Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President of the United States. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Even funnier, Rudy seems to be happy about it. The thing is I used to work near ol' Pat. His place, CBN University, is on Centerville Turnpike in Chesapeake, Virginia. I used to work on Centerville Turnpike. In the 1880's the pike went to Centreville. When the state planning commission got around to checking the names of all the towns, if found there were two Centreville, Virginias and declared the one in northern Virginia to be first and had the other one, in what is now Chesapeake, change its spelling to Centerville. The little hub that was there gradually gave way to another commercial area, Fentress, and it disappeared. Fentress is not really a place anymore either, except to the locals. Anyway ol' Pat, when he was young Pat, got this idea for a television church. I remember him coming around and soliciting donations from churches to get it started. He lied to them about what it was going to be, but they were generous and eventually he built his TV studio in a huge brick building just a few feet from Virginia Beach, in what has to be the capital of luny religious people in the United States. Charismatics of all brands, holy rollers, to neopentacostals, charismatic Presbyterians even, if you can believe that, and all other manner of spiritualists. Oddly as soon as Pat got his building built and started broadcasting his ultra spiritual television Christianity, send in those checks please, the sign on the nearby expressway was changed to declare the exit for CBN University. It helps to have a daddy who is a United States Senator.

I have nothing good to say about Pat Robertson. He is a liar and a charlatan and I think he knows less about God than the average 5 year old. But he knows about manipulating people to make money using religion. You have to ask yourself how he can endorse Rudy though. "Back in mid-2001, when Mayor Rudy Giuliani was busy committing adultery, lurching into his divorce and third marriage and rooming with a gay couple he promised to marry as soon as the law allowed, who among us would have imagined that one day he would have be endorsed for president by Pat Robertson?" (Gail Collins, NYTimes columnist). The phrase politics makes strange bedfellows has never been more appropriate.

The sad thing is that the media thinks Pat is a signficant religious leader when all he is, is the natural descendent of the old Oral Roberts traveling healer show that used to come to town once a year for a few weeks, healing the same people every year of their dread diseases. Never mind that, the offering plate was full.

On another subject. The martial law that has been declared in Pakistan has not been decried by our president because he is thinking of doing exactly the same thing before our elections next fall, when it becomes hopelessly clear that Republicans will lose power. He will postpone elections, declare the congress vacant, throw out the judges, and continue on as the warlord on terror, for the good of the country. You know he is thinking about it.