Friday, December 13, 2013

Florida boy says he was barred from speech contest due to critical comments on religion | The Raw Story

Florida boy says he was barred from speech contest due to critical comments on religion | The Raw Story: A Florida fifth-grader said he was stripped of his blue ribbon and barred from taking part in a speech competition because his essay mentioned harm caused by religion.

His ribbon was taken away, and school staff, in what appears to be back pedaling,  told his family the issue wasn't the religious content, but rather, mention of "mass murders" since that might upset fourth and fifth graders.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Adam Gorightly's Album Covers; Vintage Christian


One of the many things I enjoy about Adam Gorightly; those "kooky" album covers he often posts. Here's his latest: Those Kooky Christian Album Covers | Adam Gorightly's Untamed Dimensions
Gorightly has a good collection of album covers from all genres, be sure to take a look.

Here are two vintage Christian album covers I found while searching the net:

Little wooden boys love Jesus too





Hair-dos to the Lord



Sunday, December 8, 2013

Unknown Mary Card (tarot?)

I really like this card; has an old school holy card feel to it. I think it must be a tarot card  -- III, The Empress --  but don't know what deck it's from, just found it while searching on-line.


Mother Mary Oracle Card

A beautiful oracle card of Mary from Doreen Virtue's Ascended Masters Oracle Cards,  Mother Mary. 




Monday, October 28, 2013

Ecto-Ville: Talking to Heaven Oracle

On my ghost blog, Ecto-ville, a new post about the new oracle deck designed by Doreen Virtue and James Van Praagh:Ecto-Ville: Talking to Heaven Oracle

Friday, October 25, 2013

'So Help Me God' Optional In Air Force Academy Honor Oath




What took them so long? Little ironic an entity whose ostensible purpose is to protect our freedoms has demonstrated such forced theocracy in the past, but good to know they've now gotten around to it:
'So Help Me God' Optional In Air Force Academy Honor Oath: DENVER -- DENVER (AP) — Air Force Academy cadets are no longer required to say "so help me God" at the end of the Honor Oath, school officials said Friday.

The words were made optional after a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, that they violated the constitutional concept of religious freedom.

Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson said the change was made to respect cadets' freedom of religion.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Anne's Diary | Clothes Make the Man | unknowncountry

Anne Strieber, better half of Whitley of course, writes on her blog about Popes and clothing, and what that says about the messages such attire sends:
Anne's Diary | Clothes Make the Man | unknowncountry: Or that's how the old saying goes, anyway. Pope Benedict appreciated the idea of dressing to fulfill a role--in fact, Esquire magazine put him on its best dressed list, saying that he had a way with accessories and advising their male readers: "It could be a pocket square or a chunky watch or a tie clip, but make it your own." One way Benedict did this was by wearing handmade red leather loafers.

He also brought back the white and red ermine-trimmed capelets, and reintroduced the little red velvet cap trimmed in the same fur. His fondness for ermine angered some Italian animal rights groups. (Anne Strieber)

Friday, October 11, 2013

Self-Professed ‘Bible Scholar’ Makes Explosive Allegation About Jesus That He Believes Could Rock the Christian Faith to Its Core - Yahoo News

Self-Professed ‘Bible Scholar’ Makes Explosive Allegation About Jesus That He Believes Could Rock the Christian Faith to Its Core - Yahoo News: A press release announcing the purported new evidence claims that Atwill has discovered "ancient confessions" that purportedly prove that Romans invented Jesus Christ in the first century. He has long argued that the faith system was used as a political tool to control the masses -- something he says is still going on today.
"I present my work with some ambivalence, as I do not want to directly cause Christians any harm, but this is important for our culture," he said of the alleged debunk - one that he believes will eventually be universally accepted.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Dark Side of UFOs, God and Turtles

Found this from 2007 from Ted Twietmeyer on the ever frantic Jeff Rense site:The Darker Side Of UFOs. No facts or proof and scant evidence, simply personal opinion and thin speculation on assumptions on what UFOs do, and why they're doing it.

So why waste time on this stuff? Because I've been thinking of the so-called "dark" side of UFOs lately, and those that refuse to consider that there is a dark side. Oh, so many times I've been told that nothing negative or dark shall be discussed -- and yet, of course, we are all interested in being authentic and finding the truth. 

Back to Twietmeyer's 2007 piece:
Storage tanks in a vehicle this size could easily hold thousands of gallons of water. And there may have been other uses the vehicle may have had, such as processing humans. I have been able to confirm that this took place.
UFOs are terrorizing us, and we're mere teeny baby turtles in the alien claws of the ET:
"We are as helpless to stop them as a small pet turtle is to a children's hand. The small pet turtle (not a snapping turtle) can do virtually nothing to escape the hand of a little child who wants to pick it up. Surely the turtle would like to think it will be returned to where it was found."

And so on. Until we get to the real issue, which is God, who remains detached and impassive, allowing abductions and mining to continue. There is hope, according to the author. The government can "ally itself with a friendly alien race, but only under certain conditions." Among those conditions: "One [alien race] which won't double-cross humanity..."

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Tom Waits quote

"There is no devil, that's just God when he's drunk."  ~ Tom Waits
Found that on Janis Ian's FB page. So good had to steal it.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

'Under God' part of Pledge of Allegiance under review in Massachusetts - CNN.com

 Amazed that such an insertion into the pledge has remained since the 1950s, another court case to remove "under God." Probably will lose the good fight, once again, but we can hope:

'Under God' part of Pledge of Allegiance under review in Massachusetts - CNN.com: (CNN) -- The Pledge of Allegiance is recited in classrooms across the country every morning -- and because of the words "under God," it is heard in courtrooms across the country seemingly just as often these days.

Every attempt to eliminate the mention of God has thus far failed, but the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts will hear arguments on Wednesday seeking removal of the two words for a new reason: discrimination.

"This is the first challenge of its kind" said Roy Speckhardt, the executive director of the American Humanist Association, an atheist group arguing for the plaintiffs. "We feel very confident that we have a strong case."

That case, which was brought by an unidentified family of a student at a school in suburban Boston, will be argued on the premise that the pledge violates the Equal Rights Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution. It is the first such case to be tried on the state level: All previous attempts have been argued in federal court on the grounds that 'under God' was an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The Church & the Paranormal on Coast to Coast AM

Charles A. Coulombe, "Catholic journalist and historian" tonight's guest on C2C.The Church and the Paranormal - Shows - Coast to Coast AM



Monday, August 26, 2013

Saudi Arabia's War on Witchcraft - Ryan Jacobs - The Atlantic

Psychotic fanatics and their persecutions of all that's offensive:
Saudi Arabia's War on Witchcraft - Ryan Jacobs - The Atlantic: The Saudi government's obsession with the criminalization of the dark arts reached a new level in 2009, when it created and formalized a special "Anti-Witchcraft Unit" to educate the public about the evils of sorcery, investigate alleged witches, neutralize their cursed paraphernalia, and disarm their spells. Saudi citizens are also urged to use a hotline on the CPVPV website to report any magical misdeeds to local officials, according to the Jerusalem Post.

According to a director of the religious police's witchcraft division in Riyadh, the unit provides confidentiality to informants. "We deal with sorcerers in a special way. No one should think that we mention the name of whomever files a report about sorcery," Sheikh Adel Faqih told the Saudi Gazette. In 2009 alone, at least 118 people were charged with "practicing magic" or "using the book of Allah in a derogatory manner" in the province of Makkah, the country's most populous region.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Northern Territory government to repeal centuries-old witchcraft, tarot card law - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Northern Territory government to repeal centuries-old witchcraft, tarot card law - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): A recent review of the Territory's Summary Offences Act found a centuries-old law citing anyone caught conjuring spells or predicting the future could face one year in prison.

