More Satanic Panic

“Expectin’ a miracle to make all this go away?  You know they don’t happen anymore.” William King Hale, Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

The Mayor from Jaws, became a Cop to 
institutionalize Tom Hanks in Mazes & Monsters

I don’t believe I can describe how utterly ridiculous the moral panic from Christianists over the Satanic Temple’s trolling seems to me.  Hilariously, the Satanic Temple is basically espousing a Humanist creed but, since disingenuous Republicans (including numerous past and current Supreme Court Injustices) treated an absence of religion to not being afforded 1st Amendment protections, the Satanists are a "religious" organization.

Decades ago I told my family I didn’t want to go to CCD classes or church anymore because I knew my own mind and I didn’t believe in god.  My loving grandparents didn't push it despite nominally being Polish Catholics and were totally fine with my decision.  I'd only learn many years later that my grandfather lost his faith during the war especially over the killing of your fellow man and being given special dispensation to eat meat on Fridays.

Long before I read Carl Sagan's Demon-Haunted World, I was aware of the conservative freakout over Dungeons & Dragons and so-called secret satanic cults.  Of course, these days conservatives call their latest iteration QAnon but, the falsehoods, underpinning, agitprop and people pushing it are the same ideologically with the same goal in mind; persecuting innocent people and to garner political power.

The 1st (modern) Satanic Panic in the 1980's came about from a confluence stemming from the political rise of Reagan and the rightwing moral hand-wringing over Heavy Metal lyrics, repressed memory recall, Dungeons & Dragons, and a whole bevy of false accusations of Satanic child abuse cults.  Religious fundamentalists, Congress, and law enforcement took a look at these claims and used them to blame and persecute a lot of innocent people.

What's always infuriated me about this was those who lead these moral panics, are invariably involved in the various church sex abuse scandals or abuse and misconduct.  This is the case to this day as Republicans run around with accusations which always turn out to be thinly veiled confessions.  For instance, the cryptofascist Florida Moms for Liberty couple which demonized and vilified innocent LGBTQ peoples.

In my entire life religion in America has been used to cynically excuse the crimes of rich, powerful, or well connected and shield them from accountability or as a cudgel against minority groups and those who ran counter the dominant culture.

In 2018 Illinois Attorney General began a 5-year investigation into the cover-up of child sex abuse by the Illinois Archdiocese of Chicago and the Dioceses of Belleville, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford, and Springfield.  Spurred by the Pennsylvania Grand Jury findings documenting 70 years of abuse and cover-up you can access and search the report here.

Over the course of this investigation, two goals remained at its core: first, to obtain a full accounting of substantiated child sex abuse committed by Catholic clergy in Illinois and provide a complete public report of substantiated abusers; and second, to give voice to survivors in an attempt to contribute to their healing journey. To these ends, my attorneys and investigators examined thousands of diocesan files, reviewing more than 100,000 pages of documents held by the dioceses. They spent countless hours engaged in interviews and conversations with diocesan leadership and representatives. And over the course of this investigation, my office received more than 600 confidential contacts from survivors through emails, letters, voicemail messages, interviews, and phone calls. My investigation team treated each allegation with the respect it deserved and followed leads as they arose to ensure we conducted a thorough and comprehensive investigation. To build the most compelling portion of this report, my team worked closely with survivors to draft narrative accounts of their experiences as children sexually abused by clerics. Without those survivors who bravely came forward to share their experiences and perspectives, neither the investigation nor this report would feel complete. I express my sincerest gratitude to each of those survivors, and to the others who contacted my office, for their deeply personal contributions.

And this isn't just a crime and cover-up confined to the very powerful Catholic Church but is rampant amongst the Baptists, Mormon Church, and other "christian" denominations.  Yet...

You never hear this mentioned by the Republican QAnon caucus, which instead directs their duped rightwing drones to direct violence, death threats, and attacks on the LGBTQ (especially, the small Trans community) which is under direct threats by legislation and of course, mass shootings from rightwing gun nuts.

That's merely the most direct reason I find the current Satanic Panic to be trite, ridiculous, and cynical.  It's again being used to direct violence, anger and hatred at the marginalized and oppressed to shield the Powerful and keep power in the hands of those who continue to use that power to harm, oppress, and afflict the afflicted, in direct opposition to the so-called tenets of Jesus Christ.

