Monday, November 19, 2007

New molestation charge for McDowell

Remember the youth pastor who is alleged to have molested all the young girls? Oh wait, there are so many alleged pedophile pastors that perhaps I should provide more information.

Mark McDowell, who I posted on here, already faces charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault of two young girls ages 13 and 14. Since the investigation is ongoing, it comes as no surprise that new charges were filed.

Prosecutor Gilbert Romero said in an interview McDowell's new charge is genital penetration by a foreign object against a female under 18 years old. He declined to elaborate on the charge.

Source: New molestation charge filed against former youth minister. by Raul Hernandez.

No surprise - but still disgusting.

Pedophile Jesuit fights explusion

I have no sympathy for disgraced catholic priest Donald McGuire. He is fighting to stay in the Jesuit order after his child molestation conviction.

CHICAGO (AP) - A priest convicted of molesting two boys says he's fighting efforts by the Jesuits to expel him from the religious order.

Last year, a Wisconsin jury convicted the Reverend Donald McGuire of molesting two boys from Loyola Academy in Wilmette in the 1960s.

McGuire now faces lawsuits on a string of new child molestation accusations as well as a federal indictment that alleges he traveled overseas with a minor with an intent of having sex with him.

As a result of the conviction and other allegations against him, the Chicago Jesuits have presented McGuire with a dismissal decree from the order. McGuire tells the Chicago Sun-Times he has appealed to the Vatican not to allow the dismissal.

The Jesuits haven't said whether they're also seeking McGuire's removal from the priesthood.

Source: WBAY-TV Green Bay-Fox Cities-Northeast Wisconsin News: Convicted molester fights Jesuits' efforts to expel him

There should be no question about what to do, expel him from the order and remove him from the priesthood.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Nutball Alert: Ken Hutcherson

It has been a while since I posted a nutball alert. I think it time to crank out a few more. Our newest nutball is anti-gay Reverend Ken Hutcherson. He made the nutball list by threatening to take over Microsoft in a shareholders meeting last week.

An advocate of a "biblical stance" against divorce and homosexuality, Mr Hutcherson, 55, is asking millions of evangelical activists, as well as Orthodox Jewish and other allies, to buy up Microsoft shares and demand a return to traditional values.

Source: Pastor in Microsoft 'gay rights' share bid - Telegraph

Hutcherson believes Microsoft's shift awayfrom its neutral stance on Gay rights is cause enough to marshal the armies of god to bring down goliath. I think he's smoking crack - it would have to be a big army, with lots and lots of money. Hurcherson is another hate filled fundie who views America as a land of sin. Divorce and gay rights are at the top of his agenda. I don't understand these people.

Some of you might remember Ken Hutcherson from his 2004 visit to Latvia. He claimed to be an official representative of the US government. His mission was to confront the gay agenda in the EU. It turns out Hutcherson was not an official representative. Go figure.

Gideons losing influence

I have spent countless night in hotels rooms. Business sometimes keeps me away from home for weeks at a time. I am too picky when it comes to accommodations. Give me a quite room, air conditioning, and reliable Internet connectivity and I'm good. I don't need a bible, or a book of Mormon to make it through the night. In fact, when I find one it often pisses me off.

Newsweek is reporting that Gideons is losing its grip on American hotel room.

What might be surprising to many Americans is that the Bible-free room isn't a development just in hip New York City hotels. Across the country upscale accommodations are doing away with the Bible as a standard room amenity. And in its stead have arrived a slew of "lifestyle" products that cater to a younger, hipper (and presumably less religious) clientele. Since 2001 the number of luxury hotels with religious materials in the rooms has dropped by 18 percent, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association. The Nashville-based Gideons International, which has distributed copies of the Christian scripture to hotels since 1908, declined to comment on this trend.

Source: Newseeek.com. So Long, Gideons. By Roya Wolverson.

Unfortunately, this trend is not a reflection of the crowing influence or market reach of Atheism. It is simply a reflection of hotels marketing their rooms as a good place to get laid. Sex is all good, except that I am usually in a hotel room alone. I'm no more likely to read a bible than I am to use the condom in the mini bar.

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Why give this priest a second chance?

Catholic priest Padraig Greene is up for the position of authority over two Pleasnaton parishes, St. Augustine Church and Elizabeth Seton. Only, Greene has a troubling past. He was arrested in 1999 for masturbating in front of a police officer at a park frequented by children. Why would any reasonable person give this man a second chance?