The Witchcraft Act of 1735 has been inherited from Britain and has since been repealed in most other parts of the Western world.

But Northern Territory Attorney-General John Elferink says a legal quirk meant it stayed on the Territory's statute books.

He says a year in prison is a pretty stiff punishment for a tarot card reader and has promised to finally repeal the legislation.

"This legislation was enacted because it was there essentially as a form of consumer protection," he said.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Tenn. judge changes infant's name from 'Messiah' - Yahoo! News

Surprised article didn't mention the legality of this in regards to the first name change. Does the judge have the legal right - - constitutional right -- to impose the name change? Is this a matter of freedom of religion issues? Parents are appealing.
Tenn. judge changes infant's name from 'Messiah' - Yahoo! News: NEWPORT, Tenn. (AP) — A judge in Tennessee changed a 7-month-old boy's name to Martin from Messiah, saying the religious name was earned by one person and "that one person is Jesus Christ."

Friday, August 9, 2013

The riddle of the 'angel priest': Holy man appeared from nowhere to pray with trapped girl and rescuers in traffic accident, told them she would be OK and then vanished | Mail Online

The riddle of the 'angel priest': Holy man appeared from nowhere to pray with trapped girl and rescuers in traffic accident, told them she would be OK and then vanished | Mail Online: Pinned inside her mangled Mercedes, seriously injured and fading fast, Katie Lentz turned to her rescuers on the lonely open stretch of Missouri highway and asked them to pray.

Struck head-on by a drunk driver on Sunday morning, emergency workers had been battling for an hour and a half to free Lentz, but to no avail.

But as they joined hands a Catholic priest appeared, even though there were no bystanders and the road was blocked, who offered a prayer and an instruction to the rescuers that they would now be able to free her.

Suddenly, heavy equipment needed to cut through the metal arrived from a nearby town and Lentz was pulled from the wreck in time to be saved - but when they turned to thank the priest, he was gone.

Friday, August 2, 2013

When Christians Eat Their Own: 'Alabama state champion coach and AD fired for being a member of the wrong church"

Alabama state champion coach and AD fired for being a member of the wrong church | Prep Rally - Yahoo! Sports: While Phillips had never been forced to attend the school’s affiliated church when he was only a coach, that changed when he became the school’s athletic director. As confirmed by the Advertiser, East Memorial Christian Academy’s athletic director was expected to attend the East Memorial Baptist Church, even though there was allegedly not an official clause in the contract requiring such attendance.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

UK To Block "Esoteric" Sites

Ultraculture | Tools for a Better Future: he censoring of “esoteric material,” in particular, has pagan groups up in arms. (Presumably Ultraculture will be blocked from warping impressionable young British minds into lives stained with pernicious sins like thinking for themselves, questioning mainstream values and caring about the environment?) Pagan community discussions are being conducted at Wild Hunt and LAShTAL. Meanwhile, a new service called Immunicity has appeared which circumvents the firewall—better get hold of it before Cameron starts blocking access to ways to get around the firewall. Nikki Wyrd has another good examination of the issue at the UK-based chaos magick site Blog of Baphomet.

Fox Reporter Lauren Green's Double Standard On Reza Aslan And Islam | Blog | Media Matters for America

Here's the background on Lauren Green, who interviewed Reza Aslan on Fox Faux news recently. That interview has been all over the internet, with right wing Christians defending Green, and attacking liberals on one side, the "left" (who are also godless and non-Christian, according to the right wing) on Aslan's side.

Obviously, we're right, and Fox news is wrong. Anyway, here's some interesting background on Green, who is the "religious reporter" for Fox news, and a Christian.Fox Reporter Lauren Green's Double Standard On Reza Aslan And Islam | Blog | Media Matters for America. For example, Green has said, of Islam, various biased comments about Islam, according to the article:
"There are conflicting interpretations of the Koran, but without a clear narrative, with one consensus of purpose, followers who do violence in the name of Islam can legitimately claim they are acting within the parameters of their faith."

True, of any religion. How many Christians have ... oh, you know. Point is, Green has conducted several interviews and reported on several stories dealing with Islam. So the question is, Ms. Green, as a Christian, why are you discussing Islam?

Huff Post/Fox Faux Mash-up of Reza Aslan Interviews


Monday, July 29, 2013

'Reza Aslan Misrepresents His Scholarly Credentials' via First Thoughts

Well, no he doesn't, as this blogger accuses Aslan of doing. Some of the comments left at the blog point this out.

Also, disagree with his take on the following exchange (see my previous post below) :
Reza Aslan Misrepresents His Scholarly Credentials First Thoughts | A First Things Blog: Later he complains that they are “debating the right of the scholar to write” the book rather than discussing the book. But the conversation took that turn thanks to Aslan, not Green!

Utterly disagree with that one as well. Green came at him like an attack dog, and Aslan's "complaint" was perfectly spot on as well as legitimate.



'5 Reasons There Aren’t More Women in Atheism' via Alternet

Not surprising, Englehardt makes good points. Sexism exists in the uber-skeptical movement; hell, who are kidding, sexism and misogyny exists everywhere.

5 Reasons There Aren’t More Women in Atheism | Alternet: n a Salon piece last week called, “ Where are the women of new atheism?”, Katie Englehardt described what looks like diminishing participation of women in atheist life. She also encouraged atheist women to more openly embrace their beliefs.

But atheist women are very active. These women aren’t visible — and there aren’t more like them — for at least five reasons.


'Watch This Religious Scholar Own Bigoted Fox Host in First 2 Minutes of Interview' via Americans Against the Tea Party


This woman is a moron, but then again, it is Fox News. She is constantly asking Dr. Reza Aslan, author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, why he wrote the book since he's a Muslim. Aslan certainly holds his own, very politely and articulately, but Lauren Green, anchor, either will not, does not, or can not, get it.
"Watch This Religious Scholar Own Bigoted Fox Host in First 2 Minutes of Interview - Americans Against the Tea Party: At the onset of the interview Fox host Lauren Green asked incredulously, “You’re a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?”

Monday, July 22, 2013

The Anomalist Comments on Conjuring Review

Haven't seen the movie The Conjuring, so can't comment myself on the film. Yesterday I posted a link -- found on that great Fortean news feed o' links, The Anomalist --  to a Salon article that called the movie, among other things, "misogynistic." The Anomalist commented on that review:
(We are trying really hard not to get completely sidetracked here, but we just have to mention writer's rant about poetic license after somehow having deputized himself as the Literature Police. Basically, he thinks poetic license is perfectly alright unless it offends him. This sort o social justice warrior whining is now creeping into our Fortean world and we don't like it. Is there an exorcist for THAT? )

Sunday, July 21, 2013

“The Conjuring”: Right-wing, woman-hating and really scary - Salon.com

“The Conjuring”: Right-wing, woman-hating and really scary - Salon.com: “The Conjuring” is one of the cleverest and most effective right-wing Christian films of recent years. It’s a movie about America’s obsession with evil, and how easily that gets pointed in the wrong directions. It’s a movie based on the reassuring premise that when something is wrong in your family, your community or your country, you don’t have to worry about the priests, the cops, the dads or the other male authority figures. They’re the good guys. Blame the women."
Haven't seen the movie, will probably wait for it to come to cable. 



Friday, July 19, 2013

Pope Criminalizes the Reporting of Sex Crimes - Newslo

Pope Criminalizes the Reporting of Sex Crimes - Newslo: VATICAN CITY — Few eyebrows were raised last week when Pope Francis brought the Vatican’s legal system up to date by criminalizing leaks of official information and formalizing laws against sex crimes. But now that the laws have been made public, a closer look revealed that the pope has made it illegal to report sex crimes against children.

