More of the same Christian bashing content from Hollywood, people of faith feared after hearing the proposed show. The offensive show title was merely the icing on the devil’s food cake.

ABC blinked on the name controversy, switching it to “Good Christian Belles” before simplifying matters with “GCB.” But our first peek at the new series, which doesn’t debut until March, shows that the content will still rile Christians.

The initial “GCB” teaser above appears rather harmless, as a gaggle of Christian ladies stir up old hostilities toward a woman who once gave them fits in high school.

The new show peek, exclusive to The Huffington Post, paints a far less flattering portrait of the aforementioned “Belles.”

Star Kristin Chenoweth, an actress of faith off screen, quotes the Psalms in the show preview as a way to smite the bad girl from back in their day (played by Leslie Bibb). The clip’s big moment comes when we learn how Bibb’s character’s husband died. Suffice to say he was being unfaithful and suffered the painful consequences. Once the GCBers stop giggling over how he died Chenoweth’s character gets them back in line.

“Ladies, it is not appropriate to speak of such things on the phone. I’ll see you at church,” Chenoweth purrs.

The book, like all of Stephenson’s, is extremely character driven, flipping from one viewpoint to another, often in the same time sequence, allowing the reader to experience the action from multiple viewpoints. It revolves around a growing cast of characters, starting with former marijuana smuggler, now online pole playing game mogul, Richard “Dodge” Forthrast. He brings along his adopted niece, former Eritrean refugee — now Midwestern girl — Zula Forthrast.

The motley lot expands to include an ex-Spetsnaz security expert, a Hungarian hacker, a Hakka guide, a Chinese virus righter, a Welsh convert to Islam cum-terrorist mastermind, an MI-6 agent, and an Irish American CIA agent.

One of Stephenson’s greatest talents is on display in this novel. He has an uncanny ability to take normal people and show how they are able to achieve extraordinary things when put in extraordinary situations. Unlike the ubermen of Heinlein and Hubbard, Stephenson’s protagonists are completely fallible. They make mistakes, break nails, fall over, and land face first in the mud. Yet, they still manage, barely, to make it out alive. Well, most of them.

This novel isn’t as groundbreaking as the one that put Stephenson on the geek radar, his cyberpunk thriller “Snow Crash,” based in a dystopian future. Nor does it deliver with the super technical red meat of cryptography that defined “The Cryptonomicon.” With a few minor forays into talk of secure network protocols and some other technical minutiae, “REAMDE” is much more accessible to a broader audience than most of his other works.

What really helps set “REAMDE” apart, though, is its take on religious extremism. There are bad guys in the book. There is no mistaking who they are and why they are doing what they are doing. The villains are Islamic terrorists who have no qualms murdering innocents, rape for ideological reasons, and kill whoever gets in their way. It was surprising, actually, as every other potentially bad actor is given a positive spin. Russian mobsters, Chinese hackers, CIA network specialists, they’re all good guys, regardless of their foibles.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Christian isolationists living off the grid in the Idaho panhandle. They happily refer to themselves as wingnuts and don’t take themselves too seriously. They do take their individual rights and religious beliefs very seriously. The only really derogatory mention of them is by one character who refers to them as “Christian Taliban,” but he, too, goes to them for help and appreciates their frontier spirit in the end.

The book comes in at a whopping 1,056 pages, but the action never stops and the enjoyment never lags. The characters are believable, the story implausible and the little details that Stephenson fills the book with are, as always, breathtaking.  If you have a few days to spare and don’t mind getting nothing else done, I highly recommend it for some good fun.

Content Warning: There are frequent uses of coarse language and very graphic descriptions of violence.

The plot revolves around the recently widowed (and beautiful) Amanda Vaughn, whose husband Bill died in a car crash. Just about everything the couple owns has been seized by federal marshals because the recently deceased Bill was indicted in a Ponzi scheme, leaving his wife and teenaged children (Will and Sara) with little choice but to pack up what’s left and leave California for Amanda’s native Texas – Dallas, to be precise – and move in with Amanda’s mother Gigi until Amanda can find a job and support herself and the kids.

Amanda not only has to cope with the shame surrounding Bill’s death and helping her children transition, but moving back to her hometown. As daughter Sara discovers one of Amanda’s old high school yearbooks at Gigi’s (who does not want her grandchildren to call her Grandma), it prompts a discussion of Amanda’s past as a popular cheerleader who wasn’t above being a manipulative bitch to get what she wanted. Not proud of her past, Amanda is determined to make a fresh start. Too bad some of the girls she grew up with aren’t willing to let bygones be bygones.

