THERE are days when once can’t help wondering whether there are more lunatics outside the asylum than in.
Wildmon and Cambell's soup have one thing in common - they are both thick!
Take the Rev Donald E Wildmon, for example. He’s head honcho at the American Family Association, and he’s on the warpath. Against Campbell’s “Labels for Education” schools scheme.
Why? Let Wildmon explain:
Many people aren’t aware that when their school participates in the program they are supporting a company that has openly come out in support of homosexual marriage, and it has no intentions of stopping that support.
Geez, why am I blogging this crap? Anyway:
‘Labels for Education’ provides equipment for schools in exchange for proofs of purchase from the family of Campbell’s brands.
Many of the schools that participate don’t know that Campbell’s supports the homosexual publication The Advocate with advertising. The Advocate is a leading promoter of same-sex marriage.
AFA asked Campbell’s to be neutral in the culture war. Campbell’s refused and said it would continue to support The Advocate. The Media Daily News reported that a Campbell spokesman was quoted as saying: “Our plans for the Swanson brand [a division of Campbell's] include additional placements in The Advocate.”
To show their commitment to same-sex marriage, Campbell’s sought out and featured two ‘married’ lesbians and their son in one of the ads.
Wildmon now wants fellow imbecilic Christians to “Take Action!” by:
Checking to see if your school participates in Campbell’s ‘Labels for Education’ program. If so, ask them to stop participating.
He points out that “Campbell is blocking AFA e-mails”. Now there’s a surprise!
Last month the AFA called for a boycott of PepsiCo over its support of “pro-homosexual groups”.
The association said that the soft drink conglomerate gave half-a-million dollars each to two separate pro-homosexual groups – the Human Rights Campaign and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
According to the AFA the cash was to be used to “help promote homosexuality in the workplace”.
Promote homosexuality in the workplace? Wanker!
The AFA also alleges that Pepsi “forces” its employees to attend sexual orientation and gender-identity diversity training “where they are taught to accept homosexuality.”
What’s more:
Pepsi refuses to give money to any pro-family organization that opposes the homosexual agenda. Plus, every homosexual organization we know of is overwhelmingly pro-abortion.
Oh my ears and whiskers! I’m off now to the Co-Op for a month’s supply of a certain soup and a few dozen litres of a brown fizzy drink.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
January 14th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Free speech! If he wishes to encourage people to boycott this soup company why not? Or does free spech only apply to those who promote a pro-sodomite agenda? Incidentally, although I would not do any harm to those who do promote sodomites, nor would I incite others to, but God’s judgement rests upon people and organisations that encourage others in the way of sin.
January 14th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Bob, you are fast becoming a bore. Calm down dear, make yourself a nice cup of tea, and find some other site on which to park your silly evangelical sentiments. Oh, and while you are relaxing, do try to work out the difference between free speech and the bilious hate-mongering of ranting idiots like Wildmon. There is one, you know.
January 14th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Is it just me or have the quality of comments gone down since the movement to the new page design? (along of course with an increase in the number of comments).
January 14th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Overall, I would say no, Hen. But every now and again some crazy religious zealots abuse our hospitality, raise everyone’s hackles, and and generally make asses of themselves. If they want to expose their ignorance on this blog, in the interest of free of expression I am prepared to tolerate their nonsense … but only to a point.
January 14th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Unfortunately these people know they are right, so any argument with them is futile – at least as far as attempting to change their minds.
Nevertheless we who lean towards rationality should not shirk our duty to point out their wrongness. The moderate majority, who are susceptible to persuasion, are the ones who will eventually sway opinion on matters like these – if sufficiently motivated, and sufficiently aware.
January 14th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Of course, there are (and should be) limits to free speech. These include libellous statements, incitement to hatred and – in a more voluntary and negotiated capacity – matters of taste and decency. There is also a difference between censorship and judicious editing.