Additional:

For years these same right wing Reactionary catholic bishops called anyone in the US who questioned their fascist interpretation of the creed a “cafeteria catholic” now are being pissy babies complaining about the infallible Pope blessing same sex marriage.

Republicans hate America 16: The Satanic Panic

Batzel is the executive director of
The American Majority

As Republicans continue to use Magic Words as defense for their intolerance and oppression of the American people they’ve come to utter the trite phrase ‘It’s freedom OF religion not FROM’…. Ho ho ho oh so clever!

 But, the sad reality is Republicans don't believe in freedom of religion either.   Republicans are getting really comfortable with imposing their beliefs on others.  

In Wisconsin, a "Satanic Temple Christmas tree" had conservatives and current and former Wisconsin Republican Congressmen outraged.

"I think it's impossible to overstate how offensive this is to Christians," US Representative Mike Gallagher who spent time in Iraq as a Marine Corps Officer and apparently thinks his feelings are greater than the United States Constitution.

In Iowa, The Church of Satan (a tongue-in-cheek group if every there was one) erected a display in the State Capitol in Des Moines.  This was done in accordance with law.  But, conservatives don't believe in the Rule of Law but, the Rule of Man.  Ron DeShrimpus attacked the display and multiple other elected Republicans expressed their anger in their epistemically closed rightwing media which prompted former Naval Aviator and failed Republican candidate for elected office Michael Cassidy, 35, of Lauderdale, Mississippi, to completely destroy the religious display. Cassidy was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, on Friday.

It should be noted that from Ron DeSantis down to criminal Michael Cassidy to any of these hundreds of Republican officials they have all sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution.  But, much like their religious beliefs that oath is a hollow phrase and a sham to dupe journalists and hide their true agenda. 

For a long time the goal of Fascist Fundamentalists has been to advance religious liberty arguments into the Federal Government (especially the Judiciary and Supremacist Court) where those arguments can be cleverly ensconced into Law.

In Late Antiquity, Christian Terrorists vandalized and destroyed the much of The Great Library of Alexandria and did everything they could to infiltrate and take over the Roman Empire.  We've been warned that infiltrating and radically altering the United States into a White Supremacist Evangelical Theocracy was the goal of the modern Christian Terrorists for 60 years even from The Godfather of Modern Conservatism Barry Goldwater.  Now, we have several Catholic Dominionists and lower courts and Federal Government is seeded with evangelical terrorists supporting nakedly religious edicts being substituted into law and undermining the secular foundations of the Country, especially the separation of Church & State

"The separation of church and state is a misnomer.  People misunderstand it.  Of course, it comes from a phrase that was in a letter that Jefferson wrote. It’s not in the Constitution. And what he was explaining is they did not want the government to encroach upon the church — not that they didn’t want principles of faith to have influence on our public life. It’s exactly the opposite."- Speaker of the House Mike Johnson

It's exactly the opposite that little snake Mike Johnson says... People of faith get to encroach on the Government as much as they wish.  You have the august and cherished right to believe in Christianity.  Even Catholics are accepted for now, as long as far-right Catholic Cardinals attack prominent Democratic leaders who are catholic like Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, or President Biden.

What Republicans could not possibly be making any clearer is they have no duty to respect your Religious Freedom and will blatantly violate your rights under the law because they feel ascendant.  It's hard to keep up with all the bad faith, crime, terrorism, perfidy being conducted by Republicans these days but, now that Republicans have successfully ended Roe v. Wade, their next target will be to destroy religious freedom and re-interpret the First Amendment to make sure you have the Freedom to follow their Religious Laws and Edicts.

Republicans hate America 10: Assault on Free Speech and the Nation of Laws

Faced with a never ending parade of news reports on the "legalized" bribery of Republican Supreme Court Justices, the Court has adopted a tepid Code of Ethics.  The most despicable aspect is rightwing Billionaires who seek to destroy the Nation and replace it with a simulacrum of a Democracy modeled on the electors and feudal government of the Holy Roman Empire know they don't need an explicit Quid Pro Quo with their SCOTUS pawns but simply give them gifts, trips, and millions in benefits with the unspoken understanding the Supremacist Court will rule in favor of Plutocracy and NeoFeudalism every time.

