Here’s a personal account of how Charlie Crist deals with atheists:
Last night as I was leaving a pizzeria in Downtown St. Pete, I ran into a small group of people around Florida Governor Charlie Crist who was campaigning for a US Senate run. So, I walked over waited a moment to gain his attention and shook his hand. As we were shaking hands I asked him if he really believes that the letters he sent to Jerusalem prevent hurricanes from hitting Florida.
His smile immediately dropped and he replied “Who’s more powerful than God.” That wasn’t really an answer so asked him again to which I got a similar reply. While this was happening one of his people put a “Charlie Crist for US Senate 2010” sticker on me. Then when I told Charlie that I did not believe in God he turned beat red and ripped the sticker off of my chest. He did a 180 to start shaking other peoples hands, and turned to scream over his shoulder that he feels sorry for me.
Do you think there are any ‘militant’ atheists out there in the leadership of our movement who would react in the same way if a Baptist or a Catholic or a Muslim came up to shake their hands? Not one.
Wow. I really hope that story gets some media traction.
Wow.
I just wish he would come out of the closet. He’s not fooling anybody.
Looks like it is.
I wouldn’t vote for him anyway. However, I sure wouldn’t base my vote on some unsupported internet anecdote (not saying it isn’t true). There are plenty of other reasons not to vote for him.
Though I’d like to hear someone ask Crist about the incident.
As God said to me only the other day “Who the fuck is Charlie Crist?”
I’m not voting for a Republican anyway, but if I had to pick one I’d easily support Crist over his primary opponent Rubio.
In Florida it used to be that ex-felons couldn’t vote, but for some reason Crist really acted on this issue and has removed a lot (not all) of these antidemocratic restrictions.
Sad to hear he’s a bigot like this.
What’s the word I’m looking for? NO
Crist is the good one who has a chance to be elected to the Senate. Marco Rubio may never have had an opportunity to say that atheists belong in prison, but the rest of his benighted views imply that he would not mind. For some reason, the Democrats don’t seem to have any strong candidates running.
Florida (and the rest of us) has a real problem.
Can’t see it hurting him really, even if it does hit the mainstream. Didn’t Bush say:
“I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God”
When Middlebrooks was given that sticker he became its owner and Crist grabbing it constitutes theft and assault on Middlebrooks. I guess it’s OK since Middlebrooks is an Atheist.
He’s less insane than Jeb Bush, and that’s probably what got him elected ( at least I got that impression when I lived in central FL back then )
That reaction makes me wonder what else he is in his closet – maybe an atheist ;)
Here’s the letter that the president of Atheists of Florida, John Kieffer, sent to Governor Crist.
(PS: the previous record for number of simultaneous visitors to the AoF forum was 32. It’s currently at 54 and climbing. All glory to the Pharyngulohorde.)
The correct answer is Chuck Norris. Of course, if there were to be a fight between the two, I bet god wouldn’t even show up.
Oh sure, he’ll wipe out entire cities just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time when his “chosen people” come plowing through, but no way does he show up for a fight with Fuckin’ Chuck Norris. No way.
#1
Unfortunately, that would probably only GET him more votes, than cost him.
Furthermore, I don’t think it’s wise to base a (non-)vote recommendation on only this one incident. You HAVE to consider the man’s program, what he has done and accomplished so far (I’m not endorsing him, but he really wasn’t that bad as a governor), and who his opponents are.
To suggest not to vote for him, because he feels sorry for atheists seems a bit over the top, especially since most, if not all, of us here … feel sorry for the man, for not being an atheist.
That shouldn’t cost US any votes either!
The story, if true, could be a clever way for Gov. Crist to pick up more of those rabid Christian votes in the GOP primary. He’s relatively moderate compared to Marc Rubio, who is an out and out extremist and the current darling of the teabagger movement.
The GOP primary for the U.S. Senate in Florida is officially a “lose-lose” situation.
Very true… never underestimate the power of the “warrior poet for the almighty” angle to bring out the religious voters… especially with a name like “Crist”. He’s out there, shunning the evil baby-eating atheists, and organizing hurricane aversion letter-writing campaigns to save your souls, Florida! Now get out and vote vote for him… or you’re going to hell.
They probably decided running opposing candidates was too confrontational and have gone for a bipartisan approach of giving the Republicans an easy win.
Mark of the beast?
