Category: Religion

Southern Baptist Agree that Global Warming is Real

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You know, when the Southern Baptist Convention decides to stop being the Republicans bitch on global warming, it’s pretty significant.

Reasons why it’s significant:

  1. They are saying that Al Gore is right.
  2. They are recognizing reality.
  3. They are realizing that their alignment with one political party is harming them.
  4. A realization that global warming is not a plot of the one-world-government liberals.

Give them time. I think it was 1995 when they finally admitted that they were founded to support slavery, and apologized, because slavery was a bad thing.

McCain Embraces Hagee, Which is OK, Because He’s White

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Obama is expected to denounce Farrakhan, who made his endorsement without consulting the campaign, and has never shared a stage with him, but it’s OK for McCain to stand next to an anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic bigot and smile during the endorsement, I guess because he’s white.

Let’s be fair though, McCain does say that he disagrees with Hagee on Catholics.

It’s like that old Eddie Murphy sketch on Saturday Night Live, White Like Me.

McCain can embrace a radical fundamentalist bigot because he is white, and because said bigot is white.

Political Scriptures: Hillary 43:21

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This is going to be an infrequent feature of my blog, basically, whenever the muse grabs me:

Hillary 43:21

Yes, and she will be like an avenging angel unto the Republicans, and she shall smite them, and yea verily, they shall cry out, and retreateth to the bathroom stalls, where they shall tappeth their feet.

Yea though they get down upon their knees, the Republicans shallst not be offering homage to God, but shall be doing geometric things to each other, and they shall proclaimeth that they not beith gay, but rather that a great misunderstanding hath overtaken them.

Yea verily, they shall declare, we have turned over a new leaf, just as soon as we shall get to the bottom of the page.

Have I mentioned that I’m going to hell for this?

Wack Job Religious Fundamentalist Nutjobs Should Not Be Given Secular Power Over People: Israel Edition

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The story is in the New York Times.

Basically, a Jew, from a long line of Jews, wanted to get married, and the Rabbinic courts there made her jump through a series of hoops to prove she was Jewish.

I’d say that the officials on the Chief Rabbinate’s office can to go to hell, but that would be superfluous. They are already well on their way toward Gehenna.

The Bigots Are Going After Each Other Now

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It appears that Bill Donohue, President of the “Catholic League” and all around bigot is upset because Texas Evangelical leader John Hagee, another bigot, has endorsed John McCain.

It seems that Hagee hates Catholics too, you see.

But Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a statement today that Hagee has written extensively in negative ways about the Catholic Church, “calling it ‘The Great Whore,’ an ‘apostate church,’ the ‘anti-Christ,’ and a ‘false cult system.'”

“Senator Obama has repudiated the endorsement of Louis Farrakhan, another bigot. McCain should follow suit and retract his embrace of Hagee,” Donohue said.

I appreciate McCain’s conundrum. If he disavowed bigotry, he’d lose at least 3/4 of the Republican party.

Pass the popcorn.

Taliban Style CatholicsGo After High School Sports

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In Kansas*, a religious high school refused to allow a female referee to officiate at their game, because they did not believe that women should ever have authority over men.

To the credit of then Kansas State High School Activities Association, they are in the process of considering banning St. Mary’s Academy from any sporting events with their members schools if this is actually their policy.

They should do so, and they so should do so for non sports activities too. Whether that be beauty contests, band competitions, car washes, or educational conferences.

These people are the real American Taliban, and any accomodation will encourage more extreme demands.

*You know, Kansas would be the last place that I would expect this. So say we all, by the might of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Russia Rules Out Punitive Actions Against Kosovo

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The Russians believe that a declaration of independence is a bad thing, but they have ruled out sanctions against Kosovo.

This is a very positive development. One of the political imperatives in Russia is that it sees itself as a “Protector of the Slavs”, particularly those who subscribe to Orthodox Christianity, such as the Serbs.

They are behaving moderately because they recognize reality, and because, despite what the “very sensible people” in Washington say, Russia is not looking at reestablishing the USSR or the Warsaw Pact.

Their hostility toward the current path in US policy is because they feel that US policy is hostile towards them.

Newspapers Reprint Mohammed Cartoon In Response to Terror Threats

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Kurt Westergaard, the Danish artist who painted the picture of Mohammad having a bomb for a turban, was the target of an assassination conspiracy which was uncovered yesterday.

In response, newspapers across Europe have reprinted his cartoon.

Good for them. This is an issue of free speech, and the right to free speech includes the right to be an asshole without fear of violence or death.

For what it’s worth, I do find this cartoon offensive and bigoted:

But the idea that it merits death threats, or for that matter actual conspiracies to assassinate, is repugnant to any civilized people.

The freedom of speech includes the freedom to blaspheme.

By way of example:

I would expect that this would get me called a bigoted asshole, but anyone who thinks that it rates death, and has the inclination to act on it, needs to be removed from free society.

Dutch to “Officially Discourage” The Wearing of Veils

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The original measure was to ban the burqa in government offices and schools, but they are now going to officially, “discourage the wearing of burqas in public. …. by trying to persuade institutions such as schools and public transport companies to impose their own bans, a stop on the garment will also be imposed for civil servants.”


a Burqa.

