Nov 15 2009
Pray for Obama
The following image appeared in a post on a right wing blog yesterday:
I’ll not link to the blog in which that image was posted, nor will I mention the name of the blog or the blogger.
Here, for your edification, is Psalm 109, verse 8 (followed by verses 9 through 13), taken from the King James Version of the Bible:
Let his days be few, and let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
Let there be none to extend mercy unto him; neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
Wow. And to think that during the Bush years, they accused of us of being hateful. One of the things that constantly amazes me as I visit some (most) of the right wing blogs these days is the amount of hatred they harbor toward our current President. Sometimes it gets downright frightening.
P.S. One of this particular blogger’s defenders, in the comments attached to his post, claims that he is not wishing death upon the President; just that he be forced out of office somehow. What part of “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow” do they not understand?
14 Responses to “Pray for Obama”
These guys are complete morons. I never really considered myself left or right until I started reading right wing blogs – so hateful – I don’t think it matters at all what is actually going on or who is in the office -
You have a much stronger stomach than I–I can barely read this stuff as I find it truly frightening. How can this be considered ‘patriotic’ or even ‘Christian’? I wonder how many people think this way?
unreal!
Thanks for this.
It is too bad these idiots get so much media coverage.
President Obama won by the HUGEST LANDSLIDE in US history.
Even Republicans voted for him.
The entire rest of the world would have voted for him.
I lived in Europe and people were dancing in the streets just as they were here in Seattle when 1,0000s of people swarmed into the Pike Place Market to celebrate.
He is up against the Biggest Mess an president has ever had to clean up.
I get so sick of these racist haters and their self-righteous determination to trash anything decent.
Its nice to see a political blog that isn’t written by an asshole.
Thank you,
Arlene
Whom ever this idiot was used the Bible out of content and ignored the intent of the Psalm itself. There are lunatics on both sides of the fence.. But lunatics that misuse any religion and faith are the worst type.
They are terrible. I don’t imagine the Lord has a smile on his face when His word is used in this way. That blogger should be ashamed. It is okay to have difference of opinions but this is pure hatred.
Well, this may start a poopstorm I’m not looking for, but I do wish you would forward the URL of the blog where you found that to the whitehouse.gov site or email it to me so I can.
I know, squealing is frowned upon, but I am sick to death of this crap — the veiled threats, guns at presidential appearances, and posts meant to plant the seed of murdering the President in some whackjob’s pea brain… and not just murdering him, doing it in the name of religious righteousness.
It can be written off as fundie/tinfoil-hat-brigade fun and games for just so long. I’m just not in the mood anymore.
lmao @ Arlene. Obama did NOT win by the hugest landslide in history. That accomplishment goes to Ronald Reagan.
I believe it’s known as “imprecatory prayer” (as in calling for a hex, curse, stink eye, vexation, what have you), the which CAN backfire in the right circumstances.
And correct me if I’m wrong in suggesting that the so-called “Pray in Jesus’ Name Foundation” is behind this.
@stunatra – Instead of laughing your ass of, why don’t you go back to school. Do some research.
I’ll even help you a little: from http://thestraightdope.com
Dear Cecil:
Ronald Reagan was elected by what was referred to at the time as an “avalanche.” However, given the declining percentage of the population that bothers to vote nowadays, I suspect Mr. Reagan’s victory really isn’t all that impressive. What was the percentage of eligible voters who supported him? Was it really such a landslide? How does the percentage compare with that of other presidents? Did Reagan even make it into the top ten?
— Curious in Sunland, California
Dear Curious:
If Reagan’s 1980 victory was an avalanche, I’m Wilt Chamberlain. Ron got 50.7 percent of the popular vote, which is nothing compared to the landslide champs: LBJ in 1964 (61.0 percent), FDR in 1936 (60.8 percent), and Nixon in 1972 (60.7 percent).