According to the new laws, revealing or receiving confidential Vatican information is now punishable by up to two years in prison, while newly defined sex crimes against children carry a sentence of up to twelve years. Because all sex crimes are kept confidential, there is no longer a legal way for Vatican officials to report sex crimes.

One hell of a deal: Pope Francis offers reduced time in Purgatory for Catholics that follow him on Twitter - Europe - World - The Independent

"One hell of a deal: Pope Francis offers reduced time in Purgatory for Catholics that follow him on Twitter - Europe - World - The Independent: Salvation – or at least a shorter stay in Purgatory – might now be only a tweet away with news that Pope Francis is to offer “indulgences” – remissions for temporary punishment – to the faithful who follow him on the social media site."



Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Student ordered to remove cross necklace at Sonoma State University - Yahoo! News

I'm sure this is unconstitutional. Here's an example of someone getting it all mixed up. So what if someone might be "offended" by the student's cross? Can't we think for ourselves? The obvious question: who, what, is next? Judaism? Buddhist symbols? We all know pagan, wiccan and other non-mainstream religions won't have a chance of being protected. So, while I don't support this student's belief system and I think a 2 inch cross is a bit much, that's not the point. Student has the right to wear the thing.
Student ordered to remove cross necklace at Sonoma State University - Yahoo! News: An official at Sonoma State University ordered a student working at a freshman orientation fair to remove or hide a cross necklace on two separate occasions. The unnamed official feared that other students could be offended by the two-inch-long symbol of Christianity.
Fortunately, the law is on the student's side, and the University is falling all over itself apologizing for its lone official who went over the edge with the sensitive authority thing.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Sister Charlotte Keckler Story The Horrors Deep Within The Church Of Rome – Cloistered Nuns – Starved, Hard Labor, Forced Sex, Tortured, Murdered -Babies & Cloistered Nuns – Get This To Every Female, Male, Woman, Man ( Of All Ages ) All Parents, All Grand Parents !!!! | Wesdancin

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The Flying Nun

Remember this? Well, if you're a certain age you might, if not, here you go. Sally Field as The Flying Nun. I liked this show when I was a kid, have to admit. (I was just a kid!)






Rand Paul Operative Wants to Lead Dominionist Revolt Against the US | Crooks and Liars

It's scary when the relgious fanatics come out to play:
Rand Paul Operative Wants to Lead Dominionist Revolt Against the US | Crooks and Liars: The name and face may not be familiar to you, but David Lane is very influential amongst the Christian Right politicos. He's advised Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry. Currently, he's helping Rand Paul lay the groundwork for his 2016 presidential run, complete with the mandatory pandering trip to Israel.

David Lane is also flat out treasonous.

Because what David Lane wants even more than Rand Paul in the White House is for Christians to rise up against this country and 'return' it to the values he holds dear:

Friday, June 28, 2013

Vatican official arrested in corruption plot - Yahoo! News

Vatican official arrested in corruption plot - Yahoo! News: VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Vatican official has been arrested by Italian police for allegedly trying to illegally bring 20 million euros ($26 million) in cash into the country from Switzerland with a private jet.

Prosecutor Nello Rossi says Monsignor Nunzio Scarano is accused of corruption and slander stemming from the plot and was being held at a Rome prison.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

TX Congressman Gohmert: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!” | admala.org

Ridiculous and funny, and yet, can't help but feel a bit nervous around morons like this:
Gohmert: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!” | admala.org: By W.H. Gavescon, Friday, June 21, 2013

WASHINGTON—“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!” proclaimed Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert (R) at a rally sponsored by the Republican Study Committee (RSC), Thursday. Unusually forceful in his language, Rep. Gohmert was wrapping up a speech advocating a bill that called for stricter regulation of witches’ covens and other occult related organizations in several states along the Mississippi River Basin. Supported by 17 members of the House Tea Party Caucus (as well as 3 House Democrats), the bill is set to go to committee next week but is already receiving harsh criticism over First Amendment and other concerns. One of its authors, Rep. Gohmert maintains that, building on provisions of the NDAA, the bill enhances the ability of the NSA and the FBI to monitor witches and would put into place “reasonable and common sense” provisions for cracking down on some of the Mississippi Delta’s more notorious covens. (Gohmert likens these provisions to anti-gang legislation. He also claims they have precedence in the anti-sorcery statutes of Arkansas and Alabama.)

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

St. Louis Cardinals draw Christian cross into pitcher’s mound at Busch Stadium | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports

Not that I'm a sports fan, but still. St. Louis Cardinals draw Christian cross into pitcher’s mound at Busch Stadium | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports



Virginia Women Ordained As Catholic Priests Against The Will Of The Church

Virginia Women Ordained As Catholic Priests Against The Will Of The Church: When your religion says you cannot do something because of your gender, do it anyway.

At least that is what five Catholic women in Falls Church, Va. did on Saturday when they were ordained as priests and deacons -- against the rules of the Roman Catholic church that sees ordaining women as heresy -- according to WJLA.

"In the theologically grounded tradition the priesthood passes through man. The woman has another function in Christianity," Pope Francis wrote in his first book, "On Heaven and Earth." But that didn't stop women like Joleane Presley of Manassas from joining fellow female Catholics at the First Christian Church to be ordained, just like men.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Pussy Riot: "People fear us because we're feminists"

Boing Boing links to this article, on the imprisoned members of Pussy Riot, and other PR members activism in letting the world know what is happening in Russia:
Pussy Riot: "People fear us because we're feminists": Pussy Riot aren't just on tour. They're on the run.

When we meet in a secret location in central London, they make it clear that this interview is on condition of anonymity. The Russian punk-feminist protest group, two of whose members are currently travelling the world, talking to activists and journalists and raising support for their band-mates in prison, are wanted by their government, who have branded them extremists for their stand against religious patriarchy and the Putin regime. It will be illegal to read or share this article in Russia.

“There’s a media war in our country,” says the one who, today, is calling herself 'Serafima', whispering painfully through a sore throat. Since three members of the group, Yekaterina Samutsevich, Maria Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova, were tried and sent to labour camps last year, Pussy Riot has been attacked in almost every press outlet in Russia.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

BVM in Space


I love this! I don't know who the creator of this image is -- I found it on Facebook, via Christopher Knowles of The Secret Sun.  It is now the offiical UFO Mary pic of the day!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

'Rain God' Oklahoma License Plate: Pastor Keith Cressman Lawsuit Approved By 10th Circuit Court Of Appeals


By Greg Horton
Religion News Service

(RNS) A Methodist pastor of a suburban Oklahama City church is suing the state, claiming its license plate image of a Native American shooting an arrow into the sky violates his religious liberty.

Last week, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled his suit can proceed.

The pastor, Keith Cressman of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Bethany, Okla., contends the image of the Native American compels him to be a “mobile billboard” for a pagan religion.

'Rain God' Oklahoma License Plate: Pastor Keith Cressman Lawsuit Approved By 10th Circuit Court Of Appeals

Very silly 'persecuted Christian.' But, as much as I hate to support any theocratic notions, he does have a point. So does this mean these fascist xians are going to now stop with so-called "ware on Christmas" and prayer/flag/pledge of allegiance agit-prop? Doubtful.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Pat Robertson Story: Satire?

Well, I think it's turned out the Pat Robertson story (see post below) is untrue.  The OP of this story came from the Daily Currant, a site of spoofdom and satire. We've been had! What's interesting, and very sad/funny is that if this were true, none of us would have been at all surprised.

Here's the link at The Daily Currant.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Pat Robertson: "Disobedient Wives Must Be Spanked"




Oh you know this is just too good!Pat Robertson: Disobedient Wives ‘Must Be Spanked’ - The Daily Currant Oy. 

The article linked to refers to a female caller who asked advice about her husband's infidelity. Getting to the bottom of the issue, (sorry) Robertson said the real problem was she wasn't getting spanked.  That, and this:
"I know you're confused with all the the feminism, lesbianism and vegetarianism in our culture."

