You’ve got to admire Bill Donohue -in a rather sick and twisted way- for his unique ability to always “up the ante” of shitty things to say. He’s really an artist of sorts, effortlessly dispatching the truth whenever it seems to be inconvenient, and compensating by making outlandishly false statements, all in a futile attempt to defend what is arguably one of the most corrupt institutions in the world. To defend monsters, one must become a monster.

The latest “Donohism” is a difficult one to top however: he’s accusing the media of improperly reporting the sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children. Most were willing participants, and the real problem was homosexuality:

“The Boston Globe correctly said of the John Jay report that ‘more than three-quarters of the victims were post pubescent, meaning the abuse did not meet the clinical definition of pedophilia.’ In other words, the issue is homosexuality, not pedophilia,” Donohue wrote.

“What accounts for the relentless attacks on the Church?” he asked in conclusion. “Let’s face it: if its teachings were pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage and pro-women clergy, the dogs would have been called off years ago.”

Don’t blame all these priests, says Bill, most were participants who enjoyed what was happening. The real villains were the sodomites, everyone! After all, they wanted to put their penises where God had strictly forbidden it, and we all know that if you don’t listen to sky-daddy, he’s send a tidal wave after you.

It’s in situations like this that I wish I could produce a report that could explain the depth of all the sexual abuse that occurred to both men and women…Oh wait, silly me, it turns out that there are a ton of them, with more popping up all the time. Perhaps the most comprehensive of which is the the Ryan Report, a difficult and lengthy volume detailing all aspects of abuse of Catholic-run institutions in Ireland. So without needing to trust Billy-boy at his words, we can instead rely on the litany of statistics on female sexual abuse by clergymen. I’ll go out on a limb here and say it was definately not consensual:

Reported abuse ranged from inappropriate fondling and touching to oral/genital contact, vaginal and anal rape. There were 128 reports of sexual abuse from 127 female witnesses (34%).7 One witness reported that she was sexually abused in two different Schools. Witnesses described their experience of sexual abuse as either acute or chronic episodes occurring throughout their admissions in the Schools. Witnesses reported being sexually abused by religious and lay staff in addition to other adults, the majority of whom were understood to be directly associated with the Schools. Witnesses also reported being sexually abused by co-residents.

Before you feel entirely too depressed over the fact that such stupidity still makes the air on a regular basis, take comfort in the knowledge that, so long as people like Bill speak for their churches, the job of demonstrating the poisonous nature of religion is made much easier. Bill is a cruel, stupid brute whose actions undermine the false idea that religion moralizes an otherwise evil creation. In other words, with fuckheads like Bill at the wheel, it’s a lot easier for these morons to careen off a cliff.

Spread the outrage

I wish this was satire, or some kind of sick joke, but unfortunately, a bill under consideration in South Dakota is changing the definition of justifiable homicide to include:

Homicide is justifiable if committed by any person while resisting any attempt to murder such person, or to harm the unborn child of such person in a manner and to a degree likely to result in the death of the unborn child…

That’s right, people. This law would be the equivalent of painting a target sign on every abortion provider in the state.

The law is complete garbage; no state can make it a crime to perform a Constitutionally lawful act, but you can bet the pro-lifers (the irony of that name will never cease to astound me) will see this as justification if they decide to start taking the law into their own hands. All they need to do now is get the law passed, and leave a few guns hanging around some of their crazier members, and presto: no more abortions!

It’s already hard enough to get an abortion there. Not only does the doctor have to offer a sonogram, he also has to read out a script meant to discourage her from going through with it.

“The abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.” Until recently, doctors also had to tell a woman seeking an abortion that she had “an existing relationship with that unborn human being” that was protected under the Constitution and state law and that abortion poses a “known medical risk” and “increased risk of suicide ideation and suicide.” In August 2009, a US District Court Judge threw out those portions of the script, finding them “untruthful and misleading.” The state has appealed the decision.

I guess making it seem legal to kill the doctors is the next logical step, right?
(via)

Spread the outrage

If you think America has a monopoly on crazy religious fundies attempting to undermine the secular values of their governments, I’ve got some sad news for you: these nutjobs are also trying to influence Canadian politicians(the site is in French, just so you know).

Because they are well funded and well connected, these pervayors of nonsense find themselves with access to the highest levels of power in the government. Thier mandate -to stifle abortion ad stem cell research, among many other goals- would have disastrous consequences for the country.

I’m sure some of you think I’m overly rhetorical when I say how harmful, dangerous and subversive these people are, but it’s not an exaggeration to say that their goal is to fundamentally change the governments they aim to influence. If we let them have their way, you can say goodbye to gay marriage, euthanasia laws, abortion, stem cell research, and the suppression of other religious minorities. Let these fuckers in, and they’ll totally take over the place.

Spread the outrage

If you thought a country like France was free from the influence of religion on their science programs, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. The government was planning on easing restriction on embryonic cell research, but the Catholic Church lobbied hard to prevent this, and it appears they’ve had some success.

