Another big fish for our encyclopedia, up next is Bryan Fischer, the director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy for The American Family Association. Now it is hard to keep these groups apart, but any organization with “Family” in their name is guaranteed to be, shall we say, over the top. AFA’s mission is to make homosexuality illegal, along with abortion, and possibly even women's voting rights. More information here (they have rather effective strategies, in particular targeting companies that have made statements or policies in favour of gay rights, advertised in gay publications or advertised during a commercial break in a TV show which they find objectionable. They call for members to bombard these companies with complaints, or boycott their products).But turn to Fischer, an unrepentant theocrat who is known for wanting the government to force gays and lesbians into "reparative therapy" or prison (discussed here).
He has recently fallen out with Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter, since these are not sufficiently against gay marriage for his taste - they associate with organizations that want to destroy the American military and the institution of marriage.
Well, sometimes it seems that “ruining the military” isn’t the goal of the guys – rather, they want to take it over for their own nefarious purposes. Quote Bryan Fischer: “Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews. Gays in the military is an experiment that has been tried and found disastrously and tragically wanting. Maybe it's time for Congress to learn a lesson from history.” (Fischer actually bases his claims on a book by Scott Lively, who will be covered later).
He is apparently completely oblivious to the irony in this one.
Fischer received some flak when he blames a grizzly bear attack at Yellowstone National Park on America for turning their back on God: “History reveals that God's covenant with an ancient nation suggests that one of the consequences for a nation which walks in his statues is that it will have nothing to fear from wild animals”. He phrased the whole incident in a slightly peculiar manner.
The AFA has also called for an end to allowing Muslims to immigrate to the United States, for banning them from joining the military, and for a moratorium on all new mosque building in America.
He is also, unsurprisingly, a staunch creationist, and was formerly the head of the Idaho Values Alliance.
More on Fischer here (we’ve touched on just a small selection).
Diagnosis: Totally insane, vile and zealous, theocrat and Godbot, hatemonger and crackpot, loon, moron, dumbass, crank. You pick, they all fit. Yet he still seems to enjoy quite some influence. I can’t quite find words.
Nice thing about Fischer is that he always attempts to top whatever he has currently said with something even more sheerly lunatic. This must be something of a world record in hateful lunacy. This is also worth reading for a glimpse into a mind completely insulated from reality.
ReplyDelete(And his lack of self-awareness is almost epic)
ReplyDeleteAnd Fischer just keeps on giving.
ReplyDeleteSomeone should actually keep real track of More on
ReplyDeleteunbridled insanity
I know. We should have a pretty clear view of what this guy is up to by now, and adding to it won't change much. But when Fischer says things like this I can't really help but being compelled to inform people about it.
ReplyDeleteThis one speaks for itself.
ReplyDeleteHaving already established that he's an intense moron, it was easy to predict that Fischer's arguments against evolution would be among the dumbest. And true enough.
ReplyDeleteI know I should not continue updating this entry all the time, but Fischer just keeps kicking it up notches. Indeed, despite his history of unhinged lunacy, he still manages to surprise, and this one is actually rather stunning.
ReplyDeleteI found someone named "Rebecca Hagelin" to put on this list. Her rantings on sex-ed, gays, and just about anything sex related are lunacy gold.
ReplyDeleteHagelin in particular blamed the Abu Gharib torture scandal on cultural permissiveness, "pornography" (her definition of pornography is anything remotely sexual in nature), and violent video games.
ReplyDeleteOk. Fischer has long since surpassed Fred Phelps as the most incoherently unhinged hater in the US. This is merely one recent example.
ReplyDeleteHagelin's name is duly noted, btw.
Ok. Enough now. But this one must be mentioned as well.
ReplyDeleteI give up. Fischer's knack for surprising even the most hardened of us by new levels of astonishing lunacy is, well, astonishing.
ReplyDeleteHe is also an AIDS denialist, wholeheartedly endorsing Peter Duesberg's lunacy.
ReplyDeleteAnd you know who is to blame for the recently reported 7% rise in oral cancer? Why, Bill Clinton, of course.
ReplyDeleteWell, how can one not be fascinated by the lunacy of this creature. His latest claim is so wonderfully surreal that it takes even those of us who have some idea of Fischer aback. Marvelous.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, Ellen is apparently responsible for everything. You didn't know that lesbianism caused breast cancer, did you?
ReplyDeleteFischer says that an attack on Santorum is an attack on Jesus. I don't know how to respond.
ReplyDeleteAnother one to sane people speechless.
ReplyDeleteFischer claims that he rejects evolution and global warming because he is "committed to science"; indeed according to Fischer evolution is completely irrational and scientifically bankrupt.
