Dobson Knows Best
Time to check in with the James Dobson family, and see what heart-warming and instructive adventures they've been having.
1. First of all, it seems that Father has been been comparing stem-cell researchers to Nazis, and blastocysts to Jews.
Pro-Life Leader James Dobson Under Fire for Nazi-Stem Cell Comparison
Pro-life leader Dr. James Dobson, the head of Focus on the Family, is coming under fire from a Jewish group for comparison the destruction of human embryos in embryonic stem cell research to the deaths of Jews killed during the Nazi holocaust. Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, calls Dobson's comments "reprehensible" and "abhorrent."
Father is always comparing people to Nazis -- it's a collision course with wackiness! But let's hope he can straighten this mess out before the weekend, because he and and his Family Research Council are having another Justice Sunday. Once again, the gathering is designed to intimidate elected officials into outlawing the filibustering of judicial nominees. Plus, this time the Dobson gang will protest "judicial tyranny" and show support for Judge John Roberts, despite the fact that Roberts helped gay activists win a Supreme Court case.
Here's part of the Focus on the Family news story on the exciting event:
Justice Sunday II: God Save This Honorable Court
As the nation prepares to enter into what promises to be a battle royal over the future of the Supreme Court, the Family Research Council and other pro-family organizations have announced an event designed to mobilize and energize Christians to take head-on the issue of judicial tyranny.
"Justice Sunday II: God Save This Honorable Court" is scheduled for August 14. It's more than a reprise of April's "Justice Sunday"—a satellite and Internet telecast to churches around the nation asking them to help overturn the Democrats' blockade of the president's judicial nominees and to bring back an "up-or-down" voting process for all judicial nominees.
[...]
In addition to [Family Research Council head president Tony] Perkins, Justice Sunday II will feature other prominent pro-family leaders talking about the importance of the fight to get a strict constructionist on the court, including Focus on the Family Action Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D.; former Democratic U.S. Senator Zell Miller of Georgia; Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries; William Donohue, Ph.D., president of the Catholic League and Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly.
Wow, what a line-up! And what a great "Ultimate Wingnut Challenge Team" they would make! Maybe we can kidnap them and transport them to Wingnut Island to join in the fun (preferably, before the broadcast.) But even if there's not room for them in the contest, I still think the "kidnapping and transporting them to an island" idea has merit.
And here's some info about how it's now okay for John Roberts to help gay activists, despite what James Dobson said earlier about the case:
Conservatives stand by Roberts despite gay case
In a sign that the backing remains solid on the right despite the revelation last week that he helped gay activists win a landmark Supreme Court case in 1996, organizers said Roberts' cause will be repeatedly and energetically embraced by speakers at "Justice Sunday II," a Family Research Council production that will be broadcast live to churches around the country next weekend from Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville.
[...]
Christian activists had been forced into a snap reassessment when the Los Angeles Times revealed on Thursday that Roberts had taken a limited pro bono role as a coach for gay groups involved in a 1996 case, Romer v. Evans, when he was working at the Washington law firm of Hogan and Hartson.
The case was one of three that James Dobson, founder and chairman of the conservative Focus on the Family, singled out when he said on his nationally syndicated radio show two years ago that Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion, is "the most dangerous man in America."
Hey, when you've already raised millions to support Roberts' nomination, I guess a little thing like being the guy who helped to make Kennedy the most dangerous man in America can go by the wayside.
We now follow the money to Christianity Today magazine.
What If They Threw a Judicial Confirmation Battle and Nobody Came?
Despite last week's news that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts assisted in a landmark gay-rights case, conservative Christian political groups have largely maintained their support for the nominee. ...
But should Roberts's conservative credentials not hold up during or before the Senate confirmation hearings, there are questions regarding how conservative groups will spend the money raised to support his nomination. Perkins earlier told The Washington Post that FRC would put millions behind a conservative nominee.
[...] But what happens to money raised to support Roberts if either he is able to get through confirmation hearings without a major, money-spending battle, or if conservative groups decide he's not worth supporting?
FRC says even if its millions are not spent on Roberts, that money and more will be used to help turn the Supreme Court in a more conservative direction. "It's not all earmarked for Roberts," says Cathy Cleaver Ruse, senior fellow for legal studies.
"FRC will choose a major issue each year and put most of its resources and its focus toward that issue," says Ruse. Last year, FRC focused on marriage. This year it's judicial nominees. "A lot of that will go to supporting the confirmation of judge Roberts," she says
"It will also be used, and is being used, for educational efforts," Ruse says, "to educate the American people on the proper role of judges and the importance of this confirmation hearing." Programs like the upcoming Justice Sunday II are a major part of that effort.
So, if you gave Dobsons' group money because the Family Research Council told you that the evil liberals from MoveOn.org were going to spend billions in order to defeat Roberts so they could then pass laws making it mandatory for your kids to be gay Wiccans, then you'll be happy to know that part of your donation is being used to get "country music artists Lee Greenwood and Jett Williams—the daughter of music legend Hank Williams" to play at Sunday's event. But I'm sure a good time will be had by all.
