The wrong kinds of clips

The anti-Bellevue folks are now collecting their own press clippings, supplying links to web-published articles which mention them (favorably, of course); the latest actually has something to do with "ethics," supposedly, though the web article itself does a good job of regurgitating rumors and only attempts "balance" at the end of the piece.

(It is gratifying to see what else pops up on the first page of the Google search result produced by typing in "saving Bellevue"--in this day and age, there's more than one way to provide balance.)

When you visit the "Saving Bellevue" site, though, you'll be treated to another kind of clipping as well. This one, however, is an audio clip of Adrian Rogers speaking on character and integrity. The irony is particularly thick, two layers of which I'll highlight:

First, nowhere on the site is there an indication that the audio clip is approved for use by anyone who would have authority to give such approval. Even if it's from a legally-purchased videotape, DVD, audio cassette, or CD, slapping it on a website for dissemination is a different matter entirely. (If you're an attorney who can either amplify or dispel this observation, please let me know.)

Also, the audio clip gives the not-so-subtle impression that Adrian Rogers, were he still with us today, would endorse the rumor-mongering and gossip that serve as the foundation and superstructure of that site. Noting that this is far from certain is a vivid understatement.

The site has gotten so bad that people who write faux "epistles" for it are now referring to themselves in the third person. Let me tell you, Mike Bratton would never go for something like that, because Mike Bratton does not stoop to that level. Mike Bratton is the kind of man who values objectivity over self-aggrandizement...

(See what I mean?)

Seriously, though, when your list of "facts" has more "I's" than a sack of potatoes, something is fundamentally wrong.

And when Mr. Sharpe, Mr. Haywood, Mr. Manning, Mr. Saba, Mr. McClerkin, and the hangers-on who veil themselves behind varying levels of anonymity all figure this out, perhaps the molehills they've tried to transform into the Himalayas might actually be addressed.

--Mike