I am shocked, shocked!, to learn that evangelical gay-basher Ted Haggard was not only patronizing a beefy gay masseuse, but was also seeing an 18-year-old boy, and that his church tried to cover it all up by paying for the kid’s college tuition. The number of moral crusaders who in private engage in the very practices they condemn is well beyond the point of laughable hypocrisy now. It seems downright pathological. There seems to be a real correlation between the vehemence and vociferousness with which a public figure rails against “sexual deviants,” and the likelihood that that person is himself engaged in the same behavior. Someone should write their dissertation on this.
It’s for the children.
House, in a nutshell. Yeah, the show is formulaic. I still love it. And it isn’t the medical mysteries that make the show, it’s House’s character, which right now is the most dynamic and interesting character on television.
Two Pennsylvania judges plead guilty to taking bribes in exchange for sending minors to detention facilities.
I’m always amused when non-libertarian journalists write about libertarians. It usually reads like they’re examining some Paleozoic specimen just hauled up from a trench in the sea floor.
Here’s why I preferred Obama to McCain: The GOP gave up all pretense of any limited government principles. They’re no longer trustworthy on the issues where they’re supposed to agree with me. Obama, on the other hand, made some promises about government transparency, hinted at a less bellicose foreign policy, and I like what he said about Guantanamo, torture, and executive power. In other words, he was better on the issues where Democrats are supposed to agree with me. It’s really that simple.
Interesting RIAA legislative battle brewing.
So I was wrong. Bill Kristol apparently landed at the Washington Post. D.C.’s inexplicable habit of rewarding failure continues.
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I don’t know, hypocrisy is preaching one thing while in fact believing something totally different. I think Haggard deeply believes his behavior was sinful, so I don’t see much hypocrisy there. In fact, it might help explain why people like him who do the things they preach against are so loud about it: they know how possible it is to fall into it.
Re your first bullet:
It’s long seemed to me that people vote against their own vices. Hence why the stingy uncharitable northeast of the country consistently votes for socialism, while the divorce loving bastard land of the deep south consistently votes for social conservatives. Each is trying to appease their own guilt for their personal vices.
I don’t find it surprising in the least that leaders exhibit the same tendencies. It’s just like Al Gore and his crazy energy guzzling house…
Look at the bright side, Brother Ted has been cured of his gayness by James Dobson! (Proud inventor of teh gay agenda.)
Regarding the moronic cell phone clicking bill, one poster in the comments brought up the very valid point that you might be trying to snap a picture of a suspect or other dangerous individual.
It is nice to know that women would no longer have even the possibility of getting a snap of an attacker without letting him know she did it. Brilliant.
This country has an unrivaled capacity for stupidity. It is truly embarassing.
What I love about Ted Haggard is that he was so ubiquitous just a few years ago. He was in a documentary called Jesus Camp and (I think) at least one episode of This American Life.
Watching/listening to him in those now is simply delightful.
“There seems to be a real correlation between the vehemence and vociferousness with which a public figure rails against “sexual deviants,” and the likelihood that that person is himself engaged in the same behavior. Someone should write their dissertation on this.” — Radley Balko
IANAPsychologist, but the phenomenon seems to be projection. The “preacher” collects his inner character flaws and projects them onto a convenient target (his flock). M. Scott Peck, M.D., wrote a series called “The Road Less Traveled” that is accessible and enlightening. My only complaint about Peck is that he grounds it in religion, but I don’t think there’s a need to throw out the baby with the bathwater (to use a metaphor of Peck’s). Pretty good stuff overall.
Projection is rampant in human social interactions, most notably in affairs of State.
Hmmm… as a lesbian, and a Christian, and, well, just a plain ol’ decent human being, I find no joy in the Ted Haggard story. I find it heartbreaking, actually. The way Christianism has twisted and distorted what could and should have been a healthy, vibrant, loving sexuality is all the more sad because Haggard is just one of millions. The fact that he was was complicit …. I dunno. I think that for him to throw off his whole worldview, as he would have to in order to embrace his sexuality — I don’t think folks like us who aren’t *in it* can really understand what that would mean.
