Vatican backed article goes after Trump White House for “apocalyptic geopolitics.”

Courtesy of The Guardian:  

An explosive article written by two close associates of Pope Francis has accused Steve Bannon, the chief White House strategist, of espousing an “apocalyptic geopolitics” whose roots are “not too far apart” from that of Islamist extremism. 

The article in La Civiltà Cattolica, which is vetted by the Vatican before publication, lays out a scathing critique of “evangelical fundamentalism” in the US, arguing that, on issues ranging from climate change to “migrants and Muslims”, proponents of the ideology have adopted a twisted reading of scripture and the Old Testament that promotes conflict and war above all else. 

The piece was published just days after evangelical leaders met US president Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House and “laid hands” on him in prayer following discussions about religious freedom, support for Israel and healthcare reform.

Vatican experts said the article would have had the explicit backing of the church and Pope Francis. Its authors, Antonio Spadaro, the editor-in-chief of the publication, and Marcelo Figueroa, the editor-in-chief of the Argentinian edition of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, are known as confidantes of the Argentinian pope.

It claims that fake religious arguments are being used to demonise segments of the population – particularly when it comes to migrants and Muslims – and to promote the US as a nation that is blessed by God, without ever taking into account the “bond between capital and profits and arms sales”.

You know I find this to be a fascinating time for American Catholics.

Here they are torn between the Holy Father, a very progressive pontiff, and Donald Trump, who they clearly favored in the 2016 election. (Well, the white Catholics at least.)

One leads them toward the future, and other seems determined to drag them back to the dark ages.

And the fact that it is the Pope who is more forward thinking, and the US president who is resisting change, is perhaps the most troubling thing about it.

Sarah Palin is going on a "Mom's March for America." WTF?

Courtesy of Desperation Barbie's Facebook page:

 Mama Grizzlies on the March! I'm Looking forward to joining Candy Carson, Missy Robertson and many other Mama Grizzlies as we march across America this September. Hope to see you there! --->

According to the website:  

On September 23, 2017, HomeMakers for America, in partnership with conservative, faith-based and constitutional advocacy groups across the nation, will hold a Moms March for America! 

Moms and families will unite across the nation to promote a message of hope and decency as we stand for truth, family, freedom and the Constitution. The center of the march is Omaha, Nebraska, but you don’t have to come to Omaha to join the march. The event will be broadcast live so you can join the march wherever you are!

If you are finished chuckling about the idea of Sarah Palin as a homemaker I will proceed.

As you might imagine this is an uber Christian organization that sees the woman's natural role as that of a homemaker and mother, and is attempting to reinforce that those are the most lofty goals for females in this country.

The fact that they have invited Sarah Palin to be a speaker is ironic to say the least.

Here was a woman who could not wait to hand the responsibility of raising her children and maintaining her home to literally anybody who was willing to take that on.

She had staff members, family members, hired helpers, and eventually her own children handle those responsibilities from almost the very beginning.

The other women listed as speakers include Candy Carson, Hud Secretary Ben Carson's wife, and Missy Robertson, one of the Duck Dynasty morons.

Both of them are also fundamentalist Christians and so this is all in keeping with Palin's most recent attempts to remake herself as some kind of internet evangelist.

However if anybody thinks this means that Palin actually supports women, well then I have some Alaskan swampland I would like to sell you.

I am not sure what the payoff is for Palin aside from the fact that somebody is actually paying attention to her and asking her to speak, but I would bet money that there is one.

I guess this will at least give her something to do other than putting one word exclamations on Facebook posts that link to Right Wing propaganda outlets.

Australia's number one religion is "No Religion."

Courtesy of Buzzfeed News:

The proportion of people reporting no religion increased to 30.1% in 2016 – up from 22% five years ago, and nearly double the 16% reported in 2001. Those aged from 18 to 34 were most likely to report not having a religion (39%) than other age groups. 

Those aged 65 years and over were more likely to report a religious affiliation. 

Christianity is still the most common religion (52% of Australians identified as any of the Christian denominations) but has been declining in popularity in Australia for the past 50 years – in 1966, 88% of Australians identified as Christian and by 1991 it was 74%.

 Just more good news on the march toward global enlightenment.

Hopefully America will soon catch up, though at last count there were still only 22.9% of us.

Draft of new executive order seems designed to protect religious people from progress.

Courtesy of The Nation: 

A leaked copy of a draft executive order titled “Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom,” obtained by The Investigative Fund and The Nation, reveals sweeping plans by the Trump administration to legalize discrimination. 

