Pam has this poorly-Photoshopped advert from the theo-cons who want to end the filibuster of judicial nominees, so they can ramrod through the ten Bush-nominee über-conservative whackjob judges that have been stopped by the Democrats (but approved Bush appointees at a rate far higher than Clinton’s, Bush I’s, or Reagan’s):

At least they could have hired someone that knows Photoshop

Get a load of this ad for the upcoming Cat Killer Frist revival. First you’re horrified at sledgehammer Taliban title of the wingnuttery, “The Filibuster Against People of Faith,” but then your eyes are drawn to the truly amateurish photo-editing. This kid was clearly not holding a gavel or a bible.

Pam gives a great breakdown of where this issue stands:

Are the political Endtimes near?

Is this our democracy or something out of a bad novel? This feels like the moment in Rosemary’s Baby when Mia Farrow figures out everyone she knows is part of the devil-worshipping freakshow and she’s carrying the spawn of Satan.

Ironically, this is the devil-worshipping freakshow:

As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as “against people of faith” for blocking President Bush’s nominees…. Fliers for the telecast, organized by the Family Research Council and scheduled to originate at a Kentucky megachurch the evening of April 24, call the day “Justice Sunday” and depict a young man holding a Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other. The flier does not name participants, but under the heading “the filibuster against people of faith,” it reads: “The filibuster was once abused to protect racial bias, and it is now being used against people of faith.”

The telecast also signals an escalation of the campaign for the rule change by Christian conservatives who see the current court battle as the climax of a 30-year culture war, a chance to reverse decades of legal decisions about abortion, religion in public life, gay rights and marriage.

…”As the liberal, anti-Christian dogma of the left has been repudiated in almost every recent election, the courts have become the last great bastion for liberalism,” Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and organizer of the telecast, wrote in a message on the group’s Web site. “For years activist courts, aided by liberal interest groups like the A.C.L.U., have been quietly working under the veil of the judiciary, like thieves in the night, to rob us of our Christian heritage and our religious freedoms.”

There is nothing being robbed from the fundamentalists; they are trying to impose a specific set of beliefs — theirs — on everyone else.

And Tom “What, Me Ethics?” DeLay had this to say:

“I blame Congress over the last 50 to 100 years for not standing up and taking its responsibility given to it by the Constitution. The reason the judiciary has been able to impose a separation of church and state that’s nowhere in the Constitution [nevermind that whole “no law respecting an establishment of religion” part…] is that Congress didn’t stop them. The reason we had judicial review is because Congress didn’t stop them. The reason we had a right to privacy is because Congress didn’t stop them.”

Oh yes, Separation of Church & State? Deplorable! Judicial Review, so the majority party can’t just appoint anybody to the judiciary unless some of the minority approve? Despicable! And a right to privacy? Why, that’s… that’s… that’s unAmerican! If you’re not doing anything wrong, you’ve got nothing to hide! (Well, unless you’re paying your wife $500,000 out of your PAC money cookie jar, that is…)

I just had to leave Pam a little note, disguised as my Mormon alter-ego, Elder Russ, 5th Ward, 2nd Stake, Nampa, North Utah, United States of Jesus:

And my, what a tiny little gavel he has. Projecting much, are we?

But really, no one should have to choose obeying the Constitution over obeying their faith. After all, God’s Law trumps Man’s Law, says so right here in the Bible.

Nevermind that pesky First Amendment; they only meant an “establishment” of religion, you know, like a national church. They just never got around to putting the word “state” in preceding the “religion” part.

Silly Founders, such poor writers and uneducated men! Praise Jesus you’ve got us people of faith to let you know what they really meant. See, the generations of men who left England to escape religious persecution were really only afraid of an official state church. After all, throughout history the dominant religious majority has only persecuted others when they had license of the official state church behind them. Otherwise, they always left other people alone.

Personally, this could turn out to be a good thing. Since I was baptized Mormon, perhaps I can get on the bench and rule in favor of polygamy. Plenty of that in the Bible, too.

And just to show what tolerant Christians we are, we won’t let that choice of faith vs. service be limited to just Christian faith. I look forward to the Christian Identity judges who will undo the terrible ruling in Brown v. Board. The Satanist judges should do wonders in redefining animal cruelty regulations vis a vis animal sacrifices.

But of course, my favorite judges will be the Coptic Christian and Rastafarian judges who get to rule on the constitutionality of the Interstate Commerce clause as it relates to medicinal and recreational marijuana.

We ask, oh Lord, that you guide our elected officials to undo 200 years of Senate tradition so we may infuse the judiciary with such men of faith. In Jesus name. Amen!