Father Mark Wiesner, spokesman for the Diocese of Oakland, said Bishop Allen Vigneron and the diocese are standing behind Greene because they think his 1999 arrest was "a single isolated incident" and he underwent six months of "therapy and spiritual renewal" at a center for troubled priests in St. Louis, Mo.

Wiesner said, "We were well aware of his past and believe he is doing well now."

Wiesner said no minors were present when Greene was arrested for lewd conduct at the North Oakland Regional Sports Center on Broadway in Oakland in March 1999 and the charges against him were dismissed after he agreed to undergo therapy.

Source: cbs5.com - Old Lewdness Arrest Haunts New Pleasanton Pastor

I get it. Greene is cured. This does not change things. Green should be denied the job. One does not give a bank robber a job as a bank teller, why would one give a sex addict a job as with access to kids?

Ayaan Hirsi Ali - a worthy cause

Sam Harris sent an email asking for help protecting Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I think it is a worthy cause. I have re-posted the email below:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is the most prominent advocate of free speech and women's rights in the Muslim world, and for this she must live under perpetual armed guard, even in the West. Unfortunately, on October 1st of this year, the Dutch government officially rescinded its promise to protect her. Now, Ayaan Hirsi Ali's friends, colleagues and admirers must come to her aid.

I have created a page on my website that links directly to the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Security Trust. The money raised by this trust will pay Ayaan Hirsi Ali's security expenses. In the event that money remains after these costs have been met, it will be used to encourage and protect other dissidents in the Muslim world.

The ongoing protection of Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a moral obligation. It is also a strategic one: for here is a woman doing work that most of us cannot do--indeed, would be terrified to do if given the chance--and yet this work is essential for preserving the freedoms we take for granted in the West.

If every reader of this email simply pledged ten dollars a month to protect Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the costs of her security would be covered for as long as the threat to her life remains.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

Sam Harris

I plan to contribute. The world would be that much worse without Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

 

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Thursday, November 15, 2007

Blogroll Update: growing again

Our latest batch off noobs: 

Skeptic's Play (#485)

Fleeing Nergal, Seeking Stars (#486)

Science: The Gap Filler (#487)

Greg Laden's Blog (#488)

Ecstathy (#489)

Did a guy named Phil Start Philosophy? (#490)

The Thinkers' Podium (#491)

The Freethought Cafe (#492)

Eight more to go...

Mistrial declared in Kim molestation case

Youth pastor Peter Kim, who I posted on here, had his sexual assault  case declared a mistrial on Tuesday.  Kim is the pastor who viewed his relationship with an underage girl as a "bad dating decision".

A Boulder district judge declared a mistrial this afternoon in the sexual assault trial of a former youth pastor suspected of having a physical relationship with a minor who was attending his Longmont church.

Judge D.D. Mallard said the jury was deadlocked 8-4 after deliberating the fate of Peter Kim, 40, all day today.

A juror told the Camera that the eight votes were in favor of conviction.

Source: Mistrial declared in ex-youth pastor's sex assault case. By Heath Urie.

The good news here is that Kim will face trail again. If convicted he faces life in Prison.

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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Woot! 200K hits

I like to mark the little milestones I reach with Deep Thoughts. Today I reached 200K hits. It seems like it took forever.

The search that brought my two hundred thousandth visitor was for the phrase Gayle Haggard, which returned the Dobson quits as Haggard counselor.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

A severed head in Africa

I read the news from Africa and despair. Beyond the droughts, famine, and genocide there exists a low level persistent disease - religion. Be it forced Muslim conversion, Christian evangelical proselytizing, or indigenous pagan rituals,  religion permeates the continent. Most of the news I read is troubling. On occasion, I read of some atrocity which stands apart from the rest. Like severing a child's head for the equivalent of a $1.60 to service the needs of a Yaro spiritualist who needed it for a ritual.

Africa is the place were we export our worst behaviors, superstitions, and institutions. I want to be optimistic about its future, but it is hard.

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Monday, November 12, 2007

Blogroll Update: 4-1=484

We added another 4 blogs today, one departed. 500 Atheist themed blogs are within reach. Please keep spreading the word.

Rational Expression (#481)

Atheistkiwi's weblog (#482)

Dikkii's Diatribe (#483)

This page is an outlet for my own hate-filled vitriol and spiteful opinions. Uneducated as I am in the ways of the world, it's still necessary to vent my spleen at the media, the music industry, the AFL and anyone else who could have offended my sensibilities. I plan for this to be updated occasionally, depending on my state of mind. So you can either look forward to, or avoid my one-sided, uninformed and dangerously unbalanced opinions on the state of the world and everyone in it.

