CovOps
 Location : Ether-Sphere
Job/hobbies : Irrationality Exterminator
Humor : Über Serious
 |  Subject: Funny: Let he who is without sin cast Roger Stone  Tue Sep 01, 2020 4:11 am | |
| Roger Stone brought a little bit of the Borscht Belt to the Bible Belt Sunday as he prefaced his personal testimony of coming to Jesus at Global Vision Bible Church on Old Lebanon Dirt Road in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in suburban Nashville, with some classic shtick.
“I think what you are going to see is a whole new level of ministry that is going to come out of this man in an amazing way,” said Pastor Greg Locke in presenting Stone to a gathering of what was probably a few hundred folks gathered under a tent outside his church - a concession to COVID-19 - for the regular Sunday service. “Global Vision Bible Church, get on your feet and welcome Roger Stone to the platform this morning.”
“Thank you, thank you very much, thank you,” Stone said, taking the stage to a warm welcome. “Please. Don’t. Stop. Please don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
“That’s an old Milton Berle joke,” Stone explained.
Perhaps mindful of the present pandemic, Stone refrained from addressing his audience as “ladies and germs.” But he was referring to another familiar bit of Milton Berle business from his reign as Mr. Television hosting Texaco Star Theater (1948–1955). As recounted in Berle’s New York Times obituary, “when the audience invariably would roar with laughter and then burst into applause, Mr. Berle would hold up one hand like a traffic cop to halt the applause, while his other hand, held down against his thigh, would beckon frantically, urging the audience to applaud still louder.”
I had emailed Stone Saturday to let him know I’d be watching the stream of Sunday’s church service.
“Wait until you get a load of what I am wearing. When one door closes another one opens. Praise the Lord,” he replied.
For 13 years, Stone offered a Best and Worst Dressed List.
In 2019, the best list included Melania Trump - “The most chic and well-dressed first lady since Jackie Kennedy.”
The 2019 worst list included Michael Cohen (” Garish sports jackets, vinyl windbreakers and badly fitting Italian suits, the Trump Organization lawyer dresses like the outer-boro gangster he talks like. The good news: He won’t need civilian clothes after pleading guilty to multiple counts. More Goodfellas than New York Fixer.”)
And Beto O’Rourke (“America’s progressive boy wonder and resident FAKE HISPANIC is the definition of a `try-hard’ in every element of his life — except when he is figuring out what to wear. Dweeby, washed-out and always swimming in whatever he lands on. Beto doesn’t take chances and couldn’t find a proper necktie or belt for the duration of his campaign against Ted Cruz. He will never be president and we can say that the odds are not in his favor to ever earn a spot on the Best Dressed.”).
“I’m thinking something in a simple but elegant linen sackcloth,” I replied to Stone.
I was, of course, wrong.
“I am doing the full Harry F. Byrd, Sr. - double breasted cream color suit,” Stone informed me Sunday morning.
And that is how he arrived at Global Vision Bible Church, where Pastor Locke was dressed in stone-washed jeans, a bit worn at the knees, on a steamy Sunday.
- Quote :
- Roger Stone is at my church! pic.twitter.com/K1jpstl2aC
— Lefty (@LeftyMarkRose) August 30, 2020 After a bit of Berle, Stone reached into the inside pocket of his Harry Byrd suit and pulled out his prepared remarks.
“I am so excited,” he said. “I can’t wait to hear what I have to say.”
Roger Stone brought a little bit of the Borscht Belt to the Bible Belt Sunday as he prefaced his personal testimony of coming to Jesus at Global Vision Bible Church on Old Lebanon Dirt Road in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in suburban Nashville, with some classic shtick.
“I think what you are going to see is a whole new level of ministry that is going to come out of this man in an amazing way,” said Pastor Greg Locke in presenting Stone to a gathering of what was probably a few hundred folks gathered under a tent outside his church - a concession to COVID-19 - for the regular Sunday service. “Global Vision Bible Church, get on your feet and welcome Roger Stone to the platform this morning.”
“Thank you, thank you very much, thank you,” Stone said, taking the stage to a warm welcome. “Please. Don’t. Stop. Please don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
“That’s an old Milton Berle joke,” Stone explained.
Perhaps mindful of the present pandemic, Stone refrained from addressing his audience as “ladies and germs.” But he was referring to another familiar bit of Milton Berle business from his reign as Mr. Television hosting Texaco Star Theater (1948–1955). As recounted in Berle’s New York Times obituary, “when the audience invariably would roar with laughter and then burst into applause, Mr. Berle would hold up one hand like a traffic cop to halt the applause, while his other hand, held down against his thigh, would beckon frantically, urging the audience to applaud still louder.”