We expect the ignorant references to feminism and lesbianism. But "vegetarianism?" Well, Robertson does say that, aside from getting regular spankings, women need to:
""... do three things: obey men, have babies and cook meat."


Sunday, June 16, 2013

Daily Kos: Woman Being Denied Citizenship Because Her Morality Doesn’t Come From Religion

From:
Daily Kos: Woman Being Denied Citizenship Because Her Morality Doesn’t Come From Religion: Despite being an atheist, Ms. Doughty was told that any conscientious objection must be based on religious grounds, not simply moral objections.So as someone who was not religious, and didn’t believe in a god, she had no basis for objecting. Her statement has been denied and she has been informed that to move forward in the process she must submit a letter from the elders of her church to prove her conscientious objections are religiously based.

The USCIS has told her,

“Please submit a letter on official church stationery, attesting to the fact that you are a member in good standing and the church’s official position on the bearing of arms.”

She has been given until June 21st to show that her objection is religiously-based, or her application will be denied.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

ShukerNature: CRYPTOZOOLOGY IN THE VATICAN

Karl Shuker writes, at Shuker Nature. Delightful!
ShukerNature: CRYPTOZOOLOGY IN THE VATICAN: A few years ago, a friend bought me a wonderful little book entitled And To Every Beast..., one in a series of beautifully-illustrated thematic mini-volumes collectively entitled Treasures of the Vatican Library. All of them combine biblical quotations with illustrations selected from various tomes or manuscripts held in the vast collection of the Vatican's library (which contains over one million printed books, as well as 150,000 manuscripts and some 100,000 prints).

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Why Season 3 of ‘The Borgias’ could be the show’s swan song - Yahoo! TV



I love The Borgias, but after last night's episode, realized not for the first time, there can't be much left in way of episodes. The Borigias is based on history -- so, unlike Game of Thrones (at the top of my list) which is fiction, Borgias can only last as long as the historical story lasted. Here's a list of reasons from Yahoo! TV about why this season might be the last for Showtime's Borgias, with a mention of a new Showtime program, The Vatican. Why Season 3 of ‘The Borgias’ could be the show’s swan song - Yahoo! TV

Monday, May 27, 2013

Mary Queen of Angels oracle deck

My brand new deck from Doreen Virtue; the Mary Queen of Angels oracle. Very lovely! Two powerful three card readings so far. It definitely has a heavy Chrisitian religious vibe, but I don't have to buy into that, I go with the beauty of the cards and a Goddess/UFO Mary kind of vibe.

Images from Doreen Virtue Mary Queen of Angles oracle


Tonya Hurley: Santa Muerte: My Search for the Bony Lady

On The Huffington Post, from Tonya Hurley on a deity of many names: Lady of Shadows, Holy Girl, Santa Sebastiana, ..
.Tonya Hurley: Santa Muerte: My Search for the Bony Lady (PHOTOS): While in Mexico recently for a book tour, I visited a market in Guadalajara where I encountered a skeletal figure, robed, with long black hair holding a scythe and globe standing in a shop window. A Grim Reapress of sorts, standing shoulder to shoulder with statues of Jesus, St. Jude and The Virgin of Guadalupe. I'd been doing research into the lives of the saints and martyrs for my new young adult book trilogy, "The Blessed," but here was one I'd never come across. Many revered as saints and martyrs were regarded as misfits and people that actively sought death, however, none actually embodied death as far as I'd ever heard.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The Threat of Literalism - Catonsville, MD Patch

Very good and interesting article by Ken Kovacs.  And for those of us who are anti-skeptoid, this goes for those debunkites as well. I don't share the author's religious views -- ie, that JC is the "fullest revelation of God the world has ever known" -- but that's beside the point.

The Threat of Literalism - Catonsville, MD Patch: James Hollis, Jungian analyst and writer, suggests that literalism is actually a form of religious blasphemy because it seeks to concretize (nail down, define) and absolutize the core experience of the Holy, of God – a God, if God, who cannot be controlled or defined; a God, as theologian Karl Barth (1886-1968) insisted, who was Wholly Other, a God who remains ultimately a mystery. And a mystery is not the same thing as a puzzle (which can be solved); a mystery is always enigmatic and is therefore inherently unknowable.

It gets down to the following, which really touches on the gist of these "literalists" including anti-paranormal/ufo skeptoids:
Hollis, whose writings I admire and enormously respect, even argues that literalism is a kind of psychopathology in need of deep healing (redemption?). From his many years as a psychotherapist he has come to see that a way to gauge mental health and emotional maturity is the degree to which one is able to tolerate what he calls the triple A’s – ambiguity, ambivalence, and anxiety. The ability to hold these in tension – and not escape into literalism and fundamentalism, into strategies of avoidance – is a way to test our psychic strength. I can certainly resonate with this. The literalists (of all varieties) I have known and know (and love) have difficulty tolerating ambiguity, ambivalence, and anxiety. They use their faith or their political ideology to bolster themselves against, hide themselves from the triple A’s that define the human condition.


NC woman accused of beating woman with Bible | MyFOX8.com

We don't know why Ms. Moore was beating the victim with a Bible, but it doesn't really matter does it?
NC woman accused of beating woman with Bible | MyFOX8.com: KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. — Authorities said a North Carolina woman was arrested and charged with beating another woman with a Bible.

The Shelby Star reported that Evelyn Mills Moore, 57, of Kings Mountain, was arrested Saturday on a charge of assault inflicting serious injury.



Monday, May 13, 2013

Sunday, May 12, 2013

From Yahoo News: Pope Francis Names 800 New Saints In One Go

Pope Francis Names 800 New Saints In One Go - Yahoo! News: Pope Francis's first canonization ceremony was a record-breaking one. The new pontiff named over 800 new saints on Sunday. That's already almost double the number of saints declared by Pope John Paul II, whose 480-odd canonizations were, at the time, more than those of all of his predecessors since 1588, combined. But the latest canonization bonanza is notable for another reason: most of the 800 new saints are 15th-century martyrs, who were approved as a group for sainthood by Francis's predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. Given Pope Francis's previous public commitment to improving the Catholic church's relationship with Muslim communities worldwide, Benedict XVI's unfinished business put the new pontiff in a delicate position. The 813 "Martyrs of Otranto" were beheaded by Ottoman soldiers for refusing to convert to Islam.

Two new female saints:
The pope also canonized two women from Latin America, which seems to be a more fitting way for the first pope from the continent to kick off his tenure. Those two new saints are Laura of St. Catherine of Siena Montoya y Upegui (also the first saint from Columbia) and Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala of Mexico.

Is Disney Seeking to Trademark Dia de Muertos? | TDG - Science, Magick, Myth and History

Red Pill Junkie at The Daily Grail on Disney's possible intent to appropriate (steal) Dia de Muertos. Disney's history is such, sadly. Amazing and astounding but not surprising. Is Disney Seeking to Trademark Dia de Muertos? | TDG - Science, Magick, Myth and History

Friday, May 10, 2013

David Bowie's New Video

Well, I'm not offended. Banned from YouTube then reinstated. But I'm a Bowie fan from decades past. And it's too funny and even silly; campy to be sure. "Sexually explicit?" --- nope. But it's the hint, the references to religious self-flagellation, etc. that offends some who put it into a sexual context. (Hey, bit of synchro here; watching Jeopardy and just when I wrote " self-flagellation in a sexual context" the category was: "Hit me.") Which, of course, is sexual. And so it goes.  And is that Marie Cotillard and Gary Oldman I see in the video? Of course it is!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Vatican On-line: 'Digitizing history: 82,000-manuscript collection Vatican Library goes online | Toronto Star'

Vatican on-line:
Digitizing history: 82,000-manuscript collection Vatican Library goes online | Toronto Star: Little things slow down the process of putting 40 million pages of ancient manuscripts in the Vatican Library online: gold or silver in the illuminations, bindings that disintegrate if you open them, getting the synergy right.

