If you're a Democrat or a liberal, you are not welcome in this church. And if you're already a member, you'll be excommunicated.

It's been all over the national and international news at this point - the shenanigans of the East Waynesville Baptist Church's numnut pastor Chan Chandler, who "excommunicated" members of his church (it was posted on the Blend yesterday). His reason: weeding out "Democratic tendencies" in his flock by telling them that they had to vote for Chimpy or get out, because a vote for Kerry was a vote for abortion and support of homos.

It's stories like this that give the lie to Bush's mantra that the "war on terror" is not a war on Islam. Bushites would have us believe that this administration is fighting religious extremism, not any one particular religion, but that's just another one of our born-again Christian president's lies. Because if it were true that the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and all the other state violence committed in the name of fighting terror were a battle against religious extremism in general, Bush clearly would not have to go all the way to the Middle East to battle it. There's plenty of religious extremism right here at home, and Bush should be openly and publically condemning it in the strongest language possible.

But don't hold your breath.