon, Syria and a number of other Muslim countries to destroy Israel in what Ezekiel calls the last days. Now when I wrote the novel, people thought, "All right it's an interesting scenario, but Bible prophecy, you've got to be kidding me, that's never going to happen." What's interesting now, is we're watching is slowly, slowly, this exact coalition begin to form. And I have to say, I was very concerned on Monday when Russia talked about sending ground troops into the region, ostensibly as part of a peace-keeping force. But as you know, it's been bedrock U.S. foreign policy principle to keep Russian troops out of the Middle East for the last 60 years. And this would be a massively destabilizing event to watch actual Russian ground troops enter Lebanon. It's too soon to say, honestly, that Ezekiel 38 and 39 are coming true, but I think it's drawing a lot of interest in what the Bible has to say about future events in that part of the world given the parallels to those prophecies.

From the July 18 edition of Point of View:
CALLER: OK, I just wanted to discuss that according to the word of God -- I do a lot of research in Bible prophecy and things of the sort -- it discusses something on the order of that the holy city of Jerusalem will be trodden under the foot of -- I think it's a country from the North -- for 40 and two months. I just wondered: Do you believe that there will be any kind of a relevance on what you're talking about, about how Israel has been leaving their back door open a lot for several different attacks to happen?
ANDERSON: You know, I don't claim to be a prophecy expert, although we're going to have some on the program here pretty soon to begin to speak to that issue. But often times when they're talking about the north, they're usually talking about the kings of the north. Most people have identified that as what used to be the former Soviet Union, now Russia and that region of the world. But of course you also notice that Lebanon is north as well. I think the better answer to that -- and the quicker answer since we're coming up to the break here and we're going to have speaker of the house Newt Gingrich with us in just a minute -- is that this may not be the final scenes, but it may be rearranging some of the chairs, some of the scenery, if you will, on the final stage. And that may be a better way to say that.

From the July 24 edition of CNN's Paula Zahn Now:
ZAHN: Now, is the crisis in the Middle East predicted by the Bible? Next in our top story coverage: What does the Book of Revelation tell us about what's happening right now in the Middle East? Are we really approaching the end of the world, as some believe?

From the July 21 broadcast of Salem Radio Network's Janet Parshall's America:
PARSHALL: That's a challenge to us as people of the word; understanding that this is really a Sunday school lesson being played out in front of us. What is our position on the nation of Israel?

Summary Link and Video...

VIDEO / LINK: In Middle East conflict, other crises, conservative media find signs of Biblical prophecy of Armageddon

It's the end of the World!!!

-Mr. Joseph

Why Dr. James Dobson is so Weird

This New Profile of him is very good.

It definely shines some light on this odd character.

-Mr. Joseph

Frank Zappa on Crossfire

Thanks to Crooks and Liars for these clips.

VIDEO (Part One): C&L: Frank Zappa Debates Liebermans Pals on Crossfire in 1986

VIDEO (Part Two): C&L: Frank Zappa Debate Censorship on Crossfire in 1987

LINK: Part One

LINK: Part Two

A well thought out argument of common sense. Who would've thought?

-Mr. Joseph

Why Lieberman Should Lose

He abandoned Clinton when Clinton needed him the most.

Crooks and Liars does a great job documenting this...

LINK: Crooks and Liars: Lieberman's Rant Against Clinton in '98

VIDEO: Liberman's Anti-Clinton Rant

I hope he loses.

-Mr. Joseph

Is U.S. now in World War III, IV, or V?

Media Matters did a great job compiling all of this.

Is it World War III, World War IV, or even World War V?

You decide!

Then, Stephen Colbert did a bit a satire on his show... take a look at that for a laugh.

Again, this is all from MediaMatters.org... I will post only the transcripts and a video link...

TRANSCRIPTS:

From the July 13 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thanks for watching us tonight. Why should you care about the violence in Israel and Lebanon? That is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

The answer to that question is because it affects your life. Every time stuff like this happens, the price of oil goes up and the worldwide economy totters.

It's exactly what Iran wants. And Iran is behind the terror attacks on Israeli forces. The whole thing is part of World War III, ladies and gentlemen. Islamic fascism against the West. That global conflict, unfortunately, is here for the foreseeable future.

[...]

