I Find Your Lack of Faith... Ah, Screw It, That Joke Is Old

From Pharyngula: Sins so heinous that only the Pope can grant absolution

Details of some high-level Catholic tribunal and how it handles the most grievous sins have been revealed. In a very strange overview, we learn that murder and genocide, while truly horrible crimes, can be handled by lower members of the hierarchy. There are a few that only this tribunal and the Pope are qualified to cope with. They are briefly listed: trying to assassinate the Pope, a priest spilling the beans about what is said in the confessional, priests having sex, and abortionists becoming priest. But there is one other crime, which the article dwells on:

Defiling the Eucharist, which Catholics believe is the body and blood of Christ, is also considered a sin of extreme gravity and one which is on the increase, the high-ranking members of the tribunal said.

(...)

In July last year an American academic, to make a point about freedom of thought and religion, drove a nail through a Communion wafer and then threw it in a rubbish bin.

Paul Myers, from the University of Minnesota, said later: "I pierced it with a rusty nail. Then I simply threw it in the trash. Question everything. God is not great, Jesus is not your Lord."

Man, oh, man, how badass is that? PZ Myers is so evil that only Emperor Popeatine can deal directly with him. And if the Pope won't grant him a repreive, he's excommunicated - oh, such a punishment, considering PZ isn't Catholic.

What's really sad about it, though is in that first paragraph:

In a very strange overview, we learn that murder and genocide, while truly horrible crimes, can be handled by lower members of the hierarchy.

That's right, a pirest getting some is a worse crime than killing or attempting to kill entire groups of people. And folks wonder why it is I'm not Catholic.

Personally, I'd give just about anything to see PZ go to Rome to have the Pope "deal with him". If it were me, I wouldn't go there without a lot of Jedi training, mind you, and considering Yoda is off fighting nunchaku-swinging Elvis impersonators and bipolar teenagers with hula hoops of doom, I guess this is something that's going to remain firmly in the realm of fantasy.

THIS IS WHAT CONSERVATIVES ACTUALLY BELIEVE

Re: Yesterday's church shooting: Affidavit: Man admits church shooting, says liberals should die

A man accused of fatally shooting two adults and wounding seven others at a Knoxville church told police the church's liberal teachings prompted him to attack, according to court papers.
Jim Adkisson said liberals should be killed because they're ruining the nation, according to an affidavit.

Jim David Adkisson told investigators all liberals should be killed and admitted he shot people Sunday morning at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by CNN affiliate WBIR.

But remember, according to Instaprick and Cornfed Yankoff, the guy was obviously an anti-Christian liberal who hated God.

This is what happens when you inundate people with hate. This is what happens when you tell them that gay people are sub-human. This is what happens when the inmates run the asylum.

Oh, and the terrorist's choice of reading material?

"Still seized three books from Adkisson's home, including "The O'Reilly Factor," by television commentator Bill O'Reilly; "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder," by radio personality Michael Savage; and "Let Freedom Ring," by political pundit Sean Hannity."

No surprise here. The hate tomes of O'Reilly, Weiner, and Hannity: Mein Kampf for a new generation of murderous, hateful terrorists. Yes, I stand by that statement. Godwin be damned.

BWOOOOOOOOSH-GLUK-GLUK-GLUK-GLUK

From the ChicagoTribune.com "Change of Subject" weblog: Davis and Sherman -- still more controversy

You remember this story, right? It was well-circulated last week, and for good reason - Davis' blowup referring to the very concept of atheism as "dangerous" was offensive and then some.

But let me offer a little tip to her target, activist Rob Sherman:

DON'T MAKE YOURSELF LOOK WORSE.

On Monday evening, well into the comment frenzy over the story about the verbal attack that Ill. Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) made on atheist activist Rob Sherman, reader "Tony" made note of a passage from Rob Sherman's Web site where Sherman had written:

Now that Negroes like Representative Monique Davis have political power, it seems that they have no problem at all with discrimination, just as long as it isn't them who are being discriminated against.

I appended a note to the comment saying that the use of the term "Negroes" struck me as out-of-bounds because it gives racial offense and deliberately so. By using it, Sherman forfeited the high ground that he occupied in his tiff with Davis.

