We’re six days away from Christmas, a celebration of the birth of Yeshua of Nazareth and of certain Christian values (love, charity, compassion for the less fortunate) spoken of in Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol, and once again we’ve been reminded what a vile cultural force rightwing Christians have become in this country. For a long time Christianity has been more or less synonymous with the values of ignorant yahoo dumbshits, and this proud tradition is now being doubled-down by rightwing media, people like Sarah Palin and at least one faith-based organization that has been defending the right of Duck Dynasty‘s Phil Robertson to casually spew anti-gay hate speech in a GQ interview. They wouldn’t be talking about the glories of free speech if Robertson had told GQ‘s Drew Magary that he finds rightwing Christianity abhorrent and anathema to the values of genuine Christians. If the spirit and mind of Yeshua could somehow become mortal and return to the planet Earth, he would never stop throwing up. (Tip of the hat to Woody Allen.)