Author of "Xmas Carol" trashes religion and chronicles the American decline. Plus gay stuff, science, writing, atheism, and baseball.
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| Anthony Shadid. |
At this point, Dr. Shadid said, Anthony called his wife and “gave his last haunting directive: ‘If anything happens to me, I want the world to know the New York Times killed me.’”If this is true, Anthony Shadid's last wish was that you read this story. I've read it and sadly, it seems plausible.
Relax. Enjoy yourselves. But also accomplish something now and then. And don't eat too much. You heard me.Gasp! I just saw those words. I swear to you that I didn't type them! I'll take a lie detector test, if you want. But right now I'm overwhelmed and I have to go lie down. Dog!
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| Doris Singleton. |
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| Taliban & GOP: no difference. |
We pledge our influence toward a return to the original intent of the First Amendment and toward dispelling the myth of separation of church and state.They want a king to run our country, and not just any king, but a prince of the church. In other words, they want a mullah to run the country. Sure, it'll be a Christian Taliban version of a mullah, but it's still the same. They want the iron hand of Jesus Christ to run our country. No more sluts, no more fags, no more brown people. It's really that bad, folks.
They are the Taliban in every way but one: X-out Allah; insert Jeebus. Done. Welcome to the new US of A.(W)e support reducing taxpayer funding to all levels of education institutions.
"Anyone who knows Boston, and anyone who was in that room last night knows that the preponderance of people shouting in response to what the president said about Kevin Youkilis were saying 'Yoooouk' and not 'Booo,' for God's sake," Carney said.And that's the story, folks. It was a Youk, not a boo. Mark that on your scorecards. The crowd was lamenting the loss of one of their favorite players in the only way they knew how: like a herd of lost moose. "Yooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuk!"
In his new job as the Vatican’s senior communications adviser, Burke, 52, will be counseling Pope Benedict XVI and his closest staff on how to better project the Catholic Church’s image to the rest of the world.I can just see it now. The popey guy appears on-screen. Below his image, big red letters blink with the word: "ALERT ALERT ALERT". And then the popey guy says, breathlessly, "A miracle has occurred in Transylvania! The Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared to thousands!"
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| Horn & Hardart Automat. |
The Vatican has brought in the Fox News correspondent in Rome to help improve its communications strategy as it tries to cope with one of its most serious scandals in decades, The Associated Press learned Saturday.Is that perfect, or what? The AP article ends with something that seems to be a slap in the Vatican's face:
The Vatican has been bedeviled by communications blunders ever since Pope Benedict XVI's 2005 election, and is currently dealing with a scandal over leaked documents.They have to be making fun of him, right? This comes right after a Vatican spokesman said all their problems were the work of the devil. Gotta be a jibe. Gotta.
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| Mars Science Laboratory |
is scheduled to land in Gale Crater at about 05:31 UTC on August 6, 2012. The rover's objectives include searching for past or present life, studying the Martian climate, studying Martian geology, and collecting data for a future manned mission to Mars.Mark that date on your calendar. I am really looking forward to this landing. It'll be dicey, relying on a complicated technique we've never tried before. I'm going to be a nervous wreck by the time it's safely on the surface of Mars. (Let us hope.)
"In only the past few years, we've experienced rampant disregard for religious beliefs in this country," wrote New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, in an e-book released for the "Fortnight" effort. Among the examples he cites are approval for embryonic stem cell research, legal justification for torturing prisoners and support for same-sex marriage.Timmy figures if he throws torture in there, no one will notice what he's really doing. This faux campaign is about denying contraception to women, about denying the rights of non-Catholic employees of the church, about deflecting attention from the priest child-abuse scandal and Timmy's own contribution to that scandal: paying off the priests who raped children, and it's about the church's intense, pathological hatred of gay people.
We've lost our moral norms, eh, Timmy? Ahem. Priest rapists. Have you forgotten about that, Timmy? The man does not own a mirror. But he doesn't go unchallenged in the article:"We can see that there is a loss here of a sense of truth and objective moral norms -- rules of conduct that apply always, to everyone, everywhere -- an infringement of religious liberty and an 'eclipse of the sense of God and of man,'" wrote Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Opponents are unconvinced. "This bishops' project isn't about religious freedom — it's about privilege," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "They are asking for preferential treatment from the government, and if they are successful, it would undercut the rights of millions of Americans."