ReplyDeleteFinally, here is Fischer arguing that federal income tax is "flatly unconstitutional". Please try to act on that one, Bryan.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta give him that he has an impressive ability to outdo himself repeatedly.
ReplyDeleteHere's Fischer trying to reclaim the word "discrimination" for the right. Which is, I suppose, kinda like trying to reclaim the word "evil".
ReplyDeleteHere's Fischer coming clean, claiming that women are unfit for public office.
ReplyDeleteAt last Fischer is explaining to us why the US exists. I guess you had been waiting for that, hadn’t you? Oh, the reason the US exists? I think you know the answer already.
ReplyDeleteAnd here he goes first-class rabid. Again.
Oooh. Fischer is being tasteful again.
ReplyDeleteFischer comes clean with his belief that Obama may be a closeted Muslim, and in any case, if Obama is reelected, then America has no future. But you knew that, didn’t you. And of course, when Obama did get reelected, Fischer and the AFA summed up Obama’s strategy by his efforts to harness people’s capacity for envy, hate, and greed, which are, coincidentally, traits that Fischer himself is well known for exhibiting (at least hate and greed; “envy” is probably too complex an emotion for a ball of pure rage like Fischer).
ReplyDeleteJust as unsurprisingly, Fischer continues to claim that gays are like Nazis, even to the extent of claiming that anti-bullying programs are like poisoned Halloween candy with impeccably tortured logic.
Keeping track of Bryan Fischer’s hate-filled lunacy and idiocy is of course beyond the scope of this entry, but it my be useful to peek in now and then.
ReplyDeleteIf you do you will, for instance, see him argue that Hispanics are socialists, an argument which is, as you would expect, founded rather hilariously clearly on racial stereotypes. Or you can see him explain how the 9/11 theorists were agents of God’s wrath. More politics here, which shows once more how sophisticated his analyses are, all in the name of precision and accuracy.
True to himself, he also offers some of the dumbest creationist arguments ever, which is saying quite a bit about those arguments.
Finally, Fischer presents his Grand Unified Theory on Obama. We’ve all been waiting for that one, haven’t we? And here is Fischer, the noted constitutional scholar, arguing that
ReplyDeletethe second amendment is based on Jesus (an argument he seems to have picked up from David Barton). And to top it, here is Fischer, noted (young-earth creationist) genetics expert trying to argue that homosexuality is the result of a birth defect. It is unclear how that is supposed to justify his stance on homosexuality, unless it is supposed to be a “we need to eradicate birth defects by ensuring that only people with good genes reproduce”-argument. Which I suppose it could very well be.
Fischer, a respected fiscal analyst, points out that the fiscal cliff legislation is demonic. And he is assessing other current threats to businesses, in his usual manner.
ReplyDeleteBut of course, economics is not the only area in which Fischer is willing to divulge his wisdom. Theology is another. Hear him, for instance, explain how natural disasters are God’s spankings. He also praises Scott Lively and suggests that his critics are Satanically inspired. Because that could be the only reason for disagreeing with Scott Lively.
It is also worth seeing this for an object lesson in misrepresentation.
And here he plays the victim again.
Ok; it’s time for a new Fischer update again.
ReplyDeleteFischer is miffed at recent discussions in the media, and claims that Obama is actively
trying to make gun-owners seem crazy.
Fischer claims that abortion rights lead to terrorist attacks, which is kinda does, but this is not what Fischer is talking about, of course. Yep, Fischer claims that God will send Muslims to kill us all because of abortion. Or for disagreeing with him, which seems to be the general theme in his posts.
Taking his cue from David Barton, Fischer has realized that one can just
rewrite history to make it support your political agenda. Did you know, for instance, that evangelical Christians ended slavery. I'm pretty sure those liberal college professors didn't know that.
Here, he is recycling his arguments against repealing DADT to argue against allowing women in combat. He doesn’t quite get things right, though.
Fischer infamously argues that Akin’s comments on reproduction proves that the GOP is “not the stupid party”. He explodes another irony meter here, with his claim that liberals are the modern day Pharisees.
ReplyDeleteHere he presents his standard theocratic vision, which complements his claim that every secularist is an antichrist.
In particular President Obama, of course. Fischer has explicitly declared that President Obama “is our enemy”. He (Obama) is also filled with arrogance and believes that he knows better than God (another irony-meter exploding – Fischer is rather without doubt one of the most extreme SPAGgers in the US). To bolster his claim, Fischer also asserts that Obama has no soul and gays have no place in NFL. Those two claims are apparently related.
Fischer, in a moment of lack of self-awareness that is stunning even for him, has recently claimed that liberal secular "fundamentalists" are the American Taliban (also here). Part of the accusation is surely based on his observation that Obama is a tyrant who would launch drone strikes against the tea party, and he explains "tyranny" here. As for himself, he has argued that adultery and pornography should be against the law. Surely part of what makes liberals just like the Taliban is their lack of enthusiasm for such laws.