I then sent an e-mail to Sherman noting these objections. I've interviewed him scores of times in the past 22 years and never detected even a hint of racism or bigotry, so I regarded his use of a once-standard but now unacceptable word to be the result of a moment of rhetorical clumsiness or tone-deafness that he ought to rethink.

Sherman replied to my note:

["Negroes" is] what the group was called when they were being discriminated against, but now that this same group has political power, discrimination is OK, as long as it's not them that's being discriminated against. That's the reason for the use of the term.

Gee, there's the way to get people on your side - use a term solely meant to be an affront in this day and age to insult not just her, but an entire group of people. Yep, you sure sound like a reasonable, rational person to me! And then you try and explain this shit away?

Also, a controversy developed in the blogosphere regarding my use on this page of the word, "Negro," earlier in the week. I still thought, today, that Negro and Black were completely interchangeable with identical context, just as Caucasian and White, and automobile and car are. (...) I then called one of my many Black friends to confirm the validity of my perspective. I've known Clint Harris for 23 years. (...) Clint told me that the only people, besides me, who still use Negro are racists who are trying to sound polite. Now I know. There was certainly no intent to act like a racist. I was mistaken when I thought that the words were fully interchangeable and have removed that word from this web site.

For those who don't have any bullshit filters or the ability to read long, rambling paragraphs, lemme spell it out plainly: He's obviously not a racist douche. He has black friends. Why, his "lookit what them neeegroz do" statement that indicts all people who do or might label themselves "Black", "African-American", or whatever term a given person wishes to be called isn't racist. And if it comes off that way, it's only because of the word "negro", not because of his sweeping generalization stating that black people all discriminate when given a measure of power.

You hear that sound, Rob? That sound that sounds like this: "BWOOOOOOOOSH-GLUK-GLUK-GLUK-GLUK"? That's the sound of you flushing your support down the shitter.

Hope it felt good, Rob. Hope you feel better about yourself.

"Freedom of Religion" My ASS

Wisconsin Parents Murder 11-Year-Old Daughter
Child was ill with Type 1 Diabetes, died over the course of 30 days of ketoacidosis - AND WAS NEVER TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL

Yes, it's from Faux News, but this is one of those rare occasions when they get it RIGHT.

WESTON, Wis. — An 11-year-old girl died after her parents prayed for healing rather than seek medical help for a treatable form of diabetes, police said Tuesday.

Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said Madeline Neumann died Sunday.

"She got sicker and sicker until she was dead," he said.

Vergin said an autopsy determined the girl died from diabetic ketoacidosis, an ailment that left her with too little insulin in her body, and she had probably been ill for about 30 days, suffering symptoms like nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness.

The girl's parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, attributed the death to "apparently they didn't have enough faith," the police chief said.

They believed the key to healing "was it was better to keep praying. Call more people to help pray," he said.

The mother believes the girl could still be resurrected, the police chief said. [WHAT.]

Telephone messages left at the Neumann home by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.

The family does not attend an organized church or participate in an organized religion, Vergin said. "They have a little Bible study of a few people."

The parents told investigators their daughter last saw a doctor when she was 3 to get some shots, Vergin said. The girl had attended public school during the first semester but didn't return for the second semester.

Officers went to the home after one of the girl's relatives in California called police to check on her, Vergin said. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The relative was fearful the girl was "extremely ill, dire," Vergin said.

The girl has three siblings, ranging in age from 13 to 16, the police chief said.

"They are still in the home," he said. "There is no reason to remove them. There is no abuse or signs of abuse that we can see."

The girl's death remains under investigation and the findings will be forwarded to the district attorney to review for possible charges, the chief said.

The family operates a coffee shop in Weston, which is a suburb of Wausau, Vergin said.

And what's worse?

IT'S LEGAL TO DO THIS IN WISCONSIN! Yep, that's right, you heard me correctly - in Wisconsin, under State statute 948.03(6), it is LEGAL TO KILL YOUR CHILDREN as long as it's under the guise of denying them professional healthcare "IN TEH NAME OF GAWD!!" If you do it like that, the police and social services can't touch you.

God, I'm SO proud to be an American. /sarcasm

Saudi Arabia: Remember, They're Our Friends and Are Perfect

From HuffPo: Saudis to Execute a Woman for Witchcraft

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A leading human rights group appealed to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Thursday to stop the execution of a woman accused of witchcraft and performing supernatural acts.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the kingdom's religious police who arrested and interrogated Fawza Falih, and the judges who tried her in the northern town of Quraiyat never gave her the opportunity to prove her innocence in the face of "absurd charges that have no basis in law."
(...)
Witchcraft is considered an offense against Islam in the conservative kingdom.

