Civil Commotion

Here’s an egregious example of something I’ve pointed-out ad nauseum.

A child sex abuse victim says she’s been denied housing after accusing a “good man” of molesting her for years — and Missouri prosecutors are mystified that so many community members are supporting the admitted sex offender.

Darren Paden was sentenced to 50 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty in August to two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy — but friends, family members, church elders and community leaders begged a judge to go easy on him.

Prosecutors said the 52-year-old Paden sexually abused the girl up to 300 times over a decade, beginning before she was 5 years old. His 28-year-old son, Anthony Paden, was also charged with sex abuse, although his case remains pending.

But community members have turned their backs on the girl, who is now 18 years old and testified against her abuser in court …

Paden was a deacon at his church.

This is not a freak, one-off perversity. Ask any journalist, any lawyer, any doctor, any social worker, any police officer, any religious activist, anybody with first-hand knowledge of these cases, and without exception they will tell you the exact same thing: Congregations all-but-invariably rally to support of the offender and re-victimize his victim.

That is who is sitting in church, and the best thing you can do for your children is keep them away from those debased slavish freaks.

An Afghan woman, forced to marry against her will, has been stoned for fleeing her town with a different man.

The men surround the woman as she stands in a hole dug into the stony ground, only her head pokes above the surface. Then they begin to pick up rocks and hurl them at her again and again from close range.

Her agonized cries grow louder as the barrage of stones intensifies.

The barbaric killing took place in a Taliban-controlled village in central Afghanistan last week, according to the provincial governor. Video of it, apparently filmed on a cell phone, has circulated on social media.

The 19-year-old woman …

Two thoughts: First, good for CNN for using an inflammatory adjective like “barbaric” and, second, wouldn’t you think the Creator Of The Whole Big Universe could deal with that girl in His own sweet time without help from a bunch of savages? Seriously: The more I see of that god Abraham was so proud of, the more I think you’ve got to be a seriously twisted and deformed human being to worship it.

I’m disappointed in Ohio, and it has nothing to do with marijuana. Opal Covey lost her mayoral bid in Toledo, garnering only 494 votes.

Opal, y’all will recall, gave the most memorable campaign speech in all of American history, babbling in ‘tongues’ to demonstrate that God wanted her to win.

Prior to the conclusion of the interview Covey was asked if there was anything else she would like to add. After pausing, Covey said, “great destruction will come upon…” and began to speak in tongues, followed by, “Thank you, Jesus. That was a confirmation, if people don’t give me what I earned in 2013 back, and I’m not on that seat in November, then you’ll see God visit the city in the greatest destruction you’ve ever seen.”

If Opal had won, she could have made an appearance at every Rick Santorum whistle stop, haranguing his awestruck supporters in some weird language only they can understand.

Would that have been great, or what? Now, the utter waste and ruin of Toledo is certainly a cheering prospect — I’m not denying it — but I would still have preferred robust denunciations of the wicked in ancient gibberish. Amen.

And what’s with Michiganians, who failed to restore Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser to their rightful place as guardians of public morals and, uhhh, affairs? Didn’t they at least try to do the right thing and soften the blow of their infidelities by painting him as a patron of gay prostitutes? They did! And wasn’t everybody relieved to discover that it was only humdrum heterosexual cheating?

Where were the evangelicals yesterday?

I rarely waste time these days with accounts of Holy Men behaving badly because … why bother? The ignoramuses they plunder won’t believe it, and everybody else is already headed toward the exits.

But here are three stories that, really, you need to read.

• Some pastor in Indiana has his fundy congregation working cheap to distribute synthetic marijuana, presumably for Jesus’ glory. Tax free.

• Is your church in trouble? Blame the moozlims.

• Christian arbitration is as seedy and underhanded as the regular kind.