The four-page draft order, a copy of which is currently circulating among federal staff and advocacy organizations, construes religious organizations so broadly that it covers “any organization, including closely held for-profit corporations,” and protects “religious freedom” in every walk of life: “when providing social services, education, or healthcare; earning a living, seeking a job, or employing others; receiving government grants or contracts; or otherwise participating in the marketplace, the public square, or interfacing with Federal, State or local governments.” 

The draft order seeks to create wholesale exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious or moral objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity, and it seeks to curtail women’s access to contraception and abortion through the Affordable Care Act.

Language in the draft document specifically protects the tax-exempt status of any organization that “believes, speaks, or acts (or declines to act) in accordance with the belief that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, sexual relations are properly reserved for such a marriage, male and female and their equivalents refer to an individual’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy, physiology, or genetics at or before birth, and that human life begins at conception and merits protection at all stages of life.”

In other words this order would repeal much of the progress made by the Obama administration, and once again allow Christian business owners to discriminate based on sexuality, gender, and lifestyle.

That would mean these fundamentalist Christians, Jews, and even Muslims, could use this order to deny adequate healthcare to women, kick gay students out of their private schools, and refuse to rent to any person, or persons, whose lifestyle they believed conflicted with their faith in some way.

It should be noted that this is still in a draft form, so it is by no means official. 

However based on everything that we have seen since Trump took office I have a high level of certainty that a lot of what is in this draft will find its way to the final executive order.

The Sioux Falls Atheists are not playing around anymore.

Courtesy of the Friendly Atheist: 

Back in May, Dale Hemming, the one-man show behind the Sioux Falls Atheists, paid for more than 20 billboards (most of which were digital) to go up in South Dakota. 

Now he’s back with a collection of billboards, both static and digital, to promote science — specifically evolution and climate change. 

Well so much for subtlety, but then again when has that approach ever seemed to work?

I am typically not a huge fan of the more in your face approach to Atheism, preferring instead to write my ideas down here on my own blog and inviting people to come and discuss or disagree with what I say.

However there is little doubt that this approach will stimulate conversation in Sioux Falls, and who knows perhaps even a few people will find their way to enlightenment.

Asshole from Texas attempts to bully LGBT folks during Pridefest in Anchorage. Update!

Courtesy of ADN:  

A fight broke out at the Alaska PrideFest event on Saturday involving anti-gay protesters brandishing a megaphone, police said. 

The altercation began near the Delaney Park Strip in downtown Anchorage and involved PrideFest participants and protesters, police said. One of the protesters identified himself to an ADN photographer as David Grisham of Repent Amarillo, a Texas Christian and political organization. 

Police estimated about 20 people were involved. They said officers intervened before anybody was hurt.

According to the article the incident only involved some pushing and shoving. (And undoubtedly some name calling). Afterwards the police stayed to keep the peace until the event was over.

I have to say that I am proud of our LGBT community for standing up for themselves, I only wish I could have been there to help.

I know that guy with the flaming red doo. He is friends with my daughter, and I met him during the Democratic caucus this year. (Yes, he was a Bernie supporter.) (Update: Okay that is apparently NOT the same guy I met during the Dem caucus, and my daughter does not know him. Seriously how many people in town have that hair color?)

By the way Southern Christians were part of the Summer of Hate back in 2009, when they were mobilized by Jerry Prevo and brought in from Wasilla to protest against a ballot measure to protect gays in the workplace here in Anchorage.

They won that time, but since then the laws and attitudes have changed and our LGBT community feels much safer.

Apparently that still does not mean that some asshole from Texas cannot fly up here in an attempt to spoil their day of celebration however.

Which is sad.

This kind of garbage makes my head throb.

For the record I really love horror movies, and in fact really enjoyed this one.

However I enjoy them in the same way that I enjoy super hero movies, or sword and sorcery movies, or films about alien invasions.

I don't actually expect to see Superman flying above me, a dragon snatching up stray dogs in the neighborhood, or aliens blowing up the White House.

And I also do not expect to see ghosts, goblins, or werewolves.

To be clear there is no such thing as the paranormal, the supernatural, or miracles.

Each of these labels are used to explain phenomena which have fact based explanations, but which some are too ignorant or superstitious to accept.

Take the word "supernatural" for instance.

In ancient times when people believed that the sky above them was an ocean, mental illness was the result of demonic possession, and sickness could be cured with incantations and charms, the idea of the supernatural was somewhat understandable.