“It is important to realize if there is gold or silver in a manuscript. That requires a very particular process because the light will be different,” said Luciano Ammenti, who is in charge of IT at the Vatican and the project to digitize the storied library’s 82,000 manuscripts.

The project, finally up and running a year after its announcement, uses an armada of equipment to capture the vast range of pages amassed by the Vatican over five or six centuries into one of the world’s most valuable collection of books and manuscripts.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Kentucky woman ordained as priest in defiance of Roman Catholic Church - Yahoo! News



Well, this is huge!:
Kentucky woman ordained as priest in defiance of Roman Catholic Church - Yahoo! News: By Mary Wisniewski

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Reuters) - In an emotional ceremony filled with tears and applause, a 70-year-old Kentucky woman was ordained a priest on Saturday as part of a dissident group operating outside of official Roman Catholic Church authority.

Rosemarie Smead is one of about 150 women around the world who have decided not to wait for the Roman Catholic Church to lift its ban on women priests, but to be ordained and start their own congregations.

In an interview before the ceremony, Smead said she is not worried about being excommunicated from the Church - the fate of other women ordained outside of Vatican law.

I love what Father, er, Mother? Rosemarie Smead has to say about the Vatican:
"It has no sting for me," said Smead, a petite, gray-haired former Carmelite nun with a ready hug for strangers. "It is a Medieval bullying stick the bishops used to keep control over people and to keep the voices of women silent. I am way beyond letting octogenarian men tell us how to live our lives."

Friday, April 26, 2013

Russian court denies punk band convict Tolokonnikova parole - Yahoo! News

Russian court denies punk band convict Tolokonnikova parole - Yahoo! News: MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court refused to release from prison one of two jailed members of the Pussy Riot punk band so that she can look after her young daughter.

The court on Friday rejected Nadezhda Tolokonnikova's appeal for parole eight months after she was handed a two-year prison sentence for the band's performance of a "punk prayer" in Moscow's main Russian Orthodox cathedral.

Tolokonnikova, 23, has been serving her sentence for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" in a prison colony in central Russia, about 550 km (350 miles) southeast of Moscow.

"I've spent enough time in the prison colony. I've had enough of studying it. Half a year is long enough," Tolokonnikova, a philosophy student, told the judge at the parole hearing, the RAPSI legal news agency reported.

She complained of having frequent headaches in jail in Mordovia, a region that has a large number of prisons.

Her lawyer, Irina Khrunova, said Tolokonnikova's five-year-old daughter Gera needed her mother.

The judge said Tolokonnikova's parental status had been taken into account when she was sentenced - prosecutors had asked for three years - and pointed to two reprimands she has received as evidence her conduct has not been sufficiently "corrected", RAPSI reported.

Parasociology: Marian Apparitions at El-Zeitoun and Social Psi (part 5)



From Parasociology, part 5 on the El-Zeitoun apparitions in Egypt 1968. Excerpt:
Parasociology: Marian Apparitions at El-Zeitoun and Social Psi (part 5): In such an atmosphere, which mixes religious devotion and amazement, the probabilities that many people projected their belief into what they saw seem quite high. Non-believers like Nelson, as already noted, did saw an intense light, but could not translate what they saw into the “Virgin Mary”. Yet, the original witnessed were Muslim workers, and they thought that a woman was about to commit suicide by jumping from the Church’s roof.

A combination of factors can be invoked to reinforce what was discussed on this blog in previous posts about “prior plausibility structure”. Zeitoun is known in the Coptic tradition as a place where the Virgin rested during the escape to Egypt, and there is an old tree associated with this tradition in Zeitoun. Then, the apparitions were centered on a Church, dedicated to Saint Mary. There were “miracles” seen by witnesses, and there is no doubt that the word about such event spread very quickly. The main colors were blue and white, and sometimes red, the traditional colors associated with the Marian iconography. Finally, the shape of the apparition was construed even by no believers as the one of a woman.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

From Amazing UFO Stories AND Strange UFO Videos: Frightening UFO Perception Prompts Grabbing Of Holy Bible


From Amazing UFO Stories AND Strange UFO Videos: Frightening UFO Perception Prompts Grabbing Of Holy Bible:
"Looking out west window. From behind cloud, came flying towards my building direction, very low, continued over my building. Wide and long to tips,chevron/boomerang shape. Ghostly-transparent at first like a creature, no flapping of wings,then more mechanical/metallic as it flew past my window looking up. View was head on, underside possibly flaling material at the tail end, like kite material. Whitish/gray color was more vibrant than adjacent city-reflecting clouds.In fear, I grabbed my Holy Bible next to alarm clock, and noted time of observation."

Interesting how people react to UFO sightings and events. Some UFOs invoke fear -- or, are interpreted as fear inflicting objects -- others inspire wonder, joy, even. For myself, they've inspired, to various degrees, giddiness, extreme curiosity, and obsession. Never fear, though. However...

As I've posted in the past, many times, many places, fear does seem to be an element in some sightings. I'm not a Christian so don't have that framework around experience (ie, grabbing my bible) (if I had one) but that Orange Orb? Still angers me, calls to me, compels me, to find out what the hell happened that night decades ago.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Pastor announces plans to run for Oregon governor | Statesman Journal | statesmanjournal.com

From Pastor announces plans to run for Oregon governor | Statesman Journal | statesmanjournal.com, Aaron Auer's disingenuous statement:
An Oregon City pastor announced Friday he plans to run for governor next year.

Aaron Auer, the founder of Reviving Oregon’s Amazing Roots Ministries in Umpqua, said he’s in the early stages of his campaign and kept tight-lipped about what political party he was seeking a nomination from.

“I am campaigning as a modern day circuit riding preacher,” said Auer, a son of dairy farmers in Douglas County.
If there's any doubt, here you go:
“I had a dream. I saw governor and the Lord spoke to me and told me you would be the governor of Oregon,” she later told her husband.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Cracking Down on Nuns




The new Pope's symbolic feet washing of women was seen by some as a positive and forward thinking gesture. Not so fast; some of us more cynically minded saw it as a stage act, a slighelgh of hand moment in the Vatican's ushering in of the new Pope Francis. However, the new Pope is continuing the Vatican's war on women:
Pope Francis supports crackdown on US nuns - Yahoo! News: VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis supports the Holy See's crackdown on the largest umbrella group of U.S. nuns, dimming hopes that a Jesuit pope whose emphasis on the poor mirrored the nuns' own social outreach would take a different approach than his predecessor.

The Vatican last year imposed an overhaul of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious after determining the sisters took positions that undermined Catholic teaching on the priesthood and homosexuality while promoting "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith." Investigators praised the nuns' humanitarian work, but accused them of ignoring critical issues, including fighting abortion.
The Vatican has been going after so-called renegade nuns; Ope Francis is just following the Vatican's line. See related posts Vatican's War on Women: this time it's nuns, and Vatican Weighs in on Cult Like Group.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Vintage Holy Cards

The BVM Visits Holy Girl Scouts

Jesus Feeds Himself to the Children
Follow the Rules!

Pink Angel Watches Over Spot and the Kids as Dad Backs Out

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Calling the Psycho Bastards on their Shit: Saudi imam rapes, tortures 5-yr-old daughter

Saudi imam rapes, tortures 5-yr-old daughter because he ‘doubted her virginity’ — Winds Of Jihad By SheikYerMami: A popular Saudi Arabian television preacher was found guilty of murdering his own 5-year-old daughter because he doubted her virginity, as reported by The Daily Mail via Examiner thanks to the Religion of Peace.



