“The sexuality of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character”

What else needs to be said?

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The Catholic Church has been playing at nonsense so long, they think their own bullshit doesn’t stink. How else can you explain how an octogenarian master of fantasy can say something as idiotic as this:

Practising yoga is Satanic, it leads to evil just like reading Harry Potter,” he told a film festival in Umbria this week, where he was invited to introduce The Rite, a film about exorcism starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as a Jesuit priest.

The Rite, as you may recall, is a movie staring Anthony Hopkins that claims to be based on a true story. Father Gabriele Amorth is the founder of International Association of Exorcist, a kind of deadly Dungeons and Dragons club that takes itself way too seriously. Amorth and his gang of weirdos think the devil is real, that science is bullocks, and finally that everything they didn’t come up with is evil:

“Satan is always hidden and what he most wants is for us not to believe in his existence. He studies every one of us and our tendencies towards good and evil, and then he offers temptations.” Science was incapable of explaining evil, said Father Amorth, who has written two books on his experiences as an exorcist. “It’s not worth a jot.

A jot, for anyone born after The First World War, means something tiny and insignificant, not unlike his pathetic opinions. Seriously, you have to shake your head in disbelief; here is a man who makes a living by pretending to exorcise demons from people claiming that Harry Potter and yoga is evil, simply because it wasn’t thought up by a 2000 year old dead Palestinian Jew. It would be sad if exorcism wasn’t so fucked up: there are countless stories of dumb people killing their friends and family doing this shit. I’ve yet to see anyone seriously fucked up after watching “Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban”, I can tell you that.

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Is there much more that needs to be added here? I wonder what the scumbag evangelical version of this commercial would be. Presumably both of these men dying of AIDS (sent by a vengeful God of course) while they worship Satan or something. Hey jerk-offs, can you explain to me what’s wrong with thinking the above video is beautiful?

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For those of you that still naively believe that believing in nonsense can’t harm you, I present to you reason #1,697,456 why religion is fucking evil: a church called the Synagogue Church of All Nations has apparently been telling some of their parishioners that they don’t need to take their AIDS medication in favor of prayer. As you can guess, a number of premature deaths have occurred, and while officials inside the Church deny having told people to stop taking medication, the organization still claims to have cured a number of cancers in parishioners on its own website. This fact alone should be enough to warrant an investigation, and in anticipation of this, an undercover journalist decided to see just what kinds of claims were being made in this dangerous nuthouse.

The video above is from one of the branches in Southwark, and posing as someone with full blown AIDS, this journalist gets a preview of the kind of dangerous, irresponsible and deadly advice these charlatans are giving sick and desperate people. AIDS medication is extremely effective when taken properly, but these bastards trying to make a quick buck have robbed them of existence. I can see of no greater crime that to steal away a person’s life for one’s personal gain. It absolutely makes me sick.

These fucks also try to sell a whole slew of bullshit products, including anointed water, DVD’s and “Partner Training” programs for anyone interested in starting their own deadly franchise. Remember folks: god is all powerful, but he has an insatiable lust for your material possessions. He used to want your best baby goats and lambs; now he just wants all your fucking money.

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After recieing some flak (some of it merited, some if it not) over my article indicating my worry that the CFI’s Board of Directors was fractured over Justin Trottier’s dismissal, and that this fact alone demanded that the organization come clean to members regarding the details. While I had managed to get a few details of what was happening, it was clear from every other article out there that no one was 100% aware of the facts, and this was precisely my original complaint. A lack of transparency was the crux of the problem, demonstrating that that the Board was susceptible to outside influence and could fall victim to a situation similar to what transpired:

On November 21, Derek Pert wrote to the board requesting that he be terminated with severance. Derek indicated that he thought he lacked sufficient support from the board to carry out his duties. The board held an emergency meeting on the evening of Wednesday, November 23. At that meeting the board passed a motion confirming that Derek had full authority to carry out the responsibilities associated with the position of National Executive Director.

There followed a motion to terminate Derek Pert with severance of $50,000. The motion was made by Michael Gardiner. The motion was properly seconded and a vote was taken. The motion failed 6-3, with Michael Gardiner, Ian McCuaig, and board chair Carol Parlow voting for the motion.

Late on the night of November 23, Derek Pert submitted a letter of resignation. On November 24, in quick succession, directors Michael Gardiner and Ian McCuaig and board chair Carol Parlow submitted their letters of resignation.

That doesn’t sound fucking sketchy at all. Former Board member Ian insists the motion was done as a symbolic gesture, but this whole affair smells like a major scam. You don’t play around with member money, especially when there is so much at stake.

As for the future holds, I’m not sure Justin should come back. His presence could further divide members who already had to pick camps (trust me, I read all about their opinion in the comment section) and it could have the appearance of impropriety. I do think, however, that the opportunity for a lot of exciting changes to happen. I do agree that CFI’s mission hasn’t always been clear, and that increased professionalism would benefit their image. I also think that they need to increase their media strategy, and have professional press people that could represent secular issues in the news (both local and national). It’s time to get serious and show everyone that CFI can thrive in the face of a crisis. The Simpsons have a word for this kind of thing: crisitunity!

