Yeah, it makes me feel like I'm kind of a bad person, but when I saw the news, my reaction was, "good."

I'm perfectly willing to be thought a bad person. I hope he has to pass a tangerine-sized kidney stone before he checks out.

To be honest, my first thoughts were "good," and "please, gods, let him have to be kept on a feeding tube, tortured and tormented, for just a little while first."

When KJ and I ran for student body co-presidents at UNC, one of our platform planks was that if Jesse Helms died during our term we would throw a campus-wide party. I guess I'm long past being able to pretend I view the famous and evil as worthy of humanitarian concern.

Just don't pull out his thinking tube!
That could be deadly.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, if Falwell fails, come over for ales.

Hell yes! Grrl, you know I'm in for some of that. If Falwell dies I am getting so drunk.

Speaking of feeding tubes, apparently the Pope is on one. I saw somewhere (forget whose blog, my bad) someone making a joke about how this is obviously the end of the papacy, since we can never ever disconnect him now.

Which actually wouldn't be such a bad outcome.

God did this to him.... He was punished for his agenda of hate. God has answered the prayers of Gay America.

Hey Robusto, not that if Falwell dies you will get so drunk, but if Falwell dies we will all PARTY.

I got bitched out for suggesting a Helms dead party on a mailing list one time - turns out one of the listmembers was a staffer for him (d'oh) and said that I would never have suggested such a thing had I seen his kindnesses in action. Well, I suppose my dad *does* appreciate that quick passport turnaround, but I'm sorry, after telling people their children deserve to die because they have AIDS, that pretty much sealed the hate deal for me.

"I got bitched out for suggesting a Helms dead party on a mailing list one time"

I had a similar response to my brilliant idea of a farewell party to celebrate Reagan's death.

Like my husband tells me often, "you have to be careful what and to whom you make your comments [apparently some people are offended when you ask if they believe in God.] We live in the South, you're gonna get killed one day."

I console myself with the realization that, on the interwebs, I can claim to be offended by anything at any time and make all the cry-baby noises I want and everyone will pretty much (and rightly so) ignore me. That's a backwards but very effective way of training myself not to give a shit what anyone thinks of anything I say.

Also, I would love to hear that staffer list some of Helms' kindnesses. Leaving office is the only one I can really think of.

I am also unashamed to admit that a part of me - a quiet part, but it's there - hopes Falwell has some last moment of reconciliation and enlightenment and that his last words are, "For fuck's sake, hug someone," and then he dies so fast he doesn't have time to say, "NOT! Suckers!"

You don't believe in hell? Well, try this one on for size: put Too Damn Big on Falwell's TV and take away the remote. And put "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here above his doorway."

Stand back, and listen to the screams.

As they say, the good die young.

Nevertheless, I refuse to chalk up his suffering to the divine will.

If I choose to see Falwell (a name no one could put in a novel, btw) as a sinner in the hands of an angry God, I must first create an image of an angry God with nothing better to do.

It's Falwell & his wretched ilk who have polished that image, and I reject it utterly. In all its works and in all its ways.

I thought that was Jonathan Edwards. Have you ever read _Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God_? That was some of the worst and longest 20 some odd pages I had to read in high school.