Pope Francis says "It's better to be an Atheist" than a bad Christian.

Courtesy of CNN:

If you're a Christian who exploits people, leads a double life or manages a "dirty" business, perhaps it's better not to call yourself a believer, Pope Francis suggested in a homily on Thursday in Rome. 

"So many Christians are like this, and these people scandalize others," Francis said during morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, according to Vatican Radio. "How many times have we heard -- all of us, around the neighborhood and elsewhere -- 

'But to be a Catholic like that, it's better to be an atheist.' It is that: scandal." "But what is scandal? Scandal is saying one thing and doing another." 

In the Catholic Church, causing scandal also a grave offense. 

Examples of such sins abound, the Pope said, from money launderers to business owners who take beach vacations while stiffing their employees.

Well this is essentially what I have been saying for years. 

Of course I would probably just have stopped with "It's better to be an Atheist." But still the Pope makes a good point.

There are SO MANY so-called Christians who use the religion as camouflage to do terrible, and even criminal things, while using their "faith" to deflect criticism.

We have seen that with tons of politicians, performers, and even pastors.

And these "Christians" seemingly feel absolutely no guilt in judging all of those around them while acting in ways that are direct violations to the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

And yes, Sarah Palin of course definitely falls into that category.

Personally I am typically FAR more trusting of a person who openly rejects religion than I am of somebody who constantly reminds everybody about their faith.

Don't get me wrong there are quite a number of very kind, and very moral religious people in the world.  And some of them have been good friends of mine.

But since I place such a premium on critical thinking skills there is always a little distance between myself and those who can accept the existence of extraordinary things without the benefit of evidence.

Pretending to be "real" Alaskans is bad enough, but when you lie to get a PFD....well nothing pisses us off more than that.

Source

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch News:

A Juneau judge rejected a plea deal Thursday that would have allowed stars from Discovery Channel’s wildly popular reality television series “Alaskan Bush People” to avoid jail time for lying on applications to get the Permanent Fund dividend checks given to Alaska residents. 

“There needs to be a higher punishment to act as a deterrent,” said Juneau Superior Court Judge Philip Pallenberg. “If you knew you could catch everybody, maybe you wouldn’t need to punish each of them as much.” 

Pallenberg said 30 days in jail would be appropriate for the crime, though he couldn’t impose that punishment Thursday. The case against members of the Brown family will resume in early December. 

With the rejection of the deal, Billy Brown, the 62-year-old patriarch of the family, and his 31-year-old son Joshua "Bam Bam" Brown also withdrew their guilty pleas. Under the proposed deal, the two men had pleaded guilty Wednesday to one misdemeanor count each of second-degree unsworn falsification. Prosecutors would have dismissed many other charges if the deal went through. 

Last October, the Brown family -- Billy Brown, his wife Amora “Ami” Brown and four of their children -- were charged with a total of 60 counts of first-degree unsworn falsification and first- and second-degree theft linked to dividend applications submitted from 2010 to 2013.

Personally I have never heard of this show.

Partly because I have never seen a show about Alaska, which really reflects what it's like to live in Alaska. But mostly because the only way I would watch a reality show was if somebody held a gun to my head, and even then I might choose the bullet.

Like I said though Alaskans would probably give these assholes a pass for being phonies, IF they had not been getting Permanent Fund checks under false pretenses. 

You know when the fund was first established it was supposed to provide annual monetary amounts based on length of residence.

As a lifelong resident of Alaska I was all for that, plus it would have had the added benefit of keeping people from moving up here simply to get their hands on the money. Which today is the same for everybody, so long as you have lived here at least one year.

And if that guideline had remained in place it would have made what the Browns did much more difficult.

With that in mind I hope these guys get a nice long stay in our correctional facilities.

Perhaps THEN they will have been here long enough to have earned the label "Sourdough."

Of course being in jail they STILL will not earn that PFD check.

P.S. By the way if you are watching any of these stupid reality shows as a way to lean about the Last Frontier, you are an idiot. And trust me, you still don't have a clue.

Alaskans to give Duck Dynasty the cold shoulder.

Courtesy of TMZ:  

Life's not always fair if you're part of the "Duck Dynasty" brood. We've learned they've been invited to the Alaska State Fair ... but there are already cries of boycott. 

The Robertsons were hired to do a town hall of sorts, telling stories about their lives and their beliefs. But those beliefs include Phil's views on homosexuality ... including his observation that a man's anus is no match for a woman's vagina ... and therefore the boycott. 

We're told there's a groundswell from people who want to either get the Fair to cancel the gig or -- if necessary -- disrupt the gig. 

State Fair officials tell us ... they don't endorse all of Phil's views ... but they believe his core value is family ... something near and dear to Alaskans ... so the appearance WON'T be cancelled. 

Yeah you know I think the Robertson clan might want to watch their P's and Q's while visiting Alaska.

First off Alaskans do not take well to phonies.

The REAL Robertson family

Second, we have a rather proud gay community up here who would dearly love to disrupt this event and make national headlines while doing so.

And third it might be worth noting that while the rest of the country was still trying to get a handle on Sarah Palin, we ran her ass out of office. 

So we have no problem playing hardball.

You know, now that I think about it, perhaps August 30th would be the best day to go to the fair.