In Falih's case, the judges relied on a coerced confession and on the statements of witnesses who said she had "bewitched" them to convict her in April 2006, according to the group.

Falih later retracted her confession in court, claiming it was extracted under duress, and said that as an illiterate woman, she did not understand the document she was forced to fingerprint.
(...)
The Saudi court cited an instance in which a man allegedly became impotent after being bewitched by Falih, the rights group said.

An appeals court ruled in September 2006 that Falih could not be sentenced to death for witchcraft because she had retracted her confession. But a lower court subsequently reissued the death sentence for the benefit of "public interest" and to "protect the creed, souls and property of this country," the group's statement said.

So let me get thsi straight: we need to be deathly afraid of Muslims and we need to kill lots and lots of them in Iraq and feminists just have to support the killing because of the human rights abuses often centered on the mistreatment of women under their religiously-based laws, but we don't need to go after the country doing things like this and we need religiously-based law here. At least, that's what Dubya and the right-wing brigades of this country tell me.

And why aren't we going after Saudi Arabia, the country that was home to 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers, the country that continues these kinds of acts to this day without so much as a peep from those who are scared to fucking death of OMG SHARIA LAW IN AMERICA IF WE DON'T KILL THOSE BROWN PEOPLES?

This:

Anonymous vs. Scientology

Have you seen this? This is just one story out of many from yesterday, when masked groups of protestors picketed Scientology centers all over the world.

Global protest? There's something you don't see happening often, at least not on any real scale. And the fact that it stayed peaceful proves that maybe all these "I'm going to throw rocks at police and martyr myself" protestors are doing something wrong.

The Cult of Paul

The Podium: One Libertarian's View

Perhaps it's my Libertarian leanings that forces me to continuously speak in regards Presidential Candidate Ron Paul. I'm not sure, perhaps it is because I am a denizen of the internet, and as pretty much ALL of his support comes from people who spend a great deal of time online, I see it thrown in my face more than any other candidate. I'm not really certain. However, I've come to an interesting conclusion I'd like to share with you, dear readers.


Paul's followers are cultists. Now I don't mean that in the humorous, "Oh you!" way, I mean, quite literally, Ron Paul supporters are in a cult. After this rather terrifying thought came to enter my mind a few weeks ago, I made it a point to begin watching various Paul supporter hot spots online. What I've seen is mind-numbing. Individuals who go beyond avid support of a candidate, far beyond.

These are individuals who have built a boogeyman from the media to explain why "Dr. Paul" is doing so poorly, that the evil media conspiracy is actively trying to keep Ron Paul from being president, that they're lying about his numbers about his support, that they don't give him equal coverage to other candidates because of this, instead of the fact that he simply isn't pulling numbers to be viewed as a contender.

The media isn't interested in covering a long-shot who is considered by most on both sides of the political spectrum to be a nutjob. Let alone one who's base seems to consist of internet junkies and conspiracy theorists.

The lengths that these individuals are willing to go for the candidate is insane. Talk in some cases of open, violent revolution if he doesn't get the nomination and then the presidency. An insatiable need to put their 'savior' in the faces of everyone, because surely they want to come to know 'the truth' as well. The fact that they honestly believe themselves to be more enlightened than the rest of us monkies, because they follow Paul. I've seen them talk about how they're 'awake' now, and that it's good to be getting Paul out there, so others can 'wake up' as well.

All in all they have the markings of a cult.

A savior who is put on a pedestal, who can do no wrong - in the case of the newsletters the amount of jumping done to try to explain away the facts was overwhelming - finally in some cases actively working to delude themselves, saying they must have faith, and so forth.

The attacks upon non-believers. I've been labeled by these people a traitor, un-american, and various other insults because I have no desire to support Ron Paul. I don't agree with his platform, I don't think it's good for America, and I think his brand of crazy needs medication. Threats are common with this group, talk of physical violence.

Forceful 'conversion' if all else fails. Talks of revolution against the United States to force their will if Paul fails. (Mind you they refuse to accept that, still again, deluding themselves that they will win in a brokered Republican convention).