We've been dealing with disingenuous Republicans and Corporate Media efforts to rationalize and justify bad faith Republican propaganda for decades, that I don't believe there's any point in complaining about it in an attempt to change "journalists" minds anymore.  Journalism consists of very few prepositions but, amongst them are both sides are the same, both sides want what is best for the Nation writ large, both sides may disagree on policy but, Republican disagreement is from a sincere standpoint.  Any large scale journalists who may disagree with this find themselves in the oft repeated quote from Upton Sinclair, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

At this point the right has been stewing inside their own agitprop and farting and regurgitating each other's farts for so long that they've succeeded in alerting basic tenets of the American Democratic Republic going all the way back to John Adams dictum we are "a government of laws, and not of men." 

Because we aren't a Nation of Laws anymore, from SCOTUS on down, Republicans have made a mockery of law & order.  The Law is a human endeavor and a social construct, by conservative thinking has always gravitated towards the bullshit philosophical belief of Eternal Truths and immutable laws set down by a higher power (God, the Founding Fathers, biology, etc...) and the liberal ideology of a living constitution or changing times are thus a sacrilegious affront to eternal truth.

When you couple this with the religious fervor which justifies any crime under service to a "Higher power" well under this rubric there can be no violation of the Constitutional protections, legal rights, settled law, norms, principles because the righteous are right in the eyes of the lord.

So, Elon Musk has filed a lawsuit against Media Matters of America, for MediaMatters accurate reporting on his platform "X", former known as Twitter.  I hope everyone realizes Musk uses that X as a thinly-veiled Swastika stand-in.  Musk's lawsuit is of course, without merit but, in Republican America the only merit which matters is if the thing in question helps advance the Rightwing agenda of Oppression, Intolerance, and Adulation of the Rich.  Everything else is superfluous and immaterial.  

Stephen Miller let it be known there are numerous conservative Attorneys' General who would like to criminally prosecute a leftwing media group who commits the unpardonable sin of accurately reporting what Republicans say and do.

Because this is already the year Republicans have their sights set on using the awesome power of Government to stifle speech they don't like.  In Florida, State Senator Jason Broduer proposed a Blogger Registration Law (SB1316) which requiring "bloggers" to register with the state if they wrote about elected officials, failure to register would result in a fine per day per post.

In August, a small Kansas Police department lead by Chief Gideon Cody raided a newspaper.  It seems it was Cody was probably involved in a relationship with the local bar owner who made allegations agains the newspaper owner but, when it comes constitutional protections its' dependent on who you know. 

Certainly, marginalized individuals and groups know what Republicans legislatures, judges, and governors can do to them.  In Murfreesboro, Tennessee an "indecent behavior" ban is a weasel-worded ordinance allowing Police Officers to enforce the State and Local laws outlawing LGBTQ+ persons existence. 

And if you are one of those people clinging to the concept of Law & Order, or the checks and balances will save us, or Trump can't pardon himself, or believe your status as a person not normally targeted by rightwing anger then you are fundamentally misunderstanding the nature of the Modern Republican Party.  It's pure Fascism and therefore the Law is what they say it is and your rights are nothing they need to respect.

Flush Rush because Conservatives are shit (Updated With Palin)

"It's not what I am underneath but what I do that defines me..." For Rush Limbaugh it's both underneath that shitty exterior is more conservative shit. He's just shit all the way through.

Limpballs just can't stop himself. Even today Limpy went back on the offensive as he vented his impotent sexist anger at "all these young, single, white women. Overeducated doesn’t mean intelligent."

It's partially because of inertia, a property of matter, which means once Limpy gets his disgustingly ponderous girth moving he can't stop himself. But, it is mainly because Limpballs is an oppressive racist, misynogist fat sack of filth. What he says is what he is and what Racist Limpballs is, is shit. All you do with shit is flush it. Flush Rush.

The number of Companies which have abandoned R. Limpballs has risen to 33. AmericaBlog has a running list of those who have Flushed Rush and those who are holding onto this shit.

But, it's not enough just to demand companies stop advertising on his program. Companies must be made aware that they can never go back to Limpballs Radio Show. It's a lifetime ban.