Darlene Cockburn, Cricket Caruth and Sharon Pevy are gleefully plotting their revenge, which is 20 years overdue. Darlene is the former ugly duckling who is now a miracle of plastic surgery. Cricket’s looks have also improved since her high school days (and she isn’t above giving her daughter breast implants for her 16th birthday), but Sharon has gone from being a svelte beauty queen to a woman who has to wear queen-sized panty hose. She even defends herself when gobbling food that she’s supposed to be putting into baskets for charity by saying she’s testing the food before giving it away. All three women are regular churchgoers who go to Bible study and wrap their revengeful plans and general – well, bitchiness and cattiness – in a false robe of godliness. I guess having one’s bikini area waxed in the shape of a cross and having Bible verses etched on one’s car has to count for something.

Amanda’s first trial comes the first Sunday she’s in town, when Gigi forces her and the kids to go to church. Amanda’s argument against it is that she and her husband didn’t raise Will and Sara with any particular religion, figuring they could find their own spirituality. (Cue liberal soundtrack.) But Gigi tells her daughter that while they live under her roof, they follow her rules, which include church every Sunday. This is where Amanda meets up with her former classmates for the first time in two decades. Darlene begins the assault by “praying” for Amanda during the service, using the parable of the prodigal son and saying that it’s not their place to judge others’ lack of morality. Afterward, during the coffee hour, the only person who is genuinely kind to Amanda is Heather Sappington, who has become very successful in real estate. She admits that life is still like high school, only with more money and power behind the petty machinations. Men are still very much hot for Amanda, even though she doesn’t do anything to attract their attention. This does not go unnoticed by her foes. And as Amanda leaves church, she comes to the realization that she’s back in Dallas so she can atone for her past sins.

It’s a hard slog. Just when Amanda thinks she’s found a job, she loses it due to Cricket’s behind-the-scenes machinations. Her daughter Sara makes friends quickly, but doesn’t realize that she’s just being pumped for information by Cricket’s daughter Alexandra. Son Will has more difficulty fitting in, getting into a fight on his first day at school. And suddenly Amanda finds she has a secret admirer, who sends her a new Mercedes and an entire household worth of goods from a local department store. To top it all off, Sharon’s husband Zack catches Amanda off guard and forces a kiss on her when Amanda goes to his car dealership to find out who bought her the car that she doesn’t want – a kiss seen by Darlene, who is torn about whether to tell Sharon about it.

There’s a lot more – all of it somewhat nauseating. At the end of the pilot, Amanda manages to turn the tables on her foes, which gives the viewer the promise of more estrogen-fueled, sex-infused catfights to come in future episodes. Will America embrace Good Christian Belles in same way they embraced Desperate Housewives? No idea – new shows are always a gamble, no matter what the plot line. But the anti-Christian tone in this one is more than obvious. The main characters are all portrayed as a bunch of grasping, grabbing women who claim to follow the word of the Lord but live the life of the sinner. Are there real people like that? Sure. But hypocrites and immoral people come in all shapes and sizes. They certainly aren’t all Christians.

Notice, too, the location: Dallas, Texas. Sure, it’s a big city, but Texas is deep in the heart of red state flyover country. Can you imagine Good Christian Belles being set in, say, New York City or Los Angeles?

Now, if Hollywood were to play equal opportunity offender and create a television show called Good Muslim Bitches, or Belles, or whatever, that showed Muslim women as a bunch of grasping, grabbing women who use their religion as a convenient shield, then perhaps I wouldn’t be so quick to complain about Good Christian Belles. But unlike Christians, Southerners, gun owners and fat people, Muslims are a protected minority.

Besides, Christians don’t issue fatwas when their religion is insulted – they organize boycotts and write letters to the editor.

How hostile is Hollywood for fundamental Christians that they would be ramping up productions in places like rural Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and especially central Florida? Mel Damski, director of several David E. Kelly hits, told me Kelly hates all religion but especially despises Christians, and that he misses no opportunity to “put them in the pit” of one of his dramas. The mini drama between David Duchovny and Victoria Jackson is another example.