Sunday, March 31, 2013

Google takes Easter heat over Cesar Chavez doodle - CSMonitor.com

I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. Still can't quite get that there are so many ignorant and religiously superstitious people in this country. Religious zealotry, meet the Taliban and other psychos aligning themselves with a belief system that overrides sense.

Google takes Easter heat over Cesar Chavez doodle - CSMonitor.com: Today, the middle letter is a round portrait of the late migrant farm labor union leader Cesar Chavez.

Like many such doodles, it comes on the birthday of the subject. Mr. Chavez was born March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona.

But appearing on Easter – one of the holiest days for hundreds of millions of Christians around the world – the Chavez Google doodle has set off a mini-storm of protest, including (inevitably) in the twitterverse.

Some of the comments are a little unnerving in their vehemence:
“Unbelievable! Their true colors are showing! Yahoo here I come!”

“Damn Google…. No Easter wishes from those Atheists.”

“Better a dead lefty, them a risen Lord.”

I wonder what the outcry would have been if Google had done a Passover graphic, or better yet, something like this:

Venus of Willendor, Europe, approximately 25,1000 B.C.E.

Easter Sunday or Ishtar Pagan Day

Okay...Easter Sunday or Ishtar Pagan Day

And so on. I started to follow up on several links about Ishtar/Easter (see post below) and quickly gave up. But it's clear that the Daily Beast article doesn't have it quite right either. If you're interested, you'll do the Google thing.

Happy Easter, Which is Not Named After Ishtar, Okay? - The Daily Beast

Happy Easter, Which is Not Named After Ishtar, Okay? - The Daily Beast


Apparently, NOT so. . .
According to the link, as they quote from Bell Jar:
Anyway, the point I am trying to make here is that, yes, Ishtar was associated with fertility and sex. However, her symbols were the lion, the gate and the eight-pointed star; I can’t find any evidence of eggs or rabbits symbolically belonging to her. And Easter has nothing to do with her.
Article has good points and in the specific case of Ishtar/Easter, okay then.  But on the other hand, seems like missing the point, a lot of energy nitpicking the obvious.


Saturday, March 30, 2013

Mud Covered Mary

(There isn't anything supernatural about this; it's just a short story I wrote, greatly revised from an earlier version I wrote many years ago. Cross posted at my fiction blog fragments, found.)







I was nine, probably ten. In my thin green Girl Scout uniform, badge filled sash, heavy white oxfords, little white socks. I knew that there was some mix-up somehow, some weird thing but no proof or even evidence. Gut feelings from a ten year old didn’t count for much. So my grandmother dropped me off at the Parish Hall, where our Girl Scout meetings were held, and drove off. I knew something was wrong when I noticed ... nothing. No other cars, people, little Brownies or my sisters in green. The heavy dark brown doors of the hall were shut, locked. So there I was. Alone in the quiet Saturday schoolyard. Everything shut up; school, hall, even the church. So I waited, trying not to be scared, knowing that eventually my grandmother would return to pick me up. In the meantime, I waited.


I pretty much stayed in the same place; sitting on the rough low stone wall in front of the Parish Hall next to the school, facing the street. The church and church parking lot was to my right, further down.

I sort of wandered around the asphalt covered school yard. Those were the days when the playground equipment set-up was a stark affair. There was a merry go round, right smack on top of the asphalt. No sand, no wood chip coverings, no rubberized surfaces, just the uneven black asphalt. One day I managed to get myself going pretty well on the merry go round and flew off, landing several yards away on my knees. The green and yellow plaid jumpers that were the school uniform offered nothing in way of protection. In my late fifties, I still have the scar that highlights a little hollow in my left knee.

So the large, hot asphalt playground offered nothing of interest. I went back to the low stone wall. It was cooler there anyway, in the shade of the buildings. A small white haired lady walked by me. She was wearing her lace head scarf, carrying her missal, rosary dangling from her hand. I smiled at her; she didn’t smile back. She asked me what was I doing there; she seemed innately suspicious. She wanted to argue with me: “There’s no Girl Scout meeting here!” she said. I felt a little bit like I was leaving my body; this old lady on her way to do her Altar Society business inside the church, was repeating back to me what I just told her. I’m feeling disconnected; why is she doing that? Repeating back to me what I told her: I was waiting for my grandmother; we thought there was a meeting but turned out we got mixed up. In my mind I thought “Lady, do you really think I’d be sitting here in my jerky Girl Scout uniform just for fun?” But I rarely spoke to adults that way so I just sat there, staring at her. She shook her finger at me and walked on.

It was getting cooler. With that, a little dimmer. It seemed an awfully long time; shouldn’ my grandmother be here by now? I see the white haired woman come striding back in the opposite direction, from the church. She’s finished with her official altar arranging business and on her way home. She looks upset, angry; her face is splotched wtih red patches on her thin white skin. She comes right up to me and hisses, spitting a little on me. “How dare you!? WHAT GRADE ARE YOU IN??!! Is it Sister Patrick?! She’ll know, she’ll know!!!” She paused for breath. I have no idea what she’s doing. Before I can answer she goes on.
     “The beautiful Mother! Covered, covered in mud! Just filthy! FILTHY! YOU did it! You’re the only one who’s been here; you did it!”

I told her, simply, I didn’t do anything. Didn’t know what she was talking about.
 
  “You’re a lying little thing! She was beautiful when I went in; when I came out, she was covered in dirt, her head, covered! Who else could have done this?”

I just looked at her. She was crazy, but I knew that wouldn’t mean anything. One complaint to the nuns would be enough. Logic had nothing to do with anything. She went on her way, mumbling to herself.

I sat there, scared, expecting one of the sisters to come scuttling out from the convent behind the school any minute. My grandmother came, and we went home. I didn’t say anything; not that I wouldn't have been believed, but no point to it. It wouldn’t occur to anyone that this was anything of any importance. So I spent that night, and the next week, paranoid. A nervous wreck, that at any time I’d get pulled into the principal’s office, the old lady with her lace head scarf and rosary trembling with outrage waiting for me.

Nothing happened, and I never heard anything about the statue of the Virgin Mary in the church parking lot being vandalized.

regan lee, march 2013
eugene, or

Skeptic's Take: "The American Medjugorje"

Not sure what the point is, except, any chance to smear so-called "woo" well, a skepti-bunny is going to take it. So turns out Theresa Lopez, who began having visions of the BVM, was not such a stellar character. I think the author thinks that by pointing this out, the entire BVM apparition phenomena is now de-mystified. Oy.The American Medjugorje

Friday, March 29, 2013

NY1 'The Call' Viewer Calls For Gays To Be Beheaded

NY1 'The Call' Viewer Calls For Gays To Be Beheaded:
A Staten Island resident stunned the host of New York 1 program "The Call" by suggesting that gays should be beheaded in accordance with Sharia law.
Identifying himself as Chris from Willowbrook, N.Y., the caller noted, "I'm Muslim and I believe 110 percent in Sharia law. Sharia law needs to be implemented in the United States because that's the only way this deviant lifestyle will be corrected."

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Pope washes women's feet in break with church law - Yahoo! News

Pope washes women's feet in break with church law - Yahoo! News:
 "In his most significant break with tradition yet, Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of two young women at a juvenile detention center — a surprising departure from church rules that restrict the Holy Thursday ritual to men.

No pope has ever washed the feet of a woman before, and Francis' gesture sparked a debate among some conservatives and liturgical purists, who lamented he had set a "questionable example." Liberals welcomed the move as a sign of greater inclusiveness in the church."

