Management at Hot Air...

Others are noticing the problem of anti-Catholicism in Hot Air's comboxes. Donald McClarey, Jay Anderson, and Cranky Conservative all have threads on the subject and there's some interesting discussion in their comboxes.

One question that has been raised is the degree to which management is culpable. As I said in my first post on this subject, bloggers aren't always responsible for the content of their comments. However, when hateful comments are deleted towards one religion and not another, that's a problem. What bothers me the most, however, is the stupidity of creating an environment given over to ranters who drive away Catholic conservtives at an otherwise mainstream conservative blog.

Jay Anderson suggests that the problem of Hot Air's comments begins with Michelle Malkin. He points to this post by Michelle criticizing "Catholic elites" for their statements on immigration policy.

Michelle Malkin has done many posts on the Pope and she seems to have an admiration for Ratzinger and JP2. I've long wondered whether she is Catholic, and I've admired her for a long time. If you look at the history of her posts, I think that her post on immigration policy is the first time she's said anything remotely critical of the Church. However, her comments on that, while aggressive, may not cross the line. In particular, I think she was reacting towards Cardinal Mahoney, and as we all know there's much criticism that can be directed at him.

Additionally, Michelle Malkin has been the subject of many hateful leftist attacks and slurs. She has been blogging for a long time and probably has built up a very thick skin towards hateful attacks in general. It's likely that she may see the anti-Catholic posts as just part of the nature of internet commenting and may think that there's little that can be done about them.

Ed Morrissey is Catholic and as I've noted, tries to police the comments at Hot Air by mistakenly engaging the bigots instead of banning them. He can't be there all the time. Allahpundit is an atheist and he has said that he enjoys "a good religious food fight in the comments" (as seen in this thread from today). Some people think that Allahpundit is setting the tone for the anti-Catholic comments. However, I think it's more likely that, like Michelle Malkin, both he and Ed Morrissey are veteran bloggers who might think that hateful comments are just part of the nature of blogging and cannot be avoided entirely. Additionally, they might think that it's too much effort to police their blog. Although I've been focused on Hot Air's comments, a cursory examination of Michelle Malkin's blog shows that the same problem exists.

However, I have no doubt that Michelle Malkin would not permit hateful posts towards her in her comments. The comments policy in her blog and on Hot Air expressly state that comments can be deleted. And as I've noted, Hot Air has banned people for posting hateful attacks towards Islam. So this is not a situation where there is a resistence to censor and that completely free speech is the policy. Commentors are guests at those blogs. This is a problem that can be solved with effective policing. Over time, the bigots become well known and they can be ejected from the blog. Michelle can hire another blogger to do the dirty work of policing her comments in her various blogs.

In the meantime, like Michelle who posts hateful emails to expose them to the world, I'll continue to provide excerpts of Hot Air's comment problem. It would be nice to be able to contribue to political discussion on a blog without having to constantly defend your religion. It would be nice to have religious discussions where people are respectful towards differences. Ultimately, the problem isn't Hot Air's management, but an anti-Catholic undercurrent that is prevelent in conservativism that needs to be execised. I'll have more on that later. And I'll have more on why it is just stupid to allow a well known conservative blog like Hot Air to be known for this.

However, one question for those who have followed this issue - should I change the label of "Hot Air Bigots" to something else? It's aggressive, but then again, that's what I'm all about.

Hot Air Bigotry - second thread for the day!

Is there a chance that the bloggers at Hot Air are trying to deal with their gigantic anti-Catholic bigot problem? I think so. In this thread, I the first post that caught my eye was this:

TTheoLogan

As usual, your Catholic-bashing insults are short, limp and unsightly.

SKYFOX on March 28, 2009 at 1:08 PM

But there was no post from a "TheoLogan" yet. Was it deleted? Maybe it was! Ed Morrissey posted comments at 1:49pm. But of course, the bigots showed up eventually (or again), knowing that they'd face no consequences for making a premiere conservative blog a place well known for its hatrid of Catholics:

Often the day-laborers leave a urine stain on a wall and the local priests show up to declare it a vision of their “Queen of Heaven” as proof AMNESTY should be granted to these criminals. What a failed people, culture, religion, and country!!!!!

