corrente

So Atrios points us over to MediaMatters for word that, just this morning, Radical Cleric Pat Robertson quite openly and casually called for the murder of Hugo Chavez, the duly elected (twice), coup survivor (once) and landslide winner of a recall election president of Venezuela.

Now why, one might ask, if one had just recently beamed in from that newly discovered Kuyper Belt object out past Uranus, would a cleric, even a Radical one, propose such an act which is, last we checked, clearly and repeatedly forbidden by the User's Manual of the sect for which he purports to yammer?

Hmm, what else as RC Robertson been up to lately, publicity-wise? Ah, what have we here? The Richmond VA Times-Dispatch I do believe:

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson's "age-defying" diet shake is causing quite a stir.

Robertson recently teamed up with General Nutrition Corp., a Pittsburgh-based health-food chain, to distribute the shake nationally.

That's caused at least one evangelical watchdog group to claim Robertson is abusing his nonprofit status and a scorned bodybuilder who used the shake to help lose nearly 200 pounds to threaten legal action.

Trinity Foundation, a Dallas-based religious media watchdog organization, has been critical of past Robertson pursuits, including his African gold and diamond mines and Kalo-Vita, a marketing company that sold vitamins and cosmetics.

Trinity's president, Ole Anthony, claims Robertson improperly used his tax-exempt, nonprofit ministry to market his shake on his show and CBN's Web site.

"It wouldn't exist unless it was promoted on the donor-paid-for airtime," Anthony told The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk. [snip details of other sordid acts involving a washed-up bodybuilder who thought he had an endorsement deal.]

Robertson's attorney, Louis A. Isakoff, said..."Dr. Robertson, as a private individual, certainly has the right to engage in personal business ventures," Isakoff wrote.

As for Busch, he said he won't bad-mouth the shakes.

"It tastes delicious. The bad thing is (Robertson) is a liar," [screwed-over bodybuilder Phil] Busch said. "It works tremendously, though."

Of course now everybody will be talking about Robertson's call to Assassinate a President for Jesus rather than his Screw a Trusting Viewer and Abuse Your Tax-Exempt Status problems. What, you thought Karl Rove had some kind of a patent on the wave-the-red-flag technique?

Hmm, speaking of Rove, how is ol' Ratfucking Traitor anyway? He gone home to spend more time with his family yet?