This ain’t right

In Arizona, Atheist and Christian nutballs organized a protest outside of the Islamic Community Center in Phoenix. The protesters, some visibly armed with guns, used graphic language, signs and flags to express their hatred for Islam and its adherents. The protesters, numbering in the hundreds, were there to make a point, but I’m not sure it is the point they wanted to make. American “patriots” are assholes. America is based on the principle that its citizens can worship who and what they please. How can one be a patriot and miss that?

A counter-protester, an atheist named Alex Lofgren, said it best, “Nobody deserves to be to scared to pray in this country. Even as an atheist I support peoples right to pray freely…”

Local Christians held signs reading “Love your neighbor” (Mark 12:31)

"The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
- via biblehub.com

As I watched the news, I yelled at the TV. This event is wrong for the same reason that I don’t protest the folly of belief in front of Christian churches. What people believe is none of my business. What people do, like attempting to stop me from drawing Muhammed or tying to stop me from buying booze on Sunday, is another matter. I’ll protest the hell out of that, but you won’t catch me standing outside your church with an assault rifle yelling, “Fuck Christianity!”

Edit: I just found out that the organizer, Jon Ritzheimer, is an atheist. I think I’m even more upset know. He reminds me of a few anti-religion nutballs I know.

Stories of hypocrisy and abuse

Let’s start with former Speaker of the House, Republican Denny Hastert. He was indicted for lying to the FBI.

The former student — who was not identified in court papers — told the F.B.I. that he had been inappropriately touched by Mr. Hastert when the former speaker was a high school teacher and wrestling coach, the two people said Friday. The people briefed on the investigation spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing a federal investigation.
- via www.nytimes.com

Second in line to the presidency, Speaker of the House, a leader of the Republican party… alleged pedophile. Did I mention family-values Republican with a alleged taste for youngins? Christ….
In other news, The Methodist Church apologized for over 1,800 cases of clergy sexual abuse in the U.K.

One of the cases concerned the grooming of teenage girls on Facebook, while another involved a minister allegedly making sexual advances to children. Another involved a Methodist youth officer who had indecent images of children on his computer.
One of the abuse survivors who responded to the survey said: "I have learnt that it is impossible to recover from sexual abuse when no-one recognises the seriousness of it. My Church did not want a scandal, my parents did not want a scandal.

- via BBC News

An apology is a good start. Now make is right.

In Oregon, pastor Michael George Sperou was convicted of child molestation. He penetrated the daughter of a church member. He was also investigated for the molestation of seven girls in 1997. He will serve 20 years.

In Oregon, former youth pastor Peter Bass was convicted of five counts of first-degree rape. HIs victim was under the age of 16. he will serve 33 years.

In Alabama, former pastor Timothy Williams was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 152 months in prison. He killed his daughter’s mother.

In South Carolina, pastor Rudolph Walls was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree against two children. Wall is a registered sex offender and a pastor. I’m not sure how that works. Bond is set at $100k.

In Wisconsin, former pastor James Manson was convicted of the sexual assault of a child. The girl came to him as a runaway. He raped her. He sound like a great pastor to me.

In Oklahoma, former pastor Demien Bonner was convictedon charges of lewd molestation. He was sentenced to 23 years. There were multiple underage victims.

In New Orleans, pastor Jules Anderson Jr., was arrested for luring a teen boy into a sugarcane field for sex. He was unsuccessful.

In North Carolina, pastor Edgar Damian-Nicholas was arrested on charges that he raped teen girls. The girls were 14 and 15. The abuse went on for years.

In Tennessee, a pastor was indicted on charges that he stole $60k from his church. He made the list today because he was also accused on engaging in sexual activity with a man in a van on church property. Odd… why would a man of God blow a man in a van and steal cash from his church. Wait… he spent the money on gay dating sites. I sense a conflict here.

In Virginia, former associate pastor Michael Jones was accused of putting a surveillance camera in a young girls bedroom. Ironically, he was caught in the act by the homeowner’s surveillance cameras.

No stories from Texas or Florida today... odd that.