O'REILLY: Yeah. Last question, Mr. Cook. Military action, you know, look, here's what Iran's going to do. It's going to push us as far as it can. It's going to do as much damage to the world as it can. And then it'll draw back, if it thinks military action is coming its way, correct?

STEVEN COOK (fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations): I think that's precisely the case. And there won't be much upside for the United States to take military action directly against Iran. They have too many cards that they can play against us. They have cards to play against us in Afghanistan, cards to play -- continue to make our lives miserable in Iraq. And obviously as we've seen, they've continued -- they've heated up the border between Israel and Lebanon.

O'REILLY: All right, World War III, right?

COOK: Possibly.

O'REILLY: I think we're in it. I absolutely think we're in it.

From the July 10 edition of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson:

GIBSON: From Kim Jong Il's missile testing to the Iranian president ranting that he'll wipe Israel off the map, and the fight to weed terrorists out of Iraq, some are calling the global war on terror something else, something more like World War III. Here now, Michael Ledeen, a columnist and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a public-policy research institute. Michael, it was a columnist in the New York Daily News today saying this is World War III, and it's on. Do you agree with him?

LEDEEN: Well, it's certainly on. It's more like World War IV, because there was a Cold War, which was certainly a world war. But sure, it's global, and it's on.

GIBSON: Where do we count the start of it?

LEDEEN: Well, that's always difficult to do. Probably the start of it was the Iranian revolution of 1979, when you had the first fanatical Islamic regime declare war on us, and that was explicit in the fall of 1979.

GIBSON: What would be the hallmarks of this? I mean, we know there's a war on terror. But the proposition put forward is that if you look at all of this stuff, what the Iranians are threatening to do, what the North Koreans are threatening to do, what the Japanese are threatening to do, what we are prepared to do and have done, that there really is one large world war under way. Does that concept hold together?

LEDEEN: Yeah, I think so. I think the president had it right at the beginning, and he seems to have forgotten about it, when he said that we're not going to distinguish between terrorist organizations and countries that support and feed and house and train and arm them. And so if you help terrorists, we're going to treat you as if you are a terrorist yourself. Well, there are many terrorist regimes around the world right now, and we're going to have to try to cope with them.

GIBSON: Michael, if the -- there is World War IV and it's under way, if that's a correct assumption --

LEDEEN: It is.

GIBSON: -- what should we be doing right now that we're not doing?

LEDEEN: We should be doing what we did most effectively in World War III. The way we won World War III was not by invading and bombing primarily, it was by bringing down regimes that were palpably failures, like the Soviet Union and the Soviet empire in general. If you look at the terrorist sponsors, Syria, Iran, North Korea, and so forth, all of whom work very closely together and so forth, these are all failed regimes. Their people hate them. They're not even feeding their people, even though some of them are drowning in oil revenues. So we should be supporting revolution in those countries against them, exactly as we did in Poland and Hungary and Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union itself. It worked in World War III, I don't see why it shouldn't work in World War IV.

GIBSON: Well, what if you throw into the mix the obvious, that we're not operating against states, we're not operating against governments in all cases, but what we call terrorists?

LEDEEN: It's exactly the same case. We are operating against states like Iran and Syria and North Korea. And in World War III, during the Cold War, the Soviet Union certainly supported terrorism around the world, as did allies of theirs like the Cubans and the Chinese and the North Koreans.

GIBSON: All right, Michael Ledeen, columnist, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Michael, thanks.

From the July 13 edition ABC Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show:

HANNITY: Welcome aboard, glad you're with us. Well, is World War III breaking out in the Middle? It may very well be. And we're gonna go for full, complete, comprehensive analysis that you're not going to get in the mainstream media.

[...]

We are loaded up today, as the Middle East on the brink of World War V, here.

From the May 24 edition of CNBC's Kudlow & Company:

KUDLOW: Now, all right. Jed Babbin is talking about some kind of World War IV, I guess. Actually, World War V. We have World War I and II and the Cold War as World War III, according to Norman Podhoretz. World War IV is the terror war, and war with China would be World War V. How likely, John? What would trigger such a thing?

From the July 12 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: Hey, everybody. Hurry up; we've got World War III to fight. Yes, it is the end of days, isn't it?

[...]

Here's what I do know about World War III and the impending apocalypse. One, we can't coexist with people who want to blow up trains and subways and bring down buildings. If somebody has a death wish, not really the best negotiating partner.