RealDemocrat on March 28, 2009 at 4:14 PM

RealDemocrat is a very well known anti-Catholic bigot at Hot Air. He's usually found in threads trying to bash the Church. You'll probably see a lot more of him here, as I find other examples of him.

This post sums things up very well:

Sad to see anti-Catholicism alive and well - even here.

I don’t ever remember seeing any Catholic poster attempting to trash any fellow Christian’s religious beliefs on this site.

Why non-Catholics believe it is acceptable to take their lame shots is a mystery to me - and it continues to divide and conquer us as Christians.

Guess Obama might be right after all about “bitter clingers”, because he sure benefits from our disunity.

As for “Catholics” or any “Christians” who voted for Obama,
they will have to take that up on Judgement Day.

tigerlily on March 28, 2009 at 6:55 PM

"right4life" doesn't want to hear any of it:

whatever you’re preaching, it ain’t christianity…in christianity you cannot ‘earn’ a spot in heaven…Jesus earned it for us…and He is the ONLY ONE who could..

right4life on March 28, 2009 at 7:25 PM

What is it with these so-called conservatives who, by their names are pro-life, yet feel content in attacking the Catholic church - which is the biggest pro-life organization on the planet.

Think right4life is merely disagreeing with the theology of the Church? Think again:

then tell me why a good ‘christian’ like you wants to see the jews slaughtered? hmmm?? remember Jesus was a jew.

right4life on March 28, 2009 at 7:26 PM

tigerlily tries to be nice, again:

No, not questioning Catholic doctrine, as in sincere and humble inquiry. What you call “questioning” is really a rude violation of the core beliefs of another human being.
You don’t even respect the faith enough to capitalize the word “Catholic” when you write it. (FYI, the word Catholic means “universal” and was first used to describe the Christian church about 100 years after His Resurrection.)

Also, since the time of Martin Luther, (an ex Augustinian priest), there are now some 26,000 Protestant sects. None of them agreeing with the other on many facets of the faith. Perhaps you should spend some time questioning that can of worms.

I stand by my statements. We could go on ad nauseum - as in now you come up with a statement(you don’t say who wrote it and who published it)which seems to be written in order to inflame prejudices and obscure true understanding.

It would seem that the author is implying that the Church is attempting to insult other faiths. This is America, and we still have Freedom of Speech, so the author can deceive and continue to divide and conquer, and you are free to agree. But I am free to tell you that you and your author are completely and sadly mistaken.

If you or anyone else would like to know what the Catholic Church teaches about herself and others, then I suggest you get it firsthand. Go to http://www.vatican.va There you will find
two thousand years of Catholic teaching to learn and read for yourself.

I have always avoided the anti-Catholic fighting that I have seen on this site, but today I guess it’s my time to defend my Blessed Mother and my Lord. But to answer every crack that is or will be written on this thread - no, no, no.

tigerlily on March 28, 2009 at 7:36 PM

tigerlily makes a good fight, but the bigots have come out of the woodwork now:

Most heathen religions always have their own “Queen of Heaven”. I can’t think of one heathen religion that doesn’t.

RealDemocrat on March 28, 2009 at 7:39 PM

right4life seems to think that Jesus insulted Mary when he called her "woman." He actually believes that Jesus insulted his mother. Really.

Are you really trying to say Jesus would disrespect His own Mother?
You sadly have no true understanding of Catholicism.

clarifides on March 28, 2009 at 7:40 PM

do you consider calling your mother ‘woman’ disrespectful?

would you call your mom that??

right4life on March 28, 2009 at 7:45 PM

When it was evident how insane it is to state that Jesus insulted Mary, unclesmrgol made this self-evident statement:

Are you really trying to say Jesus would disrespect His own Mother?

You sadly have no true understanding of Catholicism.

clarifides on March 28, 2009 at 7:40 PM

I would go further. right4life has no understanding of Jesus.

unclesmrgol on March 28, 2009 at 8:09 PM

Get a load of the response:

this from a piece of anti-semitic trash who hates jews..JESUS WAS A JEW…get a clue.

right4life on March 28, 2009 at 8:10 PM

right4life seems to think that Catholics hate Jews for some reason. I have no idea why:

do you know what your church teaches, and can you post the same sorts of references that I have posted from the Catholic Church, for our increased understanding of your version of the True Faith?