Justice for state Rep. Justin Harris

Tree months have passed since an Arkansas lawmaker was exposed for shipping off his adopted daughters to the home of a child molester who later raped one of the girls, and he continues to serve as state representative while he and wife still run a childcare operation out of their home.
- via www.rawstory.com

I don’t ask for much; just justice for an adopted little girl who was raped because of the actions of her adopted father. Accountability is required. Right?

Judging Lindsey Graham by his words

I read a short post about Lindsey Grahams’s pool room education. He said,“Everything I learned about Iranians I learned working in the pool room,” he said. “I met a lot of liars, and I know Iranians are liars.”

What do we call someone who judges a people by the actions of a few individuals? We call them a racist.

There are good and bad Iranians. This is our reality. There are no universally bad or good peoples or countries. We may not like the leadership or politics of Iran, but stating that all Iranians are liars is unethical and unbecoming of a United States Senator. Shame on you Lindsey Graham. We are better than this. Try to live up to the standard or find another job.

More on the Duggars cult

Melissa at Permission to Live has more on the Duggers and those like them. It’s an interesting read.

In a large homeschooling family, older siblings are often in charge of the younger ones. Younger children are expected to obey their older siblings as they would a parent, and may face punishment from the parents or even the siblings if they do not obey. This creates a hierarchy where the younger children are basically powerless, and have already come to expect that they do not have a say in how they are treated. Sexual actions initiated by the older sibling are not  likely to be resisted or talked about in this sort of relationship.
- via Permission to Live

Sounds horrible.

Is it right or wrong?

I start most of my posts by asking the question, “Is this right or wrong?" If the answer is wrong, then I’m inclined to make a post. Take the contempt of court case of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Is Arpaio wrong in how he conducts business? I think the answer is hell yes. Is there a story? I think so, and it’s important. Public officials are accountable to the law and can be held personally accountable too.

"In some instances I have to personally pay for attorneys to represent me in these cases," Arpaio wrote in an email Thursday. "I do not have the personal wealth or the wherewithal to keep up with the costly demands of paying for attorneys to defend me."
- via latimes.com

Arpaio made the case personal by targeting the wife of the judge with a private investigator, now he is asking the public topay for his legal bills. He has a long history of doing the same thing with political opponents. It is time that he is held accountable without taxpayers footing the bill. If his supporters are foolish enough to donate to his defense, then lets make sure its counted as income.
The Arpaio era needs to end. If the public cannot vote him out of office, let his own deeds seal his fate.

Duggars be damned

I’ve waited to post on the Duggar molestation story because I’m conflicted. On one hand there is the horrible and inexcusable actions of Josh Duggar, while on the other hand there are the horrible and inexcusable coverups, misdirections and lies that normally accompany child molestation charges in a church. In most cases that I’ve follow over the years, my concerns rests with the victims and with justice. I see neither in this case, but I’m not as concerned with the concept of justice when it comes to Josh Duggar, because he was a young teen when the molestations occurred.

I know this position might piss a few people off, but if the stories I read are true, Josh as a child turned himself in and sought help from his parents. A 14-year-old is still a kid and often confused by sexual feelings. Kids can sometimes act out in ways that are inappropriate. If the case had gone to court, it would have been handled via family court and counseling. I can let the anger go because of this.

How the family handled the allegations is another matter. They protected a kid with a problem from getting the help he needed and they did not seek help for the victims (at least that is the story I’ve read so far). They kept the matter in-house by using the church as a replacement legal authority. The church had a vested interest in hiding the potential scandal. When they finally reached out to legal authorities, they did so through a friend. Finally, they gave their son no real help, did nothing to protect at-risk children and did little to help the victims. We don’t even know if the girls were treated as victims. It’s a complete fail and typical of how churches and cults conduct themselves.

The world’s moral outrage is justified though. These people hold themselves in judgement of others while committing morally repressible actions. The Family Research Council is a hate group. Having a former child molester run the group is hypocrisy of the highest order. Stepping down is nice, but the institution remains. Defending the Duggar family is unconscionable. And, claiming Josh Duggar is “forgiven” just pisses me off.

