"Now do you think that's going too far?" Maher asked.Posted on 04/19/2010 3:17:06 PM PDT by NYer
LOS ANGELES, California, April 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Former governor of Minnesota and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura said that the Catholic Church should be prosecuted under federal RICO laws last Friday, during an appearance on Bill Maher's Real Time show.
Maher, who has stated that "religion is a neurological disorder," asked about his "crazy radical friends Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins" and their aim of arresting the pope "when he hits the tarmac" during the pope’s visit to England in September.
"Now do you think that's going too far?" Maher asked.
"I have another alternative," Ventura responded, "Why hasn't the Catholic Church been prosecuted under the federal RICO laws of organized crime?"
RICO stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act; it was passed in 1970 in an effort to dismantle the Mafia and similar organizations displaying a pattern of criminal activity.
Ventura described the Catholic Church as a “predator” and a felonious organization like the mafia, involved in covering up molestation. "That's what the RICO laws were written for," he stated. "Why have they not been charged?"
"They are an organization involved in felonies. ... and they move people around to protect them, and all of that stuff."
Efforts to prosecute the Church under RICO laws have not fared well in the past. In Magnum v. Archdiocese of Philadelphia the court ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing under RICO standards.
Real Time Host Bill Maher is known for his rabid anti-Catholicism, having previously described Pope Benedict XVI as a Nazi and suggested that he deserves to be in jail because of cases of child molestation.
Regarding Maher's offensive behavior, Catholic League President Bill Donohue has previously said that there "is no bigger bigot in America today than Bill Maher."
"His serial insults are tolerated on HBO and on late-night television shows because the producers are not outraged by what he says. How else can we explain his ability to offend with impunity?"
See related stories on LifeSiteNews.com
Comedian Maher Backtracks on "Nazi" Remarks, then Claims Pope Protected Child Molesters
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08042106.html
“That protects him against legal action by the government, not societal disapproval.”
Only the very smallest of people are bothered by “societal disapproval,” and only the very smallest of people attempt to use it. See, a truly moral individual does not require anyone else’s “approval.” Guess you don’t see it that way.
Hank
Fine, just don’t tell me that Jesse Ventura’s ravings are protected from my disapproval by the First Amendment.
“Fine, just don’t tell me that Jesse Ventura’s ravings are protected from my disapproval by the First Amendment.”
Of course not, your “disapproving” statements are equally protected.
My comment was to this statement, “How else can we explain his ability to offend with impunity?” Since impunity means, “exempt from punishment, penalty, or harm,” I was merely pointing out Jesse’s speech was protected from that by the first amendment.
Hank
Well that's not what I wrote. I was actually being semi-sarcastic because he makes such a big deal of it, as if his UDT service makes him an expert on anything touching DoD. IMHO, he would lead people to believe he was some kind of SEAL insider who's seen it all, without ever saying it so he can (truthfully) deny that he had ever said it.
Again IMHO, he's a big blowhard.
G Gordon Liddy’s brain on steroids.
Go Jesse. Go.
"..........and all of that stuff."
Always an indication that the speaker has a profound grasp of his subject matter and/or is extremely articulate.
The first amendment doesn’t protect anybody from punishment, penalty or harm.
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Jesse has taken one too many steel chairs to the head!
It is a claim he (and many other Liberals) seem determined to make in spite of their obvious leanings.
I cannot remember a time when Jesse Ventura opened his mouth and was not insulting Republicans, Christians, Conservatives, Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, the Pope, etc.
This guy could run for V.P. under Obama and nobody would notice an issue change. Everything he says is right out of the leftist playbook.
Ventura is about as “independent” as Rush Limbaugh.
Thanks for your input, Jesse. Insightful, as usual. ;o)
Jesse needs to cover that bald head of his with some tinfoil.
He needs help.
Lots of sad humans on TV these days. All dwindling as consumers realize the garbage they're watching.
Pray that the circle of ethical, moral and talented humans beings comes full-circle). The bottom is being scraped.
“well do they preach against wives using condoms with their spouse if their spouse had developed HIV before conversion”
>>Yeah, we have this flaky, weird idea that exposing your
>>wife to a deadly disease, but reducing her chances of
>>contracting it by 85% or so, still isn’t an act of love.
Well said, Campion. I mean, really: “Gonna nail you now, honey, but there’s only a one in seven chance that it will kill you.” What kind of nonsense is that?
It struck me just now that these condom-failure figures were published some time ago, but somehow failed to find their way into common discourse. Instead, we are still hearing about “safe sex.”
It could be that a lot of what looks like wrong-headedness is really just ignorance. The poor schlubs believe the lying scoundrels in the commie fag media.
I’ve been wracking my brain to try and figure out a way to persuade people who rely on the lamestream media that they shouldn’t. The problem is that telling someone that he has been lied to for his entire adult life, and never figured it out, is tantamount to telling him that he’s an idiot.
People don’t seem to respond well to that, for some reason.
Who knew?
While I don’t like Franken, I think Ventura is even more insane.
Sorry if I came on too strong.
You would be surprised at the number of folks who have bought into Jesse’s “snake eater” routine.
Jesse Ventura is an intolerable fool, IMO.
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