“The Catholics have succeeded in imposing their view on embryos and seem to be succeeding in their attack on this method,” said François Olivennes, a leading fertility expert, told Europe 1 radio. “We already have a very retrograde law compared to those in Spain, Britain, Belgium, Netherlands and all of Scandinavia. Nothing is advancing.”

This can of worms was opened after scientist produced a number of stem cells for a child suffering from a rare blood disorder. And because the Catholic Church opposes abortion because of some confused interpretation of their mythology book, they feel compelled to arrest the development of life saving technology.

If they were still in control, do you have any doubt that medical science would essentially grind to a halt? I think this nonsense is a wakeup call for Western countries. Our religious institutions are effectively preventing a vital branch of science from progressing all because of their idiotic dogmas. In their deluded minds they think they are saving “babies” from annihilation, but in reality they only further our misery in their tireless efforts to save a few blastulas.

Spread the outrage

There’s a storm-a-brewin’ in Australia, and a controversial church group called “Catch the Fire Ministries“. Their leader, a nutjob by the name of Daniel Nalliah, is crazy enough that the Family First Party asked him to step down as a candidate after he publishing brochures that said God would destroy “Satan’s Strongholds”, which included mosques and Buddhist temples.

Nalliah’s big problem right now is that the Prime Minister of the country is an atheist, and this, according to him, is putting the country in grave danger:

Dr Nalliah, a former Family First candidate who was asked to leave the party for his controversial views, has already blamed the Queensland floods on Kevin Rudd speaking out against Israel.

He also blamed the Victorian bushfires on that state’s liberalisation of abortion laws.

“How many more disasters will it take before our nation, starting from the Prime Minister, would fall on our knees and ask for God’s protection and turn back to Him?”

Yes, believers are never struck with natural disasters. Even if they are, it’s totally the fault of sodomites and people with different political opinions.

You know, there’s a part of me that envies their crazy delusion. as far as they are concerned, the real cause of human misery isn’t due to the fact that we’re on a cooling ball of rock that has a moving crust and a complex atmosphere, it’s because you touch yourself, or any other such nonsense. They truly believe that if everyone just capitulated to their arbitrary rules, a male god would reward them with eternal protection. Cuz you know, that worked so well for the Jews, right?

Spread the outrage

Oh Texas, can you possibly go one day without embarassing yourself? It wasn’t enough that your governor is trying to prevent women from having abortions: now one of your counties has erected a monument to the Ten Commandments in the courthouse square of Oldham County.

The constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments in public squares and buildings has been tested elsewhere with varying results.

“The laws are very convoluted,” said Manuel Quinto-Pozos, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. “Does it represent the government’s endorsement or seal of approval for a religion?” Quinto-Pozos said he knows of no current court challenges in Texas. How and where the commandments are displayed makes a difference.

“In short, it depends — on context, history and motive,” Charles Haynes, a First Amendment Center senior scholar, wrote in 2005

Yeah, I wonder what the “context” of this gigantic monument to the Abrahamic God of the Bible is. Could it possibly be the endorsement of a specific religion?

I’m doubtful anyone in this tiny county is going to dispute the constitutionality of the monument, mostly because it’s a gigantic waste of time and money to do so. Another victory for the religious, and another defeat for those who maintain the notion that America is a secular nation.

Spread the outrage

If you’re a pregnant woman faced with the difficult decision of aborting your child, Gov. Rick Perry has a few words for you:

“When you consider the magnitude of the decision to have an abortion, ensuring that the patient understands what’s truly at stake seems a small step to take,” Gov. Perry said. “When someone has all the information, the right choice – the choice of life – becomes clear. Now our legislature can take fast action on this important bill because we all know when it comes to saving lives, every second counts.”

This was his speech during a “Rally for Life” where he declared his efforts to pass through legislation that would make it mandatory for women seeking an abortion to have a sonogram.

It’s pretty obvious what he’s trying to do here: he wants to discourage abortion, and he figures that having to look your baby “in the face” will change more than a few minds. Ignoring the fact that this kind of thing completely violates their rights as a patient, I find it more than a little ironic that a state that executes more criminals that almost every other state combined would pride itself on “choosing life”. I guess life only counts when it’s in amniotic fluid, cuz once it’s out of the womb, it better not ask for any financial assistance, am I right?

Spread the outrage

I can’t imagine the kind of terror I would experience if I was a woman and suddenly was faced with a complication in my pregnancy at a Catholic Hospital. The Church’s dogma concerning abortion is one that causes the mysery and death of countless women, all because they’re convinced that babies are all miracles of a male God, and conclude that that abortionists are worse than child molesters (you can’t rape what doesn’t exists, right?). Scientifically though, a pregnancy is similar to being invaded by a parasite, and there are often cases where the life of the mother is in immenent peril.