At the present time, all you seem to have for theology is opposition.

unclesmrgol on March 28, 2009 at 8:07 PM

I’ve been posting from the BIBLE..you know its kinda important to christians…

although to hate-filled anti-semites like you, I’m sure its just more zionist propoganda…

oh yeah Mary was a jew…so was Peter, and Paul…

right4life on March 28, 2009 at 8:09 PM

There are plenty of people who have had it with the resident Hot Air Bigots. This post is very enlightening:

You know what? I haven’t attacked anyone’s religion on HA, I haven’t called anyone sick for believing in a faith , well except Islam I will admit, so I’ll say this and be done this crap….. Shut up about Catholicism. You don’t agree or you dislike it? Fine, don’t practice, read about it or follow it. This thread had to do with Clinton not being prepared to visit something of a culture’s value, which any representative of a country should be aware of… so she screwed up. But, no, you folks had to go off on a screed about Catholicism and the Virgin Mary…. to use a troll’s name in vain Get a fricken life.

MNDavenotPC on March 28, 2009 at 9:10 PM

Others try the same thing:

right4life on March 28, 2009 at 10:21 PM

It would be good if you would calm down a bit. You obviously do not understand Catholicism and that is fine. What isn’t fine is using your misconceptions as a platform to attack your won brothers and sisters in Christ. You need to be very careful on this. Remember that you will be judged as you judge others. If you choose to be accusatory and inflammatory in your judgment, then you judgment will be the same in Heaven. There is only one prayer given to us by Jesus, and it asks to “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive others.”

Please remember that we all share the same Bible. If you are a Christian, then the faith that you practice is the same as ours. Only the window dressing changes. Condemning another Christian over doctrinal differences is a lot like saying you hate somebody because they wear ugly shoes.

You have a right to your beliefs. I applaud you in trying to express them. But you must learn to teach and not condemn. That was the way of Jesus and one of the most important examples that he gave to us.

Hawthorne on March 28, 2009 at 11:35 PM

And here:

I honestly cant believe you guys are arguing catholic doctrine and such here. This is a political blog.

Why dont you evangelical creeps who seem more interested in putting down other people’s religions, which shows your insecurity over your own absurd beliefs, take it to religiousgoons.com or something?

The Wall on March 29, 2009 at 4:06 PM

Shame the management won't listen to them... Those bigots will be back another day to poision another thread.

And just so you don't think that the thread ends on a happy note, who makes an appearance? Why, TTheoLogan!

The Catholic church has a lot invested in people not taking the bible literally because otherwise no one would pay attention to the catholic church and stuff it makes up constantly. The apostles didn’t make up silliness like the catholic church does constantly(the sign of the cross, how a pope is picked, etc). There’s no evidence they did any of that nonsense.

“holy tradition” is nothing more than someone decides to do something new, and someone else repeats it, and after a while it’s considered just as valid as God’s word. That’s insane. How the pope is chosen is a good example of this(the color of the smoke, etc).

But seriously, I don’t blame you guys from the point of view of wanting to have power over people. For a ridiculously long time you forbid people to be able to read the bible themselves and in a language they could understand. The proletariat are far more useful to you if they don’t know any better.

TTheoLogan on March 29, 2009 at 10:05 AM

So we're back to where we started.

More Hot Air Bigotry

It only takes several posts in this thread about Obama speaking at Notre Dame for the bigots to show up.

You are soooo right. The Church protects the unborn while covered up for years the rape of childern by priests. I guess you are procted while the in mother’s womb; but once you leave it: watch out for the priests!!!!!!

Chekote on March 29, 2009 at 11:34 AM

Here, blogger Ed Morrissey tries to deal with the guy when he rants about the Church and the death penalty:

The Catholic Church also opposes the death penalty. Why was it okay to invite Bush and not Obama? More hypocrisy from the Catholic Church.