I had a small X Files part on an episode that guest starred Jackson. She is a well known conservative Christian who left the Saturday Night Live cast after six seasons of being ridiculed for her religion, she said. Having worked as an SNL extra during the early 90s, I can personally attest to the derision of her by many on the show. But back to X Files.

Between takes, atheist star Duchovny, a very smart guy in terms of an SAT test with degrees from both Princeton and Yale, made fun of Jackson by baiting her with cleverly worded, condescending questions about God, Christianity, sex and politics. To her credit, she did not respond in kind. But no matter what she said, Duchovny was right back on her with another sly sarcastic put down. Every so often, the torment would cause  Jackson to exclaim “I’m a Christian woman!” That just whetted  Duchovny’s appetite for more, of course, and he’d then begin needling her anew.

Now, the only difference between what Duchovny was doing and what goes on almost every day in Hollywood is that he was expressing his disdain openly. The stuff I and maybe you hear weekly at some conservative Christian’s expense is done passive-aggressively behind their backs — and yes, such sentiments do translate into cancelled projects  and lost work opportunities even for the likes of billionaire Christian conservative  Philip Anschutz. 

Disney pulled out of its deal with Anschutz’ Walden Media to film C.S. Lewis‘ complete three book Christian message Narnia series. Disney had profitably financed The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian but gave no reason for dumping the third book.  Could jokes made by some at Disney about Jesus being a lion and less flattering comments have had something to do with the decision? Others, like my director friend Charlie Carner, do manage to have a career, but I have no doubt he’d be getting more greenlights if he were not an openly conservative Catholic who stands up for both his religion and American exeptionalism. “You got a problem with that?” I watched him growl at a liberal heckler during a Directors Guild presentation Carner was giving. Others just prefer “to get the ‘L’ out of Hollywood,” as Florida filmmaker De Miller puts it. “We’d like Central Florida to be ‘Holywood,‘” he adds.

Should Hollywood be worried? Could a Holywood turn out to be a Roger Corman type filmmaking factory that spawns faith-oriented equivalents of  Corman protégés Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich and James Cameron who may not only prefer to film in non union Florida, but who also want to put stories on the screen that skew popular culture away from the edge of what fundamental Christians see as a Tinselltown enabled moral precipice?

That’s unknowable at the moment, of course, and there’s no savvy, Christian version of Corman that I’m aware of. But every reduction of Hollywood’s constantly shrinking audience share has to be a concern to all but the most fiscally foolish who avoid reading the proverbial writing on the wall. Sure the faith-based films are made on micro budgets, often with with donated labor, locations and gear.  Sure they almost never feature name actors and maybe the writing and camera work are the stuff of Hollywood sneers. But they are in a learning curve and the available evidence indicates conservative Christians are a growing segment of America whose entertainment dollars are profiting their own.

“Fireproof,” a Christian film made by the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia made 40 million dollars and cost waaaay less than 1 million to make. The filmmakers themselves, the Kendrick brothers, are both Baptist ministers. Great as their number are, I suspect a pitch by those guys to Harvey Weinstein would not be well received and they know it. So they and others are looking to make the Orlando area their own filmmaking capital for some very sound reasons.

The weather is good all year and “there’s all this acting talent, thanks to the theme parks,” says David Nixon, co-director of “Letters to God.”  That local talent includes some retired and snowbird name actors. Gary Burghoff of TV’s “M*A*S*H” winters on Florida and has worked on a couple of projects. “We have A-list crews who don’t get the chance to showcase their work very often,” adds “The Whisper Home” director Jaime Velez-Soto. “They want the chance to make movies here, and not in L.A. or wherever, so they help you out.”

Then there are the churches.

Central Florida, like the South in general, is chock full of conservative Christian churches who want to evangelize on a broader scale. “We’ve always wanted to minister outside the four walls of the church, to the whole world,” said Pastor Matthew J. Shaw of the Faith and Power Worship Center in Apopka. It’s the church behind Faith and Power Pictures. “Movies seem like a better way of spreading our message.” That point is not lost on many other churches who are starting their own production companies in hopes their films may eventually reach theaters.

That may seem like a big stretch, but do remember that the Hebrews trained in the wilderness for a long time before emerging as a force to be reckoned with in Canaan.