I would have considered voting for Crist back when I lived in St. Pete, but I also would have done anything to get rid of Jeb. Now I don’t know about Crist’s religious beliefs, and I knew even less then. I would have voted for him if I considered him an effective leader who represented my interests well, regardless of his religious beliefs. That wouldn’t change because of one person’s uncorroborated anecdote, but if there was a pattern of evidence that he was that bigoted against atheists, then I would certainly not vote for him.
@Celtic_Evolution – Jack Bauer is way more powerful than Chuck Norris. And I think we need a whole new target for these jokes, the toughest real man alive – Brett Favre.
#14
Another “clever” answer to the question if he thought his letters would prevent Florida from hurricanes would have been:
“Well… *smile* SO far, is HAS!” ..
as we haven’t had any for the past 4 years, and the less educated would start parrot it, and BELIEVE it’s thanks to Crist’s letters, and thus vote for the miracle man.
Plus it has the added bonus to not personally offend any atheists. At least not in public.
Not to worry. I don’t vote for Republicans any more (I’m ashamed to say I used to) and Crist is a Republican.
But thanks for the information. This behavior “and turned to scream over his shoulder that he feels sorry for me” is what I should expect from a Republican retard but it still surprises me when I hear about it. I had no idea Crist was that much of a fucking idiot.
I noticed when (about two years ago?) Florida’s politicians, pasters, preachers, and other religious assholes, were complaining about our new public school science standards, our Governor Crist kept his mouth shut about it. I thought that was odd because I expected him to say “enough is enough, these new standards should be accepted as is, because they were written by the experts, scientists and science teachers.” But he said nothing. Now I know why. He didn’t want to admit he was a religious extremist, about equal to the Taliban.
http://darwin-killed-god.blogspot.com/
nice
Well… I can’t really argue the Jack Bauer thing… but “Fuckin'” doesn’t have the same panache in front of “Jack Bauer” as it does in front of “Chuck Norris”… that’s a criteria. And Brett Fahhhh-vruh? Are you kidding me? Dude was addicted to pain killers. You think Fuckin’ Chuck Norris ever took a pain killer?
CE @22,
You think Fuckin’ Chuck Norris ever took a pain killer?
Chuck Norris doesn’t take painkillers. Chuck Norris kills pain with his own bare hands.
Only Batman could beat God. Of course, God wouldn’t fight someone he knew would kill him.
@Celtic_Evolution – I stand corrected.
That’s not to say that he shouldn’t be thoroughly shamed for it. If this story is true, he needs to be held accountable for it, and feel the media/constituent consequences fast and hard. If he wants people to vote on his record rather than his actions towards actual voters, he’ll need to apologize and take a good look at his own biases and attitudes, and shape up.
It would be interesting to inform him that La Cumbre Vieja, a volcano on Las Palmas, will in the not too distant future, erupt and the entire western flank will slide in the Atlantic.
The resulting tsunami will effectively take out the entire eastern seaboard of the US.
http://sci.tech-archive.net/Archive/sci.geo.geology/2005-01/0004.html
How many letters will he write to get the good Lord to stop the eruption?
Oh please no. I can not wait until the day this meme dies a much deserved and horrible death.
@Movable Type – Is that pure sarcasm, or do you actually think there’s any good science behind the notion of an Atlantic tsunami threatening Florida?
I’m thinking that he’ll get very good results from letters sent to stop the eruption, since the likelihood of such a cataclysmic event is incredibly low already.
Three points – make that four:
1) Crist is almost certainly suffering from Ashburn syndrome.
2) Crist is better than Rubio.
3) Please remember that, hanging chads notwithstanding, Florida is evenly split on almost everything. One cannot plausibly accuse “Floridians” of supporting anything or anyone; you get 50%.
4) Perhaps the best thing to do is to get Crist elected, then out him. There is no outing Rubio; he is exactly as he appears.
from the movie “Airheads”
Chazz: Who’d win in a wrestling match, Lemmy or God?
Chris Moore: Lemmy.
[Rex imitates a game show buzzer]
Chris Moore: … God?
Rex: Wrong, dickhead, trick question. Lemmy *IS* God.
I’m not a resident of Florida, but I would probably still vote for him over Rubio. And I don’t mean I would sit the election out. I would actively vote against Rubio by voting for Crist.
Heh… sorry Rev… it’s meant mockingly at this point for me… and I still get a chuckle out of thinking of Ben Stiller in “Dodgeball” saying “Fuckin’ Chuck Norris”.