Saudi Arabia beheads murderer and then CRUCIFIES his body | Mail Online

Saudi Arabia beheads murderer and then CRUCIFIES his body | Mail Online

Vicious anti-Israel ads are going up in New York subway -- and AFDI is responding - Jihad Watch

Vicious anti-Israel ads are going up in New York subway -- and AFDI is responding - Jihad Watch:
Apartheid? Anne Bayefsky notes that “there were once an estimated 900,000 Jews” in the Muslim world, “but today there are less than a few thousand. They were given a choice: Die, convert or flee.” That’s apartheid. The slaughter of gays across the Muslim world: that’s apartheid. The persecution of Christians across the Muslim world: that’s apartheid. The prohibition of non-Muslims from even entering Mecca: that’s apartheid. Muslims are freer in Israel than in any Muslim country.

Religious Trauma Syndrome: How Some Organized Religion Leads to Mental Health Problems

Religious Trauma Syndrome: How Some Organized Religion Leads to Mental Health Problems:
Dr. Marlene Winell is a human development consultant in the San Francisco Area. She is also the daughter of Pentecostal missionaries. This combination has given her work an unusual focus. For the past twenty years she has counseled men and women in recovery from various forms of fundamentalist religion including the Assemblies of God denomination in which she was raised. Winell is the author of Leaving the Fold - A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving their Religion, written during her years of private practice in psychology.
Link found at Truthout.

The question: Was Jesus a woman?

The question: Was Jesus a woman? | World news | The Guardian:
The Right Revd Katharine Jefferts Schori has compounded the offence of being the highest-ranking woman in the Anglican church by saying, in her first sermon since her election as 26th presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church, that "Mother Jesus gives birth to a new creation - and you and I are his children."
"Conservative anger was fuelled [by this] yesterday," reported the Telegraph gleefully, but in fact, notes Revd Dr Liz Carmichael, fellow and tutor in theology at St John's College, Oxford, they'd have really to be quite conservative to get so vexed: "There is a strong, accepted tradition of feminist thinking in the mainstream church."
The point, she says, is "that in orthodox Christianity you don't assign gender to God. 'Father' is simply a metaphor for a figure of authority" - which doesn't make God a man, but makes it more important that His feminine qualities - gentleness and nurturing - be emphasised. The same goes for Jesus: regardless of his actual sex, "son of God" is a metaphor for an all-encompassing filial relationship.



Tuesday, March 26, 2013

China Bans Reincarnation Without Government Permission | Transmissions

China Bans Reincarnation Without Government Permission | Transmissions: n one of history’s more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is “an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation.” But beyond the irony lies China’s true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region’s Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country.



This is Ishtar: pronounced "Easter"


Magdi Allam, Muslim Convert, Leaves Catholic Church, Says It's Too Weak Against Islam

Magdi Allam, Muslim Convert, Leaves Catholic Church, Says It's Too Weak Against Islam: Allam, who has called Islam an "intrinsically violent ideology," said his main reason for leaving the church was its perceived "religious relativism, in particular the legitimization of Islam as a true religion."

"Europe will end up being subjugated to Islam," he warned in Il Giornale, unless it "finds the courage to denounce Islam as incompatible with our civilization and fundamental human rights," and to "banish the Quran for inciting hatred, violence and death towards non-Muslims." Europeans also need to "condemn Sharia as a crime against humanity" and to "stop the spread of mosques."

Monday, March 25, 2013

Vatican & ETs on C2C Tonight

Yes! The Vatican and ETs, tonight on Coast to Coast. Vatican and ETs/ Free Energy - Shows - Coast to Coast AM: Date: 03-25-13
Host: George Noory
Guests: Tom Horn, Joel Garbon

First Half: Researcher of ancient mythology and paranormal phenomena, Tom Horn, will update the story of how the Vatican could be preparing for ET disclosure, and discuss his visit to the Vatican Astronomical Technology Telescope, and his interviews with the priests and astronomers there.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Islam: Sentences 15 yr. rape victim to 100 lashes

Not only was this fifteen year old girl raped, but raped repeatedly by her step- father, who also murdered her baby. The state religion is Islam. According to Wikipedia: "Islam is the official religion of the Maldives and open practice of any other religion is forbidden and liable to prosecution." Avaaz - Horror in paradise

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Justice For Murdered Pet Cat Moody - The Petition Site

You might wonder why this is posted on this blog. Well, the son of a bitch bastard that killed this cat is a Pastor. He's the pastor at Bastrop Christian Church. Oh, and a police chaplain as well:Justice For Murdered Pet Cat Moody - The Petition Site

Really a sick bastard, and I hope he gets everything thrown at him that's possible. So sign the petition. Thank you.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

The New Pope

Well, my prediction was wrong.  Oh well. Hail the new Pope Francis.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Jesus, the Shape-Shifting, Pagan Magician

Jesus the Magician - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Jesus the Magician: Charlatan or Son of God? is a 1978 book by Morton Smith arguing that the historical Jesus was a magician who "sprang from a Galilean strain of Semitic paganism" (p. 68).
h/t to Professor Hex for link.

Monday, March 11, 2013

The Dalai Lama will visit Eugene, OR in May

I won't be able to attend this amazing event, but it is wonderful to know that he will be here! Dalai Lama Eugene — Your Source for the latest official info regarding the visit of His Holiness to Eugene, Oregon

Amnesiac Nun Dream

Discussion last night at the weekly pagan-earth centered group I participate in centered around shamanism. One side topic that briefly came up was my highly integrated mish-moshed ancestry. I had said that until recently -- past few years -- I felt like a crazy pin ball, bouncing around. Am I Native American? Do I embrace the Roman Catholic, Latino side of my family? How about the Russian Jewish side? Then there's the Spanish, and the Celtic. Don't forget about the Buddhist side, or the 32nd degree Masonic side. And that's all just going back three generations. (Great grandparents on down.)

To top it off, there's a very huge elephant in the room concerning blood ancestry, and so, aside from the Scottish/English lineage (on both sides) is the (maybe) Irish side. But no one's talking. There's also a Japanese blood line in my family. And by extension, Korean.

As one person said, and it was supported by the "vision" of another, I "...worked very very hard to choose the parents and family I came to in order to get all these connections." That resonated with me and made quite a bit of sense.

source: Wikipedia nun, Ireland, 1964

So all this energy -past life- present life path stuff was swimming in my head. Last night I had this dream:
One of my recurring dreamscapes. This one is what is labeled "downtown" or "East L.A." in my dream, but it isn't really. It's my own dreamscape; a large boulevard, busy with traffic, pedestrians, lots of theaters and shops and restaurants. It's considered the "poor" section and sort of the "end" of town/dream place, but it doesn't seem that way. I'm a little nervous every time I'm here; I'm in the minority for one thing. A woman, white, alone. But no one really cares. It's slightly hilly here, and while the boulevard is very big and bright and busy, just across the way are residential streets; lots of homes. Hills in the distance.

So I'm roaming around here, a little lost, as I always am when in this place. Not too familiar with the location. This time, I'm a nun. Completely outfitted in a black and white habit. I know I'm a nun, but I also seem to have some kind of amnesia. I don't know where I "work" or what my name is. I don't know why I'm a nun, or how it all works. I just know I am. I'm okay with being a nun and feel sure of what that's all about, even though I don't know the name of my order, or even if I belong to one. 

I'm aware of the looks I'm getting; people are fine with me being a nun but they assume I won't "get" things. That I won't enjoy the Klezmer musicians and their fantastic music as I walk by them playing in a storefront. That I won't think the slightly off color jokes passengers tell on the bus are funny. Etc.

I'm on this bus, and a little worried, because really, I have no idea where I'm supposed to go, let alone know how to get there. Hell, let alone know who I am!

But while I'm lost and am not sure of who I am, I seem to be all right, considering. I am very sure of my "nun-ness" even though I'm not sure if my idea is what other nuns might think. I assume there are other nuns -- as I say, I just find myself here and without an order, without a name for that order, or even if there is an order. I'm a sort of lone nun.