I had emailed Stone Saturday to let him know I’d be watching the stream of Sunday’s church service.
“Wait until you get a load of what I am wearing. When one door closes another one opens. Praise the Lord,” he replied.
For 13 years, Stone offered a Best and Worst Dressed List.
In 2019, the best list included Melania Trump - “The most chic and well-dressed first lady since Jackie Kennedy.”
The 2019 worst list included Michael Cohen (” Garish sports jackets, vinyl windbreakers and badly fitting Italian suits, the Trump Organization lawyer dresses like the outer-boro gangster he talks like. The good news: He won’t need civilian clothes after pleading guilty to multiple counts. More Goodfellas than New York Fixer.”)
And Beto O’Rourke (“America’s progressive boy wonder and resident FAKE HISPANIC is the definition of a `try-hard’ in every element of his life — except when he is figuring out what to wear. Dweeby, washed-out and always swimming in whatever he lands on. Beto doesn’t take chances and couldn’t find a proper necktie or belt for the duration of his campaign against Ted Cruz. He will never be president and we can say that the odds are not in his favor to ever earn a spot on the Best Dressed.”).
“I’m thinking something in a simple but elegant linen sackcloth,” I replied to Stone.
I was, of course, wrong.
“I am doing the full Harry F. Byrd, Sr. - double breasted cream color suit,” Stone informed me Sunday morning.
And that is how he arrived at Global Vision Bible Church, where Pastor Locke was dressed in stone-washed jeans, a bit worn at the knees, on a steamy Sunday.
- Quote :
- Roger Stone is at my church! pic.twitter.com/K1jpstl2aC
— Lefty (@LeftyMarkRose) August 30, 2020 After a bit of Berle, Stone reached into the inside pocket of his Harry Byrd suit and pulled out his prepared remarks.
“I am so excited,” he said. “I can’t wait to hear what I have to say.”
“I am so glad to be here. How about that band. Let’s hear it for the band. I don’t know whether to speak or sing. Do you guys know Mustang Sally?”
Stone then told a lengthy joke involving a Tennessean, a Floridian and a New Yorker, all freshly arrived in Hell, who are told by the Devil they can phone home but it will cost them. Turns out the calls to Tennessee and Florida from Hell are quite pricey, but the call to New York is not much at all because, “since Andrew Cuomo became governor, it’s gone to Hell, so now it’s a local call.”
Much of Stone’s testimony amounted to a campaign speech for President Donald Trump and a recounting of his own persecution by federal authorities which led his conviction in November 2019.
From the New York Times:
Mr. Stone, 67, a longtime Republican operative, was convicted of obstructing a congressional investigation into Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign and possible ties to Russia. Prosecutors convinced jurors that he lied under oath, withheld a trove of documents and threatened an associate with harm if he cooperated with congressional investigators. Mr. Stone maintained his innocence and claimed prosecutors wanted him to offer information about Mr. Trump that he said did not exist.
That came from a July 10 story on President Trump, in answer to Stone’s prayers, commuting Stone’s sentence.
President Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime friend Roger J. Stone Jr. on seven felony crimes on Friday, using the power of his office to spare a former campaign adviser days before Mr. Stone was to report to a federal prison to serve a 40-month term.
In a lengthy written statement punctuated by the sort of inflammatory language and angry grievances characteristic of the president’s Twitter feed, the White House denounced the “overzealous prosecutors” who convicted Mr. Stone on “process-based charges” stemming from the “witch hunts” and “Russia hoax” investigation.
The statement did not assert that Mr. Stone was innocent of the false statements and obstruction counts, only that he should not have been pursued because prosecutors ultimately filed no charges of an underlying conspiracy between Mr. Trump’s campaign and Russia. “Roger Stone has already suffered greatly,” it said. “He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!”
- Quote :
- Trump commutes sentence of confidant Roger Stone. He was set to go to prison July 14 for lying to Congress and witness tampering. https://t.co/ADoXeCDp5C
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 11, 2020 I will not dwell on Stone’s sins here, but rather on his recent religious experience and what it says about the continuing, perhaps greater-than-ever evangelical Christian devotion to Donald Trump, which has proved indispensable to his political success.
- Quote :
- EXCLUSIVE: Roger Stone tells me accepting Jesus changed his life. On his prosecutors: “In the old days, I would have wanted to take revenge against every one of them but now I’ve realized that vengeance is God’s, it’s not mine.” Watch full report on @700club today! @CBNNews pic.twitter.com/iDq8FLKE8q
— David Brody (@DavidBrodyCBN) July 15, 2020 “I stand before you as living proof that prayer works, and that God will deliver his people,” Stone said Sunday.
