Colorado Shooter an "End of Times Christian"?

Image via Joe My God - Dear and those he murdered

Many on the right and among Christofascists circles have fervently been hoping that Planned Parenthood shooter Robert Lewis Dear not be proved to be a right wing Christian.   While much still remains unknown about the man, by all accounts he is a train wreck and a crazy one at that.  His second wife (he was married 3 times) had this account of Dear in divorce papers according to the Post and Courier:

His second wife, Mescher, described Dear in divorce papers filed in 1993 as a controlling, abusive, womanizing man who liked to gamble but was tight with his cash when it came to supporting his family. She stated that he threw her around the room by her hair during one argument and beat her head on the floor. She also said in a sworn affidavit that Dear “erupts into fury in a matter of seconds,” and she “lived in fear and dread of his emotional and physical abuse.” 

“He claims to be a Christian and is extremely evangelistic, but does not follow the Bible in his actions,” Mescher stated in the affidavit. “He says that as long as he believes he will be saved, he can do whatever he pleases. He is obsessed with the world coming to an end.” 

It will be interesting to see if this story line holds up.  If it does, Dear's behavior and mindset will mirror that of many of the "godly folk" who view "being saved" as providing them a free pass and giving them license to do all kinds of things inconsistent with the Ten Commandments - constant and vicious lying being one of them.   Obviously, I hope the story line holds up because it underscores a reality too many refuse to want to believe: religion, especially fundamentalist religion, is an evil and not a positive force in the world. 

GOP Continues Its Descent to a Party of Infamy

While initial focus group polls are showing that Barack Obama won the third presidential debate and McCain has denied that his Party is engaging in racist and thug like conduct, the stories of GOP outrages and politics of hate continue to come in. The first comes from Sacramento, California, where the Sacramento GOP web site calls for the torture of Barack Obama. This isn't a case of some lone nutcase. This is the official party website for a large county unit. Obviously, McCain's statements that he abhors such conduct are lies. Even his smirking and condescending behavior during tonight's debate showed his contempt for Obama. I and I suspect many others are coming to be ashamed that we were ever Republican given the current face of the Party. Here are some highlights from the Sacramento Bee:

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Sacramento County Republican leaders Tuesday took down offensive material on their official party Web site that sought to link Sen. Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden and encouraged people to "Waterboard Barack Obama" – material that offended even state GOP leaders. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has pushed the party to try to broaden its appeal, took issue with the site. "In the governor's view, it's completely and totally inappropriate," said Julie Soderlund, a Schwarzenegger spokeswoman.

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Taking credit for the site (sacramentorepublicans.org) and its content was county party chairman Craig MacGlashan – husband of Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan. The Bee asked MacGlashan about the content after seeking his reaction to hate-filled graffiti that was spray-painted over an Obama display on a fence at Fair Oaks Boulevard and Garfield Avenue.

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But he defended his Web site. "I'm aware of the content," he said. "Some people find it offensive, others do not. I cannot comment on how people interpret things." MacGlashan said he would "consider people's complaints" before taking any action. By Tuesday night, much of the questionable material – which ranged from depicting Obama in a turban to attacking Michelle Obama – had been removed, replaced with political cartoons attacking Obama.

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The second example of behavior beyond the pale involves the circulation of "jokes" by a top Tampa, Florida, Republican. I am truly starting to believe that some in the GOP are secretly hoping their unconscionable behavior may prompt some nut job to try to actually harm or kill Obama. The behavior looks like something one would expect in a banana republic, not the USA. Here are highlights from the Tampa Tribune:

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Al Austin, a longtime, high-level Republican fundraiser from Tampa, today sent to his list of political contacts an e-mail containing a joke that refers to the assassination of Barack Obama.

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The joke concerns a group of schoolchildren discussing the definition of “tragedy” as opposed to “great loss” or “accident.” The punch line comes when one child says that if an airplane carrying Obama and his wife, Michelle, “was struck by a ‘friendly fire’ missile and blown to smithereens,” the event might be a tragedy “because it certainly wouldn’t be a great loss, and it probably wouldn’t be an accident either.”

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Austin, a prominent real estate developer long known as one of the state’s leading Republican campaign fundraisers, has served in recent years as finance chairman for both the national and state Republican parties.

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In my view, it is crucial that McCain/Palin go down to a diastrous defeat so that this type of politics can be repudiated once and for all. People like Craig MacGaslan, John McCain, Sarah Palin and Al Austin are disgusting and utterly unfit to hold political positions.

