Archive for the ‘Religion’ Category

More about his a$$holiness

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

The despot Burke is running wild again. I just learned a bit more about him. Seems like a coach for a catholic university in St. Louis has run afoul of the a$$hole…. He had a personal opinion and gave it. The coach was being interviewed by a local station and asked about his political views. Among the things he said he supported was choice about abortion and stem cell research.

Whoa! A personal opinion that’s contrary to the outdated teaching of the catholic hierarchy. Burke wants this man disciplined because he works for a catholic university. Burke would refuse to give him communion.

Come on! Burke is out of touch with reality. A real despot! Well, one day (the sooner the better in my opinion) Burke will meet his maker. I’d like to be a fly on the wall there as Burke gets his walking papers. It’s gonna be hot where he’s headed for eternity.

To read more about this controversy, go here: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/30545D6CFAE202E1862573D90017AE3B?OpenDocument

The Catholic Church has it’s own A$$hole

Thursday, February 21st, 2008

Yes, the Catholic Church has it’s own asshole, and he lives in the guise of the Archbishop of St. Louis. Many years ago, a previous Archbishop of St. Louis gave the Polish Settlers and congregation of St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church a perpetual deed to their buildings and land. In essence this previous Archbishop gave the church to the people, in perpetuity.

Over the years the people of St. Stanislaus worked hard and built and maintained a beautiful church. Not once did the archdiocese have to help support this church. It’s members, many who were Polish immigrants or their children and descendents, the members were totally self-supportive, and gave yearly to the support of the diocese.

As time went on, the church and it’s land became valuable. Well, the good fortune of the poeple of the diocese of LaCrossee became the bad fortune of the people of St. Stanislaus–the bishop of LaCrosse–despised by many of the people there–fortunately moved on and was replaced by a saintly man. Unfortunately for St. Louis, this same man went there to become it’s Archbishop where he has tried all manner of tactics to steal the valuable parish of St. Stanislaus from its people. Luckily, Poles are no stranger to dictators, criminals, and hustlers. Poles are made of stronger stuff. The people of St. Stanislaus have persevered and have held strong against the tactics of the Asshole of St. Louis–er, I mean, the Archbishop of St. Louis. Shame on you, Ray Burke. I remember you as an asshole years ago when I knew you and knew of you. You have not changed. Your power-hungry ways have sent you far in the Catholic Church, but one day you will be judged and judged harshly by the god you pretent to serve. You’ve forgotten who the church is–the people. And you’ve forgotten your charge to serve them. Shame on you.

To read more about this injustice, see this article: http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2008a/022208/022208a.htm.

To learn more about this parish, go here: http://www.saveststans.org/

And pray, pray for the liberation of the people held hostage by a money hungry, class A, number one asshole.

Falwell’s passing a victory over bigotry and intolerance

Friday, May 18th, 2007

Sorry to say it, but I cannot mourn the death of (the so-called Reverend) Jerry Falwell. To me he was a sign of bigotry, intolerance, and hatred, a symbol of the worst of what’s called the “right.”

Jerry Falwell has now met his maker–or maybe not. Hopefully now he knows the truth about hatred, and hopefully he’s paying the price for his sin. He was extremely intolerant of gays, leading a crusade based on ignorance, contempt, and intolerance. Unfortunately, as a public figure, he had a lot of sway, and he influenced thousands, millions of people–and that influence was for the bad

Yes, I think his passing was a good thing, removal of an intolerant leader. He wasn’t that old. Hopefully, Christians will see this as Jesus taking him away “early” to get him out of our lives and to break his influence. I can’t say he was a good man. I can’t say he was a just man. I can only say he was ignorant and intolerant, and I’m glad he’s not around to influence people any more. I don’t celebrate the passing of any person, as I think life is precious. But I won’t miss him, not one bit. My sympathy to his family and friends, they’ve lost a loved one. But he was a symbol of much that is bad about the religious right, and his loss is a good thing in that regard.

Political Correctness run amok — again!

Monday, April 9th, 2007

Yes, it’s happened again. And as a result, I suggest that you do not shop at the Millenia Mall in Orlando, and contact the headquarters of all the big store located there to complain.