Also: Assault? Battery? Hate crime? He ripped the sticker off the guy’s shirt. This is a major overreaction. Just because the religious folk need to act and feel persecuted to get attention doesn’t mean we need to stoop to their level.
According to Kirby Dick’s film Outrage, he is also in the Roy Ashburn club and has been doing his damndest to keep down the gay community in Florida. What a douche.
To which even the not-so clever could reply
Lisa, I want to buy your rock…
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
It won’t die until Chuck Norris kills it.
That’s Floridians, you damn Yankee!
The expected Democratic nominee is a federal Representative named Kendrick Meek. He does not yet appear poised to inherit the seat: partly because so far the media are treating him with benign neglect, partly because, well, his tan is even deeper than the president’s, and Floridians are quite complexion-conscious.
Am I the only one who thinks the story sounds a little glurgey? Way too good to be true? I mean I don’t doubt that Crist isn’t going to wholeheartedly embrace someone who declares themselves an atheist, especially if that person just threw a condescending insult at him, but he’s such a pure political animal I can’t imagine him yelling stuff at someone on the the street. And the only two restaurants that might be called pizzerias in downtown are both on busy streets, so it wouldn’t be very politic at all. (I’m assuming that if the story wasn’t made up out of whole cloth and/or the person writing it knows St. Pete, the pizzeria referenced is Fortunato’s on Central, not Joey Brooklyn’s, which is now next to the Scientology Center and a sorta-strip club, not to mention across the street from a homeless hang out.)
The only guy in the Atheist movement I would sell a gun to is Daniel Dennet. He’s a big guy and has nothing to prove.
The rest of them are boiling with rage just under the surface, especially Dawkins. If you ever get close to Dawkins, look at all the scars on his knuckles. His reputation for violence rivals Russel Crowe or Carl Sagan.
And I heard that Neil Tyson guy will bite your ear off if you fuck with him.
I’ll take my chances with Christians in Florida, they’re all worn out from beating their way out of the closet every morning, and you can always give them a BJ to calm them down so they won’t kill you.
Shakes fist at Epikt
I’m not going to vote for him, but I hope the Republicans do, since the alternative is Marco Rubio, and believe it or not, Crist is the better option of the two.
Posted by: dutchdoc
Just like:
About the stronger than god idiocy.
In a way, each of us is “stronger than god”.
Any of us can affect the environment, I can, for pick up a stick in Texas and carry it back to NY.
We can pick up a steer skull and bring it back to NYC.
If fact, an ant can pick up a small grain of sand and put it back down.
All of these are examples of things stronger than god. That is if you define strength as “able to affect the world around us.”
Any male and female of the same species can create a new life.
God cannot do any of these things.
Of course, this depends on several meaningless notions. Somehow, it strikes me that “What is stronger than god?” is like, “What happened before the big bang?” and “Where is a man’s functional uterus”. It might be syntactically correct, but the questions are meaningless.
Believe me, if I could convince the Theotards in this town that Crist wasn’t worth it, I would. I certainly did not vote for him and I wouldn’t again.
It’s convincing *them* that he needs to go.
Toni
Apparently, no. Floridians are far more taken with the candidate who says Charlie Crist is too liberal.
http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2010/03/crist-down-big.html
@Scott David Hamilton – I would also consider JoJo’s across the street from Forunato’s as a contender, if it’s still there (haven’t been there in a while). That doesn’t really change anything though. The event could have happened inside the restaurant, the account isn’t too clear on that, but there isn’t much room inside Fortunato’s and JoJo’s is bigger but still pretty tightly packed with tables. I think there’s no reason to take this individual at his word, but it certainly seems like a poor political move regardless of the number of people around unless it was intentional as some have suggested to win votes from the religious right. But everybody makes mistakes, so who knows?
I miss both those restaurants. The garlic rolls at JoJo’s were awesome, regardless of the effect they had on my breath. And Fortunato’s was about the only place I could afford to eat for a while.
Only thing I can add is that Rubio pushed for the Florida House’s passage of an antievolution bill in 2008. Crist was mum about whether he would sign it or not, but it never got to his desk.
Can god make a rock so bit even he cannot lift it?
(Textbook answer:) Yes, but then he would just make himself stronger.