After all everything about the world around these people seemed filled with terror and unseen danger.

But the word "supernatural" has no real meaning, because nothing that can be seen, heard, felt, or tasted can actually be categorized as supernatural once it has been perceived by our natural senses.

In other words the only things which can remain in the realm of the supernatural are those things which we only imagine, and which have no substance in reality.

And yes that line of reasoning does take us in a very obvious direction.

But I will leave you to explore that on your own.

As for myself I will continue enjoying these movies confident in the knowledge that I need no sorceress, shaman, or priest to protect me from their influence. And neither do you.

Christians are receiving special training so that they can confront Atheists at the Reason Rally. Oh this ought to be fun!

Courtesy of Reason Rally Outreach:  

The Atheists will be having another “Reason Rally”. They will be gathering, which gives us a great opportunity to witness to 20,000 atheists in one day. Our hope is to get 1,000 Christians to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them. If you love to share the gospel or not this will be a great opportunity for you. With so many other believers sharing the gospel you will get to learn from other and enjoy great Christian fellowship. 

Friday night we will have a special training with Ray Comfort, Matt Slick and Andrew Rappaport. Ray will be sharing an exclusive sneak peek of the first 10 min. of their upcoming film “The Atheist Delusion”, only to those that attend the Friday night training.

Wait, was Ray "Banana Man" Comfort on that list of trainers?

Holy crap this will be a debacle.

Here is more courtesy of The Friendly Atheist:  

It’s telling that they need training before approaching atheists. The idea here is that we’ll challenge them with arguments they don’t have responses to, so they need to know how to really get their message across. Given that trainer Ray Comfort’s past efforts have included exaggerated movies and a silly banana, this will inevitably be a crash course that takes the crash part literally.

Damn, I hope somebody takes footage of some of these exchanges between the Reason Rally attendees and the newly trained evangelists showing up to save their immortal souls.

You can bet I'll be posting it if they do.

So the Oregon standoff ends with a whimper and not with a bang bang.

Courtesy of Oregon Live:

The four remaining occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge surrendered Thursday morning, bringing an end to the standoff on its 41st day. 

 Jeff Banta, Sean Anderson, Sandy Anderson and David Fry were taken into FBI custody. Fry was the last to surrender, finally emerging after an extended phone dialogue with supporters who tried for over an hour after the others left to get him to walk out. 

FBI agents in armored vehicles had moved in Wednesday night on the four still at the refuge, hemming them into their camp and insisting they put down their guns and surrender.

And for those who thought these Rambo wannabes were going to go out in a blaze of glory, this is how that went down this morning: 

Three of the four walked out to waiting F.B.I. agents over the course of a few minutes after 9:30 a.m., but the fourth, David Fry, at first said he would not. 

In an extraordinary, hourslong negotiation with supporters and F.B.I. agent, with thousands of people listening to the conversation on a live stream online, he aired a wide range of grievances, said he was suicidal, and said repeatedly that his choice was “liberty or death.” Ultimately he gave himself up without a fight.

I swear that after spending much of the morning listening to the livestream that I have lost just about as many brain cells as I do listening to a Sarah Palin speech.

In fact these are clearly her kind of people.

Not only did they have no clear idea of what they were "fighting" for, but they seemed to believe that they were participating in some kind of eternal struggle between good and evil, often claiming that only God could determine how the whole thing would end.

At one point a female on the phone with the protesters warned them that Satan was directing the actions of the federal agents and that they needed to resist giving in to trickery.

The protesters themselves kept talking about seeing religious signs in flashlight beams, firelight, and weather patterns. And no I'm NOT making that up. 

On Twitter there were plenty of accusations that liberals were hoping for a massacre, but at least in my case I am very glad that everybody, on both sides, survived this encounter.

And if I were working with the FBI I would suggest that these people receive some kind of psychiatric help, because batshit crazy is not a strong enough term to describe some the of crap they were saying.

Also keep in mind that the ONLY reason these idiots were able to hold off the police for so long is because they had access to high powered weapons. And of course it didn't hurt that they were white.

If you think Ben Carson the man is kind of bizarre, you should take a look at his house.

Aw what now?

Courtesy of the Guardian:  

The decor at Ben Carson’s home in Maryland shows that Donald Trump may not have the biggest ego among the Republican candidates. On display are awards, certificates, medals, and a painting of himself with Jesus.

This is that picture of Ben and his homie Jesus.

Seriously WHO has a picture painted of themselves with Jesus?

