Weren’t you getting sick of the Republican over-reach on Benghazi? Me too. I bet even Republicans were privately rolling their eyes at some of the absurdity.

But I’d take another month of breathless hyper partisan obsession over Benghazi if it meant we didn’t have two fresh situations on our hands – real ones this time – which should make Americans of all stripes pause and wonder what our Federal Government is doing in our names.

Apparently the IRS has admitted they singled out conservative organizations seeking non-profit status for extra scrutiny. And before people got a chance to catch their breath from that one, the Justice Department disclosed to the Associated Press that they collected the phone records of its reporters for a two-month period.

To be blunt, I’m not happy with the behavior of my Federal government on either situation, and you shouldn’t be either. Each situation is chilling, and demands full investigation. You might be surprised for me to say that, since I’m a Democrat…the same party as the chief executive. That’s the difference between having a point of view, and having a spin. I’m not the slightest bit interested in helping gloss over with partisan spin that which is counter to my point of view.

The White House needs to aggressively lead the way in getting to the bottom of both situations. They have no business merely reacting – they need to get in the driver’s seat and show that they’re even more determined to get real answers than Congressional Republicans will be.

And speaking of Congressional Republicans…does anybody think they’ll lead an honest investigation aimed at getting out the facts, and going wherever the evidence leads? Of course not. They’ll use it for political fodder, and more showbiz for cable news, and that’s a shame too.

We need to know whether a few individuals at the IRS did something bone-headed, or if this was a coordinated focus on selective enforcement of the law based on ideology. There’s a huge difference.

We need to know whether seizing the phone records of the Associated Press reporters was a legitimate tool in a crucial investigation, or if it was a stunning over-reach on the part of law enforcement borne of a Justice Department utterly tone-deaf to First Amendment protections. There’s a huge difference.

And both of the above would be a lot easier if members of Congress, in both parties, weren’t constantly playing the blame game for political gain, instead of doing their jobs. Both of the above would be more achievable if we had a White House focused on getting to the bottom of it, instead of minimizing damage.

We don’t need a rush to judgement. We need a rush to truth.

Sadly, Westboro Baptist has it all wrapped up for the worst church in the world. But The Church Of Corinth near Dallas is doing their best to come in a close second place.

It started when their pastor, Jeffrey Dale Williams, was jailed yesterday, charged with attempted sexual performance of a child. Police say the entire pathetic episode was captured on a two-hour audio tape, and they’re currently seeking out possible additional victims.

Curious, I went to the church’s Facebook page early this morning. I found scores of comments, almost all of which were supportive of, sympathetic with, or combative on behalf of, the church and its accused pastor. Many indicated their belief that this accusation is an attack on the church and its pastor by Satan. A sampling:

Remember the prayers over our Pastor and family a few weeks ago….this is Satan in full force trying to destroy!

and:

Praying and believing in Pastor Jeff, and the TRUTH to be revealed.

and:

Ignorance allows those to believe this accusation to be true. I’m not one of them. I know the truth will come out, hopefully sooner than later. God bless.

and:

This shows me that the devil will stop at nothing to try and shake our faith. We must not falter in our FAITH to God. Prayers to the all TCOC family.

The comments go on and on. Conspicuously missing from the conversation was any concern about the victim. Plenty of prayers for the church, and for the pastor, but no prayers offered for the victim (and only one mention of “the accuser”). I posted my own comment, expressing my hope that people would pray for victims as well.

When I returned my attention to my computer screen ten minutes later, the church had deleted my comment.

Several others tried to express their concern for the victim as well. Here’s one:

And it took two minutes for the church to delete it. But here’s another one, so innocuous I was convinced it would survive:

But sadly, within minutes, it too was gone.

What kind of a church decides there’s absolutely no room to pray for a child who has been sexually victimized? None of us are in a position to judge whether this pastor is a child molester. Although one would have to think that a two-hour audio tape will make things pretty clear in a hurry, that is ultimately for courts to decide. But what kind of church is so focused on circling the wagons and protecting their pastor that they specifically reject any notion of praying for victims who are children?

Perhaps it’s time for the Church of the Corinth to closely examine what, exactly, they’re really worshiping.

And as if this situation hasn’t already sent enough cold chills down your spine, here was the most recent post on the church’s Facebook page, from before the news broke that their minister had been charged with molesting a child:

Bind faith indeed.

UPDATE: the church has now apparently pulled down their Facebook page entirely.

 UPDATE #2: here’s this too.