“D.C.’s inexplicable habit of rewarding failure continues.” — Radley Balko
Ed. note — remove “inexplicable.” Thank you.
Never forget:
War is the health of the State.
Failure is its oxygen.
Cynical beat me to it, but I would like to suggest replacing “inexplicable” with “predictable”.
Regarding Peter King’s retarded cell phone camera regulation, my first thought was, basically, “Haven’t I seen this before?” Oh, right.
It’s only hypocrisy when you don’t try to live up to your standard. That is what makes a hypocrite. If normal human frailty were all that it takes to make a hypocrite then everyone should just shut up about principle.
I’m not quite a psychologist yet (still working on the internship and dissertation portion of a doctoral program) though I do have both an undergraduate and a master’s degree in psychology and my training is largely psychoanalytic. #6 is pretty much right in calling the behavior of people like Haggard “projection.”
The thing is, I’m kind of surprised that you’re just not having this insight about the nature of hypocrisy, Radley. Aside from Freud and other early analysts writing extensively about what they termed “projection” the idea that you can tell a lot about a person’s desires by what they criticize in others has been present in western society for a very long time. Shakespeare quipped that “the lady doth protest too much,” Nietzsche’s entire theory of moral development revolved around what he called “ressentiment” which involved concepts very similar to Freudian “projection,” even Locke and Mill touched on the general theme when discussing how people justify infringing upon the liberty of others.
Perhaps more to the point its a pretty common stereotype that the people who show the most homophobia are themselves deeply closeted. Why on earth should it be any different for a preacher?
I wish I could turn my phone camera’s clicking off…damn thing won’t let me. Is this common to other phones?
I love House, but did they have to rip off my personality completely?
:(
Words are meaningless. How many election cycles does it take of meaningless words, of being screwed by PURPOSEFUL waste and corruption by politicians, before people say “screw the words, let’s take a look at your track record, let’s look at how much of your words and deeds are in line with liberty”?
I can’t give Haggard a pass here. To borrow the Marxist concept of praxis, one has to act on one’s avowed philosophy, which Haggard was most certainly not doing if the allegations are true.
When you add the fact that Haggard would most certainly have been in the forefront of those demanding punishment of such “sinners”, the hypocisy is inexcusable.
Haggard deserves all the scorn and mockery he gets.
Re Haggard: Shakespeare said it best: Methinks the laddie doth protest too much.
The linked story about the judges is horrible. And the case cited was even worse. They actually pulled a girl from her family and sent her to a juvenile detention facility for having a cigarette lighter and a pipe(presumably a pot pipe, FWIW) at school.
I too find it shocking that people who preach against sin are themselves sometimes guilty of the very sin that they preach against. After all, it is Christian doctrine that priests and preachers are not themselves sinners. Now, if Christianity were a religion that acknowledged that we are all sinners, including even those who convey the message, then it would not be especially surprising or ironic to discover that preachers are sinners too. But since Christianity is not such a religion, it is shocking and amusing that the Christian doctrine of preacherly freedom from original sin is violated.
“After all, it is Christian doctrine that priests and preachers are not themselves sinners”
What the hell are you talking about?
“The number of moral crusaders who in private engage in the very practices they condemn is well beyond the point of laughable hypocrisy now.”
This has gone on since the early days of Christianity. Look at St. Augustine(us??). He was a hardcore moral crusader yet was homosexual as well.
#17 Constant:
Where do you get such misinformation? I’ve yet to find any subset of Christianity that thinks its priests/pastors/whatevers are sinless, and I’ve looked at mass numbers of them. There are a few isolated leaders who have acted that way, but even most of those will actually say that they are sinners if asked. Do you know anything about Christianity outside of what’s on TV and/or atheist literature?