ReplyDeleteMore staple fare from Fischer here. And there is nothing unusual or unexpected about this, but somehow his way of formulating it makes it more striking than usual.
Ben Carson is also a victim of the left's demonic hatred.
Illuminating on how Bryan Fischer sees the world.
ReplyDeleteFischer fails self-awareness as usual.
ReplyDeleteHere he repeats his claim that liberals and muslims hate America, here he repeats his argument that gays should face job discrimination just as we discriminate against shoplifters, and here he repeats completely debunked rightwing conspiracy talking points.
More usual Fischer stuff here. And here.
Fischer sees connections (almost) only he can see.
ReplyDeleteHere he weighs in on women's rights (i.e. "women were designed to be ruled over and focus their energy on making a good home for their children"). And here he is his usual self. As well. His repeated claims that Obama, if not a Muslim, at least has Muslim sympathies, and his enemies are evangelical Christians, is hardly out of character either.
As expected, Fischer reacted rather tactlessly to the Supreme Court DOMA ruling. After comparing gay rights to Hitler (because that's apparently what wingnuts when they want to joust each other for the title of craziest wingnut), he went on to declare that it is unconstitutional to allow marriage equality.
But did you know that Fischer was a scientist of revolutionary stature? Well, at least he finds other scientists ridiculous. The stupid scientists, you see, are searching for the nature of the strong nuclear force. But Fischer, good Christian as he is, has already figured it out (and it is, I suppose, only the evil atheism of academia that has prevented the scientists from this blindingly obvious answer). It's Jesus.
Fischer has weighed in on science again, with predictably breathtaking results (yes, yes, we should be used to this kind of shit by now, but Fischer somehow manages to aim always a little bit even lower than you’d expect). His medical advice is certainly in line with his general view on science. It doesn’t matter what the evidence says: Unconfessed sins cause illness.
ReplyDeleteBut of course, Fischer does not restrict his cognitive dysfunctionality to matters science and evidence. He also has a strained relation to the First Amendment (and not only because he thinks it is your patriotic duty to worship God). Indeed, there is no better way of summing up his attitude than: Damn the First Amendment). Of course, the source is, as always, the gays (“90% of Americans” think gay sex is disgusting, asserts Fischer, without even bothering to even try to explain why that would matter even if it were true). Here, for instance, he announces his opposition to Liz Cheney’s bid for the Senate because her sister is lesbian. But he does support Cuccinelli. He also supports Russia’s anti-gay laws – indeed, the laws constitute ”exactly the sort of public policy we’ve been advocating”. In fact, he also thinks that gay activists should support those laws in the name of diversity (usefully showing how badly he understands diversity).
It is less clear whether he understands “truth”, or whether he just doesn’t care. There is at least plenty of cases where he literally doesn’t know what he is talking about, and he sure doesn’t want to learn.
ReplyDeleteBryan Fischer the demon hunter is portrayed here. (Can't let Gordon Klingenschmitt outcrazy you, can you?)
And of course he is still advocating the usual conspiracy theories. He still thinks that Huma Abedin’s “stated purpose” is to destroy Western civilization (note how he fails to understand the meaning of even simple words such as “stated”). And CIA director John Brennan is still a Muslim. And then there is his moronic claim that President Obama (a Muslim who is lying about being Christian) was photoshopped into that war room picture when Bin Laden was captured. Did he try to backpedal? Well, not really. Instead he feebly tried to defend himself for a little while, before doubling down on the stupid instead and throwing in some sexism to boot. (This barely intelligible screed seems associatively relevant as well).
And for some miscellaneous nuttery: Here he tries to argue that “gay jim crow laws” mean that Christians are the new blacks, which must take some sort of prize for its level of insanely paranoid insanity. Here he tries to argue that liberals cannot be wise because they don’t fear the lord. Goodness knows what someone who thinks gays are like nazi stormtroopers would know about wisdom (indeed, Fischer takes cluelessness to hithterto unimagined heights). A parallel observation applies to his claim that it is ”ignorant, ignorant, ignorant" to think that human behavior can impact climate.
Here is Fischer’s rather astoundingly bigoted version of love.
A caller recently attempted to argue to Fischer that “it says in the Bible that if we get rid of Islam then the one-world government is going to move in and the bankers are backing up the one-world government.” At least Fischer corrected himby saying that Satan is using Islam as a “counterfeit” to Christianity, thus proving we’re in the end times. Fischer still seems somewhat oblivious to the fact that the rest of the world considers him a clown. An evil, repugnant clown, but a clown nonetheless. Seriously, take this piece of reasoning.