Chekote on March 29, 2009 at 11:35 AM

Not as a matter of doctrine, as it does with abortion. In fact, the church specifically does not reject it entirely, as explained in paragraph 2267 of the Catechism. Maybe if you didn’t get your anti-Catholic talking points from Jack Chick tracts, you’d know that.

Ed Morrissey on March 29, 2009 at 11:39 AM

It obviously doesn't work:

What is hilarious is the that the Catholic hierachy still thinks is has moral authority when it come to “protecting” innocent children. Not even Catholics listen to what the Church has to say. The majority voted for Obama. I just wish the Bishops would spend their time regaining the trust of Catholics instead of these phony controversies. It is a tradition to invite POTUS regardless of the politics. STOP THE HYPOCRISY!!!!!

Chekote on March 29, 2009 at 11:39 AM

ThackerAgency is well known resident anti-Catholic bigot at Hot Air. Here's some from him:

Why don’t Catholics believe that abortion is terrible? Ed seems like the only one who does (maybe he shouldn’t be Catholic to avoid being stained with the same hypocritical stereotype that is prevalent among Catholics). The Catholic Church seems to only care when the hierarchy of the Church senses the ability to get some publicity and headlines.

ThackerAgency on March 29, 2009 at 12:00 PM

Thacker loves to bash the Pope. You'd think a pro-lifer would decide to find something in common with the Church? Nope. He's a bigger bigot than he is a pro-lifer.

HAHAHAHAHA! main stream Protestants find ALL ABORTION ABHORRENT. We don’t need a pope or bishop to tell us that. Our shepherd is Jesus, not a person.

Apparently you have been told that only Catholics are pro-life.

ThackerAgency on March 29, 2009 at 12:01 PM

Chekote pretends that his problem is hypocrisy, but later we learn what his real problem with the Church is.

Someone who facilitates implementation of the death penalty has not committed a mortal sin requiring coonfession - however according to the RCC someone who participates in aborting a baby does.

More hypocrisy on the part of the Church. They oppose both abortion and the death penalty because of the principle of the dignity of human person. The doctrine makes exceptions only in cases when there is no other option available to protect life, i.e. self-defence and the life of the mother. Same principle. Same exceptions. Same thing. The fact that the Church enforces one more than the other just shows how intellectually dishonest the Church is. That’s why they keep losing moral authority among their followers.

Chekote on March 29, 2009 at 12:34 PM

Here's the standard "all priests are molesters" argument:

Obama giving the commencement to the graduating class of Notre Dame sends a very strong message from the Church that they don’t care about upholding fundamental moral tenets.

chunderroad on March 29, 2009 at 12:41 PM

They already have done that when they chose to protect molesting priests instead of turning them in to the authorities. Where is Cardinal Law (The enabler-in-chief) these days?

Chekote on March 29, 2009 at 12:59 PM

...

Once you start down that slippery slope of not supporting your core principles,,,,,

The Catholic Church has been down that slippery slope for centuries. Nothing new here.

Chekote on March 29, 2009 at 1:44 PM

The reason for Chekote's anger? Here it is:

I was raised Catholic but I am non-practicing. See, no hypocrisy on my part.

Chekote on March 29, 2009 at 5:03 PM

His real reason is that he's pro-choice, though. Liars and slanderers of Catholicism are almost always pro-choice:

Actually, you are very wrong. I am not a Democrat. I am a conservative, very active in local Republican politics. Just ask jeanie, artist and INC. I just happen to be pro-choice because I can see where reasonable, moral people can come to the conclusion that a fertilized egg or an embryo consisting of 1o cells (that’s what we are talking about when we deal with embryonic stem cell research) is not a person. Therefore, in order to allow people to exercise their personal beliefs about life, ensoulment, etc., the best public policy position is to permit abortion on demand in the early stages (1st trimester) and restrict it during the latter stages.

Chekote on March 29, 2009 at 3:33 PM

As soon as Chekote says he'll leave the thread, ANOTHER bigot shows up. Hot Air never fails!

Given the fact that the Catholic Church has been complicit in covering up the rapes committed by its priests and complicit with the acts of Nazi Germany, (and these are only headline items) I find it highly entertaining that it tries to take moral stands and even more amusing that anyone takes it seriously.

But maybe that is just me.