Their devotion to Ron Paul is nothing short of religious, and fundamental at worst. The sooner the Republican nomination is awarded, and Paul's army of trolls find their way back under the bridge, the better.

//Phage Out.//

Right-Wing Mailbag, "Damn Those Brown People" Edition

Wednesday's Journal-Gazette Letters Page

It has been said that terrorists have hijacked a great religion. I submit that Islam has corrupted its people.

Sadly, individual Muslims, out of a sense of duty or fear of their fellow Muslims, express little or no desire to assimilate into a host country’s social fabric and often advocate the establishment of Sharia law in their communities. They seldom condemn or inform upon militants. Those found out are considered traitors and subsequently murdered by militants. Witness Iraq. If American Muslims are one day compelled to choose between Islam or America, there is little doubt in my mind what that choice will be.

Islam is a problem. Sin is the problem. Islam is a militant and proselytizing faith bent upon world domination. Mohammed mandated that the world remain in a state of war until Islam rules the world. No, not all Muslims are terrorists. However, all terrorists are Muslims. Those in control, to whom lying, deception, coercion and force are virtues and murder and suicide are the paths to heaven are never to be trusted. Diplomacy and appeasement are simply wastes of time.

Infiltration into our country and many others is well on its way. Recruitment and the promotion of propaganda in the media, press, the courts and our campuses are in full swing.

Gee, doesn't this sound like the kind of person you want in your community? This kind of hatred is, sadly, both expected and accepted in this area.

First off, I wonder what kind of reaction a letter like ths would get were its target Christianity. A hateful screed like this against a religion whose followers weren't primarily brown-skinned and non-American would never see the light of day, and yet a tirade against Islam is printed, without a single thought as to how it comes off, much less a single check of the "facts" in it.

Of primary note is the statement in the second paragraph, "No, not all Muslims are terrorists. However, all terrorists are Muslims." Really, now? So the KKK, an organization whose sole purpose is to terrorize non-whites and non-Christians, is Muslim? So eco-terrorists who set fire to animal testing labs and SUVs are Muslims? So Timothy McVeigh, an indoctrinated Christian, was actually Muslim? So the Aum Shinrikyo cult, who attacked innocent people on the Tokyo subway with a deadly toxin, is Muslim?

Well, that's good to know. And here I foolishly thought that non-Muslims could be terrorists, thanks to many, many examples of non-Muslims committing acts of terrorism. Obviously, my observations must be wrong, since one person trying to start up a new crusade says that only Muslims can be terrorists. Oh, what a fool I was!

Mike Pence: "Discrimination or Nothing!" Paper: "STFU"

Rep. Mike Pence calls himself “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” This isn't surprising - people with extremist views like to see themselves as being part of their extremism before they're anything else. It also lends an air of "oh-what-a-damn-surprise" to his vote against Head Start. Why would he vote against it? Why, because the money it gives couldn't be given to programs that discriminate.

Thankfully, the Richmond Palladium-Item realizes that Pence is a jackass for his vote, and calls him on it:

But Pence's objections, like those of the White House, are troubling to us because they grant faith-based organizations the right to practice discrimination at the same time they receive federal funds.

Specifically, the White House, Pence and a few other conservatives sought language that would allow religious groups receiving federal money to administer Head Start programs to hire or fire staffers based on religious affiliations.

Now, let us be clear in our belief that religious groups and organizations should be permitted to place religious tests on whomever they choose to hire or fire without interference from government.

So long as they are using their own money.

Therein lies the problem. A higher or at least more public standard needs to be met when tax dollars are at stake, as they are in this case.

In Discrimination Against Non-Christians We Trust

This diary at DailyKos pointed out something I was not aware of. Apparently, those obnoxious "In Gawd We Trust" license plates I'm seeing all over the damn place and on the back of every vehicle that tries its damnedest to hit the scrapyard early, aren't just another idiotic, empty statement of a failed motto used to differentiate us from the "evil, godless Commies" during the Red Scare. It's a state-sponsored endorsement of religion. You see, unlike the other special license plates available here, such as the "Support Our Troops" plate, the "Go Colts" plate, or even the idiotic "Choose Unliving Fetuses" plate, this one doesn't cost anything to get. It's given without any extra fee.