I also know that whether you like it or not, this is a religious war. Radical Muslims want to wipe everybody else off the face of the earth. And let me tell you something: Hollywood, clean the ears out and listen up. You are the first in line for the gas chambers if they ever win. You're the one who are producing a lot of the trash that's spilling out into their cave that's hacking them off.

Also, I know that people don't want to believe the worst. That's why more people aren't on the bandwagon. People are in denial. They don't want to think that we're facing something horrible. They want it to go away so we can all get back to our lives.

But listen to me, it is bad. And it's not just us. It's the whole Western way of life that is in trouble. That's why we need to get on that World War III bandwagon.

Now, here's what I don't know. I don't know if there are enough world leaders out there that actually have a spine anymore. Where are the real leaders? Not a lot of people are leading. That's not a real good place to be. Where's Churchill? Where's -- where's FDR?

You know -- I know we have, I know we have George Bush. He's doing it by himself. I mean, Tony Blair is doing good, too, but is that enough?

I also don't know what it's going to take to get people to wake up. My gosh, we were wide awake after 9-11. We've all gone back to sleep. We almost lost World War II because of apathy and denial. Please, let's not let it happen again.

[...]

BECK: Would you agree with me that World War III -- that we're here?

BAER: Oh, we've already, we've already started it.

BECK: Yeah, well I think we're 1938, World War II. It hasn't, it hasn't really hit yet where people are like, "Oh, I get it, we've got to fight." Would you agree?

BAER: This is like Hitler taking over Czechoslovakia. That's the stage we're at right now.

BECK: Right, right. OK. Do you believe -- please say yes -- do you believe it can be avoided?

BAER: No, we're going into a war. We have to brace ourself. It's coming.

From the July 13 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: I absolutely know that we need to prepare ourselves for World War III. It is here.

VIDEO / LINK: Right-wing media divided: Is U.S. now in World War III, IV, or V?

Stephen Colbert...

COLBERT: All right, those of you following the Iraq war on television know that it's been pre-empted by the action-packed summer replacement series "Lebanon." It's new. It's new. It's scary. But it's important for everyone to remain calm and keep the situation in perspective.

[begin video clip]

GINGRICH: Look at all the different connectivity. You'd have to say to yourself, this is in fact World War III.

GIBSON: World War III.

O'REILLY: World War III, right?

GIBSON: This is World War III.

O'REILLY: World War III.

HANNITY: The start of World War III.

LEDEEN: More like World War IV.

[end video clip]

COLBERT: It's a world war. Remember, these guys know war. They're the ones who brought you the "war on Christmas." So, rest of the news media, stop calling it a regional conflict or a police action. It's a World War III. Or IV. Adjust your graphics accordingly.

VIDEO / LINK: "It's a World War III. Or IV"

Politics of fear? Nonsense!

-Mr. Joseph

House Conservatives Reveal What God Thinks About Gay Marriage Amendment

From Think Progress...

Rep. John Carter (R-TX): “It’s part of God’s plan for the future of mankind.”

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN): “It wasn’t our idea, it was God’s.”

Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-CO): “We best not be messing with His plan.”

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA): “I think God has spoken very clearly on this issue.”

VIDEO: "God's Plan, Idea, and Issue"

LINK: House Conservatives Reveal What God Thinks About Gay Marriage Amendment

Yikes,
-Mr. Joseph

Creationist Hovind Has 58 Legal Problems

Oh boy, I love when my favorite Televangelist makes National News!

Anyways, you know the drill -- Batshit crazy creationist is arrested for breaking the law in the name of the Lord and all that.

Here's the story... I bolded the impostant parts...

Evangelist arrested on federal charges

A Pensacola evangelist who owns the defunct Dinosaur Adventure Land in Pensacola was arrested Thursday on 58 federal charges, including failing to pay $473,818 in employee-related taxes and making threats against investigators.

Of the 58 charges, 44 were filed against Kent Hovind and his wife, Jo, for evading bank reporting requirements as they withdrew $430,500 from AmSouth Bank between July 20, 2001, and Aug. 9, 2002.

At the couple's first court appearance Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Miles Davis, Kent Hovind professed not to understand why he is being prosecuted. Some 20 supporters were in the courtroom.

"I still don't understand what I'm being charged for and who is charging me," he said.