Since only 53.9 percent of the voting-age population actually voted in 1980 (the lowest percentage since 1948), Ron got a scant 27.3 percent of the eligible vote, which is pretty terrible. Of the 40 elections held since 1824 (popular vote totals prior to that time are unavailable), Ron comes in 34th in percentage of eligible vote received, beating out only Carter, Nixon (in 1968), Truman, Coolidge, Wilson, and John Quincy Adams (who had an unbelievably crappy 8.2 percent in 1824–but more on this anon).
The leader in the eligible-vote rankings isn’t exactly who you’d expect–it’s William Henry Harrison in 1840, with 42.5 percent. (Harrison lasted only 31 days in office; some guys just can’t cope with success.) The next two are Grant in 1868 (41.1 percent) and Lincoln in 1864 (40.6 percent). The reason these guys did so well was that voter turnout in the period 1840-1900 was amazingly high– it fell below 70 percent only once, and it topped 80 percent three times. (Of course, you have to remember that “eligible voters” prior to 1920 meant only males, and prior to 1868 meant only white males.)
After the turn of the century, voter turnout declined sharply for various reasons. Among other things, the South systematically disenfranchised blacks–and since the Democratic party had virtually no competition in the South, there wasn’t much incentive to vote anyway. In addition, many states implemented tough voter-registration laws to curb ballot-box stuffing by corrupt big city machines. The low point in this century came in 1924, when only 48.9 percent of those eligible voted.
But back to Ron. If you look at margin of victory in the popular vote, he does a little better, but not much. He beat Carter by 9.7 percent, which ranks him around 12th or so on the landslide list, way behind the leaders: Harding in 1920 (26.4 percent), Coolidge in 1924 (25.2 percent), and FDR in 1936 (24.3 percent).
When we get to electoral college vote, though, things start picking up. Reagan got 90.9 percent of the electoral votes cast, good enough for 7th behind George Washington’s two elections (100 percent each time), Monroe in 1820 (99.6 percent), FDR in 1936 (98.5 percent), Nixon in 1972 (96.6 percent), and Jefferson in 1804 (92.0 percent).
OK, so who had the all-time worst eligible-vote performance? Good question, and it gives Cecil an opportunity to tell a little story of the sort he dearly loves. The worst turnout since 1824 occurred, interestingly enough, in 1824, when only 26.9 percent of eligible voters cast ballots (which is why John Quincy Adams looked so bad). Property-owning requirements for voters were common in those days, and besides, in some states the electors who chose the president were elected by the legislature with no popular vote at all.
Still, 1824 may not be the all-time low. Vote totals from earlier elections aren’t known with certainty, but some historians believe the absolute pits vote-wise was achieved in 1820, when James Monroe ran virtually unopposed for a second term. The election was such a yawn that probably fewer than 1 percent of the voters turned out. Nonetheless, Monroe got all but one of the electoral votes cast. (A legend grew up that the lone dissenting vote, by William Plumer of New Hampshire, was cast so that Washington would be the only top guy ever elected by unanimous vote of the electoral college. BS, as it turns out; Plumer just thought Monroe was a jerk.) Said one observer, it was “the unanimity of indifference, and not of approbation.” And you thought things now were bad.
— Cecil Adams
@ The Exaggerator:
I’m sorry, but I am not familiar with this “Pray in Jesus’ Name Foundation” to which you make reference.
I think the ultra right wingers are nut cases at best at worse ,hate and fear mongers. Just my opinion though.
These nuts believe that Psalms is a book of prophecy with Psalms Chapter 1 describing the events in the year 1901. It’s something that is completely crazy just like the Mayan calender (which is a circle with weird drawings on it) saying that the world will end 12-21-2012.
Like all right wing nonsense this is nucking futs.
These nuts believe that Psalms is a book of prophecy with Psalms Chapter 1 describing the events in the year 1901. It’s something that is completely crazy just like the Mayan calender (which is a circle with weird drawings on it) saying that the world will end 12-21-2012.
Like all right wing nonsense this is nucking futs.