Once we Flush Rush it must be clear that no one can ever go back to him without sinking down into the sewer and being covered in the same metaphorical shit as Limbaugh if they dare try to fish him out.

Conservatives are shit. Absolute shit. You tell what conservative values are by who is standing up for Rush Limpballs.

Brent the Bigot Bozell, issued a statement asking people,

I stand with Rush Limbaugh and appreciate the massive contribution that he has made to the conservative movement and our nation over the last 25 years. I condemn attempts by radical left-wing organizations and the media to censor Rush and his commonsense conservative message.

Just recall the last time we heard from Bozell, that conservative piece of shit was calling President Obama - "a skinny ghetto, crackhead".

So, if you want to stand with a spineless sack full of right-wing crap and his bearded bigoted Bozo Bozell the Power of the Free Market will stain you with the shit you associate.

Update:
Sarah Palin is baaaaaack! Palin took time to bellow the whine of the Conservative. Criticizing Rush Limpballs is violating his 1st Amendment Rights! Ha! I called it!

Women Veterans demand R. Limbaugh's Radio Show be removed from Armed Forces Network (Updated)

Old Racist Limpballs is flopping around like a spineless sack of disgusting jelly unable to figure out what to do or say.

After spewing his evil, oppressive Patriarchal bile about Sandra Fluke, Limpballs thought he'd be hailed, when it turned out Americans didn't accept his vile trash, Limpballs went further into his evil deranged mind topping his earlier filth with even more vile garbage. This didn't work and now Old Limpy started feeling the pain as advertiser after advertiser distanced themselves and pulled their advertising from his show. Limpballs standard the standard I'm not apologizing apology packaged with his 'I'm a harmless little absurb fuzzball' shtick.

Well, too bad. Sandra Fluke didn't accept your bullshit apology Limpballs and neither did female Americna Veterans.

Today, VoteVets.org issued a statement to the Pentagon to stop broadcasting Limpballs garbage on Armed Forces Network. AFN is owned and operated by the Department of Defense and funded with taxpayer dollars.

Miranda Norman (who is a VoteVets.org Senior Advisor), Kayla Williams, and Robin Eckstein, all Iraq War Veterans, and Katherine Scheirman, former chief of medical operations for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany said the following:

"Rush Limbaugh has a freedom of speech and can say what he wants, but in light of his horribly misogynistic comments, American Forces Radio should no longer give him a platform.  Our entire military depends on troops respecting each other - women and men.  There simply can be no place on military airwaves for sentiments that would undermine that respect.  When many of our female troops use birth control, for Limbaugh to say they are "sluts" and "prostitutes" is beyond the pale.  It isn't just disrespectful to our women serving our country, but it's language that goes against everything that makes our military work.  Again, we swore to uphold our Constitution, including the freedom of speech, and would not take that away from anyone - even Limbaugh.  But that does not mean AFN should broadcast him.  In fact, it shouldn't."

I'm certain conservatives are booing those Veterans, this very moment. First off, because they are women and conservatives hate women but, also because they are Veterans and conservatives hate Veterans.

I can't wait till Right-Wing idiots declare this to be a violation of Limpballs 1st Amendment Rights. Proving again that conservatives are ignorant and evil.

Limpballs doesn't present anything other than the nasty, brutish filth of the Totalitarian Right. Limpy insulted Chelsea Clinton years ago and more recently he made fun of Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease by shaking his flabby ponderous bulk so he's made a career of this type of insulting, oppressive, misogynistic garbage.

But, now Limpballs whole career can be destroyed. As long as we don't rest on our current victories. Put economic and moral pressure any everyone associated with Limbaugh. Don't stop until every single company finds his show as appealing as a Stormfront Radio Program.

Update 1:
AmericaBlog reports, 10 companies have now pulled their advertising from Limpballs program. The ratings of his show and it's very viability are now in question.

Update 2:
The Rude Pundit predicts that Limpballs career will sadly continue,

And thus Limbaugh will go on, damaged, but unbowed. He's now tainted, but you can bet that all of his listeners see him as the victim here and that, six months, a year from now, nearly all of those sponsors will be back. But maybe, just maybe, he will be poisonous enough to be nothing more than a deranged cult leader, a deaf and dumb and dying dinosaur in the tar pit of his fading career.