Since my comment left on their site will probably be removed...

Look what lil' ol' me did to poor innocent Uthman.

This blog entry was really quite foolish, Ed. Before going off about me being a Robertson acolyte, or attributing me to what Claybonga wrote about the Iraq war, or taking a blind shot at my own religious beliefs, you should have spent the few minutes it would have taken to read my own blog and find out how I feel about Robertson, zealous Christian assholes and the Iraq war. Everyone who regularly reads my blog knows that I think the Iraq war is wrong, and that Robertson and his ilk are a frightening bunch. They also know that I think taking the Bible literally is nonsense. You can manage to navigate Freedom Chat, so before lying to people about what I think go ahead and learn the facts.

What's even more disturbing than the shot-in-the-dark method of attacking me is this - The Beast, and Uthman in particular, use various levels of venom and "biting" humor when it wants to get a point across, but when someone calls Al Uthman a fat ass or says he would pay a price for saying the same things to someone's face you shrivel up and all of a sudden become hyper-sensitive. The really pointed way your publication approaches various subjects seems to be a point of pride, and yes it does differentiate you from the other Alternatives who are rather boring. If you can dish it out like you do, you shouldn't cry foul when one guy out of X Beast readers pipes up about one of your Editors. What's good for you is good for everyone else.

About your premise I am mad because Uthman challenges my religious beliefs - again you are horribly mistaken. Uthman isn't challenging my religious beliefs - he is challenging the beliefs of people who try to use the Bible as a science text! He isn't talking about the pros and cons of religious doctrine, he is talking about fundamentalists who use their doctrine in an attempt to describe something best left to scientific inquiry. I agree that people who use the Bible this way are awfully misguided and wrong.

So then what DOES upset me? The assumption that every person who calls themself "Christian" is a Jerry Falwell, or a religious zealot blindly doing Bush's bidding, or someone who is intellectually vacant. Learning even the smallest tidbit about modern Chrsitianity would lead you to the conclusion that "believers" are largely fragmented. There is very little unity at all among the various denominations. People who believe in a higher power aren't blindly following Bush, they aren't unified in their beliefs, and yes they do have a brain in their head. Not every person who believes in God is a Jerry Falwell, and that kind of narrow-minded thinking will turn people off to you when they might otherwise consider the things you say about social welfare, health care and other issues. When you say those kinds of things about people it shouldn't come as a surprise or a shock that someone would object.

About Uthman - Ed, you have twice failed to correctly process what I wrote, instead going for the sensationalized writing style The Beast is known for. I never overtly threatened the man. There was a condition attached which you conveniently ignore. What I wrote was, and you have it up on your own blog so you should be able to understand this - if the guy were to directly insult me in the same manner that he does when he is behind the safety of his typewriter he indeed would pay the price. It is my experience that pseudo-journalists with loud mouths fold like a cheap card table when they have to be accountable for what they say.

Anyway, is it really that upsetting and unacceptable to you that someone would take a shot at Uthman? Okay, you poor, poor, innocent publication which has never done anything to remotely upset anyone. I apologize.

PS - Yes I can co-exist with Uthman and the rest of you Beasties. I thoroughly enjoyed your beer and pizza at the last Beast Bash.