April, 2009: Paul Crouch

From American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris Hedges:

"The Crouches [Paul and wife Jan] began their television evangelism with the disgraced Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, wear gaudy costumes and sit during their popular nightly program in front of stained-glass windows that overlook faux Louis XVI sets awash in gold rococo and red velvet, glittering chandeliers and a gold-plated piano....The couple, who collect nearly $1 million a year in salary from the network, also have use of 30 ministry-owned homes, including two sprawling multimillion-dollar oceanfront mansions in the resort town of Newport Beach, California, a mountain retreat near Lake Arrowhead and a ranch in Texas. They travel in a $7.2 million, 19-seat Canadair Turbojet, drive luxury cars, and charge everything from dinners to antiques on company credit cards according to former employees...."

And here I was thinking Jebus kicked the money changers out of the temple.

It goes without saying Crouch is against homosexuality. And, in true evangelical form, it turns out he had an illicit extra-marital affair...with a guy. In fact, he had the affair in one of the 30 homes, and the other guy was a former Trinity Broadcasting employee, Lonnie Ford. Naughty, naughty, you old fool!

March, 2009: Tony Perkins

Doing all he can to thwart stem cell research (while thousands die unnecessarily of potentially curable diseases).

From Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON — From tiny embryonic cells to the large-scale physics of global warming, President Barack Obama urged researchers on Monday to follow science and not ideology as he abolished contentious Bush-era restraints on stem-cell research. "Our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values," Obama declared as he signed documents changing U.S. science policy and removing what some researchers have said were shackles on their work.

"It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda _ and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology," Obama said.

Researchers said the new president's message was clear: Science, which once propelled men to the moon, again matters in American life.

Opponents saw it differently: a defeat for morality in the most basic questions of life and death.

"The action by the president today will, in effect, allow scientists to create their own guidelines without proper moral restraints," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said.