Kent Hovind, who often calls himself "Dr. Dino," has been sparring with the IRS for at least 17 years on his claims that he is employed by God, receives no income, has no expenses and owns no property.

"The debtor apparently maintains that as a minister of God, everything he owns belongs to God and he is not subject to paying taxes to the United States on money he receives for doing God's work," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lewis Killian Jr. wrote when he dismissed a claim from Hovind in 1996.

Hovind, an avowed creationist, has widely publicized his "standing offer" to pay $250,000 to anyone who can provide scientific evidence of evolution.

"No one has ever observed a dog produce a non-dog," Hovind once wrote in reply to a New York Times article.

In the indictment unsealed Thursday, a grand jury alleges that Kent Hovind failed to pay $473,818 in federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes on employees at his Creation Science Evangelism/Ministry between March 31, 2001, and Jan. 31, 2004.

As part of the ministry, Hovind operated the Dinosaur Adventure Land at 5800 N. Palafox St., which included rides, a museum and a science center. He also sold literature, videos, CDs and other materials and provided lecture services and live debates for a fee.

The indictment alleges Kent Hovind paid his employees in cash and labeled them "missionaries" to avoid payroll tax and FICA requirements.

On Thursday, a message on the Dinosaur Adventure Land telephone welcomed visitors to the place "where dinosaurs and the Bible meet" and stated that the museum and science center were closed temporarily.

The indictment also says the Hovinds' made cash withdrawals from AmSouth Bank in a manner that evaded federal requirements for reporting cash transactions.

The withdrawals were for $9,500 or $9,600, just below the $10,000 starting point for reporting cash transactions.

Most of the withdrawals were days apart. For example, the indictment shows three withdrawals of $9,500 each on July 20, July 23 and July 26 in 2001.

The indictment also charges Kent Hovind with impeding an IRS investigation.

Among the ways he is accused of doing:

· Filing a frivolous lawsuit against the agency demanding damages for criminal trespass.

· Filing an injunction against an IRS special agent.

· Filing false complaints against the IRS for false arrest, excessive use of force and theft.

· Making threats against investigators and those cooperating with the investigation.

Judge Davis released the Hovinds from custody pending their trial, which will be scheduled during their arraignment at 2 p.m. Monday.

Over Kent Hovind's protests, the judge took away his passport and guns Hovind claimed belonged to his church.

Hovind argued that he needs his passport to continue his evangelism work. He said "thousands and thousands" are waiting to hear him preach in South Africa next month.

But Davis agreed with Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Heldmyer, who argued that "like-minded people" might secret Hovind away if he left the country.

As for the guns, Davis said "ownership was not the issue."

Kent Hovind also has had run-ins with state authorities.

In April, Circuit Judge Michael Allen ordered the buildings at Dinosaur Adventure Land closed because Hovind failed to obtain a building permit during the 2002 construction. The outdoor theme park was allowed to stay open.

Members of Creation Science Evangelism said at the time that building permits violated their "deeply held" religious beliefs.

While the building permit case was tied up in a four-year court battle, ownership of the theme park was turned over to Glen Stoll, who works with Hovind on legal issues and is based in Washington.

Last year, the U.S. attorney in Seattle filed a lawsuit against Stoll, charging him with encouraging people to avoid tax payments by claiming to be religious entities, according to news reports.

LINK: Crooks and Liars: Creationist Hovind Has 58 Legal Problems

LINK: Evangelist Arrested on Federal Charges

Good stuff!

-Mr. Joseph

Putin Blasts Bush, Iraq

"We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy that they have in Iraq, quite honestly."
-Vladmir Putin

VIDEO: Putin Blasts Iraq's Democracy

LINK: Crooks and Liars: Putin

What a slam.

This just goes to show what Americans look like to the rest of the world.

-Mr. Joseph

Adam Carolla hangs up on Ann Coulter!

Oh man, this is funny! I'm glad someone finally had the guts to do this.

From Crooks and Liars...

ROUGH TRANSCRIPT:

ADAM CAROLLA: Ann Coulter, who was suppose to be on the show about an hour and a half ago, is now on the phone, as well. Ann?

ANN COULTER: Hello.

CAROLLA: Hi Ann. You’re late, babydoll.

COULTER: Uh, somebody gave me the wrong number.