Although only in his early twenties, Crowder’s already established himself. Aside from acting, he serves as a contributor for Fox News and performs regularly as a comedian. His online videos have been both extremely funny (see the debate between Crowder and Crowder’s impersonation of Keith Olbermann) and deadly serious (see his video about Canadian health care), and those videos have earned Crowder well-deserved media attention as a rising conservative star.  

Aside from his distinct roles as comedian and conservative pundit, Crowder is also an actor and his latest film “To Save a Life” was recently released on DVD. The movie tells the story of Jake (Randy Wayne), a high school student struggling with grief and regret. Early on in the story, one of Jake’s childhood friends commits suicide. That friend had become a loner after Jake abandoned him years earlier to join the popular crowd. After the suicide, Jake decides to change his own life and quickly befriends some of the school’s outcasts, much to the displeasure of his more popular friends. Crowder plays one of the popular friends horrified when Jake starts hanging out with ”losers.” 

The movie had a strong reaction from audiences but many critics disliked it. Crowder wrote a piece for Fox News about the critical reaction. “The Hollywood elitists hated it,” Crowder wrote, adding that “surprisingly in most of the nasty reviews, the arrogant critics praised the film for its high-production quality and more than capable cast.” Crowder also noted that some reviewers hated the film’s Christian themes and, as he told me, they blatantly attacked that message. On the other hand, Crowder said the fan reaction has been positive in the form of “tons of e-mails every day,” and that he’s heard from “lots of kids who’ve been really touched by the movie.”

I also spoke with Crowder about the state of comedy today. He noted that a lot of cynical comedians who are seen as edgy or cutting edge are just “people [that Hollywood management] allowed to get past the gatekeepers.” As a conservative comedian and as an actor, Crowder has faced some uphill battles with those management “gatekeepers” who expected him to go along with their political preferences. Crowder added that he had stood up against Hollywood’s liberal management professionals before deciding to forge his own career path.

That path will  include a new venture as Crowder will be releasing his own book soon. The book, he informed me, is about “Green Day Liberals” and “how the American cultural machine affects people.” He noted that the default position in popular culture is that young people should be liberal.

Crowder has been one of a few well-known conservative Christians working in Hollywood and, as he told me, he was even “one of the few Christian actors” on the set of “Life,” a blatantly religious movie.  ”I think more Christians need to get involved [in the filmmaking industry],” Crowder said.

One person who has defied the liberal Hollywood culture and who will continue to do so is Mr. Crowder. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend “To Save a Life” and I look forward to reading his new book. In the battle against a culture that pushes young people left, it’s good to have a  multi-talented young man on our side.

I felt like I’d just been punched in the face.

Is it a sin to watch the news? Maybe it’s okay to watch it, but not to talk about it.

I was sitting in the pew of my old church, sucking on a Coffee Nip, 30 calories, and mentally calculating my caloric intake of the day….so far, I had about 970 calories left for the day if I was to lose 20 pounds by…I focused on the sermon again.

The pastor said, “Okay…I’ll just come out and say it. (angry face) Instead of clicking a button and sending out some email information about the President…why don’t you spend 15 minutes praying for him?

He was looking right at me.

My mind shouted back at him, “Why can’t we do both?!”

I do both.

Are Christians allowed to read and think ? Or are we only allowed to pray?!

Now, when I say, “I’m mad at the Christians,” I include myself. I am a Christian. And, I must confess, if I am to be truthful, that…okay, I’ll just put it out there…the first time I ever voted I was forty something. There I said it. I know. It’s embarrassing. But I’m trying to make a point. It was the year Clinton said, “…that depends on the meaning of the word ‘is’.” I snapped. His adultery didn’t shock me so much. I had three preachers already who had done that. It was that haughty look, lack of shame, and zero repentance combined with that asinine sentence…the meaning of the word ‘is’ . That is what led me to the voting booth. I know. I’m sorry. Well, I always thought politics was for the middle age people. But then, one day, I was the middle age people.

So, I voted Clinton out. My vote counted. Bush won.

Back when I was 18 and first got the right to vote, I asked my Dad who I should vote for.

He said, “Anyone with an R next to their name.”

I said, “Why?”

He said, “They’re closest to the Bible.”

So, I voted for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Ross Perot. No, just kidding.

I didn’t vote for anyone. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know where to go. I never saw a sign that said, “Vote Here.” I didn’t know how to “register” or even that I had to register. I didn’t know what the candidates stood for or how to find out. Word of mouth I guess, but no one I hung out with talked about politics, ever.

