While there’s some debate on how to view the recent murder of an anti-abortion protester, the guy’s son actually had some interesting things to say about him:

“It will be impossible for some to believe, but my dad really didn’t care about abortion. He did this to stalk, harass, terrorize, scream at, threaten, frighten, and verbally abuse women. He had a pathologic hatred of women: his mom, my mom, everyone. After my mom finally left him and he lost his favorite punching bag the violence and abuse that was always contained within our 4 walls was unleased on the people of Owosso. My dad used the pro-life movement and 1st Amendments foundations to defend him, support him, and enable him. He fooled them all. He was at the high school because my niece was there, and female family members were always his favorite targets. Again, my dad didn’t care about abortion. He wanted to hurt people, upset people. He enjoyed making people suffer. His goal was to be shot on a sidewalk. His goal was to make someone so angry, to make them feel so terrorized, to make them feel the only way they could make him stop was to kill him. His pro-life stance was the most perfect crime I personally know of. He hid behind the 1st Amendment and was allowed to stalk, terrorise, harass, be obsene, ect. These things are crimes. Offending people isn’t a crime, and having different political views isn’t a crime, but he committed several crimes over the last 20 years and got away with it. Yes I really am his oldest son. Owosso is now rid of a mad man.”

Even though the paper confirmed the source, it could still be the case that his son is lying, or has a beef with him pertaining to something else. But if he’s telling the truth — man! — what a fucking misogynist.

Xianity can lead to misogyny? What are the odds?…

Florida school officials in prayer case could get jail time [CNN.com/Crime]

Two Florida school administrators were due to appear in federal court Thursday to face contempt charges for saying a prayer at a school luncheon.

[...]

The ACLU filed suit last year against the school district in northwest Florida on behalf of two Pace students who alleged that “officials regularly promoted religion and led prayers at school events,” according to an ACLU statement.

Both parties approved the consent decree put in place January 9 under which district and school officials are “permanently prohibited from promoting, advancing, endorsing, participating in or causing prayers during or in conjunction with school events,” the ACLU said.

Erm, was anybody watching their hands?  Like, behind their backs?  Maybe with “fingers crossed”?  I firmly believe that ethics trumps morals.  We know that they lie, cheat and steal with impugnity.  We can’t trust them with children, so how can we trust their “word”?

Their excuse?  Wait for it…

Three U.S. lawmakers who are members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus have written a letter in support of the two school administrators, saying that “many of America’s Founding Fathers were resolute in their faiths, and the impact of such is evident in the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and many of their writings.”

The letter from Reps. J. Randy Forbes, R-Virginia; Mike McIntyre, D-North Carolina; and Jeff Miller, R-Florida, said the congressmen were writing as members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus.

“The tradition of offering prayer in America has become so interwoven into our nation’s spiritual heritage that to charge someone criminally for engaging in such a practice would astonish the men who founded this country on religious liberty,” the lawmakers wrote.

One wonders how such stiff-rumped assholes can contort themselves without breaking something.

The ACLU has stepped back from the criminal trial.  They state that ‘the organization “never suggested” people should go to jail for violating the decree, and the organization is not involved in the criminal proceedings.’  But the federal courts take a dim view of “contempt of court”.

Thank you, Feds!

Here’s a story I ran across on LiveScience.com

Teen Birth Rates Higher in Highly Religious States

U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests.

The relationship could be due to the fact that communities with such religious beliefs (a literal interpretation of the Bible, for instance) may frown upon contraception, researchers say. If that same culture isn’t successfully discouraging teen sex, the pregnancy and birth rates rise.

And while the religious might point out that the study didn’t take into account those evil young women having abortions, the article states that the study did consider abortion rates:

They found a strong correlation between statewide conservative religiousness and statewide teen birth rate even when they accounted for income and abortion rates.

For instance, the results showed more abortions among teenagers in the less religious states, which would skew the findings since fewer teens in these states would have births. But even after accounting for the abortions, the study team still found a state’s level of religiosity could predict their teen birth rate. The higher the religiosity, the higher was the teen birth rate on average.

I would agree that high teen pregnancy rates may be due to separate factors like poverty, or poor education. However, when a young girl is taught that her godly purpose in life is to have children and raise a family, combined with lack of sex education and discouraged contraceptive practices, these higher numbers are going to be the result.

Here’s the video I promised:

Pastor Manning: Obama is the Antichrist

Pastor Manning calls those whites that voted for Obama are racist. He also refers to Obama as the Antichrist of the BIble.

jeba8888 sums it up: “Pastor Manning….You are an idiot…..You’re just another dumbass with no credentials mouthing off… I am sure you will find your share of cattle who will follow your insane messages”

Unfortunately, jeba8888 is true…the world is full of unthinking, human cattle.