CAROLLA: Mmm… how did you get the right number? Just dialed randomly — eventually got to our show? (Laughter in background)

COULTER: Um, no. My publicist e-mailed it to me, I guess, after checking with you.

CAROLLA: Ahh, I see.

COULTER: But I am really tight on time right now because I already had a —

CAROLLA: Alright, well, get lost.

AUDIO: Carolla vs. Coulter

LINK: Crooks and Liars: Adam Carolla Hangs Up on Ann Coulter

That is good stuff -- here's a shout out to Adam Carolla!

-Mr. Joseph

Kenny Boy is Dead

From Reuters UK...

Ken Lay dies of heart attack
Wed Jul 5, 2006 5:30 PM BST

By Matt Daily

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Enron Corp. founder Ken Lay died of a heart attack on Wednesday, six weeks after being found guilty of fraud in one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history.

Lay, 64, was awaiting sentencing later this year and was expected to face decades in prison for his fraud and conspiracy convictions in the Enron collapse.

"Ken Lay passed away early this morning," Lay family spokeswoman Kelly Kimberly said in a statement.

Lay and another former Enron CEO, Jeffrey Skilling, were found guilty of hiding the financial ruin at Enron, the company they built into the seventh largest in the United States. Enron plunged into bankruptcy in December 2001.

Lay, once a confidant of former President George H.W. Bush and dubbed "Kenny boy" by President George W. Bush, often appeared fatigued during the four-month trial, but there was no indication that he had suffered any adverse health effects.

"I guess you could say in the last few years I've achieved the American nightmare," Lay told the jury from the witness stand during the trial.

Pitkin County sheriff's deputies and an ambulance were dispatched to the Lay vacation home in Old Snowmass, Colorado, early Wednesday morning and transported him to Aspen Valley Hospital. He was pronounced dead there shortly after 10 a.m. British time.

"A coroner's autopsy is pending. There will be no further information or press release from this office until autopsy results are available later this week," the county said in a statement.

On Friday, federal prosecutors asked a federal judge to force Lay to pay $43.5 million (23.7 million pounds) they said he had received because of his crimes at Enron.

Both Lay and Skilling had maintained they were innocent of any crimes at Enron, and both had planned to appeal the guilty verdicts.

Lay, whose wealth at one time totalled more than $100 million, claimed he had little money left after the Enron bankruptcy, although prosecutors have said he still had millions in annuities and other investments.

Enron began as a quiet pipeline company under Lay's guidance in 1985 and grew quickly into an international energy powerhouse before it imploded in a wave of accounting scandals.

Enron became the most infamous financial scandal in decades, as images were beamed around the globe of thousands of sacked employees carrying their possessions past the company's crooked "E" logo outside its gleaming office tower in downtown Houston.

Lay basked in the limelight of his adopted hometown and was a fixture on the charity circuit, donating millions of his own money and Enron's funds.

Following his indictment, he was rarely seen in public, usually only on Sunday mornings as he attended church services.

Born into poverty as the son of a Baptist preacher in Missouri, Lay excelled in school and advanced quickly in the worlds of government and business before taking the helm of the company that would become Enron.

Lay is survived by his wife, Linda, five children and step-children and 12 grandchildren. Information on funeral arrangements had not yet been announced.

LINK: Ken Lay Dies of a Heart Attack

Good riddance!
-Mr. Joseph

A Message From a True Patriot

The words of John Kerry...

"This Fourth of July it's right to spend some time thinking about what it means not just to be an American, but to be a patriot -- because the concept of patriotism itself is under assault in ways that remind me of a different time in our history.

When we protested the war in Vietnam some would weigh in against us saying: "My country right or wrong." Our response was simple: "Yes, my country right or wrong.
When right, keep it right and when wrong, make it right."

I feel history repeating itself.

What did the United States Senate do before leaving town for the 4th of July break? In a summer when things are decidedly not right for American soldiers in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan, while their families at home are hit with record gas prices, health care costs a mess, and veterans still go without the health care they were promised, did we unite in some big hearted cause to make these urgent challenges right?

No. We debated a craven effort to amend the Constitution allegedly to protect the flag we all love. The Senate -- the place the original patriots -- the Founding Fathers -- imagined as the place big national issues would be addressed out of love of country, became a place where the Constitution itself was nearly shredded for political convenience, for ideology, for short term political gain and political timidity.