Australian Atheist (#484)

Deviant pastors on parade

I am behind on my posting. There are so many abusive pastors in my writing queue that I have decided to produce a digest version of Hypocrisy Watch.  

We start with news from the U.K. where the Bishop of Whitby will make a public apology for the actions of pedophile priest (vicar in this case)Trevor Ward. The crimes were committed 20 years ago.

“I want to offer a deep apology to the individuals who were so badly hurt and the community whose trust was abused by Trevor Ward while he ministered in Easterside, where he did so much harm over six years.

“I hope that many of those in Easterside whose lives were touched or damaged in any way by these dreadful events will join us on November 17 to offer our sorrow and pain from the past to God, and to commit ourselves to a future where the Church deserves the trust people want to place in it.”

Apologizes are nice, especially 20 years after that fact. I sure hope the now 25-year-old (or older)  men will find it in their hearts to forgive Trevor Ward.

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In Florida, a Baptist pastor died while awaiting trial on six count of capital battery. Pastor Robert Gray is alleged to have like to force himself on young girls.

Gray was arrested in May 2006 and again two months later when more charges surfaced. More than 20 women have come forward with accusations against Gray...

Gray's attorney released a statement saying the pastor's family prays that everyone involved in the court cases can find peace.

Somehow I do not think Gray's alleged victims will find peace in his death. There is something about the sweet sound of "Guilty" which brings a measure of peace. Death simply cheats the victims.

 I was not tracking this case. It is a shame too. Gray seem like a perfect candidate for Hypocrisy Watch.

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Conan O'Brien has a Catholic priest as a stalker. I know it sounds odd, but I don't make this stuff up.

Reverend David Ajemian, a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, Mass., has been accused of writing O'Brien threatening notes on parish letterheads, contacting his parents and showing up at his studio.

Ajemian was arrested last week while trying to enter a taping session of NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" in New York, a Manhattan prosecutor confirmed on Wednesday.

I don't know how to classify Ajemian. My best guess is that he qualifies for a nutball alert. I guess mental illness affects Gods chosen clergy too.

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In local news - a Stanton pastor who is awaiting trail for having unlawful sex with a 16-year-old girl was rearrested. Ronald Hernandez Tova is scheduled to face his accuser on faces his accuser in court this December on Christmas Eve.

In July, Haughton said, a friend of the victim's mother saw Tova, who is married, and the girl at a bus stop. She told police, who put him under surveillance. On Tuesday, authorities said, officers followed Tova to a church parking lot in Montclair, where he allegedly met the girl and drove her home.

There is no evidence he had additional sexual contact with his alleged victim. No, I guess he just wanted to work the whole intimidation angle.

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From Australia - convicted pedophile Robert Sharwood served time in jail for sexually assaulting a teenage boy. No he is out and waiting to find out if he can return to  his regular duties.

Sixty-three-year-old Robert Sharwood, who remains an ordained minister, was released from prison today after serving 12 months in jail for sexually assaulting a teenage boy while at St Matthew's Anglican Church in the suburb of Sherwood.

The church's Professional Standards Board is expected to meet before Christmas to determine if Reverend Sharwood is a fit and proper person to hold holy orders.

Odd - but the phrase "hell no" keeps echoing in my head. I did not realize a year as a prison bitch cured one of pedophilia. What is to review here?

Sharewood's victims think the Anglican Church still doesn't comprehend the real impact of sexual abuse. I agree.

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In Florida - Hugh King is a Pensacola pastor accused of possession of a small about of cocaine. I've reported on him before.  The latest twist in his case is bizarre. He signed an intervention plea agreement with a few simple rules. Admit guilt to the court and to the public, seek counseling, and submit to random drug tests. After a year his record is erased. Sounds simple right? Guess what pastor King did?

The Rev. Hugh King today said he’s not guilty of cocaine possession, and that he never agreed to the terms of a year-long pretrial intervention program.

King called a press conference this morning at Greater Union Baptist Church — where he is pastor — to say he was not aware that his attorneys agreed last week to pretrial intervention stipulations for him until it came out in the Pensacola News Journal.

“We stood before this church and said we are not guilty. That has not changed, and it will not change,” King said.
When asked directly whether he was ever in possession of cocaine, he said, “No.”

King and his supporters like to float the theory that he has been setup by "the man". The evidence suggests otherwise. There will be more to follow from this morally challenged Christian leader.

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In Washington - Pastor Robbin Leroy Harper faces molestation charges for allegedly molesting young girls from his church.