“Forgiven” - Josh Duggar may have prayed for forgiveness, but he was never held accountable for his actions. He may think he is forgiven by using the Christian Get of Jail Free card, but society still demands justice and accountably. Justice is not possible, but accountably is. Full disclosure is required. I prefer to use the trust but verify approach for cases like this. Josh should have disclosed his problem publicly and then those working and living around him could verify that he is a changed man and not cable of abusing others. I’m a realist though, if Josh had disclosed his problem publicly, it would diminish his assumed moral high ground and weakened his leadership of the FRC. This would have never happened. The mission of the FRC is more important than the truth.

19 Kids and Counting was pulled from TLC’s schedule. The show should be cancelled. It is Christian propaganda and now that we know that they do not live their values, we can see it for what it is… fiction. There is no return to grace here. They are a circus sideshow now. Let them go.

I don’t think that means what you think it means

If you are looking for proof that Scott Walker is not qualified to lead our country, read this.

"He said 70 percent of the country is with him," said Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., who happens to be a college professor.

That number was a reference to Census Bureau figures showing that around 71 percent of Americans age 18 and up do not have a college degree.
- via Yahoo News

It makes my head hurt. Does they really think that 70% of Americans will support Scott Walker because he did go to college? Oh hell… Republicans + 2016 Elections = clown car lost on the way to a circus.

I’m an atheist with a graduate degree. There is no chance that I will vote for Walker.

A hell of a way to die

The police should not shoot us for being drunk.

Grapevine Police Chief Eddie Salame said: "This is not the first time someone's judgment impaired by alcohol has a created a situation that led to their death."
- via Yahoo News

I think Chief Salame means that this is not the first time a cop has executed a drunk civilian.

Pastor Marcos Figueroa arrested

There are horrible men in the clergy. Some are beasts. Pastor Figueroa, if convicted, would qualify as one.

Marcos Figueroa, 37, is charged with multiple criminal sexual penetration of a child and criminal sexual contact with a child.
- via www.KOB.com

Pastor Marcos Figueroa works for Catalyst Church in Truth or Consequences, NM. Don’t worry kids, they are a “Christian Church.”

Pastor John Huffier arrested

John Derek Haffner was arrested on suspicion of soliciting and patronizing a prostitute, according to the Greeley Tribune.  He was booked in the Larimer County Jail, then released on bail on Friday.
- via FOX31 Denver

Pastor Haffner works for First United Methodist Church in Pierce, Colorado. It’s a small church with just 30 members.

Haffner was also taught life choices at Greeley Central High School in Ft. Collins. It does not sound like he believed in what he taught.

Our best and brightest

I want the best in brightest to lead our country. I don’t think it is too much to ask, but I know it is too much to expect.

Those of you who are graduating this afternoon with high honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And as I like to tell the “C” students, you could be president. - George W. Bush
- via Examiner.com

A tale of Catholicism gone wrong

The murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik in Baltimore is a sad tale of death, corruption, mystery…

Wehner immediately recognized the lifeless body as her teacher. "I knew it was her," she recalled recently. "She wasn’t that far gone that you couldn’t tell it was her.”

Cesnik was still clad in her aqua-colored coat, and maggots were crawling on her face. Wehner tried to brush them off with her bare hands. "Help me get these off of her!" she cried, turning to Maskell in a panic. Instead, she says, the priest leaned down behind her and whispered in her ear: “You see what happens when you say bad things about people?”

Maskell, Wehner understood, was threatening her. She decided not to tell anyone. “He terrified me to the point that I would never open my mouth,” she recalled.
- via The Huffington Post

We don’t go to church, we go to art

Happy 50th birthday LACMA!

I’ve spent many happy days exploring this outstanding Museum. I’m sure I’ll send many more. We don’t go to church, we go to art…

Atheist arrested

One of the more popular comments I receive when posting on the arrests of religious hypocrites is this, “Why don’t you post on the arrests of atheists?”