Doubt it somehow.

Ares on March 29, 2009 at 4:15 PM

Ares really hates the Church:

The notion that abortion, at any stage, has ever been acceptable in the Roman Catholic Church is a barefaced lie.

chunderroad on March 29, 2009 at 4:06 PM

When did schtupping boys and nuns get official sign off? Because I am pretty sure the Church has been complicit in that for at least the last thousand years.

Apples and oranges maybe? Perhaps there are hairs to be split here - abortion vs. homosexual statutory rape.

Catholics are the very last people on earth who should be sounding off on moral issues.

“The mote in your eye” comes to mind.

Ares on March 29, 2009 at 5:10 PM

Chekote then comes back for more lies about "Hitler's pope." He's just spewing the standard anti-Catholic talking points it seems:

I am not posting as Ares. But good point. What about the Catholic Church cooperation with Mussolini and the Nazi? I am sure they did that in the name of the dignity of human life.

Chekote on March 29, 2009 at 5:11 PM

Ares has a real problem with the Church teaching people right from wrong:

The Catholic Church and its adherents should clean up their house before trying to force feed their version of morality on the rest of the world. Admittedly they have had a great deal of success, especially in developing nations with under-educated populations, but its claim to any kind of moral authority is at best suspect given its disgraceful history of covering up sexual abuse and of course its collusion with the nazis and other totalitarians in the 20th century.

Personally I don’t care if priests schtup alter boys and nuns regularly. Personally I don’t even care that they colluded with the fascists in WW2. What sticks in my craw is having these craven fools try to ram down their twisted morality down everyone’s throats.

Enough.

Ares on March 29, 2009 at 5:32 PM

Hot Air often has a lot of Catholics attempting to defend against lies, smears, and other attacks from anti-Catholic bigots or Angry Lapsed Catholics. Even co-blogger Ed Morrissey tried it here, for one post. 4 pages of rants later, Hot Air again shows no inclination of putting an end to these sorts of posts. And these people are REPUBLICANS. Thacker says he's PRO-LIFE.

Am I the only one here who thinks it's a huge problem that so many self-described Republicans are anti-Catholic bigots?

Hot Air's Religion Problem: What I want...

What I want from Hot Air: a comment policy that, after a warning, would involve the deletion of posts that are clearly designed to troll for religious fights, with eventual banning. If they want to be a mainstream conservative blog, then they're going to learn the hard way that religious bigots cannot be allowed to take control of their comment threads.

It seems as if every comment thread involving the Pope, or religion in general, turns into a Catholic bashing thread by the bigots there. Notwithstanding that Ed Morrissey is a Catholic, and Michelle Malkin might be Catholic but is at least Christian, the bigots run the show at Hot Air. A basic rule of thumb: if the post has anything to do with religion, the Pope, abortion, or sex - it will always eventually turn into a Catholic bashing thread (perhaps with a little anti-Mormonism if Mitt Romney happens to be mentioned).

So the excerpts I'm posting here really aren't out of the ordinary. It's just the stuff I could find in my free time. This sort of stuff happens so often that it's obvious they know of this problem.

They either refuse to acknowledge the problem, or do not care about the problem, or hope that it can be ignored by others who do not read the blog's comments. That is why I am going to expose all of them. If they are not shamed, then they can own these comments. If they think there's nothing wrong with a popular conservative blog hosting these vile comments, let them defend it. One day, someone bigger than me is going to take notice. And by then, I'll have hundreds of these posts in the "Hot Air Bigots" category.

More Hot Air Anti-Catholic Bigotry...

This thread is a goldmine of the examples of bigotry that Hot Air allows in their comments. The thread is 8 pages long. The anti-Catholicism begins on page 1, accelerates on page 2, and it just all goes downhill from there.

From "money2":

Is the Pope going to lecture Catholic Priests to stop raping and molesting boys? Catholics are not even Christians to begin with. Martin Luther agrees with this statement

money2 on February 18, 2009 at 10:33 AM

Here's a run of comments by a guy named "TTheoLogan":

Okay, I’m not Catholic, but I find myself liking this Pope more and more. Sure, he’s not as “glamorous” and rock-starish as John Paul II, but it’s great to see that he has the chutzpah to directly confront & challenge America’s wayward liberal “leaders” (quotes intended).

bluelightbrigade on February 18, 2009 at 11:51 AM

Did you like him when he said all non-catholic churches are false?

