07:57 – So, the catholics have a new pope. I’m not sure why anyone cares, including catholics, although from the amount of news coverage one would think something important had been going on. One vicious old bastard with medieval attitudes retired; now the catholics have a different vicious old bastard with medieval attitudes. Meet the new boss. As they say, ignorance is bliss.
Speaking of ignorance, the county commissioners of neighboring Rowan County insist on starting meetings with sectarian prayers. The ACLU pointed out that this is illegal and asked them to stop doing that, but they refused. So the ACLU is suing the county. I think that’s a mistake. The ACLU should be suing those commissioners personally. The taxpayers of Rowan County should not be liable for paying the costs to defend the indefensible actions of this group of individuals. Closer to home, a local legislator has introduced a bill that would allow local school systems to offer bible study courses in public schools. Why can these morons not get it through their tiny little brains that there is no place for religion in government? None. Government is supposed to represent all of the people, not just this subset of very vocal religious nutcases.
“… One vicious old bastard with medieval attitudes…”
You say that as though having medieval attitudes was a bad thing.
The schools *should* have Bible study courses; as literature and history. In the English-speaking world, the King James Authorised Version of 1611, specifically. They should study that along with “Pilgrim’s Progress” and the de Vere canon as the reading that most literate people had available to them for centuries in our Anglo-American culture. Advanced students should then move on to the Federalist Papers, the Anti-Federalist Papers, and the Secret Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
In the 20s in the Bay this morning, with a dusting of snow and nice sloppy road commute to the Plantation. About ten percent of motorists not only do not slow down but speed up. Lights and signals optional.
Speaking of signals/directionals; quick low-tech question; I swapped out the right taillight assembly on the truck and all was well, until I discovered that the right directionals were now out. Fiddled with fuses and thus also disabled the left directionals. Garage guy tells me that if a bulb is out in the front it can affect the turn signals. Well, *no* lights are out and all bulbs look good. WTF? I think it’s a fuse.
Catholics use Matthew 16:18 and Matthew 18:18 (among others) for Papal Authority. So, Jesus told Peter that whatever Peter said on Earth would be backed up in Heaven. Well, Peter said all Popes after him have the same authority, so whateve Pope Francis says here on Earth will be so in Heaven. So, for devout Catholics, hearing something from the Pope is pretty much the same as hearing it from Jesus himself.
This moron legislator wasn’t talking about studying the bible as literature and history. (Even if he were, it’s a very poor example of both.) I’d have no problem with an elective public school bible course that teaches it for what it is–a motley collection of myths–from a secular perspective, assuming that course also covered other religious garbage like the koran, the various Indian “holy” writings, and so on. I do have a problem with teaching jesus-loves-me-this-I-know-for-the-bible-tells-me-so crap, which is what this moron wants to do. He thinks by making the course an elective he can get around the separation of church and state.
Yeah, when he says stuff in his authority as Pope; not every single little thing he utters in the course of a day, or on mundane matters.
Then, of course, we run into the issue of historical popes who were pretty bad news, in what they did and said, and what they failed to do and say. Like the rest of us poor sinners. And we then recall that Peter was also a sinner and betrayed his Lord three times.
Yes, I realize what that moron is trying to do, Bob. Typical; you would not see its like up this way, and we haven’t since the days of the Puritan hegemony.
And that “motley collection of myths” absolutely permeates Western civilization and culture, whether one likes it or not.
Of course they permeate it, like pathogenic bacteria permeate raw sewage. And it’s not clear to me whether the myths or the bacteria have caused more human death and suffering.
Venereal disease permeates our culture as well. Are you saying we should embrace it and look only at its good aspects?
I see.
Biblical literature is as raw sewage and venereal disease.
I point out here that industry and science have also contributed mightily to human death and suffering.
No, they haven’t. Oh, sure, both industry and science have been responsible for minor, localized human suffering; industrial accidents and so on. But science/industry have overall been an unalloyed positive for humanity. Without them, we’d still be living in mud huts and dying of old age at 26.
I suspect what you’re talking about is the misuse of the products of science and industry by governments and religions. When someone is killed in a traffic accident, you don’t blame the car. And when a bunch of people are killed in a war, you don’t (or shouldn’t) blame the science and industry that created the warplanes and bombs and machine guns. Warplanes don’t kill people; politicians kill people.
The two plagues on humanity throughout recorded history have always been the same: religion and government. Blame them. Don’t blame science and industry.
Ach, it’s all how you look at it. In the end, it seems to be human nature to drum up “us vs. them” conflicts. Religion makes a great excuse, but so does belonging to the wrong tribe, or having the wrong skin color, or whatever warlords like Ghengis Khan chose to use to drive their people to war. Cold, non-religious types like Stalin have also contributed their fair share to human suffering as well.
Sure, and there’s an evolutionary basis for the us-vs-them thing.
But it takes governments and/or religions to come up with mass slaughter events like crusades and world wars. In short, the problem is people who want to control other people and run things. As I’ve said before, if you encounter such a person, you’ll be doing the world a favor by just killing him on the spot.
When you think about it, governments and religions are simply formal organizations designed to accommodate people who want to control other people and run things. That’s one of the main reasons I’m an atheist and an anarchist, as I believe any thinking person should be.
“That’s one of the main reasons I’m an atheist and an anarchist, as I believe any thinking person should be.”
Stop trying to control me! 🙂
Hey, if he can’t control you, he’ll kill you on the spot! He just said so!
So he was described in the paper as “..advocate of the poor…”
What a huge surprise, would they ever describe one as “…champion and guardian of the rich and over-advantaged…”
Always makes me think of this (all, just not the church of Rome):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmjrTcYMqBM
Remember the photo of Bill going to church with the Bible in one hand and Hillary’s in the other the Sunday after the Monica deal could no longer deniable?