“I am a 40-year friend of President Donald Trump,” Stone said, establishing his bona fides for any skeptics in his audience. “I wanted him to run for president in 1988. I wanted him to run again in 2000. I wanted him to run in 2012. And I thank the Lord that finally, he decided to run, with God’s guidance, in 2016.”
“For my support of Donald Trump. I endured a three-year nightmare,” Stone said, recalling his pre-dawn SWAT-style arrest, which, he said, didn’t even give him time to dress appropriately.
- Quote :
- “FBI. Open the door.”
Watch exclusive CNN footage of the FBI arresting longtime Trump associate Roger Stone. Stone has been indicted by a grand jury on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. https://t.co/5QHKDB2mfA pic.twitter.com/UeKo7CmXWo
— CNN (@CNN) January 25, 2019 “But I did emerge from my home in handcuffs wearing a Roger Stone Did Nothing Wrong t-shirt. You can get yours at fightback.store,” Stone said Sunday, pitching his tent revival. “Get yours now, because you’ll be able to sell it to the Smithsonian later.”
- Quote :
- Trump goes to Lake Charles to greet emergency officials today after Hurricane Laura, has people brought to him so he can sign autographs they didn’t ask for, and then tells them: “Sell it on Ebay for $10,000...If I put your name on it, it loses value.” pic.twitter.com/eqK7M4iarF
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) August 29, 2020 Let us pause briefly to note that in February of 2018, Stone appeared before the Oxford Union, part of a speaking tour of England’s most elite schools, and beginning on a familiar note: “Thank you very much. I can’t wait to hear what I have to say.”
Stone then told a lengthy joke involving a Tennessean, a Floridian and a New Yorker, all freshly arrived in Hell, who are told by the Devil they can phone home but it will cost them. Turns out the calls to Tennessee and Florida from Hell are quite pricey, but the call to New York is not much at all because, “since Andrew Cuomo became governor, it’s gone to Hell, so now it’s a local call.”
Much of Stone’s testimony amounted to a campaign speech for President Donald Trump and a recounting of his own persecution by federal authorities which led his conviction in November 2019.
From the New York Times:
Mr. Stone, 67, a longtime Republican operative, was convicted of obstructing a congressional investigation into Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign and possible ties to Russia. Prosecutors convinced jurors that he lied under oath, withheld a trove of documents and threatened an associate with harm if he cooperated with congressional investigators. Mr. Stone maintained his innocence and claimed prosecutors wanted him to offer information about Mr. Trump that he said did not exist.
That came from a July 10 story on President Trump, in answer to Stone’s prayers, commuting Stone’s sentence.
President Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime friend Roger J. Stone Jr. on seven felony crimes on Friday, using the power of his office to spare a former campaign adviser days before Mr. Stone was to report to a federal prison to serve a 40-month term.
In a lengthy written statement punctuated by the sort of inflammatory language and angry grievances characteristic of the president’s Twitter feed, the White House denounced the “overzealous prosecutors” who convicted Mr. Stone on “process-based charges” stemming from the “witch hunts” and “Russia hoax” investigation.
The statement did not assert that Mr. Stone was innocent of the false statements and obstruction counts, only that he should not have been pursued because prosecutors ultimately filed no charges of an underlying conspiracy between Mr. Trump’s campaign and Russia. “Roger Stone has already suffered greatly,” it said. “He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!”
- Quote :
- Trump commutes sentence of confidant Roger Stone. He was set to go to prison July 14 for lying to Congress and witness tampering. https://t.co/ADoXeCDp5C
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 11, 2020 I will not dwell on Stone’s sins here, but rather on his recent religious experience and what it says about the continuing, perhaps greater-than-ever evangelical Christian devotion to Donald Trump, which has proved indispensable to his political success.
- Quote :
- EXCLUSIVE: Roger Stone tells me accepting Jesus changed his life. On his prosecutors: “In the old days, I would have wanted to take revenge against every one of them but now I’ve realized that vengeance is God’s, it’s not mine.” Watch full report on @700club today! @CBNNews pic.twitter.com/iDq8FLKE8q
— David Brody (@DavidBrodyCBN) July 15, 2020 “I stand before you as living proof that prayer works, and that God will deliver his people,” Stone said Sunday.
“I am a 40-year friend of President Donald Trump,” Stone said, establishing his bona fides for any skeptics in his audience. “I wanted him to run for president in 1988. I wanted him to run again in 2000. I wanted him to run in 2012. And I thank the Lord that finally, he decided to run, with God’s guidance, in 2016.”