Al Franken told me once that his family discussed politics at the dinner table every night of his childhood. My family discussed the Bible every night at the dinner table. *Maybe that’s why the Liberals are running the country and not the Christians.

Also, Liberals consider Liberalism their religion. Therefore, they dedicate their souls to the State and we give our souls to Christ. But, I still don’t see why we can’t give our souls to God and our thoughts and energy to Him by being informed and involved in our culture, and keeping our freedoms protected and our country safe. I’m thinking, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 ) So, I’m a U.S. citizen and I should be one with all my might. I should vote with all my might, which to me means be informed, be involved. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.” (Mark 16:15) It doesn’t say ‘go into all the world, except the political world.’

We need candidates who represent what we believe in. Where will we find them? Look in the mirror.

In my 20’s, Reagan was President. I felt secure. I didn’t have to vote. The middle aged people had handled that for me. I did a handstand on the SNL Update desk to celebrate Reagan’s trip to Rejeivich. He went there, ended Communism, and tore down the Berlin Wall with his charm, courage and deployment of Pershing and cruise missiles in Europe. That’s my President. I am safe.

During my “SNL” years, I even did an Update piece on “Terrorists” but I made a big joke out of it. The word “Terrorist” meant nothing to me back then. I filmed my two year old swinging in the park on the Upper West Side and told Dennis Miller I was “looking for terrorists.” The joke was I was just using the news as an excuse to show home videos of my baby because I was a new, proud Mommy.

When I voted Clinton out, I forgot about politics for a while. The Bushes were in and I felt safe again. They knew the meaning of the word ‘is’.

Most of my pastors would not touch politics. I assumed they were afraid of losing their tax-exempt status and rightfully so. They are there to win souls, not pick presidents. But…

What if a fire is about to consume your neighbor’s house, are you supposed to just pray? or maybe pray and scream, “Fire! Fire!” and run over there and try to pull them out of the flames and save them…and their pets?

My friend Jimmy Labriola likes to say, “God Moves Mountains, But You Bring The Shovel.”

**It’s very interesting that Jewish synagogues and African American churches are saturated with political speech, but in evangelical churches it is strictly forbidden.

During the 2008 election, I asked a preacher relative of mine, “Why aren’t Christians getting involved in keeping this Marxist out of office? Don’t they know that in all Communist countries Christians are persecuted?”

He replied, “The church is supposed to win souls. Then, the people will vote the right way.”

I said, “Ooookaaay…but, I have a couple Christian friends who are voting the wrong way…

… And, you do realize that the Progressives consider your preaching “hate speech” , and there is a new law from Henry Waxman that could be “interpreted” in the liberally dominated courts to send you to jail for preaching the Bible.”

He shrugged.

He could get involved. But, no. Just shrug.

I have Congress on my speed dial now. Is that a sin?

I searched my soul. Jesus said all the commandments can be condensed into these two; “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, and mind, and Love thy Neighbor as thyself.” ( Matthew 22:37-40 ) I think that means I should put God first and then, fight for my neighbors’ freedoms and protection, and help him out when he’s in a jam.

Proverbs 3:5-6: “…in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.”

I try to do that:

I acknowledge Him in my stand up act.

I acknowledged Him in my recent college graduation.

I acknowledge Him in my political blogs.

I assumed that my fellow Christians were educating themselves along with me. They get Beck, Hannity, and Rush. They have brains. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 1:7)

Alas, they were not.

I spoke at a Tea Party in the Bible belt, where I have many conservative Christian relatives. Not one came.

What gives?

“Evil succeeds when good men do nothing.” Christians WAKE UP!

One friend owns a restaurant chain. I asked him, “Doesn’t this Obamacare affect your business? In a bad way?

He replied, “Um…yeah, but that’s not for four years, right?!”

???!!! What?!

So, come on brothers and sisters, quit preaching to the choir and acting perfect in front of each other. Go out into the real world and preach the gospel in your schools, in your work, and in your vote.

That’s what Jesus would do.

Practicing Jew and brilliant thinker, Dennis Prager said on his radio show recently, “If we’re going to take our country back, the Christians are going to have to get involved.”

I interviewed a few Christian friends. I asked them why so many Christians are not involved. Their answers:

“Don’t let politics get in the way of your mission.”