The answer can be found in this Google News search. The short answer is that there are few arrests of anyone who identifies as an atheist. We don’t see headlines that read, “Atheist teacher arrested.” Atheism does not carry the same weight as theism. There are no atheist pastors, Sunday school teachers or deacons. We don’t operate this way. We are not a religion.

What did show up in the Google News search?

Third Atheist Blogger Hacked to Death in Bangladesh
The group who are terrorizing a country
Ed Arnold and the Flying Bandit
Defying Taboo, Middle East Atheists Launch TV Channel

When an atheist is arrested, believe me, I will post on it. Hypocrisy is hypocrisy.

More pastors arrested

I browsed pastors arrested on Google this morning and found two alledged murderers, one child pornographer and one child molestor. All are pastors.

Pastor James Ty Flanders, formerly of Calvary Chapel Emerald Coast in Florida.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Marshal led Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety announces the arrest of 46-year old James Ty Flanders for the 2011 Murder of Marie Carlson of Fort Walton Beach.
- via www.wtvy.com

His former church issues a statement.

We, the current leadership at Calvary Emerald Coast, took over after the departure of the previous pastor, James Flanders.  The arrest of James Flanders creates a difficult situation for the entire congregation at Calvary Emerald Coast Church. Our church has continually had Marie and the Carlson family in prayer. We stand with the community in praying for an outcome that would put this event to a just conclusion. Calvary has been and will continue to be fully supportive of the authorities in this investigation.

Sincerely,
Pastor Jim Krug
Pastor Jason Anderson
- via Calvary Emerald Coast

Pastor James Craw, formerly of Faith Baptist Church in Idaville, was arrested on two counts of child molestation, child solicitation and misconduct with a minor.

“Pastor” Rodney Hamilton, an online pastor, was arrested for the murder of a 3-year-old child.

Police worked closely with the medical examiner's office to determine exactly what happened to the child. The Gwinnett County Medical Examiner ruled the case a homicide with the cause of death has been listed as a subdural hematoma.
- via www.myfoxatlanta.com

Pastor Bruce Fehr, of St. Francis Episcopal Church on Wilmington Island, was arrested for child porn.

Bruce Fehr, 54, of Savannah, and Zachary Giebner, 33, of Savannah were arrested following an investigation that began two months ago. During the investigation, investigators with the Southeast Georgia Child Exploitation Task Force discovered that both Fehr and Giebner were downloading child pornography. Giebner was formerly a teacher at Bryan County High School, according to the Effingham Sheriff's Office.
- via savannahnow.com

More to follow…

Bachmann and Dzhokhar

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death yesterday for his role in the Boston Marathon Bombing. I expected this outcome. I think most of us did. What is more important to me in this case is that Tsarnaev was tried through our judicial process. Tsarnaev was able to defend himself against all charges while in full public view. He was treated fairly under the law. There were some amoung us who do not think that this trial should have happen; Michelle Bachmann for example…

During a recent appearance on Greta Van Susteren's Fox News show, Bachmann said the Obama administration's decision not to classify Tsarnaev as an enemy combatant is a "miscarriage of justice." That classification would've allowed officials to question Tsarnaev indefinitely before any charges were pressed.
- via The Blotter

I remember thinking how un-American her comments were then (2013). In retrospect, I underestimated her. She’s anti-American in the sense that she will freely cast aside due process while at the same time she attempted to undermine our core democratic processes with political rhetoric. My prediction is that Dzhokhar will outlive Bachmann’s polictica career.

Nutball Alert: Rev. Austin Miles

I know a nutball when I see one.

Obama is not clinically insane but has been specifically programmed by his Communist handlers along with his Muslim allies to take America over the cliff. He is not dumb but a very useful idiot for the Communist Party ( Josef Stalin's description for those who help his cause). Obama is totally controlled as an authentic Manchurian Candidate.
- via www.renewamerica.com

The nutball is Rev. Austin Miles. I think his words prove the point.

Love is…

A mother is sleeping in the dirt, and all some people think of is profit…

Racist Georgia principal apologizes

Racism... I heard a story recently about the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Inside, there are two closed doors. One door is marked PREJUDICED and the other is marked UNPREJUDICED. Those who want to walk through the door marked UNPREJUDICED are told that it is locked. We all harbor prejudices...

