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After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

One of the truly bizarre claims we hear from the Christian right is that gay people are somehow in league with Muslim fundamentalists who want them dead (and vice versa). Its the kind of claim that should result in people pointing and laughing at you wherever you go for the rest of your life, but it pays handsomely on Planet Wingnuttia. Fake ex-terrorist Walid Shoebat is the latest to make this moronic claim. [Read more...]

Bryan Fischer burnished his credentials as a Christian fascist by demanding that the United States do immigration Gods way and force all immigrants to convert to Christianity before entering the country. Remember, when ISIS forces people to convert or die, its an outrage. When Christians do it, its just Gods way. [Read more...]

The ability of the right wing to declare that up is down and black is white never ceases to amaze me. Disgraced former House Speaker Tom DeLay provides a textbook example, calling President Obama anti-war and saying hes a member of Code Pink, a group that has been hammering him since the moment he took office. [Read more...]

Larry Klayman, the dumbest lawyer in America not named Mat Staver, was on an American Family Association radio show with Tim Wildmon on Monday and he called for the military to rise up and remove President Obama from power. At what point is this open sedition? At what point do they start arresting people for this? [Read more...]

Pat Robertson displayed the hypocrisy and idiocy that weve all come to expect from him in response to a viewer who asked about the differences between violence in the Bible and violence in the Quran. His simpleminded explanation: The Bible is from God, while the Quran is from Allah. So I guess that explains it. [Read more...]

Larry Pratt, head of Gun Owners of America, a group so extreme that it considers the NRA to be a bunch of simpering wimps, went on Gordon Klingenschmitts show and said that Democrats are pushing for gun control because theyre afraid of being shot and thats a good thing because they should be afraid of their constituents gunning them down. [Read more...]

Andrew Sullivan finds another example showing how phony the Republicans alleged concerns about spending and debt clearly are. They suddenly discover the cause of fiscal responsibility when a Democrat is in the White House, but even that convenient epiphany magically disappears when its time to go to war, when they grab the pom poms and start cheering. [Read more...]

For nearly 20 years, the leader of the Chicago diocese of the Catholic Church has been Archbishop Francis George, who is deeply ignorant and paranoid (this is a man who says allowing gay people to get married will be just like Sharia law never mind that hes agreeing with Sharia law in wanting it outlawed). Pope Francis I is now replacing him with a far more liberal leader. [Read more...]

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Dispatches from the Culture Wars Thoughts from the ...

Challenges facing the Catholic church in America require leaders to be "real" and not "get caught up in living in our own little bubble of an idea," newly appointed Chicago archbishop Blase Cupich told NCR in an interview Sunday.

The 65-year-old pastor's ascent to the Chicago archdiocese -- the nation's third largest and historically one of its most important -- has captivated the Catholic world in the United States and represents a potentially important shift in the direction for the U.S. bishops' conference, observers say. One privately called it an "ecclesial earthquake."

Indeed, on the hot-button cultural issues that some have faulted the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for "obsessing" over since the time of Pope John Paul II, Cupich has earned a reputation for offering calm, cool, caring commentary.

Additionally, he has shown an ability to communicate Pope Francis' messages on economic markets and to balance the full sweep of Catholic social teaching.

"This is a Pope Francis bishop," said Georgetown University's John Carr, who for 20 years served as director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development at the USCCB. He said Cupich has "humble ways, a powerful commitment to the poor, a collaborative style, [and is] nonconfrontational."

Carr, who attended seminary with Cupich in the late 1960s and early '70s, described a man who believes in the power of dialogue and seeks to understand people where they are in the world.

"He has experience with Native Americans in South Dakota, he has experience with migrants in eastern Washington -- that's a part of him now," Carr said. "He has always been smart, always a leader. He's principled. He listens, he learns, he reads, he prays, he leads."

So it comes as no surprise that Cupich's ascension has energized progressive Catholics who want to see Pope Francis' style permeate the American church. The feeling in the air is that he represents a new day.

But what will it take to break past the culture wars within the bishops' conference?

