a pastor was arrested for saving homeless people from freezing. what the fuck have we become

across the country, laws are being passed that mandate cruelty

“give me your hungry, your tired, your poor — I’ll piss on ’em
that’s what the Statue of Bigotry says
your poor huddled masses, let’s club ’em to death and get it over with
and just dump ’em on the boulevard”
— Lou Reed, Dirty Boulevard

here’s a heartwarming story from our nation’s heartland.

Chris Avell, pastor of Dad’s Place in Bryan, Ohio, was arraigned in court last Thursday because he kept his church open 24/7 to provide warmth to the unhoused.

I’m sorry, a pastor was arraigned for doing what?

you read that right.

this past week, as much of the country suffered sub-zero temperatures, Chris Avell, a pastor in Ohio, looked at the weather report, looked at all the unhoused people in his neighborhood, and rightfully concluded that a lot of them were going to freeze to death unless somebody did something.

Pastor Avell decided that he was going to be that somebody, and opened the doors of his church to anyone who needed shelter — and his neighbors were all no, absolutely fucking not.

they went to the police and said arrest this guy and the police were all arrest him? for what?

so some fuckface lawyer with too much time on their hands pored through every law on the books, and lo and behold, came up with this:

Ohio law prohibits residential use in first-floor buildings in a business district. Since the church is zoned as a Central Business, the building is restricted from allowing people to eat or sleep on the property.

and this is the bullshit they cooked up to fucking arrest Pastor Avell for doing his job and following the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus, remember him? remember all that business in the Bible about comforting the afflicted?

sorry to be the one to tell you this, Pastor, but that’s the old Jesus. he’s been shitcanned and replaced by MAGA Jesus — and MAGA Jesus says fuck the afflicted.

across the country, laws are being passed that mandate gratuitous cruelty.

in Texas, they’re trying to get rid of water breaks for outdoor workers.

In a week when parts of the state are getting triple-digit temperatures and weather officials urge Texans to stay cool and hydrated, Gov. Greg Abbott gave final approval to a law that will eliminate local rules mandating water breaks for construction workers.

House Bill 2127 was passed by the Texas Legislature during this year’s regular legislative session. Abbott signed it Tuesday. It will go into effect on Sept. 1.

in Arizona, it’s illegal to give food and water to migrants.

Four humanitarian aid volunteers were convicted of misdemeanor charges on Friday after leaving food and water for migrants crossing a remote wildlife refuge on the United States-Mexico border in 2017.

hell, in Georgia you can’t even give water to people waiting in line to vote.

Under the new legislation, it is illegal for anyone except poll workers to provide food or water to voters in line for polls. According to Eric Segall, Ashe family chair professor of law at Georgia State University College of Law, this means not even friends and family can bring snacks to voters in line. 

federal judges have put on hold the laws in Texas and Georgia, but that’s not going to keep these assholes from falling the fuck over each other in a mad dash to pass ever more harsher laws.

right now, the six bought-and-paid-for Federalist Society hacks on the Supreme Court appear poised to rule that that safety regulations are unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared likely Wednesday to curtail the ability of federal agencies to regulate a host of areas that touch on American life, signaling that a 40-year-old decision characterized as a “bedrock” of administrative law could be in jeopardy.

there was a time not very long ago when Republicans tried to convince us that they had turned over a new leaf — that they were “compassionate conservatives.” of course it was a bullshit lie from the get-go, but now they’re not even bothering to pretend. being a heartless shithead is now a GOP badge of honor.

“compassionate conservatism” has been replaced with the doctrine of “just fucking die.”

carrying a non-viable fetus that’s a danger to your life? just fucking die.

caught in razor-wire booby traps in the Rio Grande? just fucking die.

can’t afford healthcare? just fucking die.

unhoused and freezing? just fucking die.