“A political leader cannot change society, only a changed heart can. A heart changed by Christ.”

“Some people have the gift/talent of politics. Some people have the gift/talent of art, or singing, or business.”

“I’m afraid to get involved. I’ll probably get audited or something.”

“I don’t want to make enemies.”

“I’ll lose clients.”

“We are from another kingdom, not this one. We are not of this world.”

“It is the end times. Jesus is coming back soon. The death of America and a one world government is inevitable.”

Jesus is coming back but He doesn’t want us to sit by the window and wait. He wants us to live in the present. I’m thinking, show up at a Tea Party with Ephesians 6:12 on your poster. Call your Congressman and pray for them on the phone. Teach your children about the founding fathers and basic civics. Read the Constitution with them. Tell your Representative # 202-224-2131 that abortion is murder, and you don’t want your taxes funding it. Tell Reid, Pelosi and Boxer that you don’t want the government deciding whether or not you get chemotherapy when you have cancer. Support Sekulow and ACLJ. Call the FCC Complaint Line # 888-225-5322, press 1-3-0 to speak to someone. Tell them you want to keep your Freedom of Speech, and your Conservative and Christian radio. Call Diversity Czar Mark Lloyd, # 202-418-7390 and tell him that “diversity” means Christians and Conservatives are allowed to speak too. Contact the Media Research Center’s Free Speech Alliance. Watch Glenn Beck and Hannity. Compare them to Joy Behar and CNN. Who is lying? Seek the truth. I know we don’t have time. We are raising families and going to work and soccer games and church. But…

Life is a mission field. Politics is just one small slice of life. Waving the banner of Christ in the political arena is just as important as waving it on a mission trip to Mexico or Haiti, or waving it in a jungle in Africa.

Let’s put Jesus back into politics. He can fix it. He can fix anything. Luke 1:37.

I always find it instructive to examine the press agent’s description of the play because the language is always carefully thought out.  The thought process is always “don’t give away too much about the play so that we reveal key plot points, and also, make sure we don’t make the theme come across as too controversial so as not to alienate potential ticket buyers.”

According to the press release, the play “takes a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment and unconditional love. While the play’s central story focuses on the five-year relationship between Adam and Luke, Next Fall goes beyond a typical love story. This timely and compelling new American play forces us all to examine what it means to ‘believe’ and what it might cost us not to.”  You see?  It’s not about two gay guys in a relationship… it’s about ALL of us… especially you middle-aged, heterosexual married people (because you are the people who overwhelmingly buy all of the tickets on Broadway.)

So, let’s explore the actual content of “Next Fall” as described to me by one of my New York sources who has a sympathetic ear whenever they call me.  (This person is “one of us” wink-wink):

It’s about… well… Let’s start from the beginning. Two gay guys, one Christian, one atheist.  Meet, fall in love, move in, etc., etc. The Christian spends all of his time trying to convert the other one, but never succeeds because the atheist is just too smart. He always meets the Christian’s attempts with “logic” and rapier-sharp rejoinders that leave the Christian unable to say anything except “Well, I believe it” or “It WILL happen, it’s written in the Bible.”

The Christian comes from a religious family, with a mother, father, and brother who aren’t exactly very understanding. The father, in particular, is basically a fundamentalist (though that word is never used), who has a habit of saying things like–when talking to his son about a Huckleberry Finn play he was in–”Was that nigger a fag?” And when the atheist meets the father, and talks about wiping himself with the Bible, the father basically responds, “Well, uh, maybe if you read it, you wouldn’t feel that way,” and so on. Oh, and did I mention that the entire family is from the South, and speaks their braindead lines with heavy accents? (“I left my maid with my dog chewing on the bull penis. No, not the maid, my dog!” – not the EXACT line, but pretty close to it… I WISH I could make this up!)

The company is rounded out by a self-described “fag hag” (her term, not mine), who of course is the prettiest and wittiest person on stage short of the atheist (who is presented as the height of poise and confidence, even when battling all these bigoted rednecks), and another highly religious friend of the Christian, who’s also gay but decided to break off contact with him when he fell in love with the atheist. (Which of course gives the atheist the choice line: “So, you don’t mind having sex with men, but you draw the line at love?”) Oh, and the kicker: The Christian is pro-abortion and pro-”stem cell research” (the word “embryonic” was conveniently left out). This, naturally, sets the stage for the father to accept the atheist and for the atheist to sort of respect the Christian’s beliefs in the last 30 seconds of the play, just in time for him to deal with the bigoted brother who’s been offstage the entire night.