2. Well, that's what Father's been up to lately. How about the kids? Well, Princess has written another piece for Breakaway, the Focus on the Family magazine for teen boys. Let's take a quick peek at it.
UNDERSTANDING HER SIGNALS -- by Danae Dobson
Before you break your neck — or heart — trying to get a girl's attention, consider a few stop-and-go signals from a former teen girl.
[...]
How can you discover if a girl likes you? Keep reading for some inside tips from this female.
So, apparently Danae didn't get the gig at Breakaway because she's James Dobson's daughter. No, she got it because she's a female who used to be a teen girl. (I'd take her advice, if I were you -- there aren't that many women around who used to be teen girls.)
And here is some of that advice:
Suppose you have confirmed proof that a girl likes you. Not every female who's interested in you is someone you should be interested in. Before you spend too much time trying to attract a particular girl, it's important to find out whether she is a Christian. By choosing to date only Christian girls, you lesson the chance of compromising your principles.
Why does it matter? A girl without spiritual conviction can tempt you to go places you don't want to go or do things you know you shouldn't. As 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.' “ So watch out for the girl who struts around like a TV celebrity. You're too eager for a girlfriend if she can take advantage of you by getting you to do her homework, to keep giving her money or to lie or steal for her.
Yes, almost all non-Christian girls strut around like celebrities and get guys to steal for them -- so don't date these harlots, even if they have given you confirmed proof that they like you. (And what would that proof be? I imagine it's something like what Bill O'Reilly said -- she gives you signals like removing her clothes and leaning back on the couch.)
But anyway, here are some more girls you should avoid:
Red Light: Who Not To Date
From your perspective, superficiality (wearing too much makeup can be a warning), use of vulgar language and trend-following (looking like MTV fashion clones) are danger signs for you to avoid in a girl.
Yes, stay away from girls who wear makeup or fashionable clothes -- they are superficial bitches, and are nothing but trouble. Date only girls who look like they belong on "Little House on the Prairie." But even if they do dress dowdily, drop them like hot potatoes if they strut or ask you to go on crime sprees with them -- that could be a sign they are taking advantage of you
3. And speaking of dopes, son Bud ... I mean, Ryan ... is back from his honeymoon, and has posted photos of his surfer dude beach wedding, which apparently included at least a dozen bridesmaids.
But enough about him. The more interesting news involves Jefferson Scott, the co-author of Be Intolerant: Because I'm Stupid. (Even though it's Ryan's photo and big-print byline on the cover and Scott is only given "with" credit, I figure Scott basically wrote the book, with Ryan's only contribution being his name and the story about how everybody at college used to slash his tires.)
Anyway, Slate has the story about Scott's brush with newsworthiness:
Klamazoo Kapitulation! - A talk-radio host who helped expose the Medicare bribe loses his job
Shaking off its hangover from the nasty partisan scandalmongering of the late 1990s, the House ethics committee has finally begun an investigation into Rep. Nick Smith's allegation that a member of the House leadership tried to bribe him into supporting the Medicare drug bill. According to Roll Call, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the matter, too. But a Kalamazoo talk-radio host whose scoop made it impossible to sweep Smith's allegations under the rug is out of a job.
Kevin Vandenbroek, formerly of WKZO radio, should have gotten a raise for his contribution to the Smith story, which was picked up by Slate and subsequently by just about every other national publication covering the Medicare bribe. Instead, Vandenbroek was fired last month, apparently for political reasons.
[...]
Vandenbroek did himself no particular good at WKZO by providing evidence that the House GOP leadership may harbor a felon. "While there are some people at the station who seem to be quite proud of my coverage of Nick Smith," Vandenbroek told Chatterbox, "I think there were others that might have been uncomfortable that it was focusing on a member of the Republican Party."
There was no blowback on Smith, but soon afterward, a Vandenbroek broadcast pointing out a few dubious claims in President Bush's Feb. 8 Meet the Press interview prompted a complaint to the station from the local Republican Party headquarters. The Bush broadcast "made the owner of the station very uncomfortable," Vandenbroek said. "I got called in and told to stay away from politics."
Strike 3 was a mildly intemperate e-mail Vandenbroek sent to the Christian right author Jefferson Scott after Scott declined to appear on Vandenbroek's show to discuss Be Intolerant: Because Some Things Are Just Stupid. Be Intolerant is a manifesto Scott co-authored with Ryan Dobson, son of James Dobson, chairman of the powerful Christian right organization Focus on the Family. "The straw that broke the camel's back was their contention that I violated e-mail policy," Vandenbroek explained.
The station manager added a comment at Slate indicating that Vanderbroek was not fired for his work on the NIck Smith story, but because he kept talking about politics, which people find boring -- but mostly because of the snippy e-mail he wrote to Scott.
So, let that be a lesson to you: you don't diss anyone associated with the Dobsons and live to talk about it!
Anyway, that's it for this edition of "Dobson Knows Best." Join us next time for more hilarious Dobson hijinx, plus, an investigation into what happened to Mother. It will be mildly entertaining fun for the whole family!
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