Oregonian columnist was on to Liberty Counsel operative

So when it comes to the ginned-up school prayer controversy in Clark County, it's not really surprising that a Jerry Falwell law school that is five years old and its legal arm are hypocritical on First Amendment rights. This is how these people operate, and their lead man, Mat Staver, has been a very busy person. The involvement of Liberty Counsel in Clark County should be a warning sign to everyone who cares about democracy and freedom.

Luckily, I'm not the only one who sees through it. The Oregonian's Steve Duin wasn't exactly impressed when he attended the recent "Restore America" conference in Tualatin, at which Staver spoke.

Before the backdrop of the flag, Staver saluted the Gospel, then downshifted into Deuteronomy. He wanted to explain the blessings waiting for those countries that "fully obey the Lord" -- including, curiously enough, "a strong military" -- and the curses awaiting those that don't.

There was a time, Staver reminisced, when we could leave our doors and cars unlocked. We were a Christian nation, balanced on the pillars of morality and religion. We were securely tied to the principles of our God-fearing founding fathers, the ones who considered blacks fit for slavery and women unfit to vote.

By "booting God out of the government" and organized prayer and Christian teachings from the public schools, Staver continued, this nation has earned the "inevitable consequences" of disobedience.

A weak military. Sexually transmitted diseases. An excess of imports, not exports. Population growth that owes to immigration, not reproduction.

---snip---

But as I sat in that sanctuary, listening to this montage of facts and fictions, Christian principles and conservative canards, and, worse, Staver's casual blending of pornography, pedophilia and same-sex marriage, I marveled at the disconnect with the worship service. How did we get here? What happened to the heart of the message? Why is the congregation listening with muted respect or, each time Staver rakes the ACLU, fevered applause?

Good questions from Duin. The religious right has made this a tribal thing, immune to logic or facts. They wish to claim they are being persecuted because they are not allowed to persecute others.

Hopefully more media outlets will understand this basic fact.