Make no mistake -- this wasn't a test of who loves the flag. But it was a test of who had the courage to protect the Constitution."

Wise words, Senator...

You can read the full column here...

LINK: How To Love Your Country

Here are the lyrics to my favorite patriotic song...

"God Bless the U.S.A." by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Happy Fourth of July!

-Mr. Joseph

Conservative Legal News...

Good News...

Update: Company to Probe Coulter Plagiarism Charges
By Justin Rood - July 5, 2006, 2:35 PM

I heard back from Universal Press Syndicate's Kathie Kerr. Her company distributes Ann Coulter's column to over 100 newspapers around the country -- columns which, according to recent news, may have contained plagiarized material.

I had asked Kerr earlier this morning whether her company was taking any action in response to these published claims.

In an email, Kerr thanked me for bringing the assertions to UPS's attention, and asked me to get a copy of the report to them. "If Mr. Barrie would be so kind to send Lee Salem, President and Editor of Universal Press Syndicate his report, we will be happy to review it. Until we do, there's little we can say about it," she wrote me. John Barrie was the New York Post's expert source who claimed to have identified Coulter's plagiarized passages.

In my reply, I explained to Kerr that Barrie had been quoted not by me but by the New York Post, and perhaps that paper would be a good source of information. Kerr replied: "we have no contact information."

A few minutes later, however, Ms. Kerr located Barrie's contact information on the Web and said she would try to call him herself. Moments later, another email from Ms. Kerr arrived: "I've left Mr. Barrie a message."

Sounds like the Coulter plagiarism investigation is off to a flying start. I've put in a call myself to Mr. Barrie, and am waiting to hear back. I'll let you know what I find out.

LINK: TPMMuckraker.com: Company to Probe Coulter Plagiarism Charges

Bad News...

No Charges for Limbaugh Over Viagra

By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 5, 7:25 PM ET

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Rush Limbaugh will not face charges in Palm Beach County for the bottle of Viagra found in his luggage that was prescribed in his psychologist's name, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Charges could have nullified the conservative radio host's plea agreement in a "doctor shopping" case.

Limbaugh, 55, was detained for more than three hours at Palm Beach International Airport on June 26 after he returned on his private plane from a vacation in the Dominican Republic.

The state attorney's office said the medication was prescribed by Limbaugh's cardiologist, Dr. Steven Schnur, to Limbaugh's psychologist and addiction counselor, Steve Strumwasser. Strumwasser then provided the Viagra to Limbaugh, said state attorney spokesman Mike Edmondson.

Strumwasser told authorities he "agreed to have his name on the label in an effort to avoid potentially embarrassing publicity for the suspect," according to the state attorney's office filing. "Thus, the medication contained in the subject pill bottle was legitimately prescribed to the suspect by his physician."

It is generally not illegal under Florida law for a physician to prescribe medication in a third party's name if all parties are aware and the doctor documents it correctly, Edmondson said.

However, since the doctor wrote the prescription in Miami-Dade County, the case was forwarded to prosecutors there for review. The Miami-Dade state attorney's office had no immediate comment.

The Palm Beach County state attorney's office also said it forwarded the matter to the state Department of Professional Regulation and the Department of Health to determine whether the doctor breached ethics.

Department spokeswoman Thometta Cozart said she did not know whether the prescription was an ethical breach.

Limbaugh said on his radio show Wednesday that prosecutors declined to file charges because "there were no laws broken."

The office of Limbaugh's lawyer, Roy Black, referred questions Wednesday to Limbaugh spokesman Tony Knight. Knight declined to comment.

In an affidavit, Limbaugh said: "Dr. Strumwasser has been extraordinarily careful, at my request, to protect my privacy in all matters concerning his treatment of me."

Schnur had no comment because of patient confidentiality concerns, said spokesman Todd Templin. Calls seeking comment from Strumwasser were not immediately returned Wednesday.

Charges in the Viagra case could have nullified a deal Limbaugh reached with prosecutors last month in which a single "doctor shopping" charge was deferred for 18 months, so long as Limbaugh does not get arrested for any reason.

Authorities had accused Limbaugh of illegally deceiving multiple doctors to get overlapping painkiller prescriptions. Limbaugh denied the charges but acknowledged he was addicted to painkillers.

LINK: Associated Press: No Charges for Limbaugh

And they accuse liberals of veing immoral!

-Mr. Joseph