Don Imus of Fox News apologizes to the Satanic Temple for comments suggesting their members "should be shot." Wait, is this a trick?

Courtesy of Philly.com:  

Radio personality Don Imus and his program's executive producer emphatically apologized to a group of Satanists on Imus' show Tuesday morning for the producer advocating the group "should be shot" during an on-air segment last Thursday. 

The apologies by Imus and producer Bernard McGuirk came one day after philly.com and other news websites reported that a group called The Satanic Temple, which has proposed erecting a statue of Satan outside the Oklahoma Statehouse, demanded an apology from McGuirk. 

"They should be able to put the statue up and then they should be shot right next to it," the commentator, Bernard McGuirk, said on the Imus in the Morning show that aired last Thursday. "And then we take it down." 

The group also demanded a response from Fox Business, which airs the show on the television channel each morning. 

McGuirk, who made the initial remarks during a segment with Imus called "Mensa Meeting," also retracted his comments that attributed Satanism to evil. 

"My comments were rooted in ignorance. Satanists, they do not promote evil, a la Charles Manson or Hitler," McGuirk said. "Regardless, I don’t want to see anyone shot. That’s the truth of the matter. So I do apologize unequivocally." 

If I were a member of the Satanic Temple (And I'm not despite what others might think) I would not hold my breath waiting for Fox Business to apologize to them. 

However having said that I am pretty impressed that Imus and this McGuirk guy did so.

Of course in the case of Imus he has already been burned once by comments he made back in 2007, when he referred to the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team as "nappy-headed hos."

Well good for the Satanic Temple for standing up for themselves and getting an actual apology from somebody associated With Fox. And you thought simply walking on water was miraculous.

Fox News panelists suggest that Satanists should be shot standing next to their proposed Oklahoma monument. Fox News refuses to apologize.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

The Satanic Temple has issued a press release demanding that Fox Business News publicly apologize for the remarks made by one of its commentators. 

On January 9, 2014, one of the participants in Fox Business New’s “Mensa Meeting,” Bernard McGuirk, said that members of the Satanic Temple who want to erect a monument in Oklahoma City should be executed. 

“They should be able to put the statue up, and then they should be shot right next to it, and then we take it down,” McGuirk said. 

Lawyers for the Satanic Temple say that “[s]uch incitement to violence is reckless and possibly criminal. Advocacy of the murder of American citizens based on their religious beliefs is intolerable and sickening. For [Fox Business] to disseminate such a position as part of a televised debate on a national network strikes at the heart of this country’s founding principles and potentially places the Temple’s members in imminent danger.”

The "Mensa Meeting?" Seriously?

As I have mentioned before the Satanic Temple is really  a tongue in cheek organization that enjoys trolling Christians. However as irritating as that might be to said Christians it certainly does not justify killing them.

After all the members are really no more fake than say those who follow Scientology or Mormonism in my opinion.

Besides we have a history of people becoming agitated by those who appear on Fox News and then acting out in a violent manner.

Remember?

So yes Fox News should do the right thing and suspend this McGuirk fellow and send a message to others appearing on their network that such talk will not be tolerated.

Or do they really want to have even more innocent blood on their hands?

Satanic group unveils concept for proposed monument to be placed in Oklahoma state capitol. Should blend right in with the Ten Commandments monument.

Courtesy of Philly.com:  

Will Satan be celebrated on the lawn of the Oklahoma State Capitol? 

A devilish group based in New York believes it should be perfectly OK. 

The group, which calls itself "The Satanic Temple," today unveiled its proposal for a monument it intends to erect next to another religious statue: a depiction of the Ten Commandments. 

According to The Satanic Temple's application, the proposed monument features a large pentagram and “a 7-foot tall goat-headed Baphomet that sits cross-legged flanked by a child on both sides. The lap will serve as a seat for visitors.” 

It would also include quotes from poets William Blake and Lord Byron. 

The monument, said the group’s spokesman, was designed to reflect the views of Satanists in Oklahoma City and could doubly serve as a tourist attraction. 

“The statue will serve as a beacon calling for compassion and empathy among all living creatures,” said spokesman Lucian Greaves. “The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for inspiration and contemplation.”

Oklahoma state legislators in 2009 approved the installation of a privately-funded Ten Commandments monument. It was installed last year over the protests of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The Satanic Temple wasn’t the only group to apply for a monument; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the satirical Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and a Hindu group have also requested a place near the Capitol steps. 

It will be interesting to see how Oklahoma lawmakers respond to this attempt to take advantage of the door opened by State Rep. Mike Ritze back in 2009.

Will they cry uncle and take down this Judeo-Christian monument?

Will they try to implement religious favoritism concerning monuments at the capitol?