Interesting dream in context: Years ago, a group of us were using the Ouija board. I managed to tick everyone off not because I didn't believe we were getting real messages, but because I doubted the honesty of those messages. No, I wasn't debunking the experience but rather, questioning the energies that were coming through. However, some things did come through that seemed to be more honest than other things. One was the "message", as were discussing past lives, that in one of my former lives I was a nun. This was in the late 1800s in the U.S. west. I was not just any nun, but one thrown out of her order -- or possibly left. I was on my own, still a nun, but more a friend of the "ladies of the night" than any town preacher.

“An onna-bugeisha (女武芸者?) was a female warrior. Members of the samurai class in feudal Japan, they were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honor in times of war.”

-
Wikipedia


There's also my Catholic background; growing up in a Jewish-Buddhist household, as a Catholic, and constantly causing scandal by my questions ending in my refusal to stand up and take the pledge during confirmation.



Friday, March 8, 2013

Calling the Psycho Bastards on Their Shit: 'Half of girls in South Sudan forced to marry"

Half of girls in South Sudan forced to marry - Yahoo! News:
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The 17-year-old beaten to death for refusing to marry a man old enough to be her grandfather. The teen dragged by her family to be raped to force her into marrying an elderly man. They are among 39,000 girls forced into marriage every day around the world, sold like cattle to enrich their families.
More than one-third of all girls are married in 42 countries, according to the U.N. Population Fund, referring to females under the age of 18. The highest number of cases occurs in some of the poorest countries, the agency figures show, with the West African nation of Niger at the bottom of the list with 75 percent of girls married before they turn 18. In Bangladesh the figure is 66 percent and in Central African Republic and Chad it is 68 percent.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Whats the difference between Hoodoo and Voodoo? - Yahoo! Answers

Whats the difference between Hoodoo and Voodoo? - Yahoo! Answers
"Hoodoo and Voodoo are both practiced in Louisiana and have many things in common. However, there are differences between the two. Voodoo is a religion and Hoodoo is an African American system of folk magickal practice that has typically been handed down from generation to generation. Many Hoodoo practitioners in Louisiana are Roman Catholic and also practice some form Spiritualism or Spiritism. They do not typically invoke the loas (African deities) as in Voodoo, and instead use Catholic Saints that represent the loas. This Catholic shroud is the result of a historical atmosphere wherein the only legal religion permitted in the state of Louisiana from the 1600s to 1812 was Roman Catholicism. There is no conflict between those who practice Voodoo and those who practice Hoodoo in Louisiana and they are perfectly complementary. "

Santa Muerte: Underworld saint becoming more popular in US


Underworld saint becoming more popular in US - Yahoo! News: Popular in Mexico, and sometimes linked to the illicit drug trade, the skeleton saint known as La Santa Muerte in recent years has found a robust and diverse following north of the border: immigrant small business owners, artists, gay activists and the poor, among others — many of them non-Latinos and not all involved with organized religion.

Clad in a black nun's robe and holding a scythe in one hand, Santa Muerte appeals to people seeking all manner of otherworldly help: from fending off wrongdoing and carrying out vengeance to stopping lovers from cheating and landing better jobs. And others seek her protection for their drug shipments and to ward off law enforcement.

See also: Who the Hell is Santa Muerte? from Hell on Earth

With Passover Approaching, a Plague of Locusts Descends Upon Egypt - Yahoo! News

With Passover Approaching, a Plague of Locusts Descends Upon Egypt - Yahoo! News: As if we hadn't already seen enough Biblical events this year, a plague of over 30 million locusts swarmed over Egypt's cities and farms just three weeks before Passover begins. But put your apocalyptic fears to rest. This happens every year as part of the locusts' natural migration pattern, though this year's swarm is especially large. That doesn't mean Egyptians aren't freaked the heck out by millions of nasty bugs buzzing through the air at all hours of day and night, possibly descending upon the agriculture fields where they're known to destroy entire crops, just like in the actual Passover story.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

FATIMA topic on Coast to Coast Tonight



George Noory will be joined by Father Nicholas Gruner, one of the world's leading authorities on traditional Roman Catholic doctrine and practice, for a discussion on the series of apparitions at Fatima, Portugal from May to October 1917, in which a number of predictions, requests and warnings were allegedly conveyed by the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Cardinal Roger Mahony: I Forgive Those Who Are Angry at Me for Covering Up Child Rape : Federal Jack

Cardinal Roger Mahony: I Forgive Those Who Are Angry at Me for Covering Up Child Rape : Federal Jack: (PATHEOS) Cardinal Roger Mahony, the man who appears to have shielded child-molesting priests for the sake of Catholicism, wrote about humiliation on his personal website.

But instead of talking about the things he’s done wrong, he flipped it around and threw it back on the victims of his purported crimes and those who rally behind them:

In the past several days, I have experienced many examples of being humiliated. In recent days, I have been confronted in various places by very unhappy people. I could understand the depth of their anger and outrage — at me, at the Church, at about injustices that swirl around us.

Thanks to God’s special grace, I simply stood there, asking God to bless and forgive them.

Demonic Harassment-Joshua P. Warren C2C Tonight

Tonight's Coast to Coast:Demonic Harassment, guest Joshua P. Warren. Host is George Noory.

Monday, February 25, 2013

BBC News - Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigns as Archbishop

BBC News - Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigns as Archbishop: Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, is stepping down as leader of the Scottish Catholic Church.

He had been accused of inappropriate behaviour towards priests dating back to the 1980s - claims he contests.

Cardinal O'Brien, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, apologised to "all whom I have offended" for "any failures" during his ministry.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Vatican condemns reports of intrigue and corruption - FRANCE 24

Vatican condemns reports of intrigue and corruption - FRANCE 24: The Vatican on Saturday condemned Italian media reports of intrigue, corruption and blackmail among senior prelates, saying these could be a form of pressure to sway voting in next month's conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi dismissed as "gossip, disinformation and sometimes calumny" the reports, which are linked to an investigation by a committee of cardinals last year over a series of damaging leaks of confidential papal documents.

Raw: Pope's Last Blessing From Window - YouTube

Raw: Pope's Last Blessing From Window - YouTube

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Accounts of Heaven - Shows - Coast to Coast AM

Accounts of Heaven - Shows - Coast to Coast AM: Reverend John W. Price (book link) has been a priest of the Episcopal Church since 1965. He serves as a spiritual director and is also a member of the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation. After hearing over two hundred accounts of near-death experiences, Rev. Price will discuss how these experiences of Heaven correlate with religious teachings.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Jason Korbus: Habemus Malum Papam | Fortean Squirrel

Jason Korbus on the likely Pope candidates: Habemus Malum Papam | Fortean Squirrel. Doesn't look promising for those of us, Catholics (which I am not) and non-Catholics alike who support women's rights, as well as LGBT rights and expect the pedophiles to be held accountable.

"The Cleansing" :Iran confiscates Buddha statues from shops - Yahoo! News

Iran confiscates Buddha statues from shops - Yahoo! News: TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Buddha statues have joined Barbie dolls and characters from "The Simpsons" TV cartoon as banned items in the conservative Muslim nation.

Authorities are confiscating Buddha statues from shops in the Iranian capital, Tehran, to stop the promotion of Buddhism in the country, according to a report Sunday in the independent Arman daily.

Iran has long fought against items, such as Barbie toys, to defuse Western influence, but this appears to be the first time that Iranian authorities are showing an opposition to symbols from the East.
The newspaper quoted Saeed Jaberi Ansari, an official for the protection of Iran's cultural heritage, as calling the Buddha statues symbols of "cultural invasion." He said authorities will not permit a specific belief to be promoted through such items. Ansari did not say how many Buddhas had been seized, but that the "cleansing" would continue.