Larry King’s Family Blames School for Murder

As a number of sources are reporting, the adoptive parents of Lawrence King are blaming his school for his death and I sincerely hope that this, combined with the "blame the victim" defense that is likely to be mounted by Brandon McInerney's defense attorney do not obscure the real cause of Larry's murder: homophobia and the endless anti-gay jihad by Christianists. But for the constant anti-gay message that seeks in essence to dehumanize LGBT citizens and depict us as diseased or enemies of society, Larry would likely be alive today. The answer is not to force young gays to stay closeted, but to end the message of hate that creates the mindset where killing gays is in the last analysis acceptable. All legitimate medical and mental health experts say homosexuality is not a choice and in fact is "normal" for a percentage of the population and the Christianists need to be condemned for the hate-filled bigots that they are. Would that the media had some balls and guts and would take them on. James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Don Wildmon, Benedict XVI, et al, are in some ways just as guilty of Larry's murder as Brandon McInerney. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com:

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(Oxnard, California) The parents of 15-year-old Larry King say he would never have been killed if the school had enforced the dress code. King was fatally shot in February by another student in an Oxnard school. The King family is suing the Oxnard school district claiming its failure to enforce the dress code led to King’s death. King reportedly wore feminine clothing and makeup to school. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

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Last week, 14-year-old Brandon McInerney pleaded not guilty to killing King. McInerney is charged as an adult with first degree murder and a hate crime for the Feb. 12 shooting. McInerney faces 51 years to life without the possibility of parole if convicted. King was shot in the head during a morning class. More than 20 other students were in the room at the time.

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McInerney’s attorney also has suggested that some of the blame for the murder must rest with the school. He told the Los Angeles Times earlier this year that while the school allowed King to explore his sexuality, it did nothing to quell the unrest among other students.

McInerney Pleads Not Guilty to Murder of Larry King

I often have a hard time stomaching criminal defense attorneys and truly believe that I could not in good conscience represent someone who is clearly guilty of the crime - e.g., Brandon McInerney who shot Lawrence King in the back of the head twice in a clearly premeditated act in front of a room of fellow students. Nonetheless, his defense attorney, William "Willy" Quest, is alleging that manslaughter is the appropriate charge, not murder. How he can make such a claim defies belief and leaves me incredulous but for the fact that Quest is apparently a typical defense attorney - it's always someone else's fault, not his client's fault. A reading of the California Penal Code reveals what bullshit Quest is shoveling. Here's the definition of manslaughter:

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192. Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice. It is of three kinds:

(a) Voluntary--upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion.

(b) Involuntary--in the commission of an unlawful act, notamounting to felony; or in the commission of a lawful act which mightproduce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution andcircumspection. This subdivision shall not apply to acts committed inthe driving of a vehicle.

(c) Vehicular--

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Obviously, McInerney's action in killing Larry King does NOT fit in any of these categories. In contrast the statutory provisions on murder are directly on point:

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187. (a) Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought.

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188. Such malice may be express or implied. It is express when there is manifested a deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a fellow creature. It is implied, when no considerable provocation appears, or when the circumstances attending the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart. When it is shown that the killing resulted from the intentional doing of an act with express or implied malice as defined above, no other mental state need be shown to establish the mental state of malice aforethought.

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I hate to say it, but the undercurrent throughout Quest's disingenuous blather is that it's the gay boy's fault that he's dead or it's the school administration's fault. The truth is that actions have consequences. Sometimes severe consequences. Brandon McInerney did something vile and hateful and he did it with premeditation. He sowed the seeds of his potentially spending the rest of his life in prison. Is it sad in some ways? Perhaps, but it's even sadder that Larry King was deprived of his life which had just as much value as that as some straight athlete on whom it'd be harder for in my opinion a sleazy attorney like Quest to try to lay blame. In my view, it is very important that McInerney not get off. A clear message needs to be sent that a gay life has just as much value as anyone else's life. Sadly, too often those who murder gays get off with the equivalent of a slap on the wrist. Here are some highlights from the Ventura County Star:

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The 14-year-old boy accused of killing eighth-grader Larry King pleaded not guilty Thursday to premeditated murder and a hate crime, charges his attorney said could mean dying in prison unless the youth can be tried on the lesser charge of manslaughter. "This is essentially a death sentence for Brandon McInerney," defense attorney William "Willy" Quest said after entering a plea of not guilty for his client.

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The slain boy's father, Greg King, declined comment on the plea Thursday afternoon, but he said he supports the district attorney's decision to try McInerney for first-degree murder as an adult. "He went into a classroom in front of other students and shot my son in the back of the head twice," King said. He suggested that the boy's age does not merit lighter treatment. "My son his dead," he said. "For his age to be taken into consideration — he didn't take my son's age into consideration."

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Quest said the shooting was a tragedy, but suggested that sending McInernery to prison for life only compounds it. He has blamed educators at E.O. Green for failing to defuse growing tension leading up to the shooting. "This is not a complicated case, who did it and the manner of death," he said. "The issue is Brandon's age and what was going on at E.O. Green School."