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| He couldn't do this in private? |
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican's number 2 accused the media on Monday of trying "to imitate Dan Brown" in their coverage of the VatiLeaks scandal and said the Roman Catholic Church's latest travails were part of the Devil's attempt to destabilize it.I love the Vatican. It's an endless source of mirth. And of course this brand of talk can come from only one source, the completely deranged "Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who ranks second only to Pope Benedict in the Vatican's hierarchy". Indeed. This guy is a major rightwing control freak, spewing ugly rhetoric wherever he goes -- and always with that Satan-lurking-in-the-shadows language. This guy lives in an alternate reality where the church never does anything wrong. It's Satan, don't you see?
"They (the journalists) continue to invent fairytales and repeat legends," he said.Even as he mouthed these complaints, a pesky secular reporter noted an inconvenient truth: the devil had nothing to do with it:
Bertone branded as false the image of the Vatican as a place of intrigue and power struggles, saying: "The truth is that there is an attempt to sow division that comes from the Devil".
[A]n Italian reporter contested Bertone's portrayal of the media, telling him that the leaks scandal started with a letter in which an archbishop complained to the pope about corruption in the Vatican.That's quite a church they've got there.
I can't imagine why it happened, can you? You don't think it could have anything to do with the vow of celibacy, do you?! No, I thought not.VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has told Irish Catholics it's a mystery why clergy abused children entrusted in their care and undermined believers' faith in an appalling way.Benedict said Irish joy over their long history of faith was "shaken in an appalling way" by revelations of clergy abuse. He said the abuse damaged the credibility of the church's message. He added it "remains" a mystery why priests abused this trust.
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| Nuns can tell right from wrong, unlike the bishops. |
A number of bishops -- reflecting the increasingly conservative slant of the USCCB -- raised concerns that such a document could be seen as implicitly criticizing Republican budget policies and could be seen as too political.Anything that hurts Obama in the pre-election period is fine. But tread on the GOP? No way! These bishops are the most hypocritical creatures imaginable. To the church's final arbiters of morality, the words "truth" and "ethics" are without meaning. What craven creatures the lot of them are.
In the end, the bishops voted 171-26 to draft a message, tentatively titled "Catholic Reflections on Work, Poverty and a Broken Economy," and scheduled for debate and release a week after the November elections.
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| Auntie Christ |
ATLANTA (AP) — The pope's U.S. ambassador praised American bishops Wednesday for confronting the government over religious liberty issues, including resisting the mandate from President Barack Obama's administration that health insurance cover birth control.(snip)
But critics have said that the lawsuits appear politically partisan, especially during a presidential election.(snip)
"Most bishops don't want to be the Republican party at prayer, but their alarmist rhetoric and consistent antagonism toward the Obama administration often covey that impression," said John Gehring, of the liberal advocacy group Faith in Public Life.
The bishops have dismissed the suggestion of any partisan intent.Well, that takes care of it. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Led by the indomitable Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the bishops are arriving in Atlanta for their annual spring meeting this week determined to throw the spotlight on what they perceive as an assault by the Obama administration on religious liberty.Surely that statement is not political in any sense of the term. Heaven forfend. Going against one of the presidential candidates in an election year has absolutely nothing to do with politics.
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore insisted to the National Catholic Reporter last week that there was nothing partisan about the church's campaign. "We're not trying to throw an election," he said. "We're simply trying to defend fundamental freedoms."Nah, not political at all. What could make anyone say that?
In doing so, however, the bishops have used unusually strong language. Dolan said the White House was "strangling" the church. The bishop of Peoria, Ill., compared what Obama had done to the treatment of churches by Hitler and Stalin.
In addition to the Fortnight observance, the bishops also are using their pulpits to let the Catholic faithful know that they believe the administration has crossed a line. Dolan has even written a brief e-book, scheduled for publication later this month, in which he lays out an intellectual argument for "the Gospel of life."We'll sure want to read that, huh?