So there you have it.  ”Next Fall” seems to have everything a savvy producer (not to mention a leftist theatre critic) is looking for in an evening at the theatre.

My biggest problem with this, and most plays like it, is that it gives the appearance of being thoughtful and deferential to both sides, yet ultimately the conclusion always seems to be that we all just need to put our differences aside and accept each other… a fine and worthy theme, don’t get me wrong.  But, on the journey to that conclusion, my side of the argument continues to be portrayed as hateful, bigoted, and only worthy of pity and condescending hugs at the end of the evening.

It appears that this play was developed in a vacuum.  “Naked Angels” has a great reputation, but those behind it do not hide their perspective.  Their plays are meant to provoke, and they provoke from the same perspective every time.  My question is (as it always seems to be):  At any time did someone in the development process stand up and say, “Hey, you know there are a lot of intelligent and sincere people out there who will have a real problem with being portrayed this way?”

Why do our non-profit theatres, the development labs for new plays and new playwrights, not have at least one token conservative on staff to at the very least provide the perspective of HALF of the ticket buying public who feel offended when they see themselves portrayed in this way?

I hate wishing shows ill, but this one deserves to fail. It’s seems hateful but cloaked in the appearance of acceptance, which I think makes it all the worse.

To start with, Brad Pitt said that he was thinking of running for mayor of New Orleans, on an “Anti-religion, pro-legalization of marijuana and pro-gay marriage” platform. I know, I know… What a risky position to take in Tinseltown, right?

After Brads continued “anti-religion” commentary, Bill Maher decided to step up the game with his uniquely hateful brand of bigotry that’s made him oh so popular with 13-year-old atheists everywhere. In a display of “compassion,” Pitt went on to say, “Well I don’t think any Christians watch this show anyway.”

See what happened there…?  Without even realizing it, Brad Pitt’s showed us that his use of the word “religion” is really inter-changeable with “Christianity,” as is the case with most of Hollywood. The entertainment industry is never anti-Religion; it’s simply anti-Christian. This goes both hand-in-hand with Hollywood’s obsession with immorality, as well as their compulsion to take shots at society’s whipping boy while praising themselves for their “risky performances.”

Brad then went on to say, “I never wanted to step on anyone’s religion” (don’t worry, that doesn’t stop him from doing so immediately afterward), “Until I started to see it define policy.”

Ooooh okay Brad, I get it. You don’t mind people having a strong worldview… Until it begins to manifest itself through their actions… Unless of course their world-view is “pro-marijuana” such as your own as displayed by your subsequent trip down memory lane where you fondly recalled your joint-rolling escapades.

Hollywood Bottom-line: If someone’s “religion” is nothing more than moral relativism, it should absolutely determine policy. If it actually adheres to an established code of conduct/ethics, you better keep it to yourself you, jerk!

*Note*: Keep in mind that none of this applies to Islam. You see, in Hollywood, the most anti-gay, anti-women, anti-peace religion gets a free pass in the name of political correctness. Just keep this in mind if you’re trying to make sense of everything.

“I was raised in a religious household… It just didn’t work for me in the long run,” Brad went on to say. Heck, I guess it wouldn’t work for me either if I wanted to live a life of hedonistic bliss similar to our Hollywood counterparts. If I were living a life of booze, sex and cocaine-off-of-the-ladies-hipbones, the last thing I’d want is to have held myself accountable to a power greater than myself.

Hollywood, we get it. The Christian faith just doesn’t work for you “in the long run.” However, for a large percentage of this country (the same country that makes your movies millions of dollars), it does. So please, for all of our sakes, keep your “beliefs to yourself” and just “stop the hate.”

Can I get an “Amen”?

I was listening to evil talk radio in the car and did hear and read a number of reports on the event.  Depending on whom I was listening to, it was a freak show/circus, a fitting memorial or “not as bad as I thought it might be.”

I always thought of Mr. Jackson as a talented singer/dancer/songwriter who had poor impulse control. I thought this was due to the fact that the leeches and toadies who depended on him for money never said one simple word to him: “No!” Apparently I was very wrong! Until I heard and read reports from his memorial, I was unaware of his role in our society as everything from a civil rights pioneer to basketball coach. Martin Luther King Jr. and Pat Riley, take a break, the king of pop has got your back. I heard he was quite the philanthropist too; although there isn’t a Michael Jackson Foundation, he did at one time donate a reported $22 million to a single California family.