I imagine that the Campbell’s Soup company is only blocking the AFA’s e-mails as a result of the Rev Wildmon and his tiresome fundamentalist flock making a constant nuisance of themselves. Most of us, at some time, have had to block a ‘phone number or e-mail address for exactly the same reason.
The right to freedom of speech is necessarily greater for those who can accommodate reason, tolerance and compromise, than it is for those whose totalitarian dogma (religious or political) rules out these things. People whose beliefs identify people different to themselves as less worthy of respect and consideration, or irredeemably bad, cannot really complain if they find themselves barred from public debates and decision making in this way.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Oh dear it looks like I’ve ruffled a few feathers; free speech clearly is not acceptable to some people unless it agrees with them.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Bob, get over yourself. You’re just not that big a deal.
BTW, how about you read 1 Thessalonians 4:11. It’s one of those Bible verses you guys never seem to notice, or pay attention to. You’re always to busy working yourselves into a lather over all the hot, sweaty gay sex going on in the world.
I wonder why that is……?
January 14th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Don Wildmon is an idiot who, without his idiotic public crusade against “The Gay Agenda”, would be just another insignificant unknown prattling bigotry from the pulpit. Let him keep it up as he’s fast becoming seen for the lunatic he is, as is his organization. With luck they’ll go broke as did FOTF.
January 15th, 2009 at 2:07 am
‘Oh dear it looks like I’ve ruffled a few feathers; free speech clearly is not acceptable to some people unless it agrees with them.’
That’s right Bob, that’s exactly why you’re protesting; because our atheist free speech doesn’t agree with yours. It never ceases to amaze me how Religionists will accuse the opposite side of the exact same things they practice themselves.
But my feathers aren’t ruffled. I welcome all Christians and other god-botherers to have free speech; nothing damns them more than the un-thought-out words that come out of their own mouths, thus displaying to the whole world what a self-pitying bunch of deluded fools they all really are. You Christians NEED gays to persecute in order to know yourselves so bloody ‘righteous’, without them, you are undefined and nothing.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Reply to Barry Duke: I do not need to calm down as I’m not worked up.
Reply to Deisel B: you talk about taste and decency; is that why the articles in the “freethinker” are so full of venom towards Christians? I don’t complain about that, after all it’s free speech isn’t it? Therefore, you should not try to restrict my freedom of expression. I’ve already said that I would not do any harm to gays or incite violence against them, but I have the right to point out that what they are doing is a sinful perversion.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:29 am
“Free speech!”
I’ve heard of people “crying free speech” when someone they support does something incredibly stupid, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen it happen.
Free speech what, Bob? Where? Is this like a cry of “Fire!”? Someone call the Freedom Brigade!
January 15th, 2009 at 9:57 am
“Oh dear it looks like I’ve ruffled a few feathers; free speech clearly is not acceptable to some people unless it agrees with them.”
Bob, Pot, Kettle, Black – make a sentence. You and your religionist chums have done more to stifle free speech and enquiry – usually by torture and murder – than any other group in the history of humans.
Hen, I agree, the quality of comments has recently declined.
I suggest we ignore Bob, he is probably a ‘wind up merchant’ or most likely a twat. No matter how much evidence or reason you use in a debate with people like Bob, you’ll rarely change them, they cannot or are too frightend to think for themselves.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:15 am
If a school boycotts the Campbell campaign, will the AFA compensate them for the losses incurred?
January 15th, 2009 at 11:32 am
And before Bob replies to Angela – Yes, Hitler was religious.
January 15th, 2009 at 11:49 am
‘AFA asked Campbell’s to be neutral in the culture war.’
What would be ‘neutral’ about letting an evangelical fringe group dictate which magazines they should or should not buy ad space from?
January 15th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Let battle commence. If Christians want to have a campaign against or for something, we atheists – here and abroad – should mobilise to support that business or whatever. We showed we could do with with the sort-of agnostic buses. What’s the internet for if not to communicate, fundraise and co-ordinate action?