And that's my main problem with it. I know I'm living in a backwards, hateful, bigot-filled, conservative, Bible-thumping shithole, but I don't need reminders on the back of every car, given for free just because Indiana apparently wants to support the mindless repitition of a discriminatory motto. Nor do I need my government catering to the people who need constant reminder that they've given their freedom of thought over to the voice in their head that calls itself GAWD.

All I want is a little equality. Or maybe a "Bring Them Home" plate.

"Christian" doctor turns patient away because of her parents' tattoos; Jesus shakes his head and sighs.

From KGET-TV NBC 17, Bakersfield, CA: Christian pediatrician denies child service because parents are tattooed

A family is turned away by a local pediatrician, they say because of the way they look.

The doctor said he is just following his beliefs, creating a Christian atmosphere for his patients.

And what is more Christian than letting a child suffer because of her parents, right?

Tasha Childress said it’s discrimination.

She said Dr. Gary Merrill wouldn’t treat her daughter for an ear infection because Tasha, the mother, has tattoos.

The writing is on the wall—literally: “This is a private office. Appearance and behavior standards apply.”

For Dr. Gary Merrill of Christian Medical Services, that means no tattoos, body piercings, and a host of other requirements—all standards Merrill has set based upon his Christian faith.

Ah, the use of faith to punish those who are different. So utterly Christ-like.

I wonder if this assflap swore to the Declaration of Geneva like real doctors do nowadays:

AT THE TIME OF BEING ADMITTED AS A MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION:

• I SOLEMNLY PLEDGE to consecrate my life to the service of humanity;


• I WILL GIVE to my teachers the respect and gratitude that is their due;


• I WILL PRACTISE my profession with conscience and dignity;


• THE HEALTH OF MY PATIENT will be my first consideration;


• I WILL RESPECT the secrets that are confided in me, even after the patient has died;


• I WILL MAINTAIN by all the means in my power, the honour and the noble traditions of the medical profession;


• MY COLLEAGUES will be my sisters and brothers;


• I WILL NOT PERMIT considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, social standing or any other factor to intervene between my duty and my patient;


• I WILL MAINTAIN the utmost respect for human life;


• I WILL NOT USE my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity, even under threat;

I MAKE THESE PROMISES solemnly, freely and upon my honour.

Further to this, I wonder if this guy's faith precludes him from actually treating any illness - after all, that's GAWD'S job, isn't it? I wonder if he tells his patients to go home and pray? I wonder if he tries to exorcise demons to cure diseases?

I wonder if you can have your medical license pulled for being a discriminatory jackass?

"Family" Research Council: "Cancer is good!"

From truthout.org: Religion Running Roughshod Over Cancer Science

The Food and Drug Administration advisory panel approved a vaccine for the human papilloma virus (HPV) last week. The vaccine appears to be 100% effective at protecting against the most prevalent viruses that cause cervical cancer. While public health professionals view the vaccine as miraculous, many conservative organizations oppose it on the grounds that it might encourage promiscuity among adolescent girls. Now that the FDA has approved the vaccine, conservatives are already working feverishly [http://feministing.com/archives/005183.html] to limit or even prevent its use.

(...)

Despite the benefits of the vaccine, conservative organizations began to rally against it last year. One of the most vocal opponents was the Family Research Council. The council, according to its mission statement, "promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society." Last October the council's president, Tony Perkins, spoke against the vaccine. "Our concern," he said, "is that this vaccine will be marketed to a segment of the population that should be getting a message about abstinence. It sends the wrong message." He went on to say that he would not vaccinate his 13-year-old daughter.

What a surprise - another hyper-"Christian" neo-con organization that wants to punish women for having sex. Even worse, they're trying to wrap their hatred in yet another "Biblical" messages, throwing in a lot of utterly false claims about it being some kind of "sexual license" for teenagers. Maybe if they were to think for two seconds they'd figure out what those of us with functioning cerebellums already got: Cancer is bad, and having something to prevent it is good.

The truth is, these organizations don't really care about the science behind things like this, or the positive effects - they only believe that the world should follow their twisted ideas of "God says don't fuck, so don't or you'll DIE!" Worse yet, organizations like these often have the ear of the administration. So far, I've not seen evidence that they're having any effect on the folks in Washington regarding this, but you never know. Maybe the Bush-Leaguers will get a spine in dealing with these folks and say, "Cancer bad, vaccine good, you stupid" at long last.