The weekend before the deification of Mr. Jackson, there was another small media event which got a lot of coverage: the resignation of Sarah Palin. If you still have any doubt that there is a vast left-wing media conspiracy in this country all you need to do is look at the coverage of these two people and these events by alleged journalists.

On Tuesday, July 7th the Chicago Tribune featured a half page mocking Ms. Palin by Rob Manker on page three. Page three is usually where one might find the hard news of the day, but not in the Trib when there is a conservative to be skewered. Did this paper give the same kind ribbing to Mr. Jackson at any point?

I use the Chicago Tribune only as an example. The general tone of the reporting of these two events from television to the New York Times was to elevate and rehabilitate the reputation on Mr. Jackson and to denigrate that of Ms. Palin.

The real divide in this country is not political but cultural. As far as I know Michael Jackson was not political. I doubt if he even voted in the last election. The picture of him coming out of the voting booth may have shown up somewhere. He may have voted absentee but I am pretty sure if he had voiced an opinion on the election it would have been reported. Yet the media holds up this man as an icon to be admired. A talented man who lived an extremely degenerate and narcissistic life is not only exonerated but also held up and praised.

Sarah Palin, a woman who has served God, her country, and raised a family is mocked. Why?  Bcause she doesn’t fit the stereotype that the media prefers for successful and powerful women. She is from humble origins and has worked for everything she has gotten. The real sin of Ms. Palin is that she is not only a conservative but a devout Christian. To the east coast, Ivy League, taxicab progressives, allowing morality into government is the greatest stupidity.

Not to mention they’re all a bunch of minority-bashing fear mongers. Why does anyone continue to allow this hateful, extremist group to exist? Am I the only one who feels that they could stand to learn a lot from the peaceful, Muslim folk?

If I hadn’t been raised in such a logical household, the entertainment industry would have elicited only one reaction from me in regards to “Christians”; “Good God, these people are crazy.”

It all started with the flick “Carrie.” Who can forget Sissy Spacek’s loopy, evangelical mom citing Bible verses amidst insane spiritual tirades until she was finally skewered with every kitchen utensil in the cabinet…all to a disturbing orgasmic moaning session. The scene was used to drive the point home: Christians are dangerous and nuts, but they’re great to make fun of.

Even though ripping on those of the Christian cloth is nothing new, edgy, or thought provoking, Hollywood feels the need to do it with each of their religiously overtoned talkies. It’s gotten to the point where even the completely irreverent Matt Stone of “South Park” has expressed sentiments of pulling his punches on “society’s whipping boy.”  I hope you’re listening Seth McFatlane (the name is childish I’ll admit, but I accept it). The fact is, it’s been done to death.

But why is that? We’ve never seen Hollywood go after Buddhism, Hinduism, or even Islam. I’d be inclined to believe that it’s due to the first two revolving around more subjective moralities (which is cool with the 310) and the latter… well, they blow crap up. Sure Muslims are the cause of virtually all terrorism in the world today, yet the good old folks of Tinseltown go out of their way to portray them as “good people, given a bad name by extremists” (see “Babel,” “Kingdom of Heaven”). On the other hand, we’ve got Conservative Christians who are statistically far and away the most generous people on the planet (whether you’re judging by missionary work or basic tax returns) consistently being portrayed as hateful villains often using scripture to justify horrifying acts (see nearly every spiritual horror/psycho thriller movie made in the last three decades). Disregard the fact that people like my middle-class father annually give more to charity than President Obama and Joe Biden combined, because folks like Sean Penn have already boxed him in as a greedy, judgmental jackass. If people in the Sean Penn clan feel that way, then it’s got to be true!

So I ask all Christians, Agnostics, and Atheists alike: when is enough, enough? Hasn’t this beating of the dead horse (*insert John Kerry joke here*) grown tiresome? Isn’t it time to move on?

I think the time for an “anti-establishment uprising” has come… And by that, I mean it’s time for Hollywood to take a serious risk in their portrayal of modern-day Christians.

Here’s a premise for you: They’re well-meaning people with a heart for helping others. Run with it.