McGuire [of the Catholic Association] defends the bishops from charges of partisanship, saying: "I don't think the bishops are trying to influence the campaign.... I mean, the bishops are not going to get behind one political candidate or another. They never have and never will."Surely not. And let's remember this is all (allegedly) about contraception. And as we learned yesterday:
That's quite a church they've got there. It is hypocrisy writ large (and wearing big, silly hats).Less than a quarter of U.S. Catholics attend Mass every week. Most reject church teaching on artificial contraception and a majority support same-sex relationships. About one-third of Americans who were raised Catholic have left the church, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
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| Without news, what would Jon make fun of? |
Less than a quarter of U.S. Catholics attend Mass every week. Most reject church teaching on artificial contraception and a majority support same-sex relationships. About one-third of Americans who were raised Catholic have left the church, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Clemens leaned forward at the podium and declared to the judge in a deep voice with a Texas twang: "Yes sir, I am not testifying.Lordy, can you imagine if he did?
Benedict gave a pep talk of sorts to a group of prelates preparing to serve the Holy See abroad in diplomatic posts, telling them that their work "should make you grow in closeness to the pope, a closeness marked by interior trust."Hmmm, "interior trust". Would that be what those Catholic kids had just before they were raped by priests? It's amazing how differently the Vatican treats violations of trust, according to who was violated. The popey guy tells us he feels terribly hurt by the violation of trust that occurred when his papers were stolen. How does he think those kids feel? Seriously, do you think the Vatican held even one meeting to discuss the terrible violation these kids suffered, and how they might help them heal? I guarantee this never happened. If it had, we'd see changes -- and we don't.
A three-cardinal commission is investigating the leaks alongside Vatican police.One wonders if a similar panel was set up to look into what happened to the children raped by priests. I suspect not. That was only about the violation of the kids' trust. This time it's about the popey guy being violated. Big difference, to them. Another excerpt:
The leaks scandal has convulsed the Vatican for months, exposing episodes of political infighting, intrigue and accusations of corruption and homosexual liaisons going on under the watch of the 85-year-old Benedict.Jeez. Just think: gay sex in the palace of the popey guy who attacks gays all over the world. I say it all the time: that's some church they've got there. Jeez.
“He’ll count on the support of his family,” she said. “He’ll count on his faith. He’ll count on the support of the community.”Well, he certainly can't count on society, which let him down big-time. Holding this press conference was a heinous, unreasonable action. There was no need to say anything beyond, "the fire was accidental; there was no criminality involved."
"A lot of times people say, 'Wait a second, which is it going to be -- more snow or more warming?' Well, it depends on a lot of factors, and I guess this was a really good winter demonstrating that," Greene said. "What we can expect, however, is the Arctic wildcard stacking the deck in favor of more severe winter outbreaks in the future."Good. Well, not if it produces snows that bury entire houses. They're talking about Snowmageddon when they say "severe winter outbreaks". But I'd appreciate a snowfall or two with my Winter, thank you. This gives me hope.
Is the process of eating and cellular respiration the result of a mere fluke of evolution? Alternatively, could it be that a common Designer made certain that the process of eating and cellular respiration would function in such a precise and perfect manner? Which answer appears to be the most probable to you?Yes, indeed. Jeebus sure did make everything convenient for us, didn't he? I mean, if you think about it, he's the one who's responsible for ensuring that children who are buried under an earthquake -- but still alive -- have the awareness to know that rats are eating them as they die. And come to think of it, it must be this Jeebus fellow who made pain so painful. Wow, he was really watching out for us with that one, huh? Thankfully, because of Jeebus' "precise and perfect" ministrations, many people live in intense, unbearable and constant pain throughout their lives. Jeebus must be one swell guy.
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| Guess who? |
The real question here is not whether those payments were payoffs or charity; the real question is why the church chose this route rather than turning any information they had over to the police. We know why they didn’t — because the current pope, when he was a cardinal, explicitly ordered them not to do so. And that’s the real problem.It all comes back to the popey guy. No wonder they don't want to talk about it. If they spoke honestly about the scandal, it would bring the popey guy down in flames. That's quite a church they've got there, where the main culprit is their supreme leader. It speaks volumes about the Roman Catholic church.