Years of conditioning in a closed environment probably made Crist think he shouted out a diplomatic, tactful response to the aggressive, militant announcement by the atheist (that he ‘didn’t believe in God.’) Instead of calling the atheist evil, Crist said something compassionate, that he ‘feels sorry.’ Love the sinner, hate the sin.
He had his ‘politician face’ on for that one.
If god is so powerful why can’t god prevent me from being an atheist?
for the record, i didn’t vote for that assclown.
though i’d probably have a little more respect for him if he came out of the closet already.
Yeah, if God is so powerful, he’d be able to fix Janine’s hyperlink. *runs
I don’t know much about sports, but I know Favre’s a wishy washy self important punk! Bruce Lee should get this memetic mutation deal, not Bauer, because he was on some level a decent person. (I have a serious problem with recent glorification of heroes who pretty much use torture on ‘terrerists’)
On topic…
Guys, I know it’s hard to keep in mind because this is the state of OLD PEOPLE, but not everyone down here is a godbot. McCain /did/ lose this state, if you recall. Narrowly, but he did. I mean, pretty much everyone in THIS TOWN is, but that’s because I’m in the panhandle and we get a lot of spillover dipshits from Alabama and Mississippi. Crist could very well lose votes over this, and I mean as an aggregate, not just the obvious atheist voters. He lost mine. Why should religious beliefs matter? Well, ideally they wouldn’t, but ideally someone whose religious beliefs apparently include hatred wouldn’t be running. I’m not going to vote for someone who hates me, period.
Course that takes out the republican party anyway since I’m not a white male.
Jim@#8
Probably not: http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=13314 .
Yeah, if God is so powerful, he’d be able to fix Janine’s hyperlink. *runs
Laugh it up, tough guy! I used a href instead of p style! Ya better find a place to duck!
—————————————————
Course that takes out the republican party anyway since I’m not a white male.
Doesn’t stop Sarah Palin. Shit, the fact she only operates with a brain stem doesn’t stop her either.
I find Megan McCain more interesting for this then Palin; Palin’s a dipshit and a godbot, and a self hating woman, that’s easy. Megan seems intelligent and well read, and is civilly liberal. And is a republican wat? Granted, she’s white, but still..
Duck? Where? Is a mallard?
I only ever use a href
because I don’t know p style.
But if you check my ref,
you know that I got style.
(you can hate me for that poem)
Fucking condescending twit. Save your fucking pity, because a person shouldn’t be ashamed that he’s thinks differently.
This kind of crap is WHY I don’t live in Florida near my family members. My sis home schools and is teaching her kids the earth is 6,000 years old. My brother claims to be a Christian and has nothing to say about our government’s torture of detainees, and opposes health care reform.
They live in Central Florida and I’d say over 50% the people there are willfully ignorant.
Yes, Gyeong Hwa Pak, I am sending Mallard Fillmore after your ass!
‘raspberry’
Rutee, it seems that Megan and Sarah really do not like each other. Can’t say that surprises me. It seems that Megan does not yet want to succumb to the insanity that is ripping up the Republicans.
fishyfred, technically Crist did attack a person and took one of his belongings. That is a crime. So is going 45 in a 40 zone. I didn’t say he should be arrested for it, just that he did it.
And if the situation were reversed, an Atheist grabbing a sticker off a Crist, do you think he would have let it go?
I missed the part where this has been confirmed
Who’s more powerful than God?
Well, according to Judges 1:19, pretty much anybody with iron chariots. So much for omnipotence.
He does. You’re just lying to yourself when you pretend you don’t really believe in God.
/presupposition
TONIGHT AT 6:00 PM
Hear the story . . .
Call with questions . . .
Add your voice . . .
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/atheist/2010/03/09/florida-governor-crist-lashes-out-at-atheist
The Atheist Forum on BlogTalkRadio will interrupt our standard programming to cover this breaking new story on what would be a relatively minor incident if it were not the Governor of Florida who lashed out at an atheist for not believing in god!
If we do not speak up and stand up for ourselves, then who will?
Listen on your PC by going to the above link, or listen by phone by calling 914-338-0261 at 6:00 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, March 9). For those who cannot listen live, the show will be recorded for later podcast online and through iTunes.
Maybe, because of his last name, he believes he is the second coming? Maybe he thinks he was defending his dad.
Rev. BigDumbChimp, how much confirmation do you need? How likely do you think it is Crist would do this?