#11
Good point. My Nokia 6103 camera click sound can’t be turned off, for the very reasons that they want to mandate this on all cell phones. I have a suspicion that many phones lock that sound on already. I am a bit of a sound Nazi. I immediately turn off any superfluous noise, such as the startup tones on my phone and PC as well as the keystroke tones. I can’t understand why some engineer would include in his digital coding a replication of the mechanical sound that an old fashion camera makes. WTF?! Almost all digital cameras have this annoying sound “feature”. Most people leave it on so I must be in the minority. Serenity Now!
I have often wondered if those who preach religion are really believers or just using the religion as a means for self-enrichment. I’m not just talking about clergy. Politicians do it, too. Does Bush (either one) believe in god? How about Clinton (either one)? Anyone serious about a political career is not going to portray themselves as an atheist even of they are. It would be the kiss of death.
A person who doesn’t believe in god and is simply using religion as a tool to influence people (or get their money) would not feel bound by the moral teachings of that religion.
Even Mother Theresa had serious doubts about her faith, but didn’t let that interfere with her job of promoting religion around the world.
For all we know, Ted might have pursued his preaching career for no other reason than to meet guys.
That House bit is literally laugh-out-loud funny in places. Brilliant. (I wonder if you have to love the show to really appreciate that humor.)
From the story about the corrupt judges:
We feel that it’s a great day for the young people and the youth of this area to see the system really does work, the system really isn’t rigged against them,” said Jack Van Reeth, whose daughter was ordered detained in 2007 by Ciavarella.
A “system that really does work” would never have been sending kids to detention centers in exchange for kickbacks in the first place.
Anyone who claims to be a Christian is a hypocrite. Coming from a Christian, I can tell you , I am not perfect. And much of that perfection would be seen a sin. Not wanting to quote the Bible here, I would just agree with it. Not one of us human beings is free from “sin”. Even totally moral men can catch themselves doing immoral things. And hate, I include as an immoral action. I think Christianity is a way to forgive us our human frailties that we, in no way, can completely, control. Be that as it may, a preacher is held to higher standards, in the Bible, by God! And,especially those who hold themselves on such high esteem in public view, are always destined for a fall! And, I agree that you don’t have to be Christian, or any other religious affiliation, to be moral! Just that none of us are perfect!
That should be “imperfection would be seen as sin” Sorry!
Requiring cameraphones to go “click”…
What next, requiring men to breathe heavily when looking down shirts?
Re, your first point; it’s a basic psychological premise, taught in college courses all over (I have no idea how much it is applied in Psychological practices), that we hate those faults most that we perceive in ourselves. Thus, if you are teeing off on a friend for always being late, think a moment on how often you keep others waiting for YOU.
Doesn’t make what this Bible-pounding bounder has said and done right, but it isn’t extraordinary – it’s more of a cliche.
Where it gets nasty is when, in light of this insight, one thinks of how CONSTANTLY the political Left accuses others of Racism, stifling dissent, violating civil rights, and stealing from the poor……
#4 Chris in AL suggests the clicking idea for phones is mere incompetence. Maybe it is. That certainly doesn’t address peeping by hidden or disguised cameras (like private investigators use on subjects) and I would be surprised if someone didn’t find a patch or fix to disable such a sound on their phone if they were intent for using it for nefarious purpose.
However, if such a feature was mandated on camera phones etc I wonder how many pictures or videos we would get of police actions like the BART shooting, Critical Mass, etc.
Re: the teenager getting removed from home for the cigarette lighter, such stories certainly should give people a reason to pause before waiving the right to a lawyer.
House’s character – the best on television? LOL. The guy says maybe 1 non-cynical line of dialog per episode. Get’s old after time
Regarding the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act, I must say, there is not a day that goes by that I’m not grateful that I grew up before it was recognized that crusading to protect children from sex could be highly profitable.
When I was a kid, we played doctor. It was part of growing up. Today kids could get into serious trouble for doing that. Simply adding a camera to the equation makes it worse than murder. And if it doesn’t seem that bad to the kids involved, they will soon find there is no end to those who will make it so.
Yeah, sick world we live in. We criminalize children for doing what comes natural and most of us did to some degree at that age.