In the story above, Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders, referred to a burqa as a “Penguin suit”. So it’s clear that Wilders is a bigoted ass.

However, I am not conflicted on this. There is a difference between a Hijab (head scarf) and a burqa or niqab (which is similar, except that you can see the eyes).

Ignoring the security issues, which to my mind are minor, complete face covering changes the basic interaction in society, and makes meaningful and peaceful interaction difficult, if not impossible.

That being said, the banning of head scarves, such as is proposed in Spain by the opposition Conservatives, sounds to me like plain old bigotry and fear mongering.

Bigotry in Maryland

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A small Muslim sect, the Ahmadiyya, wanted to build a Mosque and conference center in Walkersville, Maryland.

They were turned down, citing “noise, traffic, and water” issues.

They would have an annual convention of 10,000, but if this were Evangelical Christians doing the same, the Walkersville Chamber of Commerce would be twisting arms to get it in.

You know it, I know it, the Ahmadiyya know it, as do the citizens of Walkersville.

More on Fascist Catholic Archbishop in St. Louis

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Saint Louis University’s basketball couch Rick Majerus tells fascist Archbishop to piss off regarding said cleric’s suggestion that disciplinary action be taken against him because he showed up to a Hillary Clinton rally, and made pro-choice statements.

Ignoring the towering idiocy of demanding that a basketball coach towing anti-woman, anti sex line of Archbishop Raymond Burke, there is also the matter, rasied in my last post on this issue, that St. Louis University just won a court case regarding a tax financing for a new sports arena because they had demonstrated they were not, “controlled by a religious creed”.

This is not the first time that this moron has damaged both the reputation and the institution of the Catholic Church:

Burke has spoken out before against Catholics or Catholic institutions that stray from church doctrine. During the 2004 election, he said he would not administer Holy Communion to presidential candidate John Kerry, a Catholic, because he supported abortion rights.

Last year, Burke dropped his seat on the board of a charity that let singer Sheryl Crow perform at a benefit concert. Crow supports abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research.

On Tuesday, Burke said he would ask Saint Louis University officials to take “appropriate action” against Majerus after the coach gave a TV interview at the Clinton rally during which he said he was Catholic and pro-choice.

In 1942, the Bishop of Father Coughlin to STFU. Perhaps it might be advisable for someone in Burke’s chain of command to do the same.

Scientology Vs. The Internet: All Your Bases Are Belong To Us

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Well, it appears that a group of anonymous internet vigilantes, calling themselves “Anonymous” (not a whole bunch of imagination there), have decided, since the attempted suppression of Tom Cruise’s “crazy as a bed bug” Scientology tape, have decided to go after the organization, see here, here, and here.

It appears that the people involved call this “Chanology“.

While I understand how these folks feel, someone, and I don’t mean a member of Scientology, is going to end up dead.

I used to follow Alt.Religion.Scientolgy on Usenet, and I will simply note that this organization browbeat the Internal Revenue Service into submission.

Here is the “official” “Anonymous” video.

OK, it wasn’t their official video, that is here, at least until Youtube is forced to kill it:

And From the Fascist Wing of the Catholic Church

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St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke calling for Rick Majerus, the St. Louis University basketball coach, to be disciplined for making a campaign appearance for Hillary Clinton and expressing support for Roe v. Wade.

This is not a priest, this is not a professor in the divinity department, this is a freaking BASKETBALL COACH.

I understand that St. Louis University is a Catholic school, but demanding that employees who have absolutely nothing to do with the religious mission of the school have to toe their political is outrageous, particularly given this:

Last year, St. Louis U. celebrated a legal victory that affirmed it is not controlled by the Catholic church or by its Catholic beliefs.

The Missouri Supreme Court agreed with the school in handing down a decision that the city of St. Louis did not violate state and federal constitutions by granting the university $8 million in tax increment financing for its new arena.

Opponents of the $80 million arena sued the school in 2004, halting construction.

The Missouri Constitution prohibits public funding to support any “… college, university, or other institution of learning controlled by any religious creed, church or sectarian denomination whatever.”

The debate came down to two words: “control” and “creed.” Does the guiding mission of a Catholic university align with the specific system of religious faith espoused by the Catholic church? And if so, does that system of faith control the actions of the university?

In a 6-1 decision, the court said SLU “is not controlled by a religious creed.”

As I recall*, Rush Limbaugh’s cousin, Stephn N. Limbaugh, Jr. serves on this court, and had been nominated by Bush to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Hmmm….I guess that Rush is the smart one of his family…Scary thought.

*And by, “As I recall”, I mean checking the Wiki.

Another Day, Another Obama Embrace of a Right Wing Meme

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Well, now Obama is declaring himself to be a “committed Christian”.

I understand that he is trying to answer a disgraceful internet rumor about his being a crypto-Muslim. I’m not exactly sure what the best response is, but this is is the worst response.

He is essentially responding to a demand of an oath of Christianity to qualify for public office. You shouldn’t capitulate to that, you should fight that.

You need to show the people who make this request are un-American, and they need to be removed from mainstream political discussion through ridicule and justified outrage.

Pandering is not the solution.