TTheoLogan on February 18, 2009 at 12:16 PM

...

Thank you, Your Holiness. It’s about time.

coldwarrior on February 18, 2009 at 11:12 AM

How is he more holy than anyone else?

TTheoLogan on February 18, 2009 at 12:21 PM

...

Catholics didn’t compose the Law.

baldilocks on February 18, 2009 at 12:25 PM

They claim they have a monopoly on scripture, didn’t you know that?

TTheoLogan on February 18, 2009 at 12:26 PM

Here's where he admits that he'd unapologetically attack Mormonism as well. This is the state of "conservatives" on Hot Air:

You obviously have a problem with the Catholic Church. I hope you work it out somehow.

baldilocks on February 18, 2009 at 12:30 PM

I’d post the same things if they posted mormon stuff on here.

TTheoLogan on February 18, 2009 at 12:31 PM

...

Sure, it’s not like popes throughout history have called non-catholics and their churches heretical.

TTheoLogan on February 18, 2009 at 12:30 PM

All Christians believe they have the truth. That would mean in the eyes of each and every one, a contradictory teaching is heretical.

The Church teaches that in all faiths there is a kernel of truth. It is only in the Catholic Church that the fullness of truth, as God has revealed it, can be found. Every Protestant Christian accepts or rejects elements of Catholic doctrine. This is not a which came first scenario. The Catholic Church came first, everyone else accepts or rejects her.

Jvette on February 18, 2009 at 12:48 PM

Right, but catholics tend to burn and torture who they consider heretics.

TTheoLogan on February 18, 2009 at 12:50 PM

...

The Church is not punishing him they are attempting to have him rethink his errors.
Contrary to your thinking the Vatican does not have secret torture chambers

clarifides on February 18, 2009 at 1:12 PM

They certainly have in the past. I have no idea whether or not they do now.

TTheoLogan on February 18, 2009 at 1:13 PM

...

The catholic church… the biggest religious power grab in history.

1.Hey, let’s claim we put together the bible!
2.Hey, let’s claim that peter was the first pope and he gave us the right to determine future popes!
3.Hey, let’s claim our tradition has precedence over the bible!
4.Hey, let’s claim only we can determine the will of God and this pope guy is the vicar of Christ on earth!

TTheoLogan on February 18, 2009 at 1:15 PM

Long_cat apparently thinks that it's smart to bash Catholics as the "whore of Babylon" notwithstanding that they're perhaps the strongest anti-abortion force on the planet:

First, the Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon as written in the book of Revelations. Second, according to the Bill of Rights, we are granted Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Nowhere does it say life begins after a trimester, after you are born, etc. Once a child is conceived, it is granted these rights, and I consider it murder to abort an innocent human being under any circumstance. Pelosi is an evil crook, the Pope is a figurehead for an “organization”. Does it really surprise anyone that these two are meeting in secret?

long_cat on February 18, 2009 at 1:23 PM

...

Another ridiculous comment…why do you keep doing this to yourself? God is all, end of discussion. Catholics also pray to the saints to intercede with God on our behalfs. This in no way obviates our ability to pray directly to God-I do it all the time. However, if you choose not to believe that the saints can intercede with God, then don’t ask them to. It doesn’t matter to me in the slightest.

Trafalgar on February 18, 2009 at 1:50 PM

I know this will be hard for you to accept, but catholicism is not monotheistic. You cannot have catholicism with other gods(who you call saints) and the great coredemptrix, mary. It’s really sad you guys are still pushing this after the tearing of the curtain to the holy place after Christ was resurrected.