There is more stupid/jerk people:
Think Not Lest Ye Be Damned
or http://jonathanturley.org/2010/03/09/think-not-lest-ye-be-damned/
moveable type –
Doesn’t sound likely; this is more recent info:
http://volcanism.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/gran-canaria-volcanic-hazards-newly-mapped/
Edit: this gotta ruffle your feathers, PZ.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/09/liberty-university-studen_n_491297.html
It’s from Liberty University.
I wasn’t old enough to stop him from getting elected, but I’ll try my damnedest to get him out of office. And by that, I mean I’ll vote for someone else.
The ironic thing is Crist is actually considered the “moderate” in the GOP primary. Marco Rubio his opponent is the darling of the Tea Baggers.
You do know that Crist is the “sane one”, right?
That Rubio is much crazier — and no Dem will be elected, short of the rapture dragging off both fundamentalists and catholics.
Crist is the closest that Florida has to sanity — which can actually win an election. Florida — Disney World is the closest they get to reality.
Janine, Mistress Of Foul Mouth Abuse, OM | March 9, 2010 12:48 PM:
God wants you to go to Hell. If you got into Heaven your filthy mouth would make God’s virgin ears burn.
I am glad to see PZ was brought into the loop about what happened here in Florida and mentioned it on his blog. I logged in here hoping I would see something about it today and I did. (Thanks PZ!)
I would like to add…
I noticed several people mentioning that Crist does not really have much competition in the Senate race. It is kinda perceived to me to be coming across like some sort of false sense of bravado from a man that seems to think he can say or do anything he wants. I hate the implication that he is going to be a shoe in to the Senate because a stronger candidate has not emerged. He damn sure is not getting my vote.
Also…
All these Chuck Norris references sounds like an great tie in for the next endless thread!
Uncle Glenny | March 9, 2010 4:24 PM:
Cumbre Vieja is on Las Palmas. That article is about Gran Canaria. Two different islands. However there does seem to be a fair amount of doubt about the Cumbre Vieja megatsunami scenario; see here or here.
Uncle Glenny | March 9, 2010 4:24 PM:
Cumbre Vieja is on Las Palmas. That article is about Gran Canaria. Two different islands. However there does seem to be a fair amount of doubt about the Cumbre Vieja megatsunami scenario; see here or here.
I had intended to say, in my previous comment, that I had removed the ‘http://’ from Uncle Glenny’s link in order to fit my post in the 4 link limit.
meh, i like crist, he is a pretty moderate guy, for american politics. whether he feels sorry for me or not, he can still be negotiated with. he’s way better than rubio, who is a total tea bag pandering loon.
plus, closeted republican politicians crack my shit up. oh man, everytime lindsey graham opens her mouth… hahahahaha! that shit is comedy!
llewelly,
THank you; sloppy of me.
Meh, we have to start outing these people on YouTube. People will believe a video of someone screaming at an atheist.
Fishyfred, it may seem like an overreaction (fwiw, I think it is, too), but the legal definitions are very clear on what is considered assault and what is considered battery. Unfortunately, they (and a lot of laws) are weirdly worded enough that people can use them as excuses to sue. Of course, those sue-happy people should remember how much it will cost them. Lawyers bill as much work to clients as they can.
“Do you think there are any ‘militant’ atheists out there in the leadership of our movement who would react in the same way if a Baptist or a Catholic or a Muslim came up to shake their hands? Not one.”
Well, Christopher Hitchens probably comes the closest… He speaks with immense contempt for even decent religious people. Usually because of their beliefs, even if they’re not acting badly as a result of them.
I don’t know if I believe this story. I can’t believe that he was in a situation where not one camera was able to capture the audio / video of what happened.
Off topic:
Chuck Norris pales in comparison to High Overlord Varok Saurfang
(Don’t mind me, WoW nerd)
@Alverant, #66:
Some proof would be nice, seriously. Its rumor, and it really does not sound terribly plausible. In fact, I for one would not be the least surprised to find it was a story planted by a Rubio supporter.
Dugun Organizasyonu
Cam Balkon
Thanx very nice
Now that the self-righteous twit Crist has been claimed to be the moderate in this race, I’ll be curious to see if PZ adjusts his response re: voting. Between Crist and Rubio, Floridians may not have much choice.
OTOH, no reason at all why skeptics can’t lambast Crist over this one. Might give him some street cred amongst the believers, though.