Or will they allow a giant goat headed Satanic statue to share space with numerous other religious monuments, turning the Capitol into a kid of one stop shop for religious diversity?

Should be interesting to watch this whole thing play out.

P.S. By the way there is some evidence to suggest that this whole "Satanic Temple" is really a tongue in check group of satirists. Still if Oklahoma is going to allow one former cult that people orginally ridiculed to place a monument at their capitol, kind of hard to draw the line at any other.

Don'tcha think?

Satanists and Hindus apply to build monuments in Oklahoma. Oklahoma not happy.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Oklahoma lawmakers are appalled that Satanists would try to erect a monument in their state capitol, but their decision to include a monument to the Ten Commandments of the Christian Bible’s Old Testament may have placed the state on shaky legal ground.

Before any new monument can go into production, it has to be approved by the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Society. Duane Mass, the architect who designed the capitol building and serves on the preservation board, rejected the idea outright. 

“That’s Oklahoma’s house. It’s not the Satanic club of New York’s house,” Mass said. Lawmakers expressed similar sentiments. 

“I think it is a joke,” said Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman (R-Sapulpa) to the Tulsa World. 

“This is a faith-based nation and a faith-based state,” grumbled Rep. Earl Sears (R-Bartlesville) to the World, perhaps forgetting that Satanism is also a faith. “I think it is very offensive they would contemplate or even have this kind of conversation.”

Yeah how dare they demand religious tolerance from a  state demanding the tolerance to allow them to erect religious monuments in their state capitol.

The nerve!

Okay so if this is a "faith based nation" and the 1st Amendment protects the rights of those of faith, then perhaps the Hindus would have a better shot. After all they have been around for like several thousand years longer than the Jews and Christians.

Also courtesy of Raw Story: 

That’s where the Hindus come in. 

The fourth-largest faith group in the U.S. – and third-largest in the world – said it would like to join the religious displays to honor Oklahoma’s Hindus and raise awareness about their faith. 

The Hindu group said their planned statue of Lord Hanuman would be “big and weather-proof.” 

Hemant Mehta, who writes for the Friendly Atheist blog, said the Hindus’ request would likely put Oklahoma lawmakers in a legal and political bind. 

“If the Commission votes yes on the proposal, conservatives will flip out,” Mehta wrote. “If they vote no, they’re just inviting a lawsuit. This is beautiful.”

I don't know about everybody else but the Hindus had me at "big and weatherproof." 

Personally I think it would be all kinds of awesome to have a state capitol that was filled with different statues representing various religious faiths. Just think of the educational opportunities!

School field trips to the capitol would be far more instructive in that they would include explanations concerning the various religious faiths that are able to worship freely in America, and how we as a nation do not favor one over another.

Don't you think that would be awesome? Oklahoma?

Governor Rick Scott's blurring of the line between church and state, by allowing public school students to read "inspirational messages" at assemblies, has attracted support....from Floridia Satanists.

Courtesy of New York Daily News:  

Florida Gov. Rick Scott doesn’t seem to have many fans these days. But he can count on the backing of one group: Satanists. 

Members of the Satanic Temple are gearing up to rally on behalf of the Republican leader to commend “his defense of religious liberty,” the group said in a news release. 

In particular, Satanists say they are impressed by Scott’s support of Senate Bill 98, which allows school districts to draft policies allowing students to read “inspirational messages” at assemblies and sports events. 

“The bill is something we felt we could latch onto,” Lucien Greaves, a spokesperson for the Satanic Temple, told the Daily News. “It does allow for an alternative point of view.” 

In the release, the group praises the bill, which went into effect July 12, for reaffirming “our American freedom to practice our faith openly, allowing our Satanic children the freedom to pray in school.” 

Greaves added the bill, which was slammed by groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State, helps “alternative, marginalized religions.” 

“When it comes to faith-based initiatives, that’s the kind of the thing that gives minority religions access to foundational funding,” he said. 

The rally is set to take place on Jan. 25 on the steps of the State Capitol in Tallahassee. Greaves likened the event to a “Satanic coming out.”

Hmm methinks this may NOT have been the kind of support that Governor Scott was hoping to attract. But hey, they are Florida voters so maybe he will welcome their support and embrace them with open arms.

Or perhaps not.

Interestingly enough the truth about Satanists is kind of like the truth about witches. In other words, whatever you heard about them from the Christian church was pure bullshit.

In fact Satanists are NOT worshipers of Satan, and are probably more in line with Atheists or Agnostics. (You can learn more about them here.)

You know at first I was a little surprised that the Satanists would want to be associated with somebody associated with the Tea Party and who seems to push a Christian agenda.

But then I remembered THIS picture.

And it all just kind of made sense.