David Koch is not impressed:

“He just made the decision, it was obvious where the guy is. He was one of the worst terrorists organizing attacks on the United States. I mean, no president in his right mind would not approve that decision to go eliminate him. So he’s getting a lot of recognition and his polls have jumped up, but his decision was the easiest of them all. The real hard work was done by the intelligence and the SEALs.”

And besides, David Koch knows who’s the real terrorist:

Obama is “a hardcore socialist,” Koch told us, “and he’s marvelous at pretending to be something other than that, but that is what I believe he truly is, a hardcore socialist. He’s scary to me.”

This report is presented as part of our continuing public-service series, The More You Know About Billionaires.

David Koch Gives President Obama Zero Credit for Bin Laden’s Death [New York]

Finally, a real-life example of a Libertarian talking point:

Imagine your home catches fire but the local fire department won’t respond, then watches it burn. That’s exactly what happened to a local family tonight…

The homeowner, Gene Cranick, said he offered to pay whatever it would take for firefighters to put out the flames, but was told it was too late. They wouldn’t do anything to stop his house from burning.

Each year, Obion County residents must pay $75 if they want fire protection from the city of South Fulton. But the Cranicks did not pay.

The mayor said if homeowners don’t pay, they’re out of luck.

Damn straight. Why should freeloaders get the benefit of emergency services?

Just ask Cranick’s neighbor. When the fire crossed the property line, the firefighters leaped into action. After all, the neighbor had paid up.

Firefighters watch as home burns to the ground [WPSD, via ThinkProgress]

We’re not entirely sure how we feel about this — it’s a great trick for stifling dissent of all flavors — but happily, we’re not a Responsible Op-Ed Columnist:

The controversial Florida pastor who threatened to burn Korans on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is expected to be billed at least $200,000 by the city of Gainesville for costs associated with the stunt.

Pastor Terry Jones, who got international attention with his on-again, off-again plan to burn 200 copies of Islam’s holiest book, said the costs would essentially bankrupt his 50-member church, the Dove World Outreach Center.

No, no, no, they’re already morally bankrupt. Gainesville just wants to fiscally bankrupt them to match.

Florida Pastor Who Vowed to Burn Korans Billed for Security; Says Church Would Go Bankrupt [ABC, via Yahoo]

All Derek Fenton wanted was to exercise his God-given right to trash somebody else’s God. But he hadn’t planned on making himself a martyr:

The protester who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero has been fired from NJTransit, sources and authorities said Tuesday.

Derek Fenton’s 11-year career at the agency came to an abrupt halt Monday after photographs of him ripping pages from the Muslim holy book and setting them ablaze appeared in newspapers…

“Mr. Fenton’s public actions violated New Jersey Transit’s code of ethics,” an agency statement said.

While a New Jersey “code of ethics” amuses us to no end, and we’re more than pleased to see a jerk get jerked, we’re actually mildly concerned: There’s nothing illegal about torching scripture, and the apparent principle invoked could work both ways.

But Derek’s a big boy — he can always call his local ACLU office, which we’re sure someone like him has always held in the hightest esteem.

Koran burner Derek Fenton booted from his job at NJ Transit [NY Daily News]

Image: Landover Baptist Church

We suppose we’re supposed to get a chuckle out of the news that Rush Limbaugh and Whackjob Florida Pastor are both proud members of the Cape Central High School Class of 1969. But at our woefully advanced age, what really catches our attention is this:

Gregg Hopkins, a Cape Central alum, recalled Jones in a comment on the site:

“I knew him the early 70s. He graduated from Central (I think) in 69. He was a funny, friendly guy back then, when he was dating my friend, Lisa. My how the years change some people. Every picture I’ve seen of him, he’s wearing an intense scowl.”

Terry Jones was once young, and free, and happy. What the hell turned him into a vile hateful douchebag?

Then again — okay, fine, you saw it coming, so we’re not even going to write it.

Rush Limbaugh, Pastor Terry Jones Were High School Classmates [Politics Daily]

(Editor’s note: As of 8:30 p.m. ET, with six updates and two mini-updates, just about every reported fact has been undermined. We believe this merits some kind of award.)

Can we get back to conventional bigotry now?

The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy says he is canceling plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11.

Great! But wait!

Pastor Terry Jones said Thursday that he decided to cancel his protest because the leader of a planned Islamic Center near ground zero has agreed to move its controversial location.

Ummm… We haven’t heard that one yet. Ruh-roh.

Fla. minister cancels burning of Qurans on 9/11 [AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

WTF Update:

Read more »

So yesterday we were thinking, at least Obama hasn’t said anything about Saturday’s Koran Roast, which really should be beneath notice…

• Obama says something about Saturday’s Koran Roast.
• FBI says something about Saturday’s Koran Roast.
• Interpol says something about Saturday’s Koran Roast.
• The AP says not to say anything specific about Saturday’s Koran Roast.

People, people, people: August is over. Sheesh.