Did somebody say ‘looking at porn and blueprints of Klingon starships’?
January 15th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
“I’ve already said that I would not do any harm to gays or incite violence against them, but I have the right to point out that what they are doing is a sinful perversion.”
My name’s Bob and I’m here till Thursday! Tip your waitress!
I’ll tell you what’s ’sinful perversion’ my friend; famine, death, disease, war, child abuse, subducation, slavery, rascism, homophobia – you know that one – and indifference to the above.
What difference is it to you if two men want to be together? Or two women? Is it really a crime? Or a perversion? Really? Why? It’s a natural inclination, is nature… unnatural?
Sigh. I shouldn’t bother, I’ve got a limited time on this earth and there is no point arguing with a Christian dingbat.
January 15th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Why are fundies bothered about what schools do? Aren’t all their idiots home schooled.
January 15th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
My kids weren’t home schooled. They went to a state school and learned to stand up for what they believe in. I don’t agree with home schooling as it closets people from learning to stand up for their beliefs.
January 15th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Alec, I’m not sure ‘home schooled’ is the right term for what some adults who should know better do in private to kids who can hardly consent.
Surely to be able to ‘home school’ you’d need (1) a home and (2)more education than the small child you are ‘teaching’. On most the evidence I’ve seen over the years evangelicals have neither of the above.
January 15th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Many issued have been touched on here, but two points seem to have been overlooked.
1: Bob-the-Bible-Basher has said somewhere (can’t remember where, as he has pebble-dashed this blog with his inane chatter in all sorts of places) that the “good book” warns Christians that they will be held up to ridicule. He then ventures onto this site, spouts his tosh, and – hey presto – is held up to ridicule. This both validates his victim status and proves the Bible right. That’s fundie logic for you!
Trouble is, people like him have crammed the vacuous space between their ears with so much biblical crap that they have lost all ability to think either logically or critically – or in some cases, to think at all – so there’s no reasoning with them, and it’s futile to try.
2: The Wildmon creature – don’t you just want to smack his sanctimonious chops – clearly loathes gay sex (but curiously thinks about it 24/7.) He is also against gay marriage. But nothing kills sexual passion quite as effectively as marriage, so logically he should be out on the streets demanding that marriage be made mandatory for every gay man and lesbian (oh, and let’s not forget the sexually exuberant Bonobo monkeys, whose homosexual proclivities are nothing short of shocking.)
I’ve said enough. Bye!
January 15th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Marcus touches on a fundamental flaw in Wildmon’s (and Bob’s) reasoning. For years, extreme Christians fulminated against gays largely on the basis of their supposed promiscuity, yet the minute a law is passed to encourage gays to get “married” – i.e. encourage them to settle into stable monogamous relationships by giving them equal access to pension, next-of-kin and inheritance rights, the fundies oppose that too!
And why does Bob think I’m trying to block his freedom of expression? He is entitled to his opinion and to voice it. My point is that we necessarily privilege informed opinion from those who are guided by factual evidence, reason and human compassion and don’t live their lives according to a rigid totalitarian blueprint (and I include Marxists, Fascists and Muslim extremists in that criticism).
The trouble with you, Bob, is that you’re a Dalek in a dog-collar. You are beyond reason, beyond entreaty and not interested in open dialogue: it’s all got to be one way. Your way. There is no hope of moving you even a few degrees off your axis of bigotry. Hence people soon tire of you.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Reply to Diesel Balaam: I am simply outlining truth (not an opinion, but fact). If you choose to reject this truth then the eternal loss will be yours, not mine. If people “tire” of me then all they need do is ignore my posts and not reply to them.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Bob, instead of endlessly repeating meaningless phrases plucked from the Evangelist’s Handbook, try putting what’s left of your brain into gear and start answering some or all the questions put to you on this forum. If you haven’t the intellect to do so, please bugger off!
January 16th, 2009 at 9:46 am
What questions?