Is that not classic example of the Tribal Chief and the Witch Doctor?
When someone is killed in a traffic accident, you don’t blame the car.
Well you do if you’re a shyster looking for deep pockets.
So he was described in the paper as “..advocate of the poor…”
What a huge surprise, would they ever describe one as “…champion and guardian of the rich and over-advantaged…”
Well he really did seem to be better than most. He used public transportation, flew economy class, and lived in a small apartment and cooked for himself. Of course that’s all over now.
Then there were these crooks…
http://freethoughtpedia.com/images/thumb/Tbn.jpg/400px-Tbn.jpg
The new pope could be Jesus Himself, for all intents and purposes, a perfect human being and saint, with not a stain to his name, and the usual suspects would still bitch, piss, moan and sling mud and debris at him. They’re all medieval fascists and Benedict, of course, was in der Hitlerjugend and probably massacred Allied POWs or something. The new guy took the bus and made his own sandwiches but now that he’s in the Vatican he’s just like all the other wealthy medieval fascist perverts, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum, ad infinitum.
It gets tiresome.
But whatever.
Mr. OFD,
Don’t fall for Mr. Bob’s FUD. Remember he told us he uses that against believers all the time. Not that he’s trying to control you or anything.
MrAtoz
True. People is certain positions cannot refuse protocol. I remember from being in the military that Generals are not allowed to refuse certain protocol. Something about preserving the prestige of the rank.
I like the new pope. At Francis’s age 76, Bendict may have a roommate in the next couple of years but Francis looks good for five years at least. I like his past and his exhortations to the Priesthood to put on their walking shoes and go visit the faithful daily. I am not Catholic but I do know that the local Priest is a busy guy. In fact, he was taking the 85+ year old parents of a friend of mine to lunch recently when my friend’s father died in the back seat of his car. The Priest did his best to revive him but was unsuccessful. Still, the thought was kind and that is what God asks of all of us.
Regarding public schools and promoting religion therein, if my daughter is found out, the ACLU would sue to have her fired. I go down to help in the 2nd grade class where she teaches and when a child sneezes, she reflexively responds: “God bless you.” And it is truly that as she is not the least bit inculcated with any form of mysticism, but how outrageous would the ACLU types find that?
“….science have also contributed mightily to human death and suffering.”
Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, Archimedes, etc., killed who? Or, drunk cars kill people – drivers don’t kill people?
Slim wrote:
“Remember the photo of Bill going to church with the Bible in one hand and Hillary’s in the other the Sunday after the Monica deal could no longer deniable?”
But he was repentant!
(And, by all accounts, Hillary had given him a belting to remember when she found out.)
I don’t know what Pope Frank and all the conservatives have against contraception. I understand their opposition to late term abortions, but what’s wrong with contraceptives and frangers? The former help prevent abortions and the latter help prevent the transmission of HIV and other STDs.
Well, one day now and the new pope has not done the correct thing. Excommunicate, and banish to everlasting Hell, the child molester Cardinal Roger Mahoney, former Archbishop of the LA Diocese. He is as guilty as his subordinate grab and touch pedophile priests. After he knew of the crimes, he refused to notify civil authorities and reassigned the priests, such as Baker, to new parishes where they could cuddle, fondle and salaciously savor Sandusky style. How is this not guilty before and after the fact as an accessory to the crime?
Unless the new Pope banishes Mahoney to everlasting Hell, he is as fraudulently phony as the rest.
Apparently some of the paedo priests confessed but Mahoney tried to conceal that evidence, saying that to reveal it would break the seal of confession. I think a priest should conceal stuff that is legal but distasteful, but there should be no confidentiality for crimes like child abuse.
but there should be no confidentiality for crimes like child abuse
Would you extend that same ruling for doctor-patient or lawyer-client relationships?
I think you misunderstand client/patient confidentiality. A physician or attorney who gains confidential information that leads him to believe that his patient/client is a threat to others is not only under no obligation to keep that information confidential, but is obliged to disclose it to the authorities.
In other words, if you tell your attorney that you plan to go out and kill someone, that attorney is obligated to report your plans to the authorities. Similarly, if your physician knows you have AIDS and you tell him that you plan to go out and have unprotected sex with people, he is obligated to report your plans to the authorities.
A priest, bishop, or other official of the catholic church who knows or suspects, whether through confession or otherwise, that someone has raped a child and is (by definition) likely to continue raping that child or other children is legally obligated to report that to the authorities. The civil authorities, not just the church authorities. If he knows about it and fails to report it, he is legally culpable.
Damn.
Now we’re in the third day.
And Pope Francis hasn’t saved the world and humanity yet.
Bastard. Just like all the others.
Then something is seriously amiss. I was on a jury where a doctor was specifically asked if he had any knowledge about his patient’s intentions. The judge quickly informed the doctor he did not have to answer the question, even before any objected. The attorney was the quickly chastised by the judge for his attempt to violate patient-doctor confidentiality. This was a murder trial for a juvenile who torched a house and killed the person inside. I wonder if the rules were different because of the age of the offender?
Or perhaps because the crime had already taken place.
Or perhaps because the crime had already taken place.
Exactly the distinction, per my sister the defense attorney. It’s one thing to say “I did X”, it’s another to say “I’m going to do X”. Alas, in the case of pederasts, it’s nearly one and the same, because that type of vermin simply don’t cease their behavior. And while Mahoney might try to hide behind the seal of the confessional when it comes to reporting to civil authorities, he’s still guilty of failing to keep the child molesting priests under his command away from children. For that, I have to agree with CowboySlim.