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This weekend my American fans will be enjoying Turkey, roasted potatoes, and a number of other delectables to commemorate the day they gave smallpox to a population unaccustomed to viral outbreak. What better way to celebrate this than by inviting your neighbor over, feeding him, than giving him a blanket infested with a disease they have no immunity from? When he dies, you get to keep his house and all his belongings! Isn’t genocide fun?

NOTE: It’s also “spam” day, apparently, and I’ve had to suspend comments until the situation is fixed. So no clever comments from you!

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As some of you may know, Nate Phelps, son of the Westboro Baptist Church’s head patriarch Fred Phelps, is an atheist now, and he’s working on a documentary about his life called Nate vs Hate. In an attempt to garner funds, he’s launched a kickstarter page, but so far, they seem miles away from their goal. They still need to raise over $48,000 in 4 days.

This is why I haven’t bothered trying to use this service for the new TGA site. I know what to expect in terms of money from fellow non-believers. You guys may be loyal listeners, but as it stands now in the atheism scene, the money just isn’t there. Herding Cat is still our moniker, and it’s times like this that you realize just how true that is. Would Nate have the same problem trying to get money to make a documentary on how Jesus changed his life? I doubt it.

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Secular organizations in this country have the tendency to implode. Although it’s not clear exactly why this happens, it my have something to do with the fact that people tend not to agree on the best strategy to garner new members. Should we be in everyone’s face? Should we employ a more gentle approach that doesn’t alienate certain groups? While we may not argue over dogma like our religious counterparts, our common disbelief is usually not enough to create a powerful consensus among members. More than likely our differing opinions often polarizes people in two basic camps: Accommodation, and Confrontation.

As the former National Director of the Center for Inquiry Canada,  Justin Trottier clearly fell into the Confrontationalist camp. From his early days as a student activist at the University of Toronto, Justin was instrumental in breathing life into CFI. In it’s early days, his personality and vision allowed the organization to grow. His management style, unfortunately, tended to make him few friends. Still, one of the main reason why the organization has been so successful as of late is because of his relentless activism and his ability to “get the job done”. The whole reason CFI even exists in Canada is largely his doing. Say what you will about him: Justin has drive, and the growth of the organization would have been impossible without his passion.

A few months ago, Justin took a leave of absence to run as the Green Party candidate, and it was understood that during his time away, the Board was to find someone who could manage the day to day operation in a way Justin could not. This would have allowed him to concentrate more on activism and on gaining visibility in the media while the organization would have a friendly face managing volunteers (the man does have serpentine qualities, I’ll admit). What occurred instead was a witch-hunt against Justin; it was clear that recent additions to the Board disliked Justin intensely and wanted to try and implement a new strategy or the organization.  It took little effort to further alienate Justin from disenfranchised Members, and without any due process, he was effectively terminated from his position before returning from his leave of absence.  The repercussions of this witch-hunt can still be felt; even as I write this, various members continue to email one another with poisonous accusations against Justin of corrupting or poisoning members, the childishness of which cannot be overstated.

While Justin has remained silent to avoid sparking panic among the members, there are a number of high profile individuals within the organization – including Board members who wish to remain silent – that have expressed their concerns over the way Justin was fired. Since he was on leave when he was terminated, it’s not even clear if what the Board did was actually legal or not. In any case, something fishy was going on, and an email sent by Board Chair Carol Parlow did little to ease concerns:

Since CFI Canada became a registered charity, it has been managed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Board’s priority is to guide CFI to a position of national significance, but we must also ensure that the legal requirements of our charitable status are carefully respected…The Board of CFI Canada recognizes Justin Trottier’s tremendous contribution to the establishment of CFI Canada. We also look forward to the exciting times ahead as CFI Canada grows into the prominent and respected organization it will become.

The email is simply a whitewash for members who express surprise or discontentment in the sudden change of leadership, or anyone for that matter who questions their new “direction”. In the interim of Justin departure, the organization had managed to spend over $20,000 attempting to revamp their mission statement. It was a move the Board felt would help attract important and new members with deep pockets. Their current strategy aims to give CFI a more professional and corporate images, but their gambit has so far failed to pay off. Justin’s departure means that a number of significant contributors have vanished a well, and CFI’s big American brother – suffering economically from the recession- is threatening to pull their funding as well. Their new Director, Derek Pert, is admittedly not an activist; he’s a friendly enough guy with good management skills, but this isn’t JCPenny.  If they cannot find new members with deep pockets, then with the added pressure of lost funding, its hard to imagine how they could survive.

Not one of these concerns have been expressed to members. Instead, we get a white-wash from the Board Chair and this false narrative that Justin left on his own accord. We were also given the impression that the decision was unanimous, when there were a number of absences and one member who abstained from vote (presumably a diplomatic way to express doubt over the new direction). In any case, to claim that there is no conflict currently brewing within the ranks is a lie. The Board shows deep fragmentation, and it’s my opinion that due to this issue, it cannot function effectively in its current form.

I don’t want to suggest that Justin should be re-instated, or even that CFI’s new strategy is wrong. It’s simply my opinion that the Board is fractured; not only over the decision to let Justin go, but also whether or not the new focus of the organization is the right one. That members have been given absolutely no information on these recent developments is a sign of impropriety, and it’ time for them to knock on the board’s door and demand some answers. The process needs to be more open, so that the people who actually pay the bills can decide for themselves if they like this new direction.

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Something similar may have happened with the Virgin Mary here…That Holy Ghost, he sure gets around!

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