This might sound crazy, but I’ve always thought it was a good idea to hear both sides of an argument before making a decision. I learned that from an unfortunate experience involving a disgraceful probate case wherein the jury heard only the plaintiff’s side of the story due to the incompetence of the defendants’ lawyer. So when the 2020 election rolled around, I felt duty bound to listen to both presidential candidates.
We’re a year past the election and questions keep nagging me. In the evangelic zeal for one candidate, are religious leaders putting on fanatical sideshows for him? Have preachers become megaphones for the former president’s false claims? I’ve been listening to Greg Locke, a Nashville preacher, as well as others from the “buckle” of the Bible belt. Their radical sermons are chilling. Locke moved his followers from a small building to a circus tent where a thousand or more of his devotees pay rapt attention, if not downright adoration, to what can only be described as his rage-filled rants.
In a July 2021 issue of The Washington Post, reporter Jaclyn Peiser, wrote: “During a sermon last month, Locke called President Biden a fraud and ‘a sex trafficking, demon-possessed mongrel,’ a reference to QAnon, an extremist ideology based on false claims. He also falsely claimed the pandemic is ‘fake,’ the death count is ‘manipulated,’ and the vaccine is a ‘dangerous scam.’ The pastor has preached misinformation about the vaccine, including falsely claiming it’s made...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and its audit contractors have the authority to suspend payments to hospice care providers suspected of submitting false claims or improperly...