Not to nitpick, but isn't that supposed to be "proverbs" 22:4?

I guess Ben was too busy learning how to cut open human brains to learn anything about spelling.

There are many more photos at the link which show that Carson's home is literally covered with certificates, photos, and medals all paying homage to his greatness.

Speaking of proverbs wasn't there one in the Bible about pride and a fall?

By the way this is his wife Candy Carson.

(Be nice.)

And of course there are still more of Carson's lies coming to light almost on an hourly basis now.

At this point I think Carson's goose is cooked.

Or at least it should be.

But then again attempting to predict what the loons in the Right Wing might do in response to these revelations is becoming just about impossible.

What better time than Halloween to terrify children about death, and of course promote your religious beliefs?

Source

You know if you don't want to participate in pagan celebrations then just keep you door closed, turn of the lights, and simply pray until the joyful voices of the children finally fades away into the darkness.

Oh and you might want to rethink your Christmas celebrations as well.

"I don't understand tongues." Toledo radio host's response when crazy fundamentalist mayoral candidates gets angry and tries to curse him.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

The footage shows 75-year-old Opal Covey holding up her copy of the Bible and telling Fred LeFebvre, “I don’t know what God is going to do.” 

“I have no idea what he’s gonna do either,” he replies. “None of us know.” 

“But you are comin’ up against the works of the Lord,” she tells him. “And you’re not accepting it, and you’re doing retaliation on me. Of course you are.” 

“I’m not doing retaliation,” LeFebvre says. “Just want you to get specific about how you’re gonna do these things your lawyers told you to do.” 

LeFebvre does not specify what the instructions were from Covey’s attorney, but does tell her later that, according to the Bible, she would be a “false prophet” if she failed to beat the other six candidates in the race. 

“Right now you actually are a false prophet,” he adds. “You said you were gonna get elected before and you haven’t been elected. So you are a false prophet, Opal Covey.” 

“Right now, because you have called me a false prophet, to my face, I will wipe the dust — the very dust of my feet — off against you, as a testimony against you,” she shoots back. “And whatever God does, the people will see it. I rebuke you, and I curse the evil spirit within you. What you have done to destroy me this morning shall destroy you.” 

Covey then begins speaking in tongues before calling LeFebvre an “evil man.” 

“I don’t understand tongues,” he says, before she resumes speaking in tongues.

These people are fun to point and laugh at, but the real problem is that some of them actually sneak under the radar and get elected to public office.

And yes I'm looking at you Mike Huckabee.

BTW I had never heard of this Opal Covey lady before, but as it turns out she is quite a presence on You Tube.

As expected Josh Duggar's wife "partially blames herself" for his infidelity.

Courtesy of the Daily Mail:

 Anna Duggar partially blames herself for her husband Josh's admitted infidelity, it has emerged. 

The 27-year-old - who shares four children with Josh - will likely 'on some level.... absorb some of the blame' for her spouse's cheating and addiction to online porn, a Duggar family insider says. 

And she will 'no way' leave Josh for his actions - which the 19 Kids and Counting star confessed to after he was named as one of the 37million spouses to allegedly have Ashley Madison accounts. 

'Anna will not leave him. As with her in-laws, she is turning more to her faith than ever,' the insider told PEOPLE Magazine. 'She is fully and permanently committed to her marriage and children. 

Can't say this surprises me. These women are trained to believe that everything is ultimately their fault, and that all they need is more faith to overcome it.

In fact Josh's mother even has a tip to keep marriages happy. Always offer up your body even if you are tired or sick. After all isn't THAT all women are really good for?

If Anna has been adhering to her mother-in-law Michelle's top marriage tip, she will have said 'yes' to sex whenever her husband has wished to have it - regardless of how tired she may have been. 

'Be available. Anyone can fix him lunch, but only one person can meet that physical need of love that he has,' Michelle, 49, told TODAY Moms in an interview last year, citing a friend's advice. 

'You always need to be available when he calls.'

You know I'm not gonna lie, the idea of my wife ALWAYS being in the mood when I want sex sounds pretty good to me.

However as a human being the idea that she would force herself to do it just to keep me happy is a little repugnant.

I am not a rapist, so if my partner feels pressured or coerced into providing intimacy, that makes me uncomfortable, and it is ultimately not at all sexy.

One has to wonder if Anna also feels partially responsible for Josh sexually abusing his sisters? Or is that simply THEIR fault for being females while in his presence?

Let's face it this guy has quite a number of problems as it pertains to sex, and those certainly did not start with his marriage.