TTheoLogan on February 18, 2009 at 1:51 PM

Here's a snarky edit of another person's post by the resident bigot:

TTheoLogan,

your anti-Catholic remarks refusal to assimilate is very tiresome. It is the same old accusations that have honestly no basis in fact. You claim to be a Christian and yet you continually bash refuse to assimilate with many of your fellow Christians and tow the party line just because they are Catholic? That is very sad and doesn’t speak well of you.

rapunzel77 on February 18, 2009 at 1:55 PM

TTheoLogan on February 18, 2009 at 1:57 PM

It basically devolves into another "I'm a Protestant let me quote the TRUE meaning of the Bible to you" verses "I'm Catholic and you're misrepresending me" threads. I don't know why Hot Air thinks this is appropriate. The bigots clearly run the roost over there.

Hot Air has a Religion Problem...

The Hot Air blog has a religion problem. It has hoards of commentors who feel free to spit on religions, including Catholicism and Mormonism. I don't understand why Michelle Malkin's employees (Allapundit especially) think that it is appropriate to run threads that always devolve into Catholic bashing or Mormon bashing. I recall that several commentors were banned when they made posts maligning Islam or all Muslims. Yet similar posts about Catholics or Catholicism go untouched. The bigots run the show there, apparently.

So I've decided to document all of this for posterity, in an attempt to embarass people enough to do something about it. These posts will run until Allahpundit finally wakes up and realizes that it is incredibly stupid for one of the most well-known conservative blogs to be known as a Catholic bashing blog, or a Mormon bashing blog. Or, hopefully Michelle Malkin will give the order to clean house. I hope she does.

Bloggers aren't always responsible for blog comments, but Hot Air had no problem banning people who attack Islam. And Allahpundit has a tendency to deliberately post inflammatory threads about the Pope or Catholicism, in a crass attempt to get readers. I guess he's earned his 30 pieces of silver. Nevertheless, even a single commentor can be ignored. But when it's hoardes of bigots on your blog, bashing Catholics day in and day out, in every thread that has anything to do with the Church or the Pope, then I think the label fits: Hot Air is a Bigoted Blog.

Some choice comments in this thread:

This one's by "RealDemocrat":

Sorry, the Roman Catholic Church was founded in 313 or 396 A.D., not by Jesus Christ. That probably one reson why the catholic church has remained what it is to this day, a church of pedophile priests, idolaters, Illegal Aliens, and drunken buffoon RoastBeefers.

RealDemocrat on March 22, 2009 at 2:02 PM

And this one seems to think he knows everything about Catholic theology:

Explain this… the RCC warned American Catholics that if they voted for Obama (or any pro-Choice candidate), they might be guilty of a mortal sin (they were warned of forfeiting their eternal life)… and if they were pro-Choice they have effectively made themselves unfit for communion…

They were guilty of cooperation with evil.

But they won’t refuse the actual Catholic politicians and judges to partake of the Eucharist.

mankai on March 22, 2009 at 4:07 PM

Here's mankai again claiming that his out of context quotes aren't attacking the Church.

It matters because you must hold to what the Popes said. Period. If quoting your popes and councils makes me a “Catholic basher” or if you’re ashamed of their decrees that is something you’ll need to explain to yourself.

As Ed himself noted last week… how is it bashing to quote someone verbatim?

mankai on March 22, 2009 at 4:29 PM

More examples to follow.

EDIT: More here:

In America, you’ll have a difficult time reconciling the ideas of individual liberty, smaller government, and the Catholic Church. They’re really incompatible, ya know? One just doesn’t fit there.

RealDemocrat on March 22, 2009 at 7:13 PM

Some comments acknowledge the scope of the problem:

I’m starting to confine myself to only Ed’s posts. I’m getting sick and tired of Allah’s snarky, condescending and sneering attitude. I get enough of that everywhere I go. I don’t need to seek it out.

Thanks Ed for this excellent post.

Allah, go . . . . . . oh, never mind.

Charles Martel on March 22, 2009 at 7:02 PM

and

Allah has a horse in this race, and we just have to put up with it. After all, he’s the one who loves putting up those interesting and mind-expanding posts on the foibles of believers. mankei is obviously not Allah’s sockpuppet, but he is serving Allah’s purpose, just as those idiots trashing Mormons were. Allah loves a fight in which the believers are at each others’ throats, telling each other they aren’t real believers.

That said, all real Americans love the sting of battle.

unclesmrgol on March 22, 2009 at 5:53 PM

One day, I hope Allah realizes that none of this does his blog any favors.