Political Confusion Test (18 of 21)- Whacky Religious Groups

As we gradually come to the end of this series, which seems to be more popular than "Know Your Congressman or Senator," we decided to dwelve into a deep philisophical question which has been pondered by the likes of Christopher Hitchens and Monty Python's Flying Circus.

But, beyond asking if God exists or not, we should think about which radical religious group would make us feel more uncomfortable.

If there is one thing I have noticed in life, it is that very conservative small towns like Rocky Mount, Va., have crazy, radical churches where people actually do things like speak in tongues.

And, in turn, very liberal college towns like Chapel Hill, NC, have their own brand of extremist kooks who borrow from aspects of Eastern religions.

This brings us to ask: "Who is more insane?"

Let us start with a Church of Christ minister named Johnny Robertson in Martinsville, Va., who was the target of a brilliant April Fool's Joke by my friend Chris Knight of Reidsville, NC, in which Knight claimed that Robertson flew to the Vatican in a botched effort to attack the Pope.

Robertson has made claims that the good lord hates homosexuals, and he is now currently fighting with the local natural history museum over (what else?!) evolution.

I have also heard that Robertson who not only thinks you are going straight to hell if you don't go to church, but you will in fact go upstairs if you don't go to his particular church.

Robertson hosts a show called "What Does the Bible Say" on WSGR-TV in Reidsville on Sunday nights from 8-10 p.m. It is opposite both "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy," and I must profess that the Rev. Johnny's show is funnier than either one of them!

But, not to be outdone there is a Hare Krishna congregation called the New Goloka Temple in Hillsborough, NC, just outside Chapel Hill, where the Lord Narashina will apparently be making an appearance on May 7.

Between these two extremes, I might well choose the Krishnas though I have no interest in walking barefoot, dressing in strange ritual clothing, eating tofu or bothering folks in airport lounges.

All of this made me think of Louis Theroux's book "Call of the Weird," where the author met with survivors of the Heaven's Gate cult. If you recall this was the group in San Diego which killed themselves by eating poisonous butterscotch pudding so they could get on board Haley's Comet. The 39 people who killed themselves (there were two more who did the same deed several months later) were all wearing brand-new Nike tennis shoes.

Amazingly enough, the group somehow maintains an active web site!

We have a link for it and these other crazy religious groups below. I hope no one actually joins any of these groups as a result of this!

And, as a disclaimer, I should also mention that I firmly against all forms of ritualistic suicide.

Useful links:

'Secular Sites:"

http://theknightshift.blogspot.com (Chris Knight's blog)

'Religious Sites:"

http://blog.whatdoesthebiblesaytv.org (Johnny Robertson's site)

http://newgoloka.com (New Goloka Temple)

http://www.heavensgate.com (Heaven's Gate)

Dead or Alive (2 of 11)_ Dr. Ruth Westheimer....

Today marks the second entry in our new series "Dead or Alive?"

We were initially going to go with former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, but we decided to go with another cultural icon of the 1980s in Dr. Ruth Westheimer, better known as the Sister Wendy of sexuality.

Westheimer helped usher in a new era of freer, franker discussion about sex on tv and radio and she did so when Ronald Reagan was president!

Dr. Ruth had a tragic upbringing as she was sent to Switzerland to escape the Nazis, but her parents were alas killed during the Holocaust.

She lost her virginity at age 17, and she came to America in 1956.

One of her books is titled (interestingly enough) "Sex for Dummies."

Now the big question: "Is she still alive and well?"...........

We will reveal that answer next week.

UPDATE: Alas the subject of our last entry, tv actor Ted Knight is indeed dead. If he were alive today, he would be 86 years old. Knight died in 1986 and the age of 63.

Celebrity Birthdays- Jessica Alba is 28

Jessica Alba turns 28 today. There are lots of celebrity birthdays today, particularly for very attractive women.

Penelope Cruz is turning 35, and Bridgette Moyhahan is now 38.

Quote of the Week- Nikki Giovanni

Since April is National Poetry Month, we thought we'd post a quote from Nikki Giovanni as we did in February.

Giovanni is both one of my favorite poets and favorite people.

I had a chance to meet the Virginia Tech professor of English when I was a reporter for "The News-Messenger" in Christiansburg, Va., over a decade ago.

Giovanni will give a talk at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC, on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., regarding her new prose collection "Bicycles: Love Poems."

Here is the quote:

"Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts."

Silly Photo to Fill Space

Since I happen to have the misfortune of being an agnostic who lives in the Bible Belt (a small town in North Carolina- God help me!), I tend to get agitated with radical church signs. In one instance, I actually drove by a church in Eden, NC, which I had (I kid you not!) a fire truck parked in front of it!

But, today, I've decided to turn the tables and post some amusing church signs. Since there are times when I wonder if where I live and Kandahar, Afghanistan, are in fact similar places, this sign seems most appropriate!

Zip Code USA- Princeton, WVa 24740

The town of Princeton, W.Va., sits near the Virginia border and it's main claim-to-fame is that it is the hometown of the late tv actor Bob Denver, known for playing Gilligan on "Gilligan's Island."

Princeton, population 6,347, does not have a major university like Princeton, NJ, but it is home to the minor league baseball team the Princeton Rays in the Appalachian League.

Coal and railroad are the main industries in the area, which includes the larger town of Bluefield (there is a Bluefield, Va., and a Bluefield, WVa). The town is near Pipestem State Park.

Princeton is 92 percent white and the medium income per household is $21, 736. The town is also the birthplace of the western actor Sam Elliot.

Previous entries in this series include:

1) Burlington, Vermont

2) Bethlehem, Penn.

3) Bethesda, Md.

4) Provincetown, Mass.

5) Provo, Utah

6) Moscow, Idaho

Know Your Congress Reps and Senators (Entry 12 of 21)

Today, we feature Sen. Ricahrd Shelby (R-Al) in our series which is devoted to various members of both political parties from both houses of Congress.

Interestingly enough, Shelby is one of three senators we've featured who have switched parties. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and James Webb (D-Va) are the other two switcherios though neither of those senators defected while in office.

Shelby was elected to the senate when he was a Democrat in 1986. He was always considered to be one of the most conservative Democrats in Washington, DC, as he was pro-life, anti-gun control and an advocate for a flat tax.

The senior Alabama senator also worked with Ronald Reagan on defense issues.

Shelby is considered to be more independent-minded than fellow Republican Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions.

Even though a falling out with Bill Clinton lead to his departure from the Democratic Party, Shelby voted to acquit the president of impeachment charges in 1999.

More recently, Shelby has worked on the AIG bail out, and he even called into question Barack Obama's citizenship!?