"[T]hese are times of madness, dressed in good suits."He's got at least one zinger every day. It's a treat to read him. Now, if only the world was listening.
Religion is a magic fence around nothing.Short and sweet. I like it!
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| No religion, too. |
Chaput, who heads the five-county archdiocese that has about 1.5 million Catholics, also said the visit would highlight the importance of the family, which he said "is founded on a deep and loving union between one man and one woman for mutual support and the nurturing of children" and is "the basic evangelizing unit of the Church."It ain't got nuthin' to do with families. The families who flock to these events are pawns in the pope's campaign to destroy the lives of gay men, lesbians and transgendered people everywhere in the world.
They can't hide what they are anymore. Those days are a distant memory.The announcement of the papal visit comes as jurors are deliberating in the landmark trial of a former Roman Catholic church official charged with conspiring to hide priest-abuse complaints and endangering children by keeping predators in ministry.Monsignor William Lynn, the former secretary for clergy, is the first U.S. church official charged for his handling of child sex-abuse complaints. He said he tried to get the Philadelphia archdiocese to address the problem, only to be rebuffed by his archbishop, the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. Prosecutors maintain that Lynn could have quit or called police.
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| Sister Christine Schenk. |
Archbishop Sartain was assigned by the Vatican to spend five years revising the statutes of the sisters’ organization, vetting their speakers and publications, and making sure their events featured the eucharist, which can be administered only by a priest.I love that. With this bit of prestidigitation, the nuns must include a bigoted male priest in all their activities. I roared laughing when I read about this. As Sister Christine Schenk, executive director of futurechurch, put it:
“Here you see women, very competent, highly educated, doctorates in theology, masters in ministry, C.E.O.’s of hospitals, heads of school systems, being treated as if they were children,” she said. “That in itself goes to the issue of where are the women in the decision-making structures in Rome.”Indeed. This won't fly in America. Won't fly at all. The popey guy really stepped in it this time.
In Cleveland on Wednesday night, about 650 people, including laypeople, about 100 nuns and a handful of priests in their Roman collars, gathered for a prayer service inside a Catholic church to honor the nuns. When the nuns were asked to stand for a blessing, the congregation responded with a spontaneous standing ovation that lasted nearly five minutes, said several people who attended.And that's the way it's going to go in this country. Popey guy: no; nuns: yes!
This is one holy guy, let me tell you. Here's a tidbit directly from his holy mouth:Pope Benedict XVI praised the performance of Beethoven's Ninth symphony on Friday evening at Milan's La Scala theater as "a moment of elevation of the soul."
The popey guy.
Pope Benedict XVI praised the performance of Beethoven's Ninth symphony on Friday evening at Milan's La Scala theater as "a moment of elevation of the soul."And he would know. C'mon, admit it -- you feel uplifted. He's such a spiritual popey guy. Meanwhile, behind the scenes:
The code words in bold tell us that he's on his usual hateful mission. When the church mentions the "institution of family", they're not talking about supporting anyone's family. What they mean is "let's make sure we deny gays the right to form families." This is just another message of anti-gay hatred by the popey guy.Benedict's three-day trip to Milan for events focusing on the institution of the family is a welcome pastoral respite from an embarrassing and damaging leaks scandal at the Vatican that has engulfed the pontiff's personal butler.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York authorized payments of as much as $20,000 to sexually abusive priests as an incentive for them to agree to dismissal from the priesthood when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee. .
Questioned at the time about the news that one particularly notorious pedophile cleric had been given a “payoff” to leave the priesthood, Cardinal Dolan, then the archbishop, responded that such an inference was “false, preposterous and unjust.”
But a document unearthed during bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and made public by victims’ advocates reveals that the archdiocese did make such payments to multiple accused priests to encourage them to seek dismissal, thereby allowing the church to remove them from the payroll.
Cardinal Dolan, who is president of the national bishops’ conference and fast becoming the nation’s most high-profile Roman Catholic cleric, did not respond to several requests for comment.
