Some Texas Republicans are confused about the meaning of patriotism, supporting our troops, and who our actual enemies are. Their recent “support our troops” rally morphed into a “shoot up immigrants” fest. The meeting was held — as you might expect — in a church. Dallas Morning News:
Some Greater Irving Republican Club members who attended the meeting at First Church of the Nazarene were dressed in military garb or carried toy guns. Silhouettes – one riddled with pellet-like holes – were on display…
Club leaders said that the meeting about homeland security and other matters was benign. Attendees dressed up because the club has a different theme each month, club president Sue Richardson said. April’s theme was designed to support the troops, she said.
And yet the speaker for the yellow-ribbon-magnet-on-the-back-of-
your-SUV meeting was an immigration official. Huh?
Ms. Richardson said the meeting included a presentation by a representative from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office on the topic of sealing off ways for terrorists to enter the U.S. undetected…
“[We’re] being patriotic and standing with our troops and trying to fight the war on terrorism,” she said. “We’re at war, and it’s not business as usual.”
Amazing how that “war excuses everything” line crops up among Repugs, even at the local level. It’s not really working for me. Reactions to the odd pairing of human targets and a talk on immigration were…well, see for yourself.
Lico Reyes…said the meeting – particularly the use of the silhouettes – was insensitive and not well thought out. Mr. Reyes said he looked into the meeting after concerned residents contacted him. He and other critics linked the silhouettes to immigration concerns…
Church pastor Rick Thomason said he looked into the matter and was satisfied with an explanation of what happened. The group will continue to be allowed to meet at the church, he said.
Irving City Council member Lewis Patrick said he visited the gathering but left early to attend other meetings…
“I’m not going to get in the middle of it,” he said. “It could get political.” [Editor’s note: Gee Lewis, ya think?]
Ms. Richardson attributed criticism of the meeting to people who are “spreaders of misery.”
“They don’t like a lot of people in the club, and they’re always complaining,” she said. “They need to lighten up.”
Yes, just lighten up for pete’s sake. I mean, it’s not like they’re not real guns. Those are still out in our glove boxes and trunks.
Those people are confused about a lot of things – one being what it means to be a Christian. They might want to study Jesus’s word a little more closely. The ones about “Blessed are the peacemakers” and welcoming the strangers among you.
Jesus, in his glorious omniscience knew that Sam Colt would go on to invent the “Peacemaker”, which is indeed a blessed .45 revolver.
So, you see, Jesus is pro-gun, pro-NRA, and if any of those dirty mexicans (or prostitutes, or lepers) so much as looked at his chosen land, he’d blow ’em away.
Blessed are the colt Peacemakers, and the Bowie knives.
Two comments or quotes I’ve read recently keep coming back to mind when I read or hear about stuff like this. The first was simple, Jesus forgives, his followers don’t.
The second was a quote from Gandhi, not sure I have it exact but it was pretty close to this in answer to his thoughts on Christianity.
Jesus I like. Your Christians I don’t like. They are so unlike your Jesus.
I was listening to a speech by a Col. USMC-ret supporting our Peacemakers in Iraq. OUTRAGEOUS bastards who call themselves “Catholic priests” failed to refer to support our brave Peacemakers dying to bring peace and build schools and roads in difficult and dangerous places. You would think the Peace Corps was the largest department of the government and the biggest welfare phony job generator in the country.
Damn Truman or whatever hypocritcal SOB who renamed the War Department to “Defense Department.”
War is cruelty. – Gen Sherman