Here is a new one…I will let you read this — it’s our buddy Mike again:

Regarding the idea that there are all kinds of religions out there making all kinds of claims and each thinks they are right:
This is true. And it is true that it is “all a matter of what people choose to believe”. The important question is, is one’s faith (that is, what they choose to believe) a blind, unreasonable faith, (like atheism, or Muhhamedism, for example) or is it a faith backed up by the evidence? The bible is backed by evidence. It is filled with perfectly fulfilled prophecies. No other book or belief system on the face of the earth is even remotely like the bible. Here’s a prophecy written down 2000 years ago. In 2009, take a look around as this is preparing to be implemented.

Yes, Mike, it is a matter of what people choose to believe. And atheism is not a “faith”, and it’s Islam or Muslim, not “Muhhamedism”. And no, the Bible is not backed with “evidence”. It’s bullshit backed up with more and more bullshit. “Prophecy? What fucking prophecy? There have been many “prophecies” from many religions. And in 2009 it is appalling that there are folks who live by the writings in an ancient mythology book of gruesome fairy tales.

[ed. note: Just to clarify what I mean by "it's a matter of what people choose to believe"...The god believers have a choice about whatever type of sky daddy they choose to believe in, according to whatever prejudices, bigotry, desires, and needs they might want to support. Atheism is not a "faith" but a lack of belief in gods and goddesses. Hope that clears that up.]

says, Christopher Hitchens in his recent article in Slate online.

“Living in the Islamic Republic,” wrote Azar Nafisi in her book Reading Lolita in Tehran in 2003, “is like having sex with a man you loathe.” This verdict has gathered extra force and pungency as the succeeding years have elapsed and as more women have been stoned, hanged, beaten, raped, and silenced. Lately has come the news that Iranian men in prison are being raped, too, for trying to exercise their right to vote. And now the U.S. government has come to a point where it must ask itself: What is it like to enter negotiations with a man who loathes you and who every Friday holds public prayers that call for your death?

Last Friday brought the news that the Obama administration had accepted an offer from Tehran, delivered the preceding Wednesday, for the holding of what the New York Times called “unconditional talks.” It was further reported that the administration had spent “less than 48 hours” deliberating whether to respond to the invitation, which yields the interesting if minor detail that this must have been the most significant decision taken by Obama’s people on or about the eighth anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11.

Hitchens goes on to state his concerns about Iran and its uranium-enrichment program and its theocracy’s hatred of the West.

First, it has become ever clearer that Iran’s uranium-enrichment and centrifuge program has put it within measurable distance of the ability to weaponize its nuclear capacity. Second, it has become obscenely obvious that the theocracy is prepared to govern by force alone and to employ the most appalling measures to remain in power without a mandate.

While Hitchens says he is all for talks without preconditions, he presents these two questions:

Do we seriously expect the Islamic Republic to be negotiating in good faith about its nuclear program?

What do we know about the effect of these proposed talks on the morale and the leadership of the Iranian opposition?

Read on and then share what you think about what Hitchens has to say.

Usually shit rolls downhill, and took awhile to come out but finally cases of sexual abuse by priests in the Pope’s own backyard are now emerging “in a country where reports of clerical sex abuse were virtually unknown a decade ago.”

Italy grapples with priest sex abuse accusations

A yearlong Associated Press tally has documented 73 cases with allegations of sexual abuse by priests against minors over the past decade in Italy, with more than 235 victims. The tally was compiled from local media reports, linked to by Web sites of victims groups and blogs. Almost all the cases have come out in the seven years since the scandal about Roman Catholic priest abuse broke in the United States.

One man’s disturbing personal account:

VERONA, Italy – It happened night after night, the deaf man said, sometimes in the priest’s bedroom, sometimes in the bathroom, even in the confessional.

When he was a young boy at a Catholic-run institute for the deaf, Alessandro Vantini said, priests sodomized him so relentlessly he came to feel “as if I were dead.” This year, he and dozens of other former students did something highly unusual for Italy: They went public with claims they were forced to perform sex acts with priests.

For decades, a culture of silence has surrounded priest abuse in Italy, where surveys show the church is considered one of the country’s most respected institutions. Now, in the Vatican’s backyard, a movement to air and root out abusive priests is slowly and fitfully taking hold.

It’s about time. The Catholic church must be held accountable (any other organization would be shut down for this sort of organized crime). The “culture of silence” must end.

Full sickening story here

H/T to ChuckA once again…