A compare-and-contrast between Cupich and the man he is replacing, Cardinal Francis George, who was president of the bishops' conference from 2007 to 2010, gives a sense of what the new archbishop may be up against.

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As Chicago archbishop, Cupich may face culture war mentality

How Robin Williams Mrs Doubtfire Won the Culture Wars
How Robin Williams #39; Mrs Doubtfire Won the Culture Wars How Robin Williams #39; Mrs Doubtfire Won the Culture Wars.

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How Robin Williams Mrs Doubtfire Won the Culture Wars - Video

Archbishop-Elect Blase Cupich speaks to the press Sept. 20, 2014 in Chicago, Ill. (Scott Olson, Getty Images North America)

Bishop Blase Cupich, who has struck a moderate tone on divisive social issues, was appointed the archbishop of Chicago on Saturday, succeeding a cardinal with an aggressive approach to the culture wars.

Cupich, of Spokane, Wash., will take over leadership of the Archdiocese of Chicago in November, succeeding Cardinal Francis George, who has been battling cancer and has said he thinks the disease will end his life.

Cupich is Pope Francis' first major appointment in the U.S. and the clearest indication yet of the direction he wants to steer American church leaders.

The Chicago archdiocese is the nation's third-largest and among its most important, serving more than 2.2 million Catholics. Chicago archbishops are usually elevated to cardinal and are therefore eligible to vote for the next pope.

George is especially admired in the church's conservative wing as an intellectual who took a hard line against abortion and same-sex marriage. Francis has said he wants church leaders to focus more on mercy and compassion and less on hot-button issues.

At a Chicago news conference Saturday, Cupich pledged to consult with local Catholics as he leads them.

"All my mistakes in life have come from when I've decided on my own, 'This is how things have to go,' " he said.

Cupich played down any broader significance about why he was the pope's choice. "I think he sent a pastor, not a message," Cupich said.

Still, the Rev. John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, said Cupich "will be a pastorally dedicated, theologically astute and visionary leader in line with Francis' transformative papacy."

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Pope Francis names Blase Cupich as next Chicago archbishop

By RACHEL ZOLL AP Religion Writer

Bishop Blase Cupich, a moderate who has called for civility in the culture wars and has embraced Pope Francis' focus on fighting poverty, will be named the next archbishop of Chicago, The Associated Press has learned.

Cupich of Spokane, Washington will succeed Cardinal Francis George, according to a person with knowledge of the selection, who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the person wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

The Archdiocese of Chicago has scheduled a news conference for Saturday morning. A spokeswoman for the archdiocese would not comment. George, 77, has been battling cancer and has said he believes the disease will end his life.

The pope's choice for Chicago has been closely watched as his first major appointment in the U.S., and the clearest indication yet of the direction he will steer American church leaders. Cupich is a moderate and is not among U.S. Roman Catholic bishops who have taken a harder line on hot-button issues. Francis has called for a greater focus on mercy and compassion instead of divisive social issues.

The Archdiocese of Chicago serves 2.2 million parishioners and is the third-largest diocese in the country. Chicago archbishops are usually elevated to cardinal and are therefore eligible to vote for the next pope.

The Chicago church has long been considered a flagship of American Catholicism, sparking lay movements of national influence and producing archbishops who shape national debate.

George is especially admired in the church's conservative wing as an intellectual who took an aggressive stand against abortion, gay marriage and other issues. He had succeeded Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, a liberal and hero to Catholics who place equal importance on issues such as abortion and poverty.

Cupich, 65, is a native of Omaha, Nebraska, where he was ordained a priest. He holds degrees from the Pontifical Gregorian University and The Catholic University of America. He was appointed bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1998, and served there until 2010, when he was appointed to Spokane.

In a 2012 essay in the Jesuit magazine America, Cupich said the U.S. bishops "rightly objected" to the original narrow religious exemption in President Barack Obama's requirement that employers provide health insurance that covers contraception. But Cupich called for a "return to civility" in conversations about religious liberty and society.

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Spokane's Cupich to be next Chicago archbishop