In 2009, St. Joseph hospital was faced with a rapidly dying pregnant woman, and they did the only thing they could do to save her: they aborted the 11 week-old fetus:

The woman who underwent the procedure is in her 20s and had a history of abnormally high blood pressure when she learned of her pregnancy. After she was admitted to the hospital with worsening symptoms, doctors determined her risk of death was nearly 100 percent.

As a consequence, they were striped of their “Catholic” status by their local Dungeon Master Bishop, and now the hospital is not allowed to celebrate Mass and other useless religious rituals.

That’s actually great news, since it means one more hospital that won’t be making any decisions based on some ancient, ridiculous dogma. The fact that there are even medical fascilities run by experts in nonsense is disturbing: a hospital is a place of science, not superstition. The fact that the staff was punished for doing what any other medical establishment would do is telling, isn’t it?

Spread the outrage

The Hitchens/Blair debate has been over for a while, but for some Catholics, the fact that Tony was utterly tooled is still a bit of a sore spot. With all those weeks passed since the debate, a few theists are still trying to figure out what Blair could have said to hold his own.

During the debate, Hitchens made the point that religion has done no favor to women, and that only by emancipating them from the slavery of their reproductive cycles can they hope to truly be free. Sounds reasonable, and we definitely have some proof to back up that claim. Not so, according to Francis Phillips at the Catholic Herald:

I thought there was one point where Blair could have got underneath his opponent’s hard carapace: when Hitchens attacked religion for doing nothing for women’s dignity. The way to bring about “the empowerment of women” was to take them off “the animal cycle of reproduction”, he stated. He also mentioned “clerics” who stood in the way of women bettering themselves. Blair had a golden opportunity here to go on the attack: what had atheism to offer women but ever easier “reproductive rights” – ie ever easier access to contraception and abortion? What had the most atheistic society in the world, China, done for women’s dignity in enforcing their “one-child” policy?

In thinking of the arguments that Blair didn’t make here, I was reminded of the testimony of Steven Mosher, one-time student of social anthropology at Stanford University and an unthinking atheist and supporter of “women’s liberation” like everyone else around him. As part of his research he went to China in the 1980s where he got on well with the local Communist committee and was invited to witness a forced late-term abortion. I won’t describe what he saw, merely the electric effect it had on him: in the space of a few minutes he went from an insouciant attitude of “abortion is a women’s right” to being profoundly and unhesitatingly pro-life. (His atheism began to fall apart later, when he got to know pro-life workers in the US who were almost all Christians; now a devout Catholic and father of eight, he works full time for Human Life International.)

So her argument is that China, being a state that “officially” doesn’t believe in God, somehow makes them the representative for atheists everywhere? I’m not sure the cable has come out yet to Franny, but non-belief isn’t some weird club where everyone has to swear allegiance to Mao Zedong.

In any case, if your argument is that the Church would never have allowed forced horrible abortions on women, I suppose I can’t argue with you on that point. While it’s true that they would certainly have prevented EVERY conceivable abortion from taking place (even the ones that would save the mother’s life), we already know so much about how much “freedom and dignity” women have enjoyed under religious rule. If you’re unfamiliar with the history of misogyny within the context of your own religion, then you can simply look at all the modern examples of this as well. The country of Saudi Arabia comes to mind.

Hitchens argued that religion was not a force for good in the world, and if Blair had tried to bring China up as an example of “runaway atheism”, he would have been buried alive. In any case, if you think a forced abortion even comes close to the history of violence, torture, slavery, murder and subjugation that the majority of women have had to face in the hands of religion, than you need to educate yourself. The estimated 50-100,000 women burned at the stake for witchcraft is a testament to the fact that Catholicism and Christianity in general has a long history of perverse hatred and derision against the fairer sex. Although we can safely say that not believing in God may not help anyone’s dignity (the same way non-belief has no bearing on morality), it doesn’t set your ass on fire either.

Is it ironic that Franny is defending a religion that still thinks women have no business talking about religion to begin with? First Timothy’s has a few word to say about that shit:

Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence

Now that’s dignity!

Spread the outrage

WARNING: the content of this video may cause anger, spasms, and a general feeling of hopelessness about the future.

What if I told you, little girl, that thousands of women get abortions due to the fact that nature is a cruel ass bitch that doesn’t behave like a Disney fairy tale where every pregnancy has no complications, and everything is hunky-dory?

Abortions are being performed on 5 month old fetuses all the time

Really? You have any stats to back that up, kid? Here’s a thought: what do you think we should do with women who get illegal abortions if you make it against the law (which happens all the fucking time in places where it’s illegal)? Yeah, I doubt you have a clever little prepared answer for that one.

You’ve got a lot of growing up to do, little girl. Just because your obviously religious parents brainwashed you into thinking that abortion is morally equivalent to murder doesn’t make it so. I got 10 bucks that says you folks don’t have a problem with people getting executed by the state. Isn’t Pro-life awesome like that?

Spread the outrage