ReplyDeleteAt least he has discovered many new things about Obama and the government overlooked by the biased mainstream media. Such as the fact that Obama wishes that he could arrest WW2 veterans and throw them in jail. Evidence? Yeah, the usual – Fischer doesn’t like Obama; he doesn’t like people who wishes that they could arrest WW2 veterans at will (at least nominally); hence that’s what Obama really wants to do. All that while the government is also licensing the mark of the beast. What America needs, according to Fischer, is a Christian president who will exorcise the White House. Particularly now that Michelle Obama has been inviting demons into it for a long time. Presumably the next president could learn exorcism from Fischer himself, who has recently started to teach home exorcism.
As usual, he has made the paranoia-rama summary of the week at Rightwingwatch several times the last months, for instance in January when he tried to argue that the military under President Obama will start going after Christians in US. According to Fischer service members may begin to use “lethal force” on Christians and “turn [their] takes” on conservative organizations like the AFA. Indeed, “it would not be illogical next year at the Values Voter Summit in Washington D.C.,” referring to the annual Religious Right conference, “that military troops surrounding the Omni Hotel.”
Fischer’s dubious understanding of all things political or constitutional – or anything else – is familiar enough. To Fischer, the Constitution says whatever he wants it to say; thus it is, for instance, that he comes to declare that Christmas is in the Constitution. And that’s why he thinks that the Constitution gives the states the right to outlaw Islam.
ReplyDeleteAmong other things legal and political, Fischer has recently suggested that only property owners should vote. His reasoning is, well, rather typical of Bryan Fischer, I suppose. But the reason he wants to see homosexuality being made illegal, however, is, apparently, because he loves black males. Yup. That’s the kind of argument he makes. (Usually with an unhealthy amount of paranoia added – and a bit of religious fundie crazy, as displayed in his claim that God is going to curse America for making a deal with Iran.)
As for Obama, there is the predictable. Fischer is pretty sure that Obama does not love America; in fact, Fischer believes that Obama actually hates America. That’s because Obama doesn’t generally agree with Fischer’s opinions on policies, and Fischer cannot possibly comprehend that disagreeing with him on policy issues could mean anything but that you hate America. That’s at least how things work in the imagination of Bryan Fischer. For the same reason, Fischer thinks Obama is a christophobic bigot. Cause Fischer knows what it’s like to be a bigot, and projects from there. Indeed, according to Fischer Obama should be impeached – for educational purposes.
Still. This. This is probably the most delusional thing I have ever heard, and given the research that has gone into this blog, that takes quite some crazy.
Fortunately for his listeners, Fischer has recently, on several occasions, shared his wisdom on various health-related matters. For instance, he has suggested a ban on homosexuality, officially on the grounds that it is a hazard to human health (though some of us suspect that the real reason might be a different one). And here he claims that ptsd is caused by a Satanic curse. Furthermore, there is (according to himself) scientific proof that transgender people can cure themselves through prayer. It would of course have helped if Fischer were able to distinguish science and evidence, on the one hand, from bigotry-fueled wishful thinking on the other.
ReplyDeleteMedicine is of course not the only branch of science on which Fischer is ready to share his wisdom. He thinks, for instance, that the story of Noah’s ark has been irrefutably proven by a recently translated text on an ancient tablet currently on display at the British Museum. Funny that none of the scientists involve draw the same conclusion. Must be a conspiracy. Just like evolution. Indeed, Fischer has recently argued that no evolutionist can be trusted with political power, thereby splendidly exhibiting his own incompetence concerning any issue he touches whatsoever.
He has also weighed in on the recent kerfuffle surrounding Dave Agema. Unsurprisingly Fischer takes the most extreme, most idiotic position possible; whereas even most radical rightwingers have been critical of Agema, according to Fischer Agema is being attached for telling the truth. Indeed, Agema is, for that reason, just like Jesus. Indeed, you can’t really predict quite what Fischer is going to say in advance; you may attempt to identify the dumbest, most bigoted position to take on a given issue, but Fischer tends to surprise by being even dumber and more bigoted. As when he argued that the US should only accept Christian refugees. Or when he threw his support in for the recent Arizona bill in favor of extensive rights to discriminate against gays; according to Fischer opposing the bill was tantamount to “Jim Crow discrimination” against Christians. (Here is his support for the Uganda anti-gay bill.)
ReplyDeleteAnd perhaps it’s worth giving some links to how Fischer dealt with the Phil Robertson brouhaha. According to Fischer Robertson’s suspension was the mark of the beast, and the fact that the situation became controversial (mostly due to noise generated by bigots like Fischer) “proves”, to Fischer, that we are mainstream. At least the comment suggests that he dimly realizes that he isn’t.