It seems the the mall did not want to offend anyone, so this year they had a Spring Bunny in the mall in the weeks leading up to Easter. No mention of Easter. Just the Spring Bunny. Talk about confusing kids, too! 

 Oh, by the way, the Millenia Mall was closed for Easter Sunday. Pretty gosh darned ironic, isn’t it??

Christmas in the Country

Monday, December 11th, 2006

This isn’t really about Christmas, it’s about country. Country, as in country music. I was thinking about country music yesterday, having spent part of the day watching CMT on TV. What is it about country music that’s touched me lately?

Well, when I look back, there have always been a number of country songs that I’ve enjoyed. Many of them were crossover songs, popular both in the country and in the “pop” world. But it’s more than that. As I’ve listened to more and more country music, I am fascinated by the deep feeling and meaning that many songs have.

When I was younger, I thought all country music was about was drinking, sex, cheating, whiskey, fighting, who’s husband or wife left, etc. But I find that it’s a lot more than that. It’s really more about faith, belief, hope, love, community, thankfulness, sharing, and peace. There are so many great country songs, and so many great country singers. I can’t remember the last time I heard about some pop star donating money to feed starving children or the like–they are most likely to get up on their high horse politically and complain, but do nothing about it. When was the last time you heard about Alec Baldwin or Madonna quietly feeding the hungry, or setting up a fund to house the homeless? Never, that I’ve heard of. If they do something at all, it’s purely for publicity, and only a token effort at that.

Country stars, on the other hand, generally do not get up and speak out politically. (And if they do, they can end up like the Dixie Chics–scorned!). Rather, they seem to act and give and not make a lot of noise about it. I hear from time to time about some of the great things people like Dolly Parton have done. And it’s wonderful. Amazing. Touching. And they don’t do it for publicity, they do it out of love.
I think country music, in essence, speaks of and to the heart and soul of good people everywhere. You don’t have to be a Christian to be touched by the deep faith and belief of many country songs.

So, this Christmas season, I am happy to say that I have a new found appreciation for country music and for all things “country.” So, I guess, I’m having a “country Christmas” this year, and loving every minute of it!

Bad things happening to good people

Thursday, October 5th, 2006

Let’s face it. It’s a bit of a commentary on the “god” that I was taught when I was in Catholic grade school. Bad things happen to good people. And, good things happen to bad people.

Had bad news in the family today. For one of my “in laws,” their sister’s husband, a young guy in his 40s, died suddenly of a heart attack today. His wife is currently battling cancer, too. They have a high school senior daughter.  Bad things happening, and these are, belive me, good people!

I can’t explain it. It breaks my heart to see such things happening to great people. It’s not “god’s fault,” by any means. Is just happens. “Shit happens,” as they say. This does not make it any easier to accept. But, it’s an opportunity for the rest of us in the world.

Another person I know related a story today of a time many, many years ago, when she had 7 (yes, seven!) small kids at home and her husband had surgery for a brain tumor. They lived in a small town. To this day, she has no idea who  paid their electic bill for a number of months. She received $20s and even $50s in the mail, anonymously. People paid other bills without saying who they were. This is what “community” is all about.

Bad things happen to good people. But this is “our” chance. It’s a time for the rest of us to step up to the plate and help out. We can’t change the bad things that happen. But we can show love, compassion, and humanity and do what we can do.

Not only CAN we show love, compassion and humanity, we MUST. If we don’t, we’re really sunk as human beings.
Yes, bad things happen to good people. And other good people step forward, showing and proving their goodness. We have to,  to be good….

The peaceful religion of Islam

Saturday, September 23rd, 2006

The peaceful religion of Islam? I cannot find enough sarcasm in the world to add to that word, peaceful, in my first sentence. Islam has shown itself for what it is, a religion of hatred, invective, self-centeredness, and godlessness.

Recently the Pope made some remarks and quoted some very old remarks that were less than complimentary towards Islam. Though he was only speaking the truth, there was an outcry–by Islamic fascists.  The Pope issued an apology. The Islamic fascists apparently don’t understand that. There is still an outcry, a charge to kill christians and to wreak havoc among Christendom.