As to the cell phone cameras most of the stories I see regarding it are teens doing self nude pictures and sending to boyfriends, etc. So of course we immediately arrest them both and brand them as sex offenders to protect them from themselves. Fucking retarded!
I have often wondered if those who preach religion are really believers or just using the religion as a means for self-enrichment.
Dave, I’m sure some do. Of course, you have to look at it on a case-by-case basis. Let’s take the financial angle. I’m Lutheran and my pastor makes less than $30k/year. Sure, he’s also provided with a house, but he’s still living quite modestly. As such, I used to be rather confused when people criticized organized religion for being profit-driven, as you’d have to be a real moron to become a Lutheran pastor to get rich. Then I discovered mega-churches, visited the Vatican, saw pastors driving around in luxury cars and meeting with powerful politicians, etc. Suddenly that criticism made a lot more sense. But it’s like everything else. You have Joel Osteen living in his fancy estate http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/36807/ and you have my pastor living in his South Side bungalow. Regardless of one’s feelings toward religion, I think it makes sense to be less skeptical of my pastor’s motives than Joel Osteen’s.
“There seems to be a real correlation between the vehemence and vociferousness with which a public figure rails against “sexual deviants,” and the likelihood that that person is himself engaged in the same behavior. Someone should write their dissertation on this. ”
Yeah, us “sexual deviants” [insert my non-mainstream sexualities here] have been saying that for a very long time.
@Chris in AL: “This country has an unrivaled capacity for stupidity. It is truly embarassing.”
Seriously. That needs to be on a t-shirt.
evangelical gay-basher Ted Haggard
Was he really a gay basher or just against homosexuality? You don’t do anyone a service when you lump everyone on the other side into the Fred Phelps (no relation) bucket, any more than lumping you in with Mike Savage as “liberal bashers”.
[...] Brian at The [...]
#32 ClubMedSux:
A more public example would be Tony Campolo. Sells lots and lots of books, has speaking engagements, is president of EAPE, etc. All the money he makes goes to EAPE. They compute the average US national salary, and pay him that. That’s a really crummy way to go about making money.
If these revelations keep coming will it be long before some channel schedules a primetime drama/soap opera around the issue?
Coming this fall on FOX-U on “The Dicks of Haggard” In episode 1 watch as Rev Ted tries to escape from two shirtless hunks that have kidnapped him. In episode 2 Ted investigates the wacky goings on at The Mineshaft, a new bar that has just opened down the street from his church. Episode 3 brings us face to face with the natives of far away place called Fire Island. Can the reverend keep his head above water? Will he bend to their whims, you can find out BUT only on FOX-U!
On House: Yes, he’s a great character, but by the start of last season the assembly line, formulaic plots started to bore me, and I stopped watching. The whole misanthropic doctor storyline was fresh for a little while, but they never followed it up with anything to keep it that way.
I always find the cop in charge of internet pedophilia stings, when he shows up on day time tv, to be pretty creepy.
“The most dynamic and interesting character on television”–not saying a whole lot.
There’s a word in the dictionary for this — HYPOCRITE
I have to admit I like House too. I’m probably in the minority on this, but a lot of it actually has to do with the medical side of the show. Unlike a lot of other hospital shows, they actually get most of their facts right. Having a slight hobby in looking at weird/deadly diseases and with a husband in the medical field, I find it a bonus when I can figure out what the heck the patient has before the end of the show.
As for having cell phones click. I don’t have a cell phone that takes pictures, but I do have a camera that barks and makes bird twittering sounds. I can’t figure out how to turn the sounds off. For you technical guys is there a way to do this?
For the ‘man on the street,’ the pastor of a single church, it’s not too great, but it’s like a pyramid scheme. Hell, it is a pyramid scheme. The people at the top make good money. Think about your average Catholic priest. He doesn’t live all that well. The pope, on the other hand, lives in a city with more gold than anywhere in the world, iirc. That’s why people say that.
Hell, there used to be real pyramids invoved.