I've been a card-carrying Rogue SubGenius for (good grief) 20 years, and I know how cheeky they are. Deliberately so. Their airy insubordination helped me through a very difficult time in my own life.

Still, that judge stepped way beyond his bounds when he took Rachel's son away. It's a very sad day when parody can destroy a family.

I tried to view the video, but the SubGenius site has been BoingBoinged, which is almost as bad as being Slashdotted.

Thanks for posting this, Jason.

by Lorie Johnson on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 08:50:11 PM EST

At the Daily Kos.  Let's hope it makes recommended list.

by Bruce Wilson on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 09:05:43 PM EST

There's nothing new about this kind of decision based on blasphemy or the "wrong" kind of religion/spirituality making one ineligible to parent, but this country has obviously been headed in the direction of these kinds of events becoming more common. That is because there are thousands of people who were always there and who've had the rationale for this kind of action  rattling around their brains since they heard it in church on Sunday. The difference is that, rather than tamp down such ideas and conform to societal norms by Monday morning to do their jobs and get along with others, they actually feel compelled to attack their neighbors on the basis of church conditioning, twenty-four seven. They capitalize on the "coarseness" and social fragmentation that they themselves complain about; they act where they often haven't before because they no longer think that they need to conform to societal norms like the rest of us. They think they're special - and when there are thousands of them everywhere, an "army of ants," you'll be hearing stories like this basically all the time.

You want to do something about it, then figure out what you're going to do about churches that teach this kind of behavior, and this kind, and this and this kind too.

--
Acquire the Evidence: on Ron Luce, Teen Mania Ministries and the "BattleCry" campaign. acquiretheevidence.com

by Mike Doughney on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 11:16:46 PM EST

I find this highly distressing, in part because (whilst I'm not quite Subgenii) I myself tend to be a bit...discordian in my own spiritual practices (it is my firm belief that sacred cows must, on occasion, be made into hamburger lest they contract mad cow disease--and boy howdy, I've seen all too well what happens when the sacred cows get mad cow disease!).

Not only Subgenii and Discordians, but pretty much any religious or spiritual practice in which parody and/or the goring of sacred cattle is part and parcel of the ceremonies is potentially at risk here.  (This includes not just stuff like the Discordians, but stuff like Coyote and Crazy Dog and Booger societies in Native American groups (who do things deliberately backwards and crazy, including actual parodies of religious ceremonies in some cases and (in the case of the Booger Society) parodies of missionaries as well.  Pretty much anyone venerating any sort of trickster aspect is at risk.  My friends who at Beltaine tend to give Mountain Dew and Twinkies to the God and Goddess and who set up an honest-to-Goddess candy corn altar at their desk at Samhain (complete with bag of candy corn for passersby to offer!) are probably in Deep Doodoo.  I hate to think what they'd think of my seeing Bugs Bunny as an aspect of Nanabush the Rabbit Trickster (seriously, Nanabush is the basis for both B'rer Rabbit and Bugs Bunny--the latter per the actual admission of Warner Brothers). :3)

This is really, really worrying and disappointing to me, because part of the whole reason I can keep any faith at all (post-dominionism) is by, on occasion, not taking things seriously or, more properly, not-taking-things-seriously seriously. :3  As Bob Dobbs himself would put it, "Don't eat something--EAT THE HELL OUT OF IT!" :3

(Of particular note to Talk2Action, the whole Subgenius thing is in large part a parody of televangelists, in particular the "name it and claim it" televangelists who (at the time that the Subgenii started) were also very heavily promoting the Rapture as a potential escape from Nuclear Annihilation.  In other words, the Subgenii are taking the p!ss of the very people who invented dominionism in the first place!)

by dogemperor on Tue Feb 21, 2006 at 11:58:54 PM EST

The SubGenius case isn't the only instance of a judge taking extreme action when confronted by a religious practice that is offensive to them.

The case of a Wiccan couple's divorce case is another example of a judge not seeing beyond his own religious biases.

Happily that case was overturned, but conditions were still imposed on the custodial parent, like being required to practice the (Christian) faith of her birth, and not teaching her child about Wicca at all.

A good judge should be able to see past his or her religious biases and judge things dispassionately and rationally- even when the case involves things that might offend them religiously. Some judges are offended by Wicca. Others are offended by satire. Those elements had nothing to do with the cases, but the judges used them to hand down a verdict anyway.

by Lorie Johnson on Wed Feb 22, 2006 at 03:09:11 PM EST

My name is Kari Bartlett and I too was a victim of James Punch. It is well known throughout the community that he is a male chauvanist! I was warned by 3 different lawyers I would never win my case becasue he hates women and the majority of cases seen before him are in the mans favor. Even though every allegation my ex had against me were proven wrong, I still lost my 2 children for 6 years. My greif was unconsolable, I couldnt believe I had lost my children so easily. To this day I still do not know how this could have happened. I have not ever even been given a reason why I couldnt see my kids except for all of the allegations that were poven false He was abusive and when he had nothing else against me he called me crazy and always challenged my mental stability. I had a Mental Health Evaluation done which he had a copy of and because it proved he was wrong and at that point had gound to stand on, he ordered that I have another one done at the place of his choice!!  I refused and lost my children. During our last hearing he became very abusive and I left crying. I called the next day to get a copy of the court transcripts. The woman who answered said she would call when they were ready. She called 3 days later, she told me they were ready and then whispered to me that they had been altered. I now have my children back and my ex is very remorseful. He agrees that I was treated horribley and something needs to be done. My children suffered dearly because of this jerk and many more have before me and many more will continue to be, if he is not removed from the bench. Because of this man I suffer from Post traumatic stress disorder and both of my children have anxiety problems. How much longer will this pompous, racist, ignorant person be able to abuse his power? If there is anything I can do to bring him to justice I WILL DO IT!

by Angelmae on Thu Mar 09, 2006 at 10:01:16 PM EST

 I have just recently had the chance to look over my last post. In my great anxiety to get out all I wanted to say, I misspelled and even forgot words. About the Mental Health evaluation, I meant to say he had NO ground to stand on! You can only imagine how I felt knowing that another mothers life is being completely torn apart by the same man who destroyed mine. I am hoping this case will encourage other women to come forward and help end this atrocity.

by Angelmae on Fri Mar 10, 2006 at 09:22:45 AM EST

Apparently, per at least one report, the judge has attempted to place a verbal gag order on the mother in question prohibiting her from posting the court transcripts or anything else relating to the case on the Internet--presumably to prevent negative information about him getting out.  (With the report on Talk2Action of the judge ruling in similar fashion in other cases, this could be very important.  I will not be surprised to see her new lawyers bring this up.)

Also, the mother is now reportedly being represented by First Amendment case specialists Lipsitz and Green LLP (who have acted as attorneys in First Amendment cases by--among others--Marilyn Manson and Larry Flynt).  Lipsitz and Green LLP is possibly one of the most prestigious and well-known groups handling First Amendment cases, and hopefully the odds will swing in her favour with this new legal team.

by dogemperor on Mon Mar 20, 2006 at 07:11:50 PM EST