“For my support of Donald Trump. I endured a three-year nightmare,” Stone said, recalling his pre-dawn SWAT-style arrest, which, he said, didn’t even give him time to dress appropriately.
- Quote :
- “FBI. Open the door.”
Watch exclusive CNN footage of the FBI arresting longtime Trump associate Roger Stone. Stone has been indicted by a grand jury on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. https://t.co/5QHKDB2mfA pic.twitter.com/UeKo7CmXWo
— CNN (@CNN) January 25, 2019 “But I did emerge from my home in handcuffs wearing a Roger Stone Did Nothing Wrong t-shirt. You can get yours at fightback.store,” Stone said Sunday, pitching his tent revival. “Get yours now, because you’ll be able to sell it to the Smithsonian later.”
- Quote :
- Trump goes to Lake Charles to greet emergency officials today after Hurricane Laura, has people brought to him so he can sign autographs they didn’t ask for, and then tells them: “Sell it on Ebay for $10,000...If I put your name on it, it loses value.” pic.twitter.com/eqK7M4iarF
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) August 29, 2020 Let us pause briefly to note that in February of 2018, Stone appeared before the Oxford Union, part of a speaking tour of England’s most elite schools, and beginning on a familiar note: “Thank you very much. I can’t wait to hear what I have to say.”
Stone said Sunday it was an opportunity to pour his heart out to to evangelist Franklin Graham, son of Billy, that helped him find Christ.
- Quote :
- Roger Stone credits @Franklin_Graham with helping him find Christ in the midst of his legal troubles. pic.twitter.com/1jLwLp8HIY
— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) July 9, 2020 “Well, I’ll see what I can do, but let me give you a better piece of advice,” Stone recalled Graham telling him. ”`Are you a religious person?′ And I said, `Well, reverend, I was born in the Catholic Church. I received my sacraments there, I was Baptized there. I had my First Holy Communion there. I had my Confirmation there. If you’re asking me, `Do I believe in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,′ the answer is, `Yes.′ But I confess to you I have not always walked in His way.”
Stone recalled the late pastor, Kim Clement, who prophesied the Trump presidency: “Trump shall become a trumpet, says the Lord.”
“He had a number of extraordinary prophecies, which have come true,” Stone said. “He prophesized that a man would rise from the North to save the American nation, and his name was Donald, and he would be elected president. He predicted, almost to the number, the surge in our stock market and the recovery of our economy. He predicted the failed impeachment against our president.
“And then he spoke about another effort, by the New World Order, in this case Goliath, to take down America.”
At this point Stone loses me a little but, apparently the Lord was asked, ”`What is your plan for this giant?′ And He said, `I shall take a simple s(S)tone. Remember that name. And he will hold that s(S)tone up and they will laugh at him. But the plan is so brilliant,′ said the Lord, ` that it could only have come from me.’”
“I do not claim to be the Stone mentioned in that prophecy,” Stone said. “I may be. Maybe I’m not. But I do know this. God spared my life for a purpose. He will reveal to me what it is he wants to do.
“And I am ready to do battle for the Lord,” said Stone, who by this point had long since removed his double-breasted coat, appearing, with his white hair and suspenders, for all the world like the protagonist in a summer stock production of Inherit the Wind, based on events the occurred a couple of hours southeast of here.
Pastor Locke, who three days earlier had been among the invited guests on the South Lawn of the White House for President Trump’s acceptance speech for the Republican nomination for a second term, declared himself impressed by Stone’s preaching.
“You know, it says something about the church landscape in America, when Roger Stone has more gospel and more courage than the average pastor in the United States of America to stand up and risk his life for the truth of Jesus Christ.”
Locke said he had just gotten a text from friends at the sheriff’s office letting him know they had been deluged with calls from people complaining that the church was being used for political purposes.
“Today you’ve heard a story of life change and yet the critics will say what they will. And the news media will say what they will. And the haters are gonna hate. And people are going to say all manner of evil against this meeting today, and against this man and against his team, but I am convinced that this is just the beginning of what God wants this man to do,” Locke said.
“He’s not just a political genius. I believe he is moving into the arena to be a man of God that can stand up and proclaim truth to the nations, and this nation, a friend of presidents. And now a friend of Global Vision Bible Church.”
It was Trump’s ability to trump Sen. Ted Cruz among evangelical voters - with what Cruz believed to be some nefarious help from Stone - that proved decisive in the 2016 Republican nominating contest.
Cruz announced his candidacy for president at Liberty University, which was founded by the Moral Majority’s late founder Jerry Falwell, and was, up until very recently, being led by his son, Jerry Falwell Jr.
https://www.statesman.com/opinion/20200831/first-reading-let-he-who-is-without-sin-cast-roger-stone |
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