Win/win for Republicans. (Update)

As pastor Jones continues his flip-flop about whether or not he will burn a pile of qu'rans tomorrow, teabaggers and other fringe elements in the Republican party are jubilating.

If Obama does nothing, they win. If he stops the event, they win.

Local health authorities in Gainesville should consider taking Jones into custody for a psychiatric examination. Someone who enjoys sucking up media attention as he does - and doesn't have the excuse that he's an entertainment figure with a product to flog or a politician seeking public office - without regard for the violent consequences his actions will trigger, must have a couple of screws loose.

Here and there, individuals in the media are raising valid and thoughtful points about this event, instead of throwing fuel on the fire, as it were.

My prediction: if Terry Jones is not found to be mentally incompetent and stuck in a padded room for an indeterminate time, the Tea Party Hatriots will recruit him to run for political office.

Update: Terry Jones's daughter still lives in Germany. Spiegel interviewed her.

Q: It is true, then, that the church in Cologne ousted your father itself?
Jones: Yes.

Q: Did he leave Cologne willingly?
Jones: It was a mixture. We confronted him and demanded that he correct his errors. But he didn't give in. When we brought up the church finances, he disappeared the next day.

Q: Are you still involved with the church that he left behind? Jones: No.

Q: Do you believe your father is serious about burning the Korans?
Jones: I do. My father is not one to give up. As his daughter, I can see the good-natured core deep inside him. But I think he needs help.

Q: Is your father a megalomaniac?
Jones: I'm afraid he is. As his daughter, it is difficult for me to say that. [...] I don't know what's going through his head. I think he has gone crazy. But I am convinced that he thinks his plan is both correct and good.

Q: He has indicated that the final decision will be imparted to him by God. Does he see himself as someone who is in constant contact with God?
Jones: Yes. He was constantly comparing himself with Moses.

Who will take responsibility for ensuring Terry Jones gets medical care?

Will he or won't he? But the more interesting question is . . .

Will Faux News really abstain from covering the Quran BBQ bunfest?

Fox News is the only [network] so far to say it will not. It did so in an interview Thursday with The Baltimore Sun.

"We do not cover every flag burning that happens in this country. We don't run every hostage tape," Michael Clemente, senior vice president at Fox News, said in a phone interview. "If we tried to cover everyone who wants us to stick a camera in front of them, we'd run out of cameras pretty fast each day. But this is really about just using some judgment."

Clemente summarized that judgment by saying: "He's one guy in the middle of the woods with 50 people in his congregation who's decided to try, I gather, to bring some attention to himself by saying he's going to burn a Quran if he gets the permit. Well, you know what, there are many more important things going on in the world than that. I don't know what they will be this weekend, but I am sure they will be more important than that."

Clemente said there will be no live coverage, "video" or "still pictures." He was unequivocal in saying Fox News will not cover the burning or the event.

Unequivocal, eh?

I, for one (as the letter-to-editor writers like to put it), will be gob-smacked if Fox News South does not cover whatever happens tomorrow.

What a MASSIVELY excellent idea.

It's really too bad this notion and action has taken so long to arrive.

[...] the 58-year-old minister proclaimed in July that he would stage "International Burn a Quran Day". Supporters have been mailing copies of the Islamic holy text to his Dove World Outreach Center to be incinerated in a bonfire that evening [September 11, 2010].

And also:

The church's senior pastor, Terry Jones, has said he is "exposing Islam for what it is". "It is a violent and oppressive religion that is trying to masquerade itself as a religion of peace, seeking to deceive our society," the church said. "Islam is a lie based upon lies and deceptions and fear.

Now that pastor Terry Jones has launched this original form of protest, the next logical step would be for feminists, gay, lesbian & trans folks, Jews, and all those heretics and heathens still persecuted by fundamentalist evangelical christians to schedule a public bible-burning event.

The contentious question might be: December 25th or March 25th? It's not that we hold a grudge against Jesus, since he's not responsible for the rabid, zealous, hate-spewing followers that Paul of Damascus set on the rightwingwrong path.

It's simply that Gawd, in his infinite wisdom, neglected to record Adam's birthday.

Strangely enough, Sarah Palin has been quiet about pastor Jones' plans. Perhaps she doesn't like having someone else steal her thunder fire?