Nancy Gordeuk, the principal and founder of TNT Academy in Stone Mountain, said she accidentally skipped the valedictorian's speech in the program, and she asked the crowd that was leaving early to come back inside of the church where the ceremony was being hosted.
- via www.wave3.com

Gordeuk apologized, but we all feel what that means. She showed her black heart. How do we trust her again?

Gordeuk thinks that we are judging her out of context because we do not see the whole video. Well, I heard the hate come from her mouth in three different videos. I felt anger as I watched the crowd jump up to leave in protest. I felt shame too.

Gordeuk is a hypocrite. She blames her actions on the Devil. It’s typical Christian BS. She is the devil. We need look no further than words for the spark that ruined her reputation. Her actual apology is deflection. She blames others for her emotional racist outburst. It’s sad.

I know so little

I had never heard of Laura Jane Grace until a few minutes ago when I watched this video of Grace, Miley Cyrus and Joan Jett covering Androgynous. I know so little of the world dispite having lived in it for over 50 years. I love the discovery process. I love learning. I love hearing a Graces’ distict voice and thinking, who is this?

I know Cyrus and I know Jett, but Grace is new. I love her voice and stage presence. So, I read and learn...

Baltimore by Prince

Prince released Baltimore today. The song honors Freddie Gray.

I drove through Baltimore last Sunday. I did not stop. I felt helpless. I still do.

Youth pastor Peter Bass sentenced

Former youth pastor Peter James Bass will be about 70 when he gets out of prison. He’ll be supervised as a sex offender until his death.

The Statesman Journal in Salem reports that 36-year-old Peter James Bass was sentenced Monday after he pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree rape and waived his right to a jury trial. He was arrested Jan. 21.
- via OregonLive.com

Bass was the youth pastor at Brooks Assembly of God.

Bible reading marathon

I don’t get out to Washington D.C. much, but when I do the last thing I want to see is a bible reading marathon on the steps of the U.S. Capital building.

But yes…. they were reading the bible and I was there.

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. - Matthew 6:5

I see what you Christians did there. Reading the Bible is not praying. You got around the letter of the law, but violated its spirit. That’s clever for sure, but I’m calling it dishonest.

Three new religious hypocrites

The wife of children’s pastor Tony Waller turned her husband over to police because she found child porn on their shared computer. Lots of child port. Like tens of thousand of images worth of child porn.

Youth pastor Tony Waller was fired from his job at Jonesboro First Assembly of God where he had worked since 1999. Waller admited to his 20-year addiction. His church and family are in shock. Let’s hope that his 15-year-long access to children did not result in any actual abuse.

In another case, former pastor Duncan Aker, Jr, of Vanceburg Christian Church in Kentucky, was arrested for the alleged sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy. The abuse took place from 2007 to 2010. Some of the abuse allegedly happened in the church.

In still another case, former pastor Yohandry Bravo, wanted for two years on rape and child molestation charges, was finally arrested during a traffic stop in Atlanta. Bravo had outstanding arrest warrents for the rape of a 16-year-old girl. He had been the pastor at Ministerio Internacional Jesus es el Senor.

Thinking about hypocrisy

I’ve been thinking a lot lately and I’ve come to the conclusion that I should have continued tracking religious hypocrites, but I should have expanded to cover more than pastors and church leaderships. There are hypocrites of every stripe, but it’s politics where the abuses are staggering. I think I’ll dip my toe back in the water so to speak. It’s been long enough and there are so many stories.

hypocrisy - the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.

One case that sticks in my mind happened in late 2012 “Family Values” Tennessee Republican Brad Staats lost a congressional race. He was arrested for domestic assault after slapping his wife and pushing down onto a bed.

Remember Staats? He welcomed President Obama to Tennessee with a photo of a handgun.
Is Brad Staats a hypocrite? I think so. I’ve lost track of him since the incident. I don’t even know how his case worked out. My point is that there are hundreds of Staats playing at politics. They are dangerous and we need to call them out every time they step off the path. We must hold them accountable.