Harper ministered to a congregation of about 60 in South Kitsap County, across Puget Sound from Seattle. His congregation was known simply as The Church. He lived with his wife and children in a mobile home on the grounds.

The women and young girls who say he molested them, one a girl of only 10, describe a pattern of abuse that began when they were 7 or 8 with hugs that were too long and intense. As they grew older, they said, he would grope them and finally would introduce them to sexual intercourse when they were in their mid-teens, telling them he was preparing them for marriage.

Hi! my name is pastor Harper. My job is to prepare you young girls for marriage...  sick.

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From Uganda, where religion runs rampant, we find a pastor arrested for the mysterious death of his 14-year-old house cleaner.

Pastor Fred Wantate was picked up from his office at the church by detectives from Old Kampala police station after relatives of Rose Nakazzi lodged a complaint over her death... Nsubuga said the Police were investigating the pastor’s motive of abandoning the girl at a strange place when she was seriously sick.

What is the pastoral equivalent for puppy lake?

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In Chicago - a Jesuit priest was arrested on molestation charges. Reverend Donald MacGuire is alleged to have molested two boys but some allegations go back as far as the 1960s.

The new charges, unsealed by the U.S. Attorney's office on Friday, allege Father MacGuire traveled to Switzerland and Austria in 2000 to engage in sexual misconduct with a minor who is now 21.  In a complaint filed against the priest on Thursday, an accuser identified as Victim A claims that Father MacGuire sexually abused him between 1999 to 2003 in 12 states and six countries.  Victim A was living with the priest in Evanston, Illinois, where Father MacGuire had reportedly become a spiritual mentor to Victim A's family.

Just when we thought it was safe for your son to spend time alone with a priest in a hotel room on the other side of the planet...

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In Indiana - a Baptist pastor resigns over his son-in-laws sex scandal. The sex scandal is question is one where youth pastor Nasthan St. Pierre stands accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl.

Pastor Mike Bebout says he's leaving Washington Avenue Baptist Church due to complications stemming from the arrest of his son-in-law, Nathan St. Pierre.

of course - pastor Mike holds no ill feelings for his flock:

"I made one simple statement and that was my ministry at this church is through and as far as I'm concerned this church is too."

I'm taking my bible and going home.

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Again in local news - Glendale police arrested Donald Allen on Charges he molested three children a decade ago. Allen teaches Catechism.

"They come forward years later, after the fact," said Glendale Police Dept. Spokesman John Balian. "But by going public with this, his arrest, hoping there are no victims, but if there are, we can give them some kind of closure."

An anonymous tip led investigators to Donald Allen, a man who has volunteered at Holy Family Church in Glendale, and Saint Dominics Church in Eagle Rock for the past 12 years.

What is that old saying? Where there are three victims of abuse there are surly 30 more. He taught classes for 12 years, 30 might be too small a number.  

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From Van Wert Ohio - I know people from Van Wert! Pastor William W. Jeffress formerly of the First Church of God, was arraigned on charges of sexual battery.

According to the indictment on Sept. 1, Jeffress allegedly engaged in sexual conduct with a person of whom he served as guardian or custodian. Jeffress was released on $5,000 bond and was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim.

Something about this case smells fishy. Sex with a person of whom he served as guardian. The images are disturbing. I better change channels.

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Well... that's it for now. My goal was to clear one page of unread emails from gmail. I could keep going. My email is full of these atrocious displays of Christian morality. I'll stop for now and move on to adding new members to our ever growing atheist blogroll.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Shopping for...

Christmas, or the Winter Solstice, or whatever it is you want to call the pending national consumer holiday? Artist Marek Eby might have the answer for you. Marek owns a Cafepress store called Trilobite Clothing which caters to people who actually believe in the fossil record. He sells evolution and paleontology based designs. My favorite is Viva La Evolution!

I think I will wear this to the next school board meeting instead of the big red A.

I'm always in the market for gift ideas. This fits the bill. So, for my two real "atheist" friends and one Christian friend (who supports evolution) - I think you can guess what Santa is leaving in your stocking.

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Blogroll Update: Noobs

The Atheist Blogroll is nearly 500 members. I figure we will hit the 500 mark by New Years Day. Our newest members are:

The Inoculated Mind (#478)

Atheist Rule (#479)

Personal Evolution (#480)

Carnival of the Godless 79 -- Pie Now on Earth

That's right. It's time for another round of  Carnival of the Godless.  This issue is hosted by one of my favorite blogs, Aardvarchaeology.

Read and enjoy!

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