I have never, ever, not even once, seen a demonstration by Islamists which was a demonstration calling for peace. Not once. Rarely, I do read about isolated incidents where one or another Muslim calls for peace, but where does that go? Nowhere. It seems to be mostly lip service to me.

I cannot find any evidence that today’s radical, Islamic fascists are peace-loving or peaceful. They are filled with hatred and violence, and as such, must be dealt with in kind. Let those Muslims who are peaceful stand up and stand aside, so they don’t get caught up in the hijack of their formerly great religion. Islam is no longer a great religion, it’s a cover for murderers and thugs. Too bad, so sad. Live by the sword, die by the sword–we can only hope!

America Remembers….

Monday, September 11th, 2006

… or at least, I hope we do. Five years ago today a bunch of criminals killed thousands of innocent civilians in the name of god.  What kind of god do they believe in?  Well, let’s face it, these radical Islamic lunatics believe it’s their mission to wipe us off the face of this earth. They will not give up. We can be all nicey-nice to them, talk about rights, the Geneva Convention, and the like, but they do not care. They don’t follow any rules of humanity. They are animals.

We need to hunt them down, each and every one of them, and rid the face of the earth of them and their kind. Pure and simple, it’s us or them. I vote “us.”

So, we cannot let down our guard. We must be vigilant. We know they’re trying to attack us again. And again. And again. They will not give up easily. We have to use all means at our disposal to hunt them down and eliminate the threat, however we must do it. It may not be pretty, but it needs to be done. Our survival depends on it. The jihadists must go!

Religion + Politics = oil + water

Tuesday, August 29th, 2006

Religion and Politics should not be mixed. Religion is personal, it’s how one views the world from a spiritual perspective. Politics, on the other hand, is how one views the world from a civil perspective. That’s not to say that religious people cannot be politicians, nor to say that politicians cannot be religious.

Any person is going to be the sum total of who they are. No politician can say that their religious beliefs will not influence their political behavior, nor can any religious person say that politics has no influence on them. But to tie them together, inexorably, is, I believe, a big mistake.

Many political wars have been fought “in the name of” religion. Read about the crusades, for example. And at many times in history, religious institutions have controlled the civil area (Middle Ages, Popes, “Holy” Roman emperor–figure it out, put two and two together!).

Though you cannot separate the two, I believe that politicians who wear their religions “on their sleeve” should not be trusted. Nor, for that matter, should we trust religious leaders who align themselves with a political party. It’s just not a good mix. One will always be beholding to the other. You cannot mix the two and always serve both. Who was it that said “man cannot serve two masters?”  And who said “render to Caesar….?”  Think about it!

If it acts like a crook…..

Monday, August 21st, 2006

Just when I thought I’d leave the issue of religion, I get a chance to mix it with politics. A local state senator was recently found guilty of grand theft, a felony, because he had some people from his office work on his reelection campaign while being paid on the state dollar. Sounds like a crook to me, smells like a crook, and a jury found that he is a crook.

Now a dozen area ministers are supporting this crook. They say he didn’t get a fair trial because he’s black. I got news for you: a jury of peers found a crook and convicted him. Just because you’re supposedly religious, that makes you an expert? What a bunch of bullcrap. Let’s place the damned “race card,” huh? Well, Siplin (the state senator) is a crook. I guess maybe he thinks he should get away with it solely because he’s black, and a bunch of so-called ministers seem to agree. Shame on them. They are certainly not ment of god, but self-serving bastards!

Call a crook a crook, it does not matter his color. I don’t care if he’s black, white, yellow, or green. He’s a crook, convicted, and that’s that.

By the way, another local official was recently removed for similar offenses….he used county workers to repair his house. No one’s calling his indictment unfair….oh, wait, he’s white…it does not count.

Shame on anyone for playing the “race card.” And double, triple shame when it’s so-called ministers. They only minister to their own self interests and are a disgrace to honest, god-fearing and god-serving people everywhere.

Gary Siplin, admit what the jury said, “you’re a crook.” Be penitent. Realize you’ve been convicted because you’re guilty, not because you’re black. Repent. Be contrite. Be apologetic. Be saved. As for the other so-called ministers who “support” you, they know the road their headed on, and it’s not one of salvation….